A GLOBAL / COUNTRY STUDY AND REPORT ON Slovenia Submitted to Gujarat Technological University By 62 Students of Parul Institute of Management & Research Finance Division: A Batch: - 2011-13 Institute Code:- 711 IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ASMINISTRATION UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Faculty Guide: - Prof. Deepak Gaywala Gujarat Technological University Ahmedabad. Page 1 of 204 Executive Summary This report is prepared by us in accordance with the guidelines of the Gujarat Technological University. Slovenia is a developed country and important member of EU. The study of Slovenia has given us important inputs on the socio-economic environment of the country. All eleven sectors taken up for the study provide useful information about the contribution of each sector in the GDP Slovenia. Trade relations in each sector have been explored between India and Gujarat to strengthen ties in trade and commerce for the entrepreneurs of Gujarat and India. Opportunities for the Indian youth are many in sectors like Information Technology and Health Care. Advanced technology in the Automobile and Metal sectors are some areas where entrepreneurs from India and Gujarat can take benefit of their expert knowledge. Ample opportunities are available for co-operation between educational institutions in India and Gujarat with Slovenia. The country learns from the experience of the others and growth story of Slovenia is no exception. The literacy rate of Slovenia is almost 100%/ The youth to succeed in Slovenia have to develop competitive skills. Learning basic language of Slovenia will be an added advantage for them. GTU has offered us excellent opportunity to learn and explore opportunities. In this process, our Faculty Guide Prof. Dipak S Gaywala and Director of the Institute Dr. P.G.K.Murthy guided us throughout this two semesters. We take an opportunity to convey our sincere thanks to these mentors. Prepared by the Students of Finance A Division, Parul Institute of Management & Research 13 June 2013 P.O. Limda, Tal. Waghodia, Dist. Vadodara Page 2 of 204 INDEX SR. PARTICULAR PAGE NO. NO. 1 Executive summary PART-I 4 HISTORY OF SLOVENIA ................................................................................4 4 GENERAL INFORMATION OF SLOVENIA .....................................................7 7 PESTEL ANALYSIS ..................................................................................... 11 12 POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................. 11 12 ECONOMIC FACTOR ................................................................................ 17 18 SOCIAL FACTOR ...................................................................................... 19 TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR ................................................................20..... 25 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR ................................................................26.... 30 LEGAL FACTOR ........................................................................................ 35 31 REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 55 36 56 PART-II 65 Page 3 of 204 PART: 1 Report on Slovenia HISTORY OF SLOVENIA Slovenia was originally settled by Illyrian and Celtic peoples. It became a part of the Roman Empire in the first century B.C. Slovenia is a parliamentary republic with a strong economy and a stable democracy. Having declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it successfully joined the EU and NATO in 2004, and became an active player in the international arena. The Slovenes were a south Slavic group that settled in the region in the 6th century, A.D. During the 7th century, the Slavs established the states of Samu, which owed its allegiance to the Avars, who dominated the Hungarian plain until Charlemagne defeated them in the late 8th century. When the Hungarian‟s were defeated by the Turks in 1526, Hungary accepted Austria‟s Hapsburg rule in order to escape Turkish domination; the Hapsburg monarchy was the first to include all of the Slovene regions. Thus, Slovenia and Croatia became the part of, the Austro-Hungarian kingdom when the dual monarchy was established in 1867. Like Croatia and different from the other Balkan states, it is primarily a Roman Catholic. Following the defeat and collapse of Austria-Hungary in World War I, Slovenia declared their independence. It formally joined with Montenegro, Serbia, and Croatia on 4 Dec., 1918, to form the new nation called the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The name was later changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. During World War II, Germany occupied Yugoslavia, and Slovenia got divided into Germany, Italy, and Hungary. For the duration of the war many Slovenes participated in guerrilla war against the Nazis under the leadership of the Croatian- born Communist resistance leader, Marshal Tito. After the final defeat of the Axis Page 4 of 204 powers in 1945, Slovenia was again made into a republic of the newly established Communist nation of Yugoslavia. Slovenia‟s economic freedom scored 62.9, making its economy the 69th freest in the 2012 Index. It‟s score has decreased by 1.7 points since last year, with declines in half of the 10 economic freedoms, including a substantial drop in its score for government spending. Slovenia is ranked 32nd out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and it‟s overall score is still above the world average. The Slovenian government‟s record on structural reform has been uneven the overall regulatory framework has been gradually evolving to promote the emergence of a more vibrant private sector and encourage broad-based employment growth. Slovenia enjoys a comparatively high degree of trade freedom, Its economic infrastructure remained untouched, and its economy experienced solid growth in the years before the 2008 global recession. It joined the EU (European Union) and NATO in 2004; adopted the euro as its currency on January 1, 2007; chaired the European Union for six-months in 2008 and the Council of Europe in 2009; and it became a member of the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development in May 2010. Private property rights are constitutionally guaranteed, but the courts are inadequately staffed and slow. The top income tax rate is 41%, and the corporate tax rate is a flat 20%. Despite progress in streamlining the process for launching a business, other time-consuming requirements reduce regulatory efficiency. With no minimum capital required, launching a business takes only 6 days, but it takes almost 200 days to complete all of the necessary licensing requirements. The labor market remains saddled with rigid labor regulations that hamper dynamic employment growth. Inflation has been low. Page 5 of 204 The trade weighted average tariff rate is low as in other members of the European Union, but layers of complex non-tariff barriers increase the cost of trade. Most sectors of the economy are open to foreign investment, but the overall investment regime lacks efficiency due to lingering bureaucracy. Privatization of state-owned financial institutions has been uneven, and the banking sector has been under strain. Page 6 of 204 GENERAL INFORMATION OF SLOVENIA Official name Republic of Slovenia Capital Ljubljana Area Total: 20,273 sq km, water: 122 sq km, land: 0,151 sq km Climate Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east Location Central Europe, eastern Alps bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia Geographic coordinates 46 07 N, 14 49 E Comparative Area Slightly Smaller than New Jersey Land boundaries Total: 1,334 km border countries: Austria 330 km, Croatia 670 km, Italy 232 km, Hungary 102 km Coastline 46.6 km Terrain A short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east Elevation extremes Lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Triglav 2,864 m Government Parliamentary democratic republic President Danilo Türk (2007) Prime Minister Janez Jansa (2012) Population (2012 est.) 1,996,617 (growth rate: -0.185%); birth rate: 8.76/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.12/1000; life expectancy: 77.48 Page 7 of 204 Literacy rate 99.7% (2010 EST.) Languages Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 5% (2002) Ethnicity/race Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12% (2002 census) Religions Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1% (2002 census) Economic summary GDP/PPP (2011 est.) $58.63 billion; per capita $29,000. Real growth rate -0.2%. Inflation 1.8%. Unemployment 11.8%. Arable land 8.53%. Agriculture potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force 934,700 (2011 est.); agriculture 2.2%, industry 35%, services 62.8%. Industries Ferrous metallurgy and aluminum products lead and zinc smelting; electronics (including military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools. Natural resources lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium, silver, hydropower, forests. Exports $28.77 billion (2011 est.): manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food. Page 8 of 204 Imports $30.58 billion (2011 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, food. Major