19 April 2019 - Game 5 will decide who will be the 2018/19 ABA League champion! Budućnost VOLI defeated Crvena zvezda mts in Game 4 in Podgorica, which means that the score in this series is now all tied - 2:2. 

Game 5 of the 2019 ABA League Finals will be played in on April 22, while Crvena zvezda mts will have a home court advantage in that match. Whoever wins that match will clinch the championship trophy.

Once again Budućnost VOLI made a big comeback for the win. The home team was down by 10 points in the 3rd quarter, however, they managed to reduce the gap to just 1 point before the start of the 4th quarter and prevail in a thrilling ending. Crvena zvezda mts had the lead 72:70 with 3 minutes left on the game clock, but then Budućnost VOLI made the key 9:0 run and went in front – 79:72. There was simply not enough time for the visitors to get back in this match.

Norris Cole has done it again! He is once again the man of the match. This 30-year old point guard scored 31 points, had 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while his overall index rating was 36!

Jackson banked four shots from deep on his way to 23 points and Earl Clark helped him with 15 points.

For Crvena Zvezda, Billy Baron had a great night with 24 points on 5-10 shooting from behind the arc while Mouhammad Faye and Ognjen Dobric added 14 points each.

Like in the previous match, the Crvena zvezda mts crew had problems with turnovers. They made 14 of them this evening. Edwin Jackson with 12 and Billy Baron with 14 points stole the spotlight in the first half but the latter’s squad had a 38-35 lead at halftime.

Source: Aba League News

19 April 2019 - Hotel Group Budva Riviera finished last year with 2,6 million EUR of net profit. That is by a third better performance than in 2017. Palas, Castellastva, Aleksandar, Mogren, and Piva hotels, as well as Slovenska plaža tourist settlement, that operate within the group, have has a positive financial statement. Their profit has been by 14% higher than projected.

“Looking at the past ten-year period, the number of overnights has increased from 347.673 in 2009, to 487.357 last year. Business profit increased to 21,5 million EUR. Ten years ago, it amounted 11,5 million EUR,” reads the Information on the Performance of Companies.

Modernization and adaptation of hospitality facilities of Budva Riviera have cost more than 48 million EUR. Around 85% has been financed from the budget of the hotel group. Budva Riviera is on the White paper of the Tax Administration regarding the regularity of tax payments.

There were 487.557 overnights in the hotels of Budva Riviera last year. Hotel Aleksandar had the highest percent of overnights – 29%. Mogren and Slovenska plaža recorded the fall in the number of overnights.

Around 96% of guests were foreigners mostly from the countries of Eastern, Western and Northern Europe. There was a 30% increase in the number of guests from Northern Europe.

The group doesn’t run up any debts to the country of the municipality of Budva.

As far as the loans are concerned, the debt of Budva Riviera amounted 1,4 million EUR at the end of December last year. This hotel group falls within the category of low-indebted companies.

Budva Riviera has employed 386 persons. Average net wage amounted 500 EUR.

Yesterday the Government elected new members of the Board of Directors of Budva Riviera – Saša Radović and Petar Ivković.

Budva Riviera has been included in the Government’s Privatization Plan.

The group also owns Sveti Stefan and Miločer hotels which had been leased to Adriatic Properties company.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

19 April 2019 - There are many tourism potentials in the Bar Municipality that need to be identified and used as soon as possible, said British Ambassador to Montenegro, Her Excellence Alison Kemp. Ms Kemp expressed her willingness to relay the experience of the UK in implementing a program to shut down plastic packaging by 2050.

On April 19, British Ambassador met with the Mayor of the Municipality of Bar Dušan Raičević. He introduced Ms Kemp to the challenges and planned activities of the local government for the summer tourist season, as well as with current and future projects in Bar.

"Ambassador Kemp thanked the Mayor for the formal reception, pointing out that many potentials need to be recognized and used as soon as possible, with the emphasis on tourism," said the report by Bar Municipality PR Service.

During the visit, the Mayor and Ambassador also talked about protection and improvement of the environment, which will, as announced, have the special attention of the local government in the coming period.

"In relations to environmental issues, the possibility of cooperation to raise the awareness of citizens about the need and importance of environmental protection and proper disposal of waste has been considered. On this occasion, the Ambassador expressed her readiness to convey experiences in the UK in relations to the implementation of a program to discontinue the use of plastic packaging by 2050," the statement said.

According to the report, the UK is currently investing in long-term infrastructure development to facilitate waste recovery and recycling. Such a strategy will support and strengthen market engagement from both public and private sectors, while ensuring equitable coverage for all across the country.

During the meeting, it was jointly noted that it is necessary to strengthen cooperation in the field of tourism, especially considering that with the arrival of ships owned by a British company, Bar became recognized as one of the important cruising destinations.

19 April 2019 - Infinity Board & Paper, a Tivat-based company, is going to build three residential structures in the Kavač settlement in Kotor, using Turkish capital. The total gross area of the structure amounts 2.046 square meters, and the residential structures will have 63 apartments intended for tourists, reports Pobjeda Daily.

Current Acting Chief State Architect Dušan Vuksanović gave his consent to the preliminary design for these housing projects. The founders of the Tivat company are Buse Ozant and Semih Adikutlu, who is also the Executive Director. The designer of these facilities is Kotor-based company Enforma, whose founder and executive director is Nikola Novaković.

The planned complex will consist of three buildings, which will have a basement, ground floor, and two floors. The project includes the construction of a two-level underground garage and a plateau with swimming pool and free surfaces.

As stated in the preliminary project documentation, object A will contain 23 residential units, object B will have 16, and object C will include 24 residential units. Access to the facilities will be provided from the main parking lot, which leads to an open parking lot and the entrance to the underground garage. There will be 40 parking spaces in the garage and 22 in front of the building. The complex is formally disassembled and consists of three objects that are aligned with the fall of the terrain. There will be a warm linkage between the first level of the garage and the basement of the building A. Objects B and C are accessed by separate external stairways. Basement facilities will be covered with stone, and facade walls represent a combination of stone, wood and bavalite facade material with warm colours.

April 19, 2019 - NGO Green Home is organizing an educational camp for the fifth time marking the day of the Drim Basin. This year's camp will be held in cooperation with NGO Green Step from Ulcinj and with the support of the GEF project "Strengthening Cross-Border Cooperation and Integral Water Resources Management in the Widened Drim River Basin."

April 19, 2019 - LGBT Forum Progress conducted the first comprehensive research in the LGBTIQ tourism sector in Montenegro in the form of a thematic publication of a pioneering initiative for Montenegrin tourism, reported this organization.

April 19, 2019 - The new music event, notable not only for this part of the Montenegrin coast and Montenegro but also for the region - the Budva Beer Fest will be held from 14 to 16 June at the FC Mogren Stadium, the organizers said at a press conference, held yesterday, 18 April, in Budva.

18 April 2019 - Budućnost VOLI vs. Crvena zvezda mts, Game 4! The main question in front of Friday’s spectacle is whether the Aba League Finals will move back to Belgrade or everything will end in Podgorica?

Budućnost VOLI will once again have the home court advantage and will once again be in a must-win situation. Recall that the Blue side trail 1-2 in the final series, so they need to win the following match in order to keep that championship dream alive. They did it on Wednesday, now they have to do it again.

On the other side, Crvena zvezda mts missed their first match point, but now they have another chance to seize the 3^rd win in this series and win the ABA League title. It certainly won’t be an easy job as they will have the whole gym standing against them, but Zvezda have already defeated Budućnost VOLI in the Sports Center Morača this season. It happened in the 1^st part of the regular season.

Norris Cole was brilliant in Game 3, scoring 20 points and leading the Budućnost VOLI troops toward their first win in this series. He will once again confront Filip Čović, who has been one of the best players of Crvena zvezda mts so far in this series. We are about to see who will prevail this time.

So far, head to head in the regional league in total is 18:22, while in Podgorica it is 15:4 for Budućnost.

Source: Aba League News

18 April 2019 - KotorArt Don Branko´s Music Days are continuing to emphasize the significance of ecology after last year's festival when sustainable development and environmental protection were key themes. This year's activities will already begin in April. The goal is to raise awareness, primarily of young people, about nature and importance of its preservation.

The activities will begin by marking Earth Day on April 22 with a program entitled "Our ecological song" in cooperation with the company "Školjke Boke" (English: Shells of Boka), led by ecologist and breeder, Nevres Đerić.

In addition to the action of cleaning the coast from the bridge of the river Ljuta to the Orahovac water supply, a practice ecology lesson will be organized on composting activities at the eco plantation "Školjke Boka" in Orahovac, as well as a short lecture, presentation and tasting of organic sea products from the Montenegrin sea.  The action is organized by the companies "Boka Gard" and "Školjke Boka", in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gymnasium Kotor, Kotor Maritime School, Savo Ilić Primary School, Njegoš Primary School, Vida Matjan School for Primary and Secondary Music Education "And JSC Napredak.

This action is the first step of the ArtEco project, which will be organized from April to August, and involves three types of activities – “Learn! Activate! and Create!”, which contribute to the adoption of positive values ​​necessary for the sustainable development of society. The Segment "Learn!" brings interactive ecology talks through environmental lessons, while the "Activate!" segment is based on the celebration of the days of the earth, wind and sun through actions to clean the coast. The second segment also includes cultural and ecological walks and getting acquainted with the natural and cultural heritage of Kotor and Bay of Kotor. Segment "Create!" involves art workshops in which young people, through artistic recycling of collected waste, create art installations and unusual musical instruments. They will also prepare the performance "The World is Music" which will be held on August 13th, to end this year's KotorArt Don Branko's Days of Music.

This is not the first time that KotorArt Don Branko's Days of Music connect the theme of ecology with art. Last year, at the opening ceremony of the festival on July 13, a premiered performance of Rambo Amadeus with the topic of ecology - "Pasija po Steli" was held, followed by concert lectures "ClimateKeys". In cooperation with the Institute of Marine Biology, a first underwater exhibition was realized in cooperation with the association "Diving World", and after the action of cleaning the shore, the program ended with the performance "Boka naša nasušna".

You can follow all the ArtEco project activities on the website www.kotorart.me, or the profiles of the festival on social networks.

18 April 2019 -The Montenegro Stock Exchange announced the public call for the sale of the government bonds via an auction. The total value of the emissions amount to 190 million EUR and the auction will be held on 22 and 23 April 2019, as said by the company representatives.

The conclusions of the transactions will be done by the members of the Montenegro Stock Exchange – brokerage companies.

“Based on this, interested business entities and citizens can buy the government bonds via brokerage houses operating on the Montenegro Stock Exchange. The conclusions of transactions may also be done by the banks that have the permit and license for custody operations on the Montenegrin capital market,“ the public call suggests.

To be able to purchase stocks, potential investors should have a signed client contract with the bank or brokerage house, and they should also confirm or sign the order for buying bonds.

The Stock Exchange of Montenegro expects that response to the purchase of state bonds will be significant. Domestic and regional commercial banks, insurance agencies and other legal entities that would like to invest with minimum risk will show the greatest interest, said the acting CEO of the Montenegrin stock exchange, Mirko Marković.

He believes that this time, even the citizens’ interest will be huge, due to the situation in the banking market.

“Lower risk and interest rate higher than the rate on time deposits or savings in banks are the reasons why citizens will choose to buy bonds instead. Another advantage is that the funds invested in bonds are not “trapped”. In case of need, citizens can sell the bonds at the secondary stock exchange and make a profit before the maturity date,” said Marković.

Ministry of Finance has announced that they will issue bonds via Stock Exchange of Montenegro on 22 and 23 April. They are worth €190 million.

Price of one bond amounts 1.000 EUR. Maturity is five or seven years and the projected interest amounts are estimated at 3 and 3,5%.

The new price is ten times lower than the one offered previously.

“This is another good reason for the citizens to choose to buy bonds since the new price of a bond is much affordable,” says Marković.

Borrowing at the domestic market will provide cheaper means of budget financing and the capital market will extend its offer by two financial instruments.

“The impact that issue of state bonds will have on the capital market and the stock exchange itself is multiple positive,” said Marković.

According to him, extending the offer of the capital market will increase the interest of investors and restore trust when it comes to not only bonds but other financial instruments as well.