VUCIC: We will solve the Petrohemija issue, the purchaser must be from a country not affected by oil price changes

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today in Astana, Kazakhstan, that he would seek to have the Petrohemija problem resolved, as was the case with Zelezara, RTB Bor and PKB.

In a press statement, he said that, to solve the problem, one needed to look to countries not experiencing problems tied to the price of oil:

– When you extract 1,800 million tons of oil a day, like Kazakhstan does, it's clear you're not experiencing any uncertainties regarding the price of oil. Petrohemija can be bought by Kazakhs, Russians of Azerbaijanis. Several countries which aren't experiencing these problems can do so, and it would also be good for them not to have problems with gas, as it makes up 12%.

Vucic said that Kazakhs had acquired a part of the petrochemical industry in Romania.

– Some were taking positions in the east 12 years ago, whereas we didn't understand what was going in the world. We will seek to succeed here as well. We will fight for it. The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, understands how important this is for us and will want to show how much he loves and respects Serbia – Vucic said.

He added that “it is no coincidence that the IMF, the World Bank”, and, he added, “surprisingly, the Fiscal Council as well, are optimistic, projecting a growth of 4.4%”.

– This means that things are going well and we will try to have them be even better in the future. Once we start building apartments, and three towns are ready – Nis, Kragujevac and Sremska Mitrovica, for police force members, it will provide an additional impulse for next year's growth – Vucic said.

The president of Serbia told the press that “foreign investors know well how to read IMF and World Bank reports, and so do Kazakh businessmen”.

– Kazakhstan is several spots above us on the Doing Business list, primarily thanks to the fact that it takes great care of small shareholders. We have a lot to learn in that segment from them – he added.

Vucic pointed out that there were growing tensions in the relations of the EU and the USA, as well as China, and that Serbia needed to seek investors in all parts of the world. He reminded that, due to the high inflation, it was hard to get investments from Turkey at the moment, as their minimum wage amounts to EUR 210.

– Why would anyone come from Turkey to Serbia, when they can pay workers less and find well trained workforce there? We therefore need to attempt to attract investors from all corners of the world – he said.

Vucic said that, when it comes to the Western Balkans, “Serbia is untouchable”, but added that he wanted it to have 60% of all investments in the Western Balkans two years from then.

HIP-Petrohemija a.d. Pančevo

Železara Smederevo d.o.o.

Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor

PKB Korporacija a.d. Beograd

Fiskalni savet Republike Srbije

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Aleksandar Vucic

Nursultan Nazarbayev

sale of Petrohemija

Kazakh investments in Serbia

Turkish investments in Serbia

inflation in Turkey

wages in Turkey

Doing Business list

investments in the Western Balkans