RCC hosts Future of Regional Capital Markets panel at 17 Belgrade Stock Exchange Conference 

Belgrade – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the panel: The Future of Regional Capital Markets as a partner of the 17th Conference of the Belgrade Stock Exchange ‘Upgrade in Belgrade 2018’ being held in Belgrade today.  

Development and networking of capital markets in the region is part of the Berlin process which created a new momentum for cooperation in the Western Balkans in key economic areas: trade, investments, both direct and financial, mobility of workforce and digital integration of the region.  

“The Berlin process aspires to facilitate free flow of goods, capital, skilled workforce and communications in the region, which is also the focus of the RCC’s activities in this process. Together with the region’s governments, we are working to negotiate the Mutual Recognition Agreement for professional qualifications in construction and health sectors, thus facilitating unhindered work for our experts throughout the region. Furthermore, we continue working on reducing the roaming charges to the benefit of all users of mobile telephony in the region, and we have adopted and are currently working on implementing reforms regarding harmonisation of investment legislation with that of the EU and promoting the region as a single economic destination. The idea behind this joint investment agenda is to improve doing business opportunities and attract more direct investment into the region; and in order to round up the investments, which include both direct and financial investments while facilitating access to finances, we provided a concrete proposal for cooperation of stock exchanges in the Western Balkans region,” said Goran Svilanovic, RCC Secretary General.  

“To attract more investments, Western Balkans economies need to develop financial markets which can enable capital investments in private sector, not only by healthy banking sector but also through well-regulated exchange of securities, venture capital and alternative financial sources. It is also necessary to improve legislation on capital markets, in particular in the part related to protection of investors, and adopt regulations on managing alternative investment funds and other financial instruments, such as the laws related to factoring.”

Addressing the panel with Secretary General Svilanovic were also Ivan Steriev, CEO, Stock Exchange of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Gojko Maksimovic, CEO, Montenegro Stock Exchange; and Sinisa Krneta, CEO, Belgrade Stock Exchange.  

In addition to reviewing the current macroeconomic trends and future of capital markets in the region, this year’s Conference focuses in particular on alternative investment approaches and possibilities of applying new technologies in this area. The 8th Regional Investors Conference is traditionally held alongside the Conference of the Belgrade Stock Exchange.     

17th Belgrade Stock Exchange Conference gathers several hundreds of participants, including local and foreign investors, bankers, financial intermediaries, representatives of institutions, local and international companies, media, etc.  

In response to economic issues and needs of the region, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), together with governments in the region, is implementing Multi-annual Action Plan (MAP) on a Regional Economic Area (REA) in the Western Balkans. RCC is also tasked to regularly report about the progress made in MAP REA implementation to the region’s prime ministers at annual summits of Western Balkans leaders.