CorD Magazine No.130

H.E. MR. LI MANCHANG

WE ARE SLOWLY BECOMING SHALLOWER

Ambassador of Israel

Director, founder of Hartefakt

www.cordmagazine.com

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia

OPPORTUNITIES WAITING TO BE SEIZED YOSSEF LEVY

ANDREJ NOSOV

AUGUST ’15 / ISSUE No. 130

CHINESE -SERBIAN FAST TRACK

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BORIS KRSTOVIĆ

THE REAL TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION FOCUS

BANKING SECTOR STABILITY

VLADIMIR KOSTIĆ PRESIDENT OF THE SERBIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS

We Are Not Ready For

DIALOGUE AS A SOCIETY

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CONTENTS ISSUE 130

EDITOR: Ana Novčić a.novcic@aim.rs

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We Are Not Ready For Dialogue as a Society VLADIMIR KOSTIĆ

President of the Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts

06 | C O M M E N T - M I ŠA B R K I C´

86 | PROFILE - RADINKA DANILOV

ORIGINAL ACCUMULATION OF POLITICAL CAPITAL

AGE OF INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION

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Huge Investment Opportunities in Iran

World’s Markets and Opportunities

INVESTMENT 54 32

14

Chinese -Serbian FAST TRACK H.E. LI MANCHANG

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia

17

Banks Call for Greeks to Return €40 Billion in Savings GREECE

Tradition and Quality BRANISLAV BAĆOVIĆ

Trust In Competence MILICA LUKEŠEVIĆ

Impact of the Eurozone Crisis on the Serbian BANKING SECTOR

Coffee of Authentic Local Taste SINIŠA DANIČIĆ

Country Manager of Strauss Adriatic

ATS Acting Director

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LJUBOMIR LAZAREVIĆ

20

YOSSEF LEVY

Ambassador of Israel

60 36

We Have all Prerequisites for Air Cargo

global diary

Opportunities Waiting to be Seized

Director of Transportšped

37

18

ISRAELCREATIVE INNOVATION

Director of cargo transport firm Across Company

40

Global Experience, Local Approach

COPY EDITOR: Mark Pullen TRANSLATION: Snežana Bjelotomić, MRP Editorial EXECUTIVE PROJECT MANAGER Maja Vidaković m.vidakovic@aim.rs PROJECT MANAGERS: Biljana Dević, b.devic@aim.rs Aleksandra Ebilji, a.ebilji@aim.rs Mila Oreščanin, m.orescanin@aim.rs EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Ruža Ristanović r.ristanovic@aim.rs

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: Gordana Obradović g.obradovic@aim.rs

Global Art Sales Break All Records

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How the Slowdown in New Technology Will Affect Us All

We Are Slowly Becoming Shallower

72

ECONOMY AND NEW TECHNOLOGY

ANDREJ NOSOV

Director, founder of Hartefakt

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46

BORIS KRSTOVIĆ

PHOTOS: Zoran Petrović

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FOCUS

Entrepreneur, technology executive and start-up junkie

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culture calendar

CONTRIBUTORS: Rob Dugdale, Mirjana Jovanović, Miša Brkić, Radmila Stanković, Steve MacKenzie, Zorica Todorović Mirković, Sonja Ćirić

YEHUDA SARID

Ludan Group CEO

after work

the real technology revolution

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Unstoppable Novak Wins Third Wimbledon Title WIMBLEDON 2015 AS IT WAS 76

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COMMENT

Original Accumulation of Political Capital MIŠA BRKIĆ

T

Does this government make businessmen to suit its needs? The question is not malicious, nor ill-intentioned. It addresses the very essence of transition and reform - political, social and economic. And causes anxiety and concern.

he reason for that is missing out on the opportunity to fiinet with the foot or providing millions in donations (in euros) to one of the ruling parties. nally create a state system in Serbian society that would Very few businessmen – able to be counted on one hand – made be like those that exist in developed democratic capitalist their companies and develop them to the standards that apply to states, the current ruling political nomenclature will long large international companies. When you peek inside most sound exclude Serbia from the family of countries that are stable and desirSerbian companies, you will mainly find business “trash” that survives able for doing business. only thanks to a diabolical pact between business and politics.

Judgingby by systemic and practical moves of the most powerful parThat’s why business people so far haven’t expressed a great interties of the ruling coalition to date, it could be concluded that it did not resist calling on alluring political instincts – to ensure longevity est in economic reform. Nor, as is common in the world, are they seekin power by creating a strong material base that will consist of “our” ing allies in particular social groups and sections of civil society in orbusiness people. The process is known as the der to put pressure on politicians to reform. Such original accumulation of political capital. businessmen mostly had their mouths full of reThis call is today just as haunting as the merforms and praise for politicians, but they were not It is as though interested in reforms, because they didn’t need maids who, not too many centuries ago, lured no one from them. They did not need a stable and equitable encaptains and ships, causing real shipwrecks. the current It is as though no one from the current governvironment for all “players”, with clear rules of the game – for them it was important that “in four ment managed to grasp the causes and draw lesgovernment eyes”, or with a generous donation, “finish” the job sons from the fall of the previous (and all precedmanaged to grasp for themselves. ing) governments. And so often, on an almost daily the causes and draw Thus, Serbia has become a country of big combasis, the current government, as an argument for the stranded state, notes examples of the alleged panies, but only in local terms. That’s why there lessons from the misdeeds of businessmen and politicians who are are so few of them on the regional ranking lists fall of the previous close to them, who have led many companies to be that are compiled every year. shipwrecked (bankrupt) and meanwhile withdrew, There are honourable exceptions, but most of (and all preceding) ruining several state-owned banks. the owners of these companies are afraid and do not governments Business people in Serbia mostly emerged on consider operating beyond the borders of Serbia. the principle of plate switching with politicians If we were to seek a common denominator of the Milošević had his favourites in business and that love was inherited by effects to date of the current government, then it is this constant politĐinđić, followed by Koštunica, Dinkić, Dačić, Tadić et al... Each had at ical vertical climb to create our own business nouveau riche who will seleast one favourite businessman whose every wish they fulfilled. Most cure for our Party long-lasting power and a certain shipwreck of Serbia. of these businessmen based their businesses on good personal relaOf course, this is not a stimulating environment for foreign emtions with prime ministers, presidents, ministers ... and their commitployers, entrepreneurs and investors. They would rather go, for exment to reform and the new business environment usually boiled down ample, to Romania. to a loan approval over the phone, opening the door of a minister’s cabAnd bypass Serbia. 

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B y R A D M I L A S TA N KO V I Ć

INTERVIEW

We Are Not Ready For

VLADIMIR KOSTIĆ

President of the Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts

DIALOGUE AS A SOCIETY

During his first candidacy to join the Serbian Academy of Science and the Arts (SANU/SASA) 15 years ago, neurologist and Doctor of Medical Sciences Vladimir Kostić (61) was among those with the most votes. Back then, his scientific work lobbied on his behalf. This year, in early April, he again received the most votes, beating two colleagues and fellow doctors in the first round of voting to become the 22nd president of the most important institution of Serbian science and art in its 128-year history Photo by Dalibor Danilović/NIN

P

rominent academics have stated loudly and publicly that his election marks the beginning of a new era in the work of SASA, but who is Dr Vladimir Kostić?

He is the son of Svetislav, who came to Belgrade from a village on Suva Planina and represented his family’s first literate generation, and Sloboda, a Macedonian girl from Ohrid who studied dentistry. His father became a paediatrician, but didn't influence his son to opt for medicine.

That’s because after graduating as the best student of his generation at the 14th Belgrade Grammar School – dubbed the “Eton College of Belgrade” – Vladimir had equally opportunity to study medicine, electrical engineering, philosophy or literature. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine with the highest ‘10’ grade and was again declared valedictorian.

You would be mistaken to believe he was a school swot.

He was able to break his studies for a year in order to be a basketball coach at BC Železničar, where he realised there was nothing for him there and went back to finish his studies. He was simply endowed, learned with ease, used 8 |

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MATICA SRPSKA

SPACE

INSTITUTION

In agreement with Matica Srpska, we will try to explain that this country also needs its own Lexicographic Institute, like those that our neighbours have

SASA encompasses the cultural and civilisational space that covers the borders of the state of Serbia and where seven million inhabitants live, but also the space of Serbian culture beyond our national borders

The public often hears those who criticise SASA, presenting it most commonly as a notoriously conservative, nationalist institution

every moment to get things done, and then he’d run off to play basketball, and later meet with Vesna, his high school girlfriend. They have long since been the happy parents of two sons and the proud grandparents of three grandchildren.

As a scholarly man who has amassed vast general knowledge, he says he’s not in love with technical and scientific achievements if they are not accompanied by advances in civilisation and the human sciences. And he claims that there is a big discrepancy in this regard.

His works have been cited more than 5,000 times in world literature.

I've already said that for the amount of money provided I can't even buy the literature that is necessary to maintain competence in my own activities. I'm not saying that SASA shouldn't be criticised, on the contrary, but that requires greater insight into its activities and more measures.

■ In the opinion of writer Ljubomir Simović, but also others who voted for you, it is expected that you will be the president who

■ What is the difference between your 15 years of experience as an academic and being the President of SASA, a title you have become familiar with only in the last three months?

- The first impression was surprise with the astonishing variety of

activities being conducted on a daily basis. Despite the fact that for these 15 years I haven't been just passing by this institution, I've realised that, in addition to the eight departments, the Academy also has two galleries with permanent exhibitions and continuous musical activity (more than 70 concerts per year), as well as organising a number of symposia on various important issues, having an archive which contains a real treasure, a library of priceless worth, and holding regular discussions on relevant published works. The Academy has a rich collection of artworks, paintings, sculptures and stained glass windows by artists who are SASA members, but it is all a bit closed, as though in an ivory tower. I think in the future we could make all of this more available to a wider audience.

■ However, many people tend to suggest that SASA doesn’t really function as much as expected?

- During the last year alone, the large hall was occupied for 260

days! And there was some real work done, believe me. Throughout the year two galleries whose exhibitions give a special mark to Belgrade are continuously open, and it's well known that the city’s two largest museums have been closed for years now. Visitors to these very popular exhibitions are familiarised with the rich tradition, but also modern fine arts. Within the last few years, the Academy has developed rich international cooperation. It is huge heterogeneity of activities that, unfortunately, pass without sufficient attention being paid to them.

■ But you know that SASA is expected to be constantly present in the public and to address the public regarding important issues? That has been lacking in recent years?

- There is a large gap in opinions regarding SASA, which I some-

times cannot understand. Some would beatify the Academy, because they are convinced that it should almost telegraphically express its views regarding what is happening around it, while others are prone to a complete negation of this institution, because, for God's sake, there are some incapable people who do nothing except receive their academic additions.

Behind the mask of political correctness often hides an attempt to maintain one’s own superior position in determining the specific flow of thought. It comes from something that I would conditionally call the authorities, but also from those who promote themselves as a second, third, fourth or any other Serbia

marks the starting point of changes within SASA. In particular, you are believed to be able to change the bad image that this institution has among a large part of the public?

- Behind the mask of political

correctness often hides an attempt to maintain one’s own superior position in determining the specific flow of thought.

It comes from something that I would conditionally call the authorities, but also from those who promote themselves as a second, third, fourth or any other Serbia. I am afraid that we are not ready for dialogue as a society. The idea that too much is expected of me, especially from people like Simović, is what scares me the most. I don't think AUGUST

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I have that kind of ability to prophetically bring only important decisions. I have a good will and a desire, along with my colleagues in the Academy who I believe have something to say, to take a more active stance regarding the circumstances that surround us.

This does not just mean addressing political aspects. Let’s say that we want to make a serious symposium to discuss climate change, because it is a question of vital interest for every part of the planet and, if you will, for the most elementary planning of the economic future, or the existential fear regarding what we will

so let's speak out about it. There are many people, especially those modern players and pedagogues of democracy, whose views I disagree with entirely, but I cannot hide my admiration for them because they are willing to state publicly what they think, at the risk of being put in the pillory. I don't think that this discussion should be a place where only like-minded people are able to speak, but rather those who have something to say. For me, that is a principle that should be applied in this institution, and that idea was already recognised at a recent conference on the sciences.

■ The public expects SASA to make its views clear regarding current important political issues. What is your point of view?

- We are not running away from the shadows of

politics, but I repeat that we are a scientific and artistic institution. If the Academy is expected to be the arbiter of duty, then it is better to disband it, because there are more competent institutions to make such a decision. Finally, elections are where decisions are made on the key political stakeholders, either from the government or the opposition. I refuse to believe that this society is exclusively based on daily politics, although it occasionally seems to me that it voraciously, and I'm afraid with a certain deliberation, devoured our life. And life is a mosaic composed of many other things. I firmly believe that our greatest defeats include demographic loss, problems in the field of education and the crisis of culture, the igI refuse to believe that this society is exclusively based norance of our own values, the ignorance of the on daily politics, although it occasionally seems to me that world and the environment... Here the Academy can provide the necessary information that will it voraciously, and I'm afraid with a certain deliberation, be a pedestal for some other discussions. But we devoured our life are faced with the need to explain everything we do. For example, this year has been declared the international year of light and will be celebrated as such all over drink in the future. In November we will begin a cycle in the public the world. The Academy will have a symposium to mark this fashealth domain and the first issue will be diabetes, while the second cinating phenomenon. And I'm afraid that we won't be lacking the will be the demographic problem of Serbia from the health aspect, kind of reactions like – just look at what they are doing!? then mental health problems and so on. That analysis, which will As of this year, SASA will organise events on language and lanimply specific recommendations, will be provided to both the public and the relevant government representatives. guage policy every three years. This is not so we can lament on vulnerability, but rather in order to define the directions that we need ■ But when most people hear “SANU” (SASA), their first to take in order to improve language and preserve it from the bad thought is that it refers to the famous “Memorandum” docuinfluences it is exposed to on a daily basis. And when we do that, ment that was written by this institution 30 years ago and still they will say the same thing - just look at what they are doing!? has generally negative connotations?

Some would say that the village is burning, while the old lady - I will take this opportunity to ask this question again: what does it combs her hair, but we will continue to comb, because when the mean when a manuscript that was never officially accepted by any fire goes out we should collect what is left in the village to preserve evidence of who we are, where we are and where we're goSASA member, basically a draft document, is “taken away” without ing. Next year, the World Congress of Byzantologists will be here question from the desk of an academic and made publicly available, and SASA is one of the co-organisers of this conference. This topic so it becomes a trench from which they will shoot at a national institution? I saw that Memorandum being very vehemently discussed is extremely important for us, because we will discuss the inglorious fate of cultural monuments and the change of their civiliby people who haven't even read it! It was said that the Memorandum provided the basis for the initiation of the conflict in Yugoslasational context that is underway. A new barbarism is at work. via; that it sets the foundation for the growth of nationalism or even That's the opportunity for our Byzantologists to use some scientific arguments and face the world scientific community with our racism, Nazism, you name it, and those are big words. Let's see what extremely tragic situation in this field. it says. Next year will be 30 years since this document was written, 10 |

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■ Neighbouring countries have serious lexicographic institutes preparing dictionaries and encyclopaedias, which is not the case in Serbia. Here that job belongs to SASA, which progresses only slowly when it comes to dictionaries and encyclopaedia. Why is that?

- Here that’s the joint responsibility of Matica Srpska and SASA. In

passes the cultural and civilisational space that covers the borders of the state of Serbia and where seven million inhabitants live, but also the space of Serbian culture beyond our national borders.

What are existing institutions unable to ensure in the existence of certain territorial specifics? A branch of SASA exists only in Novi Sad. agreement with Matica Srpska, we will try to explain that this country Is this unfortunate circumstance for Serbia south of Belgrade perhaps due to a lack of grey matter, and could it consider establishing also needs its own Lexicographic Institute, like those that our neighbours have. It is true that work on encyclopaedias and dictionaries is its own academy or academies, so that SASA remains a mere monument of Belgrade centralism? I’m old enough to refuse to accept that going slower than we would like, and that one of the priorities in the any game can no longer be called by autumn will be solving this problem. a different name or simulation of purWe will have to impose this as a seriAs the Executive Committee of ous problem of this society and solve it pose. For me, this is a ritual game of with those who can help us. statism that will bring nothing except SASA, we held one of our first restlessness into something meetings in Novi Sad. The journalists athatnew ■ A recent story that drew a lot of should, after all, have a different asked me how I felt in Novi Sad, and and more rational set-up. On the othpublic attention related to people er hand, any appeal to whatever court in Vojvodina who want to establish I said that I feel at home, because I the Vojvodina Academy of Sciencof law is absolute nonsense, because have arrived in the Serbian Athens es and Arts, which was actually courts are not allowed to establish founded in 1979 but ceased to exist academies. Creating pseudo-elites at in 1992, becoming part of SASA and currently the provincial any level, without creative strength and real criteria, no matter what Department of the Academy. How do you view this issue? some Academy is called, still returns like a boomerang to the very - It sounds to me like political ping pong. We are called the Serbian environment that created these institutions.

Academy of Science and the Arts, but we don't have an illusion of As the Executive Committee of SASA, we held one of our first meetings in Novi Sad. The journalists asked me how I felt in Novi Sad, and ethnic exclusivity among the members we admit – that is the decision of the department responsible for its members. SASA encomI said that I feel at home, because I had arrived in the Serbian Athens.

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■ The first elections for permanent and new corresponding members of SASA during your term as president will be held in early November. The public already knows the names of people who have passed the first round and are heading to the SASA Assembly elections on 6th November. Of course, this was immediately followed by comments on the selections of some and not others, who lobbied for whom etc.

- Nothing is ideal when it comes to any elections, but this does not

but not film directors or actors, for example. It is as though they are only reproducing art. Is this really the case and is SASA a holy book that cannot change its statute with the times?

- I will answer your question as Vlada Kostić, and not as someone

who has a function in SASA. I believe that SASA should find a place for those rare significant persons who, through their existence and what they have done over a longer period of time, have changed the mise en scene in which they were working. For example, there are apply only to us – it’s the same thing some actors who changed the attitude everywhere in the world, including towards Serbian theatre. A Nušić or a here. There are some strong people Dušan Kovačević respected them and who can influence others; there is cooperated with them on what they left subjective judgement, all that exists in us, written as the dramatic richness of SASA too. I am only against primitive this area. I don't think that Ljuba Tadić lobbying. But if we are about to serior Bata Stojković, not to mention othously discuss this, the public should be ers, merely entertained the public. Nor informed on the way candidates are sedo I think that film is a reproduction lected. That is first done within each of of art. With the awareness that this is the eight departments, but in addition, a precedent, those who have changed scientific institutions outside SASA prothe landscape of our thinking were impose their candidates through an open portant for our maturing, both as individuals and as a society, and could be competition (many national academies significant for SASA. don't have that option). Their suggestions often coincide with the recomI'm not the only one, nor am I the mendations of the department. And initiator, but there are still some people in SASA who think we should start they all equally enter the competition. a discussion on how to respond to the After two rounds of voting, if someone dumbing down of science and art, how gets two-thirds of support from the best to respond to the needs of the coldepartment, he goes to the Assembly lective and the times. I will take a more with the support of the department, liberal attitude, and I have to say that and if he gets a clear majority, he goes I am fascinated by Emir Kusturica’s reto the Assembly again, but without the sponse to a question about the possisupport of the department. Finally, the bility of his own reception. With a small Assembly uses a secret ballot to elect dose of frivolity, he said: It is good for new academics with a simple majority. I think this voting still shows some the Academy to be a bit conservative. collective wisdom that corrects what I'll reply to him – even in a somewhat Late academic Predrag Palavestra seems wrong in the department after conservative institution, there should wrote a book in which he showed the elections. be place for the creators of its range. that a large number of people who Were there any mistakes in the The public often receives those who choice? Yes, of course. Maybe I'm a criticise SASA, presenting it most comdirectly influenced the formation monly as a notoriously conservative, mistake. I think it's necessary to make of the democratic opposition in the nationalist institution. Late academstatutory changes to bring the electoral 1990s were actually from SASA ic Predrag Palavestra wrote a book in act into better order. I wouldn't make which he showed that a large number some grotesque conclusions based on of people who directly influenced the formation of the democratindividual cases, because our public, especially the power structure, is not familiar with the geography of the values of this sociic opposition in the 1990s were actually from SASA. But no one ety. They don't know who’s who and what’s what, and they often was interested in publishing those texts. Some recent interviews expect SASA to elect only those who think they are adequate. This, about some late academics reveal, from a height of the supposed of course, does not justify mistakes. superior knowledge of the people and the circumstances, some anecdotal, but no less dangerous, insinuations, for whom I claim, as ■ Several times in recent years, Emir Kusturica has been nomI knew them personally, to be in radical contrast with their actual inated for admission to SASA, but he didn't even pass within opinions. After all, confrontation with the dead, considering they the department. There is an opinion within SASA that Kusturican't defend themselves, is reasonably easy, although it isn’t very ca, Žika Pavlović, Dušana Makavejev, Aleksandar Petrović et al, classy. It’s as if SASA once received a cross to bear from some who are artists of a lower order and that there is no place for them know how and what it should be, without feeling the need to explain the burden. That cross is not mine to bear. ■ in SASA. Composers, painters and sculptors can be members, 12 |

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INTERVIEW

H.E. LI MANCHANG Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia

Chinese -Serbian

FAST TRACK Serbia is not a big nation, but Serbs are exceptionally intelligent, which is why they have produced greats in almost all fields, from science and culture, to sport

■ Your Excellency, you have now been in Belgrade for a year.

Which events of the previous period would you highlight as having marked your term in Serbia so far?

- Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Mr Li Keqiang, visited Serbia in December 2014 to participate in the Third Meeting of Heads of Government in the framework of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, making an official visit to the Republic of Serbia. This was the first visit of a Chinese premier to Serbia after a break of 28 years, which is undoubtedly the most striking recent diplomatic event since I assumed the position of Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia. The heads of governments of 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe gathered in Belgrade to discuss major cooperation plans, jointly issuing the “Belgrade directions of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe” as the development of “16+1 cooperation” entered a new phase. Premier Li Keqiang held talks with President Tomislav Nikolić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić; the two countries signed more than ten different cooperation agreements related to the economy and technology, energy, finance, aviation, culture and other areas; the contents of this strategic partnership are being further enriched.

Preparations for the Belgrade-Budapest railway are progressing according to plan and this will be a mutually beneficial project, a joint victory and a great success

T

he traditionally friendly relations between Serbia and China radiate from every sentence spoken by current Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Belgrade, H.E. Li Manchang.

His personal commitment to our country is grounded in the student days he spent in Belgrade, during which he gained many life-long colleagues and friends with whom he still maintains contact even today.

He considers his most important ambassadorial mission as being the promotion of cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields, which he seems to do with ease, enjoying every day of his “Belgrade term”.

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■ Are you satisfied with the progress made to date on various projects that are underway in the energy and transport sectors?

- The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia are traditional friends; the two countries established a strategic partnership in 2009, then signed a joint statement on deepening their strategic partnership in 2013. Between China and Serbia there exists mutual trust in politics, while in the economy there is win-win cooperation and in the domain of culture there are exchanges and mutual learning. Friendship, mutual trust and cooperation have already become the main elements of our

LANGUAGE

REFORM

EDUCATION

Chinese language is growing continuously, while works on construction of a Chinese culture centre are expected to begin in the near future

From the implementation of the policy of reform, the start of construction of railways in China has developed rapidly

When it comes to education, more and more Chinese students are coming to Serbia and that produces significant potential for cooperation

bilateral relations. Bilateral cooperation in transport, energy and infrastructure construction, as well as in other forms of practical cooperation, yields fruitful results, while there is also great potential for cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education, tourism and other sectors.

The projects for construction of the bridge on the Danube in Belgrade and the first phase of the Kostolac thermal power plant, done by Chinese companies, have been completed, while the second phase of construction at the Kostolac power plant will start soon. In addition to this, Chinese companies are closely monitoring the projects of Serbian highways, power plants and other major projects. So far we have seen the construction of two Confucius Institute centres and the popularity of the Chinese language is growing continuously, while works on construction of a Chinese culture centre are expected to begin in the near future.

Furthermore, China is the fourth biggest exporter to Serbia, selling goods worth $1.75 billion on the Serbian market last year, and $511 million in the first four months of this year.

■ Six months have passed since the Summit of China and 16 CEE countries. Are you satisfied with the way the plans that emerged in Belgrade are developing in general?

- “Cooperation 16+1” continues to maintain a good development trend, with practical cooperation in various fields achieving significant periodic results. To date, we have already seen the implementation of more than half of the 52 proposed initiatives for cooperation in the framework of the “Guidelines of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe established in Belgrade”, while the others are being actively encouraged. The December summit was the third in a row and it also supported and expanded upon agreements reached at the second summit in Bucharest. What is also important is that another one will be held this year, at which we will advance cooperation 16+1 even further. At that summit there should also be agreement for Belgrade to be set as the centre for cooperation and coordination of infrastructure projects for the whole region. A meeting of coordinators of 16+1 was recently held in Beijing, where this idea was formally launched by the Serbian side. I personally like that and I think that also completely belongs to you in a geographical sense.

■ How is the Belgrade - Budapest railway project progressing?

- The heads of government of the People's Republic of China, Hungary and Serbia announced cooperation on the construction of the Hungarian-Serbian Railway in November 2013. In December 2014, China, Hungary and Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on the Hungarian-Serbian Railway project. The project to construct the Hungarian-Serbian Railway is the hallmark of cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as it helps to stimulate the economic revitalisation of the region, contributing to the overall development of Europe.

From the implementation of the policy of reform, the start of construction of railways in China has developed rapidly; along with adequate equipment, technology and construction experience, the cost advantage is obvious. Central and Eastern European countries have such

demand on the market and both sides can fully realise mutual benefits and create a win-win situation. So far, the responsible authorities of China, Hungary and Serbia, in accordance with the agreed timetable, have achieved steady progress in relevant jobs, achieving success and striving to start works by the end of this year. According to the plan – and there is no reason why it should not be so – the railroad should be

Chinese investors say they are generally satisfied with conditions.

They don’t have any major complaints or problems and they say that the Serbian government is efficient and the people hospitable.

finished in two years. I think we are the right partners for the construction of such a project, because in our country more than half of China’s people choose to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train (because they arrive faster than by plane), which traverses those thousand kilometres in around five hours. There is no need to mention accuracy.

■ How do you view Serbia’s EU integration path?

- I am very pleased that Serbia is heading towards Europe and that Serbia is a friendly country to us.

I support Serbia’s efforts on that road to join your big European family and that is your natural place. I support that personally and Chinese official policy supports your efforts, which have been chosen by your people and your country.

■ Besides high state representatives, do you find time to deal with investors; to accept visits from representatives of companies?

- Yes, of course. I’ve already met with many of them. Whoever has AUGUST

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sought a meeting, we have gone out of our way and I have received them. If I happen to be busy at that moment, then we just reschedule the meeting for a few days, but anyone who wants to talk with me is always welcome. Considering I studied in Belgrade, I also have many of my former college peers and friends from those days, and those who are working on projects also often come to be received. That’s why I often perceive myself as a servant who should contribute to the strengthening of economic, political and cultural cooperation between our two countries.

■ Is there a recipe for the success of the extraordinary growth in China’s economy – a secret word or concept? What would you say is most important for conquering new markets – discipline, hard work, knowledge, new technologies? What advice would you give to those responsible for the Serbian economy?

- China took a big step in development and opening up to the world, which increased the living standards of all Chinese people and included a definitive calculation of poverty. From 1978, China decided to develop a policy of opening up to the world and it succeeded in this primarily thanks to political stability. In those years, our teacher and role model was the Socialist Yugoslavia. When we achieved that political stability, it was not a problem to open ourselves up to the world, which then wanted to come to a market that was certain. Foreign capital came, investments were launched, modern experience and modern technology arrived, but everything required discipline and a strong will. Economic development was inevitable, and motivated people to work more, in order to live even better. When they live well, they love their country and support political stability, and thus you get a closed circuit which works seamlessly. That could be advice for you. The most dangerous thing for the stability of a country and an economy is when the government changes often.

■ Are there any areas which have not yet been covered, that you find interesting or useful to our future cooperation?

Agriculture, education, tourism have potential, would you add anything else?

- The tourism industry is not sufficiently exploited. Chinese tourists travel a lot and last year a hundred million Chinese people travelled abroad, all around the world. Why Couldn’t Serbia be an interesting destination for them? They need to get a true picture of Serbia as a destination and the State should organise that. We are people who travel a lot and spend a lot of money on our travels. For instance, when one of our delegations comes to Serbia and they are looking to buy souvenirs, we suggest they buy powdered milk, which is of excellent quality, and you could also export that to China.

In addition to powdered milk, another strategically important product for export could be wine, followed by lamb and ■ To what extent can closer political and economic cooperation between everything you have that is of exceptional Serbia and China bring the two counquality. For lamb we still do not have an interstate agreement, but that will also be retries closer culturally? solved, because an official initiative has al- In recent years, alongside the constant ready been launched. deepening of political and economic coYour Prime Minister Aleksandar operation, we have also seen the intensiWhen it comes to education, more and Vučić promised that he would fication of the cultural exchange between more Chinese students are coming to Serbia and that produces significant potential for call our premier in two years and the People’s Republic of China and the of Serbia. Chinese language, litcooperation, which certainly does not end invite him to ride along the new Republic erature and art are increasingly present after they complete their studies, but rather railway to Budapest in Serbia, while more and more Chinese lasts throughout their lives. The most important factor for the improvement of cooperapeople are taking a liking to Serbian lantion is promotion, and who better to promote education in Serbia than guage, literature and the arts. Moreover, the exchange of cultural a former student of Belgrade University, today H.E. Li Manchang. ensembles is increasing continuously. The guest performance in Besides the aforementioned, sport is also an important area where China of Serbia’s “Kolo” cultural and artistic group and “Viva Vox” we can exchange experiences and knowledge. I have to admit that choir was met with warm welcomes, while the Chinese puppet theatre, ballet and exhibition of Chinese contemporary art served to there is plenty to be learned from you about sport. Your athletes are convey the charm of modern Chinese culture to the Serbian people. champions in basketball, football, water polo, without even mentioning Novak Đoković.

Considering how rich a country Serbia is in terms of culture, and You are a small nation, by you are so much more successful comwhat China has to show, I’m not satisfied. Such an important area pared to the 1.3 billion Chinese people, who have something to learn must be developed more and faster, and we will certainly give our from you about sport. The exchange of sports officials, teams, coaches, all to make progress. and Chinese pupils would be very helpful. You are a small country, but I am satisfied with the number of Chinese restaurants and how much you’re a very intelligent people, which is why you’ve produced great Serbs love Chinese food. When it comes to Serbian cuisine, I most like names in almost all areas. army beans and sarma, but also lamb, says Ambassador Li Manchang. ■ 16 |

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GREECE

Banks Call for Greeks to Return

€40 BILLION IN SAVINGS Banks say their liquidity problems would be solved if the €40 billion that was emptied over the past seven months is returned to accounts. Much of the cash is believed to be held overseas or in safes at home.

T

he chief of Greece's bank association on 20th July urged Since 2008, Katseli said, €124 billion of deposits have been customers to return savings to their bank accounts, as emptied from Greek accounts. the branches of most lenders were packed with people Tax hikes withdrawing cash after a three-week shutdown ended.

Greeks also had to contend with further hikes in sales tax which In an interview on Greek TV, Louka Katseli said banks would entered into force on 21st July, which aimed to raise around €800 function normally again if account holders brought back some of million a year for the government in Athens. the €40 billion withdrawn since December during Greece's economic uncertainty.

The increase in value-added tax (VAT) from 13 "If we take out the money from our safes and our per cent to 23 per cent applies to a wide range of Some analysts houses - where, in any case, it isn't safe - and we deproducts and services for the first time - including predicted that posit it in the banks, we will reinforce liquidity," she processed foods, along with drinks and food served told the Mega TV channel. restrictions would at restaurants and bars.

Capital controls remained in force despite the Its effects are likely to be immediately felt by remain in place banks opening on 20th July; instead of being limitbusinesses and residents, who are already strugfor months, if ed to €60 per day from ATM cash machines, Greek gling after years of deep austerity. customers could now withdraw the full weekly alDimitris Chronis, who runs a small kebab shop in not years. They lowance of €300 all at once. Still, many customers central Athens, thinks the new taxes could push his were introduced complained that they couldn't access their whole business over the edge. because salary or welfare payment.

"I can't put up my prices because I'll have no cus"I came today to collect my pension, but unfortunegotiations with tomers at all," he said, adding that sales have slid by nately I could only get a small percentage of it," said cent since banking restrictions were Greece's creditors around 80 per Spyros Papasotiriou, as he left his bank in a northimposed 29th June. had reached a ern Athens suburb.

"We used to deliver to offices nearby, but most th The temporary limit remained in force until 25 deadlock, fuelling of them have closed. People would order a lot and July, when was raised to €420. buy food for their colleagues on special occasions. increased fears Although some other capital controls have been That era is over." of a bank run if eased, Katseli said it was too early to say how long Other products that saw tax increases include Greece was to until the banking system would return to normal. fresh and frozen meat, coffee, tea, juices, eggs, sugar, One key limit still in force was a ban on most enter bankruptcy rice and toilet paper. transfers to foreign banks, although Greeks can again The measures are part of reforms demanded by international lends before talks could begin on use their credit cards to make purchases overseas. a third Greek bailout, worth €86 billion, to help the country avoid Some analysts predicted that restrictions would remain in place bankruptcy. for months if not years. They were introduced because negotiations with Greece's creditors had reached a deadlock, fueling inThe tax changes also remove special treatment previously afcreased fears of a bank run if Greece was to enter bankruptcy. forded to many Greek islands - something the ruling Syriza party The bank shutdown is estimated to have cost the Greek econtried hard to avoid in recent negotiations with creditors. ■ omy €3 billion.

Source: AFP, AP AUGUST

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GLOBAL DIARY

FAIR PLAY I

“Don’t forget all Partizan’s matches – the one against Pazar at the beginning of the season before last, or against Voždovac in the spring of the previous season. They, so dirty, are now struggling against thievery.” — Zvezdan Terzić, Director of FC Red Star

BIRTHDAY OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER ▶ The 70th birthday of HRH Crown Prince Alexander Karađorđević was celebrated with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace on 18th July, hosted by Princess Katherine and their children, Hereditary Prince Peter, Prince Philip and Prince Alexander, David and Alison, as well as grandchildren Amanda and Michael.

The evening was attended by many dignitaries from around the world, representatives of the country’s political, public and cultural life, members of the Crown Council and friends and admirers of the royal family.

The previous day saw a cocktail reception held at the Beli Dvor, while on 19th July a formal brunch was held at the Royal Palace, where Crown Prince Alexander and Princess Katherine made their farewell greetings to overseas guests and thanked them for coming to Serbia.

OPENING OF THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL

DRAGOMIR KARIĆ (left), DANICA KARIĆ, PREDRAG MARKOVIĆ, member of the Crown Council, His Holy Highness PRINCE ALBERT II of Monaco, Serbian PATRIARCH IRINEJ, PRINCESS MARGARETA of Romania, PRINCESS KATHERINE, HM QUEEN SILVIA of Sweden and HM KING CARL GUSTAV XVI, HRH Crown PRINCE ALEXANDER, HM SOFIA, Queen Mother of Spain, MAJA GOJKOVIĆ, Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, Serbian Agriculture Minister SNEŽANA BOGOSAVLJEVIĆ BOŠKOVIĆ, Serbian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs, IVICA DAČIĆ Photo: Archive

is celebrating an anniversary, having first stood onstage in Salzburg 40 years ago. This time, the 74-yearold Spanish singer performs next to Russian diva Anna Netrebko in Verdi's "The Troubadours."

IMMIGRANTS FIRST STEPS INTO SERBIA ▶ With the motto "Inequality",

the world's biggest festival in the genres of concert music, opera and theatre began on 18th July. The attractions included three new opera productions and a work never before performed there.

In accordance with festival co-founder Max Reinhardt's saying "The whole city is a stage," the festivities begin with a "Fest in the Fest" on 18th July and 73 cost-free events at 29 locations across the city where Mozart was born. Also popular are the free festival nights with current and historic festival productions on the big screen.

In the six following weeks, star performers will draw audiences to this city of 150,000 inhabitants.

They include Plácido Domingo, who

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▶ Tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, use the Balkans to access the European Union, passing from Greece to Macedonia and Serbia, then to the EU's visa-free Schengen zone in Hungary.

The number of people apprehended crossing the Serbia-Hungary border has risen by more than 2,500% since 2010: from 2,370 to 60,602, according to Amnesty International.

HAS NASA FOUND "ANOTHER EARTH"? ▶ Earth has a “bigger, older cousin”

with an atmosphere that could contain water and therefore present a “substantial opportunity” for extraterrestrial life, NASA scientists announced on 23rd July.

The discovery of what NASA said was the nearest thing yet to an “Earth 2.0” was based on observations of the Kepler space telescope, which has been scanning the Milky Way for

Earth-like planets since 2009.

The deep space “exoplanet”, which is about 60 per cent larger than Earth, is the first to be found in a comparable “habitable zone” to this planet in terms of its distance from its “star”, which is also of a comparable size to the sun. The new planet’s star is esti-

CELEBRATION OF PRINCE ALBERT’S 10 YEARS ON THE THRONE ▶ Monaco’s royals stepped out in full force to celebrate the 10-year anniver-

sary of Prince Albert II's accession to the throne. It was filled with music and cocktails outside the Royal Palace. The 57-year-old Prince came out of the Palace holding his wife’s hand to greet the invited guests.

During the event, Princess Charlene gave a speech in French, saying, “Albert I was the explorer, Prince Rainier III was the builder prince, you are the prince of my heart.” Prince Albert was touched by his wife’s speech and was seen shedding some tears.

During the celebrations, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene received gifts for the baptism of their twins from the people of Monaco, the gifts were given by the Mayor of Monaco, Georges Marsan. The twins received Cartier pieces from the 1920s. Princess Gabriella received a 1925 brooch, while Prince Jacques received a Cartier Large Tank Cintrée watch.

FAIR PLAY II

“What happened at the OFK Belgrade vs. Red Star match is a disaster and falls within the area of criminal. Pure crime! This concerns a drastic theft” — Milorad Vučelić, Vice president of FC Partizan

MIGRATION

There are around 232 million international immigrants in the world, a number which is increasing every year.

TRADITIONAL DRINA REGATTA ▶ This year’s 22nd Drina Regatta, held on 18th July, reached an absolute record in terms of the number of participants and boats. According to reports of the organisers, the event involved over 20,000 “sailors” and more than 1,500 vessels. In very hot weather conditions, the immense column of vessels, led by authentic Drina rafts, embarked on the 26-km voyage from Perućac to Rogačica. Among the participants were plenty of guests from Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and even South Africa.

Parties were organised on most of the vessels, which were specially decorated for the occasion, alongside the sound of the trumpet, but also barbecue, traditional cooking of beans and other attractions at temperatures exceeding 30˚C, while the Drina’s water temperature did Photo: Dragan Karadarević not exceed 20˚C.

mated to be about six billion years old - some 1.5 billion years older than the sun, and therefore raised the momentous possibility that life could have developed on its surface.

WARHOL’S “ONE DOLLAR BILL" SOLD FOR £20.9MLN ▶ Andy Warhol’s “One Dollar Bill (Silver Certificate)” has sold for £20.9 million (€27,8mln) at Sotheby’s in London.

The version of Warhol’s dollar bill in the sale is the only one the artist painted by hand shortly before he discovered the screen-printing technique that would become his signature. The image is based on a photograph taken by Warhol’s friend, Edward Wallowitch. It was created af-

ter an unknown woman told Warhol to “paint what you love.” “I like money on the wall” said the artist in 1975.

The auction was the most recent of many record-breaking sales of contemporary art across the world over the past year as the market continues to thrive.

FAO SCHWARZ TOY STORE CLOSED DOWN

ways been on Fifth Avenue. The first FAO Schwarz was located in Union Square in 1880, and moved around to various locations in the city for the next 100 years. Toys R Us bought it in 2009.

BRAZILIAN EVANGELICALS LAUNCH ‘MORAL FACEBOOK’ ▶ A group of Christians in Brazil have

▶ FAO Schwarz closed its doors today, after calling Fifth Avenue home for nearly 30 years.

The rent was too high for the iconic toy store, but its owner, Toys R Us, is hunting for a new location in midtown Manhattan, according to a spokeswoman.

FAO Schwarz is a popular attraction for many families that visit the Big Apple. The toy store hasn't al-

launched a social media network on which swearing or any perceivably unethical content is banned.

The creators of Facegloria, who claim that the site has attracted 100,000 members in its first month, set up the site to serve those who find Facebook lacking in moral values, reported the BBC. Homosexual material is forbidden on the platform and currently 600 words are banned from use.

The “like” button has also been replaced with an “Amen” button for expressing appreciation for a post.

Brazil’s Facegloria is currently only available in Portuguese.

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FOCUS

Impact of the Eurozone Crisis on the Serbian

BANKING SECTOR

Along with the much-trumpeted commencement of EU accession negotiations, 2015 will also bring the adoption of several new laws to facilitate economic reform in Serbia. The government has warned citizens that life will become more difficult in the short term, but that this is the price to be paid for progress. With this in mind, CorD has asked a group of experts the following: Fluctuating currencies, primarily in emerging markets in Europe, and to some extent on the global scale, coupled with fear that Italy and Spain could follow the Greek example, have increased the risk of a new debt crisis in the economically weaker EU member states and new bankruptcies in the banking sector, which could, in turn, undermine the already weak recovery of the EU economy and the economies of this region.

Although the Serbian banking sector is stable, such great instability has again raised the issue of assessing the exposure of Serbia as a whole, and of its banking sector in particular, to the risks coming from external factors.

That's why we asked our interlocutors in this issue of CorD the following questions:

What consequences could a new Eurozone crisis have for the domestic banking market? How much do mechanisms established in the countries where subsidiaries of European banks operate impact on the stability of the banking system and how exposed are these subsidiaries to the conditions to which their parent banks are exposed?

PHILIPPOS KARAMANOLIS

Eurobank Serbia CEO

I Don’t Expect Consequences For the Serbian Economy

I don’t expect the current turbulence in the Eurozone to have significant consequences for the local banking market Banks and the economy are, of course, interdependent, so any impact on the local economy is reflected in the performance of the banking sector.

However, this time the crisis is more localised and it seems – at least for the time being – that it won’t have a significant impact on the economies of Serbia’s main trade partners.

As for the impact of business conditions at parent banks on their foreign subsidiaries, that to a large extent depends on their legal status.

Foreign subsidiaries that operate as separate legal entities are much less exposed to developments in their parent banks compared to subsidiaries that operate as foreign “branches” of parent banks.

To illustrate this, I can give you the example of Eurobank Serbia, which is very topical given recent unprecedented developments in Greece.

Despite the fact that there was a three-week bank holiday in Greece, it was “business as usual” for Eurobank Serbia and we continued to operate completely normally. This is because Eurobank Serbia – like all subsidiaries of Greek banks in Serbia – is a fully independent legal entity that operates under local legislation and the supervision of the National Bank of Serbia. However, apart from this 20 |

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very important legal distinction, we must also point out that in the last five years – since the onset of the Greek crisis – foreign subsidiaries of Greek banks gradually adjusted their operations in order to reduce any dependence from Head Office. As a result, Eurobank Serbia is now fully ring-fenced against developments in Greece. The bank is self-funded, has no placements with Head Office and no exposure to Greek government bonds.

This independence – and also the trust and confidence of our clients – were also proved in practice this year, as we recorded an extremely strong financial performance with a profit of RSD 1.5 billion in the period up to June. Also, at the group level the recent announcement that our subsidiary in Bulgaria (“Postbank”) will acquire the local operations of “Alpha Bank” confirms the strength of our group, as well as our commitment to take initiatives that will further strengthen our presence in the region.

Finally, with regard to the mechanisms put in place by regulators to support the stability of the banking sector, I must congratulate the National Bank of Serbia for their very timely, supportive and measured reaction to the recent escalation of the Greek crisis.

SLAVKO CARIĆ

NEOCLIS NEOCLEOUS

Erste Bank Serbia CEO

General Manager and Chairman of the Executive Board at Piraeus Bank Belgrade

Reduced Banking Market Risks The new architecture of financial stability, which has been developing more rapidly in Europe since 2012 – through mechanisms like the SSM, BRRD and SRM, the new prudential regulation contained within the Basel III standards (CRD IV, CRR) and a fairly detailed AQR process – have made the banking system in the Eurozone, and many other EU member state, much more stable and more shock resistant Stricter regulation, harmonisation of the risk of monitoring methodologies, joint supervision, new capital demands, development of the modality of a joint financial safety net and similar activities have led to the purging of banks’ balances, better capitalisation, increased liquidity and more cautious operations. As a result of this, shocks that could hit the Eurozone will no longer cause panic, market paralysation and the wave of bank bankruptcies and rehabilitations that we saw following the 2009 crisis. On top of this, there is the active role that the European Central Bank (ECB) plays in maintaining a high level of liquidity in the Eurozone’s banking system, through various mechanisms and to an extent never before seen.

We should view the risks to the domestic banking market in the same context. These risks have also been reduced, because the need for a more substantial withdrawal of funds by parent banks as a result of shocks has been We should mention almost completely eliminatthat domestic banks ed. Additionally, we should mention that domestic banks are well capitalised are well capitalised and have and have significantly significantly reduced their exreduced their external ternal indebtedness, while siindebtedness multaneously recording continuous growth in domestic financial resources, primarily deposits, which means that they are becoming less dependent on funding from parent banks. As far as the formal regulation goes, domestic banks operate within the framework created by domestic regulators, thus stipulations of various laws declared at the EU and EA level in the last few years do not apply to them in a direct manner.

Domestic Banks – Foundation of Economic Stability

The domestic bank market has shown that it is capable of not only sustaining the European financial crisis, but also of being a source of stability Banks in Serbia represent a key source of capital for the economy, employing thousands of people and regularly paying taxes, thereby contributing invaluably to the domestic economy.

The National Bank of Serbia has implemented mechanisms of efficient banking control, starting with liquidity, up to capital adequacy.

This high threshold set by the NBS’s laws and regulations has Regardless of additionally guaranteed the stadevelopments in bility of the banking system.

Piraeus Bank AD Beograd is an Greece, Piraeus independent legal entity operating Bank in Serbia will strictly in accordance with the legcontinue to conduct islation of the Republic of Serbia.

Registered as a domestic bank with its business and foreign capital investment, the Bank operations as usual is liquid and solvent. The bank’s level of capital adequacy is well above the minimum legal requirements (21%, while the legal minimum is 12%).

Piraeus Bank is expanding the volume of client services, despite a stagnant macroeconomic environment and strong competition.

The money invested by Piraeus as capital cannot be withdrawn and remains in Serbia as a permanent guarantee of solvency for local depositors and creditors.

Capital controls imposed in Greece do not affect Piraeus Bank AD Beograd. Depositors are highly secured, given that the liquidity of the bank is totally independent from Greece. The two banking systems are independent and therefore, regardless of developments in Greece, Piraeus Bank in Serbia will continue to conduct its business and operations as usual.

Even now, during 2015, Piraeus Bank AD Beograd has a tendency towards increasing the efficiency of operations, mostly through focusing on the most profitable business lines, while we improve our products and client services. We are a reliable partner, offering high quality services and a wide array of products, including the latest innovations in banking. Our relations with clients are long-term, and the constant fulfilling of their needs has positioned us at the very top of the Serbian banking sector, based on criteria of client satisfaction with the service.

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BRUNO CHARRIER

MARINOS VATHIS

Crédit Agricole Srbija CEO

Vojvođanska Banka CEO

Significant Price of Security Serbia has stricter capital requirement compared to the Eurozone, which provides security and confidence in the country’s financial system, although it is expensive and jeopardises the profitability of deposit collection In Serbia we are faced with declining GDP, low economic activity and stagnation in loans to businesses, which results in a very high unemployment rate and outflow of people. On the other hand, Serbia has built a stable financial system that consists of a very strong fiscal system and banking sector, with 30 banks with predominantly foreign capital.

The Serbian market is protected to a significant extent by measures for restrictive movement of capital by some of the central banks abroad, by the NBS’s control measures aimed at preventing sudden capital outflows, and by regulatory changes permitting immediate NBS intervention in the case of a liquidity crisis for individual banks, as well as close cooperation with the ECB. One should not forget that banks in Serbia have stricter capital requirement compared to Eurozone (with minimal capital adequacy of 12% in Serbia and 8% in the Eurozone), which provides an additional buffer against crisis spillover from abroad.

Deposit insurance of citiOne should not zens and businesses is a necesforget that banks in sary measure that contributes Serbia have stricter to the feeling of security and confidence in the country’s capital requirement financial system, but Serbia compared to is by far the most expensive Eurozone, which compared to other European provides an additional countries. This jeopardises the profitability of deposit collecbuffer against crisis tion, which should be one of the spill-over from abroad pillars of the banking system of every country.

Crédit Agricole Srbija is part of the Crédit Agricole Group – one of the biggest banking groups in Europe and the number one bank in France.

It has operations all over the world, with over 50 million customers and 140,000 employees. Crédit Agricole only entered the Serbian market in 2006, but it has now existed in France for 135 years. During its existence, Crédit Agricole Bank has faced many challenging situations that have always been resolved successfully, empowering the bank with its new experiences and knowledge.

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Banking Sector Stable and Highly Capitalised We are operating on a small market with a large number of banks that are extremely well capitalised as a result of the regulator’s design of the sector

Over 70 per cent of Serbia’s banking sector is in the hands of foreign investors, but these are all local Serbian banks established and operating according to Serbian law and under very strict rules of the National Bank of Serbia. Any actions of other governments and central banks regarding the imposing of measures on international banking groups have no legal effect in Serbia and cannot influence the regular operations of Serbian banks, regardless of who is the shareholder. For the stability of Serbian banks and the safety of their clients, it is the macroeconomic and political stability of Serbia that is crucial, not the stability of other countries. The local banking sector is stable, highly capitalised and highly liquid, and comprises the healthiest part of the Serbian economy. If you consider that prime European banks have a capital adequacy ratio of between eight to 10 per cent, while the average here is close to 19 per cent, this is an indication of how well capitalised Serbian banks are. This is a steady market; we don’t have serious ups and downs. Half of the banks make profits, while the other half does not. As a result of our modest GDP growth, we have seen the shrinking of the sizes of banks and a reduction in the footprint of international banks in the country. I assume that in the years to come we will see serious consolidation. Although I cannot forecast what the final number of banks will be, I think Serbia can easily survive with half the banks currently present. This will definitely be one of the possible consequences of the current Eurozone crisis, which I believe will come in three possible manners. Some banks will get out of the market as a result of financial weakness, other banks will merge, while others will leave Serbia altogether.

It is crucial for the stability of banks who their clients are and where the bank invests its liquidity, as well as the applicable financial instruments and where they originate from. For example, Vojvođanska Banka has invested its liquidity exclusively in loans and securities of the Republic of Serbia, which means that our business operations can only be influenced by business conditions in Serbia. Moreover, our strength is our clients; they have good credit worthiness, so we are happy that we have an NPL ratio well above the market average.

Regarding the question of subsidiaries being exposed to the business conditions of their parent banks, I think it is important to explain that this cannot be answered in general terms, as it depends on many circumstances between a subsidiary and its parent bank, and must be viewed on a case by case basis.

It depends on whether or not a subsidiary operates independently of its shareholder, how liquid and solvent it is and whether it can operate smoothly without external assistance to provide the necessary financial services to its clients.

ECONOMY AND NEW TECHNOLOGY

How the Slowdown in

NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL AFFECT US ALL Micro-chips are already so powerful it just isn’t going to be possible to keep doubling their speed, at least not nearly as quickly as in the past

I

Here are four places to start looking: n many ways, by far the most important law for the One, there will be less innovation. The regular doubling of economy over the last 50 years has been a technological one – “Moore’s Law”, the famous prediction by one computing power was what lay behind the creation of a vast of the founders of Intel that computing power would number of new products, from smart-phones, to internet TVs, to double roughly every two years. It has held true for a remarkably streaming services. Without that, your mobile would still be the long time; the incredible power of cheap micro-chips has undersize of a small house, and you’d still be choosing between four pinned the internet revolution. channels on your TV. But if chips develop less slowly, we will see There is a problem, however. According to the people running less of that.

Intel now, it may have come to an end. Chips are already so powerIt is not just obviously tech products that will be impacted. Ever ful it just isn’t going to be possible to keep doubling their speed, at more powerful computing lay behind the vast expansion of global trade – you can’t run ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing systems, or least not nearly as quickly as in the past. build ever more efficient robot-dominated factories, without proOf course, there is plenty of debate about whether that is true cessors that are continually quicker and cheaper. among technologists and computing engineers. But if so – and it Next, get ready for higher prices. The great inflation of the surely must be true one day – it is also going to have a huge impact 1970s has gradually disappeared – indeed, these on the economy. We will see much less innovation, days we worry far more about deflation. Better and less disruption of old industries.

In the next two monetary policy was one reason for that. But the It was a half century ago in 1965 that Gordon decades, the power of computer chips was also part of the stoMoore put forward the proposition that the number of transistors you could squeeze on a circuit ry.

It drove the relentlessly falling prices of every economy may would double every year, but in 1970 he revised kind of electronics. And it lay behind the globalinot be driven by sation of manufacturing, which drove prices down that to two years, and forecast the process would computing power in even more. Without that, we may well move back last about a decade.

As it turned out, it has held true for a lot longer the way it was in the into an economy which is prone to inflation once.

Thirdly, expect less disruption. The technolothan that. With only minor blips along the way, past five – and that gy industry was very good at creating new comchips have continued to get far more powerful, will change the way panies very quickly – and disrupting established and a lot cheaper at an incredibly fast rate. That explains why the phone in your pocket packs a lot it operates far more powers. You could see that in retailing, the media, telecoms, and right now in finance. Old estabmore punch than a mainframe from the 1980s. than most people lished players suddenly found themselves under We have become used to the idea of rapid adyet realise. vances in technology, and expect it to carry on as it siege by brash new companies, and were very has for the last 50 years. quickly fighting for their life.

But nothing lasts forever. In July, Brian Krzanich, Intel’s current Even if they survived, they were often much diminished. The chief executive, argued that the era of “Moore’s Law” might be result? The existing global multi-nationals should be able to increase their lock on the market, with more stable returns, and coming to an end. The next generation of micro-processors would higher profits. take longer to produce. They could no longer double in power Finally, we might well see higher productivity. One of the oddevery 24 months. ities of the IT revolution was that, contrary to what you might Technologists will argue both about whether that is actually expect, it didn’t do much to increase output per person. As it has true – and whether it matters. A new generation of quantum or advanced, we have become very bad at producing more. possibly bio-engineered processors might take over. Or it might Of course, innovation will always continue. But in the next two well turn out that smarter software, close to artificial intelligence, decades, the economy may not be driven by computing power in becomes more important than the chips themselves. the way it was in the past five – and that will change the way it We will see what comes out of the labs. Even so, hyper-fast advances in technology have become built into the economy. operates far more than most people yet realise. ■ AUGUST

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INTERVIEW

BORIS KRSTOVIĆ Entrepreneur, technology executive and start-up junkie

The real technology

REVOLUTION I wouldn’t say there’re any particular characteristics that could apply to local start-ups, at least not in a way that could distinguish a Serbian start-up from a Polish, French, or Brazilian one, or even one from Ohio for that matter

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uilding a start-up has a rather binary characteristics in that regard. You either build it in an ecosystem in which start-ups can easily accelerate their growth, or you don’t – says Boris Krstović, entrepreneur, technology executive and self-confessed start-up junkie, who has amassed over ten years of product & business leadership experience across various industries and technologies.

■ We almost always associate start-ups with the IT sector, which is officially one of Serbia’s development hopes. How much are start-ups part of that today and what are the characteristics of local start-ups?

- What made technology start-ups global phenomenon in

the past decade is the fact that we’re living in the age of “free leverage”. Tools needed to build software products cost next-to-nothing in compare to tangible products, we have instruments and tools to rapidly build very complex prototypes and scale at very little infrastructure cost.

This empowers tens of thousands of entrepreneurs like me around the world to go to market easily - build prod-

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ucts and test markets without investing significant resources and spending years validating a business model.

And we’re only at the very beginning of the real IT revolution now we’re waiting for autonomous vehicles, drones, smart homes, virtual currencies, wearable tech, education (massive online courses) etc. The way we live, work and communicate is yet to be really disrupted - which means there’s going to be a huge number of start-ups yet to come.

I wouldn’t say that there are any particular characteristics that could apply to local start-ups. At least not in a way that could distinguish a Serbian start-up from Polish, or French, or Brazilian or one from Ohio for that matter. Building a start-up has rather binary characteristics in that regard. You either build it in an ecosystem in which start-ups can easily accelerate their growth, or you don’t.

Entrepreneurs outside of su ch ecosystem are taught to make first dollar from very first customer - that is think about business model first, product se­cond.

Someone from San Fran­ cisco, New York or Boston can say “Ok, lets build this product and see if we can get users engaged.

We’ll think later how to monetize.” In Paris, Bangkok, Helsinki, Belgrade or Zagreb, that just wouldn’t work.

Serbian start-ups - like all the other with small and undeveloped local market - usually think global first. Instead of thinking “now that we’ve built good traction on local market - how do we expand globally?”, our start-ups usually concentrate on offering their products globally from day one. Which is great, as this kind of thinking helps build proper scaling mindset into company DNA from day one, and should be leveraged.

■ As an entrepreneur and co-founder of a start-up, when did you feel the time was right to sell it? What experiences would you share with young owners who have a dilemma about whether to retain and continue developing their product or sell it?

- This is probably one of the most hyped aspects of technology en-

trepreneurship. Whoever starts building a product or service for the sole purpose of seeing that as a means of big, audacious exit, usually doesn’t get too far.

We didn’t sell, we got acquired. What I want to say is - we didn’t get together one day and someone said “ok, the time is right, I think we should sell now”. We got an acquisition offer which we saw as a good fit because they offered resources we lacked to execute our strategy - namely access to tier one publishers and complementary ad serving and audience analysis technologies. The first thing

I told myself after the acquisition was “OK, no more excuses now.

Let’s see if you’re actually capable of building this or not”.

■ Among successful IT entrepreneurs there are different opinions about when the startup company needs to allow the entry of investor angels or venture capitalists. What is your opinion on that?

- What we lack in Serbia at this moment is “smart money”. Suc-

cessful executives and entrepreneurs with knowledge, network and experience to help passionate young people avoid wasting ten years of their life learning through their own mistakes.

To illustrate with an example - how many seasoned executives and/or entrepreneurs in Serbia can help someone grow their company from 10 to 500 employees? And that is the kind of “investment” we desperately lack, which usually comes bundled in a role of advisor and angel investor.

The problem we have, like the rest of Balkan and East European region, is that we neither teach nor foster business skills in a way that Anglo-American schools and families do. And this puts even more gravity on building a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem as a way to bypass this long-term problem.

We yet need to show that teams that have built products were able to find their way to customers and liquidity. Then we will probably have more access to institutional capital. At this stage, we have accelerators and incubators which invest preseed and seed rounds in promising start-ups that have to prove Publishing start-ups they’re getting signals from customers they’re on to something.

have to deal with the fact that most of the budgets will go to advertising rather than editorial solutions

■ It seems there are ever more interested investors coming from the neighborhood than we have in Serbia. How do you explain that?

- The fact that our entrepre-

neurs usually apply to accelerators from the neighbourhood shows a fundamental lack of understanding, vision, and long-term interest in building a stronger local economy. We could easily get access to (European) investment funds through various programmes - like Bulgarian or Polish accelerators do, but apparently there’s no interest in that. SIEPA had some programmes for SMEs wanting to focus on exporting goods and services, but it seems that didn’t turn out too well.

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■ Berlin is lately referred as the new European Silicon Valley – or actually one of many that are announced in both Europe and Russia. How much is the Silicon Valley culture actually present in Europe and how specific is that compared to the U.S. “original”?

- I’m probably not competent enough to answer this question, since

I haven’t lived in either San Francisco or Berlin, for that matter.

What I can see is the investment mechanics differs to a great

resources inside an environment where most early adopters and potential corporate clients are within easy reach - then I’d say probably never. But, then again, that goes as well for 98% of other countries/regions in the world. It’s simply the way things stand, and the most important thing for us, as a country, is not to make things harder then they are.

Ideally, the state could iteratively remove bureaucratic obstacles to let entrepreneurs - and entire economy for that matter - run as fast as they can. We have absolutely fantastic opportunity - a pro-western culture and mindset, combined with very low income tax and low costs of living, which makes us incredibly competitive on the global market.

Unfortunately, lack of regulations, corruption and 19th century monetary politics force out almost any IT company with enough liquidity to incorporate elsewhere. As a result, instead of accumulating profits in Serbia (our corporate income tax is 15%, one of the lowest in Europe), such newly formed companies wire back to Serbia just about enough money to cover operational expenses.

■ Is the world of IT and start-ups globalised and immune to national boundaries? Should we preserve our own resources in building and financing start-ups, for example when considering whether or not Telekom Serbia should remain in domestic hands?

- Many countries have replaced state-owned mo-

nopolies (including telecom) with private-led and increasingly competitive market structures, with governments correspondingly moving away from ownership and management, to sector policy and regulation. And to be honest - that’s exactly the way I believe things should be. extent. European investors are much more conWhat we lack of in servative, investing mostly in proven concepts But what’s even more important on a global and are unwilling for wait too long for a return Serbia at this moment level is so-called “unbundling” - product portfolio on their investment. Valuations in Europe are of multi-billion dollar conglomerates and titans is is “smart money”. much more down to earth, and there’s no way being attacked not by one or two competitors like Successful executives in past decades - but hundreds of start-ups. that a company unable to make a dollar in for a dollar out could raise additional rounds after Across different verticals - telecom, banking and entrepreneurs with initial funding. Contrary to US - in Europe com(fintech), electronics, med care, energy, - tradiknowledge, network pany (or startup) unable to create liquidity is tional conglomerates are being under attack from and experience to simply doomed. a number of emerging specialist start-ups - not atRegardless of how much this seems sounder, help passionate young tacking head on across multiple products; instead, they’re attacking individual services & products it also means that there’s no way that, for exampeople not waste 10 ple, Facebook or Quora could be built anywhere (hence the term “unbundling”). This even hapyears of their life of pened to industries as diverse as taxi services. else except in Silicon Valley. learning on their own I read somewhere, in Forbes I think, this being ■ Do the foundations exist in Serbia to crereferred to as “death by a thousand cuts”. mistakes ate our own Silicon Valley, and what is the Telecom providers around the world, since role of the state when it comes to supporting you already mentioned them, are being out-innovated and simply lost their edge. Unbundling allowed consumIT entrepreneurs?

- If by “Silicon Valley” you refer to an ecosystem that fosters eners to pick and choose content and services they consume, and trepreneurs to validate their concepts very quickly by providing that’s exactly what will happen in Serbia as well, whether telecom wants it or not. them with the required financial, operational, logistical and legal 26 |

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■ Both start-ups you've founded are related to online publishing. How much do you deal with publishing today and what do you think about growth potential of online publishing startups?

- By building Content Management System for online publish-

ers, and real-time analytics / decision support tool, I feel I have spent enough time in the media/publishing arena. Nonetheless, I’m watching trends and innovation in digital publishing and new media closely.

Monetizing content (and consequently audience) is still the biggest problem of most publishers today. Every conference in past 6 years I’ve attended discusses ways of monetizing content (inventory) and audience - yet 99.5% still fail to do so. Pay-walls, premium content, metered access; they all work for very few publishing companies, while vast majority seems to succumb to clickbait model in order to survive.

Publishing startups today have to deal with the brutal fact that most of the budgets will go to advertising rather than editorial solutions.

cal structures and even new approaches to self-management.

How interested are you in this area and how much do you think about that as a manager?

- I think about that a lot, and I have had the opportunity to try, and be

part of, many experiments, including total transparency where everyone in the company had access not only to every bit of P&L sheets, but also where salaries were completely transparent, so anyone knew exactly how much everyone else earned - including executives.

■ In your opinion, who will be the main manufacturer of relevant content in the future – the mainstream media, which is rapidly moving online and to social networks, or, as some people suggest, citizen journalists, companies and NGOs? What impressions did you get on the basis of interest in Newscurve?

- All of the above - consumers use everything

they can to augment their experience.

As a consumer, I want to get my real-time updates and live footage from Twitter/Periscope, editorials and full-coverage from mainstream media, opinions on blogs, and filter those against sentiment of my network or Facebook. In reality - this even comes in many more shades. This means that nobody owns the story, and the expression “manufacturer of relevant content” is probably deprecated. Today, every story has a 360 degree view and everyone can add to it - that’s what makes online publishing so enthralling. The dark side is successfully managing the problem of curating a story, and Internet today has some very poor noise reduction filters.

One interesting thing I learned from Newscurve (our real-time decision support / analytics tool) is that in mainstream media the homepage used to be the main referrer for news/ articles/stories - at around 60-70%, and then it fell to 30%. In other words - people were not relying ON specific news sources anymore; instead they let their social graph curate their reading preference. And that was a pretty big “Aha” moment for me back in 2010.

The IT sector makes for very fertile ground to test various organisational principles, simply because of the huge imbalance of supply Building a great and demand on the market. IT professionals company culture aren’t afraid for their job, and they seek someis very much like thing more than mere compensation package - sense of accomplishment, meaning, greatraising kids. There good, which in turn provides very fertile are no shortcuts, you er ground for wild organizational experiments. can’t outsource it, Of course organizational experimenting is possible in every vertical - for example, I’m and it takes years of absolutely amazed with what Zappos did with patience and tonnes their culture - twice. First time when they of energy to do it right actually built their astonishing culture, and then recently with introducing holacracy (self-organization).

I think that building a great company culture is very much like raising kids. There are no shortcuts, you ■ The IT sector is also a testing ground for trying out new apcan’t outsource it, and it takes years of patience and tonnes of proaches in management, experimenting with less hierarchienergy to do it right. ■ AUGUST

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INVESTMENT

By SAEED KAMALI DEHGHAN

Huge Investment

OPPORTUNITIES IN IRAN European firms are racing to secure business opportunities in Iran after the UN Security Council adopted a landmark nuclear deal, paving the way for sanctions to be lifted later this year

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he 15-member body unanimously voted in favor of the Iran’s economy is still heavily dependent on oil; 15% of it is Vienna agreement to lift restrictions on Iran in exbased on oil, Rabii said, compared with 50% of government inchange for Tehran rolling back its nuclear programme. come that comes from crude sale. Many big oil firms, such as ENI, The vote marked the beginning of the end of the sancShell and Total, are looking into Iran’s oil and gas opportunities. tions regime that has taken a heavy toll on the country’s economy.

Iran’s oil ministry is offering lucrative deals.

Germany is leading the pack, sending its vice-chancellor and With US ties improving, American multinationals such as ExxonMobil and Chevron, which were previously absent from Iran, economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, along with representatives could also weigh in. It has also been reported that from some of its top firms including MercedesApple and even McDonald’s are looking into franBenz, Siemens and Volkswagen to Tehran for chise-based business operations in the country. meetings with senior officials. Germany’s exports Iran’s economy “Major multinational corporations have alto Iran are worth €2.7bn a year and it is looking to is still heavily ready begun planning new or expanded business double that amount, bringing it to the level it was dependent on oil; in Iran, where consumer-focused sectors like a decade ago.

15% of it is based FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods], consumer Gabriel, heading a three-day 100-member delegation, held meetings with the Iranian oil minister, electronics, luxury, and the hospitality and leisure on oil, compared Bijan Zanganeh, who said the country’s gas prosectors will pose the best near-term opportuniwith 50% of duction would surpass 1,000m cubic meters per ties,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, organizer of government income the second Europe-Iran forum in Geneva in Sepday in the next three years and that its oil production was expected to reach 4.7m barrels per day tember that comes from “in the near future”.

Amir Ali Handjani, an Iranian-American energy crude sale Ramin Rabii, chief executive of the Tehexecutive with extensive experience in the region, ran-based Turquoise Partners Group, which facilstruck a cautious note, saying that it was still unitates foreign investment in Iran, said the number clear if Iran would see tangible sanctions relief before the US Congress weighed in. The US president, Barack Obama, of Europeans approaching his firm have soared exponentially. sent the nuclear deal to Congress and lawmakers are expected to “The amount of interest in Iran has been unbelievable. Before vote within two months’ time. this, in our own company, we received one or two emails every “Major international financial institutions or multinational conmonth, but in recent months we are receiving at least 10 to 20 glomerates … will wait until that deal gets the approval of the US emails per week,” he told the Guardian. “We have hosted more Congress,” Handjani said. “I would expect second- and third-tier than a 100 foreign investment delegations to Iran over the past 15 firms to be the first movers. They have less bureaucracy to manage months; of those 90% were European, many from Scandinavia, UK, and can be more nimble.”

Germany, Italy, but even from the US.” He added: “In the meantime, expect companies that are already Under sanctions, Iran’s economy experienced negative growth doing business in Iran, who have US Treasury [approval] and EU but since Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013, he has green light in the areas of humanitarian trade such as agriculture managed to bring down the inflation to 15% from its peak of 45%. and pharmaceuticals, to perhaps increase their exposure to the The economy is also back in positive growth. Official figures put Iranian market. I would also expect Iran to aggressively pursue the unemployment at 11%, though economists using a tougher definition of joblessness put it at least twice that figure. purchase of new airplanes from the likes of Boeing and Airbus.” ■ 28 |

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

BUSINESS LEADERS’ MEETING POINT

AUGUST 2015

32 PAGE

36 PAGE

37 PAGE

Tradition and

Trust In

We Have all Prerequisites

Quality

BRANISLAV BAĆOVIĆ

DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTŠPED

Competence MILICA LUKEŠEVIĆ

ATS ACTING DIRECTOR

for Cargo

LJUBOMIR LAZAREVIĆ

DIRECTOR OF CARGO TRANSPORT FIRM ACROSS COMPANY AUGUST

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

LOCAL NEWS

ACTION PLANS “We intend to have the action plans ready for presentation and submission to Brussels by the end of the month so that the EU procedure could begin in September.”

— TANJA MISCEVIC, Head of Serbia's negotiating team in the EU accession talks

01 NELT

02 SBERBANK SERBIA

Exclusive distributor for Philip Morris

Credit with Insurance for Small Businesses

Philip Morris is now distributing its Marlboro brand and other products on the Serbian market via exclusive distributor NELT Co., with which it has been collaborating for nearly two years in various fields.

“The introduction of an exclusive distributor is one of the most important business initiatives that our company has implemented since it started operating in Serbia. The partnership with NELT will allow us greater flexibility and will strengthen our competitiveness in an extremely dynamic environment,” said Jelena Pavlović,

CEO of Philip Morris for the markets of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“The fact that one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies, Philip Morris, chose Nelt as its distribution partner for the domestic market contributes significantly to the reputation of our company as a leader in distribution and logistics services in the region,” said Miloš Jelić, Executive Director of Nelt Group.

03 CARLSBERG SRBIJA

New “Leaders of the Future” Chosen For the fourth consecutive year, Carlsberg Srbija has selected new trainees for its “Programme for the leaders of the future”.” Among the 700 candidates who applied for the chance to acquire their first practical business experience at an international company immediately upon graduation, the successful trainees are Iva Pavlovic, master of Italy’s Bocconi University, Katarina Antonović, master’s student at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Economics, and Aleksandar Aleksić, an undergraduate student at the same university.

They began their placement at Carlsberg Srbija on 15th July.

“The new colleagues who have joined us through this programme confirm – with their efforts, enthusiasm, knowledge and results each day – that we made the right move and invested our time well,” said Lidija Latinović, Human Resources Director at Carlsberg Srbija

05 UNICREDIT

Awarded as Best Bank in CE Europe Prestigious British financial magazine “Euromoney” has this year awarded UniCredit with its Awards for Outstanding Operations in a total of nine categories, including the awards for “Best Bank in Central and Eastern Europe”, “Best Lender in Central and Eastern Europe”, as well as “Best Bank for Transaction Services in Central and Eastern Europe”.

“I am delighted with this significant recognition from Euromoney magazine for our services and I would like to thank all employees of UniCredit Group for this,” said Carlo Vivaldi, Director of UniCredit’s Division for op-

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erations in Central and Eastern Europe. “While our competitors are reducing their volume of business, we are constantly improving access to services and investing in new technologies.”

The awards were presented at a gala dinner in London by a jury comprising experienced journalists, led by Euromoney publisher Neil Osborne.

Sberbank Serbia has created a special offer for small businesses that generate annual revenues of up to €1,000,000. The offer applies to a revolving credit line and short-term loan with insurance included.

“Small businesses have at their disposal loans with insurance included, which implies insurance of the holder of the loans against unforeseen circumstances that may occur during the normal course of business, such as fire and fire hazards, floods, storms and broken machines. This insurance also applies to circumstances that can occur to a key person in the company - the director, owner or any person who operations are dependent upon. In such cases, the insurance company will pay between four and 12 loan instalments, depending on the duration of the credit agreement,” explains Marija Đinđić, Director of the Group’s insurance agency operations.

04 SOCIETE GENERALE SERBIA

Dinars at a lower interest rate

For the second time this year, Societe Generale Serbia has lowered interest rates on dinar loans, fixed interest rates on cash credit, dedicated loans and loans for refinancing.

Dejan Vučinić, Managing Director of Retail Operations, explained that, depending on the repayment period, interest rates on cash credit at Societe Generale range from 9.95% for loans up to one year, to 14.45% for a period of up to 36 months, and 15.95% for loans up to 84 months. Refinancing loans are repaid at interest rates ranging from 14.45% for dedicated loans, depending on the type of debt, at an interest rate of 14.95%.

In the first half of this year, Societe Generale Serbia recorded growth of 8.7% in cash loans, special purpose loans and refinancing, compared to the same period last year.

And, despite the negative trend of using credit cards on the market, the bank can be proud of its two per cent increase in the approved limit and limit of credit cards in use.

TIES

RASPBERRIES

“Serbia has traditionally strong economic and cultural ties with Russia, and I believe that Serbia can play a key role in EU-Russia relations.” — DAVID MCALLISTER, European Parliament rapporteur on Serbia

Serbia is the world’s largest raspberry exporter, producing over 30% of the world’s raspberries

06 SAVREMENA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

More Places at Years 10 and 12 Due to the overwhelming demand for enrolment into Years 10 and 12, Savremena International School has established a new class, providing the possibility of continuing education according to the Cambridge curriculum.

This elite international Cambridge school is situated in downtown Belgrade and offers state-of-the-art approach to learning, a unique methodology, and latest-technology-based teaching, which explains the attention and interest it has attracted. In the unique, specially designed Intelligent Classroom and Google Technology Classroom, the teaching is different, and the learning more interesting with tablets, eLearning platform, interactive whiteboards, Eureka 3D software and glasses, Google applications...

The students acquire the globally recognised Cambridge diplomas, the teaching is English-mediated, while the exquisitely modern approach constitutes the proper way to prepare your child for the top universities worldwide.

Enrolment is underway. To inquire about vacancies, please call +381.11.7856.120, or send an email to info@savremena.org.uk.

Placements & postings appointments@aim.rs

H. E. AXEL DITTMANN

NEW AMBASSADOR OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY IN SERBIA Axel Dittmann (49) was born in Bonn, where he graduated in microeconomics at the University .He began his career in diplomacy in 1992, after which he served at the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. Since 1996.

From 1996 he was a consultant at McKinsey in Berlin, before returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for Political Affairs. In 1998 he served the German Embassy in Belgrade, (office in Pristina), becoming a member of UNMIK in Kosovo in 1999.

In 2001 he was appointed deputy chief of the department for UN issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That same year he was also a member of the negotiating team of special envoy Leotard, Skopje, as well as the negotiating team for the EU constitution.From 2004 he worked at the German Embassy in Washington, U.S., and in 2006 he was a member of the negotiating team of the UN Office for the Future of Kosovo (UNOSEK), headquartered in Vienna.

From 2007 to 2011, Dittmann served as Deputy Head of the Department for European Affairs, and from 2011 he was head of the department of principal issues of the EU in the sector for Europe at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Dittmann is a married father of three children.

H. E. OLEKSANDR ALEXANDROVICH NEW AMBASSADOR OF UKRAINE TO SERBIA

Oleksandr Alexandrovich (45) was born in Trebovlji and graduated from Kiev’s T. Shevchenko State University.

He entered diplomacy in 1995, joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then serving at the Embassy of Ukraine in Belgium. He returned to Ukraine in 1998, working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as first secretary in the department of political planning. In 2001 he joined the office of the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe, where he worked as First Secretary and then as Advisor. Alexandrovich returned to the Foreign Ministry in 2004, where he worked initially as Chief Advisor to the Board for Political Analysis and Information, then as Deputy Director of the Cabinet Minister and Director of the Directorate’s Secretariat. In 2006 he headed to the U.S., where he spent four years as minister-counsellor of the Embassy of Ukraine.

From 2010 to 2015 he served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director of Policy and Security, Director of the Directorate for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, then Director of the Directorate for International Security and Director of the Directorate for Europe and director of the first European Directorate.

Ambassador Alexandrovich is a married father of a son and a daughter.

H. E. MIGUEL FUERTES SUAREZ NEW AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN TO SERBIA

H.E. Miguel Fuertes Suarez (63) graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Spain and entered the world of diplomacy in 1978.He served as Secretary at the embassies of Spain in La Paz, Bolivia (1978) and Rabat, Morocco (1980-‘84), then as Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Spain to the EU (1987-‘90). From 1996 to ‘98 he was coordinator of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the EU and Coordinator of the Permanent Committee of representatives of the governments of member states to the EU in Brussels (19982000). In 1984 he was appointed Secretary of Institutional Relations at the Technical Cabinet of the Presidency of the Province of Asturias.During his rich diplomatic career he has held numerous important functions. From 1st August 2008 to May 2012 he served as Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic, and from June 2012 until his arrival in Belgrade he was Consul General of Spain in Naples. Ambassador Suarez has been highly decorated by his home country.

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Tradition and

Quality BRANISLAV BAĆOVIĆ DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTŠPED

Thanks to the application of modern business principles, compliance with global standards and careful selection and investment in employees, Transportšped has been playing a top role in the world of freight forwarding for years

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ransportšped is the only freight forwarding company in the country to have successfully overcome the transitional processes that led to the demise of many freight forwarding companies with a long tradition.

This is thanks to the company’s results, way of doing business and business philosophy – says Director of Transportšped, Branislav Baćović, who is the recipient of the 2014 Belgrade Victor Award presented by the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce to the most successful businessperson of the year. In this interview for CorD magazine, the Transportšped boss talks about the distinctive characteristics of the freight forwarding industry and his company’s expansion plans.

■ How would you describe the current situation in freight forwarding in Serbia, Europe and the rest of the world?

- International freight forwarding is comprised of a substantial number of logistical activities which make possible the process of shipping goods, from vendor to buyer, in international goods exchange.

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ment of individual countries, this industry has been growing and developing constantly, because there has been a global increase in the volume of goods exchanged as a result of industrial specialisation in certain economic sectors. For instance, we no longer buy TV sets from Niš, but rather import them from China.

Owing to the liberalisation of the international exchange of goods and the arrival of foreign investors in Serbia, almost all multinational freight forwarding companies now do business in Serbia. They have managed to become tough competitors for local logistics companies, consequently helping to raise the quality of this industry and increase its efficiency.

However, in spite of that, there are many small freight forwarding companies in Serbia (numbering between one and five employees) which, due to the lack of skilled workers, cannot be considered serious or reliable service providers.

■ Transportšped is a company with a long tradition. Could you tell us something about i ts history?

- Transportšped has been operational for over 40 years and is the

country’s only freight forwarding company to have survived the transitional process that led to the demise of many freight forwarding companies with a long tradition and up to 1,000 employees.

In 1990, Transportšped operated under a business organisation

ing organisational unit decided to leave Transport and embark on its own development path. This was a strategically important decision which proved to be right in the end.

Transportšped is today one of the most respected providers of freight forwarding services on this market.

Transportšped has been operational for over 40 years and is the country’s only freight forwarding company to have survived transitional processes called Transport from Belgrade, in accordance with the Associated Labour Law. The law was abolished that same year, along with the organisational units that also constituted legal entities. As a result, the international freight forward-

In 1996, Transportšped acquired a building in New Belgrade which soon became the centre of the company’s new business activity – public customs storage.

Apart from Belgrade Airport, the Port of Belgrade and Serbian Rail-

ways, Transportšped is the only company to boast public storage provider status.

Transportšped now conducts all customs clearance procedures on its premises, with the help of customs officers, and our warehouse is connected directly to the information system of the Serbian Customs Administration.

■ Transportšped has many international quality assessment certificates. Which are the most important and how do they contribute to your operations?

- Transportšped is a regular and direct member of the international associations of freight forwarders and air transport organisations – FIATA and IATA respectively.

Moreover, Transportšped has been

■ What sets Transportšped apart from other freight forwarding companies?

- That would be our employees, who are carefully selected and adequately positioned to do the work and tasks best suited to them, and who are both well-organised and motivated.

Apart from that, our location is worth mentioning. Our HQ is at the very heart of the central business district of New Belgrade, close to the E-75 motorway and the rivers Sava and Danube, as well as being in a close proximity to the airport and fast/efficient roads. Our modern-equipped storage facilities are suitable for goods that require certain storage temperatures, including cold storage. Our warehouse is connected to the information system of the Customs Administra-

wide is your freight forwarding network?

- With the aim of covering as much of the Serbian market as possible, Transportšped has been opening offices whenever the need for freight forwarding services arose. Today the company has 17 branch offices all over Serbia and five in Belgrade. We also have over 10,000 square metres of storage facilities, some of which are registered with the Ministry of Health and are suitable for storing pharmaceutical products. We are also registered with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Administration for storing animal-based products and we have a separate storage facility in Zemun that is suitable for storing hazardous (ADR) goods.

■ Among the many business accolades you have received

MILIVOJE MILETIĆ, President of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce (left), ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ, Deputy Serbian PM, and BRANISLAV BAĆOVIĆ, Director of Transportšped

operating in line with the quality management system (ISO 9001) since 1998 and has been certified

by U.S. certification bodies. In 2009 the company also received its HACCP accreditation and, in 2015, ISO 14001 and 18001 certificates (environmental protection and work safety certificates respectively). We think that investing in these certificates is not an expense, but rather money well spent. Our clients have also recognised this when choosing their supplier. They often choose us regardless of the costs.

We have been working hard to find a new business location near the Belgrade bypass, in order to build new storage units for processing, preparing and distributing goods to supermarket chains and their networks tion and we have customs officers there 24/7. Customs clearance procedures are conducted swiftly and efficiently.

■ How big are your current storage capacities and how

over the years, there is also one for employee satisfaction.

What should a company do to have satisfied workers?

- Yes, one of the many accolades we have received pertains to employee satisfaction. This just goes to show

that without well-trained, well-organised, motivated and happy workers, Transportšped would not be where it is on the Serbian market today. Apart from good salaries, which are the main motivational factor and the means to cover the living costs of employees, a company needs to do many other things in order to have a happy employee. By that I mean educating and training them to efficiently conduct their tasks, as well as having a conscientious stance and fair approach based on the motto that employees are always responsible for the company’s success and failure. Also, we, as employers, care about the other needs of our employees – like cultural needs – and their future pensions. Regarding the latter, and apart from making mandatory financial contributions to the state’s pension fund, we also bought private pension policies for them, to ensure that they will be financially secure once they retire.

Apart from the aforementioned, having an adequate organisational setup, strong management, help with solving problems in order to eliminate negative energy and create a healthy atmosphere, as well as an exceptionally good relationship among employees, are also important factors for our workers, who do their jobs in a relaxed, positive environment.

These are just some of the elements that resulted in us being recognised for employee satisfaction.

■ What are your development plans?

- We have been working hard to find a new business location near the Belgrade bypass, in order to build new storage units that will complement the development of our new business activity – processing, preparing and distributing goods to supermarket chains and their networks.

Via the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, we have also initiated an idea to transform a military unit in Bubanj Potok into a logistics centre that would serve Belgrade in the most cost-effective way. ■ AUGUST

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STABILITY

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“When I talk about stability and reconciliation, I mean real stability and true reconciliation. For me, that is crucial.” — ALEKSANDAR

REGIONAL NEWS

VUCIC, Serbian Prime Minister

Bulgaria’s central bank has said its commitment and action taken so far create prerequisites for the timely finalisation of the acquisition of the branch network of Greece’s Alpha Bank in the country by Postbank, a subsidiary of another Greek lender, Eurobank.

01 BULGARIA

02 CROATIA

Postbank-Alpha Bank Deal

New Investment in Train Stations

The deal, announced on 17th July, needs the approval of Bulgarian and Greek regulators, as well as the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the Eurozone.

The parties to the transaction expect it to be completed by the end of the year.

Four Greek-owned banks operate in Bulgaria, holding about a fifth of the assets of the country’s banking system.

“The BNB supports the market-driven consolidation processes and ownership transformations in the banking system, which also further strengthen the capital base and liquidity,” the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a statement.

03 MONTENEGRO

EBRD Supports First Commercial Wind Power Plant The EBRD is supporting the first commercial wind power plant in Montenegro, to be located near the town of Nikšić.

The EBRD is extending a senior secured loan of up to €48.5 million to Krnovo Green Energy d.o.o, the subsidiary of Akuo Energy, the French producer of renewable energy, that will build and operate the 72MW plant. In parallel, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, a subsidiary of KfW, is providing a loan of the same amount.

This is the first large-scale investment in Montenegro’s electricity generation capacity since the 1980s.

Once constructed and operational the wind farm will represent 8% of the total installed capacity and 6 per cent of total electricity production in Montenegro.

The project is expected to result in CO2 emission reductions of more than 180,000 TCO2 annually, equivalent to removing 11,000 cars from the roads.

This is the first private wind financing not just in Montenegro but in the wider region and can serve as catalyst for commercial banks to finance similar projects in Montenegro and the Western Balkan region.

Croatian railways are to invest around €2 million to make free Wi-Fi hotspots accessible at more than 30 train stations across the country.

Not only will free Wi-Fi be accessible at most stations in the country, but by the end of 2016 a number of stations will have the new 4G network. The Wi-Fi project is aimed at attracting travellers back to trains after a dip in passenger numbers last year. Last year there were 21,900 passengers, down from 73,500 passengers in 2009.

“We want to breathe new lift back to the train stations in Croatian towns like Vukovar, Knin and Gospić”, Petar Čavlović from H1 telekom said.

Part of the investment will be covered by funding from the EU.

10 THINGS

EVERY BUSINESS PLAN SHOULD CONTAIN

04 ALBANIA

Confidence in Economy Increases The business and individuals’ confidence in the Albanian economy improved during the second quarter of 2015, according to the findings of the Central Bank’s Business and Consumer Confidence Survey published mid-July.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) of Albania increased by 5.1 points in the Q2 of 2015, returning ESI to the upward trend, after the fall in the first quarter of this year.

The improved ESI in the Q2 was attributed to the increased confidence in industry and services and the increased consumer confidence, while the decreased confidence in construction and trade provided negative contribution to the aggregated indicator.

Industry Confidence Indicator (ICI) rose by 5.8 percentage points in the second quarter of 2015, after the fall for two consecutive quarters. The increase in ICI was mainly driven by the growth in the balance of Source: Xinhua production and the growth in the balance of financial situation.

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A business plan should never be a work of fiction. At the end of the day, you will only be fooling yourself. Here are ten things you might use when writing or rewriting your business plan.

1. Vision 2. Background...

3. Goals 4. People 5. Products 6. Competition 7. Marketing 8. Funding 9. Measurement 10. Make a plan before you start for your exit

DIALOGUE

DID YOU KNOW

“German Chancellor Merkel was dissatisfied with the lack of progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue on the normalisation of BelgradePristina relations.” — EDI RAMA, Albanian Prime Minister

Lake Ohrid is the oldest lake in Europe and the deepest in the Balkans. The lake is believed to be 4 million years old and has more than 200 endemic species.

06 FYR MACEDONIA

07 HUNGARY

Budget Revenues Note 14% Increase

Metrovagonmash Wins €219mln Tender

Zoran Stavreski Deputy Prime Minister

Russian company Metrovagonmash has won the contract awarded by Budapest transport company BKV to upgrade metro carriages and modernise services with a bid of €219 million, Metrovagonmash is to renovate 37 carriages that run on the north-south M3 line in Pest. The guaranteed life span of the carriages is 25 years.

All rival bids, including offers from Skoda Transport, CAF and Skinest Rail, were deemed invalid.

The contract was signed end last month. The first renovated carriages will arrive 16-18 months after the contract is signed.

Initially 22 companies showed an interest, but only seven submitted a bid. French company Alstom withdrew its bid, and three others were declared invalid.

Source: inforadio.hu

Budget revenues in Macedonia are better than expected, exceeding in the first six months and rising by 14% compared to last year..

“The GDP growth for 2015 is estimated at 3.5 percent, while the budget deficit is set at 3.6 per cent of the GDP, “said Zoran Stavreski Deputy Prime Minister.

GDP’s revision, he elaborated, is based on two facts – there was a solid economic growth of 3.2% in the first three months of the year, but in the second quarter the country was faced with a political crisis and an uncertainty due to the debt crisis in Greece.

This is a risky factor that requires overall projections to be revised and therefore the Government and the Finance Ministry said that the GDP projection needed to be revised from 4% to 3.5%.

Placements & postings appointments@aim.rs

H.E. JUICHI TAKAHARA

NEW AMBASSADOR OF JAPAN TO SERBIA

H.E. Juichi Takahara (62) graduated from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law, before beginning his professional career at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977. Appointed director of the Science and Nuclear Energy Division, Arms Control and Scientific Affairs, in 1994, Mr Takahara became counsellor at the Embassy of Japan in Singapore in 1996, then serving, as of 1999, as counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. Two years later he was promoted to the post of minister within the same Mission. In January 2003 he became deputy director-general at the Economic Affairs Bureau, after serving as deputy director-general of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau. After ministerial postings at the Japanese embassies to Egypt and France, Mr Takahara became Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of Japan in France in 2009, before becoming Chief of Protocol at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government a year later.

Ambassador Takahara arrives in Serbia after serving as ambassador to Tunisia.

DANIEL BERG

NEW DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (EBRD) IN SERBIA

Daniel Berg was educated at Rutgers College and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in the U.S. Leaving the U.S. Treasury Department to join the EBRD in 1995, he served as Advisor to the U.S. Executive Director for three years. In 1997 he transferred to full-time EBRD staff within the Banking Department, where he worked for the Financial Institutions Team. Berg moved to Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2000, where he developed the bank’s operations across sectors. After Kazakhstan, Daniel became Head of Office in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2004, managing the office and overall operations. He was then asked to assume a similar role in Albania in 2007, where he worked until joining the Sofia team and becoming EBRD Director in Bulgaria, in July 2010.

MARKUS FERSTL

NEW EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT AT VTB BANK A.D. BELGRADE Markus Ferstl graduated from Austria’s Karl-Franzens University in 1998 and completed his studies in International Management at the French University of Economic Sciences in Angers. He has spent 12 years in leadership positions within the Hypo financial group.

From 2002 to 2007 he served as President of the Executive Board of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d. Belgrade, after which he spent a year as Chairman of the Executive Board of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank AG in Klagenfurt. From January 2008 to March 2014 he served as President of the Executive Board of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank d.d., and during this period he led the bank through significant changes in Croatia – from the merger with Slavonska Banka to the nationalisation of the Group.

He is currently studying an MBA in the IECD President’s programme at the BLED School of Management.

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BUSINESS DIALOGUE

INTERVIEW

Trust In

Competence MILICA LUKEŠEVIĆ ATS ACTING DIRECTOR

ATS’s task is to assess the competence of conformity assessment bodies to perform testing, calibration, inspection, and certification of products, management systems and persons

A

ccreditation is a process conducted by a national accreditation body through which it determines and verifies that a specific conformity assessment body (CAB) satisfies the necessary requirements to perform specific conformity assessment activities laid down in relevant international standards and is competent to perform said activities.

cations. Observance of regulations and standards ensures the safety of products and their free movement on the market, human health and consumer protection, as well as environmental protection. Thus, it is of utmost importance to use services of accredited (competent and equipped) laboratories, inspection and certification bodies, thereby increasing confidence in

■ What is accreditation and what institution grants accreditation in the Republic of Serbia?

- In Serbia, accreditation is granted by the Accreditation Body of Serbia (ATS), which was founded by the Republic of Serbia to perform accreditation activities, as stipulated in the Law on Accreditation.

In order to become competitive on the European and world markets, it is necessary to prove that products, processes and services comply with requirements laid down in regulations, standards and contractual technical specifi-

performed testing, inspection and certification activities.

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■ What is the role of accreditation at the EU and global levels?

- ATS, along with other national accreditation bodies (NABs) worldwide, belongs to the NAB network established by the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF), and it is also a national signatory to multilateral agreements in this field (EA MLA, ILAC MRA, IAF MLA).

These multilateral agreements are signed in order to recognise the equivalence of accreditation systems and, thus, acceptance of certificates and reports issued by CABs accredited by other MLA/MRA signatories. As such, the number of unnecessary product controls in international trade is reduced, creating the conditions for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, while a harmonised approach to NAB operations is established at the global level. Networking of Serbia’s accreditation system with those of the EU and the world ensures recognition and acceptance of the results of con-

■ What is ATS’s vision for the future?

- My goal, as ATS Acting Director, is to continue – through competent support of all ATS employees – developing our capacities, which will lead to an upgrade in the everyday operations of ATS-accredited CABs and impact on Serbia’s general economic development.

We believe that ATS will, even during this period of economic turbulence, maintain the same quality of work and level of competence to assure all our clients and other important institutions relying on accredited conformity assessment results that the suc-

In order to become competitive on the markets, it is necessary to prove the compliance of products, processes and services formity assessments carried out in Serbia. Signing of the EA MLA made it possible for ATS to become the first national institution with operations harmonised with EU legislation and international standards, and thereby recognised by relevant EU institutions. Membership in the said international organisations for accreditation is essential, as it is a precondition for full EU and WTO membership.

cess achieved only means more hard work on the development of an accreditation system and increasing the efficiency of the accreditation procedure in all fields. Hence, our motto, “TRUST IN COMPETENCE”, still remains an objective to be attained in order to verify that accreditation will still provide trust in the safety of products and services in our country and beyond our borders.■

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

CORPORATE

We Have all Prerequisites LJUBOMIR LAZAREVIĆ DIRECTOR OF CARGO TRANSPORT FIRM ACROSS COMPANY

for Air Cargo

If our Morava Airport, to be opened in Lađevci soon, had an adequate runaway length suited for large aircraft, then Serbia – like any other European country – would have an airport that would serve mostly cargo planes

B

oth in our country and abroad, the share of cargo transport in total freight has been growing. “Aeroplanes are used more frequently nowadays to transport goods that require transportation under certain controlled temperatures,” says Ljubomir Lazarević, Director of cargo transport firm Across Company.

Some countries export by air meat, some fish, some fruits and vegetables, pharmaceutical products, livestock, flowers and similar.

“These types of goods are frequently transported by plane, so much so that there are now special cargo terminals which handle goods that need to be transported at different temperatures and with different levels of protection; products like pharmaceuticals and perishable goods,” says Lazarević, adding: “planes are often used to transport oil extraction equipment, with certain pieces of this equipment weighing up to a hundred tonnes.”

Lazarević continues: “If you ask me what we need, you’ll be surprised to hear that we have it all.

We don’t lack anything. We simply had to have everything ready, because we had to follow the international labour share rules and international air traffic standards.

We have exactly the same types and brands of planes as other countries. We have containers, backhoe lifts, X-ray equipment that is actually used in anti-terrorist activities, scales, unit load devices and a trained workforce.

There are rules and regulations that can be easily applied here and which would enable cargo transport either by our planes or Chinese planes in line with the rules of participation in the overall transport. There are so-called transport freedoms, as well as something called the open skies policy, which could also be applied here. In this way, we could use our planes and trucks to transport goods from China to anywhere in Europe. In order to do this, our runways would have to reach towns like Kragujevac,

If you ask me what we need, you’ll be surprised to hear that we have it all. We don’t lack anything I even think that we could have a cargo transport line from China to one of our airports. This can be agreed at intergovernmental meetings. I am confident that the IATA would help with this if we asked.

Zaječar, Jagodina, Kraljevo or Vranje, and even further – Slavonski Brod, Novo Mesto, Budapest or any town in Europe. This would be profitable for any airline. If our Morava Airport, which will open

in Lađevci soon, had an adequate runaway length suited for large airplanes, then Serbia, just like any other European country, would have an airport that would serve mostly cargo planes. Picture, if you will, this airport having a proper cold storage or cool cargo terminal.

The airport could become the cargo centre not only of our region, but in the wider area too. We could also have a road feeder service to transport goods from Lađevci to other airports in Zagreb, Ljubjana, Skopje, Sofia, Milan, Vienna or Munich. Goods that arrive today would reach these airports by tomorrow.

In addition to the aforementioned, we could have a jet fuel tank so, for instance, a plane arriving from China could take 100 tons, or even over 200,000 litres of fuel, which is how much the AN-124 takes.

We could also arrange all of this in advance with an airline, which is how it is usually done, so they can be sure that we always have the agreed quantity of fuel at the agreed price.

If our business people knew that, for instance, a cargo plane departs from our airport every Friday, they would definitely seize the opportunity to use this very powerful and affordable mode of transport. On top of that, if they knew that they could buy goods from China in line with the INCOTERMS rules, at FOB airport delivery terms, at least half of the plane would be packed with goods intended for ours and surrounding markets. This is doable.” ■ AUGUST

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PROTECTION

BUSINESS DIALOGUE

“We must be at the side of the Greeks, and ensure that the Eurozone that we belong to must be protected”.

WORLD NEWS

— FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, President of France

China finally ended six years of mystery over how much gold it’s hoarding, revealing a 57 percent jump in reserves and overtaking Russia to become the country with the fifth-largest stash of the metal.

01 CHINA

02 USA

Mystery of Gold Hoard Revealed

Lockheed to Buy Black Hawk Maker Sikorsky

China boosted bullion assets to 1,658 metric tons, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement end July. That’s up from 1,054 tons in 2009, when it last updated the figures. The U.S. has the biggest reserves at 8,133.5 tons, data from the World Gold Council show.

Gold prices were little changed in reaction as the gain was much less than some had reckoned.

Bloomberg Intelligence this year estimated a possible tripling to 3,500 tons, based on domestic output, and China Gold Association and trade figures.

03 NETHERLAND

04 AUSTRIA

Pension Funds Lose Billions of Euros

Sale of Hypo Balkan Assets to Advent and EBRD

Dutch pension funds lost billions of euros on their investments in the second quarter of 2015 because of the difficult conditions on the stock exchange, news agency ANP reports.

Civil service pension fund ABP, which is one of the biggest in the world, lost more than €16bln, or 4.3%, while healthcare fund PFZW lost 6.6%, or €11.5bln.

Engineering funds PMT and PME saw their investment porfolios shrink by 8.3% and 7.2% respectively.

However rising interest rates did benefit the funds’ coverage ratios. The coverage ratio shows if a fund has sufficient assets to meet all its liabilities. Dutch pension funds should have a coverage ratio of at least 105%, meaning they have €105 for every €100 they need to pay out in pensions. When interest rates go up, the assets a fund needs to meet its obligations go down. The Dutch central bank has just introduced a new method of calculating long-term interest rates used in determining coverage ratios which requires funds to increase their financial buffers or put up premiums. This will have an impact in the third quarter.

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The sale of ex-bank Hypo’s Balkan assets by the Austrian state to fund Advent and the EBRD went through as all requirements were met on July 17.

These conditions included, among others, the approval for the extension of the banking license granted by the ECB. Officially, the assets are now owned by Al Lake, a Luxembourgregistered joint venture of Advent and the EBRD. The basic price for the SEE network was entered in the documents as €200 million, while €50 million was defined as the minimum price with the remaining €150mln counted against the bank’s losses from 2014 and 2015.

Austria is out of ex-Hypo Alpe Adria SEE network shareholder structure, but is still under some obligations related to former ownership of the defunct bank and was under the obligation from the EU to sell the assets by end-2015.

Lockheed Martin Corp announced end last month it would buy Black Hawk maker Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies Corp for $9 billion, cementing Lockheed’s dominance in weapons making.

Lockheed will also review the possible sale or spin off of $6 billion in other information technology and services businesses.

The Pentagon’s largest supplier called Sikorsky a “national icon” and said the net cost of the deal was around $7.1 billion, taking into account tax benefits.

10 THINGS

YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BEFORE YOUR BUSINESS BANKRUPT

05 UK

888 Holdings to Buy Bwin.Party Online Betting British-Austrian online betting firm bwin.party will be taken over by UK competitor 888 Holdings for nearly GBP 900 million (EUR 1.29 billion) in a cash and equity deal, the parties agreed according to the announcement of 888 Holdings.

The total price translates to 104.09 pence per bwin share, 16 percent above the proposal filed by the bidder in mid-May. According to previous reports by Reuters news agency, bwin. party shareholders holdings a combined 59 percent pledged to approve the deal.

The new group should enjoy synergies of at least USD 70 million a year by 2018. 888 Holdings beat GBP 908 million offer of rival bidder GVC Holdings.

1. Put Your Family First 2. Don’t Go Into Debt 3. Find Mentors 4. Don’t Work Weekends 5. Get Organized 6. Read Good Books 7. Remove yourself from all distractions 8. Take 9. Don’t Assume 10. Keep a record

HAIRCUT “If Greece wants a debt “haircut” this can only take place outside the monetary union”.

— ANGELA MERKEL, German Chancellor

FACTS &FIGURES Cereal is the second-largest global advertiser on television today, behind automobiles.

06 SPAIN

Don Quixote Airport Sold for Just €10,000 Spain’s “ghost airport” - that cost hundreds of millions of euros to build and which became a notorious symbol of the excess of the country’s bonanza years has been sold to a group of British and Asian investors for just €10,000.

Ciudad Real airport, in the central Castilla-La Mancha region, has been closed since 2012, despite opening only four years prior to closure.

The regional authorities raised an estimated €1billion in private investment to build it. They had hoped it would draw millions of visitors each year to Ciudad Real and the surrounding area, which is known as the home of Miguel de Cervantes’s fictional knight Don Quixote.

But the airport itself soon became seen as a quixotic venture, drawing just 33,000 travellers in 2010.

07 LEBANON

08 MONGOLIA

The Growth of Medical Tourism

Export of Horse Meat Business Bankruptcies See 7% Decline Products to China

While Lebanon is known for its Mediterranean beaches, mountainous regions, and sunny weather, many might be surprised to discover that it is also bustling with foreign nationals from Europe and the Gulf in search of medical care. Lebanon ranks 30th out of 86 in 2014 in quality of health care systems regarding skill and competence of medical staff according to Nation master.

The number of Iraqis who travel to American University of Beirut Medical Center for treatment, mainly for cancer cases, has risen from 39 percent of the 2,297 international patients in 2010 to 58 percent of the 2,497 international patients in 2012 according to Middle East health magazine.

Mounes Kalaawi, partner and chief executive of Clemenceau Medical Center (CMC), said 85 percent of foreigners seeking treatment in Lebanon did so for medical reasons other than cosmetic surgery, according to the health magazine.

Mongolian companies now have the chance to export horse meat products to China, including meat dumplings and bone meal.

The representatives of two countries signed export inspection and quarantine protocols that will be used during horse meat product export from Mongolia to China.

A total of nine entities received licenses for exporting meat and meat products to Russia, and nine entities have licenses to export meat products to China.

09 ITALY

The first slight improvement since 2011 in bankruptcies among tourism operators occurred in the first half of 2015, as the number of failures fell 7% compared with 2014 figures.

Between January and April 2015, over 26,000 businesses shut their doors, while 15,908 opened in the same period.

The current number of business bankruptcies - 1,334 in the first half of 2015 - is still high overall, however: 36% higher than the same period in 2011 and more than double the 647 bankruptcies registered in the first half of 2009.

Late payment figures improved slightly in the Q2 of 2015 compared to the first, with an overall total of 24.2% of businesses paying invoices more than 30 days overdue, a 0.4% decrease on Q1 figures.

The problem is most pronounced in Italy’s South and its islands, where payments more than 30 days late topped out at 33.9%, and is lowest in the northeast, at 13.3%.

Source: ANSA

10 INDIA

'Human Resource Capital' of the World

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government launched the “Skill India” programme in July, stating his vision of maing India the ‘human resource capital’ of the world. The programme was launched as the government’s “war against poverty”.

While launching it, Modi said: “We have opened a war against poverty strategically, and we must win this fight”. Under the ambitious programme, the NDA government will work toward equipping over 40 crore people with adequate skills by 2022.

An Annual Employment - Unemployment Survey report (2013-2014) by the Labour Bureau has listed the rate of unemployment among the youth at 12.9% in the 18-29 years age group, and 17.5% in the 1517 years group. As against this, unemployment rate in the 30 and above age group was found to be 1.4%.

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AFTER WORK

5

JUN

Karanović & Nikolić organised a gala party on 5th June to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of this law firm. The event, which was held in the elegant atmosphere of the Yugoslav Cinematheque building, welcomed more than 500 guests, including some of the most prominent names from the local and international business community, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps. Twenty years ago, co-founders Dragan Karanović and Dejan Nikolić pioneered a new concept for legal services in the region. Karanović & Nikolić is today seen as a regional powerhouse, with over 150 lawyers and business professionals serving multi-national, regional and local clients across all business sectors and industries.

KARANOVIĆ & NIKOLIĆ CELEBRATE 20TH BIRTHDAY

DEJAN NIKOLIĆ (Senior partner), MILOŠ VUČKOVIĆ (Senior partner), PATRICIA GANNON (Senior partner), DRAGAN KARANOVIĆ (Senior partner)

3

JULY

SCC DECLARED BEST CHAMBER IN THE REGION

The Serbian Chamber of Commerce was declared the best chamber in the region and SCC President Marko Čadež was proclaimed the best chamber manager in Southeast and Central Europe.

The recognition of the Directorate of the Agency for Selecting the Best Manager of BiH, Southeast and Central Europe, the European Association of Managers and Euromanager magazine – “The president and the chamber” – was presented to the SCC President at an event in Sarajevo.

The award for Čadež and the SCC was officially presented in recognition of an “outstanding contribution to the work of the chamber and support in the creation of a favourable environment for business, in the interest of the economic development of Serbia and the entire region”.

Winners of the National Forum for Green Ideas.

VLADIMIR TODOROVIĆ, expert on social entrepreneurship and external communication Erste Bank

30

JUN

BILJANA DAKIĆ DJORDJEVIĆ, Executive Director, Trag Foundation

WINNERS OF THE THIRD GREEN IDEAS FORUM

Equestrian Club “Aranđelovac”, Belgrader Sanja Andrejević and the Kamenica Association for Local Development from Niš, are the winners of this year’s grants for innovative business ideas based on the principles of sustainable development within the framework of the National Forum for Green Ideas.

The competition’s eight finalists presented their projects at the all-day event on Tuesday 30th June before the jury which selected the best three to each receive five thousand dollars for the realisation of their entrepreneurial ideas. The winning ideas will also apply for an additional ten thousand dollars at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Regional Forum, which will be held in July this year in Kosovo.

The contest brought together 87 projects.

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RUŽDIJA TUZOVIĆ, Vice President of the Jury of the European Association of Managers, Advisor to the President of Montenegro and MARKO ČADEŽ

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AWARDED BEST IN THE CAMPAIGN “FOR A GREENER BELGRADE”

The commission of the campaign “For a greener Belgrade” organised an award ceremony for the most beautiful green areas in the municipality of Zemun. Awards and letters of thanks were presented by Deputy Chairman of GO Zvezdara, Zoran Vuletić, who thanked all volunteers involved with the Action for Zvezdara for demonstrating their desire and effort to improve the place where they live.

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RUŽDIJA TUZOVIĆ, MAJA PIŠČEVIĆ, LUKA BURILOVIĆ and MARKO ČADEŽ

JULY

ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ VISITS NALED

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlović visited the NALED Call Centre for building permits, which was established in early May this year and provides assistance to all interested citizens, businesses and local governments in successfully passing through the new, unified procedure for issuing building permits.

During its two months of operations, the call centre has received and responded to more than 650 queries from citizens, businesses and local governments on the new procedure for obtaining building permits. NALED Director for Regulatory Reform, Jelena Bojović, announced that it would be positive for the centre for building permit to be active in the coming year.

Call centre operators, legal advisor VUK BOŽIĆ (standing) and legal advisor and personnel officer ADIS BERBEROVIĆ

MAJA PIŠČEVIĆ, Executive Director of the AmCham and RUŽDIJA TUZOVIĆ, Vice President of the Jury of the European Association of Managers, Advisor to the President of Montenegro

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MAJA PIŠČEVIĆ "EUROPEAN MANAGER OF THE YEAR"

Maja Piščević, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham), is the winner of the prestigious International Regional Manager of the Year Award 2015. The award was presented at a gala awards ceremony by the Agency for Selecting the Best Manager of BiH, Southeast and Central Europe, at Sarajevo City Hall, in the presence of the most successful managers, company representatives, ambassadors and numerous public figures from the economic world and the political scene in the country and the region.

This year’s award ceremony was attended by over 300 managers from Bosnia & Herzegovina and 14 countries in the region.

VIOLETA JOVANOVIĆ, NALED Executive Director, deputy PM ZORANA MIHAJOVIĆ, JELENA BOJOVIĆ, Director of Regulatory Reform at NALED

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AFTER WORK

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The Tesla Global Forum Association and Telekom Serbia has presented the Virtual Museum of Nikola Tesla in Andrevlje – a single web portal on a great scientist. What makes this virtual museum unique is the exclusive content of his work, while it is also designed as a comprehensive guide to his life and legacy.

“After the Virtual Museum of Mihajlo Pupin, we wanted to pay our respects to another scientist without whom the modern world of telecommunications could not have existed,” said Marija Bošković, Director of Telekom Serbia’s PR Department.

“The virtual museum is just the first step in developing Tesla's ID card, which has yet to be further developed, ” said Jelena Milosavljević, executive director of the Scientific Tesla Global Forum.

MARIJA BOŠKOVIĆ, Director of PR Department of Telekom Serbia

JELENA MILOSAVLJEVIĆ, executive director of the Scientific Forum Tesla Global Forum and MARIJA BOŠKOVIĆ

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VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF NIKOLA TESLA

CHILDREN FROM KOSOVO HOLIDAY IN CORFU

For the fourth consecutive year, French humanitarian organisation “Solidarity for Kosovo” has organised holiday breaks for 40 children from Kosovo enclaves. Unlike previous years, which saw the youngsters enjoy summer breaks in Montenegro, this year children will spend ten days at a beachfront hotel on the Greek island of Corfu.

“The little ones were chosen by the Raška and Prizren Diocese on the basis of social criteria. Most of the children had never been to the seaside before and could only imagine what such a gigantic body of water would look like, and most also don’t even know how to swim... I cannot imagine how these children might feel when, for the first time in their lives, they see a blue sea, dip their feet in the salty water and start to swim,” said Arno Gujon, director of Solidarity for Kosovo.

JOVANA MLADENOVIĆ, head of Carlsberg and Dundjerski Foundations

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LIDIJA LATINOVIĆ, Member of the Foundation and handing scholarship

CARLSBERG FOUNDATION AND DUNĐERSKI FIRST SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS AWARDED

The Carlsberg and Dunđerski Foundation have presented the first scholarships to ten competition winners in individual amounts of 120,000 dinars, as well as three one-time grants of 150,000 dinars. The ceremony was held at the University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Technology, with the scholarships awarded to students of the Biotechnology study programme module Food Biotechnology and the Food Engineering study programme.

The recipients of the scholarships include: Tijana Nović, Biljana Maričić, Nevena Đokić, Danka Pejić, Jelena Ljubenko, Nikolina Bubnjević, Dimitrije Bibovski, Milica Unčanin, Jelena Đurašinović and Ivana Marić. The winners of the grants are scientists Milan Milutin and Ratko Radošević from the Law Faculty, and Miloš Radosavljević from the University of Novi Sad’s Faculty of Technology.

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B y R A D M I L A S TA N KO V I Ć

INTERVIEW

ANDREJ NOSOV Director, founder of Hartefakt

We Are Slowly Becoming

SHALLOWER

The SoveraHe studied law, journalism and acting, graduating in theatre directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade.

He founded the non-governmental organisation Hartefakt more than five years ago, under the organisation of which there are numerous theatre performances and exhibitions, with the idea to re-connect diverse regional artistic expression and create a unique regional, cultural space that connects artists from the region and promotes socially responsible cultural and artistic creativity.eign Order of Malta is looking forward to further developing relations with Serbia in humanitarian, social and educational areas, and to be of assistance in emergency situations, which is a specific field of the Order’s mission and bilateral cooperation

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ndrej Nosov (31) is one of those successful young people who his first feature film in the same year and in 2017 he plans to make a have forged their own path. His parents supported him in big spectacle of Serbian lyric poetry in the 21st century in Belgrade... everything he wanted to do, but they are far from his world: Until then, he has another new play, in addition to the works The his mother lives near Niš and works as a teacher at the Centre Hinkemann Case, Hunger and Bent, which he created a few years ago. for Social Work. She writes poems. His father is a building contractor in His latest will be the premiere of Ibsen's Ghosts, which will take place Prokuplje. When he founded the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the on 6th August at the Budva Theatre City Festival, which is co-producer of this project, along with Sarajevo’s MES-TV first thing he did was to go to Kosovo to find out and Belgrade’s Bitef Theatre. And he is still under what’s there and how to fight for a better future for Our elites, and we the impression of the great reward he shares with young people here and there. He travelled all around ourselves, are not a group of artists from Serbia, which they won the world and didn’t want to leave Belgrade, although he considers it as a village - like the unpaved street brave enough or willing recently at the festival of stage design and stage space, in the Prague Quadrennial. The student and from Bora Stanković’s theatre piece. to move anywhere national selection of Serbia won gold in this interHe accepted a great offer and in February 2016 from the steady and national competition, marking the first time Serbia he will begin a six-month scholarship in the United confirmed position in has won the top award at this event: States, which he received from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for the Reagan-Fascell which we find ourselves “This practically means that the 80 of us who were Democracy Fellows Program. He intends to shoot competing in two teams brought 80 gold medals AUGUST

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from the Olympics, because the Prague Quadrennial is a kind of Olympics for theatre. On this stage area we did a review of our political context....

■ How do you, as a freelance artist, experience the political context in which you create today?

- Very differently to most people in the minority. A large number of my colleagues and former opponents think that our main hell is the arrival of Aleksandar Vučić as the prime minister and this government. I think our hell is elsewhere and that Aleksandar Vučić is only a consequence of that other hell. And that other hell is the knowledge that our elites, and we ourselves, are not brave enough or willing to move anywhere from the steady and confirmed position in which we find ourselves. There is no room for risk, there is no willingness to take a risk, to carve out some space for yourself, you cease to speak of responsibility. The keyword of our context is irresponsibility, because here no one is willing to take responsibility.

Somebody else is always to blame.

■ Is that the consequence of an unwillingness to tackle problems, to always postpone it as long as we can?

how natural. American society is divided on all the major issues, French and German society too. But the divisions in our country are disastrous, because we are a small society; Belgrade is a village where everyone knows everyone and when we meet at a party we have a fight. And it’s always about some ideological nonsense, because we don’t talk about the real issues that represent problems for us.

■ For example?

- For example, take a look at our education. There is the key. Anyone who is ready and willing to change education and culture will change Serbia. Not the economy. Who is going to work for all those big investors who should work in Serbia? Only the educated people who have the knowledge that anyone who wants to invest here can recognise and reward. When I’m talking about culture, I don’t mean only the Ministry of Culture, but the broad concept in which we can find a large number of artists and people with ideas and willingness to work and change.

■ Should we change the value system?

- I often perceive our value system as an incurable virus that just changes shapes, going from one to another, but essentially the same problem remains - we need to get up and get things done. And the prime minister is not wrong when he says, and it was said before him, that we perceive Europe as a guest worker’s dream – a house with lions at the entrance and a golf course. We would like it if somehow our uncle from Germany gave all of us two lions. In my experience, I never got anything if I didn’t roll up my sleeves and work 24/7.

- I will try to illustrate this for you. on the day when the whole world was looking at us, when the anniversary of the Srebrenica crime was being marked, I watched the premiere of a play in which our positive elite, let's call it that way, tells a story about an incident in 2008, when there was only silence on the occasion of this tragic event.

This hindsight, this subsequent courage, this is our fate. Here, as soon as someone has money we beat him up, for us everyone Photo: Nemanja Knežević who has earned something is a thief. Here, as soon as someone is smart, he has stolen, Here, as soon as someone has money we beat him up, for us because that’s how we conceal our own everyone who has earned something is a thief. Here, as soon as incompetence. It’s awfully hard and complicated to admit that perhaps someone someone is smart, he has stolen, because that’s how we conceal has an idea and that maybe he’s able to do our own incompetence something. We don’t need that, all we need is bread and circuses, and that’s where it The system of values in Serbia is such that 97 per cent of Serbs have ends. That’s what bothers me the most on an intimate level and I deal no problem with the fact that someone forged his diploma, because with it in my plays - how to survive in a society that is unable to move what’s more natural than having a connection. That’s the state in which forward. We are able to talk about how everything was better before, we live. The opinion of the elite is not the opinion of Serbia, because and I don’t believe it, because it’s impossible that you used to be a marathon runner, and now you are not able to do anything. We have reduced this country is devastated and completely ruined in the sense of values. to the transferring of the other people’s opinions and it has become our ■ You are one of the rare free artists who usually work with NGOs reality, tavern reality, not life. and advocate for the strengthening of institutions in Serbia?

■ Why is it all so sloppy?

- Because knowledge ceased to be a value here, and that’s what troubles me. I don’t have to believe in king and country as he does, but I'll admit that he's a great physicist, and as long as he makes medications, I’m grateful to him for that. Well, we don’t know how to do that. Our life has become futile, from my perspective, and we are becoming increasingly shallow. These divisions to which we are constantly exposed are some44 |

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- I have to correct you, because everything I've worked on in the sense of artistic production, I’ve done with institutions and with the help of the non-profit sector. And also, cultural institutions in Serbia today are part of the non-profit sector. Do you know why Brecht emerged? Why any great theatre artist emerged? Because there was a strong institutional framework with which Brecht or any other great artist didn’t agree. Here nothing can emerge because those institutions don’t ex-

ist. The institutions in Serbia are actually NGOs, without the need to worry about their finances. Their level of responsibility is worse than in the NGO sector. Can you name a single theatre manager who was held responsible for the wrong repertoire policy, which can easily be proved? With very simple moves, good thinking, bringing together different stakeholders, the current elite could arrange cultural institutions for the 21st century. However, for us, the strengthening of institutions means that they have more money, and the matter is quite the opposite – it is not necessary for there to be more money, but it is necessary for that money to be better spent.

■ There is an evident resistance to the strengthening of cultural institutions. How do you explain that?

■ Are you being ironic?

- Of course I am. Is actor and director Miki Manojlović close to the present government? Yes, he is, but I don’t see a problem with that! Is there a problem if he talks with the Prime Minister, with that evil Aleksandar Vučić?

Is that the main objection that the so-called thinkers, Kafkaesque Sartrean elite have to say? And Miki is, like, defending Vučić from their attacks. Well, I have never noticed these attacks, I didn’t see the play of Zlatko Paković about Aleksandar Vučić, nor the text. I haven’t seen anything that could harm Aleksandar Vučić, except that he gets bored after the third sentence, because it’s badly written. On the other hand, Manojlović responds with nonsense to Paković, and thus you get a debate about nothing. What did Paković reveal

- This resistance comes from two parts. First there are the professional services of the institutions themselves, or the head of the institutions, the so-called second floor. They are panicking because after long years of their rule and power they have to go back to school, because they are not up to date. Second we have the artists themselves, because they are unable to articulate themselves at this time.

Nobody asked Frida Kahlo to articulate in a new time, she could draw on the stone like she did, but she sought to deal with what troubles her and those around her. In our country the problem is that we are arrogant; that we think we have a great number of relevant artists, and we don’t.

■ The recent controversy between the art critic of daily Danas, otherwise playwright Zlatko Paković, and actor Predrag Miki

I often perceive our value system as an incurable virus that just changes shapes, going from one to another, but essentially the same problem remains - we need to get up and get things done Manojlović showed a split in the cultural public between those who support Prime Minister Vučić and those who condemn that support. How do you view that?

- In our culture we are in a state of a permanent war. In the case you mentioned, my friend says: What's going on there? And I ask you, what is going on there?

■ They reproach Miki Manojlović for praising the Prime Minister, explaining that the play Romeo and Juliet, which he directed in coproduction with the Albanian drama theatre in Pristina, wouldn’t have happened if not for Prime Minister Vučić.

- That's true. On the other hand, there are some people in the play who called for the burning of embassies in Belgrade ten years ago. Well, it's fantastic if they changed their attitude to that point, if they think we no longer need to storm the embassies and set them alight.

to us? That Manojlović is close with the government. Well, we’ve know that for three years, since the Prime Minister said in his keynote address that Miki Manjlović is one of the artists in which he believes, and the other is Emir Kusturica. However, our elite play at being intellectuals from the past. There are very few authentic, genuine, indigenous intellectuals who reflect on the things that surround us. That world is marginalised, and that world must return to the institutions. That world has something to say, but it just doesn’t want to fight.

In our country it’s best to talk about nothing, to not speak about what is happening to us today. We keep waiting for it to pass and we wait to say it in some other time, which never seems to come. We are not capable of saying enough and I won’t. Here you don’t hear “I won’t”, it has become expensive, we don’t dare say it, we are afraid that someone will get angry because of that.

■ You don’t seem to be afraid?

- I often feel like a pig in Tehran, and I'm used to that. I spend my days in doubt, doubting my own capabilities, qualities, principles and beliefs...

But I sleep peacefully, because I know that every decision I make, even the ones I regret, is up to me and I alone bear the consequences. That’s very important for me. ■ AUGUST

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CULTURE CALENDAR

NIŠVILLE

C O N C E R T S & F E S T I VA L S

GUČA TRUMPET FESTIVAL

NIŠ FORTRESS, 13TH-16TH AUGUST

Guča, 3rd-9th August

The Guča Trumpet Festival, alongside Exit, is the best-known Serbian festival. Primarily a music festival, it is really much, much more, with its distinct atmosphere in the small town of Guča.

A festival of traditional Gypsy trumpet music (fans of Kusturica's films and Goran Bregovic's music should know it well) and all the havoc that normally comes with that in Serbia - endless quantities of alcohol, enough grilled meat to feed armies, and wild dancing. This is

definitely an unforgettable experience, with the whole town becoming one big party for the duration of the festival.

For programme details please visit guca.rs

LAKE FEST

Nikšić, Montenegro, 14th-16th August One of the most important festivals in the region, Lake Fest attracts tens of thousands of visitors. The goal we already achieved in the previous four years is to attract visitors from all parts of Montenegro and neighbouring countries, but also tourists from other European countries. In this regard, the festival programme and marketing campaigns, but also the tourist offer, are custom made for this year visitors from different parts of Europe.

The music programme will be very diverse and the strongest line-up is being confirmed. The event will feature twenty four of the most popular musical compositions from the region and beyond.

“Lake Fest” is a traditional event and this year a rich artistic programme has been prepared. The festival provides an opportunity for the promotion of alternative content, especially film and various artistic performances that are organised in cooperation with cultural institutions and cultural workers. A large number of artists from the country and abroad will perform at Lake Fest, with installations and exhibitions.

For programme details please visit lakefest.me

BELGRADE BEER FEST

Ušće, 19th-23rd August

Judging by the intensity of the promo campaign, this year’s 7th Belgrade Beer Fest will be the biggest ever.

With over 900,000 visitors in five days, Belgrade Beer Fest has grown into one of the most recognisable events that Serbia's capital city has to offer.

▶ The International Nišville jazz festival is the largest and most-visited jazz festival in Southeast Europe.

An official cultural event of the City of Niš (since 2005), it is also “the festival of national value”, according to the rankings compiled in 2010 by the Serbian Ministry of Culture.

The importance of this festival has also been recognised by the Serbi­an Ministry of Trade and Services and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, with the Nišville Festival having won the “Best of Serbia” award for 2011.

The Tourist Organisation of Serbia includes Nišville in its official offer of tourist fairs throughout Europe.

In the European Union, magazine “New Europe”, which is published in Brussels, reviewed the festival and dubbed it “the European face of Serbia”.

Since the first edition of the festival in 1995, Nišville has been promoting multiculturalism as an inevitable characteristic of contemporary jazz. The festival's concept is based on presenting ‘traditional’ jazz forms

and fusing them with world music tradition, with an emphasis on music from the Balkans. One of the most famous jazz magazines, America’s 'Downbeat', rates Nišville as the important music event promoting both traditional Balkan music and American jazz heritage. According to the magazine, Nišville’s speciality is popularising the blend of the two.

The festival’s main programme is held on two connected stages at Niš Fortress, while there are also many free stages in the fortress and around the city: River, Open, Movie, Welcome, Youth and Jam Session stages. During the festival days, more than 100,000 visitors enjoy musical performances, movies and theatre, art exhibitions and book promotions. Moreover, the Nišville festival organises free jazz performances in many cities and towns around Serbia: Dimitrovgrad, Paraćin, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Aleksinac, Prokuplje, Vranje, Pirot, Leskovac, Zaječar and Aranđelovac.

For programme details please visit nisville.com

CULTURE NEWS

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SHORT FILM B A J I N A B A Š TA , 2 N D - 5 T H J U LY Western Serbia’s lively tourist centre of Bajina Bašta hosted this year’s international festival of short film, featuring works from Serbia and other countries. The event’s organisers are young actors seeking to evaluate films that stand out in terms of quality of acting and quality of cooperation between directors and actors.

In addition to the open-air film projections in the town’s Borići Park, concerts and entertainment events were also held beside

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the River Drina – the waterway immortalised by writer Ivo Andrić.

Festival participants were also able to visit the most interesting artistic and natural treasures, providing a unique combination of art, film, and entertainment.

Films screened at this festival compete for awards including best film, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay.

Interactive workshops and seminars for producers and actors are intended for high school pupils interested in film and keen to try their hand as filmmakers.

The Belgrade-based Italian Institute for Culture promoted and supported the participation of Giacomo Abbruzzese’s short film “Stella Maris”, which was screened during the opening night of the festival.

ALEXANDER KOWALSKI B A R U TA N A , K A L E M E G D A N FORTRESS, 7TH AUGUST @ 23.00

▶ Alexander Kowalski belongs to the generation of German techno producers who were strongly affected by the social upheaval following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the enormous sense of freedom in East Berlin during the ensuing years.

As with many of his peers – like Modeselektor, Marcel Dettmann, Apparat or Paul Kalkbrenner –

bering the great picture from the festival, which is certainly one of the greatest values Belgrade Beer Fest is achieving, both for Belgrade and Serbia.

For programme details please visit belgradebeerfest.com

OPERA

OPERA FESTIVAL 2015

Herceg Novi, Montenegro, 22nd August @ 21.00

Operosa this year presents a major international production of one of the most beautiful operas, Mozart's “Cosi fan Tutte”, in the beautiful setting of the summer stage at Kanli Kula in Herceg Novi.

Guglielmo, bet on the loyalty and love of their fiancées, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, with experienced philosopher Don Alfonso. This opera has become a timeless tale of love, loyalty, and passion, and each new performance attracts the audience, who, like the Viennese audience more than two centuries ago, will endure this comic plot and go through the Italian “school of love” together with artists.

The direction of “Cosi fan tutte” in Herceg Novi on 22nd August has been entrusted to Martin Lloyd-Evans, with scenography by Simon Cordero, and the great Eraldo Salmieri as the main conductor. In the lead roles we will hear young Operosa stars selected at exciting auditions held in Belgrade: Milo Mihov, Natašu Rašić, Marko Živković, Olivera Tičević, Pavle Žarkov and Ognjen Milivojša. The head of the Operosa production team presenting this beautiful opera to the international audience is Katherine Hatay, a Finnish mezzo-soprano and founder of the Operosa festival and foundation.

For more information, please visit operosa.org

ART

Alexander came from the former East Germany. In spite of the hazards, he successfully engaged in a musical career during the 1990s and today holds the international scene in suspense with his productions.

The slogan of this year’s festival, “Fun for All”, is the organiser’s way of stressing that the Belgrade Beer Fest is open to all visitors, both domestic and foreign, and that Belgrade is a city with hospitality and kindness that are known throughout Europe and beyond. The organiser’s wish to propagate a policy of reconciliation of this region and want visitors to socialise, get to know each other and have fun remem-

Sculptural art by Dušan Rajšić highlights the frequent use of the figure of the knight from La Mancha, with armour and spear, riding Rosinantea.

“Cervantes gave me the topic, and I, with pen in hand, instead of sword, left this trail, wandering the whiteness of the paper. I dedicate this exhibition to all those who are fighting against windmills, driven by arrogant and elusive forces of evil.”

Dusan Rajšić was born in 1970 in Gospić (Croatia). His sculpture studies began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 1990 and he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1996. He is member of ULUS and editor of the art programme at the Lazarevac Culture Centre.

FILM

CARMINA O REVIENTA

Culture Centre GRAD, 30th August @ 22.00 Carmina is a lady of 58, who holds a shop in Seville where she sells Iberian products. After being robbed several times, and having not received compensation

QUIXOTES

Instituto Cervantes, 1st August – 8th September

Operosa is an international platform for networking, exchanging knowledge and information in the field of performing arts, which has already been working diligently for nine years on the development and promotion of opera and classical music in the region.

The opera “Cosi fan tutte, ossia La Scuola degli Amanti”, which translates as “Thus Do They All, or The School for Lovers”, follows the action set in Naples when two friends, Ferando and

ORGAN DAYS

Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Belgrade, 3rd July The 15th International festival dedicated to organ music, “Organ Days”, opened on 3rd July. The festival presented a series of concerts that, as in previous years, took place at Belgrade’s Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which received a new, large organ in the year 2000.

Famous organists from Serbia and Europe performed during several evening concerts, demonstrating the superior strength of the sound of this powerful instrument, performing compositions from the organ repertoires of the greatest international artists, from the Renaissance to the 20th century. A special place was re-

400 years since the publication of the second part of "Don Quixote" (1615-2015)

from the insurance company, she came up with a way to recoup her money in order to feed her family. While waiting to see how her plan will unfold, she sits in her kitchen and thinks about life, work and miracles. The film’s screening is supported by Instituto Cervantes.

served for recent research and experimentation, thanks to which the organ music was combined with other artistic expressions, such as, for example, poetry.

Lectures and workshops represented an integral part of this festival, with artists participating in this event offering advice and assistance to organ students from Belgrade and other parts of Serbia.

On the occasion of this 15th edition of the international Organ Days festival, the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade promoted and supported the participation of Pietro Pasquini and Francesco Zuvadelija, who performed a number of compositions by Handel and Grieg, which served to illustrate the evolution of organ music from the 18th to the 19th centuries, including adapted works not originally composed for performance on this instrument.

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FACES & PLACES

CANADA DAY 1

JULY

On July 1st Canada celebrated its 148th birthday with pride in its history, culture and achievements. In celebration of Canada Day, the Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Philip Pinnington, and his spouse,Erica Pinnington, hosted a reception at the Canadian Residence that was attended by the President of the National Assembly Maja Gojkovic, representatives of diplomatic core, government officials, academics, representatives of civil society and business community. In the days before there were a number of cultural events involving Canadian music, drama, films and art exhibitions.

Mrs. and Mr. PINNINGTON welcome MAJA GOJKOVIC, President of the National Assembly

H.E. PHILIP PINNINGTON

IMPROVE HEALTH AND LIFE FOR ROMA FAMILIES 2 JULY

PM VUČIĆ and Ambassador KIRBY Photo: Tanjug

Mr and Mrs KIRBY, with Mrs and President NIKOLIĆ

GALA RECEPTION MARKS INDEPENDENCE DAY 2

JULY

To commemorate the traditional “4th of July” celebration of the Independence Day of the United States, H.E. U.S. Ambassador in Belgrade, Michael Kirby, hosted a gala reception at the embassy.

“I am grateful for everything I have achieved together with many of my friends and colleagues in Serbia, who are truly committed to a democratic and European future for Serbia,” said Ambassador Kirby. “Serbia can count on the United States as a partner and a friend.”

In addition to President Tomislav Nikolić and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, the reception was also attended by numerous representatives of Serbia’s political, public and cultural life, members of the diplomatic corps, international officials, members of the academic community and numerous other guests.

A contract has been signed in Belgrade between the Serbian Minister of Health, UNICEF Serbia and Telenor Serbia, which have continued their cooperation under the auspices of the “Connect” project. The aim of this project is to improve the health and quality of life of Roma people living in Serbia.

The Ministry of Health launched the health mediators “Connection” project in 2008. UNICEF and Telenor joined the project in order to help organise further training and the provision of computers and mobile phones, assisting in the establishing of a system to record and monitor the health status of Roma children and families, as well as the provision of services in local communities.

The agreement was signed by Dr Zlatibor Lončar, Serbian Health Minister, Ove Fredheim, CEO of Telenor Serbia, and Michel Saint-Lot, Director of UNICEF Serbia.

OVE FREDHEIM, CEO Telenora Serbia (left), ZLATIBOR LONCAR, Serbian Minister of Health and MICHEL SAINT-LOT, direktor UNICEF, Serbia

The health mediators linkage project

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MONTENEGRIN NATIONAL DAY 13 JULY

H.E. Montenegrin Ambassador to Serbia, Branislav Mićunović, hosted a festive reception at Belgrade’s Hyatt Regency Hotel to mark the National Day of Montenegro.

Addressing guests, Mićunović said that Serbia and Montenegro have mutual respect and respect for the traditional of friendly and cooperative relations between the peoples, adding that relations between Montenegro and Serbia are the best since their establishment in the 19th century.

The reception was attended by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Maja Gojković, Serbian Patriarch Irinej, Serbian government ministers Nebojša Stefanović, Nikola Selaković, Aleksandar Antić and Ivan Tasovac, as well as numerous representatives of diplomatic, cultural and public life.

MICHAEL DAVENPORT, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation in Serbia ANANIJE PEROVIĆ, counselor at the Embassy of Montenegro, ČEDOMIR FUSTIĆ, Minister Counsellor, DRAGAN KANKARAS, Consul General of Montenegro in Vojvodina, RADMILA VOJVODIĆ his spouse and prof. BRANISLAV MIĆUNOVIĆ, Montenegro's ambassador

SRDJAN VERBIĆ, Minister of Education, TIBOR NAVRACSICS, European Commissioner for Culture, Education, Youth and Sports and MICHAEL DAVENPORT, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation in Serbia

CLASSIC MUSIC CONCERT IN BOTANICAL GARDENS 13 JULY

A classical music concert featuring the performances of young musicians from all over Serbia was held in the Jevremovac Botanical Gardens.

Young members of the ArtLink Musical Association performed works

by Bach, Haydn, Paganini and Monti as soloists, accompanied by the association’s Chamber Orchestra. The concert was organised by the EU Delegation to Serbia and the EU Info Centre, in cooperation with ArtLink Musical Association and the Jevremovac Botanical Gardens, to mark the occasion of the visit to Serbia of Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Culture, Education, Youth and Sports. The concert also commemorated the first anniversary of the reconstruction of the Jevremovac Botanical Gardens and its reopening to the public.

FRENCH NATIONAL DAY 14 JULY

H.E. Ambassador Christine Moro marked the occasion of the National Day of France by hosting a formal reception at the French ambassadorial residence, using the occasion to address guests and express her hope that Serbia will open more accession negotiation chapters with the EU by the end of the year. She also stressed the importance of reforms, relaying the message that France is with Serbia on this road. She stressed that Serbia and France are bound together by brotherly relations and relations of trust, noting that the year behind us was marked by the exchanging of visits at the highest level.

Ambassador Moro also laid a wreath at the Monument of Gratitude to France in Kalemegdan Fortress Park.

Mr. MORO (left), H.E. CHRISTINE MORO and IVICA DAČIĆ, Ministar for Foreign Affairs

H.E. CHRISTINE MORO welcomes GORAN PITIĆ, Societe General Bank

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FACES & PLACES

ITALIAN AND SERBIAN BUSINESSMEN SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT 22 JULY

NELA JOVIC, program officer at the Embassy, H.E. MR.NILS RAGNAR KAMSVAG and MARA ZHIVKOV, consultant at the Embassy

NORWAY SUPPORTS CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE BALKANS

President of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce, Milivoje Miletić, and president of the Italian-Serbian Business Chamber, Claudio Cesario, have signed an agreement on cooperation between the two chambers.

Italy is one of Serbia’s most important foreign trade partners, with trade in the first five months of this year amounting to $ 1.852 million, of which exports from Serbia to Italy totalled about $1billion and imports from Italy were worth $852 million. Last year Serbia exported goods and services to Italy worth about $2.5 billion, while imports from Italy were also worth around $2.5 billion.

14 JULY

The Norwegian ambassadorial residence in Belgrade welcomed many representatives of civil society organisations from Serbia and Montenegro on 14th July, who gathered for the grant announcement ceremony under the auspices of the project “Strengthening Civil Society Phase III”.

A total of 18 grants were awarded from a total of 501 applications for this project, which aims to finance the functioning of civil society organisations and their work through so-called core funding, thus enabling them to develop their missions further by covering a portion of organisational development and running costs. The total amount awarded to CSOs in Serbia and Montenegro under this grant scheme is €1,065,000.

CLAUDIO CESARIO, president of the Italian-Serbian Business Chamber and MILIVOJE MILETIĆ, President of the Belgrade Chamber of Commerce

MARCO LEONE, First Secretary at the Embassy of Italy, OLIVER LEPORI, General Secretary of the Italian-Serbian Business Chamber, MILIVOJE MILETIĆ, CLAUDIO CESARIO, SANJA VASIĆ, Secretary of the Centre for International Economic Relations and RADOSAV ZARIĆ, President of Supervisory Board, Italian-Serbian Business Chamber

NATIONAL DAY OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 23 JULY

H.E. Belgium Ambassador and Mrs. Leo D’aes held a summer reception at the Belgian

Ambassadorial residence to commemorate the National day of the Kingdom of Belgium.

The reception was attended by many members of the diplomatic corps and respected members of Serbia’s culture sector and political scene. Belgian National Day is actually celebrat-

H.E. Turkish Ambassador MEHMET KEMAL BOZAYand his spouse, alongside H.E. and Mrs. LEO D'AES, Belgian Ambassador

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ed on 21st July – the date in 1831 when Leopold of Saxe-Coburg swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution, thus becoming the first King of the Belgians. The king’s vow marked the start of the independent state of Belgium under a constitutional monarchy and parliament.

SPECIAL EDITION

“WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES”

ISRAEL CREATIVE INNOVATION

2015

Israeli academics produce more scientific papers per capita than any other country in the world.

Israel was the first country to sign up to the Kimberly process, the international standard that certifies diamonds as being “conflict free”.

The Dead Sea is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.

The Azrieli Centre is located on a 34,500-square-metre site in Tel Aviv

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WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Haifa’s Carmelit transport system is one of the smallest subway systems in the world, with four carriages and a track of just 1.8 km.

Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage.

The Prime Minister serves as head of government and the Knesset serves as Israel's legislative body.

Talmon Marco is an Israeli-American entrepreneur and businessman, best known as the CEO and founder of Viber

Jerusalem, located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

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INTERVIEW

YOSSEF LEVY, AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL

Israel and Serbia have preconditions to become much closer trade partners and enhance political, economic and cultural cooperation. As two small countries, their future is to be found in new technologies and human resources Photo: Janko Petković

Opportunities Waiting to be Seized L ast year’s visit of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić’s to Israel served to fortify the already good bilateral relations between the two countries, opening new fields of possible cooperation including security issues in the broader region and new avenues of economic cooperation. “Both Israel and Serbia share the human values of civilisation, but those values are now in unprecedented danger,” says Yossef Levy, Israeli Ambassador to Serbia, pointing to security issues that are

this is a time for decisiveness and truth,” says the ambassador.

Although the level of bilateral trade is unsatisfactory, Levy believes that many opportunities might be explored in the near future, in agriculture and IT, among other areas. “More and more Israeli IT companies are arriving in Serbia in search of quality engineers,” says Levi.

This also helps the current shift in how the Serbian public sees Israel – not only in terms of the Bible and the Holocaust, but rather as a

Serbia and Israel speak in a new language today: we talk about start-ups, technological incubators and investments. This is great for us, and for you as well complicating the situation in the broader region. “Belgrade and Jerusalem, as well as some moderate Arab countries that I won’t mention here, realise more than ever that

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vibrant, modern and creative young state. The cultural exchange is also helping that cause – the Serbian public has the opportunity to watch contemporary Israeli movies and enjoy

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literature and poetry. “I’m happy to see that the Serbian Embassy in Tel Aviv understands the necessity of enhancing cultural dialogue between our countries,” says Levi.

In this interview for CorD, Levi speaks in detail about possible and existing avenues of bilateral cooperation between our two countries.

• Last year saw Aleksandar Vučić become the first Serbian prime minister in history to visit Israel. What was the impact of that visit on bilateral relations between our two countries?

- That was an excellent visit which had both historical and political dimensions, deriving from the personal commitment of the leaders of our two countries. Prime Minister Vučić met with the entire Israeli leadership and impressed them tremendously with his deep knowledge, political wisdom and sincere friendship for Israel and the Jewish people.

• Did Vučić’s visit open some additional space for the further development of political relations between the two countries?

- For sure. One of the topics was the challenge of combatting extremism and fanaticism in our broad region. Both Israel and Serbia share the human values of civilisation, but those values are now in unprecedented danger.

The Islamic Middle East is going through turmoil not seen since the Middle Ages.

Unfortunately, young people in the Balkans, Serbian citizens included, are drafted to participate in this kingdom of death and evil.

Belgrade and Jerusalem, as well as some moderate Arab countries that I won’t mention here, realize more than ever that this is the time for decisiveness and truth.

necessity of enhancing cultural dialogue between our countries.

• Some prominent Israeli real estate companies are operating in Serbia. However, we don’t see many Israeli IT companies here, or increased transfer of knowhow among Israeli and Serbian IT companies. Is this an accurate statement, or might we be missing some bigger developments that are already taking place?

- This is true, but not totally accurate. There’s no comparison between the investments in real estate and the investments in IT and, of course, they are far from what we could

• Within the spectrum of bilateral relations, which do you see as the most underused and underdeveloped?

- I’m very happy with our road map with Serbia, but each and every field can still be improved upon.

We’re proud of the level of Israeli investments in Serbia, especially in real estate, such as: Airport City, with its amazing fourth phase, the Rajićeva luxurious Shopping Centre, the recently inaugurated Zemun Retail Park, the successful Aviv Park Pančevo and Big Cee, which has become an icon in Novi Sad and the surrounding area. The Central Garden project will certainly be a shining gem of the Belgrade residential landscape. The volume of trade, however, is far from satisfactory. I like to open my morning with a cup of Doncafe which is produced by Strauss, my favorite coffee brand in Israel. My dream is to place Israel among Serbia’s top 10 trading partners in the next decade. We have all the preconditions to do so.

Furthermore, we’re quite satisfied with the new impulse of Israeli culture. In the last few months alone we have had several Israeli theatres here, two bands coming to Belgrade and the Exit festival, film weeks, etc.

Some Serbs believe that Israel is a walking archaic memorial of history and spirit. I enjoy watching their faces when they see the real Israeli profile in the movies, literature and poetry: a vibrant, dynamic and even cynical culture, with an unbelievable energy.

I’m happy to see that the Serbian Embassy in Tel Aviv understands the

pros and cons of further engagement in Serbia?

- Serbia has enormous potential in agriculture and the Israeli investors who are already operating in Serbia in the fields of irrigation and other technologies are very well aware of this. However, the lack of financing and loans in Serbia and the rest of the world prevent this positive trend from achieving its full potential. I know the Serbian government is working on adopting a new strategy for agriculture which will bring new opportunities for Israeli agriculture companies in Serbia.

• We see, as you stated, that Serbia is giving a high priority to holocaust remembrance. However, the old fairground still lacks a proper monument devoted to Serbia’s holocaust victims. Have you received any news about a monument embraced by the Belgrade authorities?

- I have full confidence that Mayor Mali and the government are on the right track to finally realizing our oath to the tragic past. I was invited to the opening session of the steering committee, led by Bishop Ćulibrk, and I was deeply impressed. We asked the City and the State to finish the project by 2017.

My dream is to place Israel among Serbia’s top ten trading partners in the next decade.

We have all the preconditions to do so see as a start-up nation. Nevertheless, in the last two years we are witnessing a shift in that direction, with more and more Israeli IT companies arriving in Serbia, in search of quality engineers.

I’m of the opinion that the main obstacle preventing more Israeli companies from coming to this area is that there are not enough engineers.

At the Israeli Embassy we try to also encourage cooperation in the IT field. In that sense, for the second consecutive year, we organised the Start Tel Aviv competition, in which ten Serbian start-ups competed for the opportunity to come to Israel and meet the Israeli hi tech community.

• Is there tangible interest among Israeli companies when it comes to agriculture; and what do they see as the

• How is modern Israel represented in Serbia?

- We witnessed a positive shift in Israel’s image, from classical topics to modern and creative themes. When I arrived here in 2000, as Deputy Ambassador, people spoke to me about the Holocaust and the Bible.

Today, 15 years later, Serbia and Israel have invented a new language. We speak about start-ups, technological incubators and investments. This is great for us, and for you as well, as two small countries whose economic future lies only in sophisticated technology and human resources.

I had the great pleasure of opening the new energy conference (Nova energija) on Mount Kopaonik, which was organised by Mr Robert Čoban. It wasn’t me standing there, but rather Israel – as a young nation which became a start-up by itself. ●

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START-UP NATION

Innovation as a Way of Life Call it chutzpah, call it tenacity, call it obsession, but Israel is number one globally in terms of R&D spending, first after Silicon Valley in terms of number of start-ups, first in per capita venture capital investments, and more than well represented on the NASDAQ.

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srael boasts the largest concentration of start-ups per-head in the world, with almost one thousand new firms launched every year. Some 88 Israeli companies are listed on NASDAQ. Despite being 301 times smaller than the U.S., Israel is often compared with Silicon Valley. In fact, it’s only second to Silicon Valley when it comes to producing start-up companies. In 2013 alone, Israel produced 1,000 new start-ups, according to a survey by TerraLab Ventures. For every start-up that failed, two more sprung up in its place.

According to the book “Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle”,

by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, Israel has the highest density of tech start-ups in the world. Some of these start-ups achieve global success directly from Israel, such as Waze, while others achieve success after opening centres in places such as Silicon Valley, New York and Boston.

The authors argue that a major factor of Israel’s economic growth can be found in the culture of the Israeli Defence Forces, where service is mandatory for most young Israelis. The authors believe that serving in the IDF provides potential entrepreneurs with the opportunity to develop a wide array of skills and contacts. They also believe that IDF service provides experience in exerting responsibility in an environment relatively free of hierarchy, where creativity and intelligence are highly valued. They also believe that a nation of immigrants is a nation of entrepreneurs.

With exits of nearly $15 billion through mergers and acquisitions and public offerings,

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2014 was an all-time record year for Israel’s hi-tech industry, compared with the $1.2 billion raised in 2013, according to a PwC report for 2014. The exits were spread out between a variety of tech industries, including internet, IT, life sciences, communications and semiconductors.

However, 2015 could be even better. In just the first six months, exits in the Israeli high-tech economy netted more than three quarters of the total dollar amount from 2014.

Between January and June there were 54 exits among Israeli tech firms, worth $5.29 billion.

That sum was more than 75 per cent of the total for 2014, when 107 deals netted $6.98 billion, and was 86% of the $6.62 billion in 2013’s 91 exits, according to the semi-annual M&A report issued by the IVC Research Centre,

Thanks to Israeli government programmes spurring innovation, coupled with the depth of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) talent in Israel, the country has built an ecosystem that continues to grow and create synergy and new opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Among many factors that contributed to the birth of the start-up nation, researchers and journalists often quote a lack of resources which forced Israelis to find solutions to survive – for example, to support research and development in irrigation and water technology.

Similarly, fierce geopolitical conflicts in the volatile Middle East area elicited advanced defence-related research and development efforts, which later became the

Among many factors that contributed to the birth of the start-up nation, researchers and journalists often quote a lack of resources, military service and immigration a tech industry organisation that tracks the industry, and legal firm Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal, Israel’s largest law firm and a top dealmaker in the technology sector.

How has Israel – as a 60-year-old nation with a population of 7.1 million – been able to reach such economic growth that it today has more high-tech start-ups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country in the world?

The Israeli start-up scene extends from the tech hub of Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and all the way to the southern desert city of Beersheba.

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

basis for many non-defence innovations in the areas of healthcare, telecommunications, security, transportation, aviation and more.

The need to fight and to innovate for survival made Israelis tough and resolute as individuals, and determined and efficient as managers.

In a world in which innovation plays an ever-increasing role, there is a potential lesson here for other countries and societies - foster innovation around areas of necessity.

Risk-taking and challenging of norms are at the start of each innovation. ●

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ISRAEL & SERBIA

ECONOMIC COOPERATION

New Momentum in Real Estate Projects Contributing to the claim that Israeli investments in Serbia are considerably higher than the official figure is the fact that several major projects in the real estate field should be completed this year and during the next two years

he economy of Israel is a technologically T advanced market economy

T

he trade exchange between Serbia and Israel has been hovering just under the $50 million mark for years, with the unsatisfactory participation of Serbia in terms of the placement of goods in Israel. However, new real estate investments by Israeli companies throughout Serbia, interest among Israeli companies to invest in the agricultural sector, as well as increasingly lively cooperation in the IT sector, should contribute to higher investments and, consequently, a spread in the spectrum of the trade exchange.

Serbian and Israeli business leaders have the most opportunities to deepen cooperation in the field of agriculture, ICT, production of plastics, wood and footwear, as well as advancing partnership in research & development projects.

Great potential exists when it comes to cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Israeli companies have repeatedly expressed their interest in projects related to agriculture, alternative energy sources and the construction industry. In terms of agriculture, the primary avenue lies in the

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fact that Israel has developed technology in the areas of agriculture, while Serbia has great potential for application, which, together with higher technology investments, could encourage further Serbian agriculture exports.

Israel’s achievements in high technology domains, innovation in the field of telecommunications, information technology, use of renewable energy sources, and in the areas of agriculture and health, provide the

in both preventative care and treatment. Other important patents include those in the area of land irrigation using the “drop by drop” system, utilising the minimum amount of water. In the area of renewable energy, the Israelis are known for the construction of solar parks and solar panels for households, as well as the use of waste as an energy source.

One example of this kind is the project for Makiš 2, which was created by Israeli company

Serbian and Israeli business leaders have the most opportunities to deepen cooperation in the field of agriculture, ICT, production of plastics, wood and footwear, as well as advancing partnership in research & development projects opportunity for the transfer of technology in these and other areas. The most noteworthy innovations among those emerging in Israel include technology for instant messaging, voice mail technology, as well as a revolutionary discovery in the field of medicine – a miniature computer capsule with a camera, which helps

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Tahal, which also made all the necessary equipment for this state of the art water treatment plant in Serbia, opened in 2014.

According to the statistics of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the bilateral trade exchange between the two countries was worth $46.6 million in 2014. The value of

Serbian exports to Israel amounted to $17.8 million, while the value of imports from Israel to Serbia during the same period amounted to $28.8 million.

This result is only slightly better than the $43.5 million achieved in 2013. For that year, the value of Serbia’s exports to Israel amounted to $16.9 million, while the value of imports to Serbia from Israel in the same period amounted to $26.6 million.

The list of the most important products exported from Serbia to Israel includes parts for turbojet or turbo-propeller engines, processed beech wood, food for dogs and cats, nickel products, rubber pneumatic tyres for passenger vehicles and construction timber, with the most important exporters in the last three years include LPO-Ada – the privatisation of which involved Israeli company Bet Shemesh Engines – Farmina Pet Foods Inđija, Josipović trejd from New Belgrade, Milan Blagojević –namenska from Lučani, Jugodrvo – st from New Belgrade, Simićevo-based Goša FSO and Rakić – kom from Duvanište, amongst others.

Israeli company Bet Shemesh Engiņes Ltd. bought the dilapidated LPO Ada factory in 2003 and sales have since increased tenfold. The company decided to build a completely new plant to manufacture jet engine components for overseas markets. The company makes parts for Airbus and Bombardier, as well as for Falcon aircraft, with a hundred per cent of the production intended for export, especially to Germany, the U.S. and the Netherlands.

The new factory opened in late 2014 and is expected to contribute to further increasing exports from Serbia.

The import side is dominated by herbicides, fungicides, switching apparatus for telephony and telegraphy, denatured salt for road gritting, machinery, insecticides, tyre stabilisers and plastics. Among the biggest importers are Magan agrohemikls from Subotica, Nuba Invest, Manta system and Kristal – all from Belgrade, Valjevo’s

Austroterm, Green Hit from New Belgrade and Leskovac-based Zdravlje.

Since December 2013, twice weekly flights via Larnaca have been replaced by direct flights four times a week from Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

According to statistics of the National Bank of Serbia, the total value of Israel’s direct investments in Serbia from the year 2000

accordingly, the owners want to expand their operations on the Serbian market.

Airport City currently comprises seven buildings and more than 80,000 square metres of space. It is home to around 100 of the largest and most successful international and domestic companies. Project investors are AFI Europe and Tidhar – Israeli and international companies operating in the region and worldwide.

to 2012 totalled approximately $52 million.

However, it is estimated that the real value of Israeli investments in this period reached €1.3 billion.

Israeli investors have mostly invested in real estate. The first significant Israeli investment was the construction of the Airport City business centre in New Belgrade, followed by the Plaza Centre shopping centre in Kragujevac, Big CEE in Novi Sad, the Pančevo shopping centre and Hotel Plaza in Belgrade.

This year saw the start of construction of the fourth phase of construction at New Belgrade’s Airport City business park, with a total of four new buildings to be constructed.

Airport City CEO Adir El Al announced that the company had decided to resume construction due to the arrival of new companies on the Serbian market, resulting in increased demand for office space. He said that this Israeli company recognises the needs of the Belgrade real estate market not only for office space, but also for residential construction and,

The end of October this year is expected to see the opening of the new retail park of Israeli company Aviv Arlon at the entrance to Zrenjanin from the direction of Novi Sad, in which €30 million has been invested. This is the company’s third project in Serbia since 2007.

May this year saw the opening of the Zemun Park, an investment worth €25 million, while the second phase is expected soon for the project of the Fishman Group, a subsidiary of the Mivne Group – Israel’s leading group in the fields of property management and commercial property construction.

On the site of the former rolling bearings industry, in the very centre of Belgrade, construction has commenced on the new residential complex “Central Garden”. The main investor is Direct capital S – a company established in Serbia jointly by Israeli companies AFI Europe and Shinkun & Binui Group. Completion of the entire complex, which is built in the form of a closed horseshoe, is expected by 2020. The investor has invested €120 million in the entire complex. ●

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INTERVIEW

SINIŠA DANIČIĆ, COUNTRY MANAGER OF STRAUSS ADRIATIC SERBIA

Coffee of Authentic Local Taste Company Strauss Adriatic emerged from the family company Doncafé, founded in 1992, and today operates within the Strauss Coffee company, one of the world’s five largest global coffee producers.

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sing the latest technology, mergers and partnerships, alongside the support of experts from around the world, with continuous improvement of both research and strategic marketing, Strauss Adriatic (Doncafé) has become a multinational company, one of the world’s five largest coffee producers, says Siniša Daničić, CEO of Strauss Adriatic Serbia ● Strauss Adriatic has its roots in a family

firm founded in 1992. Tell us how progress developed from a small firm to a large company that is now the second largest player on the coffee market in Serbia?

- Our local teams have the support of

experts in key areas in the company’s headquarters, from procurement of raw coffee in Switzerland, via corporate finance and research & development in Israel, to mergers and acquisitions, human resources, strategic marketing and innovation in the Netherlands.

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We are continuing to develop our business and brands in order for us to offer as many people as possible a coffee experience of authentic local flavours.

The Strauss Adriatic (Doncafé) factory is one of 11 production units that supply 15 coffee markets worldwide and our company is the second largest company in Serbia’s retail coffee market (Doncafé and C kafa) and the leading local coffee brand on the HoReCa market. When we opened the factory in Šimanovci in 2007 we had an initial investment of €60 million. Then we set up the technological basis for the company’s good future business operations and created the capacity for an exceptional volume of business.

Today, we have the best factory in this part of Europe and we make ful use of all the potential that this technology offers us.

Monitoring world trends, we have invested in the most modern coffee grinders, with a capacity of 1,000 kilograms per hour. There

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

are only five such mills worldwide, and as many as two of them are at the Doncafé factory in Šimanovci. ● Every one of your products is stamped Guardian of freshness. What does that say to consumers?

- On every package of Doncafé you will find the stamp Čuvar svežine, as a symbol of our quality. Top Doncafé products emerge in the closed system of production – Aroma Expert, which brings you coffee full of taste and an aroma that it is hard to resist. The Doncafé Aroma Expert production system has been developed precisely with the aim of preserving the aroma as much as possible, by both preventing evaporation during the course of the further production process (grinding and packaging), when the process of evaporation is most intense, and by protecting the coffee from contact with the air at any time after roasting, because oxygen is one of the biggest enemies of coffee.

● The company takes care of CSR op-

erations and a few years ago you introduced briquettes made from coffee chaff as a source of energy (coffee bean husks!). How did this project turn out?

- We can be proud of having invested in a unique heating system, thanks to which those costs have now been reduced to a minimum. In fact, our colleague Nemanja Mašić designed a boiler for heating using briquettes made from the coffee chaff that is left over following the process of coffee processing. In this way, we make complete use of the raw material - or coffee, and use biomass as an energy source. Add to this the curiosity that other companies operating within the framework of Strauss Coffee have since adopted this system and technology and will soon begin using it in their systems. ● The coffee market is facing a large number of coffee products with surrogates from small roasters and the smuggling of raw coffee. How does all this

reflect on manufacturers like Strauss Adriatic, who have a permanent commitment to high quality?

- We take great care in selecting beans for our products, which contain 100 per cent coffee without the addition of a surrogate.

One of the biggest challenges this year is to fight the grey market, illegal trade in coffee

it as genuine. Controversial coffee is sold primarily on the streets and at flea markets, and increasingly can be found in large retail chains. Failure to follow the rules of labeling products directly influences the choice of the consumer, who in this case do not have access to all the information necessary for making the right consumer

Failure to follow the rules of labeling products directly influences the choice of the consumers, who in this case do not have access to all the information necessary for making the right consumer decisions and, thus, they buy products that are not real coffee and an increase in the number of products containing coffee with surrogates. These types of products have significantly lower quality, which is then followed by a lower price, which attracts domestic consumers.

Some manufacturers mix coffee with additives of dubious quality and then sell

decisions. Our challenge is to help our customers by motivating them to read nutrition labels and always buy only those products whose origin and quality are clear and indisputable. With our products, we are always a safe choice, because our coffee is of a proven and unchanged quality. ●

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CORPORATE

AIRPORT CITY

Apples and Honey People are often more receptive to traditions that are not part of their usual cultural norms, and this proved true with Airport City’s apples and honey concept, as well as other Israeli-themed events that we have brought to Belgrade in our own subtle, unobtrusive way.

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odern real estate developments in Belgrade began after 2000. Back then, Airport City Belgrade (ACB) was the biggest investment of its kind… today, with Phase IV of its development just starting, it is still the biggest. However, in the meanwhile it has also positioned itself as the most prestigious and successful project on the Serbian real estate market.

“The ACB concept is unique in our country, but also certain aspects that were achieved here, like creating a sort of urban entity, ensure that it stands out among similar projects. The idea of the ACB Avenue as a central backbone around which everything revolves, and towards which everyone gravitates, made this possible. Business parks of this type elsewhere also have a lot of greenery, which is one of the characteristics of the concept, in addition to parking, telecommunications and Class A office space etc. Here, the basic needs of the business population are met to the highest level, which explains why this project is so successful. Our slogan, “City within the city”, is not a marketing slogan – it is our essence”, says Marina Deleon, Communications Advisor at Airport City Belgrade.

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TRADITION OF GIVING The tradition of giving is an integral part of Jewish cultural heritage and, as such, is one of the pillars of identity of Israelis. Indeed, giving “tzedakah” – and the famous eight levels of giving that are essential for both the giver and the recipient – is something Israelis grow accustomed to as part of their cultural upbringing. However, this kind of altruistic, and ultimately selfless, giving is not the same as corporate philanthropy, which is less about pure donations and more about strategic corporate positioning, and gaining the acceptance of the community at large.

Though part of Africa-Israel and Tidhar - ACBs investors, both of which are international companies, Airport City Belgrade is not itself organised as a big corporation and, as such, it does not have rigid CSR plans. Our approach to CSR, which is generally not so present in the real estate sector, is to represent more of a palette of ideas that we wanted to inspire our clients. Through limited, intimate events, exhibitions and shows, we have sought to draw the attention of clients and tenants to worthy causes that are perhaps less prevalent, offering continuous, thoughtful and

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

unobtrusive assistance. This is incomparable in terms of the capacities and volume of projects of big corporations, some of which are even our tenants, and many of which have their own CSR foundations, with substantial budgeting and massive fundraising events, but we do endeavour to offer the same kind of recognition to areas that need to be highlighted as priorities for society at large.

BRIDGING CULTURAL DIVIDES It is only by becoming familiar with another culture that you can get to know and appreciate it. And the Avenue’s activities provide an opportunity for the park’s Israeli owners, as well as our international tenants, to develop an understanding for Serbian tradition, while Jewish and Israeli themed events help bridge the cultural divide – not just between Israel and Serbia, but rather also all other cultures that are present among the many international companies operating in our truly multicultural environment.

It was with this in mind that we brought the Jewish New Year concept of apples and honey to the ACB Avenue. With Smokvica Restaurant as our partner – which prepared honey cakes according to Rem’s special recipe – we endeavoured to introduce what is normally an intimate family custom to the life of the Avenue. People are often more receptive to traditions that are not part of their usual cultural norms, and this proved true with Airport City’s apples and honey concept, as well as other Israeli-themed events that we have brought to Belgrade in our own subtle, unobtrusive way.

BACKBONE & BRIDGEHEAD Over the years, the ACB Avenue has grown to become the liveliest part of the park. Nowadays we are recognisable in a visual image sense by this walkway, which is marked at one end by the absolutely recognisable plane. As such, we are very protective of this area and its image. Activities on the Avenue are subjected to a very meticulous selection process, in order to determine that nothing could jeopardise the harmony of the Avenue, which attracts 7,000 people every day.

There have been some amazing events on the ACB Avenue over the years. For example, there was the kids’ carnival and red

nose comic relief event, which was wonderful and probably showed the Avenue at its most beautiful – with laughing children and clowns and stilt walkers and jugglers and lots of colour – and which also raised donations for a very good cause. We have had projects aimed at improving quality of life and raising public awareness of green issues. We had the

EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW WITH AIRPORT CITY CEO ADIR EL AL ● You have been in Belgrade for thirteen years already. When you look back on this

period, do you feel like your experience in Serbia has changed and enriched you?

- Many years of experience in Serbia enables us to more easily recognise the characteristics

of the moment, the mentality; to properly assess the reaction of customers, who are very specific here and differ greatly from those in other places where we have built… Living in Serbia has certainly enriched and changed me. It has brought me a lot of experience, knowledge and intercultural experience…. Living here has brought me a different perspective, a different way of thinking and insight into relations than the one I grew up with. All my professional and personal experience in the Belgrade environment has brought me new confidence – confidence that is based on success.

“Vizila – vehicles of imagination” art project that raised public awareness of recycling in a unique and attractive way.

At that time we had several small promotions on issues related to recycling, energy efficiency and waste management. That was six years ago, and it is satisfying to see that those ideas that we pioneered have become much more popular now. From day one, Airport City has proven to be an inspiration for photographers and we have been recorded on photographic images from every conceivable angle and perspective.

With Phase IV of the park’s development now underway, which will see ACB almost double in size, we can expect the significance of the Avenue – and the events it hosts – to continue to grow in terms of significance and appeal, making it even more of a spectacle worthy of countless photographic images. ●

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INTWEWIEV

YEHUDA SARID, LUDAN GROUP CEO

Global Experience, Local Approach Ludan Group offers comprehensive solutions for a wide array of complex projects. The Group’s reputation for innovative solutions has been further enhanced with the development of an In-house Environmental Technologies subsidiary with expertise in groundwater, industrial waste water treatment, soil remediation & gas emissions

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he group is also well known for developing large-scale projects involving the application of advanced technologies, says Yehuda Sarid, CEO of Ludan Group.

waste and waste water and air emissions.

This division also handles Clean Energy projects. These two divisions serve the same industry sectors as the main division and are coherent with the entire group.

● Ludan Group provides integrated solutions which combine several different disciplines. How do you manage to harmonise these?

- Ludan Group offers a blend of engineering

● When it comes to the oil and

gas industry in Serbia, and considering that your company is engaged in building capacities in this economic segment, how satisfied are you with what has been accomplished so far?

- We serve GPN/NIS in its two

services to its customers. Ludan’s structure reflects the industrial sectors that we serve and we have multi-disciplinary capabilities for each one of them.

The motto “Global experience, local approach” really expresses our way of doing business. Accumulated global experience is directed to a specific local mission. We commit to be close to our clients.

We provide our clients with a full range of engineering services, with an emphasis on environmental and process control solutions Traditional engineering is hard core. This is the largest division. It has several offices located in Israel & Europe. All of them are structured in the same way and use the same tools. This is advantageous when we have to support each other. The industrial IT division possesses remarkable experience with all PLCs and DCSs on the market. The Environmental Technologies division treats all kinds of pollutants-soil remediation,

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experience with no relation to the size of a potential project. We try to gain client trust and build working relations from scratch – starting with consultancy, through single discipline design. We are confident that our diversity can fit any need, as we have performed so many projects in so many sectors.

The group management level secures integration and flexibility and BU managers are responsible for daily operations. ● How has the generally negative state of Serbian industry reflected on your operations?

- The local industry is still in a bad shape.

As Ludan is not an investor, but rather an EPC contractor, we are trying to market our

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

locations. We are starting construction of a Gasoline In Line Blending system at the Pančevo refinery and are in the final stage of Handover of CO2 removal from the Natural Gas Plant in Elemir. During execution we struggled with the different approach to the definition of a Turn Key project, based on different cultures and mentalities involved in business performance. ● What are the next steps and plans of Ludan Group in Serbia?

- We intend to strengthen our ties on the Serbian market. We envisage foreign and local investments in the agro industry and chemical industry, along with infrastructure and utilities facilities, to which we can bring our vast experience. ●

CORPORATE

AVIV ARLON

Continuing Investments in Serbia

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viv Arlon is an Israeli company founded in 1963. The company has now been operating in Serbia for eight years, mostly investing in real estate.

Aviv Arlon built the first ever retail park in Serbia, Aviv Park Pančevo, spanning an area of almost 30,000 square metres. People here proved to be very receptive to the retail park concept, because it fits the shopping needs of the population in all relevant parameters – from the location to the brands offered at these parks. Aviv Arlon continues to invest in similar projects.

By the end of this year, the company plans to open two more retail facilities – one in Bel-

By the end of this year, we plan to open two more retail facilities – one in Belgrade and one in Zrenjanin. The retail centre in Zvezdara will open in early autumn, enabling the citizens of this Belgrade municipality to enjoy 11,500 square metres of shopping facilities, offering everything a family needs in one place grade and one in Zrenjanin. The retail centre in Zvezdara will open in early autumn, enabling the citizens of this Belgrade municipality to enjoy 11,500 square metres of shopping facilities,

The company plans to open two more retail facilities by the end of this year – one in Belgrade and one in Zrenjanin offering everything a family needs in one place – from hypermarkets, clothes and footwear shops, to sporting goods stores and catering fa-

cilities like café bars and restaurants. Aviv Park in Zrenjanin will be similar to the existing retail park in Pančevo. Because Aviv Arlon always remains true to its concept, the citizens of Zrenjanin will be able to enjoy shops that span 22,500 square meters and take advantage of a parking area with over 800 parking spaces.

The company also plans to build a residential complex in Zvezdara, at the same address as the shopping centre. The construction of this residential facility, which will comprise two twin units with 73 flats, is scheduled to start by year’s end. Stay tuned for more good news from Aviv Arlon soon. ●

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CULTURE

The Art of Dancing The Serbian public is well acquainted with Ohad Naharin, Israel's most dominant choreographer and artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company – perhaps the best known global ambassador of Israeli culture. However, the story of Israeli dance doesn’t begin or end there

“Vertigo 20”, Vertigo Dance Company

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he combination of range and quality of Israel’s dance scene, like so many other endeavours in this small country, is one of its most extraordinary aspects: extending from ballet, to modern dance, jazz, ethnic, ballroom and folk dancing, which emerged as an amalgam of Jewish and non-Jewish folk dance forms from many parts of the world. While in other countries folk dance is fostered to preserve old rural traditions, in Israel it is a constantly develop-

enthusiasm for dance has led to the emergence of the professional dance leader.

More than a dozen major professional dance companies, most of them based in Tel Aviv, today perform a varied repertoire throughout the country and abroad.

Israel Ballet is the only company in Israel to perform an international repertoire of great classical and neo-classical ballets.

The company was founded in 1967 by Berta Yampolsky and Hillel Markman, who have

More than a dozen major professional dance companies, most of them based in Tel Aviv, today perform a varied repertoire throughout the country and abroad ing art form based on historic and modern sources, as well as biblical associations and contemporary dance styles.

Originally from Europe, Israeli folk dance has been influenced by the traditional dances of different ethnic groups in Israel.

Many dances are choreographed to modern Israeli music, which is a blend of Western and Middle Eastern culture. Widespread

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continued as its artistic directors until the present day. The Israel Ballet Co. has a rich and varied repertoire. In addition to famous neo classical works by George Balanchine, the company’s repertoire includes neo classical and contemporary ballets by Berta Yampolsky and other leading international choreographers.

The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company was founded in 1970 by Yehudit

WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Arnon, a member of the Ga’aton Kibbutz, located in the Galilee area near the Lebanese border. Arnon turned a group of young amateur dancers into one of Israel’s leading contemporary dance companies, steadily gaining international repute. Today, the KCDC is identified with its artistic director and choreographer Rami Be’er. The company is part of the International Dance Village – a unique programme initiated by Be’er in 2008 on the Ga’aton Kibbutz, where dance students from around the world congregate to create.

The Batsheva Dance Company was founded in 1964 by Martha Graham and the Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild. Initially based on Graham’s methods, it always placed a strong emphasis on ballet training. The Batsheva Dance Company has been critically acclaimed and popularly embraced as one of the world’s most exciting contemporary dance companies.

Together with its junior Batsheva Ensemble, the organisation boasts a roster of 40 dancers drawn from Israel and abroad. 2010 marked the 20th anniversary of Ohad Naharin’s arrival as its Artistic Director. Touring extensively throughout the country and internationally, the two companies present 250 performances annually. Accor­ ding to the company,

Batsheva’s works are expressive, dynamic, innovative, emotive, and aesthetic, all of which reflect the energy of the country.

Vertigo is a highly successful modern dance group that was founded in 1992 by dancers Noa Wertheim and Adi Sha’al. Touring worldwide, it has already received several international awards for its work and much of its repertoire features original choreography

by Wertheim, as well as innovative dance projects with other artists.

The Vertigo Dance School in Jerusalem, founded in 1997, provides amateur and professional tuition in classical ballet, modern dance and improvisation. Vertigo sees itself as a messenger of the best of Israeli Art, both at home and abroad, which comes to bring people closer together and touch them through the language of the body. As such, in addition to its performances, the company combines master classes, workshops and co-productions with other

Israeli folk dance

companies from around the world, inviting artists from different fields to create together with the company.

The Inbal Pinto Dance Company’s choreographer and designer, Inbal Pinto, is among the rising stars of international dance. A former member of the Batsheva Dance Company, she has received numerous dance awards since she began choreographing in 1990. Together, along with co-artistic director Avshalom Pollack, Pinto has created numerous dance pieces, such as the world famous work, Oyster, which has been performed hundreds of times in Israel and abroad.

The country’s modern dance scene is further enhanced by a number of smaller groups and independent choreographers whose work is highly appreciated by dance lovers all over the world. The most prominent of these is Yasmeen Godder, who won the Bessie Award in 2001 in New York and numerous awards in Israel. Her dance language is based around the female form, while her work Two Playful Pink has been performed worldwide. Other rising stars include Emanuel Gat and Renana Raz. Since its opening in 1989, the Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre in the newly renovated Neve Tzedek quarter of Tel Aviv has become the focal point of dance activities in the country.

Also in Tel Aviv, the Dance Library of Israel and the Israel Dance Archive, in addition to serving as centres for study and research, also publish books on dance and the Israel Dance Annual.

Israel’s contributions to the field of movement education include the methods of Moshe Feldenkrais, which are taught all over the world, and the Eshkol-Wachman movement notation system, one of the three best-known systems for recording dance and movement in written form. ● WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES

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TOURISM

Finding Old and New in Kibbutzim

It is said that you have to live among a country’s inhabitants in order to really get to know it. One way to do this in Israel is to visit one of many kibbutz communities, which offer a unique insight into the foundations of the State of Israel Moshav farm at Nahalal

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hroughout Israel, from north to south, kibbutzim and moshava farming communities enable guests to gain an insight into the kibbutz that represent some of the country’s most unique communities. Visiting a kibbutz in Israel offers a unique insight into the foundations of the State of Israel, and the special social conditions which the kibbutz created, as well as a generation of founding figures.

Kibbutz means “group” in Hebrew. It is a modest name for something unique: a voluntary democratic community where people live and work together on a non-competitive

working the land with their Zionist creed.

Today there are approximately 270 kibbutzim varying in size from 80 to over 2,000 people, which are scattered throughout Israel. With a total population of around 120,000, these communities represent about 2.8 per cent of Israel’s population.

In the last decade and a half, the kibbutz has evolved from a community dependent solely on agriculture, to a diverse, entrepreneurial and innovative economy that still manages to retain its core values of sharing. More than a generation ago, for example, they gave up the idea of children sleeping in group

The kibbutz has evolved from a community dependent solely on agriculture to a diverse, entrepreneurial and innovative economy which lures tourists seeking to stay in rural holiday resorts or eco-villages basis. Its aim is to generate an economically and socially independent society founded on principles of communal ownership of property, social justice and equality.

The kibbutz movement began around the turn of the 20th century, when groups of young pioneers from Eastern Europe decided to combine their commitment to egalitarianism and their love of nature and

of products – from electronics, furniture, household appliances and plastics, to farm machinery and irrigation systems. As Israel’s population grew and urban centres expanded, some kibbutzim found themselves virtual urban suburbs. Due to this proximity, many of them now offer services to the public, such as commercial laundries, catering, factory outlet stores and child care, including summer camps.

Most kibbutz members work in some section of the kibbutz economy: orchards, factory production, dairy, fish farming, or in one of its maintenance units. Routine jobs, such as dining room duties, are rotated among members. When too few members are available for a particular job, external workers may be hired and paid wages, or receive room and board on the kibbutz.

Some members of kibbutz identify strongly with the pioneer spirit that founded the kibbutz.

Many others, if not pioneers themselves, are

quarters watched over by kibbutz caregivers, which in the old days was considered essential to maximise working hands. Today, some kibbutzim have decided to foster greater individual enterprise, while continuing to share elements of their cultural and social lives.

Most kibbutzim have branched out into industry in order to increase their productivity.

Kibbutz factories manufacture a wide variety K ibbutz Nir Eliyahu

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Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan: Water Festival

Dining house in Kibbutz Gadot

the children of those pioneers, now grown up and with families of their own on the kibbutz.

Compared to the past, kibbutzim today offer members a much wider range of individual choices. Members have more latitude in all aspects of their lives, from the selection of clothing and home furnishings, to where and how they wish to spend their holidays. More opportunities are available to participate in higher education, while the special needs of artists and writers are recognised and they are given time to pursue their own projects.

It is hard to define comprehensively what the kibbutz represents today.

As the BBC writes, to some a kibbutz is a co-operative voluntary community, to others it is an agricultural or industrial village – and, to a growing number of travellers, it is an alternative way to kick back and enjoy the country views.

Since all kibbutzim began as farms, they are located in Israel’s most beautiful regions.

As such, many kibbutzim have rebranded themselves as rural holiday resorts or ecovillages, ensuring they remain relevant in the 21st Century. This makes them an alluring destination for visitors, and many operate hotels and/or bed-and-breakfast facilities.

It used to be popular to visit Israel by staying in kibbutz and volunteering on one of 30 or so kibbutzim for a minimum of two months and a maximum of six months. However, today more tourists go for the more comfortable solution by paying for their bed and breakfast. Many of the kibbutzim, from the Golan Heights down to the Arava Desert, now offer fully-fledged resorts with heated swimming pools, gyms, spa treatments, WiFi connections and multimedia conference rooms.

Apart from beautiful nature and high quality accommodation, kibbutzim also offer impressive insights into the Israeli culture.

Over the years, the kibbutzim have evolved unique ways of celebrating traditional Jewish festivals and national holidays, as well as personal milestones like weddings, bar/ bat mitzvahs and anniversaries. Seasonal and agricultural events, which were commemorated in biblical times, have been revitalised through song, dance and the arts.

Cultural activity abounds, with films and professional performances presented frequently in kibbutz auditoriums, in addition to several hours of daily internally-broadcast television, offering programmes geared to cater to the interests and tastes of members. Pooling the talents of kibbutz members all over the country, kibbutz movements sponsor a number of professional groups, including a symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, modern and folk dance troupes, choirs and a theatre company, which perform regularly in Israel and abroad.

Museums specialising in subjects like archaeology, nature, art, Jewish history and the development of the land of Israel have been established by some kibbutzim, attracting members and visitors in large numbers. ●

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TEFAF ART MARKET REPORT 2015

Global Art Sales Break All Records

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he TEFAF Art Market Report 2015 is a wide ranging report that ex­ amines the global art market in 2014 but also looks at in­ dividual sectors within the market, changing patterns of global wealth and art collecting, the growth of art fairs and online sales and finally the economic impact of the art market.

The report was commissioned

by TEFAF and Dr. Clare McAndrew, a cultural economist specializing in the fine and decorative art market and founder of Art Economics, has researched and written the report.

The global art market was domi­ nated by the three major art markets of the US (39%), China (22%) and the UK (22%) in 2014. The volume of sales also grew by 6% to €39 million but the number of transactions was still less than at the peak of the market in 2007.

The UK Art market grew 17% in 2014 after years of stagnant growth but with a current market value of €11.2 billion it is still less than its peak in 2008. The UK’s strong performance in 2014 had an impact on the overall performance of Europe in the global arena. The US and the UK between them accounted for 62% of all world imports of art and antiques in 2013 un­ derlining their continuing importance as entrepot markets for the art trade.

This year’s The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) Art Market Report shows that in 2014 the global art market reached its highest ever-recorded level, a total of just over €51 billion worldwide, a 7% year-on-year increase taking it above the 2007 pre-recession level of €48 billion.

Commenting on the report, Dr. Clare McAndrew said, “The art mar­ ket continues to be a highly polar­ ized market, with a relatively small number of artists, buyers and sellers accounting for a large share of value.”

In 2014, Post War and Con­ temporary art (defined as artists born

the UK, a key global center for the trade in Old Master paintings, having over 50% of the market share by val­ ue. Total global sales of Chinese dec­ orative art and antiques reached €1.6 billion in 2014, falling by 2% year-onyear. China’s global share of this mar­ ket was 82% by value.

The global art market was dominated by the three major art markets of the US (39%), China (22%) and the UK (22%) in 2014 after 1910) continued to dominate the art market (48% of all fine art auction sales) with sales of Modern art (de­ fined as artists born between 1875 and 1910) accounting for 28% of the global fine art auction market. The US remains the key center of sales of Post War and Contemporary Art with a 46% share of the global mar­ ket by value, whereas the market in Modern Art is shared almost equally

by China (30.6%) and the US (30.5%).

Old Master sales accounted for 8% of the fine art auction market with

There were at least 180 major art fairs with an international element in 2014. The US had the greatest share of fairs with 39%, Europe account­ ed for 38% and Asia 12%. Over a million visitors were generated by the top 22 fairs and sales at art fairs reached an estimated €9.8 billion al­ though this underestimates their im­ pact because many sales take place after the event as a result of dealers following-up new contacts. Dealers spent an estimated €2.3 billion at­ tending art fairs in 2014.

The internet has revolutionized communications in the art sector. In particular the e-commerce of art ob­ jects has also gained significant mo­ mentum, creating increased conven­ ience, efficiency and accessibility for both buyers and sellers, with much greater speed of transactions and wider global reach. Online sales of art and antiques were conservative­ ly estimated to have reached €3.3 bil­ lion or around 6% of all sales by value, with the majority of sales being made in the range of $1,000 – $50,000.

The impact that the art market has on the global economy is signif­ icant in proportion to its revenues.

Art markets around the world make an important contribution to em­ ployment, the nurturing of specialist skills and the support of adjacent in­ dustries. It is estimated that 2.8 mil­ lion people are employed globally by around 300,000 companies trading in art and antiques. The global art trade spent €12.9 billion on a range of external support services directly linked to their businesses in 2014. 

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WIMBLEDON 2015 AS IT WAS

Unstoppable Novak

WINS THIRD WIMBLEDON TITLE No matter what Federer produced or how often he managed to get himself back in the contest, the magician at the other end of the court had an answer for almost everything. Đoković, who in the lead up to the final declared his opponent 'the greatest ever', secured a third championship at Wimbledon following a 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (12-10), 6-4, 6-3 victory in two hours and 56 minutes.

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or the second consecutive year Novak Đoković has denied the world No.2 the honour of becoming the most successful player in Wimbledon history, winning his ninth grand slam of his career.

"It's always a great privilege playing against Roger, he's a great champion," Đoković said. "It's the greatest challenge I've ever had.

He's done so much for our sport on and off the court and is a player that a lot of players from my generation looked up to him and followed his lead. I was aware coming on the court that Roger was always going to play like he always plays - at his best when it matters the most ... he's not going to hand you the match. That was my approach coming into the match. You envisage yourself being on centre court in the biggest tournament in sport holding this trophy," said Đoković In a rain interrupted match on centre court, Đoković moved alongside his coach Boris Becker, as well as John McEnroe, with 72 |

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three titles at Wimbledon following an inspired performance to end the fairytale run of the Swiss maestro.

It was the third meeting between the pair at a grand slam final, sharing the honours in their previous encounters at the 2007 US Open (Federer) and 2014 Wimbledon (Đoković), with the Serbian's latest triumph taking them to a 20-20 head to head record overall.

"I think Novak played not only great today but the whole two weeks, plus the whole year, plus last year, plus the year before that," Federer said.

"Maybe [I had my chances but] that's sport, that's why we come to watch it because we don't know the outcome. I got lucky to win the second set, had my chances early in the third but that's how it goes.

At the end he was rock solid. I thought he played great and I didn't play bad myself so I can be happy with that ... I'm still very hungry and motivated to keep playing. It's been an absolute privilege and honour to be back on centre court in a final like this. I hope I see you again."

Federer created the early break in the first set after winning all points on Đoković's serve to take a 4-2 advantage, but the Serbian hit straight back to square the ledger on Federer's next service game.

The Swiss was then presented with two set points on Đoković's serve but failed to capitalise, sending the opening set to a tie break.

The world No.2 would be left to rue his missed opportunities as the Serbian stepped it up a gear in the tie break, restricting Federer to just one point as he secured the set on the back of a double fault from his opponent.

Another double fault presented Đoković with set point in the second, but Federer fought his way back to take it into another tie breaker.

In an incredible finish to the set, Federer saved a whopping six set points to level the match at one-all and send the crowd into raptures.

But it didn't take Đoković long to silence the one-sided crowd, breaking before the rain interrupted play and holding serve to take the third set 6-4.

The fourth set followed suit, with Đoković once again gaining the early break to close out the match.

Leading into the final Đoković had spent more than 13 hours on court, while Federer had enjoyed a far more comfortable time, having racked up just under 10 hours in his six matches. ■

NICK BOLLETTIERI

Why Novak is

THE PERFECT TENNIS MACHINE

As I travel the world representing the IMG Academy Bollettieri Tennis Program, I am often asked who, in my opinion, is the best player ever in the history of tennis

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or the second consecutive year Novak Đoković has deI will not answer this question here but I will go on the line to describe who I believe is the most perfect tennis machine, similar to the F-18 navy fighter jet.

Let me start out by saying there is never anything that is absolutely perfect. However, as I go back in time (60 years) and think about all of the players I’ve had the privilege of watching, I believe Novak Đoković’s overall game, including the mental and physical parts, may be as perfect as I’ve seen. I will explain why.

Forehand

His grip is a perfect semi-western, and not an extreme western, which gives him the option to execute:Drives (flat forehand); Spin (topspin); Angles.

Swinging volleys

His swing pattern is very compact, with excellent balance throughout the entire swing, including loading up on the back leg and then shifting his weight forward. He utilises his non-hitting hand to balance his body and also as a pointing hand to the target area.

Backhand

His grip is made up of a strong eastern forehand for the top hand and a weak eastern (some would say continental) for the bottom hand. His bottom hand steadies the racket, enabling his upper hand (the left) to do all of the work for the following shots:

Photo: Toby Melville

Drive

Cross-courts and down-the-lines with depth and spin; Fantastic disguised lobs; Angle spin shots; Deceptively good slices.

Touch

Novak has some of the very best drop shots and touch shots from both his forehand and backhand sides. He can also hit slices from both his forehand and backhand sides.

Serve

Novak’s serve is very effective. While he has good power, he also executes all variations of the serve. He can deliver well-placed slices to both boxes, kick-serves wide to the ad side, and can hit very offensive first serves.

His service motion has excellent timing and balance plus a full use of his lower body. He lets the racket head accelerate with the serving arm fully extended.

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Overhead

Novak’s overhead is as good as it gets. His balance and form are superb, as are his movements to any position to hit the overhead.

Swinging volley

Novak’s swinging volley is as good as it gets from both sides.

Volley

Many people don’t realize it but Novak is an excellent volleyer. He is very comfortable at the net and can hit all variations of the volley. His footwork and balance are excellent. He has a very simple shoulder turn, with very little backswing, and redirects the ball with the opponent’s power.

Movement

Yes, Novak has great speed and can move in any direction but what makes him extraordinary is the balance and flexibility he exhibits from all positions on the court, even in incredibly awkward positions.

Stances

Novak can hit from all stances, including the open, semi-open, neutral, and even the closed stances. No matter what stance he hits from on his groundstrokes, at the same time he hits the ball he starts his recovery movement.

By doing this he can reach the next ball a split second quicker and most of the time can control play, and even put his opponent into a defensive position, from a defensive position.

Yes, I fully understand coaches tell their students if you hit the ball here, expect the ball to be returned there. Players like Novak, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, however, seem to have abilities that a coach cannot teach, when it comes to anticipation and split-second reaction to the ball.

Physical and nutrition

For several years players, coaches, and fans thought Novak didn’t train sufficiently because he got tired so quickly and would react by trying to slow down play and attempting low-percentage shots to end points quickly. How it happened I do not know, but after evaluation by medical experts he discovered he had a problem with gluten, which was causing him to have physical limitations while competing in physically demanding matches. A change then took place with his diet and he experienced much greater stamina and strength as a result. Now he can compete for many hours at the highest physical levels and has, in fact, won some of the longest and most gruelling matches played on the ATP Tour.

Personality

Novak has an engaging, fun- loving, thoughtful and honest personality that is very appealing and great for the game. He can entertain (I especially like his dance moves and imitations of other players) and thrill the auReturn of serve dience. The fans know they are in for a show Novak can return serve from any return every time he steps on to the court.

NICK BOLLETTIERI and NOVAK DJOKOVIĆ Source: The Independent position but most of the time he prefers to The Đoković family has done a lot for tennis in Serbia. I was fortunate to be hosted there by the family during stand very close to the baseline and redirect the return using the Serbia’s ATP tournament as their guest. Their entire family was a speed of the serve. This position gets the return back very quickly, delight for me to be with. I’ve also had the chance to work with immediately putting the server on the defensive. At times he will Novak’s youngest brother, Djordje, on several occasions at the IMG alter his position on the return, causing the server to adjust his Academy Bollettieri Tennis Program. serving tactic, resulting in a fault.

Sixth sense

Novak’s anticipation is so good it makes you wonder if he has a sixth sense about where his opponent is directing the ball. He also has excellent vision. His eyes pick up the ball the split fraction of a second it leaves the opponent’s racket, like Andre Agassi. Only a few athletes in any sport can react and anticipate the way Novak is able to. His ability to know where the ball will be hit and ability to react so quickly is a gift from the Man Above.

The future

Novak has new responsibilities, including a new wife and a new child. It will be very interesting to see how he handles these new pressures. My opinion is that he will be a fabulous father and will always be at or near the top of the game for the rest of his career.

The newest addition to his coaching team, a former student of mine, Boris Becker, adds important tips here and there but never saying too much. You don’t want to change a champion. ■

FACTS AND FIGURES

The first set alone was 46 • The Wimbledon Championships date back to 1877 but did not take up residence at Church Road until 1922, where the ground games long. now has a capacity of 35,000.

• The famous Wimbledon turf • Up to 40,000 tennis balls have been used during the tournament, is a mixture of 70% perennial each one hand-tested for weight, bounce and compression and rye grass and 30% Barcrown stored at exactly 20C. Each ball must also measure 6.35cms in creeping red fescue. It is cut to a diameter and weigh 56.7g. height of exactly 8 millimetres.

• More than 27,000 kilos of English strawberries are likely to be • More than 6,000 people staff the championships, including a eaten by spectators, topped by 7,000 litres of cream. temporary staff of several hundred hired by the All England Club • The longest match lasted 112 games, between RA (Pancho) as well as others who are provided by firms, contractors, voluntary bodies and public services.

Gonzalez and Charlie Passarell, both from the US, in 1966.

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CHAMPIONSHIPS

JORDANNE WHILEY, UK and YUI KAMIJI, Japan winning the wheelchair doubles final

T

he 2015 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom and it was the 129th edition of the championships. The Championships were organized by the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the International Tennis Federation. ■

OF WIMBLEDON 2015

Men's Singles: Novak Đoković, Serbia Women's Singles: Serena Williams, United States Men's Doubles: Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands/Horia Tecău, Romania Women's Doubles: Martina Hingis Switzerland/ Sania Mirza, India Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes, India/Martina Hingis, Switzerland Boys' Singles: Reilly Opelka, United States Girls' Singles: Sofya Zhuk, Russia Boys' Doubles: Lý Hoàng Nam, Vietnam/Sumit Nagal, India Girls' Doubles: Hungary Dalma Gálfi, Hungary/ Fanny Stollár, Hungary Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles: Goran Ivanišević, Croatia/ Ivan Ljubičić, Croatia Ladies' Invitation Doubles: Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria/ Rennae Stubbs, Australia Senior Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles: Jacco Eltingh, Netherlands/Paul Haarhuis, Netherlands Wheelchair Men's Doubles: Gustavo Fernández, Argentina/ Nicolas Peifer, France Wheelchair Women's Doubles: Yui Kamiji, Japan/Jordanne

PRIZE MONEY 2015

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams the winners of men’s and women’s singles event will take home £1.88 million (€2.6 milion) each while the runners up of each singles event will get just under a million (£950,000, €1.33 million)

F

or the 2015 tournament there is another increase in prize money which was officially announced earlier in the year with overall prize money pool getting a 7.6% increase. The winners of women and men singles events took home massive £1.88 million each.

The latest increase in the prize money makes Wimbledon the highest paying grand slam in the world. A total of £26.75 million (€37.5 milSTAGES

M/Singles

W/Singles

M/Doubles

lion) makes Wimbledon the most lucrative tennis event. Where players eliminated in singles first round can pocket as much as £29,000 each, while the winners of both mens and women singles will take home £1.88 million and runners-up were awarded with £950,000 in singles events.

Here is the complete breakdown of the entire Wimbledon 2015 Prize money pool, each category has a total purse which is distributed among players starting from the first round losers. ■ W/Doubles

Mix/Doubles

Legends

Wheelchair

Winners

£1.88m

£1.88m

£325,000

£325,000

£96,000

£30,000

£25,000

Runnerups

£950,000

£950,000

£163,000

£163,000

£48,000

£18,000

£10,000

Semi Finalists

£480,000

£480,000

£81,500

£81,500

£24,000

£15,000

£7,500

Quarter Finalists

£240,000

£240,000

£41,000

£41,000

£11,500

£14,000

£3,700

4th Round

£120,000

£120,000

£21,500

£21,500

£5,600

£13,000

3rd Round

£75,000

£75,000

£13,000

£13,000

£2,800

2nd Round

£47,000

£47,000

£8,500

£8,500

£1,400

1st Round

£29,000

£29,000

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CHILL OUT

USA

TIME WARNER CABLE FINED FOR WRONG NUMBER ▶ Time Warner Cable Inc. must

pay $229,500 to Araceli King from Texas for placing 153 automat­ ed calls meant for someone else to her mobile phone in less than a year, even after she told the com­ pany to stop, a Manhattan federal judge ruled last month.

Ms King accused Time Warner Cable of harassing her by leav­ ing messages for Luiz Perez, who once held her mobile phone num­ ber. Time Warner Cable countered that it was not liable to King under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a law meant to curb robo-call and telemarketing abuses, because it believed it was calling Perez, who had consented to the calls.

But in awarding triple damages of $1,500 per call for wilfully vio­ lating that law, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said that “a re­ sponsible business” would have tried harder to find Perez and ad­ dress the problem.

International Lipstick Colours of the Year ▶ As part of the month-long International Lipstick Colours of the Year showcase, Heathrow has commissioned a range of regular-sized lipsticks which have iconic attractions meticulously hand-carved into them by one of the world’s leading micro-sculptors, the UK’s Hedley Wiggan. The carvings can be seen in Terminal 5 and have been created using the most popular lipstick shades being worn this year.

The individual lipstick shades trending in 50 cities across the world were discovered by carefully analysing lipstick sales across Heathrow’s extensive flight schedule, gathering insights from Heathrow’s beauty team and the unrivalled knowledge of award-winning beauty journalist Alice Hart-Davis. Here is a quick flavour of the most popular.

G R E A T B R I TA I N

ECONOMIC INDICATORS ▶ In the face of jokes about pro­

DUBAI

DUBAI'S WABANDONED SUPERCARS ▶ In the last five years, luxury cars

including Porsches, Ferraris and Mercedes Benz have been aban­ doned on the streets of Dubai and left at airport parking lots as their owners flee bankruptcy, hit by the financial crisis. According to Gulf SPAIN

PAMPLONA BULL RUN ▶ The nine-day fiesta in Pamplona (6 - 14 July), which featurs 24-hour street partying, was made famous in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises" and attracts thousands of foreign tourists every year.

The daily runs see people dashing with six bulls along a narrow, 850-meter course from a holding pen to the city's bullring.

The bulls are then killed by professional matadors in bullfights each afternoon.

Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. Dozens are injured each year, mostly in falls. In all, 15 people have died from gorings in Pamplona since record-keeping began in 1924 for the San Fermin festival.

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News, between 2000-3000 cars are abandoned every year.

Under Sharia law, the failure to pay back debt is a criminal of­ fence with offenders facing the risk of prison. Therefore the UAE has no bankruptcy laws so there is no protection should you fail to meet your repayments.

The result means that expats and locals are ditching their expensive cars to avoid jail time, often with the keys still left in the ignition.

liferating airline charges, the British economy line easyJet add­ ed another fee recently. If easy­ Jet, on its own, cancels a flight, it charges a fee of £10 (€14) to no­ tify third parties. The airline said that even though its own decision created the issue, it must none­ theless cover its costs to pro­ vide cancellation notices to pas­ sengers who miss connections or who need to provide verification to collect on private travel-inter­ ruption insurance.

JAPAN

CELEBRATE THE SUMMER HEAT IN JAPAN ▶ The Hakata Gion Yamakasa is held annually in the Hakata district of Fukuoka, Japan. The 15-day festival is organised by Kushida Shrine. The climax of the festival happened during the early morning of 15 July when the seven neighborhoods in Fukuoka, carrying beautifully decorated floats, raced to finish a 5-km route in the city.

On the race day, the first team began their journey just before the sunrise, about 5am and the other six teams followed in intervals of 5 minutes. It took each team an approximate 30 minutes to finish the course.

Yamakasa can be traced back some 750 years ago to a Buddhist priest named Shoichi Kokushi. In order to eradicate an epidemic, Kokushi was carried on a platform while he prayed and sprinkled holy water.

CHINA

CHANNEL ISLANDS

BUDAPEST/ BUCHAREST MIX UP FOR JERSEY POLITICIAN ▶ Everyone makes mistakes but

getting on the wrong flight and ending up in a totally different country to where you had originally planned is the stuff of nightmares particularly when it means missing an important event.

A Jersey (Channel Island) poli­ tician missed the handover of the Dance World Cup to the island when he flew to Budapest, Hungary, in­ stead of Bucharest, Romania.

Jersey is hosting the 2016 compe­ tition and Constable Steve Pallett of Jersey was due to receive a flag from the current hosts. Mr Pallett apologized to event organizers and said he was sorry for wasting some £1,000 of taxpayers money.

He said he did not realize he was about 804km short of his destina­ tion until just before landing.

10 Things Happy People Don’t Care For 1. Age 2. Caring about what others think or say 3. Jobs 4. Fear 5. The negative state of the world 6. Toxic people 7. The past or the future 8. Expecting anything in return 9. Complaining 10. Conforming to society’s standards

INDONESIA

HOUSE FOR SALE IN INDONESIA WITH FREE WIFE

MAN REALIZES HIS “DOGS” ARE BEARS ▶ One day back in 2013, Wang from Yunnan, China was planting banana trees near the Vietnamese border.

A Vietnamese person brought over a handsome pair of dogs for sale, and Wang decided to buy them. For the next two years, the dogs were well-behaved and not picky with their food by any means. Wang took special care of them, giving them a bath and combing their fur every day. With passing time, the two dogs oddly kept growing and their appetites kept pace too. The dogs’ behavior became increas­ ingly uncanny, and they eventual­ ly didn’t seem much like dogs at all.

It turned out that those bears belong to the level 2 category of protected animals in China, mean­ ing that his actions already count­ ed as a violation of the law.

After discussing the situation with his family, Wang decided to give the bears to the forest author­ ity. The animals have since been taken in by a wild animal rescue center in Yunnan.

▶ An advert for a house in Indonesia has gone viral online after the woman sell­

STEVE PALLETT

ing it offered to throw in an unusual extra feature for free - her hand in marriage.

The single-storey property has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a parking space and a fish pond. But it also proposes to buyers a "rare offer" -- "when you buy this house, you can ask the owner to marry you", alongside a picture of Wina Lia, a 40-year-old widow and beauty salon owner, leaning against a car in front of the house.

The ad said that terms and conditions apply, and notes the offer is "for serious buyers and non-negotiable". The house in Sleman, on the island of Java, Indonesia is on the market for $75,000.

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MOST EXTREME SPORTS

ADRENALINE

WITHOUT LIMITS

When it comes to the extreme activities of people addicted to the adrenaline rush, it is difficult to define the boundary between sport and that which certainly is not sport, but rather a deadly game that often ends in tragedy

Y

ear after year, it is as though extreme games are pushing the boundaries.

They are certainly helped in this by the development of technology, which provides lovers of dangerous game with new ideas and provides ever more opportunities for them to play with their lives. Those who deal with these “sports”, many of which are prohibited, know that they aren't necessarily deadly, but certainly instil an imminent sense of death—which is what makes them so thrilling and why we can't look away.

It's not all about the numbers. This selection of sports we are covering may not technically be the most lethal, but they certainly will make you feel like death is just around the corner—which is what really counts. Because driving your car to the volcano may be—by the numbers—more dangerous than surfing down said volcano, but is there really any question about which will get your heart pounding quicker?

Wingsuit BASE Jumping The many perils of non-motorised human flight include: failure to deploy parachute, cord break, power line entanglement, drowning and proximity flying (shooting through narrow cliff gaps that makes for incredible GoPro footage, and has so far contributed to as many as five wingsuit deaths).

Those seeking their own (I can fly!) moment should first consult the fatality statistics of BASE jumping resource.

Because while floating free fall is undoubtedly an unnerving endeavour, so is reading about all the ways it can end—badly.

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Free Solo Climbing Though there are no existing statistics, some of this sport’s greatest climbers have died from falls.

In the profile of the world’s best free solo climber, David Roberts, he writes that free soloing’s “fundamental rule is stern and simple: if you slip, you die.”

The sport requires climbers to go against human nature, quashing the anxiety that comes with the prospect of imminent death, because there’s no place for quivering thighs a hundred-plus feet above the ground.

Contemplate what falling from that height would do to your body, feel your heartbeat rise, then imagine clinging to the cliff face yourself.

Volcano Surfing

Cave Diving While 475 cave divers died between 1950 and 1998, only 47 divers with cave training perished during that period.

Within the blackness of a cave lies the essence of exploration. Geological seams and torso-width holes lead to vast underground rooms lined with rock formations that make them appear otherworldly. As these crevices extend deeper, inevitably, they lead to water. To continue, a caver must dive. But only the bravest amongst the caving community dare don the re-breathers that circulate gas-laden air back into the user’s lungs. Underwater and far underground, cave divers have unearthed such treasures as the fossils of long extinct animals, as well as the bodies of fellow cave diving discoverers who never returned.

There are many places in the world that offer a variety of ways to go downhill, fast. But in Nicaragua, on the 41-degree slope of an active volcano that last erupted in 1999, a handful of adventurers have taken downhill to a new extreme.

Guides of the company Green Pathways Tours shuttle prospective volcano surfers to the top of the 700-metre-tall Cerro Negro, providing them with a protective suit (to protect against sharp rocks), goggles, a rudimentary sled, and a complimentary push. On the way down the face of the volcano, speeds can approach 80kph. The experience: remotely familiar, but entirely unique.

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Flyboarding As Tour de France 2013 racers sped across the island of Corsica, men on what appeared to be jet powered hovercrafts performed barrel rolls and flips above the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The acrobatics were powered by Flyboards, which use a personal watercraft’s propulsion system to rocket users nine metres into the air or plunge them below the water’s surface.

The device was unveiled in 2011 by champion French jet ski racer Franky Zapata, and those who’ve ridden a Flyboard say it makes them feel like a superhero, defying the limitations of human ability.

Kite Flying In countries like Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, flying kites extends far beyond the fascination of children and whimsical adults. In these nations, kite flyers use strings coated with glue and crushed glass to wage battle against those who dare invade their air space. Cut strings send vanquished kites falling back to earth, the victor remaining aloft.

But the razor sharp kite strings sometimes miss their target, and instead slice the throats of rickshaw drivers, bicyclists, and other kite flyers.

Fighters stumble off rooftops or catch their kites in power lines, and succumb to electrocution. In 2007 alone, during Pakistan’s Basant festival, 11 such deaths occurred after the temporary lifting of a kite-flying ban. Kite bans now extend across Asia, but in many places the deadly sport persists.

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Free Diving Experts speculate that passing out as you near the surface is the most common cause of death in free diving.

During a descent, the brain signals to shut down the oxygenated supply of blood to organs and a diver’s heart rate drops to just 12 to 15 beats per minute at the bottom of a free dive. Amongst adventure sports, only BASE jumping is more fatal than free diving. Of the estimated 5,000 divers in the sport, nearly 100 die every year.

BMX Lake Jumping While fatal stunts are rare in the BMX lake jumping world, a top British rider died in 2008 after diving into shallow water.

Bike, plus speed, plus ramp, plus water, equals mad air, sick trick, and a refreshing dip. All true, expect for all those epic BMX lake jumping fails. The prospect of a soft(ish) landing tends to entice those people who’re ill-equipped to take flight onto the seats of flotation aided BMX bikes. While pedalling up to speed, their arms shake and their legs go weak. They often eat dust before even reaching the ramp. Other rookies risk getting their body slammed by 15-plus kilograms of spikey bike parts, but for true BMX pros, a bike propelled leap without fear of landing is one of the pure joys of summer.

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FASHION ACCESSORIES

Be Careful

Selecting Accessories According to the official definition, an accessory is an article or item that can be added to something else in order to make it more useful, versatile or attrac­ tive. In a fashion sense, this can means anything from gloves, earrings and bracelets, to bags, hats, belts and scarves – anything that adds completeness, conve­ nience or attractiveness to one’s basic outfits.

The definition does not state, however, that these details often cost much more than the entire basic outfit, or that we often find when we return home from shopping that the accessory we have bought does not fit the outfit it should complement.

That’s why in this issue we have chosen to pres­ ent somewhat more expensive accessories, in order to draw your attention to the need to take due care when purchasing accessories. This is not only because of the price, but also because various accessories can significantly improve your look, but if you use them in­ correctly they can equally ruin the overall impression you will leave on your environment.

Thus, carefully choose, buy and use accessories.

Victoria Beckham Jackie-O sunglasses This sunglasses featuring square frames, blue gradient lenses and gold-tone hinges.

PRICE: €330

'Provence’ Packable Raffia Hat Rollable and packable raffia sun hat is hand-crocheted, with an inner neoprene band for comfort.

PRICE: €190

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A double-strap design helps restrain your mane and keeps distracting flyaways out of your eyes.

PRICE: €9

PRICE:

€115

Packable Raffia Visor Canvas trims the wide, woven brim, while slender straps tie in back for a fully adjustable fit.

Chloé Leather Crossbody Bag A rounded silhouette mixes with a squared-off flap, while gleaming goldtone hardware highlights the bag's soft, grained leather. A single top handle and spacious, suede-lined interior complete the look.

PRICE: €1,656

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Zella Headband

Woven Leather Belt Intricately woven leather strips lend chic dimension to a stylish belt secured by a square brass buckle.

PRICE: €40

Monica Vinader Bracelet Ponytail Holders (Set of 8) Tight-hold ponytail elastics are crafted with a durable and stretchy design and accented with an almondshaped bead for a stylish twist.

PRICE: €9

The Monica Vinader Havana bracelet features a slim gold vermeil bar set on an adjustable braided cord in emerald green – a vivid colour symbolising radiance.

PRICE: €120

PRICE:

€380

Tom Ford 'Anoushka' Sunglasses The old-school silhouette of classic sunglasses gets a sophisticated update with smoky gradient lenses and signature metal T insets at the temples.

'Comp S' Digital Watch Sydney Evan Bracelet Strung with beautiful grey moss agate stones, this calming bracelet slips over the wrist and features a 14 karat gold evil eye charm embellished with sparkling pavé diamonds and a sapphire at its centre.

PRICE: €880

A crisp digital display shows the time and date, in addition to chronograph and countdown functions, enclosed in a sporty translucent case.

PRICE: €85

Mulberry Calf Nappa Pouch

PRICE:

€535

Crafted in smooth and firm calf nappa leather with a single interior compartment, it is well-suited for many purposes.

PRICE: €175

Gucci 'Guccissima' Bangle Watch High-polished contours further the timeless elegance of a demure bangle watch ending in signature horse-bit links.

The soft, sun-brushed dial displays Swiss-quartz time within the curves of a G-detailed case.

Salvatore Ferragamo Bow Wallet This bow wallet from Salvatore Ferragamo featuring a foldover top with clasp closure and multiple interior card slots.

PRICE: €320

PRICE:

PRICE:

€1,430

€775

ALOR® Diamond Drop Earrings ALOR's signature juxtaposition of utilitarian steel cables with luxe diamond-studded gold brings sophisticated balance to these glim­ mering statement earrings.

Victoria Beckham Liberty Tote The Liberty tote boasts an innovative adjusta­ ble silhouette offer­ ing a roomy tote or a chic, trapeze shape: a worthy investment for years to come.

PRICE:

€510

Valentino Garavani Print Scarf Red and black silk heart print scarf from Valen­tino Garavani featuring a printed logo to the front.

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FASHION ACCESSORIES FOR MEN

Gucci Polarized Aviator Sunglasses

Burberry Print Wallet

Handsome vintage frames define bold sunglasses with polarized polycarbonate lenses for reduced glare and increased clarity.

PRICE: €290

A dark check design patterns the exterior of a hipfold wallet with leather trim.

PRICE: €265

Tonal webbing detailed with colorful stitched stripes lends a signature Paul Smith touch to a handsome toiletry case.

PRICE: €350

Hugo Dot Silk Tie

€5,640

Tag Heuer Chronograph Watch Crafted in stainless steel, it features a croc embossed leather strap, date window and a sleek white face with two chronograph dials.

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Stefano Ricci Tie And Pocket Square Set The set includes a classic tie and a matching pocket square, both perfectly showcasing the exquisite quality and craftsmanship.

PRICE: €373

€5,570

Theo Fennell Gold Whip Men's Torque Bangle Crafted from 18 karat yellow gold, the Gold Whip Torque Bangle will add a polished finishing touch to your look.

Paul Smith Leather Travel Kit

PRICE:

PRICE:

A grid of crisp dots adds to the modern appeal of a slim Italian-silk tie.

PRICE: €85

Canali Medallion Silk Tie Handsome medallions elevate an exquisite Italian tie cut from pure silk.

PRICE: €145

Martin Dingman 'Beck' Belt Stretchy cords are tightly plaited together, fashioning a handsome belt finished with tumbled bridleleather tabs and sculpted silvertone hardware.

Fitbit 'Charge' Wireless Activity A sleek, sporty wristband motivates you to achieve your fitness goals by calculating steps taken, calories burned, elevation climbed and distance traveled throughout the day .

PRICE:

PRICE:

€45

€115

Electric 'Leadbelly' Sunglasses Smooth lines and rich color elevate vintageinspired sunglasses framed in Italian Mazzucchelli acetate and fitted with smart CR-39 lenses.

PRICE: €315

Shinola Leather Strap Watch PRICE:

A solid steel case and premium topstitched leather strap complete the timeless silhouette, and a signature case back laser etched with a serial number adds a custom finish.

PRICE: €490

Ben Minkoff Leather Briefcase Crisp contrast stripes sweep across a structured briefcase perfectly adapted to your professional needs.

PRICE:

€290

PRICE:

€110

Miansai Leather Wallet Minimalist-inspired card slots style a slim, bifold wallet handcrafted in America from twotone, vegetabletanned and dyed calfskin leather.

€9

Silk Pocket Square A bold houndstooth print pattern covers a rich silk pocket square that makes for a handsome update to your modern look.

Burberry Leather Belt Understated color blocking adds a refined finish to this reversible, textured leather belt with a polished silvertone buckle.

PRICE: €445

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PROFILE

Age of Integrated Communication The time has come to shift the focus of communication from channels to goals and results. In this case, that means integrated communication that yields the best results

RADINKA DANILOV Executive Director, Ruskin & Hunt

T

he way my career has been de­ veloping has enabled me to study communication from var­ ious angles and in various en­ vironments. By engaging in literature, I learned about the value of words; by being a journalist, I realised how important sen­ tence structure is, while PR, and especially crisis communication, have taught me the value of communication in general.

My motivation lies in the statement “verything is easy, only one should know how”, and I believe it is vital to be diligent and committed. Since I was interested in the value and importance of words, I chose to study literature and languages – perfectly aware that language is the basis on which I can build my career. Following my graduation, I worked as a journalist, so it was only natural and logical to stay in the world of journalism. The power and significance of news expressed in a sin­ gle sentence triggered in me the interest and the desire to learn more.

Learning about communication contin­ ued through public relations, where I ac­ quired knowledge about the overall value of communication, and especially the im­ portance of two-way communication. The definition of quality communication is when

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both sides understand each other. Only when the process is comprehensive, and only when you are properly understood, can you say that you are communicating.

Everything else, unless there is feedback, means that you are just talking. This is the key to successful communication.

Our reality constantly brings new challenges. The job of a PR specialist is to set goals and, in collaboration with the best team of professionals, always find the right way to achieve these goals.

When you have such an approach to work and you truly realise that communication is ingrained in every aspect of life – from saying good morning to your neighbour to building the brand of an international corporation – your job becomes interest­ ing on a daily basis.

My motivation lies in the statement “verything is easy, only one should know how”, and I believe it is vital to be diligent and committed I found this kind of commitment and intensity of energy at integrated com­ munications agency Ruskin & Hunt. The synergy of knowledge of different com­ munication segments, which every sin­ gle member of our team brought to the table, makes our agency unique. Quality, integrity, creativity and utmost person­

al dedication lie at the core of our work.

These also represent the foundation of any successful business. We are aware of the responsibility that comes with this profession and our business success is a result of our commitment, hard work and constantly working on ourselves.

Whilst being aware of how power­ ful communication is, how much it has shaped the modern world and how cru­ cial it is for the development of a mod­ ern, functional society, as well as my pro­ fessional life, I am happily committed to further research and creation in this seg­ ment, while keeping an eye on the latest trends in my line of work. I believe in the importance of integration when it comes to communication activities. On one hand, integration implies a unique mix of activities communicated via carefully selected channels and providing incred­ ibly precise results. At the same time, an integrated communication campaign creates key messages to suit various target groups, whilst also ensuring bet­ ter and more efficient understanding.

People are at the centre of mod­ ern communication, which makes my job very inspirational. Exchanging in­ formation, ideas and emotions requires personal engagement and good gener­ al knowledge. While PR constantly chal­ lenges me, it has also given me an oppor­ tunity to grow and progress. In order to achieve the best results, professional development needs to be accompanied by personal development. This is where the beauty of my job lies. 

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AUGUST ’15 / ISSUE No. 130

CHINESE -SERBIAN FAST TRACK

H.E. MR. LI MANCHANG

Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia

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BORIS KRSTOVIĆ

THE REAL TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION

011.2450-508 011.2450-122 011.2450-204

office@aim.rs • www.cordmagazine.com

FOCUS

BANKING SECTOR STABILITY

VLADIMIR KOSTIĆ PRESIDENT OF THE SERBIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS

We Are Not Ready For

DIALOGUE AS A SOCIETY

SPECIAL EDITION

“WORLD’S MARKETS AND OPPORTUNITIES”

ISRAEL

CREATIVE INNOVATION

2015

ISSN 1451-7833

9

771451

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