Serbia
2010-08-30
The impetus towards expansion from modernization and development of the infrastructure
The worldwide financial and economic crisis in 2009 hit the Serbian economy hard and halted the long period of growth, yet the forecasts for 2010 and 2011, on the whole, predict a plus. Though experts warn of premature optimism and the forecasts are blighted by diverse uncertainties (for example, the impact of the Greek crisis, development of capital investment), economic growth is predicted to be in the region of 1.5% to 3%.
According to estimations of the Serbian government and the prognosis provided by International Monetary Fund, capital investment, that dropped by 20% in 2009 following the crisis, should sharply increase both this year and next. The important impetus will come from the necessary and planned modernization and expansion of the infrastructure, as well as projects in the energy sector.
In the next two decades, Serbia intends to invest 22 billion euros in the renovation and expansion of its transport infrastructure. For the most part, the finance should be secured through loans from international financial institutions such as the World Bank, EBRD and EIB. The planning criteria for the development of the transport sector in Serbia will be based on the recently approved master plan. The plan stipulates a minimum investment of 7.57 billion euros; when taking into account the wide development variants, the figure rises to over 22.2 billion euros.
Austria keenly involved as the largest investor
Since 2000 Austria has counted among the largest foreign investors in Serbia. According to official statements from Serbia, Austria lies in the first place by a clear margin, with an investment of 2.2 billion euros of direct investment in the years 2004-2009.
The Austrian Chamber of Commerce reports over 300 Austrian companies as being represented in Serbia “ the core focus lies in the banking and insurance sector. Serbia’s third mobile network operator, Vip Mobile, is a subsidiary of the Austrian Mobilkom and in addition also the largest Greenfield-Investor of the country, OMV maintains a strong network of petrol stations, and in addition, numerous Austrian construction companies are already present in the area . New investment in 2009 included Kika (the opening of a new furniture store in Belgrade), Kronotec/Kronospan (chipboard factory in Lapovo) as well as the logistics company Gebrueder Weiss (which acquired Eurocargo). In February 2010, the Austrian New Frontier Holding acquired a majority share in the Belgrade I.T service provider, Saga. Austria also takes part in the privatisation of Serbian companies, invests capital, transfers new technology, develops skilled workers, organizes work processes and sets the target of the introduction of new development programmes.
Opportunities for Austrian Companies
Due to the existence of an enormous backlog of demand - says the Austrian Trade Commission in Belgrade - “opportunities are mainly in industry modernization and infrastructure, and here particularly in the energy sector, where in November 2009 the long awaited law with a renewable energy feed-in tariff for electricity from renewable energy sources was approved”.
In an industry profile of the energy business and natural resources, the Austrian Trade Commission in Belgrade reports that “timbre as fuel in modern biomass plants in Serbia is still largely unknown. In fact, wood-working enterprises do not use the wood waste to generate power, but rather purchase electricity additionally. The potential for Austrian companies lies in transfer of know-how, for example in the provision of correspondingly modern technology and machines. Moreover, opportunities in the area of energy efficiency will arise in the coming years. Several Austrian producers of building materials already have operational production plants in the area. Additional opportunities are offered in the call for tenders for servicing and renovation. In the wind- and hydropower sector, several projects have already successfully been undertaken by Austrian enterprises. Presently, solar energy plays only a secondary role.”
“Further areas of interest are within green technology (water/sewage/waste). Furthermore, consultancy service providers following European standards, as well as the foodstuffs, drink and tobacco industry, are very promising for Austrian companies”.
Possible business opportunities for consultants in tourism are currently being explored through AIC’s intensive contact with important national and regional institutes of Serbia and the autonomous province of Vojvodina.
Publications & Events Austrian foreign trade office in Belgrade (German)
Website AdvantageAustria
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