SERBIA:

AERO: Nikola Tesla Airport concessionaire aims at 15 million passengers a year
The French company VINCI Airports - the concession operator of Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport - aims to increase the number of passengers at the airport to 15 mln a year, says Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and president of VINCI Airports. Speaking to the Vecernje novosti daily, he said VINCI Airports was proud to launch operations in Serbia. Following a tender, officials of the Serbian government, the Nikola Tesla Airport and VINCI signed a 25-year concession deal on March 22. VINCI offered to invest 1.46 bln euros in the airport - the sum includes a one-off fee, the minimum annual concession fees and capital investments.
Source: Tanjug

NBS: FDI net inflow EUR 3.2bn in 2018
Serbia's FDI net inflow reached 3.2 bln euros in 2018, exceeding National Bank of Serbia (NBS) expectations. The high FDI net inflow, registered for a fourth consecutive year, was more than sufficient to cover the current account deficit, which led to an increase of foreign exchange reserves and stronger resilience of the domestic economy to external shocks, a press conference on the NBS February Inflation Report was told Wednesday. "In 2018, the current account deficit stood at 2.2 bln euros, its share in GDP (5.2 pct) remaining at the 2017 level. More favourable trends compared to 2017 were recorded in trade in services and on the secondary income account, where surpluses widened, while the deficit on the primary income account contracted.
Source: Tanjug, NBS

NBS expects 3.5% GDP growth rate in 2019 and 4% for 2020
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) forecasts Serbia's GDP growth to be 3.5% this year and accelerate to around 4.0% in the years to come, NBS Vice Governor Zeljko Jovic said Wednesday. At the presentation of the NBS February Inflation Report, Jovic said last year had been marked by positive economic trends and that Serbia's economic programme was continuing to deliver strong results, as also noted by the International Monetary Fund recently.
Source: Tanjug

REGION:

JESV: Jedinstvo started desuplhation project at TENT
TPP Nikola Tesla A has just started desulphation process works, local media reported. As for remembrance, the job is contracted by consortium of Mitsubishi-Hitachi and Jedinstvo Sevojno (JESV). The contract value of the equipment and works for the construction of the unit is around EUR 167m, while a EUR 95.5m of contracted job related to Jedinstvo alone, the company said in a statement through the Belgrade Stock Exchange, in autumn 2017. The deadline for completing the construction works is 36 months.
Source: Tanjug, JESV, Ilirika

INO:

Dow rises for second straight day as Wall Street cheers for possible US-China trade deal, Europe closes higher amid US-China trade deal hopes, Osram surges on takeover talks
Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors grew hopeful that Chinese and U.S. trade authorities would reach an agreement before a deadline in early March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 117.51 points to 25,543.27 as Walgreens Boots Alliance and 3M outperformed. Wednesday also marked the Dow's second straight day of gains. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 2,753.03, led by gains in the industrials and energy sectors. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.08 percent to 7,420.38.
Shares of Hilton Worldwide jumped more than 6 percent after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. The hotel operator said higher hotel-room rates boosted its bottom line.
European stocks closed higher Wednesday, amid renewed optimism the world's two largest economies might be able to resolve their long-running trade dispute. The pan-European Stoxx-600 closed provisionally up around 0.6 percent, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Looking at individual stocks, German lighting firm Osram Licht shot up to the top of the Stoxx 600 in late afternoon trade after confirming a report that it had held talks with Bain Capital and Carlyle Group over a potential joint takeover. Shares surged more than 14 percent.
Meanwhile, ABN Amro tumbled to the bottom of the index. The Dutch bank reported fourth-quarter earnings results way below expectations on Wednesday, as loan impairments jumped. Shares of the company slipped 7 over percent.
Source: CNBC