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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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LEONI invests €15m in Prokuplje

Prokuplje, 22 April 2009

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic today signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of LEONI and Prokuplje municipality, noting that the arrival of this company to Prokuplje is as important as the arrival of Fiat is for Kragujevac.

Later, representatives of the Privatisation Agency and Director of LEONI Serbia Peter Prohaska signed an agreement to purchase the assets of the bankrupt Fijaz factory, according to which LEONI Serbia will make an investment of €15 million and employ 2,000 workers within the next three years.

Dinkic stated that this is the most important foreign direct investments in Serbia this year, important not just for the Toplica District but for the whole country.

He said that production in Serbia by this German company will start in the autumn and the chief buyer will be carmaker BMW.

LEONI is a global supplier of wiring for cars and holds 70% of the world market. The company has 80 plants and employs 52,000 workers. Last year LEONI generated consolidated sales of nearly €3 billion. The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, LEONI and the municipality of Prokuplje today signed a memorandum of understanding, according to which the Ministry has taken charge of the ecological restoration of the surroundings of the former Fijaz factory, said the Minister, adding that the municipality of Prokuplje will help LEONI to register and obtain all necessary licences.

Dinkic noted that the Serbian government, in cooperation with the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency, will earmark €5,000 per every new employee, which is the highest subsidy the government has ever provided for such purposes.

LEONI Serbia is obliged to start investing as soon as it obtains a building licence and the environmental restoration is completed, said Dinkic, adding that at least 200 workers will be employed at the factory by the end of this year.

The Minister concluded that it has been planned to employ around 2,000 people within the next three years, which is a great opportunity for people from Prokuplje, Nis and the entire Toplica District who are trying to find employment.