Serbia

Serbia has become one of the most attractive investment destinations in CEE, having the lowest corporate income tax rate in Europe (10%) and exceptional GDP growth in the past few years: 9.3% in 2004, and in 2007 and 2008 it reached 7.5% and 6% respectively. FDI growth has shown a continual upward trend, increasing from EUR 782m in 2004 to EUR 4.1bn in 2006 it remained at a high level in 2007 reaching EUR 3.5 bn, which puts Serbia in the top spots for investments in the SEE region. Serbia bosts a highly educated and skilled workforce paired with low labour costs. The Government of Serbia has introduced a number of incentives for foreign investors, most natably:

• Exemption from duties and other tariffs on imported equipment;
• 10 years of tax exemption for investments that exceed 600 million RSD (or approximately 7.5 million EUR) and include creation of more than 100 jobs;
• Free transfer of profit generated in Serbia to foreign countries;

The CEFTA agreement has provided free access to a market with 29 million participants, while the SAA agreement has provided many benefits for the Serbian economy and a higher degree of legal and economic safety for both foreign and domestic investors. Serbia has a free trade agreement with Russia, which is a market of 150 million participants.

Raiffeisen Investment AG started its operations in the Serbian market in 2001, and has become the leading M&A and privatisation advisor, advising the Government of Serbia on more than 40 privatisations. In addition, Team Serbia has provided buy-side advisory services for number of foreign investors (Uniqa, Vienna Stock Exchange, Mital Steel, Tvornica duhana Rovinj, Agrana, Kraft, Kras) as well as to some of the largest domestic investors. 

Raiffeisen Investment was the financial advisor on the largest deal so far in Serbia – the privatisation of the oil industry of Serbia (NIS). Advisory services were carried out jointly with Merrill Lynch. Furthermore, being the largest Raiffeisen Investment office in former Yugoslavia, the Serbian team has also actively participated in the biggest deals in Montenegro (Telecom Montenegro; Coal mine and Thermo Power Plant Pljevlja), Bosnia & Herzegovina (buy-side mandate for LNM Holdings, the largest transaction in this market, the acquisition of the Steel plant in Zenica), and Republic of Srpska (privatization of Telekom Srpske).

Raiffeisen Investment Serbia has been active in the following industries: telecommunications, food & beverage, agriculture, construction, energy, oil & gas, metals & mining, insurance, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, transportation ...