Serbia's chance lies in agricultural products trade - Commodity trading safer than investment in securities

The specialized company for stock exchange operations and investment funds management Ilirika has recently offered local investors an opportunity to invest in the global commodity market because it registered a 250% growth in 2011.

According to the data provided by Ilirika, the analyses of operations of the world's 14 largest investment banks show that revenues in the global securities market dropped by 11.1% in the first nine months of this year, whereas the total amount of investments in the global commodity market grew to about USD 400 billion in the same period, up from USD 159 billion in 2008, while investments in silver and gold were tripled in that period.

After holding an exclusive seminar on the possibilities of trading in commodities at the invitation of Ljubljana-based Ilirika, Ole Hansen, vice president of Saxo Bank from Copenhagen, said at a press conference that investment funds mainly invest in oil, gold and agricultural products trade, primarily because volatility in these markets is much lower than in the securities market, especially at the present time when the world is facing a public debt crisis.

Investment in "agricultural commodities"

(Ole Hansen)

- Serbia should develop and invest in the commodities market, primarily in agricultural products, gold and other precious metals - says Saxo Bank Vice President Ole Hansen.

- Investment in commodities came to the focus of the global investment public last summer when investors started "fleeing" to the gold market, finding it the safest. Then the price at one moment reached nearly USD 1,900 per fine ounce because that precious metal has been the safest investment over the previous three to four thousand years - Hansen explains.

Jan Sitar, broker at Ilirika DD Ljubljana, says that that broker company has developed the trading platform Ilirika - on - svet, which can be used by both brokers and small investors from Serbia for trade in the global property market, adding that the entire group comprises 26 subsidiaries managing investment funds and operates stock exchange operations worth a total of EUR 100 million.

Speaking about the difference between the platform developed by Ilirika and similar platforms made by competitors, which have already appeared in the market of Serbia, Sitar explains for eKapija that the advantage of their platform lies in a broader spectrum of offered instruments, as well as in the support behind that platform.

- The only thing every client who wants to trade in commodities needs to do is to contact our team and our analysts will then determine the best instrument for the specified trade – says Sitar.

Ilirika Investments CEO Damjan Mencej announces that that specialized company for stock exchange operations is also interested in trading in municipal bonds in Serbia.

Investment banks' operations

When it comes to the operations of investment banks, their profit before taxation has dropped by a total of 37.8%.

And while the fourth quarter shows only a limited upward trend after summer months, the numbers indicate that all investment banks, with few exceptions, face a profit drop by over 40% in 2011, accompanied by negative effects on bonuses.

J.Đ.