Businessman Zoran Drakulic and actor Nenad Okanovic have started negotiating on the construction of a wooden pallet factory near Zvornik, worth about 5 million euros. As daily paper Blic learns, the Government of the Republic of Srpska will offer Drakulic and Okanovic the most favorable terms of use of the land.
The profitability and safety of operations in Srpska are higher than in Serbia because our neighbors have the annual inflation of 0.4% and stable exchange rate. When compared to Serbia, both VAT and tax on salaries are lower as well, and Drakulic would also be able to save significantly on transport costs. The price of pallets per truck that transports them from the Republic of Srpska to Italy is about 250 euros lower.
– We see some good investment opportunities in the Republic of Srpska. We expect local authorities to offer us good terms, but it is still too early to speak about details – Blic learns from Zoran Drakulic who also has a pallet factory in the vicinity of Belgrade.
Actor Nenad Okanovic already owns a pallet factory in Zvornik. When asked how much the state has helped him in starting that family business, he says that the authorities have recognized seriousness of the investment and that there have been no administrative obstacles.
Over the last three years, domestic investors have been investing outside Serbia more frequently. The capital mainly goes to the production of textile, lumber and chemical industry, primarily in Kazakhstan and China, Bulgaria and other neighboring countries.
Easier export of goods to the EU was an official reason for relocation of the production of Gorki List to Slovenia. Precizion from Cacak, which produces paper, has relocated its production to China, while Dunav Trade Group has started the pasta production in Hungary.
There are many reasons for the outflow of capital, economists claim. It is true that we have a favorable VAT and tax on salaries, but we also have a complex administration, high inflation rate and unstable foreign currency exchange rate.
The advantages of Serbia
– educated and cheap manpower
– free export to the countries of SEE, Russia, Belarus and Turkey
– strategic position
– the lowest profit tax rate in Europe – 10%
– VAT – 18%
The advantages of Srpska
– inflation – 0.4%
– VAT – 17%
– tax on profit – 10%
– tax on income – 8%
– contributions – 30.6% of gross salary
– stability of the national currency
Source Ekapija.com
