Central & Eastern Europe

Investors looking to build in Bulgaria will find government incentives and low-cost labor, but also a skills shortage.

Lithuania's laser focus attracts new investment.

Tiny Estonia’s focus on high-end value has brought success in attracting foreign investment.

The Euro is increasingly popular because of its stability.

Cryptocurrencies face increasing regulation.

One Hungarian is helping innovators come together and get started.

Innovators, especially from smaller countries, are overcoming the region’s odds.

New EU rules on data privacy come into effect this month.

Thriving regardless of home-base conditions: The CEE economic outlook varies country-by-country, but financial-services providers have risen above local issues by embracing fintech and selling off bad loans.

Johann Strobl, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), talks about the positive results from the bank’s digital and structural transformations.

Romania has a troublesome reputation but robust growth, and is working to raise its game through the tech industry and improvements to the business environment.

With popular elected leaders and strong growth in their economies, the sometimes-feisty CEE nations are standing tall—and keeping an eye on corruption and labor costs.

Slovakia's new prime minister Peter Pellegrini is struggling the escape the shadow of his predecessor who was forced to resign after the murder of a journalist investigating corrupt politicians.

New resource-extraction operations, Russia’s economic recovery and Asian investment are lifting prospects across the Caucasus.

As the Mediterranean island nation's economy has stabilized, so too have its banks.

Vienna has positioned Austria well to benefit from CEE growth that seems ready to take off after years of stagnation.

Czech PM Babiš is an outspoken billionaire while the Polish PM, Morawiecki, is more of a technician, who negotiated Poland’s accession to EU before going on to chair Bank Zachodni WBK, part of the Santander Group.

Turkey’s geographic and economic position in the middle—between East and West, developing and developed—has made it a hub for multinationals.

They are expected to grow by an average 3.3% this year, 0.9% higher than May’s forecast and a big improvement over last year’s 1.9% growth.

Large multinationals are edged out of Europe’s top 50 by midsize banks that are based in developed economies and offer global service.