CzechInvest was established in 1992 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade as the Investment and Business Development Agency

Investment promotion agency

An investment promotion agency is most often a government agency whose mission is to attract investment to a country, state, region or city...

 of the Czech Republic. The agency contributes to attracting foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...

 and developing domestic companies through its services and development programmes. CzechInvest also promotes the Czech Republic abroad and acts as an intermediary between the EU and small and medium-sized enterprises in implementing Structural funds

Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds

The Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund are financial tools set up to implement the Cohesion policy also referred to as the Regional policy of the European Union. They aim to reduce regional disparities in terms of income, wealth and opportunities...

 in the Czech Republic.

Mission

CzechInvest's main objective is to advise and support existing and new entrepreneurs and foreign investors in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic under the leadership of CzechInvest has as of 2010 attracted foreign direct investment worth more than USD 25 billion. The country is recognized as one of the most successful states in terms of luring investment. The latest Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....

 Attractivenes survey denotes the Czech Republic as the 14th most attractive country for future foreign direct investment in the world. According to the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

, CzechInvest runs the best web pages among all investment promotion agencies of the world.

Activities

CzechInvest is exclusively authorized to file applications for investment incentives at the competent governing bodies and prepares draft offers to grant investment incentives. The agency also administers all of the business related and many of science related Structural funds for the Czech Republic. Its task is also to provide potential investors current data and information on business climate, investment environment and investment opportunities in the Czech Republic.

CzechInvest provides all its services free of charge. Activities include:

• comprehensive services for investors
• full information assistance
• handling of investment incentives
• business properties identification
• supplier identification
• aftercare services
• business infrastructure development
• access to structural funds

Locations abroad

CzechInvest has 7 foreign offices located in:

• London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  , England, for United Kingdom and Ireland
• Shanghai
  Shanghai
  Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
  
  , China, for China and South-East Asia
• Tokyo
  Tokyo
  , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
  
  , Japan, for Japan
• Munich
  Munich
  Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
  
  , Germany, for Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  , United States, for United states
• Sunnyvale, California
  Sunnyvale, California
  Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
  
  , United States, for United states
• Flying Region, Scandinavia, for Scandinavia

The agency also has its office in every regional capital

Regions of the Czech Republic

According to Czech Law no. 129/2000 , which replaced paragraph 1/1993 of the Czech Constitution on Vyšší územně správních celcích , the Czech Republic has consisted of thirteen regions and one capital city with regional status since 1 January 2000...

of the Czech Republic

External links

• CzechInvest official site
• Investment projects mediated by CzechInvest.