Large infrastructure and capital projects in Serbia involving Chinese companies will continue in 2021, but Chinese investments in real business can be expected, such as investments in real estate, logistics centers, food production and various cooperatives in the field of agriculture, despite that Serbia has a problem of fragmentation of farms.
This is what the director of the office for Eastern Europe of the Chinese company Tojoy, Tomislav Despic, who works in Belgrade as a platform for connecting Serbian and Chinese companies, says.
Investments in medicine and health are also possible, because corona has put that in focus – mobile clinics, portable medical devices, supplements, said Despic in an interview for Magazin Business.
He adds that tourism will also be an important link in the cooperation between the two countries. Also, Serbian companies have a chance on the Chinese market.
As he stated, there is a very wide range of products that the Chinese want: from primary agricultural products, through cosmetics, pet food, branded toys, clothes, to sophisticated technologies, applied artificial intelligence and green technologies. The advantage of cooperation with China, as he says, is that that country creates two-way cooperation.
“President Xi Ji Ping said at the 17 + 1 online summit in February this year that China intends to import goods and services worth more than 170 billion dollars from CEE countries in the next five years. China always wants a strong and reliable partner because it sees its strength in that,” Despic points out.
He adds that Chinese companies are most interested in market capacity, partner reliability and potential for long-term cooperation.
“They are entering new markets cautiously, but with a clear intention to stay in them for a long time. So far, cooperation has developed in various fields: real estate, construction, tourism and logistics, and they are interested in cooperation in the food sector and chemical industry.”
Also, Despic states that there are our companies that already operate in China in the segments of logistics, consulting and legal services, sports management, art.
“There are also specific business niches, for example quality control offices. Namely, our importers have created a demand for this type of service. On the other hand, the number of classic exporters is growing, primary agricultural products have been started, but now contacts have been established and for the export of food and confectionery products, wine and other alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and preparations on a natural basis. Providing sufficient quantities is always a challenge,” said Despic.
When asked if there are Chinese companies in Serbia in the segment of small and medium enterprises and in which areas, he said that there are no precise data, but that their number varies from 6,000 to 8,000.
Small and medium enterprises, he adds, follow the big players and come on the wings of large investments.
“These are not only commercial shops, but also companies in the field of real estate and construction – contractors, investors, manufacturers in the chemical industry (rubber and plastics), furniture production, trade in technical devices to branded textiles. The arrival of Chinese pandemic companies has slowed down a bit, but I I am sure that the arrival will continue,” stated Despic, RTV reports.
