Page 7 - bne_newspaper_May_04_2018

The Regions This Week
May 4, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 7
Southeast Europe
Global online retailer Amazon will open its
second development centre in Romania. The new centre will be at the Globalworth Campus in northern Bucharest, while its first was in the eastern city of Iasi.
Serbia’s GDP growth accelerated to 4.5% at the end of the first quarter, President Aleksandar Vucic announced. This represents an upturn from 2017, when the agricultural sector was hit by drought.
Albania started rebuilding several roads with a World Bank loan. Works have started on the Fier-Seman, Pogradec-Tushemisht and Qafe Thore-Theth road sections, Prime Minister
Edi Rama said.
Slovenian aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel will be able to sell its all-electric trainer plane Alpha Electro in the US after being granted airworthiness certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is Pipistrel’s next expansion after it started construction of its new factory in Jurong, China in April.
The Bosnian government is stepping up border controls to prevent migrants from entering.
The Bosnian authorities say that nearly 1,200 migrants mostly from Syria, Pakistan, Libya and Afghanistan have entered Bosnia since the start of 2018 and almost as many were intercepted at the border.
Bulgaria’s domestic industrial producer prices increased 4.8% y/y in March, after rising 4.4% y/y in February. Annual PPI growth has been positive for 16 consecutive months.
Croatian Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli warned of a significant labour shortage in the sector.
The number of vacant jobs in the tourism sector has significantly increased this year and is set to grow further as the country expects another successful tourism season.
Kosovo’s Constitutional Court said that the ratification of a border demarcation deal with Montenegro was legal. The deal was ratified by the Kosovan parliament in March but the opposition Vetevendosje party wants it to be scrapped.
Macedonia expects €100mn to be invested in medical cannabis production, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said. Medical cannabis products were legalised in Macedonia in 2016, and cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oils are already for sale in local pharmacies.
The volume of gross transfers from abroad to Moldovan households increased by 20% y/y to $319mn in Q1, after a 13% y/y advance posted in Q1 2017, according to data published by the central bank. Last year, the gross transfers
to Moldova’s households hit $1.27bn, or 15.6% of GDP.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Montenegro increased by 30.5% y/y to 27,869
n March, after going up by 29.1% y/y in February, the statistics office reported. Montenegro is expecting tourism revenue to exceed €1.5bn
a year by 2026.
Atrium European Real Estate Limited exited the Romanian market, selling its Atrium Militari shopping centre in Bucharest to MAS Real Estate Inc. for €95mn. The company is refocussing on Poland and the Czech Republic.