The Austrian rules on European FDI-cooperation will enter into
force on October 11, 2020. The ICA affects a wide array of
"sensitive sectors," including, among others:
- energy;
- telecommunications;
- information technology;
- transportation;
- defense;
- finance;
- chemicals;
- foods;
- robotics;
- media; and
- research and development
("R&D") in the medical sector.
FDI in Austrian companies covered by the ICA must be notified to
the Minister of Digital and Economic Affairs and may close only
after the Ministry has cleared them, which will usually take up to
66 days.
Any non-European Economic Area/non-Swiss investors must notify
the following:
- direct or indirect acquisitions of
25% or more or of 50% or more of the share capital of an Austrian
company; an additional lower threshold of 10% applies for companies
active in "highly sensitive sectors," i.e., defense,
critical energy, digital and 5G infrastructure, operators of
systems which are
