Photo: freepik.comIn 2021, there were 328 companies operating in Serbia that were registered as branches of large companies, mostly from abroad. Of that number, 219 of them made a positive profit at the end of the year, 128 of them operated with losses, while one was "at zero".
The total revenue of branches of foreign companies in Serbia last year reached 248.78 billion dinars, or about 2.12 billion euros, according to data available from the rating agency CompanyWall.
When it comes to profit, which speaks more precisely about the results of their operations, the mentioned 219 winners made a total of about 29.54 billion dinars in profit, while 128 losers made a minus of approximately 15.3 billion, making the final profit of these companies about 14 , 2 billion dinars.
The Law on Business Companies defines a branch as a separate organizational part of a business company on the territory of the Republic of Serbia through which the company performs its activities in accordance with the law. The branch does not actually have the status of a legal entity, but "in legal transactions it acts in the name and on behalf of a foreign company". That's why the foreign company that established the branch is responsible for obligations to third parties that arise in its business, not the branch itself.
Branches are clearly defined companies, with activities that may be different from the activities of parent companies. Therefore, parent companies from abroad always guarantee with their capital for the obligations due to branches, which is not the case when it comes to representative offices.
"Unlike a branch, a representative office can only represent a foreign company. It does not even have the right to sign contracts, unless it has special authorization, so it serves rather as a 'presentation' of that company and for establishing important contacts. There is also the option of registering companies in free zones, which is also done by many foreign companies, because then they get special tax benefits," economist Mahmoud Bušatlija explains for Biznis.rs.
Of all the branches of foreign companies in Serbia, at the end of 2021, according to the results of the annual financial reports, the Chinese company China Railway International LTD Ogranak achieved the largest income, with 27 billion dinars, while the first in terms of profit was the Turkish Tasyapi Insaat Taahhut Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. The branch with 5.24 billion dinars (in second place in terms of profit is again China Railway).
"It is noticeable that at the very top are members of large companies that deal with construction - from China, Azerbaijan, there is also the American Bechtel... The construction industry normally brings in a lot of money, and works here are quite expensive, so this is reflected in their profits as well. The others, who are engaged in the resale of goods, are not recording such good results," comments Bušatlija.
His words are supported by the fact that on our list of twenty branches, which had the highest turnover, as many as 19 companies belong to the construction industry and engineering-consulting performance, and only one has a distinctly different activity - the Italian Conceria Pasubio SPA Branch, which deals with tanning leather and in our country has its headquarters in Šabac.
Of the total number of branches, as many as 197 deal with activities that belong to the construction industry and engineering-consulting works, and it is interesting that 26 companies-branches deal with computer programming.
As for the countries of origin of the parent companies, there are indeed from all parts of the planet - China, Azerbaijan, Turkey, USA, Russia, Australia, Italy, but also countries of the region, such as Slovenia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina (a few companies from Republika Srpska).
Source: biznis.rs
