Serbia is an attractive destination for investments by foreign companies, and lately more and more for German investors, due to the incentives provided by the government and the quality workforce of our market, said the director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Mihailo Vesović.
He said that our country is particularly interesting for German investors and that recently Serbia was among 34 countries for which the German government introduced measures that make investments by German companies in those countries simpler and cheaper.
For example, if a German company invests in a developing country or a rapidly developing country, it can apply for investment guarantees or insurance from the German government.
“This decision of the German government means that it wants to reduce the risk of its companies and to encourage them to invest more in those markets where there may be a greater risk,” Vesović said.
It is a diversification strategy of the German government that aims to reduce heavy dependence on certain markets and bottlenecks in supply chains. Vesović emphasized that German companies have invested more than three billion euros in Serbia in the last 10 to 12 years.
Improving cooperation
Answering the question of what Serbia could improve when it comes to future cooperation with German companies, Vesović stated that the lack of manpower is currently a problem faced by companies operating in Serbia, but also in the Balkans.
“For example, if a German company wants to expand its capacities or open another part of its factory, it has a problem finding a sufficient number of workers.”
According to him, this information sends a clear message that we should move towards less labor-intensive branches when it comes to future investments, in contrast to 10 years ago.
“It is also necessary to establish development research centers for automation for some specific industries, where automation and digitization are more applied, and where the number of employees is smaller,” explained Vesović.
He also emphasized that large multinational companies that come and invest in Serbia want to buy as much as possible on the local market, because they do not want to put themselves at risk, to have their supply chains interrupted.
Sign up for business updates & specials
