Two Austrian companies expressed interest for specific investment in Macedonia. The first refers to investment in the sphere of insurance and the latter in opening regional service center.
According to Austrian Commercial Attaché in Skopje Gerhard Schlattl, it is still early for announcing any details regarding the investment but it is certain that the companies will not investment in free economic zones.
Despite current political situation in Macedonia, Austrian companies are interested in economic cooperation and finding business partners here. The proof for this is the planned upcoming business forum which will be held in Skopje next week where Austrian business delegation comprised of nine companies are to attend, Schlattl said at Tuesday’s press conference in the Economic Chamber of Macedonia.
According to the Chamber, Austrian-Macedonian trade cooperation has seen a slight decline since the negative balance of USD 17 million in Q1 in 2016.
Organizing direct business meetings between Macedonian and Austrian potential business partners is aimed at improving the cooperation. Food industry, environment, infrastructure, agriculture, textile, car industry and tourism are some of the sectors that have great potential for boosting cooperation, Jadranka Arizankovska of the Economic Chamber said.
Total trade exchange between Macedonia and Austria is USD 39. 86 million in the Q1 in 2016 which represents a growth of 10 percent compared to the same period in 2016. The export is USD 11 million or 51 percent more, while import stands at USD 28 million which is a decrease of 0.6 percent. Macedonian companies mostly export textile and products from metal industry in Austria and import meat, food and pharmaceuticals.
The forthcoming Austrian-Macedonian business forum scheduled for June 7 will bring together companies from different fields as wood processing, production of tools, machinery and equipment, production of off-road vehicles, companies dealing with the rehabilitation of sick people and companies manufacturing cosmetics.