Serbian Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkic said in Jagodina Thursday that anyone who invests EUR 10,000,000 in Serbia and employs at least 200 workers will be exempt from taxes on profits for ten years. “The idea is to bring to Jagodina and all other regions new investors who will build new factories, but also to see how we can reopen factories constructed in Tito’s Yugoslavia,” Dinkic said.
According to Dinkic, the global company Vibac, which has three production plants, two in Italy and one in Canada, plans to make a two-stage investment amounting to between EUR 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 in Jagodina this year. The company plans to build a modern factory that will employ up to between 200 and 300 workers.
It will be the biggest foreign investment in Jagodina and the third coming from Italy, said Dinkic, pointing out that Vibac opted for Jagodina because of its good geographic location, free land and infrastructure, and because “the government wants to support capital intensive investment such as this one.
Dinkic said that yet another reason behind Vibac opting for Serbia is that there are not any customs barriers with Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries.
“We support this investment and expect to sign a contract at the beginning of March and to start the construction in spring,” said Dinkic.
Welcoming the guests, including representatives of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) and Vibac Group CEO Patrizio Masini, Chairman of the Jagodina City Assembly Dragan Markovic thanked Dinkic for “economic decentralization and equitable development of all regions in Serbia.”
Noting that at least 12,000 employees lost their jobs in Jagodina between 2000 and 2004, Markovic pointed out that three plants, two Italian and a Russian one, will be opened in Jagodina this year, stressing that the arrival of Vibac means a lot to the city.
Patrizio Masini said he believes that he has negotiated good conditions for investment in Jagodina with Dinkic and Markovic and that he will propose the project to his company’s executive board.
Vibac produces polypropylene films, polypropylene adhesive and masking tapes.
Source Tanjug
