In this paper, the trends and the geographic and sectoral structure of Czech outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) are analyzed. OFDI flows out of the Czech Republic accelerated in 2009 and 2010, and OFDI stock reached EUR 11 billion. The sectoral breakdown of OFDI broadened to include energy and services, in addition to manufacturing and sales activities. Geographically, domestic investors maintained their traditional link with neighboring Slovakia and invested in countries with a favorable business environment, but they also focused on countries with a large market potential. To date, the largest OFDI has been the investment of Zentiva in 2007 in the Turkish pharmaceutical company Eczacibasi Generic Pharmaceuticals. Zentiva paid about EUR 460 million for 75 percent of the shares of the Turkish company. The second-largest investment in the history of Czech OFDI was made by Czech energy company CEZ, which invested about EUR 270 million in two Polish power stations. These cases are described in more detail in the second part of the paper, along with the OFDI of Škoda Auto car factory, the most important manufacturing firm in the Czech Republic.
