Leoni has opened another plant in Serbia

German investor Leoni on November 18 opened factory for production of cable systems for passenger cars in Doljevac. This factory is the third investment by Leoni in Serbia. So far, Leoni invested in Serbia over € 36 million and currently employs 4,950 workers.

The factory in Doljevac covers an area of 25,000 square meters, the total investment is more than € 21 million and will employ 1,700 workers. Construction of the plant began in August 2013 and in April 2014 started a trial production.

Leoni is present in Serbia since 2009 and was one of the first major investments of German companies in the automotive industry. Leoni AG is a global leader in the production of cable installations for the automotive industry. The company in 2014 had about 68,000 workers in 32 countries, and a turnover of € 4.1 billion and a net profit of €115.1 million. Leoni AG was founded in 1917 and has headquarters in Nuremberg.

Plant opening was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, as well as German Ambassador Axel Ditman.

Support to small businesses for the purchase of equipment

The Ministry of Economy in mid-November issued a public call for applications for grants through the program of support to small businesses to purchase equipment. Through this program, which is a combination of favorable banking loans and State grants, Ministry of Economy will co-finance the purchase of production equipment in the amount of 25% of the value of the equipment, while 70% of the costs of procurement financed by loans from partner banks to the program, and 5% will be the share of the entrepreneurs. The amount of approved grants amounting to 25% of the value of the equipment cannot be less than RSD 250.000 and not more than RSD 2.500.000.

Mirabank start its operations in Serbia

On November 30, UAE-based Mirabank has announced the official start of its business operations in Serbia. As stated by the President of the Executive Board of Mirabank, Dr. Ilinca Rosetti, the aim of the Bank is to provide its clients with the best service by building a highly personalized client experience. Mirabank delivers exclusive services and a first-class banking experience for corporate clients.

The bank is owned by a company from the Netherlands which is a part of the international Royal Group headquartered in Abu Dhabi and is present in the countries of Middle East, USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The starting capital at Mirabank is EUR 15 mil. and according to previous announcement, planned investments of the bank in Serbia are USD 300 mil. It is the first direct investment in banking sector of Serbia since 2008.

Rebuilding the Traditional Partnership – French-Serbian Armament and Aeronautical Industry Seminar

French companies are very interested to renew cooperation with Serbian companies in the field of aeronautical and defense industry due to the great potential of Serbian companies in this field. This was the conclusion of the French-Serbian Armament and Aeronautical Industry Seminar, which took place on 24^th of November, 2015 in Paris, France, jointly organized by SIEPA and GIFAS with a support of Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Paris, France.

Serbian delegation had the opportunity to present their products and services to the companies in the French association of producers in the aviation industry - GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales). Event gathered more than 80 participants among which 8 Serbian companies: Utva, the Military-Technical Institute, WING, CPS CAD Professional Systems, Konelek, PPT Namenska and Yugoimport SDPR,  had  more than 60 individual B2B meetings with their potential French partners.

Given the fact that GIFAS is the main French institution that gathers and represents over 350 companies in the aviation industry, including commercial and military aviation, this event was important for Serbia as a step forward in terms of promoting Serbian potentials in the aeronautical and defence industry.

Technostrutture builds production plant in Zrenjanin 

Technostrutture, Italian steel structure manufacturer, is building a production plant in the industrial zone Ecka-Jugoistok in Zrenjanin and has already made an initial investment of EUR 3.5 million.

On December 2,  Technostrutture's owner and CEO Guiseppe Verna told the press representatives that the company intends to invest a total of EUR 6 million in the new facility. Verna noted that the company was producing steel structures for the construction of bridges, airports, big shopping centers and industrial facilities, adding that they were cooperating with large multinationals which worked on construction projects all around the world. As he stressed, 40 people will be trained in the first phase, 25 of whom will get a job right away, whereas the rest will be hired in the second phase of construction.  The deadline to finish the construction of this facility is March 2016.

Serbia - World leader in production of raspberries

This year Serbia reached the world’s leading position in production of raspberries, with about 100,000 tons, which by the end of 2015 will be exported.  Export revenue from the sale of "red gold" will exceed 250 million euros.

As stated by Mr. Zeljko Radosevic, State Secretary at Ministry of Agriculture, this year’s production is the best in the past 25 years.

Serbian raspberry is respected in the world. Among the largest importers of frozen raspberries are Belgium, Germany, France and Scandinavia, and some new markets such as Japan and India. Fresh fruit are exported to Austria and Germany. According to official figures, raspberry production in Poland this year is around 70,000 tonnes, while in Chile is more than 45,000 tons.