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Infrastructure investment plans span the road and rail sectors, including the ongoing construction of a high-speed line to the Hungarian capital Budapest and recently mooted plans for a high-speed railway linking Nis (southern Serbia) and Sofia, with the broader aim of extending the connectivity to Istanbul. Serbia has already launched reconstruction of the railway line from Nis to Dimitrovgrad.
Serbia and North Macedonia recently signed a memorandum of cooperation on the construction of a high-speed railway between Serbian southern city of Nis and North Macedonia’s capital, as part of Corridor X.
5.11 Real economy - Slovenia
5.11.1 Retail
In the first ten months of the year, retail sales decreased by 11.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. Volume turnover from trade and repair of motor vehicles increased by an annual 14.7% in January-October.
In October, retail sales in Slovenia fell by an annual 15.6%, after dropping by 17% y/y in the previous month , the statistics office, SURS, said.
On an annual basis, there was a 15.6% decrease in volume turnover, primarily attributed to a significant decline in retail trade involving automotive fuel, witnessing a notable decrease of 34.6%. In contrast, retail trade exclusive of automotive fuel experienced a marginal decrease of 0.1%.
Within specific sectors, retail trade involving food products exhibited a decline of 1.5%, while retail trade with non-food products showed a minimal increase of 0.1%.
The top five retail chains in Slovenia are Mercator with turnover in 2021 of €1.25bn, followed by Spar (€866mn), Hofer (€593mn), Lidl (€489mn) and EngroTus (€455mn).
It was reported in November that Croatian conglomerate Fortenova, which owns Slovenian retailer Mercator, has emerged as the buyer of another retail chain in Slovenia, Tus, in a deal worth €30mn.
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