We are expecting investments from Serbia

All businessmen from Serbia who want to invest here will be entitled to the incentives as German businessmen have who are coming to Serbia.

Banja Luka - Our intention is to open as many production facilities as possible. In this regard, we are counting on Serbia a lot. New legal solutions on economic incentives which follow up to incorporate the announced assistance from Belgrade, shall soon be implemented and would encourage businessmen from Serbia to open plants in Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković says.

"We have created a legal framework that would encourage business corporations to invest in RS. We have had great help from the leadership of Serbia. We received over 30 million euros for various projects, only this year 9.3 million. Now, we are talking about the assistance to boost investments and I am extremely grateful to the political leadership in Belgrade because of this". Prime Minister Viskovic said in his interview with Politika.

In a few days, the Law on Business Incentives shall enter into force

Employers in the real sector who increase the July salaries shall as of 1 July receive a 30 to 70 percent reimbursement for the contributions paid on the account of that increment. Two groups of employers have been differentiated. In the first, the employers whose employees have the lowest salary, from 450 up to 550 BAM (225 to 275 EUR). For each salary increase, 30 percent of the contributions paid for this increase will be returned. For those over that amount, for example  employers whose staff had a salary of BAM 1,000 KM (500 euros) in March and from July get an increase of 100 BAM (50 EUR), 70 percent will be returned of the contributions given for the new increase.

We are trying to increase wages in the real sector and keep people here. Many employers are ready to increase salaries. The employer may reduce the accumulate contributions rate, which is around 60 percent in the RS, and in case salaries are increased twice, taxes and contributions will be 30 instead of 60 percent as now. Employers are encouraged to increase wages and salaries by the law and through the institutions. It is a provisional measure but when we provide a greater collection of funds into the budget, our goal is to reduce the cumulative contribution rate. By 2021, the cumulative rate could amount to 50 percent.

There are currently 267,000 people employed in the RS, the largest number ever since it is measured. Although the unemployment rate in the RS has fallen from 28 percent to 18 percent, it is incorrect that the number on the unemployment record is smaller only because of departures, although people are going, which is not the case only in the Republic of Srpska only, but in a wider region, even Croatia that is in the EU. In the middle of the last year we increased the non-taxable part of the salary from 100 to 250 euros, so EUR 40 million more remained in the real sector. RS co-finances maternity leave from 50 percent, and from January 1, 2020 it will be 100 percent. We have exempted business people from paying taxes on profits for machines and equipment they procure to expand production.

Do you then expect serious investments in the RS?

In Austria, we agreed that some plants from Romania shall be moved to the Republic of Srpska. In the vicinity of Bijeljina, the automobile industry is moving from Poland. Croatian textile industry is being transferred to Bijeljina. We have an announcement of a significant production in Srbac. We are awaiting business talks in Stuttgart. We started construction of Corridor 5C. Jahorina is currently perhaps the largest construction site in the region. We are holding talks with companies from Serbia about privatization of "Levita" in Levče field and "Sugar Factory" in Bijeljina. On the basis of Serbia's promised assistance to encourage businessmen to open facilities in the RS, and through our RS laws, all businessmen from Serbia who want to invest in the RS shall be entitled to incentives as German businessmen coming to Serbia. We are talking about the return of one part of the representative Serbian brands from the Federation of BiH to the RS. Without mixing politics in the economy or intent to influence someone to harm their business. But if a Serbian company in the territory of the Republic of Serbia sells 80 percent of the products, and 20 percent in the FBiH, while all taxes are paid in another entity because they are registered there, we want to open this issue. If the business logic requires that those companies register in FBiH to speed up the business, we will understand. Some companies from Serbia are already returning their offices in the RS. In the next ten years we intend to build new energy facilities of close to a thousand megawatts and become a significant exporter of electricity.

Along the highway route to Belgrade, are you also planning a gas pipeline?

The highway from Doboj via Vukosavlje, Brcko and Bijeljina towards Raca and Belgrade is our priority. We have a lot of understanding in Belgrade. The bridge on the Raca should be built and financed by Serbia. Serbia has announced the assistance to build a section of the highway from Raca towards Bijeljina. In the RS Assembly, we had a decision on the division of the highway, a law will also be passed in order to start with the settlement of property-legal relations and start with construction works as soon as possible. The works on Corridor 5C have just begun. We concluded that, when expropriation for the highway is done, it should also be done for the pipeline, so it will be unified.

Is there a gas pipeline deal with Sarajevo?

Everybody has their own priorities. They think they need to connect via Croatia and Albania, and we believe it should be through Serbia. If there is a problem for our section, it will be for theirs, as clear as that. We already have a gas pipeline from Serbia through Zvornik and further to Bijeljina. Sarajevo is supplied with gas through Zvornik. It is the only connection at the moment to the gas supply in BiH. We already have a point of entry and a branch to Bijeljina and now we continue from Bijeljina towards Banja Luka. It is not possible to make any particular problem here.