Austrian industry relies on foreign investments – A look at Asia!

Austrian industry relies on foreign investments – A look at Asia!

As part of the CxO Priorities study by the management consultancy Horváth, over 1,000 board and management members of large companies worldwide revealed their investment plans. In this study, which was carried out from March to June 2025, around 90 companies from Austria were surveyed. The results show that Austrian industry is facing comprehensive challenges and relocations. Loud medianet The companies surveyed plan to only make 18% of their investment expenditure in Austria over the next five years.

A large part of future investments will be relocated abroad. Over a third of planned spending will go to Asian markets, with 14% going to China and 11% to India. 20% of the investments are also earmarked for Eastern Europe. The pressure of global competition is forcing Austrian companies to invest in regions with lower labor costs, less bureaucracy and attractive local subsidies.

Strategic reasons for relocations

In North America, the domestic industry plans to realize around 15% of its total investments by 2025. Companies that expand into the U.S. often do so because of market potential, stable supply chains, and fewer bureaucratic hurdles. It turns out that US tariffs are having a noticeable impact on business development, but many companies are already producing locally in the US in order to meet local requirements.

The uncertainties in economic relations with the USA are also motivating numerous Austrian companies to invest more in other European countries. Another third of total spending remains within Europe, but outside Austria. As China and India grow in importance as major investment destinations, the priority of optimizing cost structure has also increased.

Further challenges and priorities

In the CxO Priorities study, it became clear that optimizing the cost structure has the highest priority. Cyber ​​security, innovation, digital transformation and personnel-related topics follow in second place. While sustainability has lost strategic importance internationally and has fallen from 6th place to 11th place, it remains important for Austrian companies and takes 6th place.

The study includes participants from 15 industries and 34 countries, with 80% of the companies surveyed generating annual sales of over 100 million euros. It is clear that Austrian industry is facing a fundamental change that is shaped by international conditions and economic challenges. Additional information on the results of the study can also be found at loebellnordberg.com.