Mit - Index

Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_11_št.15 - Index

BuSINeSSBUsinEssBuSINeSSBUsinEssBuSINeSSBUsinEssBuSINeSS
bUSINeSS eXeCS SeekING PaRtNeRShIP
IN moNteNeGRo
A 25-member business delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to
Montenegro on 10 October focusing on possibilities for investment
partnerships in energy, urban development and construction,
according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).
Headed by GZS president Zdenko PavËek, the delegation attended
a meeting hosted by the Slovenian Business Club in Montenegro,
where Montenegrin Finance Minister Igor Lukšić briefed them
on the economic situation in the country. The highlight of the
visit was a business conference at the Montenegrin Chamber
of Commerce, which was attended by some 40 Montenegrin
business executives interested in doing business with their
Slovenian counterparts.
Minister for Economic Development Branimir Gvozdenović called
on Slovenian investors to invest in Montenegro. He said that the
business environment in the country has been improving and
that foreign direct investment is on the increase, while legislation
conforms to EU standards.
GZS president Zdenko PavËek voiced his expectation at the
conference that "business executives will find new opportunities
for cooperation in direct communication on the basis of relevant
information on economic trends in both countries."
Apart from financial, retail and tourism industries, Slovenian
investors are interested in energy and infrastructure, two areas
that were targeted during the latest visit.
Nkbm SellS oNly halF oF RIGhtS
ISSUe
NKBM, Slovenia's no. 2 bank, managed to sell less than half the
shares in a EUR 111m rights issue that ended on 8 October. Most
of the new stock, offered at EUR 19.5 per share, was bought by
existing shareholders, primarily the government and two stateowned
funds.
On 14 October, NKBM chief executive Matjaž KovaËiË said that
the EUR 53m which the bank got in fresh capital, a figure "more
than satisfactory considering the present conditions on financial
markets", would be used to boost capital adequacy and further
organic growth.
Existing shareholders bought EUR 35m-worth of new stock.
Slovenian companies and individuals bought EUR 4.5m in
new stock and foreign and domestic institutional investors
EUR 13.5m-worth, according to NKBM board member Manja
Skernišak.
The new foreign investors include seven funds, which together
paid about a tenth of the total sum.
After the completed rights issue the bank ownership structure
remains roughly the same. Only the state and its two funds, KAD
and SOD, paid up the entire amount they were entitled to and
retain their combined stake at 51%. Small shareholders have
24%.
The bank actually had to reject about half of the state money in
order to prevent it from increasing its stake again, less than a year
after the bank was privatised, according to KovaËiË.
KovaËiË said the bank was not mulling over another round of
recapitalisation, as it does not need more money for current
business, but it could opt for that move in the future.
The Finance Ministry expressed satisfaction over the outcome of
the capital increase. "We welcome the decision of the investors to
demonstrate trust by buying new shares and that EUR 53m have
been paid in, which represents more safety for savers and enables
the bank's development on the Slovenian market."
19
text: daNIla Golob, Photo: Sta
eU CooRdINatoR RePoRtS PRoGReSS
oN CRoSS-boRdeR RaIl lINk
The coordinators of priority projects envisaged as part of the
Trans-European Transport Network presented their annual reports
in Brussels on 14 October. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, responsible for
the railway axis that crosses Slovenia, said that the period since
July 2007 has seen tangible progress in the cross-border part
between Slovenia and Italy.
Brinkhorst, reporting on the Lyon-Trieste-DivaËa/Koper-DivaËa-
Ljubljana-Budapest-Ukrainian border railway axis, or priority
project No. 6, told Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani that
the Slovenian and Italian governments have formed a special
intergovernmental commission for the project.
The commission has already confirmed a possible course this
year for a new link between Trieste and DivaËa, ending years of
different studies on the best possible solution. It has moreover
confirmed the links between Koper and DivaËa, and Trieste and
Koper.
This means that a key condition has been met for the use of EU
funds, for continuing with projections and building the track,
which should be ready by 2015.
Brinkhorst also mentioned the progress made by Slovenia in
modernising the Koper-DivaËa link and efforts to upgrade the
entire railway infrastructure.
In November of last year, the European Commission allocated EUR
50.7m for the Trieste-DivaËa link between Italy and Slovenia.
kRka beSt RaNked SloveNIaN
ComPaNy IN R&d INveStmeNt
Novo Mesto-based drug maker Krka ranked highest among five
Slovenian companies in the 2007 EU Industrial R&D Investment
Scoreboard, released by the European Commission in early
October.
Krka spent EUR 59m on research and development in 2007 and
thus ranked 237th among the 1,000 companies included in the
study. Its investments were up 12.2% compared to the year
before.
Among the five Slovenian companies on the list were also the
ACH conglomerate, with EUR 4.6m, Sava conglomerate with
EUR 3.6m, Intereuropa logistics group with EUR 0.9m and home
appliance maker Gorenje with EUR 0.2m. The R&D investment of
the pharmaceutical company Lek meanwhile topped EUR 69m,
according to the company, but Lek was treated as a subsidiary of
the Swiss pharma company Novartis.
The EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard is published annually
as part of the Commission's industrial research investment
monitoring activity.
RetaIleR tUš eXPaNdING IN balkaNS
Tuš Holding, the group around the third biggest Slovenian grocer,
has invested more than EUR 60 million this year in expanding its
retail network in the markets of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and
Macedonia.
The group opened eight new supermarkets in those countries this
year, most recently in Sarajevo on 17 October, in an investment
worth EUR 11m, the company announced.
The company employs more than 600 people in its shops in
the three Balkan countries and is planning to open two further
supermarkets in Bosnia-Herzegovina by the end of October, to be
followed by a further three in that country and two in Serbia by
14 sinfo