Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia Turn Back to Yugoslavian Roots for Profit Growth
By Boris Cerni, Jasmina Kuzmanovic and Gordana Filipovic - Sep 15, 2010 6:00 PM ET Franjo Bobinac <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Franjo%20Bobinac&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> , the chief executive officer of Slovenia’s Gorenje Group d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=GRVG:SV> , the largest appliance maker in the Balkans, is breaking through barriers erected during the Yugoslav civil war to boost his company’s profits. Bobinac will speak today at the Southeast Management Forum <http://www.iedc.si/programs/seminars/seeforum/> in Slovenia’s Alpine resort of Bled with executives from the six former Yugoslav republics economic and financial integration. The countries split during the 1990s in Europe’s bloodiest war since World War II, a conflict that left the region lagging behind much of eastern Europe in economic and legal reforms. Companies, including Gorenje, Croatian food and cosmetic maker Atlantic Grupa d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=ATGRRA:ZA> and Serb refinery Naftna Industrija Srbije AD, say they’re reviving old ties to develop a new “Yugosphere.” Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia are in discussions to merge state-owned airlines, stock exchanges and railways to re-establish links and bolster their economies. “I remember a time when politicians criticized companies that did business with the rest of Yugoslavia,” said Bobinac in a Sept. 13 interview. Executives want to promote “top-quality products from the time of a once-unified state,” he said. ‘Natural Partners’ The combined gross domestic product of the six former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina and the breakaway province of Kosovo totals $192 billion, about the same as the Czech Republic and Portugal, according to the International Monetary Fund <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/index.aspx> . They “seem natural partners for each other,” said Timothy Ash <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Timothy%20Ash&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> , the head of emerging-markets research at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London, on Sept. 7. Moves by Croatia and Serbia to join Slovenia in the European Union have been marred by a border dispute, financial claims and a weak legal system in Serbia, which ranked as second-most corrupt in the Balkans after Bosnia-Herzegovina by Transparency International. Serbia has attracted $14.1 billion, according to the central bank. By comparison, foreign direct investment in the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2009 totaled $87 billion, according to that country’s central bank. Serbia’s path to the EU also is hurt by its failure to turn in Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Ratko%20Mladic&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> , who is sought by the United Nations for genocide, and its refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo. “People everywhere may not be ready for Yugosphere, but they are living it,” said Tim Judah, the Economist magazine <http://www.economist.com/> writer who coined the term. “In the morning they drink Croatian milk, then they watch a program on Bosnian TV, and eat a snack made by a Serbian company <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=BELEX15:IND> that is owned by a Slovenian company, which is about to be bought by a Croatian company <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=CRO:IND> .” Conflict Solving Croatia and Slovenia have agreed on ways to settle a border row and pledged on July 31 to resolve a quarrel about Ljubljana- based Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=KBMR:SV> , which was barred from operating in Croatia because its Yugoslav predecessor owes Croatian savers $208 million plus interest. In July, Zagreb-based Atlantic bought Slovenia’s Droga Kolinska d.d to acquire Cockta <http://www.cockta.eu/en/> , the best-selling soft drink during Communist times that competes locally with Coca-Cola. Slovenia’s Petrol Group d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=PETG:SV> purchased Croatian LPG distributor Butan last month. Mercator Poslovni Sistem d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=MELR:SV> , the biggest supermarket chain in southeast Europe, signed an alliance with Coka d.o.o. of Serbia. “Governments have found a common language and are developing relations,” said Atlantic <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=ATGRRA:CZ> Chief Executive Emil Tedeschi <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Emil%20Tedeschi&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> on July 22. “This makes us very happy.” Rail Linkup Top officials of the Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian state- owned railway companies met in Belgrade on Sept. 9 to outline a joint company and simplify customs checks between borders. On Sept. 28-29, regulators will meet in Milocer, Montenegro, to discuss creating a regional stock market to improve liquidity and attract investors. Slovenia’s 2004 membership into the EU gives it a leading role in the region, said analysts including RBS’s Ash. Slovenian companies such as drugmaker Krka Group d.d. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=KRKG:SV> and supermarket chain Mercator <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=MELR:SV> are building up pan-Balkan networks, “If political relations are good, trade relations improve,” said Krka Chief Executive Officer Joze Colaric during a July 29 interview at a tourist cottage owned by his company. “We wish for the elimination of all kinds of hurdles.” To contact the journalist responsible for this story: Boris Cerni <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Boris%20Cerni&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> in Ljubljana at bce...@bloomberg.net Gordana Filipovic <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Gordana%20Filipovic&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> in Belgrade at gfilipo...@bloomberg.net Jasmina Kuzmanovic <http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Jasmina%20Kuzmanovic&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1&partialfields=-wnnis:NOAVSYND&lr=-lang_ja> in Zagreb at jkuzmano...@bloomberg.net http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-15/slovenia-croatia-serbia-turn-back-to-yugoslavian-roots-for-profit-growth.html _______________________________________________ News mailing list n...@antic.org-snn http://lists.antic.org/mailman/listinfo/news
