Page 6 - bne_newspaper_June_08_2018

The Regions This Week
June 8, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
Southeast Europe
The IMF warned of the risks of the Romanian
economy overheating due to higher inflation and the twin deficits, as well as lagging investment and slower structural reforms. Against this background, the IMF called for a tighter macro- economic policy stance.
The largest shopping mall in Slovenia aims to become the world’s first genuine ‘Bitcoin city’. BTC City in the capital Ljubljana is currently the testing playground for Eligma, the AI-driven and blockchain-based cognitive commerce platform utilised by many different retailers in the shopping complex.
Two Bulgarian ministers are at loggerheads over the fate of beach bars and restaurants in the popular Sunny Beach resort. Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov says they should be demolished, but Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova says she has inspected the beach and found no irregularities.
The net inflow of FDI into Bosnia & Herzegovina increased 60.6% y/y to BAM630.8mn (€322.5mn) in the first nine months of 2017, the Directorate for Economic Planning (DEP) said citing central bank data. The largest volume of investment
is expected in energy and tourism projects, according to the programme.
Zdravko Mamic, once the most powerful man in Croatia football, was sentenced in a corruption case. Zdravko and the other three defendants were charged by the anti-corruption police with tax eva- sion and siphoning off profits from player transfers, including those of Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and Liverpool's Dejan Lovren.
As Macedonia approaches a historic agreement with Greece on the “name dispute” that has prevented it from entering the EU and Nato, opposition to a potential deal ramped up in both countries. A mass rally in Skopje was followed by protests in 25 towns across Greece.
Pro-EU opposition candidate Andrei Nastase won the mayoral election in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. It’s unclear whether the pro-EU parties can deliver an equally impressive surprise in the general elections scheduled for this autumn, since the pro-Russian Socialists dominate the polls with a massive 40% score
Kosovo’s economic performance remains solid, but fiscal risks have increased, the IMF said. The fund said that the Kosovan government’s policies should focus on limiting fiscal
risks to preserve a sustainable budget and protect productive spending, including capital investments in priority sectors.
The Green for Growth Fund financed two of the first large-scale wind farms in Serbia,
the Alibunar wind farm and the Cibuk 1 wind farm. Serbia aims to generate 27% of its energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020.
The capital of Montenegro’s banking sector declined by 2.12% y/y to €503mn as of end-May, falling for the first time in two years, central bank governor Radoje Zugic told a press conference. Montenegro has implemented international standard for financial statements of banks and, according to Zugic, this change in regulation was behind the falling capital.
The Kosovan parliament approved an agreement on customs union with Albania. The agreement on unifying customs points is expected to facilitate the exchange of goods and the movement of people between the two countries.
The Romanian High Court sentenced former tourism minister Elena Udrea to six years imprisonment for bribe-taking and abuse of office in a that case related to a boxing gala held in 2011. Udrea, who is currently in Costa Rica, is one of several high-profile Romanians who have fled abroad after being sentenced for corruption.