CzechInvest predicts fall in 2001 FDI

The government's investment agency CzechInvest says the volume of foreign direct investment is beginning to weaken, and the figure for 2001 is likely to be well below 2000's $4.6 billion. In 1999, FDI - which helps the country tackle its high foreign trade gap - reached a total of $6.3 billion. The single largest investment project announced in 2001 was the planned car assembly plant in the town of Kolin, about an hour's drive from Prague. The giant plant, to be built by Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroen, is worth 1.5 billion euros.