July 30 (SeeNews) - Japanese company Toyo Tires plans to build a factory in Serbia's Indjija, president Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday.
The company plans to invest 390 million euro ($434.7 million) in the first phase of the development of the factory, in which it will open 539 jobs, Vucic said in a news conference broadcast live by public TV channel RTS.
"After three years of negotiations and competition with many countries in central, eastern and southern Europe, only two countries remained in the race for the Japanese investor, Poland and Serbia. A few minutes ago, I received an official letter from the president of the company, Takashi Shimizu, that Toyo Corporation has picked Serbia as an investment destination," Vucic said.
The construction of the factory, which will cover 60 hectares, will begin in the coming months, Vucic said. "The letter says that they think this is not the end of our cooperation, as they have ideas on how to expand the business."
Toyo Tires will produce premium tyres in Indjija and will pay salaries that are significantly higher than the average, Vucic said.
The Japanese company, established in 1945 in Osaka, has a total of 13,000 employees worldwide.
($ = 0.8972 euro)