Regional – Fuele in Bosnia: Balkan Leaders Must Deliver on Their Reform Promises. The EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said Thursday in Sarajevo that the member states of the block were dedicated to the European perspective of the Western Balkans, but warned regional leaders that they must deliver on their reform promises. Read more

Regional – Europe and Central Asia: Energy Report Warns Eastern Europe and Central Asia Could Face Energy Crunch. A new report from the World Bank is warning that countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia could face an energy crunch in the next five or six years. The problem is increasing demand for heat and electricity…and falling supplies. Read more

Regional – Balkan Economies Brace for Fallout from Greece Crisis. Greece has been the economic motor of the region in recent years. As a result, its severe financial troubles hold consequences for several countries beyond its borders. Source

Regional – Remove investment barriers or we’re leaving for Serbia! Unless bureaucratic barriers for investors are cut as soon as possible, Croatia will miss out on the latest wave of U.S. investments as well, as they will go to Serbia and other countries in the region instead. Read more

Regional – East Europe Speeds Up Debt Sales as Investors Reward Austerity. Emerging European governments are bringing forward debt sales and investors are lining up to buy it as the region benefits from an anti-Greece sentiment that’s overshadowing the euro area, said analysts at RBC Capital, BNP Paribas S.A. and Societe Generale S.A. Read more

Regional – Coatian and Serbian presidents hold surprise get-together. On Wednesday (24 March) it hosted the first ever encounter between Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and his Serbian colleague Boris Tadic. It was a surprise event, announced to the media just an hour before the meeting began. Read more

Regional – Date set for tricky Sarajevo meeting. A planned EU-Western Balkans high level meeting is to be held on 1 June in Sarajevo, with the Spanish EU presidency hoping to secure the participation of all regional players. According to EU officials and diplomats, the political directors of the EU member states will meet in Vienna a few days ahead of the conference to solve the two trickiest points: how Kosovo will figure in the meeting and what message the "Sarajevo declaration" should carry. Read more

Regional – Fuele Calls on Western Balkans to Define Borders. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele believes that Western Balkans leaders should clear up unsolved issues from the past, including the "demarcation of borders." In an interview with daily Danas, the commissioner said that undefined borders could represent a significant obstacle on the EU path of these countries, adding that the European Commission has no jurisdiction when it comes to defining borders. Read more

Regional – BH, Croatia want stronger economic ties. A business forum for companies from BH and the Split-Dalmatia County in Croatia was held in Sarajevo yesterday. Trade between BH and Croatia was worth EUR 1.7 billion last year, which shows the two countries are turned to each other, which is why it is necessary to improve conditions for collaboration, the chairman of the Chamber of Foreign Trade of BH – Mahir Hadziahmetovic - said yesterday. Read more

Albania – For clean energy, Italy sees its salvation in Albania. “A major part of the renewable energy will come from Albania and other countries,” Italian media reported. “We will import 3 billion kWh of renewable energy per year from Albania,” Italian explained officials in Brussels. The 3 billion kWh of energy are expected to be produced from wind farms part of six different projects as approved by Albania, of which none has started operations as of yet. In the past two years, Italian companies have received licences for the construction of wind farms, with the largest one located on the Karabrun peninsula. Read more

Armenia – WB approves $9 million credit for Armenia. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $9 million credit for the Second Public Sector Modernization Project (PSMP II) for Armenia. The project will assist the Government of Armenia in its efforts to improve the quality of public services by introducing a performance-based pay system and a code of conduct for civil servants, and by enhancing public access to all available government information, an official from the WB office informed Armenpress. Read more

Armenia – “Bridge” economic forum stresses spheres of tourism, transport, financial-loan policy. “Bridge” 7th economic international forum was conducted February 19-22 in Tsakhkadzor in a constructive atmosphere, Chairman of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employees) of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan said today at a meeting with journalists. According to him, 19 groups worked in 3 days, round tables on all the branches of economy were conducted. The discussions concerned investments, agricultural sphere, construction and banks. Source

Armenia – Armenian Currency Again Under Strain. A renewed depreciation of Armenia’s national currency, the dram, which began last month, has accelerated this week, despite the Central Bank’s apparently increased intervention in the local financial market. Read more

Armenia – New local currency financing for micro and small businesses in Armenia. The EBRD is boosting the availability of local currency financing in Armenia with a synthetic loan in Armenian Drams (AMD) worth $4 million to FINCA UCO CJSC for on-lending to local micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Read more

Armenia – Armenia ready to continue expanding cooperation with EBRD. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received the delegation headed by Thomas Mirow, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), President's press office reported. President Sargsyan highly assessed the EBRD activity in our country, the investments in Armenian economy, noting that thanks to them, Armenia has managed to solve issues of development. Read more

Armenia – 100 steps aimed at decentralization of Armenian economy: former prime minister. Former prime minister Hrant Bagratian told a news conference today that the economic manifesto of the opposition Armenian National Congress, called ‘100 Steps’ has been developed to decentralize Armenian economy. According to Hrant Bagratian, ‘100 Steps’ differs radically from the government’s anti-crisis program. Read more

Armenia – EBRD provides to “Ameriabank” new loan line of 10 million USD. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided to “Ameriabank” a new loan line of 10 million USD for further loaning of private small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Source

Armenia – Robert Kocharyan criticizes economic policy. “True, economic crises take place from time to time. One should be mindful of and prepare for that during good years. But not by restraining economic development but by accumulating reserves, cutting the state debt and budget deficit, diversifying trade and so on. And that’s what we did,” former RA President Robert Kocharyan said in an exclusive interview with Mediamax news agency. Read more

Armenia – WB to provide 35-40 million USD loan for road construction in Armenia. The WB representative referred to the implementation of new road construction programs by the bank. It was noted that the WB intends to provide about 35-40 million USD loan by the end of the year for the construction and reconstruction of totally 171 km road sectors suspended by the “Millennium Challenges Corporation” as well as the sector of an inter-state road’s crossroad taking to Halidzor village. The works on reconstruction of the latter are expected to be finished by the end of October 2010. Read more

Armenia – Armenian asks for $50-$70 million from world bank to finance new municipal water and wastewater project. The Armenian government has asked for a $50-$70 million loan from World Bank to finance a new water supply project, a World Bank regional infrastructures projects coordinator, Ahmed Eiweida, told a news conference today in Yerevan. Read more

Armenia – Main challenge of Armenian government curb inflation, HSBC. The main challenge and the goal of the Armenian government is to curb inflation, HSBC Bank Armenia CEO, Astrid Clifford, said today. She said the current inflation rate is higher of the government projected figure. Read more

Armenia – Armenia ‘Recovering’ From Economic Crisis. Finance Minister Tigran Davtian sounded on Wednesday a note of caution over Armenia’s renewed economic growth, saying that the domestic economy will take at least one year to recover from its first downturn since the 1990s. Read more

Armenia – IMF Approves Another Loan Payment To Armenia. The International Monetary Fund has disbursed a fresh $73.6 million installment of a vital loan to Armenia, again praising the Armenian authorities’ response to the global financial crisis and their broader macroeconomic policies. Read more

Azerbaijan - ‘Azerbaijan must access new markets’. “We have to seek an access to foreign markets. Traditional markets are open, near and big for us. We use and will continue to use them,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at a conference on the first year of implementation of “State Program of socio-economic development of regions for 2009-2013”. Source

Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan became a leader among CIS countries in the world ranking of network technologies. World Economic Forum presented the annual report "Global Information Technology 2009-2010”.  According to the report presented on the website of the World Economic Forum, as of 2009, Azerbaijan took the 64-th place (3.75 points), and thus became the leader among CIS countries in terms of work technologies. Read more

Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan has increased surplus in foreign trade. In Jan.-Feb. 2010, positive balance of Azerbaijan's foreign trade amounted to $1.64 billion which is 1.8 times more compared to same period last year, the State Statistics Committee said. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Silajdzic: BH is now in process of investing in natural resources. Chairman of the Presidency of BH Haris Silajdzic talked yesterday with Qatar’s PM Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani about investment opportunities in the energy sector of BH. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Energy Forum of the government of Federation BiH held in Sarajevo. Energy projects were an opportunity to give a push to the economy of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina and wider, Heco told to Energetika.NET. He added that it was not only their citizens who would benefit from those projects but also the entire region. In addition, it all held certain significance for Europe as well, as the respective projects would engage a number of various energy companies and organisations. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Mariborska livarna investing in Bugojno. Representatives of Mariborska livarna Maribor announced yesterday the launch of a plant in Bugojno, where the Slovenian company will manufacture parts for the automobile industry in western Europe. Chairman Branko Zardoner announced that approximately EUR 6 million would be invested in the Bugojno operation in the next four years. Actual investing will start in May this year with the procurement of machinery. Local Unipress (aluminium castings manufacturer) will be integrated with the new enterprise. The local officials were happy to announce many job openings as a result of this investment. Source

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Arcelor Mittal not selling Zenica ironworks. Arcelor Mittal Group does not wish to sell the Zenica ironworks or any part of that operation, and there no plans, ambitions or ongoing negotiations in this sense, the company said yesterday in response to increased speculation that the Indian-British owner is making plans to sell its largest ironworks in the region. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – EU still BH’s most important partner in foreign trade. The EU has remained BH’s main trade partner, as economic and financial crises did not have as big an impact on trade between the two parties as was expected. Although BH markets most of her exports to the internal market of the EU, that share decreased slightly in 2009 to the benefit of the CEFTA market. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Czechs interested in investments in RS. Czech Ambassador to BH Tomas Szunyog said yesterday that companies in his country are very much interested in working with firms in Pale Municipality (Republika Srpska), and the areas that appeal to them include environmental protection, agriculture and tourism. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to employ domestic potential to build new energy facilities. The construction of energy facilities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina apparently represents the future of this entity. Projects worth EUR 5 billion in total could be carried out with the help of domestic companies, which would help alleviate the adverse effects of the economic crisis and job cuts. Consensus and political support to this issue are clear from the list of projects of the Federation that will be given priority in realisation. Source

Bosnia and Herzegovina – IMF to Release €138 Installment to Bosnia. The executive board of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, approved the release of €138.4 million in the second installment of its stand-by deal with Bosnia, the global lender said in a statement. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – MOL and INA will pay up 47.5 million euros for the Energopetrol filling stations in BIH. By the end of this week the Hungarian-Croatian consortium MOL/INA will pay up the remaining 47.5 million euros for the reconstruction of the Energopetrol’s filling stations but it is still too early to discuss the extension of the bank guarantee for investments, said the Director of Energopetrol Sarajevo Franjo Bozic, reported the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Funding for hydro power developments discussed with Germans. Republika Srpska’s assistant minister of energy Ljubo Glamocic talked yesterday with representatives of the German Ministry for Economic Collaboration and Development and the German development bank KfW about funding for the Cijevna-3 hydro power station. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – More than 130 projects expected in Sarajevo Business forum. Bosna Bank International, which is a co-organizer of the forthcoming Sarajevo Business Forum, has prepared 95 projects with local companies to present to potential foreign investors. Their combined estimated value is BAM 5 billion. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Rich Turkish province wants to invest in Mostar region. A business delegation of the Turkish province of Kocaeli had a meeting with a group of entrepreneurs from the Herzegovina region in Mostar, and collaboration has been agreed in several areas. The purpose of their visit was to explore investment opportunities in the Mostar region, and beef up existing business relations. Kocaeli is one of the economically strongest provinces of Turkey, and about 20 representatives of its business community are interested in collaboration in all segments of the economy, they said. Some thirty projects will be presented to them, a professor of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering said. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – FBiH and Iran work to boost business ties. A "respectable" delegation of Iranian businessmen led by the minister of economy would be in Sarajevo on April 21, the country’s ambassador to BH Ahmad Fard Hosseini has announced. That is when the first session of the joint economic commission has been scheduled for. Hosseini and Federation entity’s PM Mustafa Mujezinovic talked on March 26 about opportunities for business collaboration in energy, transport, banking and agriculture. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina- GEF ensures USD 1m for biomass project.Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Slobodna Bosna: Analysis of investments into the energy sector in Federation BiH. After an Energy Forum on new projects in the energy sector in the organization of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mining of Federation BiH had recently taken place in Sarajevo, the independent newspaper Slobodna Bosna published an analysis that says: “Among the fifty companies the representatives of which participated at the Energy Forum, only five or six fulfil the (too) high criteria for strategic partnership in construction of the energy projects in BiH.” Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Yet another barrier in Serbia for BH exporters. The environment tax of RSD 15 per tonne of goods that was recently introduced by authorities in Serbia is a new barrier for companies in BH exporting to this market and a source of big problems for them. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Economic crisis in BH reaches stagnation phase. Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of BH Jago Lasic said today that the economic crisis is BH is currently in stagnation stage, and that a positive turn in expected in the following months. Read more

Bosnia and Herzegovina – More EBRD financing for businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The EBRD is boosting the availability of financing to the real economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a €20 million credit line to Intesa Sanpaolo Banka d.d. BiH , majority owned by Intesa Sanpaolo Group, for on-lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Read more

Georgia – Georgia to get $1 billion financial aid. This year Georgia will get up to $1 billion in the frames of international financial aid program out of $4.5 billion decided at the donors conference in Brussels last year, said Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri to Rustavi-2 channel. These funds granted by the international financial organizations and donor states, inclusing EC will go for construction of the Georgian East-West highway, high voltage power line (500) intended to connect Georgian and Turkish energy systems, as well as other infrastructure projects, Gilauri underlined. Previously it was reported that by the beginning of this March Georgia received about 50% out of the amount promised at the Brussels conference. Source

Georgia – EIB allocates €80m to Georgia. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has allocated €80m for the construction of the Black Sea high-voltage line. The EIB Vice-President and Georgian Deputy Minister of Finance signed a relevant credit agreement on March 26. Read more

Kosovo – Business: Kosovo is open for international investors. Kosovo is looking outside its borders for investors to privatise one particular company. Kosovo calls for international investment in the country's telecommunications company. The Kosovo government asked international investors Wednesday (March 24th) to participate in the privatisation of the country's Post and Telecommunication (PTK). The government wants to keep 25% of the company. PTK includes a mobile operator with over 1,000,000 clients, a landline telephone operator and internet services. Source

Kosovo – Kosovo Approves €700 Million Highway Deal. The Kosovo Ministry of Transport has approved a €700 million deal with Bechtel-Enka, a US and Turkish consortium, to construct Kosovo’s first highway. Read more

Macedonia – Macedonia’s FDI Plummeted Last Year. The amount of foreign direct investment entering Macedonia last year was only half of the 2008 FDI figure, the latest official data show. Read more

Macedonia – Bulgaria Bank Go Ahead for Stater Banka Acquisition. Bulgaria's Central Cooperative Bank, part of the country's largest holding company Chimimport, has been given the green light by the country's financial supervision authorities to acquire a third bank in Macedonia. Read more

Macedonia – More than 50 applications submitted at first IPARD call. A total of 55 applications have been submitted at the call for Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) funds, which ends on Wednesday, said Deputy-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Perica Ivanoski. "Two-thirds of the applications refer to the first and second measure of the IPARD programme, primary production and processing, whereas the rest on diversification", added Ivanoski. Read more

Macedonia – Urgent investments necessary for prevention of energy collapse. The latest report of the World Bank placed Macedonia in the same group with Albania, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan when it comes to management of the energy sector, which is bad in these countries. Thus, the World Bank recommends introducing low-cost gas, constructing new hydro power plants and improving of current capacities in order to prevent possible energy collapse. Read more

Macedonia – Railways to find strategic partner. Macedonian businessmen say that in terms when Macedonian Railways (MZ) is losing its monopoly and when railroad becomes available to other operators, the company has to find a strategic partner and face its competition. Thus, the solution lies in the partnership with foreign investors who might offer new coaches with lower transport prices. Read more

Macedonia – Macedonia to finance promotion of rural tourism. Promotional campaign for the development of rural tourism is the fourth measure from the programme of the financial support for rural tourism 2010, for which Macedonia plans to provide EUR 115,000 in total. Read more

Macedonia – Good Forecast for Macedonian Tourist Season. The promotion campaigns for Macedonia’s undiscovered beauty may finally start paying off this summer, as the Tourist Chamber of Commerce's initial estimates show increased interest in the country among foreign tourists. Read more

Macedonia – Vice PM Stavreski: "Macedonia exits recession". Data from the State Statistical Office showing that FYRMacedonia concluded 2009 with a slight GDP drop of 0,7% and with a 1,2% growth of economic activity in the final quarter of 2009 indicate that the country is officially out of recession, Vice PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski stated. Read more

Macedonia – FYROM:IPARD call attracts 131 applicants. The first call regarding the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) funds has attracted 131 applicants, but this number is not final, because some applications are still arriving by mail, said Deputy-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Perica Ivanoski at Tuesday's press conference. Read more

Macedonia – FYRMacedonia gets WB 20 mil euro loan, 7 mil euro Dutch grant. Loan and grant funds are intended for budget support and they are granted as a result of the fulfilled reforms of government policies. The loan supports reforms in the process of public expenditures management, reforms in social policy system and strengthening stability of financial sector. Read more

Macedonia – EBRD launches new strategy for FYR Macedonia. The EBRD’s Board of Directors has adopted a new strategy for FYR Macedonia, which reinforces the Bank’s commitment to further support the Macedonian economy and sets out the priorities for its activities in the country over the next three years. Read more

Macedonia - Businessmen demand easing of fines for companies. Part of the Macedonian business community demands from the Macedonian labour minister Dzeljal Bajrami to alleviate the policy of fines against companies and to allow non-registration of workers during the first six months. The goal of this request is to ease up the destructive policy of the Macedonian government. Moreover, businessmen think that these measures could contribute to a faster recovery of the Macedonian economy from the crisis. Read more

Macedonia - Turkish Airlines May Become Macedonia’s Air Carrier. Turkish TAV pledged to invest over €200 million in the revamp of the two airports by extending the runways and building bigger air and cargo terminals. The company got a 20 year concession over the airports, which currently serve less than a million passengers a year. Read more

Moldova – Moldovan prime minister meets French investors. Pierre Moraillon said that France is world's third power in terms of investments and noted that French business people were among the first to invest in Moldova. "It gladdens us to note that due to efforts taken by the new government, the investment climate has improved and Moldova became even more attractive for business," Pierre Moraillon said. Read more

Moldova - Moldovan government, development partners sign 1.936-billion-euro assistance programme. The Moldovan government and the development partners have signed the 2011-2013 assistance programme for Moldova worth 1.936 billion euros (2.6 billion dollars), the government's press service has said. Read more

Moldova – Half of foreign donors' assistance for Moldova to be granted – premier. Moldova will receive financial assistance worth 1.936 billion euros (2.6 billion dollars) from development partners in 2011-13, of which 52 per cent will be given in the form of grant, and the rest in the form of easy-terms credits. The loans will be provided with a 5-10-year guarantee period and an interest rate of 1.2 per cent. Read more

Montenegro – Fuele: Montenegro Faces Challenging EU Integration Phase. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said that Montenegro was facing a more demanding EU integration phase full of challenges, and that concrete results were necessary in the fight against corruption and organised crime in the country. Read more

Montenegro – Serbian Retailer Delta Maxi Plans To Invest 15 Mln Euro in Montenegro in 2010. Serbian retailer Delta Maxi, part of diversified group Delta Holding, plans to invest at least 15 million euro ($20.3 million) in Montenegro in 2010, Belgrade-based media reported. Read more

Montenegro – The economy will grow. Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Igor Luksic said that further fiscal adjustments, end og the process of company restructuring, as well as the improvement of business conditions, will contribute to the recovery of the Montenegrin economy through the expected growth of the gross domestic products (GDP) this year. Read more

Montenegro – Delta Maxi to invest EUR 15 mln in Montenegro. Serbian retailer Delta Maxi, part of Belgrade's retail-to-real estate conglomerate Delta Holding (owned by Serbian tycoon Miroslav Miskovic), plans to invest at least EUR15 million in Montenegro in 2010 said Mark Garofani, general manager of Delta Maxi International, the retailer's unit in charge of Montenegro Bosnia, Albania, and Bulgaria, reports ANSAmed news agency. Read more

Montenegro – EU will monitor the development of hydropower plants. Director General for the Environment in the European Commission Karl Falkenberg welcomed the firm dedication of the Government to strictly follow the requests of the European Union in the course of development of the project of hydropower plants in the river Moraca. He strongly encourages Montenegro, as a potential candidate for membership, to make sure that all new investments are in accordance with the politics of the Union and its legislation. Falkenberg said that the Commission would monitor the development of hydropower plants, adding that the authorities have to fulfil and apply important requests for environment protection. Source

Serbia – First wind farms in Serbia to be built this autumn. Six foreign companies have been granted permits to build wind power facilities in Serbia with total capacity of 1,200 MW. First wind farms were to be built this autumn in the South Banat district, Vojvodina's Provincial Secretary for Energy and Mineral Resource Radoslav Strikovic announced. Read more

Serbia – EBRD considers loan for railways. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering giving a loan to Serbian Railways worth EUR100 million for the restoration of Corridor 10 routes. Read more

Serbia – USD 800m to arrive from Russia. It was announced in October 2009 that Russia would approve USD 1 billion loan to Serbia. The loan arrangement has not been finalized since and it remains unknown when an agreement could be reached. Read more

Serbia – Minister: Good year to sell Telekom. Telecommunications Minister Jasna Matić says this year "will not be bad for privatization of Telekom" and that a realistic price could be achieved. “The world crisis has passed for the most part, the telecommunications sector hasn’t suffered too much, it even had a certain growth, and further recovery is expected, so from that point of view, this year will not be bad for the sale of Telekom Srbija,” the minister said. Read more

Serbia – Crisis reduces the number of the rich. The number of the richest Serbia’s citizens was reduced in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, the figures of the Tax Administration show. At least this is the conclusion that arrives after looking at the filed income tax returns. At the Serbian Tax Administration, they say that slightly more tax returns were filed than the year before, when 17.547 tax returns had been filed. Still, one has to bear in mind that the income tax limit has been lowered from RSD 1.64 to 1.58, meaning that more people entered the category of the wealthy, but no significant increase in the number of tax payers has been recorded. Source

Serbia – Ikea to Invest €1 Billion in Serbia. Swedish Ambassador to Serbia, Krister Bringeus, has announced that Swedish home-furnishings giant Ikea will invest €1 billion in Serbia over the next seven to 10 years. Read more

Serbia – Gorenje moves part of production to Stara Pazova. Slovenian household appliances factory Gorenje Tiki is moving part of its production of kitchen water heaters from Ljubljana to Stara Pazova, north of Belgrade. Read more

Serbia – D&B raised rating of Serbia. Dun&Bradstreet, has raised its rating of Serbia placing the level of risk in investing in the country at a moderate DB4d, and no longer in the "high risk" DB5a category. Despite the slow recovery in manufacturing in the wake of the global recession, D&B has come down in favour of the measures taken by the Serb government to guarantee macro-economic stability; a decisive role was played by support of around three billion euros from the IMF to the country. Read more

Serbia - Dinkic announces forming SME business council. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic announced that the Ministry will establish a business council for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) next week in order to establish direct communications with this sector, which employs one million citizens in Serbia. Read more

Serbia – Serbia's foreign debts reaches EUR 22.8 bln. Serbia’s total foreign debt reached EUR 22.8 billion at the end of last year, which is 74.1 percent of GDP, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) released Friday. The foreign debt stayed at almost the same level in the first three quarters of 2009, but rose by 4.6 percent in the final quarter. Read more

Serbia – Competition protection important for attracting new investors. Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic said that building a practical and effective framework for competition protection in the Serbian market is a complicated process and a big challenge for the government and the Competition Protection Commission. Speaking at the Competition and Competition Protection conference, Milosavljevic said that this is an important requirement for establishing businesses in the market, intensifying economic activity and attracting new investors. Read more

Serbia – Serbia to get EUR 70m from IPA funds. Representatives of the Serbian Government and the European Union will sing an agreement on the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) in Novi Sad, which will provide Serbia with funds worth EUR 70 million. Read more

Serbia – IMF: Public companies should be privatized. IMF's Bogdan Lissovolik says that with the recovery of the world economy the process of privatization of public companies in Serbia should be resumed. Read more

Serbia - EconMin Dinkic presents new consumer loans. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said that the aim of the new dinar loans is to increase the purchasing power of citizens, to stimulate domestic demand, enable speedier economic growth, to strengthen the dinar currency and boost domestic production. Read more

Serbia – EUR 1 billion worth loans for SME. Small and medium enterprises, which generate 75 percent of Serbia’s GDP and employ around million people, can count on loans worth EUR 1 billion. Other than the State-subsidized loans for liquidity and investments worth RSD 90 billion, small and medium enterprises in Serbia have at their disposal also EUR 45 million in favorable foreign loan lines, and RSD 24 billion from the Serbian Development Funds. Loans subsidized by the State attract the most interest. In 2009, EUR 1.25 billion went into Serbian economy through this loan program. Source

Serbia – Serbia attractive because of cheap labor. Attracting foreign investments shall be this year far more difficult than in 2009 because investors are increasingly cautious and money is more expensive. Advantage by Serbia in relation to the region shall be cheap labor. This means not only low pays but also low taxes and financial concessions given to foreign investors. Read more

Serbia – Beginning of a major investment cycle in Serbia. International conference Energy 2010 which started on March 24 at the town of Zlatibor will focus on the priorities of the energy sector in Serbia, namely accelerating investments into thermal and hydropower, renewable energies and energy efficiency. Source

Serbia – Investments and jobs are priority. The Government will continue implementing measures to prevent increase in the unemployment numbers and support production and export, although there are clear indicators that Serbia is overcoming the economic crisis, Serbia’s Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said. Read more

Serbia – Serbia good investment destination. Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic said today that Serbia is a good investment destination and plays an important role in the stability of the entire Western Balkans region. Read more

Serbia – Mild recovery of economy in 2010. It is not impossible to talk of recovery of Serbian economy in 2010 and growth exceeding 2 percent, the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Milos Bugarin, said. According to Bugarin, indicators show that domestic economy has already experienced mild recovery in the first quarter of the year. In 2009, Serbia had a relatively low level of recession, when compared to the predictions, and the Government’s measures, which were efficient and timely, contributed a great deal to this, President of the Chamber said. Source

Serbia - "Macroeconomic stability not in danger". Resigned Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelasic said that his resignation will not jeopardize Serbia's macroeconomic stability or bring a fundamental change to the macroeconomic policy. Jelasic told that Serbia has a macroeconomic programme based on the budget and on an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who will visit at the end of May to check if the country is on the right track. Read more

Serbia – Dinkić: Businesspeople must be heard. The Economy Ministry has formed a Business Council for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Minister Mlađan Dinkić said. Read more

Serbia – Serbia's PM calls for change in economic structure. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković said that a change in the Serbian economic structure must be made in order to see serious economic progress. Read more

Serbia – EFSE signs its largest loan agreement ever: EUR 25 million to Banca Intesa in Serbia. The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the world’s largest microfinance investment fund, and the commercial bank Banca Intesa a.d. Belgrade (Banca Intesa), Serbia, today announced the signing of a senior loan agreement. Under the agreement, Banca Intesa will take a loan of EUR 25 million from EFSE. The loan will be utilised for further on-lending to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Serbia, a sector that has been hit particularly hard by the crisis. EFSE’s financing supports the bank’s growth strategy, which aims to expand the penetration of loans to small businesses also in the segment of agriculture, where financing needs remain very high. Read more

Serbia – Serbia good investment destination. Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic said today that Serbia is a good investment destination and plays an important role in the stability of the entire Western Balkans region. Read more

Serbia – Mild recovery of economy in 2010. It is not impossible to talk of recovery of Serbian economy in 2010 and growth exceeding 2 percent, the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Milos Bugarin, said. According to Bugarin, indicators show that domestic economy has already experienced mild recovery in the first quarter of the year. In 2009, Serbia had a relatively low level of recession, when compared to the predictions, and the Government’s measures, which were efficient and timely, contributed a great deal to this, President of the Chamber said. Source

Serbia - "Macroeconomic stability not in danger". Resigned Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Radovan Jelasic said that his resignation will not jeopardize Serbia's macroeconomic stability or bring a fundamental change to the macroeconomic policy. Jelasic told that Serbia has a macroeconomic programme based on the budget and on an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who will visit at the end of May to check if the country is on the right track. Read more

Serbia – Dinkić: Businesspeople must be heard. The Economy Ministry has formed a Business Council for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Minister Mlađan Dinkić said. Read more

Serbia – Italian companies approach specific projects of investing into the energy of Serbia and the Balkans. Read More

Serbia – Djelic: Agreement on EUR 200 mln assistance to be signed.Read More

Serbia – USAID hosting third “Invest in Serbia” competition. USAID’s Municipal Economic Growth Program will organize today the grand finale of the “Invest in Serbia” municipal competition in investment promotion. Thirty cities and municipalities will be competing in the following categories: Most successful municipality/city in investment promotion 2010; Best economic data; Best promotional material; Best presentation at the fair; and Best success story. Read more

Ukraine – Ukraine's gross foreign debt reaches 93.5% of gross domestic product. Ukraine's total foreign debt (state and corporate) has reached 93.5% of GDP, Vice Premier Sergiy Tigipko told the press on March 17. The press secretary of vice, premier, Vitaliy Lukianenko, told journalists that such a level of foreign debt was critical for countries with a transition market economy, including Ukraine. Read more

Ukraine – Investor in construction of Lviv airport terminal unlikely to be found soon. An investor in the construction of a terminal at Lviv airport is unlikely to be found soon, according to Borys Kolesnikov, the vice premier for Ukraine's preparations for hosting the finals of the Euro 2012 European Football Championship. "I want to say that we won't find an investor for Lviv airport soon. It is a state task to create conditions for Lviv to attract investment," he said at a press conference in Lviv. Read more

Ukraine – Ukraine prime minister says national economy will stabilize by 2012. The 15-percent decline in industrial output during Timoshenko’s premiership means that in the next two years industrial growth should be 7-8 percent a year, Azarov told the first session of the new government. “If we do this, in 2012 we will not only regain what we have lost but will be able to stabilize development,” he stressed. Read more

Ukraine – Ukraine to Seek $5 Billion From IMF to Cover Deficit. Ukraine’s government will ask the International Monetary Fund for $5 billion to help finance its budget deficit, the Delo newspaper reported, citing Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tigipko. Read more

Ukraine – President Yanukovych demands economic reforms by May 22. President Viktor Yanukovych has ordered the Committee for Economic Reforms to draft a program on economic reforms in 60 days at the latest, i.e., by May 22, he said at the Committee's first meeting Monday. The Committee set up 7 working groups on priority areas outlined by the head of state. The matter concerns ensuring sustainable development, forming favorable business environment, attracting investments, upgrading economic technologically, developing infrastructure, including transportation ahead of UEFA EURO 2012, regional economic development, as well as international integration and economic cooperation. Read more

Ukraine – Estonian businessmen planning to find new partners in Ukraine. Prospects for cooperation between Dnipropetrovsk region and Estonia have been discussed at the first Estonian economic forum that took place in Dnipropetrovsk. In Dnipropetrovsk, Estonian businessmen mainly presented sectors linked to construction, in particular, construction materials, furniture, general construction, the construction of wooden houses, and architectural design. Read more

Ukraine – Premier Azarov: Ukraine seeks implementation of new joint projects with Russia. In turn, Putin emphasized that trade and economic relations between Ukraine and Russia have recently deteriorated significantly. "Lately, goods turnover has substantially reduced due to economic crisis and political processes in Ukraine. But there is an opportunity to return to the pre-crisis level," he said. Read more

Ukraine – Tsushko: Winning back investors' trust in Ukraine is immediate task of government. Economy Minister Vasyl Tsushko sees winning back investors' trust in Ukraine as one of immediate tasks of the government. Read more

Ukraine – Ukraine foresees almost $2 billion foreign trade deficit in 2010. The Ukrainian government is forecasting a foreign trade deficit this year of $1.903 billion, where it had earlier projected a surplus of $1.836 billion, according to an amended report for the cabinet of ministers and published on the parliamentary website. Read more

Ukraine- Stock market to show 40% growth in 2010. Read More

Ukraine – Azarov: Government will make every effort to stabilize prices in Ukraine. Read More

IN THIS ISSUE YOU WILL FIND ARTICLES WITH NEWS FROM:

REGIONAL (9), ALBANIA (1), ARMENIA (14), AZERBAIJAN (3), BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (18), GEORGIA (2), KOSOVO (2), MACEDONIA (13), MONTENEGRO (5), MOLDOVA (3), SERBIA (31) AND UKRAINE (11)