According to Serbian Economist, Chinese heavy vehicle manufacturer SHAC (Shanghai Huizhong Automotive Manufacturing) plans to build a plant in Novi Sad. This will be the company’s first European plant, and it is expected to open by the end of 2025.
The investment is estimated at around €40 million. The plant will be located in the CTPark Novi Sad East industrial zone and will produce chassis for European automotive giants, including BMW. Initially, around 200 jobs are planned, of which around 50% will be for highly qualified local specialists.
Serial deliveries to European markets are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
This project is part of efforts to attract foreign direct investment to the regions and increase industrial production in Serbia.
The official name of the investor is Shanghai Huizhong Automotive Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (SHAC). The company was founded in 1992 (although the company’s roots in automobile manufacturing date back to 1958, when the first truck of this type was assembled in China).
The company’s products include heavy trucks, buses, minibuses, chassis, components, and accessories for the automotive industry. The company has multiple production facilities in China (several factories), two R&D centers (one in Shanghai and a sub-center in Ningbo), and partnerships with major brands such as GM, Volkswagen, and others.
Japan’s exports in August decreased by 0.1% compared to the same month last year, according to the report of the country’s Ministry of Finance. The decline in exports was the fourth consecutive month of decline, but its pace was the weakest in the period. The volume of Japanese imports last month fell by 5.2% year-on-year.
Experts on average predicted a decrease in exports in August by 1.9% and a decrease in imports by 4.2%.
Japan’s trade deficit last month amounted to 242.5 billion yen ($1.66 billion) compared to 711.4 billion yen a year earlier. A deficit of 118.4 billion yen was recorded in July.
Exports to the U.S. fell 13.8% in August amid the imposition of U.S. duties on automobiles and microprocessors. Shipments to China fell by 0.5% and to ASEAN countries by 2.8%, while exports to the European Union rose by 5.5% and to Russia by 11.8%.
Imports from the US jumped by 11.6% and from China by 2.1%. At the same time, purchases of goods from South Korea fell 16.3%, from the EU 18.2%, from Russia 21.1%, from the Middle East 20.3%, and from ASEAN 4.6%.
Ukraine ranked 66th in the 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII) published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
According to the study, Ukraine remains in the group of “innovation overperformers,” demonstrating results above expectations for its level of economic development. It has maintained this status for 13 consecutive years, starting in 2012.
Switzerland has topped the global ranking for the 15th consecutive time. Sweden and the United States took second and third place. The top ten also included the Republic of Korea (4th place), Singapore (5th), Finland (7th), the Netherlands (8th), Denmark (9th), and China, which entered the top ten for the first time.
The GII methodology is based on an analysis of more than 78 indicators grouped into seven “pillars” — from human capital and research to business sophistication and creative outputs. The index is divided into two equal parts: “input resources for innovation” (institutions, education, infrastructure, market, and business) and “output results” (technological and creative products). According to the compilers of the ranking, the index is a key tool for governments and businesses: it allows them to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a country’s innovation system and to formulate long-term development strategies.
The total area of residential buildings for which construction permits were issued (new construction) in January-June 2025 increased by 45% compared to the same period in 2024, to 2 million 965.2 thousand square meters, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to the statistics agency, in January-June 2025, the total area of new construction of apartment buildings increased by 45.8% compared to last year, to 2.86 million square meters. The number of apartments in multi-apartment buildings declared at the start of construction increased by 51.5% and amounted to 33 thousand.
The largest number of new homes in the first half of the year was declared in the Kyiv region: the total area of new housing construction was 904,900 square meters (15,500 apartments), which is 2.3 times higher than in the first half of last year.
Significant volumes of new housing in the reporting period were also declared in the Lviv region – 540,700 square meters (6,900 apartments), which is 65% more than in the first half of 2024, as well as in Ivano-Frankivsk – 234,600 square meters (+8%, 3.8 thousand apartments), Zakarpattia region – 159.3 thousand square meters (+11%, 2.4 thousand apartments), Poltava region – 146.9 thousand square meters (1.8 thousand apartments), Vinnytsia – 130.9 thousand square meters (“minus” 38.7%, 2.9 thousand apartments) and Volyn – 115.2 thousand square meters (+17.7%, 2.5 thousand apartments).
In Kyiv, in January-June 2025, the total area of new construction of housing was 367.2 thousand square meters (4.2 thousand apartments), which is 1.9 times more than last year.
The State Statistics Service reminds that the figures do not include territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of territories where hostilities are ongoing (or have been ongoing).
As reported, the total area of new housing construction in Ukraine in 2024 decreased by 7.2% compared to 2023 – to 3.9 million square meters, while in 2023 it was 4.2 million square meters, in 2022 – 6.67 million square meters, and in 2021 – 12.7 million square meters.
Italy traditionally enjoys a high level of trust among Ukrainians, combining cultural proximity and pragmatic economic cooperation. This is evidenced by the results of an all-Ukrainian survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club information and analytical center in August 2025.
According to the survey, 57.3% of Ukrainian citizens have a positive attitude towards Italy (41.7% – mostly positive, 15.7% – completely positive). Only 2.3% of respondents expressed a negative attitude, while 38.7% remain neutral. Another 2.0% said they did not know enough about the country.
“For Ukrainians, Italy is associated with a warm culture, support during the war and significant diaspora contacts. But an even more important factor is the economic one: in the first half of 2025, the total trade between Ukraine and Italy amounted to more than $2.38 billion, of which exports from Ukraine amounted to $1.17 billion and imports from Italy to $1.21 billion. The negative balance of $40 million is insignificant and indicates a relative balance of economic relations,” said Maksym Urakin, founder of Experts Club.
In turn, Alexander Poznyi, co-founder of Active Group, emphasized that the positive attitude of Ukrainians goes beyond economic calculations.
“For most citizens, Italy is also a country associated with cultural openness, historical ties and solidarity in difficult times. That is why more than half of Ukrainians demonstrate a positive attitude, and the low level of negative assessments confirms the friendly nature of relations. In the future, this creates preconditions for even closer cooperation in both political and economic dimensions,” he added.
The survey was part of a broader study of international sympathies and antipathies of Ukrainians in the current geopolitical environment.
The full video can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, ITALY, Poznyi, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, URAKIN
The Cypriot ambassador to Ukraine, Michalis Firillas, said that after February 24, 2022, the structure of tourism in Cyprus underwent significant changes, and many traditional sources of tourists weakened. However, the total number of tourists is growing: according to statistics, Cyprus welcomed more than 4.04 million visitors in 2024, which is 5.1% more than in 2023.
“Although the war has made some adjustments, Cyprus remains popular among Ukrainians. Tourism from Ukraine exists, and I predict that it will soon return to pre-war levels,” said Michalis Firillas, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Ukraine, during a meeting with a representative of Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the ambassador, at least 25,000 Ukrainian citizens visited Cyprus in 2024. The main convenient routes for Ukrainians are currently flights from neighboring countries, primarily Romania. “Cyprus is promoting the development of air links for Ukrainians, and in December, Wizz Air will launch a new flight from Suceava (Romania) to Larnaca (Cyprus),” he added.
Firilas expressed confidence that after the end of the war, the volume of Ukrainian tourism to Cyprus will return to pre-war levels.
Most tourists to Cyprus currently come from the UK, followed by Israel, Poland, and Germany. These countries form the core of the island’s visitor market.
