Pertti Ikonen, Finnish ambassador to Belgrade - Amendments to tender procedures will bring new investors to Serbia

(Pertti Ikonen)

Serbia exports nearly a third as many products to Finland as this Nordic country exports to Serbia. There is room for bigger economic cooperation, and Finnish companies express increasing interest in investing in Serbia. PKC Grupa has recently implemented new investments in Smederevo, Luvata is about to start production in Sremska Mitrovica, SISU auto still negotiates the acquisition of Priboj-based FAP, while Kone is considering public-private partnership for the replacement of 7,200 old elevators in Belgrade.

Finland also encourages the development of entrepreneurship in Serbia. The Finnish Embassy to Serbia sponsored a competition of Serbian startup companies and declared the winner last week at a reception organized in the embassy building. The winner - Neopix from Nis - is going to participate in the world's greatest startup event - Slush 2015, which will be held this month in Helsinki.

We talked with the new ambassador of Finland in Belgrade, Pertti Ikonen, about the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries, business conditions in Serbia, and the performance of Serbian companies in the Finnish market.

eKapija: It has been less than 2 months since you assumed the position of Ambassador to Serbia. What are your first impressions?

- Serbia is on its way to European Union. That brings a lot of positive dynamism to the Serbian society as a whole. People are starting to talk more and more about their future, not the past.

eKapija: There are about 60 companies from Finland operating in Serbia. What's their impression of the business environment in our country?

- I get regularly positive feedback on the Serbia market possibilities from Finnish companies. Sometimes they complain that some tendering processes have not been up to EU standards.

eKapija: Economic exchange between the two countries is on a rise. Could you please share the trade statistics for the year 2014 and H1 2015?

- Our trade is still on a very modest level but more and more Finnish companies are interested in finding out about the possibilities in Serbia. Our export to Serbia in 2014 was 34,5 million euros and import 13,5 million euros.

eKapija: Boom in Finland's financial investments in Serbia has become a hot topic since lately, PKC has recently moved into new production facilities in Smederevo and announced new jobs for Serbian workers. What has made Serbia such a favorable destination for Finnish investors?

- Stable Government policy to attract foreign investors is a very important factor. Second to that is the cost effectiveness of the Serbian labour market. It is easy to find well- educated and motivated workforce here. According to the investment project, PKC plans to increase the number of workers in Smederevo from about 850 at the end of September 2015 to 1,500 by February 2017.

eKapija: We notice that some Finnish investments are mainly focused on the automotive industry. In what other industries do you see potential for cooperation?

- Energy sector is very important and interesting. Finnish firms are world leaders in energy efficiency solutions so there I expect further cooperation. Also forestry and wood processing and health are important sectors.

eKapija: Finland's SISU was the main candidate for the new owner of Priboj-based FAP, but negotiations got complicated. Can we still expect this investment in Priboj?

- This is a process between private enterprise SISU and the Serbian Government so I can't comment on it.

eKapija: What is the most important thing Serbia has to change in order to attract more investor form Finland?

- Streamlining of the existing tendering processes to match international practices is a prerequisite.

eKapija: What is the situation with the Serbian firms in Finland? What would you advise Serbian companies to do to gain access to the Finnish market?

- I encourage Serbian firms to have close cooperation with the Serbian Embassy in Helsinki. Furthermore, they could take direct contact with a Finnish Foreign Ministry financed programme Finnpartnership (www.finnpartnership.fi) for their Match-making services. They can help in finding contacts in Finland.

Ivana Bezarevic