INVESTORS CONFIDENCE - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Since 2007, we have invested BAM 10,000,000 in the development of production facilities in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The main reason for the investment in Bosnia, was my decision to help my homeland after the war. Also, the relatively low labor costs and the short distance from the EU border to Kozarac (near Prijedor) were other reasons for making my decision to invest here.

The overall experience has been positive. Despite certain technical barriers that arise (slow administration, complicated legal regulations, possible corruption), it is not necessary to lapse the investment because in the end, investment in production and work in Bosnia and Herzegovina pays off.

As for recommendations to the governments, there is a need for more positive energy through the media, on-the-field work with older companies that, as an example, can be used to represent the country and its capabilities...Also the taxes need to be reduced in relation to the ones in the surrounding countries.

If the above remarks were to be enforced, I think there would be plenty of new investments that would improve the overall ambience of the country itself and stop the young people from leaving the country.

Perutnina Ptuj-BH doo Breza has been operating since April 2008 as the member of the PP Group, and is the most modern plant for processing poultry meat in Southeastern Europe. Already in the first year of work, the company produced 2,165,000 kilograms of various poultry products, while the entire profit was reinvested in the construction of distribution capacities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expansion of the retail network and the procurement of additional technological equipment.

We were, amongst other benefits, attracted to Bosnia and Herzegovina by competitive labor force prices in comparison to high professional standards of local employees. Also, in the first years of operation, we had enjoyed tax policies which were highly in favor of foreign investors. A stable local currency pegged to Euro, low inflation rate as well as the rising incentives towards integration into the EU market, were additional levers for us to invest and settle in this area.

Besides the benefits already mentioned, we could add the existence of a well-developed institutional network for foreign investment promotion, simplified start-up procedures, and comparative advantages of Bosnia and Herzegovina in certain areas in relation to other CEFTA countries….

However, there is still a lot of space for improvement – i.e. the pace of conducting EU integration processes must be accelerated, the infrastructure modernized, the business regulations aligned and duly implemented across Bosnia and Herzegovina economic space, the efficiency of administration improved,… In this way it is possible to diminish the political instability as well as the economic ‘grey zones’ and thus create the environment for even greater investments.

Through developing production, retail and distribution network, increasing the number of employees, reinvesting into infrastructure and equipment year by year, Perutnina Ptuj-BH doo Breza has managed to successfully realize the investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina and justify all investor’s expectations. All this clearly takes time, hard work and commitment…that is our message for future investors in this country.

In order to attract a much larger number of foreign investors to consider investing into Bosnia and Herzegovina, the governments of all levels in the country ought to closely cooperate and work together. They should be led by the fact that the whole country would certainly benefit from new employment generated by foreign direct investments, which would eventually boost the economic development and living standard for all the citizens.

We expect the Reform Agenda to be fully implemented and thus provide impetus for improvements in overall economic, social and political scenes of the region. Large infrastructure and other development projects should be set in motion by this process. Hence inevitably, this must also include special policies for creating favorable environment for both the FDIs, and for doing business in general.