Serbia was Montenegro’s largest individual foreign investor in the first eight months of 2026, with 121 million euros, while more than half of total inflows went into real estate and about 14% into domestic companies and banks. The investment figures show a gap between capital directed to property and the smaller share reaching businesses and financial institutions.
The European Union accounted for about 31% of total foreign direct investment in the period, but it was not the dominant source overall. Among the five largest countries by total investment, Germany was the only EU member, while the four EU countries among the top 10 together invested about 102 million euros, 19 million euros less than Serbia.
The Montenegro Investment Agency (MIA) and the Ministry of Economic Development said they were not responsible for answering a series of questions about investment flows and their structure. The figures also show different patterns across sectors: Serbia led overall investment and property investment, while EU countries together provided a larger share of investment in domestic companies and banks.
Property receives more than half of inflows
Real estate accounted for about 50% of foreign direct investment in the first eight months of 2026, the same share recorded in 2025, 2024 and 2023. The property share was therefore substantially larger than the 14.2% allocated to companies and banks by August 2026.
Serbia was the biggest individual investor in property, putting in 78.7 million euros, almost a quarter of the total investment in the category through August. EU member states collectively invested about 89 million euros in real estate, or around 28% of the category’s total.
The distribution means that the largest country-level investor in the overall figures was also the leading individual investor in property. Serbia’s 78.7 million euros in property investment formed a substantial part of its 121 million euros in total investment over the eight-month period.
EU countries’ combined 89 million euros in property investment was greater than the 78.7 million euros recorded for Serbia alone. The comparison is between a group of countries and one country; the EU total represented about 28% of all property investment, while Serbia’s amount was almost one-quarter.
Investment in domestic companies and banks amounted to 89.06 million euros in the first eight months of 2026. Serbia supplied about 28.8 million euros, equal to 32.36% of that category, a larger individual-country share than any other source identified in the figures.
That domestic-business total was close to the EU’s combined property investment of about 89 million euros, but the two amounts refer to different categories. The first covers investment in domestic companies and banks; the second covers real estate.
Five EU members — the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Germany and Malta — were among the 10 largest investors in domestic companies and banks. Together they invested about 30.06 million euros, only 1.26 million euros more than Serbia’s contribution to that category.
On an individual-country basis, EU members accounted for approximately 41% of investment in domestic companies and banks, or about 36.48 million euros. The figures list 19 other EU members separately; 18 of them invested less than 1 million euros each in the category during the eight-month period.
EU share falls from earlier years
The Chamber of Economy of Montenegro said the EU’s share of foreign direct investment had declined in recent years compared with the period immediately after Montenegro’s independence in 2006. Average annual EU investment was about 504 million euros, or approximately 57% of total inflows, from 2006 to 2010.
From 2021 to 2025, average annual investment from the EU was about 312 million euros, with a share of around 32%. The comparison shows a lower annual amount and a smaller share than in the first five years after independence, although the figures cover different periods.
The Chamber said the initial investment wave was supported by privatisation, the opening of the market and investor confidence. It listed the global financial crisis, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, local political changes and tax-system changes among factors that slowed investment.
Germany was the only EU member among Montenegro’s five largest overall investors in the first eight months of 2026. The Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Germany and Malta were among the top 10 investors in domestic companies and banks, while Germany, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Italy together invested about 102 million euros across the economy.
That combined amount from the four EU members was 19 million euros below Serbia’s 121 million euros. The EU’s overall contribution was about 31% of foreign direct investment, showing that its collective presence did not translate into the largest share of total inflows in the period.
Investment in companies and banks has been declining continuously since 2021, although the share allocated to companies recovered by August 2026. It stood at a record low of about 11% in 2023, was around 12% in each of the next two years and had risen to 14.2% by August 2026.
Across the longer comparison, investment in banks and companies represented 46% of total inflows from 2006 to 2010 and about 16% from 2021 to 2025. The more recent 14.2% figure for the first eight months of 2026 is for companies and banks, while the historical figures refer to the broader category as stated in the data.
From 2022 to the end of 2025, Russia had cumulatively invested the most in domestic companies and businesses, although it began withdrawing from 2025, with Serbia in second place. Cyprus, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were also among the 10 largest investors in that segment over the period.
EU countries together supplied 40% of total investment in domestic banks and companies from 2022 to the end of 2025, making them the largest source of foreign capital for that segment when treated as one group. That longer-period result contrasts with the ranking of individual countries, where Russia led overall investment in domestic businesses for the period and Serbia ranked second.
Business climate and investment screening
Economist Mirza Krnić of the Preokret Movement said Montenegro was developing an unstable and unpredictable environment in which investment was risky. He pointed in particular to the announced wage increases under the government’s Euro Model programme.
Krnić said higher costs could make domestic products less competitive and make it harder to attract investment. In his view, wage growth needed to be accompanied by higher productivity and the creation of new value.
He also warned that wages could not rise over the long term solely on the basis of government decisions without a corresponding foundation in the economy. Krnić said such increases would eventually lose their value if they were not supported by economic activity.
The American Chamber of Commerce said investment development required strong and transparent institutions, clear rules, consistent application of the rule of law and predictability. It also called for transparent legal procedures that provide investors with security.
The Montenegrin government adopted a proposal on 30 July 2026 to establish an effective foreign direct investment screening mechanism. The stated purpose was to protect the state’s strategic interests and align the system with European standards.
The American Chamber of Commerce welcomed the proposal but said screening mechanisms should not become an additional obstacle to investment. It said the policy needed to balance protection of national interests with a stable, open and competitive business environment.
At the government’s 135th session in July 2026, the European agenda was presented as the central framework for economic policy and an important driver of growth, investment and reform. The government’s proposal for investment screening was also framed around alignment with European standards.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić described the EU as Montenegro’s most important strategic partner and largest investor at the EU–Montenegro 2025 Investment Conference. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended the conference.
Krnić said closer integration with the EU could increase investor confidence, but would not by itself change the calculations of businesses considering production in Montenegro. His point came alongside the figures showing that EU member states collectively accounted for about 31% of total investment in the first eight months of 2026.
Calls to attract capital beyond property
The Foreign Investors Council said real estate investment had contributed to the development of tourism, construction and related activities. It also said long-term sustainable economic growth required attracting more capital to sectors with higher added value.
The council identified energy, sustainable tourism, information and communications technology, and food production as sectors for attracting investment. It said energy already had good examples of investment with significant long-term development potential.
Krnić said buying an apartment could generate income for its owner and some tax revenue for the state, but did not create additional value, a production facility or new technology. He added that property purchases did not create a significant number of jobs, apart from the possibility of a small number of positions in real estate agencies.
The figures show the scale of the sectoral divide: property took about half of total inflows in the first eight months of 2026, while domestic companies and banks received 14.2%. The real estate share had remained around 50% in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025 as well.
Serbia’s 78.7 million euros in property investment was almost a quarter of the category’s total, while EU members collectively invested about 89 million euros in that sector. In domestic companies and banks, Serbia provided about 28.8 million euros out of 89.06 million euros, and EU members supplied approximately 36.48 million euros when counted individually.
Those category figures place the investment mix alongside the overall country ranking: Serbia invested 121 million euros, while Germany, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Italy together contributed about 102 million euros. Turkey invested 52 million euros, the United Arab Emirates 49 million euros, the United States 43 million euros, Switzerland 38 million euros and Bosnia and Herzegovina 25 million euros.
EU members’ 40% share of investment in domestic banks and companies from 2022 to the end of 2025 shows a larger collective role in that segment over the longer period than their 31% share of all investment in the first eight months of 2026. The figures for the latest period also show that 18 of the 19 other EU members listed individually invested less than 1 million euros in companies and banks.
The government’s investment-screening proposal, the Chamber’s account of a reduced EU share and the Foreign Investors Council’s call for investment in higher-value sectors all concern the direction and conditions of future capital flows. The figures available for the first eight months of 2026 show that real estate remained the largest destination, while domestic companies and banks received 14.2% of inflows.
