Legal and Economic Enviroment for Foreign Investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Advantages and Obstacles

Abstract

Investment is one of the most important generators for growth and development of national economies. In case of B&H there is a great need for domestic as well as international investments. Therefore, it is necessary to improve, in the first place, the legal environment including ease of company registration, unification of rules at the state level, simplification of administrative procedures etc. It could attract more domestic and international investors to invest in important projects and to improve overall economical situation in B&H. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to meet the essential requirement for successful implementation of various reforms related to macroeconomic stability, financial and technological infrastructure, openness to international trade and transparency of political and legislative environment. The Reform Agenda for Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 2015 and provides, among other things, the creation of conditions and appropriate environment for increase of investments and modernization of the B&H economy, with the aim of economic growth and creation of new jobs. It also assumes strengthening the rule of law, administrative capabilities and increase efficiency in public institutions at all levels of government. In order to contribute to enforcement of this document and to present current advantages and obstacles for investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this paper analyzed the provisions of applicable laws relating to foreign investments and economic indicators as a consequence of such legal framework and current position of B&H. Research findings indicate that the implementation of the abovementioned structural reforms is a condition sine qua non for increase of foreign direct investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as for its path towards integration with the European Union.