German investors have been present in Serbia for two decades, and with about two billion euros of investments so far, Germany is Serbia’s largest bilateral trade partner, Udo Eichlinger, President of the Board of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) and CEO of Siemens Serbia.
He points out that the coronavirus pandemic has not prevented new investments, and that the chamber he heads continues to organize the merger of business partners. Eichlinger stayed in Belgrade from 2002 to 2005 and now notices improvements in the general quality of life in our country. Our interlocutor also reveals that he met his wife in the Serbian capital, he talks about where he likes to go out with his family and what his favorite dishes are.
Germany has been investing in Serbia for years, how many German companies are in Serbia, how many have invested and how many workers have found their way into them?
– German investors have been present in Serbia for a full two decades, and currently almost four hundred German companies operate here, employing about 67,000 people. Germany has so far invested around two billion euros in Serbia, it is the largest bilateral trade partner of your country, and the total trade exchange until November 2020 amounted to 4.8 billion euros.
It is clear that the coronavirus pandemic has a great impact on the economies of all countries. How much does it affect current and future German investors in our country?
– Despite the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Serbia continues to attract foreign investors. Foreign direct investments between January and August 2020 amount to 1.66 billion euros, the Central Bank of Serbia announced. About two thirds of the investments are from EU countries, and the majority from Germany. This year, the German company Brose also started new investments in Serbia. Other companies, such as SMP, have announced additional investments. SMP wants to employ about 450 people at the new location in Cuprija from June 2021. Thus, we can conclude that, despite the pandemic, German-Serbian economic relations have continued to develop well. An additional opportunity to improve relations is reflected in the establishment of supply chains among Serbian companies, since a significant number of German companies, due to the pandemic, are considering moving their production from geographically distant countries to Europe. Serbian companies have proven to be reliable and flexible, and most importantly, they deliver high quality goods and services at competitive prices.
Which economic activities are most interesting for German businessmen?
– The economic sectors in Serbia that are most attractive for German businessmen are the metal processing sector, the energy sector, pharmacy, the construction sector, the furniture industry and the wood industry, the sector of processing and production of plastic materials. Also, I must point out that the IT sector in Serbia is one of the key carriers of the country’s economic development and as such is of course very attractive to Germans because they recognize the competitiveness of the domestic IT sector in the international market. Finally, the information and communication technology sector in Serbia is recording continuous growth, with almost twice as many exports as imports.
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce also organized the merger of business partners, so representatives of German companies came here to look for their suppliers? How much did that affect German investments in Serbia?
– The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the representative offices of the German economy in the Western Balkans (AHK), as well as the German Association for Materials Management, Import and Logistics (BME eV), are organizing the regional B2B project “German Initiative for Finding Suppliers in the Western Balkans Countries”. The goal of the project is for German companies to find producers from sought-after economic areas in Serbia and the Western Balkans. The project concept is based on a B2B – matchmaking mechanism. The interested German companies come mainly from the metal processing sector, the supply sector for the automotive industry, the sector of processing and production of plastic materials. In 2020, more than 30 German companies participated, 154 from the Western Balkans region, and 52 companies from Serbia alone, which presented their business to potential German partners. A total of 340 B2B meetings were held. I believe that these specific figures and data speak more than mere forecasts.
You are also the CEO of Siemens in Belgrade, and you were appointed to that position five years ago. It is interesting that in the period between 2002 and 2005 you also worked in Serbia? How much did returning to Belgrade mean to you?
– It was a great pleasure for me to return to Serbia and start a new phase in my professional career at the helm of CEO Siemens Serbia. For more than 130 years, Siemens has been a reliable partner for Serbia and Serbian development and represents a key player in all areas of its business in energy, industry, transport infrastructure and medicine. I see great business potential in this market, which is confirmed by the large number of companies that come to Serbia. After five years of my return, I can say that the company has remained focused on continued investment, business growth and employment. The best example is the Siemens Mobility factory in Kragujevac, which recently delivered the first 37-meter-long tram to the city of Bremen in Germany, completely assembled and manufactured in Serbia. This is the first in a series of 46 more Avenio trams produced in Serbia that will find its place on the streets of Bremen, and I believe in other most modern cities in Europe.
What has changed in Belgrade since 2002?
– Unlike my first stay in Serbia, this time my life was completed by the presence of family members – wife Jelena, whom I met in Belgrade and son Luka. When it comes to life in Serbia, I have noticed improvements in its overall quality. Starting from ordinary things such as traffic culture, food and wine culture. Before, now for 20 years, the traffic was very bad, people drove carelessly. Pedestrians were running as they crossed the street. Now we can see a lot of progress, in the way we behave, there is more respect, the rules are respected. Also, people drive much better cars, which indicates an increase in the standard of living of the population. The infrastructure is much better. There are cameras everywhere in the center. This means not only greater control but also greater security. Serbia is known for good food and restaurants, but the change compared to a couple of years ago are numerous local producers.
What places do you and your family like to go to?
– Weekends are usually reserved for the family, and we usually spend them in Surduk. It is a place where we all enjoy walking the dogs by the river, maintaining the garden and repairing things in the yard and at home. In the period before the corona, we gladly visited restaurants with friends or in a good winery, of which Serbia has many.
What are your favorite Serbian dishes and do you listen to Serbian music? What is your favorite song if you have one?
– Honestly, I am a big fan of Serbian cuisine, especially cooked dishes that are eaten with a spoon, so I can’t say that I have a favorite dish. At home, together with my wife Jelena, we mostly adapt to the tastes dictated by our son Luka. When it comes to songs, as in the kitchen, there are numerous influences from other cultures. What I really like is that young people here also know all 30-year-old domestic songs by heart. My feeling is that knowing the songs speaks about the identity of a nation as well as the fact that you sing them with a lot of emotions. I really like that.
In one interview, you said that you like spending time in your small house in Srem on the banks of the Danube. Is that still the case?
– With the exception of the previous year, which was very specific and the time in which we live, imposes a very fast pace due to numerous obligations. I think it is important that every person has their own little oasis from which they draw energy. For me, it is my house in Srem, as it is said here. At the same time, that house was a place where we spent most of the isolation during the corona, and when a person is in contact with nature, everything is simply a little easier.
Will 2021 be economically better for us and what are your expectations?
– This year, it is expected that the Serbian economy will return to the level before the crisis. The decisive factor for that will be how the state will cope with the third corona wave and how fast the vaccination of the population will take place. Strengthening international supply relations is becoming very important. However, that depends on the economic situation in the European Union. So, at this moment, it is still uncertain to talk about any economic forecasts. But, it is certainly certain that German companies will continue to invest in Serbia.
The diaspora connects the two countries
A large number of Serbian citizens work in Germany. How strong is the link between the two countries and the basis for even stronger economic cooperation?
– The Serbian diaspora in Germany is a well-integrated community that certainly contributes to the improvement of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) belongs to the system of German foreign trade and industrial chambers with 140 offices in 92 countries around the world. Since the founding of the then Delegation of the German Economy in Serbia and the German-Serbian Business Association in 2001, it has offered numerous interesting services. AHK Serbia was officially founded on April 14, 2016.
