Serbia – Media Review – November 10

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- The financial audit of Serbia’s oil monopoly NIS, prepared by Ernst and Young, has shown a loss of 8.0 billion dinars for 2008, the company said. The previous audit of the 2008 financial results of the oil company, prepared by KPMG Corp Fin earlier this year, has also shown a loss of 8.0 billion dinars. NIS is majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom.

- German textile producer Falke is interested in building a factory in southern Serbia which would hire about 600 people, company representatives said without elaborating.

- Serbian furniture producer Simpo Vranje said it will complete a 2.5 million euro upgrade on its children beds factory by the end of November, raising its annual capacity to 80,000 units from current 25,000. Simpo Vranje signed a 5.5 million euro contract earlier this year to manufacture furniture items for Sweden's Ikea as part of a plan to export to the Russian market.

- German supplier of cable systems for the automotive industry Leoni started production at its unit in the Serbian town of Prokuplje following a 3.0 million euro investment made earlier this year, the head of the factory Peter Prohaska said. The company said in April it planned to invest $15 million in its Serbian operations over three years.

DANAS

- Serbia has delayed the signing of an annex to its contract with Italy’s Fiat for the forming of a joint venture company, Fiat Automobili Srbija (FAS), because the Italian side has failed to present a business plan for the new company, unnamed sources in Serbia's Economy Ministry said. The business plan will comprise the joint venture’s annual output, the class of the vehicles it will produce and exporting markets, the sources said, adding that the annex will be signed over the following weeks.

($=0.6667 euro)