FIPA Activities

Newly appointed Trade Advisor of the Austrian Embassy in BiH visited FIPA

4/12/2017

The Director of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of BiH (FIPA) Gordan Milinić spoke with the newly appointed Trade Advisor of the Austrian Embassy in BiH Philippe Kupfer about the possibilities for cooperation on improving foreign investments in BiH, as well as about joint organization of events with the aim to present opportunities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to investors from Austria.

The Director Milinić presented activities of FIPA in the field of attracting foreign investments, cooperation with investors, promotional activities currently carried out by the Agency and planned ones in the next few months.

He pointed out that Austria is the biggest foreign investor in BiH and that he expects new investments from this country.

Mr Kupfer was interested in the support that FIPA provides to foreign investors in BiH in the investments realization, including post-investment support.

It was discussed progress that BiH has made in improving the business climate, pointing out that according to Doing Business 2017 BiH is ranked at the 81st.

The trade Advisor was also informed on the media campaign "Invest in BiH" initiated by FIPA and he was invited to explore the possibilities of publication of promotional texts on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Austrian magazines.

It was agreed that Austrian investors who face with bureaucratic obstacles, contact FIPA to have support, and that cooperation with the Trade Department in the field of attracting investments continues.

The Trade Department of the Embassy of Austria will inform Chambers of Commerce and other business associations in Austria on all available projects for investing in BiH and it will deliver them the FIPA promotional materials.

Testimonials & Success Stories
 

Global Investment Promotion Best Practices 2012 of the World Bank has cited one example of support that FIPA provides to foreign investors who are running business in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to contribute to increase the flow of foreign capital in the country.

The article said:  

„The Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina was an early convert to the idea of providing facilitation services to agribusiness investors as a way to maximize the positive impact of agriculture on the economy.

In 2007, for example, FIPA assisted a Dutch food processing company establish a US$1.6 million production facility to process unused milk ingredients into value-added products in Sarajevo to sell to markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

As part of its aftercare program, FIPA assisted the company with its expansion plans. Among other things, the agency helped facilitate veterinary permissions, navigate various bureaucratic hurdles and played an important role in securing funding for the company’s expansion. It also helped develop a network of local suppliers and customers. As a result of these efforts, the Dutch investor developed stronger links with the Bosnian economy, thus increasing the positive spillover effects on the local economy.

Currently a new investment to establish a drying facility for milk powder is under way. This will further expand the processing facilities of unused milk ingredients. This additional planned investment is worth approximately US$2.8 million, thus nearly trebling the company’s original investment in the country“.

 

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