Slovakia is set to record one of its worst years on record for FDI in 2012. In the first 10 months of 2012, the country recorded just 32 projects, a 58% decline from the same period in 2011. Capital expenditure is down by 81% and job creation is down by 69% over the same period.

The largest recorded investment in Slovakia was made by Slovnaft Petrochemicals, an oil refining company and a subsidiary of Hungary-based MOL Group. It invested €22m in a logistics facility in Bratislava.

The decline in project numbers could be the start of a worrying new trend in Slovakia. In October, one of the country's daily newspapers, Hospodarske Noviny, reported that the country might be starting to experience the negative effects of both the difficult economic climate in Europe and rising domestic taxes.

The newspaper reported on two companies that have decided to wind down or reduce their operations in the country, transport equipment manufacturer Delphi Slovensko, which announced the redundancy of 540 of its 700 workers in Senica, and Japanese LCD components manufacturer Ryoka Global Europe, which has decided to close down its plant in Nitra, making 227 workers redundant.  Manufacturing, traditionally Slovakia's most targeted sector, has seen a steep decline in project numbers, with just 21 projects recorded in the first 10 months of 2012.

Samsung, which had announced plans to leave the country in 2012, stayed open after receiving an additional €28m stimulus package from the government.