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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Metro Cash & Carry and Coca-Cola awarded as investors of the year

Belgrade, 6 July 2005

Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) Jasna Matic has handed over the OECD’s award for the largest greenfield investment in the region in 2005 to Metro Cash & Carry.

Matic told reporters that the fact that the award has gone to Serbia for the second consecutive year represents a sign that Serbia is among the region’s most favoured investment destinations.

The OECD awards foreign investors in Southeast Europe every year. At this year’s presentation ceremony, held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) also received an award for its investment in Serbia-Montenegro.

Metro General Manager Damir First said that the wholesale chain has invested €42 million in Serbia to build the Metro Cash & Carry centre in Belgrade and that it plans to open two more stores in the country by the end of the year.

According to First, the construction of a Metro store in Kragujevac will be officially launched on July 8.

Recalling that the company has so far employed around 400 people in Serbia, First welcomed the successful implementation of value added tax (VAT), which he said has increased transparency in the market.

Coca-Cola HBC General Manager in Serbia-Montenegro Stefanos Vafidis said that the award represents recognition of the company’s efforts and commitment to investment in Serbia and he added that Coca-Cola HBC has operations in 26 countries, as part of the US-based Coca-Cola Company.

According to Vafidis, Coca-Cola has added over 1,000 jobs across Serbia since it first entered the market in 1997.

He said that Coca-Cola will continue to invest in Serbia and recalled that its Zemun plant is among the biggest such facilities in Europe, thanks to the recently installed third production line.

Matic said that the arrival of large international companies is proof that Serbia is becoming a stable market and she stressed that it is very important to ensure that foreign companies, aside from selling their products here, also open new plants and manufacture goods for export to other markets.

Matic said this year has had a good start when it comes to foreign investment and she expressed the hope that nearly €2 billion of foreign direct investment will enter the country by the end of 2005.