24 March 2019 - Montenegro has done a lot to improve its business environment, but there are still some grave challenges that the country should focus on. Preventing other countries from taking over high-quality investors is of great importance, said the representatives of Adriatic Marinas.

Foreign Investors Council in Montenegro issued during the last week the White Book where they assessed the business environment in Montenegro with 6.49. They stated that the economy in Montenegro was stable last year, but some concrete results in the implementation of reforms fell behind.

They stressed othat the grey economy is still a problem, as well as that the rule of law must improve and that a platform for the prevention of frauds and evasion of any kind must be provided.

Representatives of Adriatic Marinas said that environment for foreign investors in Montenegro is changing rapidly.

“We have made some important moves, especially in the sphere of navigation and super-yachting industry. However, not everything has been solved yet,” said the representatives of this company which is the owner of Porto Montenegro.

The real challenge for business in Montenegro is the market since other yachting destinations across the world are very competitive and they, naturally, want to take over the clients from Montenegro.

“Our top priority is that we have our nautical industry that is active during the whole year and to do our best so that the benefits can be felt in the entire country. We must continuously promote all our business possibilities and Montenegro, as a destination. Also, we must keep eliminating business barriers and maintaining tax rates at a low level so that we can attract foreign investors and make Montenegro stable business destination,” said the representatives of Adriatic Marinas.

Representatives of Montenegrin Telekom think that the business environment in Montenegro is much better and that some serious reforms have already been implemented, but they also noted that there is still space for even more progress.

Director of the Sector for Corporate and Legal Affairs in Montenegrin Telekom, Pavle Đurović, said that the regulatory framework referring to the domain of telecommunication is harmonized the European in no small extent.

One of the most significant challenges that all operators are generally faced with is the increase of the so-called OTT providers – Google, Skype, WhatsApp, and Viber.

“Providers of such services offer practically the same voice services as traditional operators, but without investing in networks because they use networks and services of the electronic communication operators. Also, they do not employ a workforce; they do not pay any taxes. This is a problem for all European telecommunication operators, and we are glad that Montenegrin authorities are ready to tackle this issue by the European practice and European regulatory framework,” concluded Đurović.

March 25, 2019 - In a world where all the advanced countries leave the use of fossil fuels, we open new sites, find a justification for exhausting non-renewable resources and activating the global greatest threat to marine biodiversity, writes the activist of the Montenegrin NGO Green Home, Natasa Kovacevic for respublika.edu.mk.

Fossil Fuels Exploration and Exploitation: Damage to life, fishing and tourism

Fossil Fuels Exploration and Exploitation: Dissolving conscious citizens

24 March 2019 - The Government of Montenegro has recently signed a contract with the private company Novi Volvox on the completion of conceptual design, main project and the construction of a six-seater ski lift “Z4” at the ski resort Žarski in Mojkovac, according to the principle "Project and build".

The founder of the Novi Volvox is a company from Podgorica, Holding One, owned by the businessman Milan Ivanović with a 90 per cent ownership share and Predrag Poček, who owns 5 per cent of the company.

The deadline for the completion of the design of the six-seater cable car is two months.

The Government will invest nine million EUR in the realization of this strategic project, all with the aim to continue the valorisation of tourist potentials and to improve the living standards of citizens, especially in the North, the Government representatives announced.

"The main designer and manufacturer of equipment which will be installed at the Žarski site is the Italian company Leitner, one of the largest manufacturers of ski lifts in the world. The quality and standard that Leitner applies in their projects are recognized in all countries, so that its lifts are now present at the most attractive ski resorts in the world, "the Government representatives explained.

The deadline for completing the preliminary design of the six-hour lift cable is two months from the day of signing the Contract, while the deadline for the construction of the Main Cableway Project is four months from the day of acceptance of the Preliminary Design.  The contract also envisages the completion of the construction of the cable car and ski track 12 months from the date in which the contractor starts construction works.

March 24, 2019 - The only maritime passenger line between the Montenegrin and Italian coasts this season will be connected by the ferry of the Croatian company Jadrolinija. The ferry begins operating on 21 May.

It will be the third season that the Bar-Bari line will sail using the "Dubrovnik" passenger ship from Rijeka, as the Montenegrin state-owned company "Barska Plovidba" still failed to buy a ferryboat that would inherit the ship Sveti Stefan II, sent to old steel three years ago because of the shortage and inability to meet the technical conditions.

Management of “Barska Plovidba” visited colleagues in Rijeka at the end of February, where the conditions of operations and the line of navigation between the Montenegrin and Italian coasts were discussed with the leaders of Jadrolinija.

"Certainly, in "Barska Plovidba," we have the priority to buy a used ferryboat that could meet the conditions of the Bar-Bari line. The company currently has no money for this investment," said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Barska Plovidba," Ljubo Kočović.

Representatives of the two companies in the presence of Croatia's Ambassador to Montenegro Veselko Grubišić signed a business cooperation agreement on the Bar-Bari line maintenance in 2019 on Friday. 

The line starts on 21 May by traveling from Bari to Bar, and this year's first "Dubrovnik" entry into the Bar harbor is expected on 22 May in the morning.

"Dubrovnik" will connect the coasts of Montenegro and Italy with the following dynamics from the second half of May to the end of November: in May and June once a week, July and August twice a week, and in September, October and November once a week. The agreed financial conditions will be at the level of last year," announced AD Barska Plovidba.

During 2018, the Bar-Bari line "Dubrovnik" crossed the Adriatic Sea 74 times and transported 21,887 passengers, 3,955 cars, 888 trucks, 206 campers, 44 buses, 36 trailers, and 460 motorcycles.

23 March 2019 - A delegation of Chinese businesspeople, led by the President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai Sub-Council, Yang Jianrong and Secretary General of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce will come to Tivat on official business from 28 to 30 March.

During their stay in Tivat, the representatives of the aforementioned Chinese associations will speak with the most important Montenegrin businessmen and representatives of international investors, companies "Luštica Development", "Adriatic Marinas" and "Qatary Diar", and will have official meetings at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro.

"This is a great honor, not only for Tivat, but also for Montenegro," said Petar Vujović, secretary of the Secretariat for Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tivat Municipality, who is also the main initiator of the visit of this high-level economic delegation.

As stated in the Tivat municipality statement, after their official visit to Shanghai in 2015, Tivat's local government has concluded a twinning relationship with one of the richest areas in Shanghai - the Jiading district."This contract marked the beginning of our fruitful cooperation with China. For the third year in a row, we are successfully organizing the exchange of our high school students and their peers from Shanghai. Each year, our students are participating in the Chinese summer camp organized in Shanghai, and we managed to connect our Faculty of Mediterranean Business Studies with Chinese University "Zhejiang Wanli" from the Chinese city of Ningbo, which has over 20,000 students, "emphasized Vujović.

He added that economic cooperation has so far been lacking. "Finally, our longstanding persistence and almost everyday communication with our friends from China paid off. The numerous calls that we have sent to Chinese businessmen to come and visit Tivat and Montenegro resulted in this official visit, and for that, we are very pleased," Vujović stressed during an interview for News Agency Boka News.

He is convinced that the meeting of the Mayor of Siniša Kusovac with the Chinese delegation, investors and domestic businessmen, who expressed their desire to establish economic cooperation with China, will be a kind of "springboard" for economic integration of Tivat enterprises with Chinese businessmen.

The delegation from China will have the opportunity to visit the site of two most important investment projects in the territory of the municipality of Tivat - Porto Montenegro and Luštica Bay. Thanks to the efforts of Tivat municipality's representatives, the Chinese guests will also have a meeting with the representatives of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, where they will sign a memorandum on cooperation between the arbitration boards of Montenegro and Shanghai.

22 March 2019 - At its 5th session, chaired by President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Council on Competitiveness adopted the 2019 Plan of Action.

At its 5th session, chaired by President of the Council, Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Council on Competitiveness adopted the 2019 Plan of Action. Based on the analysis of previous experience and recommendations of the Council's members, it was decided that the Council's sessions should focus on pre-defined vital topics that should result in a positive impact on the business environment. The plan envisages that at least four sessions will take place this year - one in each quarter. Following the session on March 22 which analysed the Draft Law on Business Organisations, the topic for the 2nd session will be Tax Policy and Grey Economy, 3rd quarter will review the Draft Law on Labour and other acts regulating this area, while Digitisation will be considered in the 4th quarter.

The Competitiveness Council reviewed the Information of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro on the need for the completion of the Draft Law on Business Organisations. The Secretariat of the Council is tasked to set up a working group which will complete the analysis report of the current situation in the field of company registration. The working group will then present a concrete solution with a feasible action plan and bearers that will be defined in line with the objectives at the session in the third quarter: simplifying the business start-up process in terms of reducing the time needed to register a company and reducing the number of steps; enabling complete electronic registration; enabling electronic data exchange and company status; improving the Central Register of Business Entities of Montenegro's database and linking with other relevant registers; and defining the status and organisation of the Central Register of Business Entities.

The President of the Council said, concluding this item of the agenda, that the goal is to reach a legal solution that will be most suitable for further development of Montenegrin economy, making the best use of potentials and creating new values. He added that in the process of drafting this law, the administration should not allow itself to ignore any suggestions from the business community. "We need to have the best possible regulation in this area because we are passing laws for a new era in which we will be part of the European and global markets," the Council's President Duško Marković highlighted.

The session also reviewed the Presentation of the Results of the White Paper: The Investment Climate in Montenegro in 2018, submitted by the Council of Foreign Investors in Montenegro. The Ministry of Finance and the Secretariat of the Competitiveness Council are tasked to draft statements on the recommendations set out in the White Paper. Recommendations refer to more efficient implementation of reforms in the part of registration of companies, further steps in improving tax procedures; modernisation of work of cadastral and notary services; as well as the continuation of work on: setting the basis for further investments in infrastructure, the growth and labour market flexibility, and the policy of improving the work of the administration and increasing its efficiency. The Council also recommended the adoption of the regulatory framework for public-private partnerships and further regulation of fiscal policy at the local level.

The Competitiveness Council reviewed the Key findings of the Report on the business environment in Montenegro for the period 2017-2018 completed by the American Chamber of Economy. The Report, which was presented on March 4, 2019 during the visit of the Montenegrin Prime Minister to the American Chamber of Economy in Montenegro, reads that the overall assessment of the business environment in Montenegro for the period 2017-2018, on the scale from 1 to 10, is 6.29, which is a progress compared to the assessment from the previous Report for the period 2015-2016, when it was 5.57. "The confirmation of the improvement of the business environment is the fact that almost half of the companies participating in the survey believe that the business climate in their sector has improved, while in the previous report only 33% of our business entities replied that the improvement of the business environment is evident. Therefore, the basic finding is that the number of companies that notice the favourable development of the business climate is growing, and that the business environment has been advanced, but that there is room for further progress," said representative of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Council Marko Miročević.

The report contains recommendations, including the need to involve private sector representatives at the earliest stage in the process of drafting and adopting laws and other regulations that have an impact on the business environment and setting the basis for a competitive labour market, in line with the best practices of the labour legislation of the European Union.

Within this item of the agenda, the President of the Council noted that in the perception of the rule of law the most important challenge is the informal economy and the grey market, and that it is necessary to continue implementing the foreseen measures that have already yielded results.

President Marković informed the Council about the latest economic data published by the Monstat during the session. GDP growth in Montenegro in the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to 4.8%, and in the whole of 2018, growth was, according to preliminary data, 4.9%. At the same time, President Marković said, growth in the EU28 stood at 1.5%. The EU member states that have higher GDP growth are Malta, with growth of 7.2% and Hungary and Latvia, with growth of 5.1% in the 4th quarter. The countries of the region have lower rates than Montenegro in the last quarter of last year, namely Slovenia 4.1%, Northern Macedonia 3.7%, Serbia 3.4% and Croatia 2.3%, while Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have not published data.

"This is a remarkable result and a confirmation that we did a good job. I call on business people to reinvest part of their profits and create new jobs," concluded the Council's President, Prime Minister Duško Marković.

22 March 2019 - Investments in Uniprom KAP, around EUR 36 million thus far and an additional 30 million, are an excellent opportunity for Montenegro, its economy, industrial production, and export increase, it was noted today during Prime Minister Duško Marković's visit to the factory. 

"A new modern industrial centre is practically being developed in Montenegro. I am sure that most citizens do not know about it, not only in Montenegro but also in Podgorica. New plants and new factories for the finalisation of aluminum production are being developed here," PM Marković said. 

He added that in May, a new line for the production of aluminum alloys would be completed, and by the end of the year, we will have a new factory that will provide a path for the production of aluminum billet. In 2020, according to Prime Minister Marković, another new factory for the production of aluminum wire and steel wire is planned. 

Owner of Uniprom Veselin Pejović said that EUR 20 million had been invested so far in replacement of 170 cells and other infrastructure.

"With the new silumin factory which we will open in the next couple of months, production will be 30,000 tons. The investment is worth EUR 11 million, and the investment for the billet production factory with a capacity of 70,000 tons, which will be open by the end of 2020, is 15 million. These two factories will have a total production of 100,000 tons, which means that in 2020 we should have an export of about 300 million dollars," Pejović said. 

Prime Minister Marković praised the fact that KAP uses the new plant for liquefied gas. 

"Therefore, fuel oil and oil are removed from use, which is very important for the further development of KAP, but it is also essential for the preservation of the environment," the Prime Minister emphasised. 

Pejović specified that the introduction of this system was also important for bringing relevant customers from the European market, and pointed out that Uniprom KAP is the only Balkan-based factory using LNG, liquid natural gas. 

"KAP used to spend 10 tons of oil daily. That is equal to 1,000 cars in Podgorica per day and 10 liters of oil per car per day. What polluter! This is no longer a case in KAP," the owner of Uniprom explained. 

He added that they had invested EUR five million so far in LNG and gas station. The further development of KAP and the new plants will reach a figure of 20 million to cover all production maximally. 

PM Marković especially praised the fact that in such difficult conditions and complex activities, the company cherishes a principle of social responsibility and supports the interests of the community as a whole.

The Prime Minister reiterated that he, the Government and the competent authorities would actively support the fulfillment of investment plans of Uniprom KAP and this development perspective.

Minister of Economy Dragica Sekulić and Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism Pavle Radulović also paid a visit to KAP.