Daily news - 28.01.2019
Published: 28. 01. 2019

SLOVENIA

Pahor and strong business delegation visiting Serbia

President Borut Pahor will pay an official visit to Serbia on Monday and Tuesday for talks with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić aimed at enhancing bilateral political relationship and diverse cooperation between the two nations. He will also speak in the Serbian National Assembly and attend a bilateral business forum.
Source: STA

AIK Banka publishes new takeover attempt for Gorenjska Banka

Serbian AIK Banka published a takeover attempt for Gorenjska Banka on Saturday. The move comes a year after AIK Banka failed at its first takeover attempt of Slovenia's seventh biggest bank. Under Slovenian law, AIK Banka now has to issue a takeover bid within a month.
Source: STA

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Dow gains for fifth straight week after deal reached to temporarily reopen government; European stocks close higher amid tech rally; US-China trade in focus

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors looked past a poor Intel earnings report, instead focusing on a partial government shutdown solution. President Donald Trump announced that he reached a continuing resolution deal with Congress to reopen the U.S. government. The temporary deal will fund the government for three weeks until Feb. 15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 184 points, or 0.8 percent, to 24,737.20. The S&P 500 also rose nearly 1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite moved higher as constituent Starbucks gained on strong earnings. Intel reported fourth quarter earnings which beat Wall Street expectations but missed on revenue. The company’s 2019 forecast showed revenue growth of just 1 percent, with Intel expecting to report first quarter earnings of 87 cents a share – 14 cents below Wall Street expectations. Intel continues to search for a new CEO, seven months after Brian Krzanich was forced out. The stock was down more than 7 percent in trading, but other chip stocks were holding steady. Starbucks stock gained as the company reported strong sales and earnings growth for its first quarter report. The coffee giant saw revenue climb 9 percent compared to the same period last year European stocks traded higher on Friday, amid a rally among technology shares and as investors continued to monitor U.S.-China trade developments. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.6 percent during trade, with tech stocks and trade-sensitive sectors like autos and basic resources among the top gainers. In corporate news, Ericsson reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly sales year-on-year. The firm also trimmed operating losses, which came in lower than market forecasts. Ericsson’s share price jumped 3.1 percent. U.K. rival Vodafone, on the other hand, fell 5.1 percent after reporting disappointing earnings. The firm said its key measure of revenue slowed in the third quarter, falling 40 basis points from the previous quarter to 0.1 percent. Elsewhere, Reuters reported on Friday that no one on the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank was pushing for a near-term merger with rival Commerzbank.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA

EBRD acquires 16.72% of Forma Ideale for EUR 10 million

The Commission for Protection of Competition of Serbia has announced that it has approved the acquisition of a 16.72% stake in the Kragujevac-based company Forma Ideale by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD will pay EUR 10 million for the acquisition of this minority share. After the transaction takes place, in addition to the EBRD, the Kragujevac company will be owned by Vladimir Lazarevic (36.68%), Nikola Lazarevic (35.2%), Milanka Djolic (1.67%) and the company itself, which owns a 9.72% stake. Forma Ideale produces furniture in Kragujevac and Majdanpek and has stores in 26 cities and towns in Serbia.
Source: Ekapija

CT sector among Serbia's largest exporters

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Thursday chaired the session of the Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship and Information Technology. The meeting adopted the Council's Work Plan for 2019 was adopted, and a report on work done in 2018, the Serbian government announced on its website. According to this, Brnabic pointed out that the ICT sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Serbia and one of the largest net exporter. She added that, according to the National Bank of Serbia, in the first 11 months of 2018, the sector exceeded the export value of EUR 1 billion, with a growth of 27.5 percent compared to 2017.
Source: b92

President wants Rio Tinto to accelerate Serbia project

Rio Tinto's Jadar Project in western Serbia is going well, the company's representatives told Aleksandar Vucic during a Davos meeting on Wednesday. The Serbian president asked them to continue and accelerate the works, noting the project was hugely important for Serbia, Tanjug is reporting. According to estimates, a large number of people could be working in western Serbia from 2024, when jadarite mining is expected to begin there, Vucic told reporters after the meeting. Rio Tinto's Jadar Project relies on one of the world's major lithium-borate deposits, situated near the city of Loznica.
Source: Tanjug 

HBIS Group surpasses Fiat – Zelezara biggest exporter in 2018

The total value of the export of the 15 biggest exporters from Serbia in 2018 amounted to EUR 4.3 billion, and the biggest exporter was HBIS Group, with EUR 749.5 million, which dethroned Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Serbia after a long time. FCA Serbia is now in the second spot, with EUR 714.1 million worth of exports, whereas the third spot belongs to Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), with EUR 465 million, the Ministry of Finance announced. Tigar Tyres Pirot is fourth with EUR 388.9 million, whereas Robert Bosch placed fifth with EUR 241.5 million. They are followed by HIP Petrohemija (EUR 213.7 million), Tetra Pak (EUR 208.5 million) and Grundfos Serbia (EUR 203.6 million).
Source: Serbianmonitor

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