Dinkić: Foreign investors here to stay

Despite the various problems faced by Serbia, foreign investors agree that business does not depend on everyday politics. Complicated bureaucracy, high customs and an unqualified workforce outside the big cities are the problems that foreign companies most commonly encounter on the Serbian market. Dinkic: Foreign investors here to stay At a meeting with Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, the representatives of 17 of the biggest foreign investors in Serbia concurred that the current political situation was disturbing, but that it was not affecting their work. Other than Coca-Cola and Siemens, no company has been doing business in Serbia longer than Germany’s Messer-Technogas. Red tape is a big problem for them that needs to be solved fast, primarily because, they say, it is making it more difficult for new investors to come to Serbia. “A lot of energy is wasted over mindless, over-elaborate administration. It simply has to be cut through, or at least simplified. This way you’re doing twice as much, and you’re wasting your nerves and energy for no good reason. This complicated bureaucracy is the biggest problem that a new company faces that wants to come to Serbia,“ laments Ernst Bode from Messer-Technogas. The EU accounts for the biggest percentage of foreign investment in Serbia. Dinkic says that those companies are primarily interested in stability, as 90 percent of their output goes to the EU. “If Serbia continues its path to the EU after the elections, investment will come faster. If the opposite happens, if Serbia stops, investors won’t leave. They are here to stay, my guess is that they will simply slow down that development. But, there’s a big difference between fast and slow development,“ warns the minister. He reiterates that Serbia requires as much direct foreign investment as possible, as that is one of the ways to boost export, and above all, maintain the dinar’s stability. Mladjan Dinkic (FoNet, archive)

Dinkić: Foreign investors here to stay

At a meeting with Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić, the representatives of 17 of the biggest foreign investors in Serbia concurred that the current political situation was disturbing, but that it was not affecting their work.

Other than Coca-Cola and Siemens, no company has been doing business in Serbia longer than Germany’s Messer-Technogas.

Red tape is a big problem for them that needs to be solved fast, primarily because, they say, it is making it more difficult for new investors to come to Serbia.

“A lot of energy is wasted over mindless, over-elaborate administration. It simply has to be cut through, or at least simplified. This way you’re doing twice as much, and you’re wasting your nerves and energy for no good reason. This complicated bureaucracy is the biggest problem that a new company faces that wants to come to Serbia,“ laments Ernst Bode from Messer-Technogas.

The EU accounts for the biggest percentage of foreign investment in Serbia.

Dinkić says that those companies are primarily interested in stability, as 90 percent of their output goes to the EU.

“If Serbia continues its path to the EU after the elections, investment will come faster. If the opposite happens, if Serbia stops, investors won’t leave. They are here to stay, my guess is that they will simply slow down that development. But, there’s a big difference between fast and slow development,“ warns the minister.

He reiterates that Serbia requires as much direct foreign investment as possible, as that is one of the ways to boost export, and above all, maintain the dinar’s stability.