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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Preparations for new Fiat to begin in Kragujevac in November

Belgrade, 24 September 2009

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic said today that preparations for the production of a brand new Fiat model will begin in six to eight weeks in Kragujevac. Fiat will invest nearly €800 million in the production of the new model, which should start to roll off the production line early next year.

Author: Fonet

In his introductory speech at the “Investment Opportunities in Serbia” forum, in which over 100 car parts companies from Italy took part, Dinkic invited Italian business people to invest in other areas as well and to take part in the infrastructure projects in Serbia. The forum was held after a meeting between Dinkic and Italy's Deputy Minister for Economic Development Adolfo Urso.

Dinkic said that on November 13 he will accompany President Boris Tadic to Torino at the invitation of the Fiat Group President Sergio Marchionne, where Fiat representatives will show them their latest model, to be built in Kragujevac.

The Minister said that Italian suppliers will be able to benefit from certain advantages if they decide to set up production in Serbia because they will be able to export to a market of over 800 million people without paying customs duties.

He said that owing to CEFTA Serbia can export to the markets of the former Yugoslav republics and other countries Serbia has signed free trade agreements with, including Russia, Turkey and Belarus.

Serbia now has four customs-free zones in which foreign companies can do business under very favourable terms, said Dinkic, adding that the Kragujevac city assembly is convening today to decide on another such zone. Nis, Sabac and Kraljevo have voiced similar desires, he added.

Dinkic noted that according to official statistics, Italy is Serbia’s third largest foreign partner, with a total trade volume of $3.3 billion in 2008 and investments exceeding €1 billion, which will be doubled thanks to Fiat.

Dinkic specified that around 200 Italian companies are doing business in Serbia, employing 18,000 people and achieving an annual turnover of around €2.5 billion.

The crisis in Serbia has stabilised, but we expect a more tangible revival in the last quarter of 2009, while in 2010, according to the IMF’s and our government’s estimates, there should be a slight GDP growth of 1.5%, Dinkic said.

He announced that on November 13 a meeting between Italian and Serbian government representatives will be held, marking a further step in improving economic relations between the two countries.