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bne December 2017 Companies & Markets I 13
most difficult thing is to show people how to make steel and how to understand the technology. Zenica already had this.”
ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 19 countries. These include countries like Mexico, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, all of which have a tradition of steelmaking.
ArcelorMittal’s website stresses Zenica’s history in the indus- try; people have been producing metals for a millennium thanks to the area’s natural resources, large coal deposits, and the communication lines along the Bosna river valley. The steelworks itself dates back to when a group of Austrian industrialists set up Iron and Steel Works Zenica in 1892 – part of the first major wave of industrialisation in Europe, that extended as far as Bosnia.
When discussing the decision to invest in Bosnia, Nair
also talks of the sympathy felt by people around the world towards Bosnia because of what the country endured during the wars of the 1990s. “I was not here in 2004, but definitely
I can feel that some emotions must have also played cards. When you make an investment in a country like Bosnia, which needs investment and growth, in one way you are supporting that country and in another way you want to benefit from the country’s need for investment, which means you will have the support of the government and the people,” he says.
“So, I would say: knowledge and skills of the people and opportunity,” Nair sums up the decision to invest.
Market challenges and advantages
In addition, despite the severing of many supply chains after war broke out in ex-Yugoslavia and the country fractured, markets for Zenica’s products remained and have a strong reputation. ArcelorMittal Zenica (Zelezara Zenica before the takeover) has for years been the key supplier of long steel products to ex-Yugoslavia. Almost all these countries can be reached by truck, and the company can thus deliver to the door for its customers.
“So, you had a market and customers believing in the products of Zenica. Today, with ArcelorMittal, we have great value from that. You can read between the lines when I say that we always try to connect between the traditions and new knowledge. That’s how we came here,” Nair adds.
Not that is has all been easy. Nair sees political instability as the main challenge for developing business and investment in infrastructure in Bosnia and the wider region.
In addition, concerns have been raised by journalists and envi- ronmental groups about air pollution in Zenica. Nair says the company is now addressing environmental issues. “We have invested in an old factory and it brings environmental chal- lenges. We have invested nearly €50mn in an environmental clean up so far but we have to do more, and the next two or three years are very critical to us to complete our obligations
Russian internet advertising beats TV for first time in
20 years
bne intellinews
Total spending on Internet advertising in Russia was more than spending on TV advertising for the first time ever in January-September 2017.
The total online spend amounted to RUB115-116bn ($2bn), up by 23% year-on-year, according to the survey by the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia (ACAR) cited by the Vedomosti daily on November 9.
For the first time in 20 years internet advertising has caught up with spending on TV ads that stood at RUB116- 117bn in the reporting period and grew at a slower pace of 13%.
Total advertising market in January-September increased by 14% y/y to RUB285bn. In the third quarter, the market grew by 16% y/y.
In the third quarter alone advertisers had spend RUB41bn on internet, beating RUB36.5bn on TV promotion.
In the meantime, this year the media communication market in Russia could peak at an all-time-high
of RUB400bn, the head of ACAR Alexei Kovylov
told Vedomosti. The 14% market growth is the fastest since 2011.
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