Some 3 billion dollars of direct foreign investments could flow into Serbia this year, which is an excellent result, bearing in mind the effects of the global economic crisis. Serbia is an attractive destination for investors, which has been confirmed by international institutions in their regular annual reports, the director of the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency – SIEPA, Božidar Laganin, said, announcing the arrival of big companies and well-known world brands. More from Biljana Blanuša.
The interest of foreign investors in Serbia is still strong, despite the global financial crisis. If one considers the fact that the crisis has led to a drop in investment potentials worldwide, this interest in Serbia bears special weight, emphasized Laganin. SIEPA is cooperating with more than 100 companies interested in the Serbian market at the moment. The projects are of high value. The investments are estimated at hundreds of millions of euros and are able to generate many work positions.
Commenting on the latest report of the UN Conference for Trade and Development – UNCTAD, on the basis of which Serbia has, in the past two years, been at the first position when it comes to the number of direct foreign investments in the region, Laganin assessed that as a good signal for other investors. This confirms that Serbia has been achieving good results in the field of foreign investments. UNCTAD ranked Serbia among the countries attracting investments that amount to between one billion and five billion dollars annually. Besides, representatives of companies already doing business in Serbia are satisfied with the business setting here and many of them have decided to make additional investments in our country. Agreements such as CEFTA and EFTA, agreements on free trade with Russia and central Asian countries, etc. have been signed and an agreement on free trade with Ukraine is to follow soon. All that represents a large potential for attracting new investors.
Laganin stressed that it is the business policy of SIEPA not to disclose the names of companies they are negotiating with until the final agreement has been reached, but he announced the arrival of world famous brands in Serbia by the end of the year. There has been public rumour that one of them is a mutinational company in the metal industry field, which is to invest some 600 million EUR and employ at least 1,000 workers.
As for investments that are already certain, the opening of the fourth factory of South Korean company „Jura“ in Leskovac, southern Serbia, to employ 1,500 workers, has been announced. German company Kontinental is to make a Greenfield investment in Subotica, northern Serbia, which is worth 10 million EUR and 253 new work positions will be opened. Six companies, FIAT’s suppliers, are arriving in Kragujevac, central Serbia, and are to build factories for the production of car parts, the total value of which is some 100 million EUR.
Source balkans.com
