Labels:text | font | screenshot | black and white OCR: Strengths Large manufacturing base. Strong chemical and petrochemical industries. Electrical engineering sector, textiles and wood processing industries. Highly skilled labor force. Tourism an important foreign currency earner. Weaknesses Lacks natural resources. Reliant on imported raw materials, particularly oil and gas. High levels of subsidies to state-owned industry. Weak and overregulated banking system. Profile Austria's industrial and high-tech sector is highly developed and contributes around 25% to GDP. Some services, notably tourism, are highly sophisticated and profitable. However, the Austrian economy suffers from a weak banking sector. This is partly due to the high level of state subsidies to industry, which has in turn meant that there has been little demand for flexible private finance. The banking system is likely to suffer the stiffest competition now that Austria has joined the EU. Austrian banks have begun to merge in preparation for the challenge. There will, however, be benefits from EU membership. Prices for many products, particularly food and books, will fall. The Austrian labor market will see an influx of immigrant labor more willing to accept flexible working arrangements and lower wages. There will probably be an increase in foreign investment, as more multinationals locate their headquarters for East European operations in Austria.
