German companies expect to improve their financial situation in Serbia - 80 percent of them want to invest in our country again

The results of a poll conducted by the German Business Organization show that German companies in Serbia believe that the economic situation will improve this year.

A total of 61 percent of the polled companies expect to achieve better business results in the market of Serbia this year.

Director of the Delegate Office of German Industry and Commerce for Serbia Michael Schmidt said at a press conference in Belgrade that the polled companies had foreseen much better prospects for the economy in Serbia than in 2010.

- This year, about 50 percent of the polled German companies want to increase investments and the number of employees in Serbia - he said.

Mr. Schmidt also pointed to the readiness of companies from Germany to invest in foreign countries, which can benefit Serbia a lot.

President of the German Business Association in Belgrade Ernst Bode said that, on the basis of the poll, the percentage of German companies that would again invest in Serbia dropped from 87 in 2010 to 80 in 2011.

According to his words, the poll among businessmen from Germany is conducted in the regions of central and east Europe and the results in Serbia are more favorable that those in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and Romania.

- The annual poll, in which half of 180 members of the German Business Association in Serbia participated, gives some positive signals. Companies see their development as positive and find it better than the general economic situation in the country - he said.

Bode assessed that, after 10 years of transition in Serbia, the situation in the country was objectively better than the atmosphere.

Ambassador of Germany to Serbia Wolfram Maas stated that the interest of German investors in investments in Serbia had been constantly growing over the previous eight months.

- Representatives of German companies are coming to our embassy every week to ask about investment conditions in Serbia, sign an investment agreement, or an agreement on the opening of a new plant - he said.

Maas also assessed that the growth potential of bilateral relations between Serbia and Germany had not been fully exploited yet and added that Germany was the best trade partner of Serbia and among the largest investors in our country. According to some earlier date, Germany's investments in Serbia amounts to about EUR 1.5 billion.

The sixth annual poll conducted by the German Business Association in Serbia shows that third of German companies in Serbia expect a stable and unaltered business climate this year.

Every second polled company expects a development in its branch, while 52 percent of the polled expect their profit to grow.

According to the results of the poll, 67 percent of German businessmen in Serbia describes the economic situation in Serbia as bad, while 74 percent of them expect it to be the same or better this year than in 2010.

The German Business Association in Serbia was founded in 2003 and it gathers 180 members. About 360 companies whose founders are companies from Germany employ 20,000 people in Serbia.