Could you give our readers a brief overview of the agency and its main responsibilities for the government of Montenegro?
We are a state agency that deals with the reconstruction of the economy, foreign investments and with the process of privatization. We have already the phase of reconstruction of companies and firms behind us. We now have new owners, the previous workers.
They received 10 % of the shares for free and they will have the option to buy another 30 % of the shares with a discount. The calculation of the discount is based on the number of years they have worked for their company. The rest of the capital will stay in the fund for development, invalids and in the employment fund. Our main task was to identify the new, potential owners of the company.
There are some companies with combined ownership of the state and the workers, for example Telecom, Electroprivreda etc..
The second phase is privatization. That means that the funds and the state are obliged to sell their shares. The program of reconstruction has started four years ago. We set up our own legal base based on the privatization law and we will conduct it in a completely independent way from Serbia. On the basis of this law lays the principle of complete privatization, e.g. all companies and firms in Montenegro will be privatized, including state companies.
Private ownership will be the main form of ownership in Montenegro. We started the process of privatization with the sale of 100 mainly small firms. Foreign investors now own 10% of these companies. After that we sold 3 big companies, one in Niksic, one in Berane and 30% of the shares of the Institute in Igalo.
We are continuing to sell our companies, dividing them in several groups: from the biggest ones we sell only the majority of the shares (more than 50%). For example we sold 65% of the brewery Niksicko Pivo, 51% of Telecom, 51% of Electroprivreda and more then 50% of the aluminum company in Podgorica.
The price is not the main issue for us, we want to find solid, reliable owners for these important companies .
We want our firms to have a name and a place on the market, we want them to have their program for development, their resources to invest and to employ.
We have a group of medium sized companies that we buy only a small package of shares.
The companies that are not in a good financial situation we sell on auctions. Massive voucher privatization has conquered Montenegro. Every adult citizen of Montenegro receives 5000 points for free, it can vary with the shares of the company. This is why we have 27% of the capital.
We are in he process of realization of this project and we hope to finish it by the end of the year.
Why did you choose the same process of privatization, knowing it did not work for some countries like Russia for example?
There are several reasons for this. First of all, we can use their experience, so we are able to avoid the mistakes and difficulties they had. To answer your question, we chose it because we think it would be fair, meaning every citizen will get the same amount of capital. This way we will speed up the process of privatization and the firms will have the support of the citizens. We want them to change their set of mind about ownership.
Finally, for the foreign investors it will be a positive signal that the capital is owned by the state and by private owners.
It is true that the process of privatization has its weaknesses, but by this mass voucher privatization we are able to change the owner and the structure of the company .We plan to finish the process of privatization by the end of the year and it will mean that we have 50 % of the companies privatized. The other 50 % of the capital will be in the property of workers, citizens and new investors.
We plan to give 27 % of the capital to our citizens and 10% to our workers. They will have the possibility to buy the shares for a reasonable price.
We choose the financial and legal advisers through tenders and advertisements, we prepare the documents, then we publish an international tender and we proceed with the public and transparent procedure.
We are currently undertaking a tender for Telecom, that we plan to finish by the end of the year, we also have an open tender for 15 companies where we will sell only a minor part of the shares and we have a tender for hotels. | What do you think, would be the most important business opportunities for the next year
With the privatization there are great possibilities for investments. You can have concessions, a block system, management of companies, investment in the free zone, establishment of a financial bank or even foundation of an editing house. With our regulations we are offering many possibilities for investments.
If you were a potential investor I would tell you, first of all, that the new law in Montenegro gives foreign investments a national meaning. This means that you, as a foreign investor, will have the same rights as a Montenegrin investors. You have no limits to your investments.
Second of all, the state guarantees that you can do anything you want with your capital, you can even invest it again if you want. We have new laws, which are in accordance with international laws. It's a set of private ownership, bank laws, we have a stable currency, the DM. We have new foreign trade regulations and according to it we can export-import for free 97 % of our goods.
The country is completely open to foreigners, they do not need a visa to enter it. Our custom duty regulation will be from 1-5% for more then 70% of the goods. We are now preparing a new law for customs that will be in accordance with the national policy. We have passed a few days ago, the law for public purchases, budget law and a tax law. This way we will soon have the complete legal system and the investors will have the same possibilities like anywhere else in the world and in compliance with international laws and regulations.
You are a very good promoter of your country and that is one of the important aspects of your Agency. What are the objectives that you set yourself in order to attract foreign investors?
We have a lot of projects with existing companies, existing locations and new projects for developing new locations, special projects for small and medium size enterprises. In several European cities, like Italy or Germany, for example, we held special promotions for investors. Last year we participated in all the conferences regarding investments within the Pack of Stability. However there is a need to create a new strategy for attracting investments. We need to find financial help and expertise to do the promotion differently.
Do you see yourself as the image of the country for investments?
We are the main and only agency that finds contact with the potential foreign investors, we provide them with all the necessary information, put them in contact with our legal companies. Basically we are helping them to set up a framework, and to establish good relations with our firms. The government supports us by preparing drafts of projects, mainly in the sector of tourism, agriculture, transportation, communication etc., but we have all the necessary information to carry them out.
In "Forbes" magazine we do not talk only about business but also about business people. Could you tell us about your background and the way you became head of the reconstruction agency?
During the years I had the opportunity to be in connection with a lot of different companies. I choose this job because I am interested in the economical and political changes in my country and I have a full belief in the reforms. Montenegro has the chance now to reach everything it has always wanted: democracy ,political reforms; economic reforms through privatization, attraction of foreign investments, etc.
What would be your final message for the readers of "Forbes" magazine and future investment?
I would like to invite the readers of your Magazine to come and see Montenegro, to open for themselves its possibilities and to try to find the kind of investment they are interested in here. All our offers are based on reliable business plans. I think we have a wide perspective for investments both in the field of tourism and in companies ranging from small to big.
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