Agreements on construction of 21 small hydro power plants

Twenty-one small hydro power plants with total installed capacity of 23MW and projected annual output of 87GWh are to be constructed in Macedonia over the next three years, an investment estimated at EUR 40 million.
Two Italian and eight Macedonian companies will build the hydro plants, following Monday's signing of the concession agreements at the Ministry of Economy.
Minister Valon Saraqini said the plants would be constructed at rivers Bistrica, Pena, Brza Voda, Kriva Reka, Odranska, Beloviska, Baciska, Jablanica, bringing the total number of concession agreements for small hydro plants to 68.
"The prior 47 agreements include plants with total installed capacity of 34,7MW and annual output of 140GWh", he added.
The total investment for all hydro power plants is worth EUR 100 million.The next procedure for allocation of water concessions for electricity production would be implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, in line with the Law on Waters.

Mak Hotels get a new ranking system

Macedonian hotel owners will face stiff new rules if they wish to keep their stars/ratings.
The Macedonian Ministry of Economy has created a rigorous set of rules that will apply for categorization and rankings for hotels to follow. For instance the new rules will mean some of the hotels will have to expand their rooms, others to have educated employees, pools, to accept credit cards etc.
The new law is already moving quickly through Parliament and will soon be passed.
According to the new rules, hotels with one star must have a minimum of 10 rooms. Those with three stars must have minimum of 15 rooms, while those with four and five stars must have a minimum of 20 rooms.
Each four star hotel must have a pool, and to earn the five stars ranking they must have at the very least a spa and a fitness center.
Regardless whether hotels are one or five stars, all must accept credit cards, while each employee must speak at least one foreign language.
Because Macedonia has many large hotels (more than 50 rooms), the law instructs each hotel to have at least one room designed for handicapped individuals for every 30 rooms. In the past it was for every 50 rooms.
According to the Ministry of Economy, out of the 200 hotels in the country, 190 are ranked. Eleven hotels have 5 stars.
All hotels will have two years after the passing of the law to meet the new requirements.

Electronic equipment, tobacco and clothes spur Macedonian Economy

In the first two months of the third quarter this year, volume of the total industrial production grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year, which represents growth slowdown, however it still is much better than any country in the Eurozone.
Despite the fact that growth depends significantly on trends in the Eurozone, Macedonian economy can demonstrate great resistance to negative effects of the environment in line with structural changes in economy and expansion of production capacities, which is expected to contribute to additional increase of the Macedonian growth potential.
Production of electronic equipment, tobacco products and clothes has greatly contributed to the economic growth in the past period.

Japan, Macedonia agree to boost tourism, study, business exchanges

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his visiting Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski agreed Wednesday to boost their countries' tourism, study and business exchanges, Japanese officials said.
Gruevski, the first Macedonian prime minister to visit Japan, voiced hope that his visit will strengthen bilateral ties, after Noda thanked the Balkan country for its aid for Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Gruevski also expressed his country's intention to open an embassy in Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.At the outset of their meeting, which was open to the press, Noda assured his visitor that "reconstruction in disaster-hit areas is underway and the supply chains have almost fully recovered.
"Macedonia, which gained its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, is aiming for economic development through foreign capital.

Macedonia Top Business Reformer According To Report

By Svetla Dimitrova

According to its Doing Business 2012 report, issued jointly with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), 21 of the 24 countries in the region, including all Southeast European nations with the exception of Greece, implemented a total of 53 pro-business reforms.
“For the ninth consecutive year, Eastern Europe and Central Asia [are] the world’s most reforming region,” Iva Hamel, private sector development specialist at the World Bank-IFC Indicator Based Reform Advisory, told SETimes after presenting the study’s findings in Sarajevo.
She also noted that four of the countries from this region were among the 12 global economies found to have improved most on the ease of doing business during the survey period.
The majority of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia made strides to improve the business environment for domestic small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) between June 2010 and June 2011, the World Bank said on October 20th.
Morocco led the list, followed by Moldova and Macedonia, which carried out four pro-business reforms, each, last year.
The 212-page report covers 183 world economies, ranking them on the basis of an analysis of regulations in the areas affecting the lifecycle of domestic SMEs.
The ten indicators used in determining a country’s position include the time and cost to start and close a business, trading across borders, investor protections, registering property, construction permits, enforcing contracts, paying taxes and getting credit, as well as a new category measuring the ease of getting electricity.
Macedonia implemented reforms that made it easier to deal with construction permits, registering property, getting credit and resolving insolvency. This helped the Balkan nation improve its ranking in each of those individual categories and increase its overall ranking.
The country, which leaped 12 places to 22nd in the world, is the Southeast European country where it is easiest for domestic SMEs to do business.
According to Business Confederation of Macedonia employee Aleksandar Jovchevski, the changes have led to a significant increase in the number of SMEs in the country.
“The bulk of them operate in the construction sector, where the demand has grown following the launch of the Skopje 2014 project and further works on Pan-European transport corridors 8 and 10,” he told SETimes.
“Macedonia has made the biggest jump and is now among the top 30 in the world,” Hamel said.
“The wider use of modern technology in bureaucratic processes, which has reduced the time needed for obtaining any type of documents from the relevant services, has also contributed to an increase in the number of newly opened businesses,” Jovchevski said.
“It is not a problem to open a business from a technical standpoint; the challenge is to make it work long-term,” Mile Chupetanski, the owner of the ESKALIBUR engine-retooling factory in Bitola, told SETimes.

The other regional nations that improved their rankings were Cyprus (40th), Turkey (71st), Greece (100th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (125th). The countries that lost ground were Bulgaria (59th), Romania (72nd), Croatia (80th), Albania (82nd) and Serbia (92nd).

Macedonia, Qatar sign deals on investment, tourism

Macedonian authorities say Qatar and Macedonia have agreed to mutually protect and promote investments, as well as to cooperate on tourism.
The office of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has not made public any details on the treaties signed Monday during a visit to Macedonia by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Macedonia and Qatar also inked agreements on culture, education and health following talks between Al Thani and Ivanov.
The Qatari leader, who is accompanied by a 100-member business delegation, will meet Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Tuesday.

Emir of Qatar to visit Macedonia on Monday

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, will arrive on Monday (Oct. 17) for a two-day official visit to the Republic of Macedonia upon an invitation by President Gjorge Ivanov.
This is the first official visit by a ruler from the Arab world since Macedonia declared independence. The Emir of Qatar kicks off his European tour in Macedonia, followed by visits to Albania, Poland and Ukraine.On Tuesday, according to the agenda, the Emir of Qatar is scheduled to meet with Premier Nikola Gruevski and with Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski. He is also set to tour Skopje's landmarks and the Old Bazaar.
The visit is significant because it lays a foundation for the political dialogue to be resumed and represents a strong signal for intensifying overall cooperation, especially business ties, President's cabinet says in a press release on Friday.The Macedonian President and the Emir of Qatar at their meeting on Monday will discuss bilateral relations and recent developments in Balkan countries, the Middle East and North Africa.
An emphasis will be put on advancing countries' economic relations - boosting trade exchange and reviewing possibilities for direct Qatar investments in Macedonia's economy.Several bilateral agreements in the field of culture, education, health and economy will be signed during Qatar Emir's visit to Macedonia, reads the press release.
The governments of the Republic of Macedonia and the State of Qatar will ink treaties on mutual promotion and protection of investments, regulation of workers' employment in the State of Qatar and on visa abolition for owners of diplomatic, official and special passports.Both delegations will sign a memorandum of understanding for tourism cooperation between Macedonia's Ministry of Economy and Qatar's relevant body for tourism, a memorandum of understanding in the field of education between the two governments, a memorandum of cooperation in the health-care sector as well as cooperation accord in the sphere of culture.
Furthermore, an agreement for cooperation and information exchange between the Macedonian Information Agency and the Qatar News Agency, a memorandum of understanding between the Macedonian Economic Chamber, the Association of Chambers of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce of Northwestern Macedonia and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as an agreement establishing common business council will be signed.In 2003, Qatar provided financial and political support for the summit of SEE heads of state entitled "Dialogue Among Civilisations", which was initiated by late president Boris Trajkovski.
Macedonia will once again host the summit in 2013, ten years after it was held for the first time.
Macedonia was one of the first countries in the region that opened a diplomatic and consular office in Doha in 2005. Interest has been shown for opening Qatar's embassy in Macedonia in due time, Ivanov's cabinet has said.
Ivanov and Al Thani have held talks previously in 2009 in New York and in 2010 in Doha.
The Qatari delegation will be made up of 100 members, including two members of the royal family and 12 ministers.
During Qatar Emir's two-day visit, the citizens of Skopje will be faced with traffic restrictions.

Makpetrol Sets up Shop in Solun/Thessaloniki

Macedonian fuel retailer Makpetrol [MSE: MPT] said it set up a fully-owned subsidiary in Greece, Petrolmak S.A., with a capital of 350,000 euro ($472,600).
Makpetrol’s Greek unit is headquartered in Solun as its main business is trade with oil and oil derivates, the company said in a statement to the Macedonian Stock Exchange yesterday.

AGROKOR opens distribution centre in Strumica

Agrokor

Croatian company AGROKOR opened Sunday in Strumica “AgroFructus” purchasing and distribution centre for vegetables and fruits worth EUR 20 million. The capacity of the centre is around 60.000 tonnes with tendency to soon increase to 100.000 tonnes.

- The value of investment is very important, but what is more important is the fact that it will bring safe purchase and distribution, larger incomes and bigger competition, PM Nikola Gruevski said addressing the opening ceremony of “AgroFructus” distribution centre.

Gruevski said that the centre is new start for the Macedonian agriculture especially in relation to distribution and will be an example from standards point of view for all future potential investors.

- In the time we are living the private sector realises the distribution. From hereon is the task of the Republic of Macedonia to attract investors that will build more such centres, Gruevski said.

Government besides providing distribution also it increased subsidies and intensively works on agricultural land distribution, Gruevski said.

“AgroFructus” is only the beginning of investments that AGROKOR is planning in the country. Ivica Todoric, chairman of company’s management, said that another similar facility will be built close to “AgroFructus” and also other centres in other regions in the country.

- This capacity that Macedonia has in relation to quality and ecological conditions must be used. Only in this way we will increase the competition of production and this will mean better living standards for the citizens, Todoric said.

Thanking the Macedonian Government for the support, Todoric pointed out that Gruevski did not allow time to be wasted in regard to realisation of the investment.

The largest world investors are prepared to come here. It is excellent news for Macedonia, Todoric said and confirmed that AGROKOR considers other investments in Macedonia.

So far the company purchased and exported from Strumica region around 30.000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables and from Valandovo region around 10 million litres of wine.

Deputy PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Supply Ljupco Dimovski, Deputy Agriculture Minister Zoran Konjanovski and other officials of local self-government and MPs attended the opening ceremony.

German Auto Industry Interested in Investing in Macedonia

Successful story of Knauf Radika in Macedonia attracts other German investors. According to the Macedonian-German Economic Association, Knauf Radika is an excellent example. It is a large and successful company with a potential that needs to be used.
According to announcements, another two large German automobile industries are interested in investing in Macedonia, especially because of very favourable business climate.
Knauf Radika, whose products are made in accordance with global standards and demanded across the entire world, continues with its investments with a goal to raise productivity, Todor Delovski, head of Knauf for the Western Balkans, says.

Johnson Controls starts new Euro 20 mln investment in Shtip

"Johnson Controls" - the US auto interiors manufacturer - is launching its second investment in Macedonia in amount of approximately Euro 20 million. Contracts are due to be signed in the next two to three weeks, while the construction of a plant located in the Stip Technological and Industrial Zone will start in mid-October.

Premier Nikola Gruevski, who met Friday with Macedonia's project manager Steven Meylemans, said country's good business conditions have been acknowledged since the company decided to invest in Macedonia for the second time. "This investment will be a serious contribution to the Macedonian economy," the PM said.

"It is particularly significant that the company, which is multinational and famous around the world, has decided to invest in Macedonia for the second time. International investors seeking places to invest will notice this in no time. When a company decides to launch a second investment in the same country it means that it is satisfied with the conditions, communication with authorities as well as with other factors necessary for a good business climate. The plant, despite opening new jobs, is expected to boost Macedonia's export and to improve the living standards of local residents," PM Gruevski stated.

He added that the company's decision was seen as a recognition of Government's efforts made in recent years to advance business conditions and to attract investors. In 2007 and 2008, the PM noted, an important investment wave began when many companies had either started building or reserved a location for construction after signing a cooperation memorandum.

"Unfortunately, the global economic crisis halted most of the constructions, not only in Macedonia, but also in other countries as well. As the global economic crisis is lessening, the interest for building production plants, including in Macedonia, is mounting. Almost two months following the June elections, this is the fourth company to announce start of construction activities in Macedonia," PM Gruevski said after the meeting.

He noted that the Government will make efforts to enable the company to launch the construction of a plant in Stip in mid-October.

Meylemans said Macedonia was picked as a business destination, because it is competitive and first and foremost due to the support and professionalism offered by domestic institutions.

The plant will focus on producing car seat covers. Offering 1.400 jobs, it is expected to start its operations within a year to serve its European clients.

Macedonia slow in attracting Foreign Investments

According to foreign direct investment influx last year, Macedonia took the penultimate place among regional countries, reads the latest report of the United Nations.With USD 293 million worth investments, Macedonia ranks better than Bosnia and Herzegovina, which reported USD 63 million worth foreign direct investments. Last year, Serbia ranked first with USD 1.3 billion, which is three times less than in 2006, when the country recorded record-breaking USD 4.2 billion. Albania followed with USD 1.970,000,000, Slovenia with USD 834 million and Croatia with only USD 583 million, compared to USD 6 billion in 2008.

Macedonian Sun Attractive to Foreigners

Wines of Macedonia

The Macedonian Energy Agency has received 57 requests for the construction of solar power plants. Interest in the construction of solar power plants has increased drastically, especially among foreign investors.

A year ago, Macedonia had only one solar power plant, and now it has ten, some of which have already been finished, while others are in the final construction phase.
Most potential investors (35 of them) are foreign investors or combined Macedonian and foreign companies, which want to built power plants of bigger capacity.
Information for investments in Macedonia, should be found at: http://investinmacedonia.com