The financing will be provided in the form of individual credits to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Sources of long-term financing remain limited in Bosnia and Herzegovina and this remains a major obstacle for the growth of the private sector, according to the EBRD.

Ian Brown, EBRD Associate Director, Head of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “We are very pleased to starting this cooperation with Addiko Bank Banja Luka today as it will allow us both to support the development of the bank and strengthen the real economy. It is absolutely essential that the talents and engagement of private entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina are encouraged and bolstered. Our loan is one such example and we hope many more will follow.”

Mario Ivanković, CEO of Addiko Bank a.d. Banja Luka, said: “With this financing, the EBRD is providing additional support for our business model but also for the local banking sector in general. As one of the significant market players, Addiko Bank Banja Luka is committed to improving its business operations and strengthening its position in this market. We are glad that this arrangement will be primarily used for supporting the SME sector as a driver of the local economy, but indirectly also supporting local communities and their economic development.”

Since the beginning of its operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EBRD has invested more than €2 billion in over 145 projects in the country. The Bank focuses on supporting restructuring and expansion of the local private sector, forging closer links with wider regional markets and promoting a more efficient and sustainable use of resources.

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“A range of particularly interesting projects is currently implemented in the economy sphere. One of them is Russian investments into an oil refinery in Brod and an engine oils plant in Modric. These are exceptionally important investments,” the official said.

Import of vegetables and fruit is another area where “Moscow demonstrated a very high level of understanding of interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Ivanic said.

“We see indeed positive and meaningful results in this sphere also. This is very helpful for our producers, especially farmers specializing in fruits. The Russian market is large and we indeed manage to do a lot there,” he added.

“I think we have sufficient potential to boost cooperation, taking into account in the first instance that we perceive Russia as a country that is friendly to us,” Ivanic said.

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“To approve the draft agreement between the Russian Government and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on settlement of liabilities of the former USSR under settlements related to turnover between the ex-USSR and the ex-SFRY,” the document said

According to the draft agreement, Russia will pay the debt of $125 mln to BH, which is a portion of the total USSR debt to Yugoslavia.

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Minister of Transport and Communication Ismir Jusko received the prime minister and his delegation at the Sarajevo International Airport.

High ranking officials of the Bosnian government, Pakistan's ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Lt Gen (retd) Salim Nawaz and Bosnian ambassador Nedim Makarevic were also present.

A contingent of static guard presented salute to the prime minister as he alighted from his plane. Children attired in traditional dresses presented bouquets to the prime minister.

The prime minister was accompanied by Begum Kalsoom Nawaz and his Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.

During his stay Nawaz Sharif will meet the members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's presidency the leaders and members of the lower and upper houses of parliamentary assembly and also the Reis ul Ulema Husein ef Kavazovic.

The prime minister will also address Bosnia and Herzegovina's Business Forum and meet the members of Foreign Trade Chamber and Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.

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In recent years, Bosnia has seen an influx of Arab investors who have built residential complexes and tourist resorts, attracted by low prices and a favorable climate in a country where half the population is Muslim.

Over the past three months officials inspected nearly 700 firms and 16 tourist resorts owned by citizens from the Gulf, Libya, Russia and Ukraine.

About 500 of the firms, between them owning more than 600 residential and business premises, were found to be registered at false addresses and had no staff, the office said.

Many of the property owners had registered the firms as real estate companies for a 2,000 Bosnian mark ($1,000) fee in order to buy or develop property worth hundreds of thousands of marka to rent out to tourists, then not filing tax declarations.

Some of the owners were living illegally in the country, some were not registered as having arrived in the country at all, some had violated their visa requirements and others misused their work permits, the office said.

Depending on the offence, more than 300 will be either asked to leave the country voluntarily or be expelled and banned from returning for between one and five years, a source at the office said.

Details of the violations will be passed on to tax authorities and the police.

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It is the third store of its kind, following those in Zagreb (Croatia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia), and required an investment of around BAM 2.5 million (€1.2 million).

The Super Konzum Borik store in the city of Banja Luka offers more than 35,000 products and 5.000 innovations.

“We have worked hard for several months on preparations to refurbish the store’s interior and [to create] a special shopping experience – hundreds of people were involved in the process”, commented Tomislav Bagić, managing director of Konzum in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Our refurbished store offers numerous novelties and what’s even more important is that we have increased the number of employees from 74 to 130 and broadened the product assortment on or shelves.”

Besides a wider product assortment, shoppers can now browse through a new market-style fruit and vegetable department, with a special section for tropical fruits. The international cuisine department prepares delicacies from all over the world, the improved bakery enables visitors to see for themselves how pastries are baked in specialised ovens, while the spice department allows customers to try the flavours of other cultures.

The delicatessen department offers a rich selection of more than 120 types of cheeses and numerous dry meat delicacies. The store also stocks wines from 70 wineries worldwide and more than 100 different types of craft beers from 13 different countries.

The Dream Factory department has a large selection of toys, suitable for children of all ages.

For the first time, customers in Bosnia and Herzegovina will have an opportunity to use smart shopping carts. Thanks to the innovative Shop&Touch concept, they will be able to see current sales and special offers, find the location of a product, check prices and monitor the content and the value of their shopping cart.

Konzum will open its second refurbished store in mid-December in Sarajevo.

(ESM)

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President of the Commission Sinisa Karan said 30.6 percent of votes has been counted so far and 99.8 percent of citizens supported the idea that January 9 remains the Day of RS.

Karan said that the turnout in the referendum was between 56 and 60 percent.

There were no incidents reported during the referendum.

Bosnian Serbs voted today in a referendum over a disputed national holiday, defying Bosnia's highest court and Western pressure to call off a process that risks stoking ethnic tensions in the divided Balkan country.

The referendum, on whether to mark January 9 as „Republika Srpska Day“, was the first since a 1992 plebiscite on secession from then-Yugoslavia that ignited three years war in which 100,000 were killed.

Polling stations across the Bosnian Serb-dominated region opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.

The Sarajevo-based Constitutional Court has ruled that the holiday would be illegal because it coincides with a Serbian Orthodox Christian holiday and so discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats living in RS. The court also banned the referendum.

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For the first time, total revenue of Bingo is expected to exceed that of Croatian retailer Konzum in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It will be the first time that one Bosnian company becomes a leader in retail market.

According to data for the last year, Bingo Tuzla had a total income of 803,433,657 KM, while Konzum recorded revenues in the amount of 849,962,319 KM.

However, revenues of Bingo increased by as much as 42 percent, while revenues of Konzum grew by 22 percent, according to research conducted by the company LRC (LRCBIS) from Sarajevo.

If this trend continues, Bingo will overtake Konzum as retailer with the biggest amount of total revenues this year.

There are several indicators that Bingo will record similar growth this year. Bingo continued its expansion, while Konzum is stagnating and has even closed some stores.

Let us mention just a few of the new Bingo’s projects: The opening of a large market within the Retail Park in Derventa; building of the Bingo shopping center in Jajce; opening of its biggest store ever – Bingo City Centre in Tuzla on nearly 40,000 square meters …

While Bingo is expanding, Konzum is stagnating and has even closed some shops. For example, it closed one store at Dzemala Bijedica Street in Sarajevo.

In addition, one of the biggest Konzum stores in Sarajevo, in Alipasino Polje, which was burned down in May this year, has not been renewed, and its reconstruction has not even began.

Konzum has not responded to the request by BiznisInfo to say how many stores they opened and how many they closed this year.

Bingo won the hearts of customers by low prices and its support for the local economy. There is also another advantage that allowed its rapid expansion.

For years, Bingo has a much higher profit than Konzum. For example, in 2014 profit of Konzum was only 4,376,400 KM, while profit of Bingo was nearly ten times higher and amounted to 40,228,294 KM.

This means that Bingo has a lot more space for new investments and business expansion than is the case with the Croatian chain.

In addition, the owner of Bingo Senad Dzambic once said that he reinvests all the profits.

– I do not collect the money and do not deposit it in foreign banks. Everything we earn, we immediately invest in order to expand further. We wish to have our facility in every corner of BiH – Dzambic said in an interview last year.

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The decision will enable immediate disbursement of about 79.2 million euros ($88.7 million), the IMF said, with the rest available in 11 installments subject to quarterly reviews.

The extended fund facility deal was initially agreed in May by IMF staff and authorities of Bosnia's multiple governments in May.

The deal carried a 4.5-year grace period in exchange for a set of structural reforms and measures to safeguard financial stability.

The program will replace a 33-month, $720 million program which expired in June 2015 after the IMF froze it because of delays to pledged reforms by the government.

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Mr. Stoltenberg commended Bosnia and Herzegovina for its contributions to NATO-led operations and for its commitment to regional dialogue, cooperation, and security.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the country’s domestic political situation and progress on defence reform efforts.

The Secretary General reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to a stable and secure Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Alliance’s full support for its membership aspirations.

He emphasised that Allies recognise the progress Bosnia and Herzegovina has made on the registration of defence properties, a key requirement set by NATO for Bosnia and Herzegovina on its path towards membership.

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