NEWS:
New SEE TOP 100 List
No surprises on the annual survey of the 100 largest companies in the region published by Sofia based internet information provider SEE News. Selling gas to happy car owners is still number one business not only on the Balkans but throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The largest company in the region is Romanian oil company Petrom. Fuel traders head most of the national lists of the largest companies in Southeastern Europe from Slovenia to Moldova. Other typical industries: telecommunications, electricity and retail. The list, however, includes only the data from the individual companies omitting the consolidated data from
groups. A pity. A more comprehensive report on top 100 companies in Southeastern Europe will be published in the next issue of SEE Business.
NLB - THE LARGEST BANK IN THE REGION
Slovenian based NLB – Nova Ljubljanska banka - is the largest bank in Southeastern Europe according to the SEE TOP 50 Banks. The list was published by Bulgarian internet information provider SEE News on September 23 as a part of SEE Top 100 survey. The total assets of NLB bank reach almost 19 billion Euros. NLB is followed by two Romanian banks, Banca Commerciale Romana and BRD – the first is the part of Austrian Erste Bank Group, the second is the Romanian unit of French group Societe Generale. The fourth bank with the assets over 10 billion Euros is Croatian Zagrebačka banka. Slovenia has the strongest financial sector in the region. The small Alpine country also leads the ranking by the number of the entries by 13 banks, followed by Bulgaria and Croatia. The largest foreign groups in the region are Austrian Erste Bank and Raiffeisen, Italian UniCredit and French Societe Generale.
TOP STORY: ON THE ROAD
Logistics: It is the Region’s Strategic Priority, yet it Loses Ground
While most SEE countries explicitly name logistics as a priority, the whole region’s transport has experienced a decrease and currently amounts to less than one half of that in Poland. SEE’s Black Sea ports recorded one of the fastest growth rates in Europe in the last years, but compared to their North Sea counterparts they’re tiny midgets. The most obvious reason behind this is infrastructure in a bad need of modernization, combined with border controls, often-excessive red tape and the effects of the ex-Yugoslav war. Investments in infrastructure remain essential should the region really benefit from its strategic advantages.
Read more.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DARIO SCANNAPIECO
EIB Increases Financing in the Region by 30 per cent
We talked to Dario Scannapieco, the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, one of Europe’s key financial institutions. The sensitive emerging economies of the Western Balkans are under his direct supervision. In an exclusive interview for SEE Business Scannapieco explains the crucial role of the bank and its numerous actions in taking up current challenges, such as the financial crisis, cooperation with other financial institutions in the region, boosting competitiveness in SEE countries and more.
Read more.
SPECIAL REPORT: THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Waiting for Reignition
SEE countries such as Romania and Bulgaria became important players for the automotive industry immediately after their accession to the EU. In Romania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina the automotive industry also found an industrial base from older car producers who had failed to survive the post-communist transition. Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia all have strong automotive clusters. Along with that, there is still great demand for cars in the local population. The pace of development will no doubt suffer from the great crisis. However, once the investment risks lower, the automotive industry will again be tempted to expand to the region. And the first companies to do so might reap the profits.
FEATURES:
Serbia’s Bread Basket
Vojvodina, Serbia’s northern province, used to be the richest part of the country. Its new draft statute seeks a more decentralized status for the province – and raises some controversy. Despite its widely perceived notion of wealth, the province’s poverty rates are surprisingly high. Such findings have resonated strongly amongst proponents of the much-disputed statute. It proposes that Vojvodina be defined as a Euro-region, with trade representative offices abroad and the right to sign international agreements. The statute's opponents, however, believe that a greater degree of autonomy will only be a prelude to subsequent secession.
The Battle for Cleaner Seas
Robert Širnik, the owner of Slovenian company Levant, has found a use for old warships: to help protect the marine environment. He is the founder of the Mediterranean Monitoring Institute, an international network of companies established to monitor the quality of Mediterranean water. In order to perform classical monitoring of sea-lanes by ships, Širnik acquired a 46-meter minesweeper. Its appearance should send an unambiguous message to merchant ships that the possibility of being seen while committing acts that damage the environment always exists.
