14 January 2019 - Secretary General of the Association of Banks of Montenegro, Bratislav Pejaković, said that the potential danger from money laundering “does exist”, but that the banking system was capable of defending any such attempt.

“We must be aware of the fact that our market is so small and, therefore, it is not interesting for some major transactions that are very visible in a small world. That we can read about some big banks from the developed countries is something we are not familiar with. However, there is a slight danger, but I think we are capable of defending ourselves,” Pejaković said.

Considering the indicators, such as deposits, liquidity, solvency, from the systemic point of view we can say that measures imposed by the Central Bank on Atlas and IBM did not affect work of individual banks in Montenegro, nor did it worsen the systemic indicators.

“We support every attempt to find optimal solutions for the recovery of the Atlas Bank and IBM bank as soon as possible,” says Pejaković.

He reminds that deposits by a client of up to 50.000 EUR are protected.

“There are several levels of reaction and establishment of sustainability of regular operation and stability of financial position of a credit institution. Bank reserve is described in the balance sheets of the bank. Apart from the quality placement of credit assets, a bank also disposes of property, and minimum reserves at the Central Bank used for maintaining the liquidity of an individual bank. What is defined as a loss and what affects the capital and solvency, does not necessarily mean that it will not be solved partially or totally, sometime in the future? What seems problematic today, does not have to be a loss,” concluded Pejaković.

Source: Cafe del Montenegro

14 January 2019 - A consortium of the Czech Philibert and Petrovac-based Vila Oliva submitted a sole bid in the public tender for the sale of 56.4806% of the share capital of the Institute for Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Rheumatology Dr Simo Milošević AD Igalo.

In line with the 2018 Privatisation Plan, the Tender Commission for Privatisation started activities on drafting and implementing the tender for the sale of the share capital of the Institute. During 2018, several letters were delivered about the intentions of potential investors for the privatisation of the Institute, three bidders were registered in the public tender (purchased the tender documentation and signed the Confidentiality Statement), but only the bid by the consortium of the Czech Philibert, which is part of the Cimex Group, and Villa Oliva was submitted within the set deadline.

The public tender for the sale of 56.4806% of the share capital of the Institute Dr Simo Milošević was announced on 16 October 2018, with the deadline for submission of bids until 14 January 2019 at 12:00.

The public invitation and the tender documentation define the qualifying conditions and the minimum conditions the bidder has to fulfill to enable the offer to be taken into consideration. The fulfillment of the Qualification Conditions will be evaluated after receiving and opening the package with the bid.

The Tender Commission will not consider bids that do not meet the minimum requirements. The submitted bid will be opened at a session of the Commission to be held this week.

After the opening of the bid, the Commission will examine whether it meets the qualification requirements, after which, within 15 days from the day of its opening, it will be evaluated regarding its quality in line with the criteria defined by the Instructions to Bidders.

After the conducted tender, the Tender Commission will submit the report on the results of the tender to the Privatisation and Capital Projects Council for adoption.

13 January 2019 - The growth of the economy in the current year is going to be much higher than the projected 2,8%. It will not be as high as it was last year, but it will significantly exceed the official forecasts, around 4%. Judging by all indicators, I am definitely sure that positive trends will continue, said Božo Mihailović, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montenegro.

“This growth should be based on investments in agriculture, the energy sector, tourism, and the total real sector. This year as well, Montenegro will be an attractive investment destination. I welcome high capital budget for the current year since it will be a driving force. Our economy records high foreign trade activity, 12,2% is very high growth, considering all the problems we are faced with,” says Mihailović.

A significant problem of our economy is public debt as Mihailović stressed.

“By 31st September of 2018, it amounted to 3,093 billion EUR, or 67% of GDP. Internal debt amounts 460 million EUR. The old economic rule says that debt does not necessarily mean huge problem, but the key question is what the cause of indebtedness is,” pointed out Mihailović.

Mihailović also commented on the strategy of economic development saying that it listed key segments that should be in the focus- agriculture, energy sector, tourism, industry to a certain extent.

“I point out the small and medium-sized industry. Particularly, renewable energy resources, solar energy, wind energy. We have to focus on increasing the real economy because it is the only stable economy. Different political and other factors influence it the least," concluded Mihailović

January 14, 2019 - According to Dr Radoje Lausevic from the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor, the manager of the Monte Aqua project, an aquarium with 16 pools of 250 m² built under the Marine Biodiversity Conservation Center, the Institute will open in June 2020 instead of June this year.

January 14, 2019 - A retrospective exhibition of artworks produced during the activation program of the Spanjola Fortress from 2016 to 2018, organised by NGO Sinergija, will be opened on Saturday, 19 January at 7 pm in the lobby of Park Hall in Herceg Novi.

14 January 2019 - The University of Montenegro is highly ranked on the list of the world's top universities in the category of the highest number of citations based on the Google Scholar profile, published by Webometrics.

The "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities", a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain, has recently published the "Transparent Ranking: Top Universities by Citations in the Top Google Scholar Profiles" List.

Google Scholar Citations, which the Ranking is based on, offers authors an easy way to track the citations of their articles. An individual can check who is citing their publications, chart citations over time, and calculate various citation metrics. A useful feature is also the option to publish a profile to appear in Google Scholar results when someone searches for a specific name.

The list contains 6,117 universities, and the University of Montenegro ranked 1633, making the University better positioned than most state universities in the region.

Namely, the University of Montenegro was not present on last year’s Ranking, which was a consequence of the non-recognition of the then domain of the University "ac.me". Having learned about the problem that prevented the University from appearing within the List, the University administration took all necessary measures, including changing the domain to “ucg.ac.me”, which resulted in this year's ranking.

According to the Rectorate, the significant positioning of University on the list of world universities is a result of the dedicated work of its professors and associates and the quality of their scientific research.

The original goal of the Webometrics Ranking was to promote Web publishing. Supporting Open Access initiatives, electronic access to scientific publications and other academic material are the primary targets of this research group. Webometrics also intends to motivate both institutions and scholars to have a web presence that accurately reflects their activities.

January 14, 2019 - Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism announced a tender for the selection of bidders for creating a Nautical Tourism Development Strategy. The aim is to analyse the potential of Montenegro and to assess whether the marine capacity of the state meets the standards expected by the target market.

Ski center Kolasin 1450, during the weekend, was visited by 3 000 guests. According to the director of the ski resort, Dijana Bulatovic, the ski trails are arranged, and the snow between 70 to 90 cm has enabled the enjoyment of visitors from all over Montenegro, as well as from Albania, Serbia, Russia, Germany and China.

"The ski resort was working in its full capacity. The six-seater Vilina Voda cable car was operational, as well as the two-seater lifts Cupovi, ski lift Jezerine and the baby lift, and all the trails within them.

All lovers of winter sports can rent all the necessary equipment for skiing and cross-country skiing, and the ski school has also been organized," she said. She notes that at that ski resort, among other things, you can rent children's snowmobiles. A good visit to the Ski Center Kolasin 1450 is expected in the next few days.

Text by Dragana Scepanovic, on January 2019, read more at Vijesti

For me, the carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is far better than the most luxurious Persian carpet, said Helen Keler, an American writer and fighter for the rights of people with disabilities.

It seems that this maxim is also followed by a woman from Niksic Marina Kovacevic, winner of the prize “Iskra” for civil contribution to the common good. Her "carpet" is the meadow of Zupa in Niksic, the place from which she originates, in which she lives and tries to promote as much as possible.

"Marina Kovacevic is an example of how an individual can initiate, promote, create, and influence the changes. She is the coordinator of “Morakovo”, responsible for the agro-tourism cluster "Zupa", but before that, and above all, she is a lover of the natural beauties and potentials of her homeland and someone who, by connecting and networking the organizations, associations, households, and local self-government, wants to get the most out of it for the benefits of Zupa," they said at the ceremony.

"Prizes are the incentive for further work, so this one will encourage me as well. I will continue to work in the same direction until Zupa becomes an example in Montenegro for sustainable agritourism," says Kovačević for "Vijesti". Ten years ago, she founded NGO "Morakovo " and since then she has been trying to present to everyone what Župa has to offer and with which it can and must be proud, but also what can be used.

Since the 1970s, there has been an initiative for Zupa to connect with Kolašin. This is the closest link from the sea to the north of Montenegro, and to Zupa and Niksic, and it would be very significant. I think that by building this road Zupa will become an example in Montenegro and the region for sustainable agritourism. 

"Zupa has huge potential for doing business with agriculture and tourism, human resources, which is also the most important for the development of the villages, the cultural, natural and historical potential that only a few areas have in Montenegro, a school with around 600 students, educated young people," lists Marina.

And the list is indefinable. Therefore, she would never, as she says, change Zupa for a life in the city. And why would she, when Zupa "has almost all conditions for a modern and quality life".

For the last six months, she is responsible in the Agri-tourism cluster "Zupa" where she tries to get the most for the benefits of Župa by connecting and networking organizations, associations, households and local self-government. "I think that anyone, whether it is in the civil sector or not, can initiate, promote, create and influence changes in their community. I admit that I am a lover of the natural beauty and the potentials of my homeland.

Marina reminds that Zupa has a great potential

While many talk about the exodus of the villages, she is trying to prove that the villages can "live", that this process, truth to be told, is going slow but it does not mean we should give up because "there is no life without a village."

"There are models of support for young farmers in Montenegro, but I think that there should be more recognition in the Ministry of Agriculture to see exactly who these young people are, give them wind in the back and promote them more. Only in Lukavica there is a dozen 'young' families who are successfully dealing with agriculture, and who have not used any measure of support. The media should also visit and promote young farmers, together with the civil sector, to influence decision-makers in order to create conditions for sustainable agriculture and rural tourism."

Although, she says, every individual can contribute to the affirmation of the region in which she or he lives, however, in her opinion, only united, with quality and tradition this can be successful.

Text by Svetlana Mandic, on January 13th 2019, read more at Vijesti

Further growth of exports requires more intense activities of producers oriented towards marketing, as well as the association of domestic companies due to limited quantities, product range and financial resources, announced the Chamber of Commerce (PKCG).

"The creation of clusters and/or other forms of association eliminates the problem of fragmentation of production and insufficient production capacities and contributes to the strengthening of competitiveness," PKCG representatives told Mina-business agency.

They believe that to substitute imports with domestic production and export growth; it is necessary to work on strengthening the quality of the domestic supply, better position domestic products and link agriculture and tourism.

This, as PKCG stated, should work through the projects “Goods from Montenegro” (“Dobro iz Crne Gore”), “Let’s buy domestic products” (“Kupujmo domaće”), “Domestic flavors” (“Domaći ukusi”).

PKCG announced that a large number of products, especially agricultural foods, are unnecessarily imported, as there are capacities - domestic production, which could satisfy the bulk of domestic demand.

"We are known to produce high-quality beverages, meat and meat products, dairy products, honey, olives. Untapped possibilities are the richness of various medicinal and self-cultivated plants, then in forest areas of mushrooms, honey plants, forest fruits, as well as huge unused potential in the field of organic production, freshwater and marine fisheries," said PKCG.

High and persistent commodity deficits, as they have estimated, require further structural reforms, accompanied by a significant increase in productivity. PKCG reminded that the total foreign exchange trade of Montenegro from January to the end of November last year, according to the preliminary data of Monstat, amounted to 2.7 billion euros, which is 12.2 percent more than in the same period of 2017. Import coverage by export was 15.6 percent. "Imports of goods for the first 11 months of last year amounted to 2.34 billion euros. From Serbia, as the main partner, the most imported were beverages, alcohols and vinegar, plastics and plastic products, "they added from PKCG.

The export was realized for 363.9 million euros, and in Serbia, the most exported were pharmaceutical products and mineral fuels and mineral oils.

"The commodity deficit is mainly a consequence of the realization of the started investment projects, as well as the import of products that we cannot produce and must be imported," it was concluded by PKCG.

Text by MINA Business, on January 13th 2019, read more at Vijesti