Real Estate Guide 2019

2019 GUIDE

REAL ESTATE

PLUS

• NEW CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS • LUXURIOUS BUSINESS SPACES • THE SMART BUILDING PHENOMENON • THE MOST ELITE LOCATIONS • SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS PREMISES

INTERVIEW ZORANA MIHAJLOVIĆ PH.D., DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Are We Facing A New Decade Of Reform?

The reform of the real estate cadastre, following the e-permit reform, is the next major reform for our construction sector and one of the most important reforms for improving the business environment in Serbia. A prerequisite for encouraging investment is a regulated real estate cadastre, in which all updated data on real estate and property ownership is kept, as well as estimates of the value of immovable property, and which should represent the basis for determining public revenues

C

onstruction is today one of the motors of Serbia's economic growth.

Such a renaissance for the branch that's the flywheel of every serious economy would not be possible without a stable and predictable macroeconomic policy and well-regulated regulations govern4

ing investment in the real estate sector.

With Zoran Mihajlović Ph.D., Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, we discussed the overall economic environment, possibilities for the further growth of foreign investments in the real

estate sector and progress on cadastre regulation, which was until recently, despite large investments, one of the areas in which very little progress was made.

When will we be able to say that Serbia has really gained a modern, up-to-date, TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

EFFICIENCY

Our goal is for citizens to receive an efficient service with the cadastre like the one that they already have in the issuance of construction permits

reliable and fully public real estate cadastre?

- Reform of the cadastre, following the e-permit reform, is the next major reform in our construction sector and one of the most important reforms for improving the business environment in Serbia. Thanks to the Law on the Registration Procedure with the Cadastre of Real Estate and Utilities, since 1st July 2018 citizens have no longer had to visit five counters of institutions in order to register their property, rather they can now do that in one place, with a notary, in just a few days, and without additional costs.

Our goal is for citizens to receive an efficient service with the cadastre like the one that they already have in the issuance of construction permits, and the plan is for the cadastre to function fully electronically by the end of 2020. Serbia has otherwise advanced on the list of this year's Doing Business Index, progressing from 57th to 55th place, but we expect that progress to be much higher in 2019, when the reform will reach its full capacity.

PREDICTABILITY

Foreign investors have recognised that Serbia offers stable and predictable conditions for investment, and regulations that allow them to obtain all permits in the most efficient way

land in central city zones and construction areas is an inherited systemic problem that dates back many years and that will be resolved in the future through comprehensive reform in the sector of public real estate evidence books and

TRANSPARENCY

Every citizen or investor is able to check the progress of their application at any time, which ensures that no space whatsoever is left for corrupt practises

that's a result of the Government's overall economic policy. The stabilisation of public finances, continued GDP growth, the implementation of reforms and accelerated completion of major infrastructure projects – primarily Corridor 10 – all

The Serbian Government's Anti-Corruption Council noted recently that construction sites in the centre of contributed to Serbia recording Belgrade in 2017 continued to growth in investments in both We will continue to improve the business be administered like pastureproduction capacities and in the environment and to gauge our progress real estate sector. Alongside the lands, meadows and fields. through the Doing Business Index and other Belgrade Waterfront project, as What consequences does this global rankings, in order for construction to the largest project in this sector, have for total investments in continue to be the driver of GDP growth in a large number of other investthe real estate sector? the years ahead - The real estate cadastre ments are being implemented in must be kept updated in a the construction of business and the rights of usage, digitalisation, reform physical, property and valuation sense. residential premises. and the introduction of E-government, This means that the prerequisite for enOver the past four years, an entire set as well as through the implementing of of laws have been passed in the construccouraging investments is for the real E-space reforms. estate cadastre to include all updated tion field, from the Law on Planning and data on property, data on ownership, as Construction, via the Law on Property What is Serbia's potential like when it well the estimate value of real estate, Legalisation and Conversion, to the Law on comes to attracting FDI in real estate? which should represent the basis for Registration Procedure with the Cadastre - Foreign direct investments in Serbia determining public revenues. of Real Estate and the Law on Construchave been growing in recent years and Data on the intended usage purpose of tion Products.

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

5

of a reform that's been conducted Foreign investors have successfully, and NALED has also recognised that Serbia ofdeclared it as being the reform fers stable and predictable of the decade. The introduction conditions for investment, and of e-permits also introduced a regulations that allow them kind of competition among local to obtain all permits in the self-governments, so today many most efficient way. Prior to municipalities and cities issue the reform of construction permits in a period that's shorter permits, Serbia was ranked than the national average.

186th on the list of the World Bank's Doing Business Index How much will digitisation help when it comes to the issuance when it comes to reducing corof construction permits, with applicants waiting an average ruption in this sector? of around 270 days for issu- When it comes to the digital transformation process, conance, while today it is ranked 11th in the world. struction is an area where a lot The results of these rehas been done in the past three years. Construction permits are forms can also be seen through today issued through an elecincreases in the number of active construction sites, from tronic process, within an average 12,800 at year's end 2015 to of six working days, with every more than 33,000 today, as citizen or investor able to check well as through the fact that the progress of their application construction has been the carat any time, which ensures that no space whatsoever is left for rier of Serbia's GDP growth corrupt practises. in 2018.

Thanks to clear rules, the When we add to this the number of electronic construcspeeding up of the process of legalising illegal objects, as tion permits is increasing year well as the simplified process on year. In 2015 a total of 10,438 of registering real estate, it is construction permits were issued, Thanks to clear rules, the number of clear that foreign investors while in 2017 it was almost twice electronic construction permits is increasing have good conditions for intwice as many, or around 18,500. year on year. In 2015 a total of 10,438 We're also carrying out digvesting in Serbia. The governconstruction permits were issued, while in ment will continue to work on itisation within the framework of 2017 it was almost twice twice as many, this, to continuously improve cadastral reform, where notaries or around 18,500 the business environment and already exchange documents with to gauge our progress through state institutions electronically. awareness among civil servants in lothe Doing Business Index and other global A transition period is envisaged during rankings, in order for construction to which the registration of property will be cal self-governments. The Law on Plancontinue to be the driver of GDP growth carried out in both paper and electronic ning and Construction was adopted at in the years ahead. form, while from 2020 we expect it to begin the end of 2014, and appropriate bylaws functioning completely electronically. were adopted along with it, so application Have local self-governments succeeded Finally, through the new e-space restarted practically immediately. in maintaining the same quality and The introduction of a law is a greater form, an electronic procedures is introspeed of issuing construction permits challenge than its actual adoption, but in duced to the process of preparing and that they had at the time when the new the case of the reform of construction submitting planning documents. In this law was first implemented? permits we were successful in implementaway, citizens will have an efficient service - When a law is passed that is reformat their disposal and access to data infortion thanks to the training of civil servants orientated and in some way revolutionary in local self-governments and thanks to mation on possibilities, constraints and for Serbia, then that isn't just a change of the constant presence of Ministry staff construction bans on cadastral parcels, regulations, but rather the entire working on the ground. as well as insight into urban planning method changes, along with the level of This reform now serves as an example parameters and construction rules.

6

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

7

BUSINESS MUAMER RAGIPOVIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SERBIA, EYEMAXX

To European Standards The new large scale construction in Novi Banovci of the EYEMAXX Logistic Centre Belgrade will enable leaseholders to expand their storage capacities

(Logistics Centre Belgrade) EYEMAXX Real Estate AG is a real estate company with a long-standing successful track record, focussing on residential properties in Germany and Austria. In addition, EYEMAXX also realises nursing homes in Germany and realizes commercial properties in the CEE / SEE region.

In the company’s recent past its corporate strategy has also included developing urban districts in Germany.

EYEMAXX’ business activities take a dualpronged approach. These include high-margin projects and also the continued expansion of its stocks of let commercial properties, which generate ongoing rental income and thus constant cash flows. In so doing, EYEMAXX uses the expertise offered by its experienced management team together with a strong team of real estate professionals, and also a well-established and broad network which opens up additional access to attractive properties and projects.

The current project pipeline has thus been expanded to around €975 million.

The headquarters of EYEMAXX Real Estate AG is located in Aschaffenburg, Germany. Operative activities are carried out in Leopoldsdorf near Vienna. The EYEMAXX Group is represented by branch offices and project offices in all countries with active projects like Germany, Austria, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. EYEMAXX Logistics Centre 10

Belgrade in Novi Banovci is situated in an excellent location, along the international motorway E-75, only 20km from the centre of Belgrade and 50km from Novi Sad. Only 15km away lies Nikola Tesla Airport. These facts are definitely important for easier placement of goods across the region”, says Muamer Ragipović, EYEMAXX managing director for Serbia, speaking for CorD magazine.

“LogMaxx Alpha of 18,000m2 and LogMaxx Beta of 30,000m2 are modern equipped storage halls, built according to the latest standards and respecting all urban, construction and environmental standards. With integrated ESFR sprinkler systems, mobile platforms, loading ramps, state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems and security systems for prevention and enabling quick and efficient response. Reputable leaseholders have moved into the premises.

“We are especially proud to have one of the most modern refrigerator units in Europe operating in the region of 0-4 degrees Celsius.

The leaseholders have parking spaces available with a total area of 10,000 m2”, says Ragipović.

“The centres have been built according to standards applied in the EU. This also applies to all the equipment that is installed and available to our current and future lessees. The capacity of the parking area is also important, both for

leaseholders and for all users of Logistic Centre Belgrade’s services.

“Good ideas should not be changed, so EYEMAXX is starting to build LogMax Gamma, in which around €15 million will be invested. The building has an area of 22,000m2 and will be built according to the tried-and-tested EYEMAXX brand for the construction of logistics centres, which has been used in several facilities throughout various European countries.

“Thanks to modern equipment and the type of construction, we are able to meet our leaseholders practically on all issues and requirements in accordance with specific business conditions.

We will soon be able to offer an independent ADR warehouse whose construction is planned.

Here we should certainly bear in mind the fact that existing ADR warehouses on our market have extremely low capacities and as such are deficient, so in this specific area we can display one more advantage over the competition.”

Speaking about the price of the lease, he notes that the price of renting business premises is not fixed, but it depends on the specific demands of the leaseholders.

When it comes to plans, Ragipović points out that because of its large-scale land reserves nearby the Novi Banovci Logistic Centre EYEMAXX is in a position to build considerably more logistic premises at such site in Novi Banovci, which will allow all clients an additional extension and make EYEMAXX even more advantageous on the Serbian market.

You will also recognize the company by its slogans: -PASSION FOR PERFORMANCE -PERFORMANCE AT ALL LEVELS -PERFORMANCE THROUGH SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS -PERFORMANCE THROUGH A CLEAR STRUCTURE -QUICK YET EFFICIENT

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

NEWS GERMANY

HANNOVER LEASING ACQUIRES €55.5M OFFICE PROPERTY Hannover Leasing, a Corestate Capital Group company, has acquired an office complex in DusseldorfOberbilk, designed by renowned architects RKW Architektur +, with total rental area of approx. 12,100m². The new building has been fully leased to Unfallkasse NRW which is opening its new headquarters at the property and will move in with around 500 employees by the end of next year. A rental agreement with a 15-year term and no special right of termination has already been signed. The price amounts to just under €55.5m. The seller is the Essen-based project developer Koelbl Kruse. Hannover Leasing is planning to transfer the property into a mutual AIF specially designed for foundations, which will align management to the needs of foundations.

JAPAN

SOFTBANK INVESTS IN PARKING START-UP PARKJOCKEY

UK

BLACKSTONE COMPLETES €300M LOGISTICS DEAL Neinver has completed the sale of an industrial and logistics properties to real estate funds managed by Blackstone for approximately €300m. The deal comprises 55 logistics properties, including 162,000m² of land for industrial use, of which Neinver is the manager and either owner or co-owner. This sale is part of the company’s growth strategy, based on asset rotation and on investment in new business opportunities in the retail, industrial and logistics property sectors. The deal also strengthens the company positioning as an investment partner and manager of property assets.

This Neinver-managed portfolio totals more than half a million square metres.

SWITZERLAND

SOME PRICE GROWTH MODERATION NEXT YEAR The real estate market in Switzerland further benefited from a solid economy and a healthy labor market last year, with housing prices rising by 4% year on year in Q4 2017. Low borrowing costs have also helped, as the SNB has PRIME TOWER, ZURICH yet to raise its rates from historical lows of -0.75%. But regulatory measures and low affordability have kept a lid on house prices. Recent developments at the start of 2018 even point to some moderation in house price growth. Nominal prices were down 0.3% on the first quarter.

Granular data shows that the decline in prices in the rental market segment over the past two years has now extended to owner-occupied homes (-2.6% year on year in June), and some moderation in prices of single-family homes is also visible.

Strong disparity remains across regions, with price pressures stronger in areas such as Zurich and Geneva than in more rural areas.

WORLD

Japanese SoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a start-up that has built a technology platform aimed at monetising vehicle parking areas.

Along with the SoftBank investment news, ParkJockey also announced that it was acquiring two of the largest parking operators in North America. The start-up, with help from Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital and debt financing from Owl Rock, said it had reached an agreement to acquire Imperial Parking Corporation, a North Americanbased parking management company often referred to as Impark. The agreement follows ParkJockey’s acquisition of parking management operator Citizens Parking Inc. The investment puts the ParkJockey valuation to more than $1 billion, reported Miami Herald.

Miami-based ParkJockey’s platform offers features like automatic license plate recognition and pay-by-app, among others. The company’s app also can be used by drivers to find parking spaces more efficiently.

12

GLOBAL $59.4BLN BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEM MARKET TO 2026 The Global Building Automation System (BAS) market is expected to grow from $59.43 billion in 2017 to reach $166.99 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1%.

Rising demand for energyefficient systems, improvement of IoT in building automation system, growth of building automation-centric wireless protocols and wireless sensor network technology are some of the key factors fuelling the market growth. However, high installation price and lack of skilled labour are hindering the growth of the market.

Security and access control systems segment is estimated to experience substantial growth thanks to the need for increased levels of security, activity monitoring and access control has led to a rise in demand. In geographical terms, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market.

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

BUSINESS MIA ZEČEVIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NOVASTON D.O.O.

Encouraging Market Liberalisation We are building the Novaston brand in order to strengthen our market leader position

N

commercialisation, project and facility management to strategic development and marketing. We approach each client and every project carefully with a unique analysis and custom-made proposal.

This is what sets us apart and what our customers expect from us - to apply the best solutions at each stage, taking advantage of all the potential of the market that the project targets. Our teams are experienced professionals How did "Novaston Asset Manwith international experience Development of office space in Serbia is very who have proven themselves agement" come about? What dynamic, rents are at an all-time high, but many times in the most imporservices do you provide to your real estate sales in this segment are very rare customers and what are your tant projects in Serbia and the creating business plans, complete reportfuture plans? region. We are proud of the fact that in - We started as a Novaston Asset Mansuch a short period we have managed to ing, invoicing and billing, participating in set the standard that our foreign clients the process of commercial due diligence agement, an independent real estate already expect in other markets. Today and making valuation, through leasing and retail platform with seven staff. Today,

ovaston Asset Management, an independent real estate retail platform, was founded with a staff of seven. Today there are three more companies - Novaston Project Management, Novaston Facility Management and Novaston Marketing Consultancy, with over 40 staff members, says Mia Zečević, managing director of NOVASTON d.o.o. (Ltd.).

14

besides Novaston Asset Management, there are three other companies - Novaston Project Management, Novaston Facility Management and Novaston Marketing Consultancy, with a total staff of over 40. In this way, we completed our field of operation in terms of property and asset management and completed the services we provide to our clients.

They involve an integrated process from

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

we are building the Novaston brand, with the goal of consolidating our position as market leader.

How much is Serbia currently attractive to foreign investors and what investments will be the most profitable in the coming period?

- The fact that Western Europe and the more developed countries of Eastern Europe are highly developed markets makes Serbia one of the few countries in which there is potential for developing commercial real estate.

This is shown by the great activity of investors who are developing commercial real estate projects today, both in retail parks and in shopping malls in major cities in the past few years.

In the case of Belgrade, the current situation on the market for modern shopping malls will be significantly changed by the opening of current projects (Ada Mall, BW, IPM), that will bring the total surface to around 350,000m2 (230m2 per 1,000 inhabitants).

When it comes to average rents for prime shopping centres in Belgrade, a reduction of 10% will occur following the opening of the aforementioned centres, which will lead to stabilisation, only in a slower and milder way.

We have also seen the sale of a large number of these properties, so we can conclude that a second investment cycle is in progress. It is difficult to assess which investments will be most profitable in the coming period. Now these are definitely residential projects, where for the first time we note a departure from the traditional attitude that this type of TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

project is being developed only by local companies, as several foreign investors have emerged in this segment. In addition, the development of office space in Serbia is very dynamic, rents are at an all-time high, but real estate sales in this segment are very rare. In Belgrade, the office market holds around 350,000m2 of Class A facilities, about 250m2 per 1,000 inhabitants. The current vacancy rate is about 5%, and the projection is that, due to the expansion of real estate of this type, rates will increase by 6% -9%. Prime

rents (for class A office space) currently amount to €16.5/m2. They are expected to remain approximately at this level in 2019, but after that there will be a reduction of €1/m2, so that by 2020 the average will be at the level of €15.5/m2.

How and to what extent will Serbia's accession to the EU affect the real estate market; what are the greatest obstacles

in terms of legislation and what else needs to be done?

- Serbia’s accession to EU is crucial for the liberalisation of the entire market, so for the real estate market as well. Serbia’s

further steps of in this direction encourage foreign investors and funds to invest in our country. Let's remind ourselves that, right now, investors in the retail market are mainly companies from Austria, South Africa and Israel, which have overcome the obstacles set by local legislation.

Corporate tax is certainly encouraging for investments, since corporate tax is in EU countries ranges from 19% to 33%.

15

NEWS BULGARIA

SOFIA AMONG 20 WORLD CITIES WITH FASTEST-GROWING HOUSING PRICES Sofia is r a n k e d 1 8 th among 150 world cities when it comes to the fastest rise in prices of housing, according to an international report by consulting company Knight Frank. The survey shows that the rise of European cities continues - 11 of the cities in the first 20 are in Europe - Rotterdam (14.8%), Edinburgh (12%), Porto (11.7%) and Sofia (11.3%) join longtime leaders Berlin (14.9%) and Reykjavik (11.8%).

The chart shows that Sofia is one place and 0.1 percentage points ahead of San Francisco, which is 19th, with an increase of 11.2%. Also among the cities of Central and Eastern Europe is the Hungarian capital Budapest, where residential properties have risen by 14.4% for the year, placing it in 7th place. Also ranked are Zagreb (25th, + 9.8%), Skopje (39th + 7.2%), Bucharest (40th, + 7.1%), Warsaw (49th, + 6%) .

GREECE

CHINESE BUYERS GOBBLING UP GREEK REAL ESTATE The Greek real-estate boom that has been recorded in the last couple of years is continuing its trend as Chinese buyers are multiplying at a great pace. Many Chinese investors take advantage of Greece’s generous ”Golden Visa Scheme”, which allows non-E.U. nationals to attain a Greek residence permit, and as a consequence, an EU residence permit. The only stipulation of the plan is that individuals must invest more than €250,000 in Greek real estate. The number of buying inquiries made from Chinese consumers on Greek property is now more than four times higher than it was in the fourth quarter of last year. Chinese buying inquiries increased by 137.5 percent in the third quarter alone.

Mainland Chinese invested $119.7 billion in international property last year. It is expecting that investment in 2018 would be up by three to eight percent over that level. That would bring total investment to at least $123.3 billion for the year 2018.

16

RUSSIA

THOUSANDS NEW HOTEL ROOMS ENTERED THE RUSSIA Commercial property and investment management services Russia (JLL) presents analysis of the branded hotel room supply dynamics in 2018 and plans for new openings in 2019, in Russia, CIS and the surrounding region. Compared to the previous three years, 2018 was a breakthrough in terms of branded room supply growth. According to the preliminary assessment, 29 per cent more branded rooms were made operational in 2018 – 8,000 vs. 6,200 in the previous year. At the same time, in Russia 1.5 times more rooms appeared on the market. Almost half of the new branded supply volume was in hotels opened in FIFA World Cup host cities (3,400 rooms).

Georgia appeared as the second most active hotel market in terms of new hotel room supply (807 rooms), followed by Ukraine (591 rooms) and Armenia (470 rooms).

CHINA

A HOTSPOT FOR THE ‘VERTICAL FOREST’ BUILDING CONCEPT Award winning architecture firm Stefano Boeri Architetti, known for its innovative residential projects that blend greenery into the exterior of buildings, has a number of new projects under development in major Chinese cities, reflecting shifting attitudes on the mainland towards sustainable living.

The firm, headquartered in Milan, has recently been commissioned for projects in Wuhan and Shanghai that are inspired by the “vertical forest” concept of its Bosco Verticale residential building, completed in Porta Nuova, a business district in Milan, Italy.

Yibo Xu, China partner and principal architect at Stefano Boeri Architetti, said more stakeholders in China are realising the value of integrating green elements into urban architecture and the benefits that these projects can bring to the city.

BELGRADE WATERFRONT

Life in a unique Kula Belgrade The exclusive way of life in the capital and the need for comfort and functionality are combined in the Kula Belgrade, a unique landmark of Belgrade and Belgrade Waterfront and the future home of The Residences at The St. Regis Belgrade. The elegant shape and the benefits of living in branded apartments under the name of St. Regis makes the Kula Belgrade the first choice for anyone who does not accept anything less than an exceptional lifestyle.

A luxury interior with many additional facilities such as a swimming pool, a gym and a spa centre, are just some of the features that the first residents will have the opportunity to experience with the arrival of the exclusive apartments The Residences at The St. Regis Belgrade in 2020.

This exquisite architectural achievement in the immediate vicinity of the Sava River will reflect in its design the flow of the two Belgrade rivers and become a landmark of Belgrade. At Belgrade Waterfront, and in the immediate vicinity of the Kula Belgrade, there are places for leisure, such as the Sava Promenada and the BW Galerija.

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

17

SURVEY BY PWC

Emerging Trends In Real Estate - Europe 2019 Emerging Trends in Real EstateÂŽ Europe is a joint survey by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Now in its sixteenth edition it provides an outlook on real estate throughout Europe for 2019 and beyond 18

E

urope's Real Estate leaders remain optimistic about their business prospects in 2019, albeit a little less confident than they were a year ago, as an air of late-cycle caution settles on the industry.

The geopolitical backdrop remains a concern, with Brexit uppermost in the minds of many, though global investors are less bothered by Brexit than their European counterparts.

Emerging Trends in Real EstateÂŽ Europe

2019 shows an industry in search for secure, stable income as they question traditional investment structures and look at real estate in a much broader context.

As has been the case over several years, the primary concern for the industry is the availability of suitable assets - cited by over two thirds of respondents.

This serves to underline the enduring appeal of European real estate on the global stage, and with the search for yield TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Brexit is doubtless one reason why European political instability is second only to international political instability as the key social/political issue for the industry in 2019.

The interviews indicate that global investors are less bothered by Brexit than their European counterparts. Even so, an overwhelming 83 per cent of respondents expect a divergence in economic growth between the UK and the European Union in 2019.

Whether it’s a soft, hard or no-deal Brexit, 70% of Europe’s senior property professionals believe that the UK’s ability to attract international talent will fall following 29th March 2019, which is bleak news for the UK. For the majority, the Eurozone is seen as a safer and more fruitful investment destination than the UK in 2019, and income, this is now edging the whilst others equate the risk As has been the case over several years, industry out of its core comfort with opportunity. the primary concern for the industry is the zone. Some are moving into alterNot so long ago, the idea of availability of suitable assets - cited by over native or niche areas, like student promoting health and wellbeing two thirds of respondents accommodation, which require more would have been dismissed as operational expertise. irrelevant to the real estate industry, yet nearly half the survey respondents Others are going down the value-added, utilities. Rather, whole new investable asset believe it will have a moderate impact on build-to-core or development route. classes are opening up to service the digital strategies over the coming five years. More In terms of sectors identified by reeconomy, including 5G infrastructure, data spondents as having the best prospects tellingly, perhaps, 43 per cent acknowledge centres and charging points for electric, and for investment and development, six of it will have a significant impact.

- increasingly - autonomous vehicles, all of the top 10 sectors represent some form of As it turns out, the survey puts health which provide a social return to consumers residential product. and wellbeing almost on a par with such through better connectivity or the environment in terms of lowering carbon emissions.

Some 70% of survey respondents belong-established influences on the industry lieve that achieving target returns will require Not all investors or property companies as sustainability and energy efficiency. a widening of the definition of traditional are set up to take a real assets approach, There is also demand for more flexibility real estate to include real assets and related nor may they feel comfortable with such a among occupiers, so that they can respond service businesses. strategy, as it is a different type of risk and to the needs of their workforce. This requires more intensive asset management Investing in infrastructure need not requires more intricacy than with traditional and investment. mean traditional assets, such as railways or asset classes.

LISBON TAKES THE LEAD Emerging Trends in Europe 2019 ranked the real estate markets in major European cities according to their overall investment and development prospects.

The 10 European cities that are expected to fare best in 2019 are a mix of smaller newcomers, such as Lisbon and the larger, tried and tested markets. It is no surprise, for instance, that German cities still dominate the top spots for 2019.

20

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

BUSINESS SRĐAN OPALIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EX ING B&P DOO

High Quality Without Compromise Exing has recently built hundreds of thousands of square metres of commercial and residential buildings for foreign investors in Serbia

S

trong market growth in construction has been evident over the last few years in Serbia, creating opportunities for further development of construction companies, and a great need for rapid growth and consolidation of all companies engaged in individual, specialised activities, especially engineering companies. Without this it is impossible to build large facilities, says Srđan Opalić, director of EX ING B&P D.O.O. (Ltd.).

metres of commercial and residential buildings. These jobs have enabled our managers to expand their knowledge and gain experience in modern business.

What's needed logistically to meet the highest standards of building that you carry out?

- After almost 30 years of continuous growth, what sets us apart in the market is that we have always finished all our projects in the agreed time without even a day’s delay, and the high quality of execution of works, which has ultimately led to our clients’ great satisfaction and their commitment to choosing us as contractors on their next projects.

From the beginning of our operations, "high quality" has been our philosophy and our goal.

Everything we do in every segment, starting from organising the work, updating documentation, executing the works, production, engineers and training our staff, to final responsibility towards the investor - the emphasis is always on quality.

EXING B & P consists of: -Exing B&P –

construction. -Exing Inox – stainless steel processing, -Exing Aluminium – facades, windows, doors, -Exing – fire doors, -Exing – Forster fireproof facades and bulkheads and EX BC – steel structures.

And surely the most important thing – occupational health and safety, at any time and on every building we make.

Environmental protection is imperative for all companies involved in construction. Is EX ING B&P has worked on domestic and there something special in this context that regional construction markets for over two distinguishes you from your competitors? decades. Which business segment do you - We are engaged in the field of environmental consider central for your customers? protection, especially in the process of waste - The answer is always simple - investing. Investmanagement and education and awareness raising for all our staff, especially workers at ing in young engineers, in production facilities, the construction site. There is still a lot of work in skilled, qualified labour. Besides engineering, to be done in this field and to provide sufficient Exing has developed production facilities for resources and conditions to reach the level in steel structures, aluminium, stainless steel and developed countries. fire doors, equipped with state-of-the-art equipAt the moment we are engaged in large ment and software, which enables us to double and important projects in Belgrade: SKYLINE production next year and meet the demand complex in Kneza Miloša Street, in quality and volume for renowned AIRPORT CITY, residential and foreign contractors with whom we EXING B&P consists of: -Exing B&P – commercial complexes WELLhave successfully cooperated in recent construction, -Exing Inox – stainless steel years, while gaining new clients.

PORT and The Duke’s Gates, our processing, -Exing Aluminium – facades, But Exing already has good coown investment residential and windows, doors, -Exing – fire doors, -Exing – commercial building in block 65operation with foreign investors in Forster fireproof facades and bulkheads and EXING HOME 65 and various other Serbia, for whom we have recently EX BC – steel structures smaller projects. built hundreds of thousands of square 22

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS