According to Serbian Economist, Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has received approval from U.S. authorities to continue negotiations on the acquisition of a controlling stake in Serbian NIS until May 22, 2026. This was reported by Reuters, citing a statement from MOL.
The negotiations concern the purchase of shares held by Russian shareholders—Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, which own 44.9% and 11.3% of NIS, respectively. Initially, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) set a deadline of March 24 for finalizing the Russian companies’ exit from NIS’s capital, but this deadline has now been extended to May 22.
In January, MOL signed a binding agreement with the Russian shareholders to purchase their stakes in NIS, and the Emirati company ADNOC is set to acquire a minority stake as part of this deal. The Serbian government retains a 29.9% stake in the company.
For Serbia, the issue of changing NIS’s ownership is of strategic importance, as the company remains the country’s largest fuel supplier and the operator of the only oil refinery in Pančevo. Last week, the U.S. also extended the sanctions waiver for NIS itself until April 17 so that the company could continue importing crude oil.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2499
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia’s real estate market continued to grow through the end of 2025: in the fourth quarter, the total volume of transactions reached €2.4 billion, marking the highest quarterly level since the Real Estate Price Register was established. This was reported by the Republic Geodetic Institute of Serbia (RGZ).
According to RGZ, in October–December 2025, the market value rose by 9% year-over-year, and the number of purchase and sale agreements increased by 6.9%, to 37,386. Apartments accounted for €1.4 billion, or 61% of the total value of all transactions.
Regionally, the number of transactions in the fourth quarter rose by 10.9% in Belgrade and by 5.8% in Kragujevac, while a decline of 6.5% was recorded in Niš and 8.7% in Novi Sad. A total of €768.5 million was spent on apartment purchases in Belgrade alone during this period.
The most expensive apartment of the quarter was sold in the municipality of Savski Venac for €1.4 million, with an area of 90 square meters, while the maximum price per square meter in the same municipality reached €15,298. The most expensive house was also sold in Savski Venac for €1 million, and a parking space for €60,000.
Earlier, RGZ reported that as early as the first quarter of 2025, the market showed a 9.3% increase in value alongside a 2.4% decline in the number of transactions, indicating further appreciation of assets. By the end of the year, this trend persisted, but the market simultaneously returned to growth in the number of transactions.
Vera Yegorova-Tolsta, owner of the real estate agency VIDOVSTAN, also noted the market’s growth in her review. Overall, RGZ data show that even with local fluctuations in individual cities, Serbia’s real estate market remained one of the most stable segments of the country’s economy through the end of 2025.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2490
According to Serbian Economist, the Czech Škoda Group has confirmed plans to localize the production of both trains and trams in Serbia, with MIND Park in Kragujevac being considered as the site for such a project. The company announced this in a comment to N1 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with MIND Group.
Škoda stated that its strategy in the Serbian market is geared toward a long-term presence in the sustainable transport segment and includes not only the supply of rolling stock but also maintenance, as well as long-term availability of spare parts. To strengthen its local presence, the company has decided to transfer part of the production of solutions for the Serbian market to its partner’s site—the MIND Group.
The company clarified that it intends to localize the production of both trams and trains. This includes, in particular, trams that could be manufactured to Belgrade’s specifications, as well as electric trains for suburban, regional, and cross-border service on the Serbian railway network.
Škoda explains that the localization of the full production cycle depends on the volume of orders and investments. At the same time, the company explicitly states that Serbia is viewed as a priority market in the Western Balkans, particularly due to a large-scale investment program in railway infrastructure. The company also confirmed that it is in contact with the Serbian Development Agency regarding investment incentives.
The issue is particularly relevant for Belgrade amid protracted procurement processes for new urban rolling stock. Tenders for new trams in recent years have either been suspended or faced complaints from bidders. At the same time, Škoda stated that it is reviewing the recently announced tender for the procurement of 60 new trolleybuses, although it is not commenting on ongoing commercial negotiations.
The Škoda Group is one of the largest Czech manufacturers of rail transport and urban mobility solutions. The company produces trams, electric trains, trolleybuses, and related transport technologies; in 2024, it secured new orders worth €1.7 billion and significantly increased its EBITDA while continuing to expand in European markets.
MIND Group is a Serbian industrial group developing the MIND Park industrial zone in Kragujevac as a cluster for mechanical engineering, logistics, and high-tech manufacturing. The partnership with Škoda aims to strengthen the park’s position as a hub for the localization of complex transportation industry operations in Serbia.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia’s economic growth in 2026 could reach about 2.75%, but this scenario largely depends on the further development of the crisis in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices and overall inflation trends.
The energy factor has become particularly sensitive for Serbia in recent days. Against the backdrop of the conflict surrounding Iran, Brent crude has risen above $100 per barrel, and supply disruptions have already forced international organizations and central banks to revise their inflation and economic forecasts. The IMF has warned that sustained growth in energy prices could accelerate inflation and slow global growth, while the ECB has already raised its inflation forecast for 2026 and lowered its estimate for eurozone economic growth.
For Serbia, this poses a double risk—due to imported inflation and the deterioration of conditions for external demand in European markets. The National Bank of Serbia is currently maintaining its own GDP growth forecast for 2026 at 3.5%, but the external shock caused by oil and gas makes this estimate less robust, especially if high prices persist for more than a few weeks.
Additional pressure stems from the domestic fuel market. On March 19, Serbian authorities extended the ban on oil and petroleum product exports until April 2, ordered the release of 40,000 tons of diesel fuel from reserves, and reduced fuel excise taxes by 20% in an effort to prevent shortages and price spikes. The following day, the U.S. also extended the sanctions waiver for NIS until April 17, allowing oil imports to the Serbian market to continue.
Thus, the baseline scenario for Serbia’s economy in 2026 remains positive for now, but it increasingly depends not only on domestic demand and investment but also on geopolitics. If the situation in the Middle East stabilizes, growth may remain closer to official forecasts. If, however, the energy crisis drags on, pressure on inflation, consumption, and industry may prove stronger than expected at the beginning of the year.
According to Serbian Economist, Princess Katarina T. Karadjordjevic has found herself at the center of a financial scandal in the UK after a private investor claimed to have lost 50,000 pounds in a project he invested in, trusting her and her business partner. This was reported by the British Daily Mail.
According to the publication, the investor in question is British dermatologist Robin Russell-Jones, who met the princess in London. Shortly thereafter, her close associate and business partner Sharon Rea offered him the opportunity to invest £50,000 in a purported international project promising returns of up to £4 million. It was claimed that the initiative allegedly had the backing of international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund.
However, the project later turned out to be a sham, and the invested funds disappeared. The investor took the matter to court and won the case, but the money has still not been returned to him. According to the court ruling, Sharon Rea must repay the debt in installments—£100 per month.
The publication notes that Princess Catherine’s collaboration with Rea lasted at least five years. During this time, they promoted a number of international initiatives, including hospital construction projects and the organization of the Tsunami of Sound charity concert series; however, according to the report, none of these projects were ultimately implemented.
When the investor began to doubt the project’s credibility, he tried to contact Princess Katarina to verify information about her partner but received no response. The princess herself did not respond to media inquiries, while some of her acquaintances suggest she may have been misled.
The Karadjordjevic dynasty is a Serbian and Yugoslav royal dynasty that traces its origins to Karadjordje, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising. Members of the dynasty ruled Serbia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1921 to 1941.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2466
According to The Serbian Economist, Serbia’s Elixir Group and Germany’s K+S have launched production of a new water-soluble fertilizer for agriculture at the Prahovo ChemPark site in Serbia. The product will be marketed in Europe under the brand name soluMAP®.
Simply put, production has begun in Prahovo of a fertilizer that dissolves quickly in water and is used in modern plant nutrition systems—primarily in drip irrigation and other precision application methods. This is important for the European market, as such supplies will be geographically closer and delivery times shorter. K+S explicitly states that the project is intended to strengthen the reliability of supply for European customers.
The site is located in Prahovo on the Danube, near the borders with Romania and Bulgaria. K+S notes that this simplifies logistics across Europe and to Turkey, while the proximity to Elixir’s phosphoric acid production facilities provides the project with a local raw material supply.
The Elixir and K+S project was announced back in 2023. At that time, it was reported that the investment would amount to €35 million, and the capacity of the new plant in Prahovo would be 50,000 tons per year. Production was planned to begin in 2026.
For Elixir, this launch also reinforces the role of Prahovo ChemPark as a major industrial and chemical hub. The group describes itself as the leading producer of phosphoric acid in the region and the largest producer of compound mineral fertilizers in Southeast Europe, with over 70% of its output exported to more than 85 countries.
The tMAP 12-61 product is a fertilizer with a high phosphorus and nitrogen content. The numbers 12-61 indicate the proportion of the main nutrients: 12% nitrogen and 61% phosphorus.
It is used in drip irrigation, fertigation, and foliar feeding, especially during the early stages of plant growth when crops need phosphorus for root system development.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2448
