The European Investment Bank (EIB) presented in Brussels on Thursday its 2015 lending report, which shows Slovenia at the top of the ranking in terms of total investment value supported by EIB per inhabitant.
The bank lent EUR 798m to Slovenia, amounting to total investment value of EUR 4.4bn or EUR 2,125 per capita.
The figure is significantly above the EU average of EUR 408, the report shows. The lowest per capita investment value supported by EIB was recorded in Bulgaria, where it stood at a mere EUR 19.
Slovenia was moreover in second place, behind only Cyprus, in terms of total EIB investment exposure as a share of GDP. The bank’s exposure in terms of Slovenia’s GDP was at 11.7%, while its exposure in Cyprus was at 15.3% and the EU average was at 3.5%.
“The EIB Group does not operate under any geographical quotas, but lending focuses on countries where targeted investment is most needed,” the EIB said in a press release that accompanied the presentation.
“Accordingly, the bank’s exposure in some of the most vulnerable EU countries such as Cyprus, Slovenia, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and Greece is over 9% of GDP.”
Out of the nearly EUR 800m in EIB loans provided to Slovenia, some EUR 500m was used for infrastructure projects supported by the EU in the 2014-2020 budget framework.
Another EUR 145m was intended for motorways, EUR 133m for electricity distribution and EUR 20m for loans to small and medium sized companies.
Source: The Slovenia Times
Photo: EIB
