Businessmen and Diplomats Note Many Problems in Trade

Businessmen gathered in the business club Zlatorog have stressed they encounter many difficulties in trying to do business in countries of the former Yugoslavia, ranging from unclear ownership structures to intellectual property protection. They vented their grievances in a debate on Thursday, 24 March, attended by ambassadors from Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro, who in turn pointed to problems on the other side.

Chairman of flavour maker Etol thus emphasised the poor liquidity of the companies there, and transition circumstanced that aggravate business operations.

Henrik Dvorsak, the director of heating-system manufacturer Weishaupt, pointed out that his company would not have been able to register a subsidiary in Zagreb in 1993 had it not received assistance from the Slovenian Ambassador.

SIP Sempeter, a maker of machinery for agriculture, will have to pull out of Serbia after two years because they are unable to get suppliers that could ensure appropriate quality, according to director Andrej Korosec.

The ambassadors, meanwhile, pointed to problems that companies from their countries have in Slovenia. Croatia's Mario Nobilo thus noted that his embassy, too, often helps Croatian businesses here to ensure that they have the same conditions that domestic enterprises have.

Macedonian Ambassador Iljaz Sabriu additionally highlighted the imbalance in trade with Slovenia. He said it could be mitigated if Slovenia increased investments in Macedonia.

Ranko Milovic, the ambassador of Serbia-Montenegro, stressed that his country's agriculture expanded by 19.5 percent last year, but companies still find it difficult to penetrate the EU market.

"We expect Slovenia to help in a breakthrough to this market, and in exchange offer Slovenian companies...to enter the market of the Russian Federation with the help of a free trade agreement," he noted.

Milovic also stressed that Slovenian companies could be more active in the privatisation of Serbia-Montenegro companies.

Source: Slovene Press Agency STA