Serbia receives Chinese investment of 953 million euros

Serbia has secured almost 1 billion euros in new Chinese investment during President Aleksandar Vučić's state visit to Beijing. Vučić made the announcement on May 27 after signing several agreements with leading Chinese industrial and automotive companies. The contracts with a total volume of 953 million euros were concluded with the Minth Group, Shanghai Automotive Chassis (SHAC), BMTS Technology and Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems, among others. "953 million euros is the total investment volume that we have agreed and signed today. This is a huge sum for my country," Vučić wrote on Instagram after the opening of a Chinese-Serbian youth cultural center. The agreements include investments in the Serbian automotive supply industry, industrial production and modern manufacturing technologies. This strengthens Belgrade's strategy to establish itself as a regional center for Chinese investment and high-tech industry. Additional investments were also announced by Linglong Tire and Yusei Holdings. Vučić explained that the talks with Chinese partners were not limited to industrial production, but also included infrastructure, energy and new technologies. According to him, these projects could trigger "a new economic cycle" in Serbia. Focus on the automotive industry The automotive sector accounts for the largest part of the investment package. Two Minth Group projects with a total value of 226 million euros are set to create around 820 jobs in the western Serbian towns of Loznica and Šabac. SHAC is investing 33.5 million euros in a plant in Novi Sad, while BMTS Technologies is planning an automation-oriented investment of 13.3 million euros. Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems plans to invest around 77 million euros in a factory for modern vehicle lighting systems in Niš. Linglong Tire also announced a EUR 566 million expansion of its existing plant in Zrenjanin. This is expected to create around 400 new jobs. Yusei Holdings is planning an investment of 27 million euros in Niš and intends to create around 280 jobs there. During his stay in China, Vučić also visited the Minth Group's innovation center. He emphasized that Serbia could benefit from technology transfer in areas such as robotics and automated production. China is expanding its economic influence The President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, explained that Chinese companies have already invested between 7.7 and 8 billion euros in Serbia. The 37 largest Chinese companies now employ more than 40,000 people in the country. "New major investments are coming - from infrastructure to robotics - and Serbia is becoming increasingly attractive for high-tech projects," Čadež told the state television station RTS. Around 2,000 companies with Chinese capital are currently active in Serbia. According to Čadež, employment in large Chinese companies has risen by around 45% over the past three to four years. Minth founder Qin Ronghua described Serbia as a central production location for his company's European activities. The Serbian plants would supply numerous Minth locations in Europe. "We supply the UK, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and other countries from Serbia. The plants in Serbia function like a large central kitchen for our European plants," said Qin, according to the Tanjug news agency. The post Serbia receives Chinese investment of 953 million euros appeared first on ostwirtschaft.de.