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Southeast Europe
September 21, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 13
The modernisation of the railway section is significant for the efficiency of the rail connec- tion between Piraeus port and Hungary's capital Budapest.
In July, Serbia and China signed a €943mn com- mercial agreement on the modernisation and reconstruction of the Belgrade-Budapest high- speed rail link in the territory of Serbia.
The 350km rail link is expected to cut travel time between Budapest and Belgrade from the cur- rent eight hours to less than three. The project is part of Beijing’s aim to create a fast lane for importing and exporting products between China and Europe. The Balkans is a key part of this corridor, as it is on the transit route between the Greek port of Piraeus, owned by China’s Cosco, and Central Europe. The route will run 184km across Serbia and 166km across Hungary and passenger trains will travel at 160km per hour.
Also during Vucic’s visit to Beijing, the Serbian finance ministry announced that a Chinese com- pany intends to build a zinc oxide factory in the northern Serbian city of Zrenjanin, an investment worth €85mn.
The zinc oxide plant is expected to create 280 jobs, the finance ministry said in the statement, which did not disclose the name of the company.
Also in Zrenjanin, Serbia signed an agreement with Chinese company Shandong Linglong Rub- ber Co. Ltd, which, as earlier reported, plans to open a rubber factory in Zrenjanin and to invest nearly $1bn.
Vucic’s visit to China follows swiftly on two major deals signed in Serbia’s mining and metals sec- tor. At the end of August, Serbia selected China’s Zijin Mining Group to become strategic partner in copper smelting and mining complex Rudarsko Topionicarski Basen Bor (RTB Bor). The Chinese company will invest $1.26bn in RTB. In addition, Zijin Mining is obliged to recapitalise the miner with $350mn.
Just a few days later, Zijin agreed to buy Cana- da’s Nevsun Resources, which is the 100% owner of the high-grade copper-gold Timok Upper Zone and 60.4% owner of the Timok Lower Zone in Serbia. The deal, agreed on September 5, was valued at CAD1.86bn (€1.2bn).
Following Zijin’s investment into RTB Bor and the earlier acquisition of the Zelezara Smedereveo steel mill by China’s HBIS, Chinese companies are increasingly seen as saviours for Serbia’s in- dustrial assets, many of which are in dire need of investment. Finding buyers or strategic partners for these companies is a priority for Belgrade, as they are both major employers and a consider- able burden on the state budget.