Business
The Ministry of Economy has submitted a Proposal to the government for Amendments to the Internal Trade Law, introducing a non-working Sunday.
The Ministry said that in the trade sector, which employs 37 thousand people, the Sunday, through the proposed legal solution would be declared as a non-working day.
"With by-laws, solutions to the exceptions, and the basic needs of citizens will be adopted," the statement said.
By introducing a non-working Sunday, employers will be able to significantly increase productivity, lower maintenance costs, and regular service costs.
"About this, such a legal solution cannot affect the reduction of the number of workers, but jobs can even be deployed on working days, and employees in the trade would have a non-working Sunday as it is the case in other industries," the Ministry's representatives said.
They added that it would have a positive impact on the overall economic activity and the quality of life of an individual, family, and society.
"In any case, such a legal solution will not affect the supply of consumers, but solely to change the habits so far in terms getting the supplies on the other days of the week," the ministry said.
By the proposed amendments to the law, other novelties would be introduced that make the business easier for the traders.
The amendment of the law was launched at the initiative of employers and the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG) and was supported by trade unions and consumer associations.
Text by MINA Business, on January 25th, 2019, read more at Vijesti
26 January 2019 - According to the latest data of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBM), 77 people are registered in Montenegro with more than one million EUR in accounts in domestic banks. This data implies that in 2018 Montenegro registered 13 new millionaires.
The number of new millionaires and the total population of millionaires set records. The account with the largest sum of money is owned by the citizen of Montenegro whose account amounts to 50,3 million EUR, according to News Agency Pobjeda’s source from the Central Bank of Montenegro. The source revealed the information without naming the individual because doing so is prohibited by law.
"The account with the largest sum of money deposited by an individual amount to 50,281 million EUR and belongs to a single resident. 77 individuals have a deposit in a bank in the amount of more than 1 million EUR," the CBM source said.
The source also revealed that the richest millionaire has deposited 20 million EUR more than the largest deposit by a legal entity in Montenegro. In 2017, there were 64 millionaires in Montenegro, and in 2016, the number of millionaires in Montenegro amounted to 54.
According to the last census, Montenegro has 622,471 inhabitants.
26 January 2019 - According to preliminary data collected by Statistical Office of Montenegro - MONSTAT, the total foreign trade of Montenegro for the period January-December 2018 amounted to 2.954,4 million EUR, indicating an increase of 10% in relation to the same period of the previous year.
The export of goods amounted to 400 million EUR, and the value of imports was estimated to be 2,554 million EUR. Compared to the same period of the previous year, exports increased by 7,7%, while imports increased by 10,9%.
The coverage of import by export was 15,7% and it was lower compared to the same period of the previous year (16,1%).
According to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), the most common export products, which amounted to 107,2 million EUR, including sector 6 products: non-ferrous metals - 74 million EUR and iron and steel – 18,9 million EUR and others.
According to the SITC, the most common import products are Machines and transport devices (sector 7) in the amount of 638.1 million EUR. Machines and transport devices include Road vehicles – 187,2 million EUR and Electrical machinery, apparatus and devices – 124,3 million EUR and others.
The largest foreign trade partners in exports were: Serbia (93 million EUR), Hungary (46 million EUR) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 million EUR).
The largest foreign trade partners in import were Serbia (492 million EUR), China (257 million EUR) and Germany (235 million EUR). The foreign trade of goods was mostly conducted with the signatories of CEFTA and with the member countries of the European Union.
25 January 2019 - The implementation of the largest Turkish investment project in Montenegro, which is the construction of a hotel with two towers with 15 floors, is being prohibited by the Municipality of Budva, yet the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro recently gave its consent to the preliminary design.
However, the question remains whether the investment will succeed, given the numerous problems, including property-legal relations for the land.
The Podgorica-based company "Mia Investments" of the Turkish founders intends to build a five-star hotel at the attractive land complex at the Adriatic Fair, only ten meters from the Slovenska plaža (beach), which would consist of two towers - 15-story solitaire.
Chairman of the board of directors of "Mia Investments" is Sener Ahmet Ozan, while members of the board are Kader Murat, Tito Orfea and Arikan Habip.
The land complex consists of about 8,500 square metres, which is still in the cadastral register registered with the company "Safiro Beach Resort", whose founder is the company "Expom Hotel Partners Limited" based in Cyprus.
The construction of the towers is being prevented by the Municipality of Budva, which opposes building a multi-story building on the coast itself.
In August 2018, the Turkish company submitted a request to the chief architect of the Municipality of Budva to give the consent to the preliminary design, but the procedure was terminated after the Property Protection Secretariat was recognized as a party within the proceedings.
The construction of the two towers in Budva would be the most significant investment of Turkish investors in the Montenegrin hotel business. However, it is known that with the new legal solutions, the builders of 5-star hotels have the opportunity to sell half of the units as apartments for the market. Although a detailed urban plan "Budva Centre" covering this site has been put off for two years, only hotels are allowed to be built within the municipality.
Source: Investitor
23 January 2019 - Four halls of the former factory “Radoje Dakić” will be sold to companies Lojal and Voli Trade through the procedure of direct agreement, as decided by a trustee in bankruptcy, Mladen Marković, reports Pobjeda daily.
Marković opted for such a decision due to, as he said, previous unsuccessful sales through public competition as no one was interested in this part of the property.
Voli Trade submitted an offer for 10.000 EUR below the estimated price, for a hall of 1.497 square meters. The estimated value of the hall is 41.500 EUR.
The Lojal company from Nikšić offered 190.000 EUR for the property estimated at 625.100 EUR, that is, for three halls covering the total area of 15.000 square meters.
The Law Office Prelević, representing 339 different creditors, strongly disagrees with such Marković’s decision. This Office filed an objection to the judge in bankruptcy, Blažo Jovanić, noting that selling the factory’s property via public competition or public collection of offerings would be a much more convenient option.
The company Voli Trade recently also bought two parcels of the former factory "Radoje Dakić" for 5.65 million EUR, where they plan to build the most modern hypermarket in this part of Europe. The bankruptcy administration of the factory confirmed the purchase of 19,960 square meters of land.
Tivat and Podgorica airports are eight and ninth in the list of ten busiest airports in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. At the top of the list published yesterday by ExYU aviation is the airport "Nikola Tesla" in Belgrade, which in 2018 had 5.64 million passengers. Tivat, with1.24 million passengers, is in the eighth place, ahead of Podgorica, which had about 40,000 passengers less. The last one on the list is Sarajevo with 1.04 million passengers.
Last year, Podgorica had a 14.5% increase, placing it third in the fastest growing airports in ex-Yu behind Pristina airport, which had an increase of 14.6% and Skopje with 15.5%.
This is the result of Podgorica's achievement due to the Business Strategy of the Airports of Montenegro to concentrate the traffic of most of the so-called legacy and low-cost airline, while Tivat airport is of a seasonal character and is oriented towards charter airlines. Last year, Tivat had a growth of 10.3%, which makes it fifth in the list.
Text by Sinisa Lukovic, on January 23rd 2019, read more at Vijesti
23 January 2019 - Foreign legal and natural persons have the right to establish a company in Montenegro under the same conditions as nationals. The most common forms of companies are: limited liability company (LLC) and joint stock company (JSC).
All regulations regarding the establishment, operation and taxation system are compliant with European standards with benefits for foreign investors. The deadline for registration with the Commercial Court is a maximum of 4 days, while other duties (statistics – company registration number, entry into the tax records, opening a current account, registration in customs records) are completed within a maximum of 3 days.
The process of establishing a limited liability company (LLC) is defined by the Law on Business Organizations (http://www.mipa.co.me/en/legislation/). When registering an LLC, it is necessary to download and submit the following to the Central Registry of Business Entities – CRBE (http://www.crps.me/):
- Develop Articles of Incorporation of the company, download an example of articles of incorporation for a single-member company (if one founder founds the company);
- Download an example of the Articles of Incorporation for a multi-member company (if several founders establish the company);
- Draw up a Decision on the establishment of the company (if one founder establishes the company), download an example of the Decision on the Establishment;
- Develop an incorporation agreement (if several founders establish the company), download an example of the incorporation agreement;
- Pay €10 into the account of the Tax Administration, account number: 832-3161-26, payment purpose: registration of LLC. Payment slip example on the website of CRBE;
- Step 4. Pay €12 into the account of the Official Gazette of MNE, account number: 520- 941100-57, payment purpose: registration of LLC. Payment slip example on the website of CRBE;
- Certify the decision/agreement in 2 copies at the court, or by a notary;
- Extract from the Central Depository Agency. When taking over the extract, it is needed to submit a copy of the identity card of the founder or a certified copy of the passport if the founder is a foreigner and a payment slip in the amount of €5.08 paid to the bank account of CDA: 510-8092-14, payment purpose: extract a fee. Payment slip example on the website of CRBE;
- A copy of the identity card (if the founder is a Montenegrin national) or a certified copy of passport (if the founder is a foreign national). Certify at the court or by a notary;
- Fill in the application of the company to start registration, download the registration form – PS 01; Tariff number – if the company wants to import and export products, when filling in the PS-01 form, it is necessary to mark the column numbered 15.4. Customs Register on the back page, for the company to be registered at the Customs Administration, on the occasion of which a tariff number is received;
- If the company wants to apply for registration of taxpayers for value-added tax (VAT), the PR VAT – 1 form will be filled in and submitted together with other documents required for setting up a business;
- If the company wants to apply for registration into the register of excise duty payers, the AKC – P form will be filled in and submitted together with other documents required for setting up a business;
- Submit the collected and certified documents (Articles of Incorporation, certified decisions/agreements in 2 copies, CDA’s decision, copy of the ID or certified passport in 2 copies, payment slips and the application for registration, form pr pdv-1/akc-p) to the Central Registry of Tax Administration, Marka Miljanova 54, 81000 Podgorica, Tel: +382 (0) 20 230 858, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., working hours 08:30 – 12:00.
When submitting documents, a certificate will be issued including the number of the decision, to be presented together with an identification document upon the collecting the certificate of registration, seven days from the date of filing the application.
After obtaining the company registration certificate, it is necessary to do the following:
- make a seal;
- open a bank account;
- register workers at the Tax Administration.
The incorporation agreement states the founding stake (which may be in cash, goods and rights), as well as the percentage ratio of the founders in the management and distribution of profits. The founding stake for the establishment of an LLC is at least €1.00.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro
23 January 2019 - Prime Minister Duško Marković held the regular meeting with the heads of the Tax Administration, Customs Administration and the Administration for Inspection Affairs of Montenegro. The total tax debt was reduced by around 140 million EUR.
The meeting noted excellent results in the field of economic policy, consolidation of public finances and collection of revenues. Director of the Tax Administration Miomir M. Mugoša highlighted that 117 million EUR more were collected in 2018 than in 2017. Director of the Customs Administration Vladan Joković said that this body collected 80 million EUR more in 2018 than in 2017, while Director of Administration for Inspection Affairs of Montenegro Alija Košuta emphasised that they carried out over 57 thousand inspections last year and issued nearly 15 thousand misdemeanor orders worth 5.1 million EUR.
PM Marković stressed that in the coming period, there should be a comprehensive and continuous activity of inspections, police, and prosecutors to prevent the grey economy more efficiently.
"Fighting the grey economy is an important support for achieving our basic priority, which is the continuation of dynamic economic growth, development, job creation and an increase in living standards," the Prime Minister said.
He added that a particular focus would be placed on the areas where the illegal activity is the greatest, such as tourism, construction, and the labour market.
Activities on combating the grey economy will be supported by legislative interventions as well as by strengthening institutional capacities such as the establishment of the Tax Police in the Tax Administration and the budget inspection within the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Milutin Simović and Zoran Pažin, Ministers of Finance, Economy and Tourism Darko Radunović, Dragica Sekulić and Pavle Radulović, as well as Director of the Police Directorate Veselin Veljović and High State Prosecutor Miloš Šoškić.
22 January 2019 - A more detailed list of priority infrastructure projects, which was completed at the end of last year, comprises 62 projects whose total worth amounts 5,68 billion EUR. After the National Investment Commission took into consideration the list, the Government adopted the new document on 26 December. The previous record contained 36 of them. A month later, the list was updated, and then, at the end of the year, the number of projects and their value doubled.
Nine projects out of 62 belong to the domain of energy, and for their purposes, 1.178,44 million EUR will be invested, while seven are from the area of the environment. Costs for 12 projects from the field of transport infrastructure amount 3.387,9 million EUR.
There are three new businesses from the domain of digital infrastructure and they are 32,945 million EUR worth, while fifteen are from the field of social activities and sixteen are from other infrastructure.
According to the Strategic Relevance of the project, two projects made it to the top. Also, reconstruction and modernization of the railway from Bar to Vrbnica were marked with 96% of relevance.
Development of the infrastructure for the broadband Internet access, necessary for spreading New Generation Network belongs to the same category. This way, broadband networks would be available even in those areas where there’s no commercial interest.
From the segment of transport, works on the motorway Bar-Boljare, as well as the fast lane along the Montenegrin coastline are marked with more than 90% of importance. As far as the sector of environment protection, such priority is given to the construction of plants for wastewater treatment in Podgorica.
Novi Sad, January 21, 2019 - In line with its strategic focus, MK Group continues to invest in the sectors of agriculture, banking and tourism in Southeastern Europe and plans to invest an additional 500 million euros in this area over the next five years, as a celebration of 35 years of business, highlighting the successful results achieved by the company during over three decades of existence
When we founded the MK Group, we had three employees, and now that number is 7,000 people. All of them are responsible for the success we have achieved, for all the opportunities and chances that have turned into successful results," said Miodrag Kostić, president of the MK Group and added that one of the greatest successes in the past is the fact that during all 35 years the company remains a reliable partner.
"During 35 years of business our company has remained a reliable support for its employees, associates, partners, but above all for 74 local communities in which we work. Thanks to this approach, one domestic company has become a regional leader in agriculture, banking and tourism, on which, you agree, we can all be proud of," concluded Kostić.
Dušan Radičević, financial director of MK Group, reviewed the results achieved in the past and plans for the future: "In the past year, we opened the Sheraton hotel in Novi Sad, we became the majority owner of Portoroz airport, we increased the shares in Gorenje Bank, and are now closing the strategic decision to merge our company members, MK Commerce and Agroglobe. We are very determined to strengthen the position of the Southeast Europe leader in the years to come, in the key areas of our business. Since our foundation, we have invested a billion euros in business, and how far our plans for the future are ambitious, is shown by our intention to invest an additional half a billion euros in agriculture, banking and tourism in Serbia and the region for the next five years."
Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Marko Čadež, who attended the celebration, pointed out that MK Group best contributes to the growth of the Serbian economy:
"MK Group is not just a company that secures salaries for 7,000 employees every month, work for another 200,000 people and hundreds of other partner companies, which pays 109 million euros in taxes and contributions annually and as the largest exporter of our agriculture, strongly contributes to Serbian performance on the international market. It is also a regional leader in the areas in which it operates. The MK Group, with its 75-member companies, is the best proof that Serbia has large business systems able to participate with the strongest competition, investing seriously both at home and abroad, and successful businessmen who are strategically thinking of investing in expansion, modernization and boosting business efficiency, strengthening the positions of their companies and the Serbian economy in the region and the world. "
Miljan Ždrale, EBRD Regional Director for the Agribusiness Sector in Central and South-Eastern Europe, emphasized that MK Group is a reliable partner and associate.
"Companies such as the MK Group represent important drivers of economic and business growth in the Adriatic region's markets. Through our cooperation, we have come to realize that MK Group is developing thanks to the significant improvement of the corporative management, which is one more quality compared to some companies that rely solely on the management of one man. From everything we have gone through with MK Group Management, I am confident that they will expect even better results in the future. Out of this benefit will certainly have about 30,000 cooperators, who together with MK Group handle 265,000 hectares of cultivable areas. I look forward to the new MK Group projects in the future, and I wish them a lot of luck in their future business, "said Ždrale.
During the celebration of this significant jubilee, MK Group's new visual identity and values, as well as managers of all the divisions that operate within the MK Group system, were presented.
Text by PROMO, on January 22nd 2019, read more at Vijesti
21 January 2019 - Montenegro and Albania should join forces to make the best of common potentials in many areas such as water management, tourism and agriculture, Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković and President of Albania Ilir Meta agreed at the meeting that took place in Podgorica.
"The economic prospects of the two countries are serious, and the two governments should do everything to use them," said Prime Minister Marković, adding that bilateral political relations are at a very high level.
The Prime Minister noted the remarkable economic growth achieved during the Government's mandate and said that it is committed to improving the quality of life of citizens.
He pointed out the special development potentials of the north of the country, adding that the Government is committed to implementing infrastructure projects, including the road from Podgorica via Dinoša to Cijevna Zatrijebačka, worth 11 million EUR, which is of particular importance for the residents of Plav and Gusinje.
Both sides emphasised the importance of promoting rights and contribution of minority communities that strengthen and enhance the partnership and friendship between Montenegro and Albania.
The meeting also discussed the importance of peace and stability in the region, and in that context, the importance of the membership of both countries in NATO, emphasising the significance of European integration as well. Prime Minister Marković said that Montenegro supports Albania's EU bid, adding that country is willing to transfer knowledge and experience from its negotiation process.
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