22 July 2019 - In the first quarter of this year, the banking system was stable, solvent, profitable and highly liquid. Both non-performing loans and interest rates continued to decline, according to the Central Bank of Montenegro. Namely, the Central Bank of Montenegro Council passed today the Decision on Amendments to the Decision on Minimum Standards for Liquidity Risk Management in Banks. The Central Bank of Montenegro explained that the proposed amendments to the Decision refer to its further alignment with the relevant EU regulations and guidelines of the European Banking Authority, reported CdM.

“The main novelty refers to the elimination of collateral – even the one categorized as the firs-class – which has been a requirement for loans. This means that if other criteria for approving a loan classified as ‘non-performing’ are met, it must be categorized as non-performing regardless of the type of collateral used for securing it. The proposed amendments ensure that the data on non-performing and restructured loans in the Montenegrin banking system are completely aligned with the data of the EU member states,” it was stated after the meeting of the Central Bank of Montenegro Council.

The Council considered and adopted the Report on Business and the Implementation of Central Bank of Montenegro Policy for May 2019, and it was noted that the activities of the Central Bank in this period were implemented in line with planned obligations defined by the 2019 Central Bank of Montenegro Program of Work.

In addition, the Central Bank of Montenegro has prepared the Information on introduction of instant payments and further development of payment activities in Montenegro, along with a comprehensive description of an intention to additionally modernize Montenegro’s payment system.

At this session, the Council also discussed other relevant issues that fall under its competencies.

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21 July 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković opened a new Durmitor spring water factory Diva in Gornja Bukovica near Šavnik.

"Today, we attended the opening of the new factory Diva, worth EUR three million with the new production programme, which will be available not only on the domestic but also on the international market and which employs ten people from Šavnik. I believe that through today's meeting and defined priorities on some major capital projects, Šavnik will continue this pace of development," said Marković on the occasion of the opening of the spring water factory Diva.

The new factory is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment from the German manufacturer Krones, whose bottling capacity is 12,000 bottles per hour. About 3 million EUR were invested in the natural spring water factory, as reported by the Public Relations Service within the Government of Montenegro.

Prime Minister Marković took the opportunity to congratulate President of the Municipality of Šavnik Mijomir Vujačić and its citizens on the Municipality Day, adding that a number of launched activities support the development of the city in order to improve the quality of life of all citizens.

During February 2019 Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković also opened a new factory of carbonated water “Rada“ in Bijelo Polje.

On that occasion, the Prime Minister Duško Marković said that this is a factory that will contribute to the growth of the economy and production and that will substitute the import of carbonated water amounting to nearly 8 million EUR. He added that the saved money will remain in the country's economic system and contribute to the development of a better standard and that the Government is showing that it opens new, high-quality and sustainable jobs and makes the best use of the vast natural potentials.

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Taxi associations will have to clearly display their taxi driver's identification so that users of their services know who drives them and whether they have permission to operate the vehicle. In addition, the driver's duty will be to have special working clothes.

These novelties are envisaged by the amendments to the Law on Road Transport and are introduced to eliminate unfair competition and suppress the gray economy in this sector. Amendments to the law were discussed at the last session of the Government's Competitiveness Council in early July.

In the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Transport, it was said that new legal solutions were prepared after taxi operators demanded the removal of the gray economy and unfair competition.

"The Montenegrin Trade Union - Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro addressed the Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Financial System Milutin Simovic, with the request to form working groups that will have the task of analyzing the problems in performing car taxi transport. After that, Osman Nurkovic, Minister of Transport, formed a working group composed of representatives of state authorities whose responsibilities relate to the activities of passenger car taxis and representatives of the Trade Union who prepared the Information on the analysis of the situation in the activity of the taxi transportation with proposals of measures and conclusions for solving the problem. The Government adopted this information at the end of December last year, and one of the proposed measures is drafting of amendments to the Law on Road Transport in order to eliminate unfair competition that is predominantly present in car taxis, but also in other forms of public passenger transport," it was explained from the Ministry.

The working group consisted of representatives of the Ministry, the Chamber of Commerce and car taxi companies who perform this activity as entrepreneurs and legal entities, and the draft law was announced at a public hearing on February 15th.

"The most important amendments are related to specifying the documentation that must be placed in the vehicle when performing a car taxi service.

Special attention is paid to documentation proving that the driver is employed and registered with the car taxi company (employment contract, tax registration), as well as the obligatory possession of driver's identification card, which must be displayed in a visible place in the vehicle so that transport users know who drives them and whether someone has permission to drive the taxi. In addition, a legal basis for prescribing work clothes for drivers is defined to avoid situations that certain car taxis companies are distorting reputation for their colleagues and Montenegro as a recognized tourist destination," the Ministry said.

The taxi identification card, according to the amendment proposal, must contain a driver's license for driving the vehicle, a certificate of medical capability, and passed exam on knowing around the city.

A novelty is also "rent a car" with the driver

The novelty in the law will be the introduction of the "rent a car" service with the driver. Such a mode of transport can only be carried out by a high-class passenger car or a luxury passenger vehicle under six years old, with a catalog value of more than 30,000 euros.

"We have identified a new mode of transport and defined the conditions under which it can be carried out, which is to rent a vehicle with a driver - a limo service. This mode of transport was recognized by the Law on Tourism, but it was not properly regulated and it represented largely unfair competition for car taxis and for companies operating long-distance regular and non-scheduled passenger services," the Ministry said.

The "rent a car" driver will have to be at least 21 years old and must have a driving license of category B for at least three years.

Dispatch centers are introduced into legal procedures

New solutions also define the dispatching centers that mediate in contracting car taxis and stipulate the conditions under which they perform the activity.

The Ministry explained that this was done in order to protect themselves from illegal entities that even at the global level were recognized as unfair competition and operating in the gray zone without the possibility of supervision.

"This phenomenon has not been largely identified in Montenegro, but we felt it necessary to prevent such deviant phenomena."

The dispatch center will have to have a work permit from the municipality on whose territory it operates, it will be obliged to provide services only to licensed car taxis and to allocate the driving only to vehicles with a valid copy of the license.

Text by Marija Mirjacic, on July 21st, 2019, read more at Vijesti

19 July 2019 - A new five-star tourist complex is soon to be built in Ulcinj, on the Mavrijan hill, near Valdanos, and it will be able to receive between 3.000 and 5.000 guests. This was announced by the president of the municipality of Ulcinj, Ljoro Nrekić, during the public presentation of Mavrijan Luxury Resorts and Villas made by Ing-invest studio from Podgorica.

“This project is beneficial for both Ulcinj and Montenegro. The value of this investment would be between 600 million euros and 1 billion euros,” said Nrekić.

Interested investors from Qatar and Egypt have already scheduled meetings with the management of the municipality. The new exclusive resort will have bungalows and more than 2.900 accommodation units in four hotel facilities, as CdM reports.

As Chief Town Architect, Aleksandar Dabović, said, a marina with 147 berths was planned to be built on the Udovica bay. It will also have a promenade, helipad and panoramic restaurant, as well as access to amphibian and hydro-planes.

“The resort melts into the ambient, completely following the configuration of the terrain and a hotel, and in the middle of complex, it reminds you of a cruiser. Pools and sports fields are part of the resort and one of the hotels will be intended for a casino and guests who are keen on such kind of fun. They will have at least 100 exclusive accommodation units at their disposal, two separate panoramic lifts and a helipad at the hotel’s rooftop. Privacy will be guaranteed,” said Dabović.

Villas, 105 of them, positioned in three rows and covering 350 square meters each, have been designed for a family and they have all the necessary amenities, inclusive of parking places and pools.

“We will do our best to put this idea into effect,” said the first man of the municipality of Ulcinj.

Chief town Architect set out the details of this project and said it had an ideal positioning and also added that occupancy coefficient was very low. Green areas will make up 82%.

The complex will be situated outside the town core, while the first hotel, with 32.000 square meters gross, has 3.848 square meters of open pools and 2.675 square meters of open sport centers. Hotel B is s central resort with 652 accommodation units, 47.800 square meters of gross area and offers a 2.500 square meters of pools and 2.546 square meters of fields. Hotel C is a resort as well.

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The Montenegro stock Board of Directors chose Milena Vucinic as the new executive director of the institution, it was confirmed by Vijesti".

Vucinic succeeded Mirko Markovic, who since the beginning of the year was the Acting Director of the Stock Exchange. By the end of last year, the previous director of the stock exchange was Gojko Maksimovic.

Vucinic was until recently director of the Atlas Mont Management Company, but her mandate expired in April.

She graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica and finished a master's and doctoral study at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade.

She has been present in the domestic capital market since 1996, and in the former broker-dealer house Monte Adria worked as a broker. She holds Diplomas of Investment Manager and Public Relations.

From June 2006 to March 2009, she had her own show at RTV Atlas "Business, Money and Profits". She is one of the lecturers at the Mediterranean University.

Text by Milorad Milosevic, on July 17th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

16 July 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković congratulated citizens of Andrijevica, Municipal Assembly members and local leadership on the Municipality Day, saying that the continued commitment to development and determination in the implementation of development policies, especially in the Northern Montenegro region, as testified in this municipality, always deserve the Government's and Prime Minister's support.

On the occasion of the Municipality's holiday, the Prime Minister hosted President of the Municipality of Andrijevica Srđan Mašović and his associate Miodrag Ivanović.

The leadership of Andrijevica informed the Prime Minister about the projects that were successfully completed and the ongoing ones, with particular reference to the numerous activities of local self-government on the valorisation of tourism and agricultural resources. In this regard, PM Marković expressed the Government's full support for the further enrichment of the Komovi Nature Park's offer and completion of the House of Fruit Project as well as works on improving local infrastructure, as stated in the announcement by the Public Relations Service within the Government of Montenegro.

Recalling the last year's meeting where the Municipality of Andrijevica was mentioned as an example of a responsible relationship, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the fact that since then, the Municipality has registered further progress and creation of new values in tourism, agriculture and the use of energy potential through small hydropower plants.

The meeting discussed several development and infrastructure projects that should contribute to the further improvement of Andrijevica's tourist offer and its better infrastructural connectivity with other cities of Montenegro.

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