Gecić Law is proud to announce its participation in the latest edition of the Chambers Global Practice Guides: Doing Business In… Our team contributed to the “Trends and Developments” sections for Serbia. Our esteemed partners Bogdan Gecić and Hristina Kosec offered their insights into the jurisdictions dynamic business and regulatory environment. They highlighted key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the country’s economic and legal landscapes. The authors highlight Serbia’s rapid growth, driven by information technology, agriculture, and manufacturing. This undoubtedly contributes to its status as one of the most attractive investment destinations globally. In addition, Serbia’s favorable business environment, strategic […]
Details
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Serbia and China, signed in October 2023, came into effect on July 1. Covering over 20,000 products, the agreement grants Serbian firms preferential access to the expansive Chinese market. The deal will boost exports, stimulate investment and production capacities, and enhance overall economic activity and competitiveness in Serbia. The FTA involves reciprocal elimination of tariffs on 90% of tariff lines, with more than 60% taking immediate effect. Starting this month, exports of products such as fresh apples, blueberries, dried plums, jams, seeds, and beef from Serbia to the Chinese market can proceed without tariffs. […]
Details
Gecić Law is pleased to announce its role as a legal advisor to Remus Holding in the recent acquisition of a controlling stake in GLM, an esteemed Italian manufacturer of automotive components. The acquisition includes an indirect takeover of GLM RS Zrenjanin, a crucial part of GLM’s global manufacturing capacities. The transaction marks a significant expansion for Remus, a prominent supplier of exhaust systems for the automotive and motorcycle industries. The Transaction Star Capital Sgr, an Italian asset management company, agreed to sell its majority shares in GLM to Remus. Concurrently, Peppino Barlafante, a founding partner of GLM, sold part […]
Details
Serbia is opening its doors wider to foreign workers due to several factors. The qualified labor shortages, technological and economic growth, and the effects of globalization have made it essential to simplify and facilitate the residence and work procedures for foreigners in Serbia. Recognizing this need, last winter Serbia began drafting amendments to three foundational immigration laws: the Foreigners Act, the Foreigners’ Employment Act, and the Citizenship Act. Two of these, he amendments to the Foreigners Act and the Foreigners’ Employment Act, have been adopted by the National Assembly. These changes aim to provide a more streamlined and appealing environment […]
Details
Continuing our series on opportunities for investment in Serbia, we discuss the real estate sector. Historically, countries have been reluctant to allow foreigners to acquire real estate. In the past, real estate (primarily lands) symbolized its owners’ power, and today apartments, buildings, houses, properties, mines, and fields have significant worth. Nevertheless, globalization has increased the dynamics of “international” real estate trade. Real estate has thus become an important segment in international investment, both as a secondary part of the project (leasing or even buying space for the investors’ regular business operations) and as the very purpose of the investment (real […]
Details
The Open Balkans initiative aims to encourage and facilitate cooperation among the Balkans countries. The initiative was conceived across the Balkans, where the different cities symbolize the various stages in the development of the Open Balkans initiative. In this article, we present the chronology of building ties between the countries by virtually visiting six key locations. (Note: If you decide to visit these towns, we advise you to create your itinerary on Google Maps, not by this article :D). The first location associated with the birth of the Open Balkans project (as we know it today) is Novi Sad, and […]
Details
As part of our series on investment opportunities in Serbia, this time we delve into the pharmaceutical industry. The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that Serbia has significant potential in the sector that is still running strong. Unlike other industries, the pharmaceutical industry has been showing unprecedented growth. The high demand for medicines, supplements, basic hygiene products and disinfectants, and other medications has shown that there is a strong need for businesses and institutions that will meet this demand. In that sense, Serbia’s pharmaceutical industry showed high efficiency and managed to establish and maintain regular supply, stable production, and unhindered imports as […]
Details
With the idea of implementing the four freedoms of the European Union in the Western Balkans as soon as possible; movement of people, goods, services and capital, the Open Balkan initiative was launched in October 2019 by the leaders of Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia. It is a major step in cooperation between the three countries, aiming to increase trade and improve bilateral relations. Another important milestone is expected this week at the Summit to take place in Ohrid, June 7-8. The legal framework and basis for concrete activities within the Open Balkan initiative were established by declarations and agreements […]
Details
Keeping up with the latest news concerning the ESG can be hard considering all the related events shaking the globe lately. However, there may be a few of us who have not heard of Elon Musk’s outburst last week about ESG being “an outrageous scam” after Tesla was dropped from the S&P 500 ESG Index. Why is this news important? Let’s start from the beginning. When investors began considering aspects other than profit in their investments, that was the turning point for many corporations. The launch of the S&P 500 ESG Index meant an evolution in (sustainable) investments, addressing the […]
Details
The Global Gateway initiative was unveiled on December 1, 2021, as a strategy of the European Union (“EU”) to support sustainable infrastructure development around the world. The EU is planning to invest EUR 300 billion over five years. The European Commission pitched the Global Gateway as a template for how Europe aims to build more resilient connections across the globe. The Global Gateway is about increasing investment, promoting values and high standards, good governance and transparency, partnerships based on equality, green, clean, secure infrastructure, but also catalyzing and supporting private sector investment in new markets as part of the Global […]
Details
The end of 2021 was marked by changes in the legislation of the Republic of Serbia, which included the adoption of a new Capital Market Act (“Act”) that entered into force on January 5 this year. The objective of the Act is to introduce greater transparency and responsibility in business, the introduction and development of financial instruments offered on the Serbian capital market, creating a more attractive environment for both domestic and foreign investors. It was adopted following the government’s Capital Market Development Strategy 2021-2026, and the Action Plan for its implementation. The law will start to apply after one […]
Details
Diplomacy & Commerce magazine, a syndication of London’s The Economist magazine for Serbia, prepared a special InFocus supplement as part of its February 2021 issue, with the aim of providing the readers a closer insight into the development of bilateral relations and successful cooperation between Serbia and the United Arab Emirates. Bogdan Gecic, Managing Partner at Gecic Law, a founding and exclusive member of the UAE Serbia Business club since 2019, gave an interview, which can be read in its entirety below. As an industry, the legal profession has been changing significantly. We have always believed there is a lot […]
Details
Our Energy practice team has repeatedly demonstrated its credibility by devising unique opportunities for greenfield and brownfield investments for our clients. We provide comprehensive solutions related to privatization, regulatory compliance and due diligence in cooperation with eminent regulatory, corporate and financial experts. Counsel to Norwegian NBT AS on Wind Farms Project in Serbia Our latest accomplishment in the energy sector is providing counsel to NBT AS, Norway, a utility-scale wind power developer (exceeding 100 KW of power), in partnering with WV International (formerly Windvision). WV International has been developing wind farm projects in Serbia since 2010 and has been active […]
Details
To create a more favorable business environment for domestic and foreign companies wishing to invest in Serbia, and to enhance the national economy, a new Decree on the Conditions and the Manner of Attracting Investments1 (Decree), announced by the Act on Investments2, has been enacted on 11 March 2016. Relying on the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency’s (SIEPA) 2015 Decree on the Conditions and Manner of Attracting Direct Investments3 (SIEPA Decree), the new Decree provides for incentives in the form of grants or, under certain conditions, exemption from customs duties, both for the investments in new production facilities (greenfield […]
Details
On 11 February 2016, the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Competition (the “Competition Commission”) published on its official website the Guidance Concerning Requests for Individual Exemption (the “Guidance”). The overall message the Guidance sends can be seen as a warning that Competition Commission will no longer tolerate delays in notification of restrictive agreements – the deadline for such notification is immediately, otherwise annulment and fines may be incurred. Namely, the Competition Commission, having in mind frequently asked questions in its everyday practice, concluded that it should provide more detailed information regarding the notifications of restrictive agreements. In particular, as stated […]
Details
A race to the bottom is a socio-economic phrase used to describe a situation in which countries or companies try to compete in order to attract and retain economic activity and the latest data from the Center for Economic Analysis (CEA) in Macedonia suggests that the country is pushing the envelope on its regional counterparts. CEA recently published that seven companies doing business within Macedonian technological industrial development zones have have been granted a total of 56 million euros in state aid. In certain cases, the state aid granted amounted up to 47% of overall value of the investment. Vesna Garvanlieva, CEA […]
Details
We are pleased to announce that our partner Bogdan Gecić together with Dr. Tatjana Jovanić, an associate professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, co-authored the Serbian chapter for Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Europe – Second Edition. The chapter provides a comprehensive overview of most important legal aspects for both domestic and foreign investors and businesses in Serbia. The chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the following topics: Enterprises: Establishment, Acquisition & Bankruptcy Customs Regulation Investment Incentives and Currency Regulation Competition and Market Regulation Intellectual Property Employment Banking The edition is published by Juris Publishing, Inc., a full-service […]
Details