The Russia-Ukraine war: Serbia attracts hundreds of Russian companies seeking to avoid sanctions

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine seven weeks ago and the West’s severe financial sanctions against Moscow, more than 300 Russian companies and companies have settledor in Serbia, a close ally of Russia, with the aim of continuing its business and activities in the European market.

of the near 1,400 companies in Serbia with Russian participationAlmost a quarter -318- have been created in the last six weeks, according to data from the Balkan country’s Economic Records Agency.

In addition, another six companies with Ukrainian owners were founded in the same period.

Serbia, a candidate for entry into the European Union (EU), is the only European country that maintains air connections with Russia and has not joined the sanctions on that country.

with the EU

“These companies are counting on Serbia will be able to do business with the EU. That is the most important thing for them,” Serbian economist Aleksandar Stevanovic told Efe.

Possibly they are medium-sized companies, whose arrival is “a positive result from the neutral position” from Serbia, added the economist.

“I think the crucial aspect is that they believe that there will be nothing in Serbia that will jeopardize their business,” Stevanovic said.

Nebosja Nesovanovic, from the CBRE consultancy, told Efe that Western companies have also settled in Belgrade, transferring their operations from Russia to Serbia. in order to continue operating the Russian market.

“At the beginning of the crisis, a month and a half ago, Belgrade was very attractive to many companies as a good short-term solution, especially for international ones, to maintain the continuity of their business,” explains Nesovanovic.

flexible companies

Most of the new companies are from the information technology sectorsuch as computer programming and consultancy, and some are engaged in wholesale trade.

“Firms that do business here, at the moment, normally work in the common workspace, in offices that are rented short-term and that are already equippeds”, detail Nesovanovic.

Your employees are Russian citizens They work for European and American companies and are not under any kind of sanctions, says the expert, so they should not pose a problem for Serbia.

The first “wave of arrivals” of companies has now largely ended and now they will have to decide where to locate their businesses in the long termand it is not possible to predict how many will remain in Serbia.

“They have accepted Belgrade as a short-term solution, but on the other hand they think of long-term solutions,” says Nesovanovic.

The future

The experts consulted by Efe in Belgrade point out that the eventual permanence of these Russian and Ukrainian companies can have a positive impact on the local economy in the medium term.

“The arrival of foreign investors, albeit for sad reasons, is good for Serbia“, assures Stevanovic, who expresses his hope that the EU does not end up sanctioning Serbia for allowing Russian citizens to do business on its territory or for not imposing punitive measures against Russia.

“If Serbia is sanctioned, would that mean more Europe and more security in Serbia, or would it mean more Russia and more insecurity?” the economist asked.

It also recalls the important role they played for the cultural, economic, architectural and academic development of Serbia. russian emigrants who arrived after the First World War in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia, fleeing the Bolshevik revolution.

For this reason, Stevanovic advocates that Serbia “proclaim itself as an open country, because it lacks half a million workers to be able to execute ambitious development plans.”

Source: EFE

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