SERBIA:

EC approves acquisition of Slovenia's Gorenje by Hisense
China's Hisense Group, client of ILIRIKA, was approved by the European Commission to complete acquisition of sole control of Slovenia's white goods manufacturer Gorenje. The acquisition process was successfully managed and supported by an investment firm ILIRIKA dd Ljubljana, since it provided counseling and brokerage for Hisense.
Source: europa.eu, Ilirika

TGAS: Messer planning new investments in Serbia – Problem lies in complicated procedures
The CEO of Messer Tehnogas (TGAS), Ernst Bode, says in his interview with Nase Novine, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy after the exit of Americans from the Smederevo steel mill. With the arrival of the Chinese partner, HBIS Group, the factory has been saved, and Bode says that there's a new round of investments, in which they are once again investing in new, modern machines. According to him, the company is currently using around 90% of its capacities, and the plan is to expand the production program. We want to invest, but it's still not easy to invest in Serbia. There are still limitations, such as the problems regarding land conversion and ownership, complicated procedures and courts, which are quite slow. We have ideas, funds and motivation, but the cumbersome procedures are a problem – Bode said in his interview with Nase Novine and added that their most important purchasers were HBIS Group, RTB Bor, HIP Petrohemija and the Pancevo Refinery.
Source: Ekapija

Ub-Lajkovac section to be repaired by end-November
The section of Corridor 11 from Ub to Lajkovac will be repaired by the end of November, and the job will be executed by the consortium of the Chinese company Shandong Hi Speed Group and the Azerbaijani company Azvirt, as the local companies Planum and Putevi Uzice didn't want to do this job in line with the project, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction Zorana Mihajlovic said. The minister said that the section would be ready for the opening of the entire 102-km Corridor 11 stretch from Obrenovac to Preljina.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Serbia posts budget surplus of 49.1bln dinars (416.1 mln euro) in Jan-July
Serbia's budget balance was in surplus of 49.1 billion dinars ($482.4 million/416.1 million euro) in the first seven months of 2018, finance minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday without giving comparative data. In July, Serbia's government said it expects to record a budget surplus equivalent to 0.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, compared to a planned deficit of 0.7% of GDP for last year.
Source: SeeNews

INO:

Nasdaq posts longest winning streak since March as Amazon and Facebook rise, European stocks close mixed on earnings, new trade tariffs
The Nasdaq Composite closed marginally higher on Wednesday, notching its longest winning streak since March, as shares of Facebook and Amazon rose. But the rest of the market closed little changed after the unveiling of new Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 45.16 points to close at 25,583.75, with Disney as the biggest laggard. The S&P 500 closed just below the flatline at 2,857.70 as consumer staples underperformed.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced a 25 percent charge on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods. The goods being targeted by China include vehicles such as large passenger cars and motorcycles. Various fuels are on the list, as well as fiber optical cables. Shares of big exporters Caterpillar and Boeing fell 1.9 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
European stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as investors kept a close eye on corporate earnings and trade tension. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended trade 0.2 percent lower on Tuesday. While the French and German bourses closed below the flat line, the U.K. FTSE was up 0.7 percent.
Novo Nordisk ended trade down by almost 6 percent after posting lower-than-expected second-quarter sales.
Dutch lender ABN AMRO closed 3.5 percent higher after reporting stronger-than-expected profits for the second quarter of the year. Meanwhile tire maker Nokian Renkaat ended the day 3.4 percent higher after reporting results that beat analysts' forecasts.
At the other end of the spectrum, Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize finished 1.6 percent in the red after reporting a decline in second-quarter sales.
Source: CNBC