SLOVENIA
Slovenia to seek lifting of restrictive measures for NLB
After Slovenia failed to fully privatise the NLB bank by the end of 2018, the bank is bound by EU state aid rules to start proceedings to offload its insurance subsidiary NLB Vita as part of restrictive measures. However, the government is preparing to enter talks with Brussels in order to have the restrictions lifted.
VIR: STA
Lek trumps plans in 2018, employs additional 370 people
The Slovenian pharmaceutical company Lek, a subsidiary of the Swiss giant Novartis, has announced that it had a very successful 2018 compared to the set objectives, while failing to reveal concrete business results. It did say that it employed an additional 370 people last year to increase the workforce to 4,085.
VIR: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow surges more than 400 points to above 25,000 after Fed signals patience with rate hikes; European markets close higher ahead of Fed meeting; Shares of Atos, LVMH jump
Stocks rose sharply on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and stated it will be “patient” with raising rates moving forward. Strong earnings from Boeing and Apple also boosted the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 434.90 points higher at 25,014.86 as Boeing and Apple outperformed. Wednesday also marked the Dow’s first close above 25,000 since Dec. 4. The S&P 500 gained 1.56 percent, led by the tech and consumer discretionary sectors. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.2 percent to 7,183.08. Boeing shares jumped 6.25 percent after its quarterly earnings easily beat expectations. The aerospace giant also posted annual revenue of more than $100 billion for the first time and gave strong earnings guidance for 2019. Apple climbed 6.8 percent after reporting a quarterly profit that barely beat estimates. The company’s overall quarterly revenue topped expectations, but iPhone sales for the quarter came in below estimates. The report comes after the company had slashed its revenue guidance earlier this month, citing a slowdown in China. AMD shares also surged nearly 20 percent after releasing earnings that matched expectations. The chip maker added it expects 2019 sales to grow in the “high single digit percentage ” range. European markets moved higher Wednesday, as investors awaited Federal Reserve monetary policy guidance and the outcome of high level trade talks between the U.S. and China. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index closed provisionally 0.25 percent up during Wednesday deals. Europe’s personal and household goods sector led the gains, up more than 1.7 percent amid earnings news by the mid-afternoon. France’s LVMH was the top sectoral performer after the Paris-listed stock reported strong annual results in the final three months of 2018. Shares of the company jumped nearly 7 percent.
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
AERO: Agreement with French company Vinci to be published by end-February
Assistant Minister for Air Transport Zoran Ilic announced on January 29 that the concession agreement with Vinci on the Belgrade Airport should be published within the next month. As he said at a press conference, the final “calibrations of the master plan and harmonization with the partner” regarding this question are in progress. Ilic also said that the concession agreement with Vinci on the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport was not the reason why the state had become the owner of the Nis Constantine the Great Airport, as well as that the government had invested RSD 256 million in the Nis Airport since.
Source: Ekapija
Zrenjanin a step closer to realization of Shandong Linglong project
The Town Council of Zrenjanin today adopted the proposal of the decision on the sale of 37 parcels in the industrial zone Southeast for the realization of the investment of the Chinese company Shandong Linglong. Mayor of Zrenjanin Cedomir Janjic, which presided over the session, said that this was a step forward in the realization of the big project of the Chinese company. He reminded that the decision on the detailed regulation plan of the Southeast zone had been adopted in December 2018 at the extraordinary session of the Town Assembly.
Source: Ekapija
Serbia signs deal with DSD Noell for overhaul of Djerdap 1 HPP's locks
Serbia has signed a 27 million euro ($30.9 million) agreement for an overhaul of the ship locks of the Djerdap 1 hydro power plant with German company DSD Noell, the Serbian infrastructure ministry said on Wednesday. The project will lead to the increase of the capacity of the locks of Djerdap 1 to 10,000 vessels annually from 6,300 vessels now, the managing director of state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), Milorad Grcic, said.
Source: SeeNews
Serbia starts new investment cycle
Deputy PM and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic spoke on Wednesday with an IMF mission visiting Serbia. The talks dealt with the realization of infrastructure projects and the projects planned within the new investment cycle, the Serbian government announced. Mihajlovic ""pointed out that the current cycle of investments in road and rail infrastructure is drawing to an end, and that in 2019 Serbia will start with a new investment cycle, worth more than EUR 5 billion."" Other topics discussed were reforms in the field of improving business environment, especially in the period after the publication of the last report of the World Bank on business conditions Doing Business in October.
Source: b92
