Austria is an EU member and currently the 12th richest country in the world. It has experienced sustained economic growth and attracts many foreign investors. Austria is home to internationally reputable law firms and banks, and has a vibrant tourism sector.
Austria’s Main Industries
Austria is economically known for its strength in:
- Services Sector
- Financial
- Banking
- Asset management
- Law
- Financial
- Tourism
- Industrial and Manufacturing Sector
- Metals Production
- Iron
- Steel
- Metals Production
- Machinery
- Electric
- Electronic
- Equipment
- Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals
- Synthetic textile fabrics
- Pesticides
- Pharmaceuticals
- Plastics
- Textiles
- Embroidery
- Spinning
- Weaving
- Knitting
- Forestry Sector
- Pulp
- Paper
- Mining and Minerals Sector
- Magnesite
- Lignite
- Iron Ore
The main stock exchange in Austria is:
- 1. Vienna Stock Exchange
- Austria’s principal stock exchange
- Operated by the company Wiener Börse
- Core trading activities are equity and bond markets
- Also separately operates the Energy Exchange Austria and the CEGH Gas Exchange
- Main Index
i. ATX
Glimpse into Austria’s Equity Market
Austrian equities have experienced a strong recovery following the recent recession, with the Market Capitalization of its listed companies increasing by 26% from $53.6 billion in 2009 to $67.7 billion in 2010.
In 2010, the Vienna Stock Exchange had 10 IPOs issued by domestic and foreign enterprises.
| Stock Index Performance: ATX |
| Values: | |||||||||||
| Last | -1 Mo. | -3 Mo. | -6 Mo. | -9 Mo. | -1 Yr. | -3 Yr. | -5 Yr. | -10 Yr. | |||
| 6/10/2011 | 5/10/2011 | 3/10/2011 | 12/10/2010 | 9/10/2010 | 6/10/2010 | 6/10/2008 | 6/12/2006 | 6/11/2001 | |||
| Price | 2,707.50 | 2,864.00 | 2,806.83 | 2,829.99 | 2,487.27 | 2,338.71 | 4,166.44 | 3,487.03 | 1,227.00 | ||
| Performance: | |||||||||||
| YTD | -1 Mo. | -3 Mo. | -6 Mo. | -9 Mo. | -1 Yr. | -3 Yr. | -5 Yr. | -10 Yr. | |||
| Value Change | -24438.00 | -156.50 | -99.33 | -122.49 | 220.23 | 368.79 | -1,458.94 | -779.53 | 1,480.50 | ||
| % Change | -5.46% | -3.54% | -4.33% | 8.85% | 15.77% | -35.02% | -22.55% | 118.72% | |||
Source: Datastream
Austria’s 10 Most Profitable Companies in 2010
| Rank | Company | Sector | Industry | Symbol/Ticker | Profit ($ mil) | Revenue ($ mil) |
| 1 | Raiffeisen Bank International AG | Banks | Financials | RBI-VI | 1,458.88 | 12,853.72 |
| 2 | OMV AG | Oil&Gas | Energy | OMV-VI | 1235 | 31,289.03 |
| 3 | Erste Group Bank AG | Banks | Financials | EBS-VI | 1,172.9 | 15,954.51 |
| 4 | Voestalpine AG | Metals&Mining | Materials | VOE-VI | 727.57 | 15,544.3 |
| 5 | Verbund AG | Electric Utilities | Utilities | VER-VI | 537.68 | 4,437.64 |
| 6 | Wiener Stadtische Versicherung AG | Insurance | Financials | VIG-VI | 509.45 | 12,533.49 |
| 7 | EVN AG | Electric Utilities | Utilities | EVN-VI | 282.53 | 3,757.19 |
| 8 | Telekom Austria AG | Diversified Telecommunications | Telecommunication Services | TKA-VI | 262.07 | 6,239.23 |
| 9 | Andritz AG | Machinery | Industrials | ANDR-VI | 240.92 | 4,767.5 |
| 10 | Strabag SE | Construction&Engineering | Industrial | STR-VI | 234.58 | 16,610.17 |
Ways to Invest in Austria
There are a couple of different ways to invest in Austrian companies:
- Through established foreign and domestic investment or financial firms with brokerage services
- Through a regional Austrian bank
- Investors can access Austrian equities through Austrian banks
- Bank Austria
- Ostereichische Postsparkasse (P.S.K)
- Raiffeisenbanken
- Austrian ETFs
- EWO: NYSEArce – tracks the MSCI Austria Investable Market Index
- Through some international online brokers:
- MB Trading
- Interactive Brokers
- TD Ameritrade
- E-Trade
- Questrade
- optionsXpress
- optionshouse
- tradeMONSTER
- Charles Schwab
- Investors can access Austrian equities through Austrian banks
Trailing Stop Loss Tips
Expected Return
Types of Business Ownership
