In the last decade, Serbia has encountered numerous demanding economic reforms that it had to implement in order to ensure a safer future and a better standard of living for its citizens.
Through complete and structural reforms of the system and economic parameters, Serbia has now positioned itself as one of the most important investment destinations in Central and Eastern Europe, which only 10 years ago it could not have guessed would be. The economic plan of reforms, which was actively implemented by the team led by the current president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, showed success through better results from year to year. Serbia has unquestionably improved its economic position, credit rating, but also investment risk. The Republic of Serbia is now recognized in economic circles as a country of leaders in economic growth and an oasis of investment locations.
The list of companies operating in Serbia from year to year is getting longer and longer and it includes the names of world-renowned companies such as Robert Bosch, Michelin, Siemens, ZF, Panasonic, NCR, Microsoft, Gorenje, Brose, Continental, Magna, Cooper Tires, Johnson Controls, Johnson Electric, Leoni, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Yazaki, Eaton, Stada, Swarovski, Aunde, Calzedonia, Mei Ta, Schneider Electric, Geox, Tarkett, Ling Long, Adient, Minth, Toyo Tires, MTU, Barry Callebaut, as well as many others.
According to the IBM Global Location Trends 2020 report, for the fourth year in a row, the Republic of Serbia is the world leader in the number of jobs created through foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2019, and in terms of population. According to the criterion of the number of created new jobs (regardless of the size of the population) through FDI, the realization of which began in 2019, Serbia took the high 5th place among European countries.
In 2020, Serbia ranked first in Europe in the number of foreign direct investments in relation to the size of the economy, it was pointed out in the annual report published by FDI Intelligence (FDI Report 2020), part of the British newspaper “Financial Times”.
In the past few years, through the share of 16 foreign investments and the opening of new factories, 62,189 new jobs have been provided, and those sixteen companies have invested more than 1,482,300,000 euros in our country.
During 2021, new investment projects will be implemented that will increase these numbers, and we present the 16 largest investments in the previous decade of Serbia:
Johnson Electric company has been operating in Serbia since 2013 and has so far invested more than 65 million euros in our country. 3,400 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are employed in the process of creating products that are aimed at the largest car manufacturers and brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Reanult.
The Robert Bosch company has been operating in Serbia since 2013 and has so far invested more than 100 million euros in our country. 2,237 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are employed in the process of creating car wiper systems.
The Kromberg & Schubert company has been operating in Serbia since 2018 and has so far invested more than 29 million euros in our country. 4,000 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are employed in the production of automotive components, because this company is a global supplier of cable systems, cables and injection molding technology.
Magna Seating company has been operating in Serbia since 2013 and has so far invested more than 14 million euros in our country. 2,250 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are employed in the production of car seat covers.
Leoni company has been operating in Serbia since 2009, when the first factory in Prokuplje was built, but it expanded its business, so the second factory was opened in 2014, the third in 2017, and the last in Kraljevo was opened in 2021. So far, it has invested more than 170 million euros in our country. 14,000 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are employed in the production of cable sets for cars.
In 2021, the NCR company opened a new business center of this American company in Serbia. So far, it has invested more than 100 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 7,500 people. The workers are employed in providing high-quality and professional support to companies in various industries, including companies in the field of finance, tourism, catering, telecommunications, entertainment, games of chance, public sector and telecommunications.
Continental Automotive Serbia company has been operating since 2019 and has so far invested more than 140 million euros in our country. 3,000 people are employed within the factories of this investor. Workers are developing solutions for passenger cars and commercial vehicles for Continental’s Vehicle networking and information division.
IKEA is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2017 and has so far invested more than 70 million euros in our country. 416 people are employed within the company of this investor. The workers are employed within the world’s largest furniture retail chain.
Yazaki is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2017 and has so far invested more than 25 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 3,203 workers. Workers are employed in the production of cables for the automotive industry.
Siemens is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 1996 and has so far invested more than 100 million euros in our country. During 2018, this company opened a new factory in Serbia for light rail vehicles for the European market, and it employs more than 2,000 workers in Serbia.
Nidec Corporation is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2021 and has so far invested more than 73 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 480 workers. Workers are employed in the production of propulsion engines for electric vehicles.
Aptive Packard is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2018 and has so far invested more than 50 million euros in our country. Within the company of this investor, 8,680 workers are employed. Workers are employed in the production of electrical installations for the automotive industry.
Lidl is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2018 and has so far invested more than 205 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 1,680 workers. The workers are employed in the stores of the German retail chain and its Logistics Center.
Mind Park is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2018 and has so far invested more than 170 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 4,000 workers. Workers in one of the factories of this group are employed in the production of parts for rail vehicles.
Teklas Automotive is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2016 and has so far invested more than 11 million euros in our country. The company of this investor employs 2,100 workers. Workers in one of the factories of this group are employed in the production of car parts.
Mei Ta Europe is a company that has been operating in Serbia since 2017 and has so far invested more than 160 million euros in our country. 3,243 workers are employed within the company of this investor. Workers in one of the factories of this group are employed in the production of automobile parts, engine parts and general industrial parts.
Serbia can also be said to be an investment gem because of its geographical position, because it is located between East and West and represents an unavoidable crossroads. The most important roads that connect Europe and Asia intersect on the territory of Serbia. An additional benefit is that Serbia has provided a high-quality and educated workforce, so there is no shortage of experts for new jobs. In recent years, much more has been invested in capital-intensive projects in Serbia, which reduces unemployment.
The Republic of Serbia recognized in time the need to adjust the economic and educational system to the needs of the economy, as well as the necessity of implementing economic reforms, which gave phenomenal results and activated economic prosperity, Srbija Danas reports.
