46 minute read
BUSINESS DIALOGUE
Leaders’
MEETING POINT
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MAXENCE LIAGRE,
CEO, MPC Properties
MK GROUP
Huge Potential For Growth MK Group and AIK Bank: 700,000 Euros for the Future of the Region
ALEKSANDAR
KURKANOVIĆ, Head of Sales & Executive Board Member at First Facility, and
JELENA
PALAMAREVIĆ, Head of Finance & Executive Board Member at First Facility
ALEKSANDAR SIMURDIĆ,
Director of the European Affairs Fund of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Always First Key Word: Togetherness
ALEKSANDAR SAVOVIĆ,
Assistant Director for International Projects, GeoINOVA IT Engineering Banja Luka
Progress Based On Knowledge & Creativity
ENDRE TAMAS,
Managing Director, ITnnov Ltd.
Minimising Exportation Risks
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Huge Potential For Growth
The Serbian market is attractive because of the high quality of assets and tenants. We at MPC Properties will continue to explore opportunities locally, but we will also very soon launch the regional and international expansion of the company - Maxence Liagre
You provided our magazine with a really great qualitative overview of the domestic real estate market immediately after your arrival in Serbia. What do you think today, after having spent a year living and working in Serbia?
Of course, I know the market much better, but I’m still surprised by how dynamic and resilient it is. The Serbian market is probably the market that suffered the least due to the pandemic, but was also the fastest to recover. As of today, both for office and retail sectors, the occupancy levels, rental levels and overall performance are back to those of the prepandemic period. This means that the market still has huge potential for improvements and new developments during a normal period.
What would the arrival of a real estate investment fund mean for Serbia? Is that even possible?
The arrival of an investment fund would firstly say a lot about the existing situation on the market, but would also change the perspective on the future. When funds target a market, it means that the market in question already provides enough security in terms of political and economic stability, and that it has sizeable and rational assets, but also growth potential. The presence of real estate investment funds would then increase market liquidity and, as a domino effect, rental levels and yields. I believe that it is now possible, as other markets in the region will soon reach saturation or an investment slowdown, but also because the Serbian market offers higher returns, together with a yield compression perspective.
The global pandemic has brought expansion of a new business model – working from home. How has this influenced the office market in 2021? What do you see as a trend in Serbia?
When it comes to the Serbian market, ‘working from home’ is not a business model by itself, but just a part time option in the spectrum of the full-time classic business model. I see it more as a short-term response to the issue of the pandemic and not as a permanent model. In fact, the pandemic has just emphasised and accelerated a flexible way of working that was already starting to emerge, just as it did with e-commerce for the retail market. As soon as the pandemic started to ease, we saw an immediate increase in the number of employees in our office buildings, but also a very large increase in demand for new office space. So, the classic office model is still very strong and represents the first choice for companies and employees. The main difference now relates more to the offer of offices, which needs to be more focused on employees’ wellbeing and positive experience at work. You launch a new office project in 2021: TLD Belgrade. What is new since the beginning of the year? Yes, our latest office project, TLD (Tri Lista Duvana), is in the full phase of development and we are targeting an opening for the beginning of next year. We have already reached 30% occupancy and, thanks to high demand, we believe that we could reach an occupancy rate of more than 70% by the opening. This building will be a landmark and the reference office address in city centre area, thanks to its unique location, architecture, optimal layout and quality of tenants. As I mentioned previously, we place a lot of importance on the employee experience: the building will possess a fitness centre, a common relaxation zone, as well as a Starbucks coffee shop, as the main retail tenant. During the course of next year, we will focus on a new greenfield office project in New Belgrade, as our portfolio has already reached an occupancy rate of 99%. We need to secure and improve our presence on the market over the next couple of years, as one of the major providers of office space.
Based on your two decades of experience, could you predict what shopping centres of the future will look like?
Firstly, I believe that shopping centres will remain, and that they will remain strong. I don’t anticipate any hegemonial dominance from e-commerce. Shopping is about pleasure, sensation and experience, and only classic retail will be able to offer that for a long time to come. That said, shopping centres will need to continue to evolve and permanently increase the experience through their f&b offer, but they must also integrate ever-more flagship stores, where customers will not only see and buy products, but also
feel a brand’s culture, image and trends. Shopping centres will become the ultimate showplace for brands and customers. Centres will also become physical hubs, where you not only shop, eat and socialise, but also where you will perform many other activities that can only be achieved through a physical presence, like all kinds of light surgery and body care, administrative procedures, indoor sports etc. Shopping centres will become city hubs due to their location, easy access and ample car parking, but also due to them being places with the highest standards for health and safety.
What is it that makes Serbia attractive for you?
As I mentioned before, the market is very dynamic and resilient, but it’s also in a development phase, rather than a consolidation phase. This means that there is still huge potential for the development of new projects. The second reason that the Serbian market is attractive is the quality of assets and tenants. You will find buildings on the market that reflect the latest architectural and technical trends worldwide, together with the best tenants from all over the world. Finally, you will find the same highest standards in people and companies that have great expertise of our industry. This is the combination that makes the market so attractive.
How do you see the further expansion of the global real estate market? I don’t expect a geographical expansion like in the past, since every continent and country is already at a certain stage of development. I foresee more of an organic growth through refurbishment, extensions and the repositioning of existing assets. Real estate is not a solid business. It is permanently evolving and re-inventing itself.
„Smart buildings“ and „green buildings“ are slowly becoming the standard, not only around the world but in our country too. Can these buildings be made even „smarter“ and „greener“?
Sustainability will become increasingly important in the years to come. Portfolios and buildings will become green and sustainable, but what is new is that they will have to be recyclable. This means that we will have
to anticipate the lifecycles of buildings when developing them and make them modular and ‘recyclable ready’. Construction materials will have to be recyclable, but also re-usable, through all refurbishment and repositioning phases.
More than 95% of MPC portfolio already has BREEAM or LEED certification. By the end of the year, they will additionally also receive Well certification, which is a standard for the health and wellbeing of users and visitors of our office and retail buildings. We give great importance to meeting standards at the international level. This is now a must for our company, but also – and even more relevantly – for all our tenants and their customers in our buildings.
What will the future bring to MPC?
MPC Properties is a pioneer and a development company. That is in its genes, and we therefore need to permanently feed our growth. It is for this reason that we will continue to explore opportunities locally, but we will very soon launch the regional and international expansion of the company. We need to find enough surface area and material to express our potential. The company has spent years chasing and applying the highest international standards when it comes to the portfolio and management strategy, and now is the time to reap the benefits of that and to test ourselves with higher challenges.
LOCAL NEWS
“Due to the high technological standard of our plant production in Subotica, we need a highly qualified workforce” – ROLF DIETER GEISEL, PRESIDENT OF
THE BOYSEN GROUP
SERBIA’S IT SECTOR EXPORTS CLOSE TO €2 BILLION
On the occasion of the signing of the Agreement between the Research and Development Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Serbia, the City of Belgrade and the Parking Service, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that this year, exports in the IT sector of the Serbian economy will be almost €2 billion, and the surplus will exceed €1 billion. She assessed that Serbia is once again establishing itself as leader in new technologies and in the modernisation of public administration at the national and local level. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Branko Ruzic pointed out that it is estimated that the global market of artificial intelligence will be worth €500 billion by 2025.
MLEKOPRODUKT NAMED THE MOST GENDER SENSITIVE COMPANY IN SERBIA
Mlekoprodukt, as a leading socially responsible company, has become richer for another recognition. Commitment to the principles of social responsibility, for every company, is an imperative and measurability of success, in all fields. In its daily activities and work, the company Mlekoprodukt recognized the importance of a “strong community” and set the empowerment of women as a long-term priority. Winning the award for the most gender-sensitive company in Serbia „Cvet uspeha za ženu zmaja“ for the best entrepreneurs, the Association of Business Women of Serbia, gave this company a recognition and strengthened its mission to support women in the long run.
NESTLÉ SERBIA DECLARED SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION
Wastewater treatment project is the pride of the Serbian Nestlé factory. Nestlé’s wastewater treatment plant, within the factory in Surčin, is one of the winning projects in the “Sustainability Champions” competition. This title has been awarded to companies that have included the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in their business and sustainability strategies and are actively contributing to their achievement. The recognition was awarded within the “Sustainable Development and Business Week”, an event organized by the Forum for Responsible Business and Smart Collective within the platform “Sustainable Development for All”.
“According to a NALED survey, nine out of 10 companies finance innovations with their own funds” – VIOLETA JOVANOVIĆ,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NALED
OTP BANKA PRESENTED ITS BUSINESS RESULTS AND LAUNCHED GENERATOR ZERO
After the successful completion of the most complex banking integration in this area, OTP banka Srbija presented the business results that marked 2021 and positioned it as the leading financial institution in the domestic market in numerous segments. One of the key strategic directions will be marked by the “green transition” in business, ie commitment to sustainable business and environmental sustainability, which is confirmed by the theme of the new Generator Zero entrepreneurial competition, which was officially opened in November.
postings Placements &
appointments@aim.rs
PIERRE COCHARD, NEW AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE TO SERBIA
Pierre Cochard, 59, studied at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP), Paris, and France’s National Administration School (ENA - École nationale d’administration), completing his studies in 1989. He also completed a study trip to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Amman, from April to June 2005, with the Diplomatic Institute (MFA, France), contributing to a collective report on the Peace Process and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. He first served his country’s MFA in the Strategic Affairs and Disarmament Department, where he held the post of Classical Disarmament and Measures of Trust Redactor from 1989 to ’94. His first foreign posting came at the Embassy of France in Teheran, where he served as Political Counsellor, External, Policy and Regional Environment, from 1994 to ’97, after which he served as Political Counsellor at the Embassy of France in Tokyo (Sept. ’97 to Mar. 2001). Returning to France, he held the post of Deputy Director General, Political and Security Department Head, at the French MFA from March 2012 to September 2016, before serving three years (Sept. 2016 to Sept. 2019) as Consul General of France in Jerusalem. He was also General Secretary of the French Delegation to the 74th General Assembly of the UN in New York from September to December 2019. Prior to arriving in Belgrade, from January 2020 to November 2021, he served as Foreign Affairs Inspector General at the General Inspectorate of the French MFA. A Married father of three, Ambassador Cochard holds the title of Minister Plenipotentiary, 1st class, and – in addition to his native French – speaks English and Persian.
H.E. OSVALDO MARSICO, NEW AMBASSADOR OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC TO THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
Osvaldo Marsico earned a degree in law from the University of Buenos Aires in 1981 and graduated from the Institute of Foreign Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, in 1985, becoming a career diplomat. His first foreign posting was at the Embassy of the Argentine Republic to the USA (1987-’93), where he also earned his Master’s Degree in International Law from Washington DC’s Georgetown University in 1991. He returned to the U.S. from 1996-2003, serving in Argentina’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, after which he returned to the Ministry and was ultimately appointed Deputy Legal Advisor (2006-’08). He next travelled to the UK, serving (2009-’12) as Chargé d’affaires (a.i.) of the Embassy of the Argentine Republic to the UK and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Argentine Republic to the International Maritime Organization. After spending a year (September 2012-December 2013) in Brussels as Chargé d’affaires (a.i.) of the Embassy of the Argentine Republic to the EU, he returned to Buenos Aires to take on the posts of Deputy President of the National Commission on the Outer Limit of the Continental Shelf of the Argentine Republic (2014-’16) and National Director of the Malvinas and South Atlantic Islands Department (2016-’20). He has been a Member of the Consultative Council on South Atlantic Affairs since January 2021 and was appointed ambassador to Serbia in October 2021. A visiting professor of international law since the year 2000, alongside his native Spanish, Ambassador Marsico also speaks English and French.
TATJANA PAVLOVIĆ, NEW DIRECTOR OF ORIGINAL CONTENT SALES AND CO-PRODUCTION AT UNITED MEDIA
United Media, the leading media company in Southeast Europe, has appointed Tatjana Pavlović as its director of original content sales and co-production. Pavlović, who has amassed more than 15 years of experience in international programme sales, will be responsible for activities that include increasing collaboration with global media houses, expanding international production and promoting United Media’s original productions. Prior to joining United Media, Pavlović worked for Antenna Group, TF1 International, Lagardere Group Studios and Zodiak Rights. Her academic credentials include university studies in Italy, France and Switzerland. She earned master’s degrees in film history and media management from the Sorbonne, where she is also a regular guest lecturer.
MK GROUP IS UTILISING ITS FAMILY SUPPORT PROJECT TO EXPAND ITS CSR ACTIVITIES IN SERBIA AND AROUND THE REGION
MK Group And AIK Bank: 700,000 Euros For The Future Of The Region
MK Group is this year celebrating the fifth anniversary of the launch of its internal campaign project Family Support, within the scope of which financial subsidies are awarded to employees who’ve become parents during the course of the current year. This anniversary provided an occasion for MK Group, together with AIK Bank, to expand its internal activities into a large social responsibility project that takes the form of donations to maternity wards throughout the region, thus also directing its support for families towards communities in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Group and AIK Bank will support our healthcare system again this year, this time in the direction of supporting our maternity wards. We agreed on a donation for the gynaecology department of the Dragiša Mišović Clinical Hospital Centre, especially considering that
Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar, AIK Bank CEO Jelena Galić and MK Group Corporate Affairs Director Aleksandra Stojanović
The project, which has a total value exceeding 700,000 euros, was launched with the aim of supporting family policies and measures intended to boost birth rates, as well as contributing to improving conditions for pregnant women, mothers and new-borns in maternity wards. It is being implemented with the support of the health ministries of all countries in the region. The previous period saw representatives of MK Group and AIK Bank hold individual meetings with government ministers, which served to select the maternity hospitals to be supported and define the purpose of financial resources.
This led to agreement with Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar on a donation of 100,000 euros for the maternity ward within the Dr Dragiša Mišović Clinical Hospital Centre. Speaking in response to the agreement, Dr Lončar expressed gratitude for the donation, which will ensure the provision of even better conditions for pregnant women in this maternity hospital.
“The rise of birth rates and care for the youngest is a strategic goal for Serbia, because children represent our future. That’s why the state is investing extremely large resources in renovating existing hospitals and constructing new ones; we’re renovating paediatric wards, gynaecology and obstetrics clinics, and building Tiršova 2, because we want to create even better conditions for the youngest patients. We are glad that MK
SUBSIDIES FOR BABIES OF MK GROUP EMPLOYEES Over the course of the previous four years, during which MK Group has been implementing the Family Support project for its employees, a total of more than 31 million dinars has been awarded to 620 families and more than 1,000 children. The “Family Support” campaign also received special recognition from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 2019
this hospital cares for pregnant women and children who are COVID-19 positive. We’ve also agreed on another important thing: that we’ll invest a dinar of our own for every dinar invested in Serbian healthcare by MK Group
and AIK Bank,” stressed Minister Lončar, before noting that MK Group also provided assistance to the healthcare system of the Republic of Serbia last year, including by providing holidays in its hotels for health workers engaged in the COVID-19 system. Chairman of the Executive Board of AIK Bank Jelena Galić thanked the Serbian Ministry of Health for its support in implementing the
Donations to maternity wards in Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, BosniaHerzegovina and Montenegro:
Maternity Ward of KBC Dragiša
Mišović in Belgrade
Maternity Ward of UKC
Ljubljana
Maternity Ward of Cetinje
General Hospital
Maternity Ward of Sarajevo
General Hospital
Maternity hospitals in Prijedor and Gradiška
Maternity hospital in Zagreb
donation, saying: “this donation represents the expansion of the Support programme that’s being organised by both AIK Bank and MK Group for their employees who have realised their role as parents during the current year. I believe the moments when life is created are precious not only for every family, but also for the entire nation. Investing in new generations is investing in the future of the region, which is why we want to contribute in this way to improving the conditions under which new life is born. I would like to use this occasion to thank Minister Lončar, who helped us identify the maternity ward that will receive our donation.” Speaking on the occasion of the launch of this regional project, MK Group Corporate Affairs Director Aleksandra Stojanović noted that MK Group’s CSR activities are on the whole focused on healthcare and care for children and youth. “As a socially responsible company that’s present throughout the re-
Senior representatives of MK Group and AIK Bank meet with the Serbian health minister
gion, we direct support to all the communities in which we operate. The focus this time is on future mothers and babies. We have allocated over 700,000 euros for improving conditions in maternity hospitals and Family Support, and thus once again – as a company that employs 6,000 people in the Adriatic region –connected the entire region. “
MK Group is continuing its multi-year projects focused on childcare. The parental house of MK Group President Miodrag Kostić in Petrovaradin has been allocated for the use of the Novi Sad-based Institute for Health Protection, Children and Youth of Vojvodina for more than a decade. The company also works continuously to take care of the development and education of young people from the SOS Children’s Village in Kraljevo, while 169 children have been able to remain in the circle of their families thanks to a 60,000-euro donation to the Putokaz Centre in Niš.
The Family Support regional project that’s being directed towards maternity hospitals represents a continuation of the general assistance provided to the healthcare system. MK Group was among the first companies to engage in the fight against the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic during the previous year, allocating a million euros intended primarily for the procurement of medical equipment and support to health institutions. Under the scope of the campaign “For Regional Heroes”, the company also provided 450 doctors and medical workers with free holidays at its hotels in Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia.
MK Group has implemented more than 500 CSR campaigns in all local communities where it is present over the past five years
The Family Support regional project that’s being directed towards maternity hospitals represents a continuation of the general assistance provided to the healthcare system. MK Group was among the first companies to engage in the fight against the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic during the previous year, allocating a million euros intended primarily for the procurement of medical equipment and support to health institutions. Under the scope of the campaign “For Regional Heroes”, the company also provided 450 doctors and medical workers with free holidays at its hotels in Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia
alone, with a value in excess of five million euros. The company is a recipient of the prestigious VIRTUS award at the national level, in recognition of projects realised during the previous year, as well as the award of the Serbian Association of Managers for the Most Responsible Company in Serbia for 2020.
ALEKSANDAR KURKANOVIĆ, HEAD OF SALES & EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER AT FIRST FACILITY, AND JELENA PALAMAREVIĆ, HEAD OF FINANCE & EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER AT FIRST FACILITY
Always First
First Facility d.o.o. Beograd is a member of the international First Facility Group of companies, which is among the leading players in the area of facility management services in Central and Eastern Europe. The team from Serbia is the final decision-maker when it comes to resolutions that are important to the management of the entire group
Aleksandar Kurkanović
Considering that we’ve set the standards and procedures in the area of facility management, we are expected to be the first to apply the new standards and policies being applied around the world, as stated in our slogan,
‘always first’ ~ note CorD Magazine’s cointerviewees.
First Facility d.o.o. Beograd is a member of the international First Facility Group. What is your core business?
Kurkanović: First Facility provides a range of services that relate primarily to Preventative Facility Maintenance. These services contain regular and on call maintenance of all common technical systems of a subject property, maintenance of hygiene and greenery, a winter service, security, reconstruction and adaptation of tenants’ units and consulting services in the field of property management. In addition to all of this, First Facility provides professional property management services on behalf of owners.
How important to your work is the team?
Palamarević: Our team comprises of professionals who are dedicated to their work and who contribute, with all of their individual qualities, to easing the achievement of all ambitious objectives. The broader management of the company consists of local directors from the countries where we operate, coordinated by the board of directors from Serbia, with the support of the owner. The members of our carefully selected team have proven themselves to be professionals in their work, capable of achieving excellent results. During 2020, at the height of the pandemic, we managed to opened First Facility Slovenia, satisfied the needs of our clients and ended the year with success. We believe that, with this team, we are able to achieve a lot on both the domestic and foreign markets.
Who are your clients?
Kurkanović: Our clients are large international real estate funds and companies that have entrusted the management and maintenance of their real estate properties to us. Our portfolio consists of Class A business properties, shopping centres, retail outlets, industrial facilities, logistics centres and residential complexes. The total surface area of all projects currently under our management and maintenance exceeds two million square-metres. More information about our references is available at www.firstfacility.net.
How does the First Facility Serbia team support mutual cooperation among the group’s other companies that operate in other countries?
Palamarević: Our Serbian team analyses and monitors all developments related to ongoing operations and new projects in other member countries. We are the final decision-maker when it comes to decisions that are important to the management of the entire group. Each of the companies
manages local projects individually, building good cooperation with clients in the process, which serves as a recommendation for the further expansion of cooperation with parties linked of these clients in other countries. Over recent years, Serbia’s commercial real estate market has been in the focus of foreign funds, which we consider as an opportunity for the further development of our operations.
Considering that you are managing the other companies of the group in the region from Serbia, could you compare the two markets and give the differences in client’s demands?
Kurkanović: First Facility operates on the EU market in six out of the eight countries where we’re present. The most important role is played by quality, without which would be impossible to build-up a brand and successful operations. It is indisputable that EU countries’ facility management services markets are far more developed than Serbia’s. Clients coming from the EU devote more attention to maintenance services and allocate more funds for those purposes than clients in Serbia. This is a reflection of their understanding for the critical importance of regular maintenance, which keeps the operating value of the property at the highest level, to the benefits of all users. Our clients, who have entrusted the maintenance of their properties to us, represent the main confirmation of the quality of the services provided by First Facility.
Does the fact that you share knowledge and experience within the scope of a group of companies result in a better performance and increased competitiveness on local markets?
Palamarević: It was in December 2019 First Facility unified all members of the group that now operate in eight countries, six of which are EU member states. The standards and regulations relevant in the area of property and facility management in the EU are applied to all of our business activities. Mutual communication between local managers, as well as the transfer of people and knowledge, contributes to the adopting of new ideas, which are certainly reflected in increased competitiveness.
First Facility provides property maintenance services for Class A business properties, shopping centres, retail outlets, industrial facilities, logistics centres and residential complexes
Despite the pandemic that halted, hampered and changed the world, you established two new companies during 2020 and 2021: First Facility Slovenia and First Facility Czechia. Are you planning to expand the group further?
Kurkanović: Yes, we founded First Facility Slovenia at the height of the pandemic; on 1st of May 2020, we successfully took over technical maintenance and hygienic maintenance at five Qlandia shopping centres in Slovenia. Our team quickly established the maintenance of technical systems and conducted all enhanced hygiene maintenance procedures. We don’t hide the fact that there were difficult moments during the “lockdown” period, but we didn’t give up. The latest member of the group was founded in October 2021, in Prague: First Facility s.r.o., which is preparing – with a new team – to take over
Jelena Palamarević
a technical maintenance service portfolio of six business properties covering a total surface area of approximately 100,000m2 . This will be a significant milestone in the group’s development in Central Europe, as it will provide an excellent base for the further development of operations on the Czech market. For the upcoming 2022, we plan to open First Facility Croatia, which we have yet to discuss.
You are known for the continuous improving of your services in accordance with the growing needs of your clients, and for setting new standards. What do these new standards imply?
Palamarević: Improving services implies not only providing better quality in terms of response times, reporting and monitoring the implementation of work orders, but also in terms of the way services are provided. Quality is today partly measured in terms of the amount of CO2 emitted, the type of energy used in providing services, use of recycled materials and waste management. Environmental policy is one of the expected pillars of quality. First Facility sets European standards when it comes to the sustainability of operations and satisfies high standards in terms of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policies, which are increasingly in the focus of clients.
REGIONAL NEWS
“History has shown many times that we neglect the Western Balkans at our peril” – WILLIAM HAGUE, FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN
MINISTER
MARKO ČADEŽ: OPEN BALKANS INTERNAL TRADE AND SINGLE LABOUR MARKET
Representatives of six sectoral groups that include representatives of competent institutions of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia discussed about benefits for import, export and movement of goods, free movement of agricultural, food and industrial products, labour market, unique electronic identity for citizens of the Open Balkans and about the single information system. “Within the regional initiative of the Open Balkans, we ask that our trucks do not stop at border crossings between Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, that all paperwork is completed within the shortest possible time, that we trust each other and that we recognise certificates issued in institutions of one of these three countries, as well as that we have single work permits”, said Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia in Niš where the meeting of more than 160 representatives of governments, state administrations, institutions and chambers of commerce and industry of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia is taking place, the first one at such a large scale.
BOSNIAN COAL MINERS HALT WORK TO PROTEST AGAINST LOWER WAGES
Thousands of miners halted work at Bosnia’s seven coal mines in support of colleagues protesting in Sarajevo against what they said were government violations of work and pay regulations. The seven coal mines are owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) power utility, and employ about 7,200 workers. The government of Bosnia’s autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation, which owns the EPBiH, plans to restructure indebted coal mines as part of its plan to switch gradually from coal to renewable energy sources, and cut the number of employees to 5,200.
SE EASTE GATE MALL OPENS IN SKOPJE
Skopje is becoming a very dynamic city with great potential for progress and prosperity, and this October it got its new shopping destination with over 220 leading global and regional brands. East Gate Mall opened to the public with a unique offer that unites more than 220 major global and regional brands from all categories, from fashion, through restaurants, electronics, home decor, offers for children, to cinemas and entertainment. Just some of the well-known global brands that this shopping destination will include are Zara, Zara Home, Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Sinsay, Mango, XYZ, KIKO, Reserved, Oysho, The Athlete’s Foot, Twinset, Patrizia Pepe, XYZ, Valentino, Tods, Furla, Neptune Electronics, Kiko Milano, Dsquared2, Pandora, Massimo Dutti, De Facto, Madame Coco, Babor Cosmetics, Prenatal, as well as many others.
“While the signs of economic recovery in the Western Balkans have been strong so far, significant uncertainties remain” –
ANA KREŠIĆ, EBRD REGIONAL ECONOMIST FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS
Vodafone, a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa, and Telekom Srbija have signed a partnership agreement covering Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this strategic partnership, Telekom Srbija will have the opportunity to apply all the knowledge and experience that Vodafone experts have acquired and upgraded over the years on the global market. This business relationship will enable Telekom Srbija to use Vodafone’s leading position in the field of digitalization of consumer products and service offerings.
EBRD: WESTERN BALKANS ECONOMIES RECOVER FASTER THAN EXPECTED
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has raised its forecast for the Western Balkans region to 6.4 per cent for 2021 in its latest Regional Economic Prospects (REP) report, published today. This significant upward revision reflects better-than-expected output in the first half of the year and indications of continued growth momentum in the third quarter. Industrial production and rising exports to the European Union (EU) are supporting growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia, while Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro are benefitting from a strong rebound in the hospitality sector over the summer months. The recovery is also being driven by the expansion of household consumption, enabled by growing remittances, increases in nominal wages and credit growth in most of the region’s economies.
SERBIAN COMPANIES PARTICIPATED IN SEEMEET2021
279 companies from 26 countries in the region and the world, including 14 participants from Serbia, participated in the largest business event for connecting companies in Slovenia “SEEmeet2021”. At an international gathering aimed at networking companies from the EU and Balkan countries, several thousand online B2B business talks and presentations were held, in order for companies to find business partners in different countries. The gathering is intended for companies that want to trade or become partners with other companies that offer commercial, financial and technological association.
Key Word: Togetherness
We’ve opened the Fund up to local and international partners, shown the potentials of our cities and municipalities, reached agreement on strategic priorities, with a desire to offer a framework for the implementation of projects of importance to the local and regional development of AP Vojvodina - says the Fund’s director, Aleksandar Simurdić.
The Fund that you head may have existed for just over a decade, yet it enjoys huge repute and has achieved impressive results. What makes you feel particularly proud?
We commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Fund’s establishment last year, which - in terms of dates - coincided with the just-completed EU budget period until 2020. At the beginning of this year, for the needs of the Provincial Government, we prepared an analysis of absorbed European funds and programmes, which indicated to us the absorption of funds by territory, areas of intervention and the institutions that participated in the implementation of projects. I’m happy to note that representatives of local administrations on the territory of Vojvodina have recognised the importance and benefit of project financing for the achievement of the public priorities.
You are very active in institutions based in Brussels, while you are also visited by delegations from the EU, ambassadors and other high officials. Do you see that as one of the preconditions for promoting Vojvodina as a European region?
The Fund’s composition includes the Vojvodina European Office in Brussel, operating The European Affairs Fund of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is a leading institution operating in Vojvodina that participates in monitoring, analysing and implementing European integration processes, promoting European values and ideas, as well as attracting and utilising available EU funds and programmes via EU projects
within the framework of the Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union, through which the provincial administration establishes new contacts and enhances the existing ones with European regions, regional organisations, international financial institutions and other partners, with the aim of forging partnerships for the implementation of international projects, exchange of ideas and creation of conditions to advance regional development.
We can proudly say that AP Vojvodina is recognised as a region with a wealth of economic, scientific-technological, educational and cultural potential, as well as an excellent environment for doing business that offers numerous advantages for successful investments.
When it comes to the utilisation of EU funds, is the creation of joint projects with regional and European partners one of your strategic plans for the period ahead?
The key word is togetherness, because nothing is possible without people and nothing is permanent without institutions. It is certain that joint projects with regional and European partners are a significant generator of overall socioeconomic change. Given that projects are the starting point of cooperation, and not a goal for themselves, the Fund’s aforementioned activities are one of the ways to reach useful and relevant projects through dialogue, identifying what’s vital and recognising what has potential, but also through an overview of the challenges we endeavour to overcome.
Just as the success and outcome of every process and project is dependent on the people implementing that process or project – their knowhow and skills, the Fund implements its Specialised Programme “Management of Regional Development through EU Funds”, in order to strengthen the capacities of the public administration locally. In parallel with that, and on the doorstep of the EU’s new Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, we are also mapping the state of affairs at 45 local self-government units, with the aim of networking their potentials with suitable external sources of funding.
Progress Based On Knowledge & Creativity
It was 20 years ago that GeoINOVA appeared with the innovative story of CAD2GIS, which is innovated five years ago with the introduction of BIM technologies, while it is today deeply engaged in IT support for the concept of smart cities and the sustainable development of infrastructure.
Your sophisticated solutions are basically related to the digitalisation and automation of planning processes, as well as the design, maintenance and management of spatial units and infrastructure systems. Who are your clients? They are, first and foremost, almost all infrastructure companies operating on the territory of the Western Balkans. For years already, INOVA TeleCAD-GIS, and our other solutions in the domain of telecommunications, have been at the core of the technical information systems of MTS Serbia, Telenor, Mtel Banja GeoINOVA is among the most respected developers of CAD and GIS integration on the platforms of Autodesk, representing their product specific reseller in our area. This company is simultaneously also a certified partner of Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle etc.
Luka, BH Telecom, Telemach, Mtel Podgorica and dozens of smaller companies that design, build or manage telecommunications networks and systems. These solutions, particularly those that specialise in optical networks, are now also sold in Western European countries and on other continents. The customers of INOVA ElektroCAD-GIS include major companies operating in the electric power sector: Elektrokrajina, Elektroprivreda HZHB, Elektro-Hercegovina etc. Our latest product, INOVA RoadCAD-GIS, is used by all public transport companies in BosniaHerzegovina (FBiH Highways, RS Highways, RS Roads etc.). We are certain that RoadCAD-GIS will soon also be used by transport enterprises in Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and elsewhere. INOVA AreaCAD-GIS is used by more than 70 municipal departments for spatial planning, urban landscape and architecture bureaus, as well as the institutes and ministries of cantons and territorial entities...
What makes your company specific?
Our partners are global technology leaders in the area of digital processing, vector graphics and databases. However, the specificity of GeoINOVA isn’t in the placement and applied upgrading of their products. The might and usability of our products is based on the accumulated knowhow of our engineers in the fields of telecommunications, civil engineering, architecture, urban planning etc., in combination with the creativity of our software developers. At GeoINOVA, there is ever-less of the practise of dividing engineering experience and software development between two people. It was 20 years ago that we appeared with the innovative story of CAD2GIS, as a way to support the intelligent management of natural and infrastructure resources with engineering vector processing. We innovated that five years ago, with the introduction of BIM technologies. Today, we are deeply engaged in IT support for the concept of smart cities and the sustainable development of infrastructure... In short, the GeoINOVA mission is to provide its associates, and those of its clients, with creative work in the most technologically advanced IT environments.
Is the best confirmation of your quality provided by the thousands of projects implemented with the help of your software, resulting in transparent economic benefits?
Our customers are the best recommendation for our products, while the clear benefits that help improve the competitiveness of customers on the market are a confirmation of our quality. Our products are constantly reconsidered with a view to integrated ISO standards covering the field of informatics, the rules of the Open GIS consortium and the European INSPIRE Directive for spatial information. Confirmation of our quality is provided by the fact that no significant user has ceased cooperating with us during the 20 years of GeoINOVA’s history, but also the fact that we generally win tenders in the domain of geoinformatics, provided the determining factor in selection includes the criteria and requirements of the World Bank, EBRD, UNDP, USAID etc.
Minimising Exportation Risks
ITnnov is a company that provides export opportunities to the UK for SMEs in the CEE region. Besides importation procedures and logistics, this company now also offers A.I. market research, digital marketing and assistance with entering UK wholesale chains
BREXIT OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW CHAPTER FOR UK IMPORTS. WITH NEW AND FAVOURABLE TRADE DEALS BETWEEN SERBIA AND THE UK ALREADY IN PLACE, NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO EXPAND TO THE UK MARKET
The UK’s major market players will reestablish themselves, but there is a window of opportunity for proactive companies. I don’t see why Serbian companies with great and competitive products shouldn’t be among the first to seize that opportunity, says Endre Tamas, MD of ITnnov, who was actually born in Subotica.
ITnnov began its life as a small team of professionals providing export opportunities for SMEs in the CEE region. What was the motivation behind such an enterprise?
We wanted to become a relevant UK importer by the time Brexit occurred. This meant covering all the background operations and necessary integrations. ITnnov started out with legislation and logistics, but then saw an opportunity to develop into a one-stop solution for all export-import efforts. There was a clear need to expand our services. Aside from importation procedures and logistics, we now offer A.I. market research, digital marketing and assistance entering the UK wholesale chains.
What are your plans for the Serbian market?
I was born in Subotica and have been living in Europe and the UK for the past 22 years. My roots are naturally tied to my home country. Our team in the UK already represents one of the largest pharmaceutical companies from Serbia, and sales are growing rapidly.
We also work with medium-sized food producers and cosmetic companies. A new superfood supplier will be joining us from March 2022.
Future stages include the rubber, metal and agriculture sectors, where we are seeing extremely high demand. Brexit opened up a whole new chapter for UK imports. With new and favourable trade deals between Serbia and the UK already in place, now is the right time to expand to the UK market. You rely heavily on your in-house developed market research. Why is it significant? Do you utilise any similar innovations?
The A.I.-based algorithm for market research is created by our lead developer, who holds a Ph.D. in machine learning. It has already scoured millions of pages of trading data and competition analyses. The A.I. doesn’t scrape data only when instructed. The process is ongoing, so we always have access to the latest information and trends. In terms of a company’s resources, A.I.’s main advantages are cost- and time-effectiveness, precision and comprehensiveness. These are essential when a company is deciding on export feasibility. The analyses we offer include a human factor – after all, we work for and with people. So, while we have tremendously automated menial tasks, we also apply our own expertise to consult on decisions and develop strategies. And this approach isn’t limited to market research.
Our other departments are highly datadriven, but there’s more to the story than mere numbers. The marketing department, for example, combines cutting-edge analytics with cultural sensitivity – and there are certainly cultural differences between the Balkan region and the UK that are often overlooked. Such professional experience is greatly enhanced by machine, but can’t be replaced by it. Well, not yet at least. With all these in place, the relevant information and foreign market representation are more precise and well-rounded – which means that ITnnov reduces exportation risks to a minimum.
The Bitcoin Fountainhead
While it is clear that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, it remains to be seen what economic role they will – or should – play. In the case of Bitcoin, the technology’s success lies entirely in what it promises, rather than in what it can actually deliver
With the price of Bitcoin reaching new highs, and El Salvador and Cuba deciding to accept it as legal tender, cryptocurrencies are here to stay. What implications will this have for money and politics?
Money depends on trust. It is accepted in exchange for goods and services only because people can confidently assume that others will accept it in the future. This is as true for the US dollar as it is for gold. To argue that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are merely a confidence game – or a speculative bubble, as many economists have emphasized – is to ignore their popularity.
And yet, cryptocurrencies lack the stable institutional foundations needed to bolster the public’s trust in them. Trust thus ebbs and flows, making them fragile and volatile, as Bitcoin’s wild gyrations have amply demonstrated.
Moreover, with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that rely on “proof-of-work” mechanisms, transactions must be continuously verified and logged in a decentralized ledger (in this instance based on blockchain). This requires millions of computers to operate continuously to update and verify transactions – work that is incentivized by the opportunity to be rewarded with newly minted Bitcoin.
The energy consumed in these “mining” operations now exceeds that of a mediumsized country like Malaysia or Sweden. Now that the world has awoken to the dangers of climate change (and to the paltriness of our response to it so far), this massive waste should make Bitcoin highly unattractive.
And yet, despite its volatility, fragility, and massive carbon footprint, five factors have conspired to make Bitcoin an attractive proposition to many people: its political narrative; the criminal activities it enables; the seigniorage it distributes; the techno-optimism of the current age; and the desire to get rich quick at a time when few other economic opportunities beckon. Let’s consider each in turn, going in reverse order.
We live in an era of dwindling economic prospects. Even workers with a college degree can no longer count on securing a stable job with good and rising pay. When economic opportunities are so scarce, get-rich-quick schemes become especially alluring. Not surprisingly, there is now an entire industry dedicated to telling people that they, too, can strike gold by investing in Bitcoin. Money has been pouring into the cryptocurrency because millions of people in the United States and around the world think they can realize significant returns from it.
The narrative of massive returns for amateur and retail investors from a cryptocurrency is in keeping with our technology-obsessed age. We are constantly being told that technological ingenuity is creating a brighter future. And on the surface, there is no denying that Bitcoin is a marvel of technological innovation. It took genuine creativity and mastery to create such an intricate decentralized system, capable of functioning without any oversight or government enforcement.
Seigniorage, or the additional purchasing power conferred (typically to governments) by control of the money supply, is another factor in Bitcoin’s appeal. When the US government puts new currency into circulation, it can use it to purchase services or pay its debt. The prospect of gaining seigniorage is very attractive, and probably helps to explain why there are now more than 1,600 listed cryptocurrencies. In the case of Bitcoin, the absence of a centralized authority means that seigniorage is distributed, thus providing an incentive for mining efforts (which are now being conducted by more than a million people around the world).
A dedicated source of demand can help a new currency establish a reliable footing. For cryptocurrencies in general, and for Bitcoin in particular, this anchor is planted firmly in the criminal world. In its early days, demand for Bitcoin was boosted by dark-web sites such as Silk Road, which enabled all sorts of illicit transactions. To this day, criminal activities account for almost half of Bitcoin transactions, by some estimates. Each of these four factors has boosted Bitcoin artificially. Obviously, our society’s economic ills will not be solved by people making money from Bitcoin. Nor has the prevailing techno-optimist mood been borne out in the real world. And whatever benefits there are from distributing seigniorage via mining, they are more than offset by the massive waste of energy.
WORLD NEWS
“People are fed up and have no resilience left because of having been in the pandemic for a long time” – SAM SMITH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF UK’S
STOCKBROKERS FINNCAPP
THE APPLE CAR IS COMING
Apple’s long-rumored but not officially announced electric vehicle has hit a number of bumps and detours during the course of its development, but now a new report is claiming that Apple has solidified the Apple Car’s roadmap, which will result in a fully autonomous self-driving electric vehicle by 2025. Sources “familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg that the team in charge of developing the Apple Car was previously stuck choosing between two different developments paths: a more traditional EV with some enhanced driver-assist features similar to what you get from a number of existing vehicles, or a more sophisticated EV capable of a true autonomous driving with no input from its passengers.
AMAZON TO STOP ACCEPTING VISA CREDIT CARDS IN UK
Amazon will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK from 19 January, the online retail giant has said. It said the move was due to high credit card transaction fees but said Visa debit cards would still be accepted. Visa said it was “very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice in the future”. Amazon said: “The cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle for businesses striving to provide the best prices for customers.” The online retailer said costs should be going down over time due to advances in technology, “but instead they continue to stay high or even rise”.
GLOBAL SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS TO LAST UNTIL AT LEAST 2023
Supply chain pressures hitting the global economy are likely to last for another year at least, according to Publicis’ Maurice Levy. Levy, who is chairman of the board of advertising giant Publicis Groupe, told CNBC’s Karen Tso at the Women’s Forum on Friday that rising inflation was the result of scarcity in supply chains. “It’s also the fact that we are moving to green energy, we are moving to a green world and we have difficulties in getting this new energy to the level of the old world,” he added. “This is generating an increase in price and weighing on the purchasing power of customers.”
“Residential areas, commercial areas, services, museums, entertainment, bars, restaurants, airport, port, rail - everything devoted to Bitcoin” –- Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador
Mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said it had agreed to buy cloud communications firm Vonage for $6.2 billion. The deal was the Swedish firm’s biggest in years and follows its acquisition of U.S.-based wireless networking company Cradlepoint for $1.1 billion in 2020. “The merger agreement was approved unanimously by the Board of Vonage,” Ericsson said in a statement. “The transaction builds upon Ericsson’s stated intent to expand globally in wireless enterprise, offering existing customers an increased share of a market valued at $700 billion by 2030.”
ALIBABA SHARES DIVE AFTER CHINA SPENDING SLOWDOWN WARNING
Alibaba shares have slumped by more than 10% in Hong Kong trade after the Chinese online retail giant warned of a slowdown in consumer spending. The company forecast that its annual revenue would grow at the slowest pace since its stock market debut in 2014. The weak figures underscore the firm’s struggles with increasing competition and Beijing’s regulatory crackdown. Alibaba’s US-listed shares ended the New York trading session more than 11% lower. In the three months to the end of September, Alibaba’s revenue rose by 29% to 200.7bn yuan ($31.4bn, £23.3bn), its slowest rate of growth for a year and a half.
UK FIRM OFFERS STAFF UNLIMITED LEAVE TO STOP BURNOUT
Workers at a London stockbrokers will have unlimited holiday from next year to try to prevent staff burnout. Finncapp employees will have to take a minimum of four weeks leave plus two or three days every quarter. Unlimited paid holiday is a perk popular among some US tech firms but less so among financial services companies. For some companies it works well, increasing productivity, but others found staff took less time off. Finncapp, which also gives financial advice, has been “exceptionally busy” as City mergers and capital markets boom, chief executive Sam Smith told the BBC. Ms Smith said the company really started to notice how much mental health strain employees were under in February this year.
