Photo: Real Estate Magazine (Na slici: Emmanuel de Tissot)As a part of MIPIM 2023, the world's leading property market, the investment conference Serbia: A Place for Your Growth was held in the Festival Palace in Cannes on Wednesday, March 15. The investment potential of Serbia and opportunities for investment in new real estate projects were presented at the conference.
The conference was officially opened by Emmanuel de Tissot, commercial director of MIPIM, who warmly welcomed the Serbian delegation and pointed out that Serbia, with all the efforts it has invested so far in the development of its economy and market, occupies a prominent place on the investment map of Europe and deserves serious attention from world investors.
At the conference, the Serbian delegation spoke about the investment and business climate in Serbia, foreign investments so far, significant infrastructure and development projects, trends in the real estate market, construction, and real estate industry, and opportunities for new investments in the development of residential, business, industrial, logistics, and tourism projects. The speakers were: Danilo Cicmil, special investment advisor to the President of the Republic of Serbia; Marko Stojčić, city architect of the City of Belgrade; and Vladimir Popović, managing partner at Collier Serbia. The conference was moderated by Gordana Knežević Monašević, Editor-in-Chief of Real Estate magazine.
The conference was organized by West Media World, the official media partner of MIPIM in Serbia and the region. The general sponsor of the conference is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, and the media sponsor is Real Estate magazine.
The Serbian investment conference was organized for the first time at this prestigious real estate event, which has been gathering the biggest players in the industry and the most important global investors for 30 years. The theme of the conference and the speakers attracted a lot of attention from MIPIM participants and gathered guests from various countries, including the USA, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Poland, Canada, and Switzerland, but also from the region, including Slovenia and Croatia. The conference was also attended by delegates from two Serbian companies that came to MIPIM: Delta Real Estate and CBS International Serbia.
During the hour and a half of the conference, the guests had the opportunity to hear that for the second year in a row, Serbia is the regional record holder in attracting foreign direct investments, which have exceeded 35 billion euros since 2010. Danilo Cicmil pointed out that the Serbian government has made enormous efforts in recent years to ensure a safe business climate for investments and that more than 250 new investments, which have been successfully implemented, are the best indicator that the investment environment in Serbia is favorable and safe. Cicmil added that Serbia is on a clear path to becoming a member of the European Union while continuing to lead the region towards cooperation and unity.
Marko Stojčić presented the most significant infrastructure projects in Belgrade—the construction of the metro system and new bridges on the Sava and Danube—which open significant opportunities for new real estate investments in Belgrade. The city architect said that the city's plan is for Belgrade to once again become the university center of this part of Europe in the near future, and that the plan is to build more student campuses and accompanying hubs for the intellectual industry. The most interest in new investment opportunities in Belgrade was caused by the announcement of the construction of a new fair complex with accompanying facilities next to the National Stadium in Surčin, which should be the venue for organizing the Expo 27 if Belgrade officially wins its candidacy in June.
Vladimir Popović presented the trends in the Serbian real estate market and pointed out its constant growth over the last years, especially in the residential and office sectors. Popović emphasized that there are good opportunities for new investments in all sectors of real estate, and especially in the sector of industrial and logistics facilities, since Serbia has a strategically important location in Europe and accessibility to key markets in the region and beyond.
It was also said at the conference that investors coming to Serbia can rely on local companies as reliable partners with capacities for joint ventures, as well as on suppliers from the manufacturing industry, construction and design companies, freight forwarding and logistics companies, and on the growing IT sector.
It was also pointed out that amendments to the law that will facilitate the procedure for hiring foreign workers are underway, as are amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction that will speed up the obtaining of building permits and accompanying documentation and the implementation of investment projects.
The SERBIA: A PLACE FOR YOUR GROWTH conference was held on the second day of MIPIM, which runs from March 14 to 17. This year, more than 23,000 delegates from more than 90 countries and 2,400 exhibitors came to the event.
By: Nikolina Vukićević
Photo: Nebojša Ivić
