Member News

Renowned Financial Magazine “Euromoney“ Awarded Raiffeisen Banka the Title “Best Bank in Serbia“

Raiffeisen banka was awarded with the title “Best Bank in Serbia” at the traditional annual “Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2021“ contest.

“We are always welcoming awards with a sense of pride and responsibility. Now, when they represent a recognition for results achieved in the year in which we faced the pandemic crisis – these two feelings are only more pronounced. We are proud of the fact that we proved our ability to adjust, to maintain offering top service to our clients, even to improve it by introducing numerous innovations in 2020. I am glad that all our efforts and good results have been recognized by the expert public, and this brings us also additional responsibility to continue the same trend in the future“, Zoran Petrovic, Chairman of the Managing Board, stated on this occasion.

The annual contest Euromoney “Awards for Excellence“ was introduced in 1992, as the first of its kind in the global banking industry. This year, the magazine’s jury of experts had the tough task of choosing the best among the greatest number of applications from banks received so far. When deciding on the best, the basic criteria taken into account were both the basic indicators of business success, as well as the quality and innovativeness of the offer, degree of digitalization, as well as the quality of the overall business strategy.

Apart from the award bestowed on Raiffeisen banka in Serbia, “Euromoney“ awarded Raiffeisen Bank International with the title ”CEE’s Best Bank for Wealth Management 2021”.

This is the third award that Raiffeisen banka received since the beginning of the year, after a double award received from ”EMEA Finance” magazine, also as the “Best Bank in Serbia“, but also as the “Best Private Bank in Serbia“.

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Raiffeisen banka a.d. Beograd is a member of Raiffeisen Bank International, one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe. It began its business activities in Serbia in 2001, and is now developing its activities in three segments: retail banking, corporate banking, treasury and investment banking. For all additional information, please contact the Marketing & PR Department of Raiffeisen banka at the phone No. 011/2207-306.

Ringier acquires the shares of Axel Springer in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Axel Springer will focus on major strategic core markets / The joint venture between Ringier and Axel Springer in Poland will remain in place and is to continue to see growth.

Ringier AG is further expanding its activities in Eastern Europe and enhancing its international portfolio of digital marketplaces and media: to this end, Ringier acquires all of the shares of Axel Springer in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In Slovakia, the company founder will remain a minority shareholder. In the other countries, the Ringier Group will thus hold 100% of the shares. As part of its growth strategy, Axel Springer will focus on digital business in major strategic markets. The company’s investment focus in the News Media segmet is on Germany, the US and Poland. Accordingly, the successful joint venture between Ringier and Axel Springer in Poland will remain unchanged

Since Ringier Axel Springer Media AG was formed in July 2010, the joint venture between Ringier AG and Axel Springer SE has resulted in one of the largest and most modern media companies in Central and Eastern Europe, with some 3,100 employees. The comprehensive portfolio includes more than 200 digital and print products. In the first half of 2021, digital activities accounted for approximately 85 percent of adjusted EBITDA.

Ringier is continuing its transformation into an international and diversified media company

With the acquisition of the shares of Axel Springer in the joint venture in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Ringier is continuing its international growth and investment strategy in the field of digital marketplaces and media brands. Thanks to these significant investments, Ringier is strengthening its current activities in Romania and Bulgaria.

Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier AG: «The acquisition of the Axel Springer shares in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and the Baltic states is an important milestone in our business development. This transaction is an acknowledgement of our long-term commitment to being a modern media investor in Eastern Europe. The portfolio in these countries suits us ideally and will further strengthen the Ringer ecosystem. In addition, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary serve as a good basis for expanding our digital sports media strategy. I am pleased that we will be able to further advance our media and digital marketplaces in Poland with Axel Springer. We will work together to continue to make investments in this large and exciting market.»

Axel Springer sets priorities as part of the growth strategy

Axel Springer will continue to focus on its long-term growth strategy. The company is aiming to become a global leader in digital journalism and digital classifieds. In addition to substantial investments in growth fields, this will also require a clear focus on large and strategic core markets. In the News Media segment  central to this is the already highly digitized portfolio in Germany, the USA and Poland.

Jan Bayer, President News Media at Axel Springer SE: «Over the past 11 years, we have worked with Ringier to build Ringier Axel Springer Media AG into one of the most successful companies in Central and Eastern Europe, with strong news brands and successful digital classifieds. As part of our growth strategy, we will focus on our strategic core areas and large markets.This includes Poland with 40 milion people. For them, we will further digitalize and expand our journalistic offerings and classifieds together with Ringier. I would like to sincerely thank our colleagues in Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and everyone at Ringier for the very good collaboration over the past few years.»

Continuation of the joint venture in Poland 

As joint venture partners, Axel Springer and Ringier will focus their future efforts in Eastern Europe exclusively on the Polish market. The partners have been operating media brands with strong revenue and EBITDA there for many years. The continuity of the management of the joint venture is assured with Mark Dekan as CEO.

«When we started the joint venture in 2010 with what was almost entirely a print portfolio (97 percent of revenue), we had the vision of transforming the local print brands into strong digital players in their future media markets. We now generate about 70 percent of sales and 85 percent of earnings from our digital offerings. Together, we have not only brought the existing media brands into the digital age, but we have also created new leading digital media and classified brands that are now among the most relevant offerings in their markets. I would like to thank all of our colleagues in Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and the Baltic states for their commitment, their passion and their willingness to always go the extra mile. At the same time, I look forward to continuing to expand our activities in the largest market in the region with the Polish team and the joint venture partners», says Mark Dekan, CEO of Ringier Axel Springer Media AG and CEO of the joint venture in Poland.

Axel Springer included its subsidiaries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in the joint venture Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, which was founded in July 2010. Ringier added its business in Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Finalisation of the acquisition

The acquisition of the shares should be completed over the course of 2021. Completion of the transaction requires the approval of the competent local antitrust authorities. Both parties have agreed to keep the sale price and the valuation of the parts of the companies being acquired confidential.

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About Ringier

Ringier AG is an innovative, digitalised and diversified Swiss media company operating in Europe, Asia and Africa. Its portfolio includes around 110 subsidiaries in the print, digital media, radio, ticketing, entertainment and e-commerce sectors and leading online marketplaces for cars, property and jobs. As a venture capital provider, Ringier supports innovative digital start-ups. Ringier, a family company founded in 1833 as a publishing house and printing plant, has invested consistently in digitalisation and global expansion in recent years. In 2020, the company’s some 6.800 employees, operating in 18 different countries, generated revenues of 953.7 million CHF. Today, 69 per cent of its operating profit already comes from digital, where Ringier is a leader among European media companies. Ringier’s core values are independence, freedom of expression and a pioneering spirit.

About Axel Springer

Axel Springer is a media and technology company and active in more than 40 countries. By providing information across its diverse media brands (amongst others BILD, WELT, INSIDER, POLITICO Europe) and classified portals (StepStone Group and AVIV Group), Axel Springer SE empowers people to make free decisions for their lives. Today, the transformation from a traditional print media company to Europe’s leading digital publisher has been successfully accomplished. The next goal has been set: Axel Springer aims to become global market leader in digital content and digital classifieds through accelerated growth. The company is headquartered in Berlin and employs more than 16,000 people worldwide.

Safety for Our Clients, Our People and Our Communities is One of Our Core Values

KLEEMANN Liftovi stands by its community during the COVID-19 pandemic and has donated 1.000.000 RSD to the Military Medical Centers in Belgrade. This is part of our group strategy worldwide, including the recent donation in Greece of 21 ICU beds to Greek hospitals. KLEEMANN Liftovi wishes to honor the Military Center and its brave medical staff, and support their tireless daily struggle to protect public health in Belgrade. We are stronger, united. #StaySafe

On the occasion of the donation, the General Manager of KLEEMANN Liftovi said: “All of us at KLEEMANN Group believe in supporting the communities in which we operate especially at a time of crisis. As the only company producing lifts in the country we wish to stress that we are committed to Serbia and its people. We are grateful to people of the Serbian health authorities and in particular the Military Medical Centers in Belgrade who are fighting daily on our behalf to keep us safe. This donation is a token of our appreciation.”

Sava osiguranje launched a new insurance product – Sava PROGRESIV

In the past few days, Sava osiguranje launched a new insurance product SAVA PROGRESIV based on a combination of insurance and investment. It is a Unit Linked product – life insurance linked to the investment fund units.

SAVA PROGRESIV is suitable for all citizens who, apart from having life insurance, wish to invest in investment funds. Depending on the selected investment package, Sava osiguranje transfers a portion of the premium paid by the client to investment funds. An advantage of this product is higher flexibility for the policyholder, because at the time of contract conclusion the investment package may be selected to range from those that yield a long-term, slow but steady growth to those that carry a certain degree of risk but may provide higher yields over a shorter period of time.

The policyholder may opt for one of the following 3 investment packages:

*STANDARD – lower investment risk and more stable expected value increase.

*BALANCED – medium investment risk and medium expected yield.

*FLEXIBLE – somewhat higher investment risk and higher expected yield.

This insurance product covers the basic insured events – the insured person lives to witness the expiry of the contracted term of insurance and the insured person dies during the contracted term of insurance, as well as the auxiliary risks.

The premium may be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually and as a one-off payment, in EUR or RSD.

Details on SAVA PROGRESIV insurance product – https://www.sava-osiguranje.rs/sr-rs/osiguranja/zivot/sava-progresiv/

SAVA ZDRAVO health package from Sava Insurance

Sava Insurance, as a member of one of the leading insurance groups in the region – Insurance Group SAVA, has expanded its offer of insurance services with special voluntary health insurance packages.

The insurance policy primarily offers basic coverage types pertaining to outpatient treatment and encompasses the following healthcare services: examinations and diagnostic procedures, laboratory tests, tests and analysis necessary for reproductive system check-up, outpatient interventions, medical transport, ordered therapy in outpatient conditions, home treatment in emergency situations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in outpatient treatment conditions, examinations and diagnostic procedures and laboratory tests (in relation to health problems occurring after the confirmed Covid-19 infection over the period of no longer than six months after the diagnosis), mental health, urgent dentistry, medical and technical aids, as well as additional coverage types: health protection for pregnant women and new-born babies, physical check-up, ophthalmology services, dental services, prescription drugs and orders, physical and speech therapy, complementary medicine services, tumour coverage and second medical opinion.

Sava Insurance improved the standard offer of voluntary health insurance in the Serbian market by allowing its clients, in addition to the basic and additional insurance coverage types, to also contract several supplementary insurance services: second medical opinion, coverage in case of tumours, post-covid coverage and expansion of coverage for a physical check-up.

Sava Insurance offers three SAVA ZDRAVO packages of voluntary health insurance:

• Sava Basic – includes outpatient treatment for the sum insured up to EUR 1000
• Sava Standard – includes outpatient and hospital treatment for the sum insured up to EUR 2000
• Sava Pro – includes outpatient and hospital treatment for the sum insured up to EUR 3000.

Voluntary health insurance is available to all citizens of the Republic of Serbia, regardless of their age. Furthermore, insurance is also available to foreign citizens temporarily working in Serbia and to their family members.

The voluntary health insurance may be contracted as individual and collective insurance (when a legal person contracts insurance for its employees).

The companies that opt for collective voluntary health insurance policies achieve a number of benefits: the ability to create a single voluntary health insurance package that meets the employer’s needs, budget, business requirements and the needs of its employees; tax relief for the premium of voluntary health insurance; reducing employee absences due to sick leave and their faster return to work; positive impact on the image of the company, because taking care of the employees achieves one of the sustainable development strategies – it motivates and rewards the employees.     Also, by purchasing a voluntary health insurance policy for its employees, the company achieves one of the priority categories of benefits (these include: health, family, professional development, career and mobility) that have the strongest positive impact on employees, on their satisfaction and engagement in business processes.

The clients – persons insured under the voluntary health insurance with SAVA ZDRAVO packages are provided with the following: availability of Sava Call centre 7 days a week, 24 hours a day; no waiting for medical examinations, because they are scheduled in a systematic and organized manner, thus avoiding the waiting lists of publicly funded health services; freedom to choose the best doctors in private health care institutions throughout Serbia and assistance in the selection of doctors, i.e. health care facilities by the Sava Medical Call centre; no unnecessary burden on personal finances by direct payment of health services, etc.

The amount of insurance premium for Collective voluntary health insurance depends on the number of employees to be insured, on the gender and age structure of employees, on the sum insured, as well as on the selected set of medical services chosen by the company for its employees. The expert team of Sava Insurance is available to propose several various SAVA ZDRAVO packages and to help with the selection of the most adequate package option.

The potential clients may find more information about the types and scopes of insurance coverages of SAVA ZDRAVO packages offered by Sava Insurance, as well as about additional benefits for persons insured under the voluntary health insurance at the Sava Insurance website www.sava-osiguranje.rs or by e-mail sava.zdravo@sava-osiguranje.rs.

SEMIFINALISTS OF THE GENERATOR COMPETITION HAVE BEEN SELECTED

More than 170 participants applied for the OTP banka’s Generator competition, which supports digital projects that help small and medium enterprises overcome the consequences of the crisis caused by the corona virus, out of which ten semifinalists advanced to the next phase. The total prize fund that awaits the winners is two million dinars.

BELGRADE – September 15, 2020 – OTP banka’s Generator Gamechanger competition supports digital projects – websites, applications and other digital platforms – which help and offer new opportunities to small and medium enterprises. More than 170 participants applied for this year’s competition, held for the fourth year in a row, and ten semifinalists advanced to the next stage – those who help companies better present their services and products, provide new sales channels, exchange experiences and ideas or offer other ways of support that companies can use to successfully overcome the consequences of the crisis.

The competition was open to all individuals, informal teams, entrepreneurs and companies that have a new idea that needs support to come to life or an existing solution that needs to be improved. In both categories – a new idea and an existing solution – five semifinalists were selected, who were presented on the Generator website and who are expected to be promoted by the media in order for as many people, potential users of their services, to hear about their project. The semifinalists come from various industries and have applied their knowledge and experience in areas such as fashion, agronomy, business planning, fitness and sports, pets, domestic premium products, crafts, organization of virtual fairs…

In the next phase, six finalists will be selected, three in each category, who will compete for the main prize. At the presentations, the finalists will present their solutions, after which the jury will announce two winners who will win a prize of one million dinars. The semifinalists will also receive special awards from the partners of the competition – Vojvodjanska banka, ICT hub center for the development of technological entrepreneurship and innovation, TeleGroup, Belgrade Open School and the ENECA association.

Through this type of indirect support, OTP banka, together with its partners, continues to contribute to bolstering innovations and domestic entrepreneurship.

Meet the semifinalists of the competition on the Generator website.

About the Generator project:

In order to strengthen the competitiveness of Serbian entrepreneurship, the Generator project was carefully designed and launched in 2017, and it brings together the initiatives and activities that encourage innovative entrepreneurial ventures. In the same year, Generator supported 40 entrepreneurial innovations through financial support, promotion and mentoring. The winner received one million dinars, and almost 800 innovators submitted their ideas. In the following year, 2018, the best student entrepreneurial innovations were awarded, and last year Generator 2.0 was intended for the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises. At the end of 2019, within the Generator project, OTP banka launched the Good Deed Generator initiative, which supports social entrepreneurship.

Together. We move things forward.

#otpbankasrbija #generator2020 #podrška #SME #digitalizacija #inovacije

Sustainable urban mobility – a chance for a cleaner city

At the ceremony, held at the French Embassy, ​​on the occasion of the awarding of prizes within the “Ekoopstina 2024” competition, Wiener Städtische osiguranje awarded the cities of Bajina Bašta and Belgrade for their projects in the field of sustainable mobility.

The company will donate bicycle service stations to cities, intended for free public use, promoting a healthier and more environmentally responsible mode of transportation in urban areas. As a partner of the “sustainable mobility” program, Wiener Städtische osiguranje supports initiatives that reduce the emission of harmful gases, relieving traffic congestion and increasing their “flowability”.

In such a joint venture, the environment is improved and awareness of environmental challenges is strengthened, which encourages new initiatives for sustainable solutions and environmental protection for future generations. In earlier years, service stations were set up in Pirot, Niš and Kruševac.

“Ekoopstina 2024” is a competition intended for all cities and municipalities in Serbia, and includes four key areas: sustainable water management, energy efficiency of buildings, sustainable waste management and sustainable mobility. Eight awarded cities presented their innovative projects, within the platform of French-Serbian cooperation that promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of sustainable development, in order to empower cities and municipalities in Serbia to implement them in their territories and thus contribute to environmental protection.

At the ceremony that brought together representatives of cities and municipalities, partner companies and the media, the awardees were announced by H.J. E. Pierre Cochard, Ambassador of France and H. E. Emanuele Žiofre, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia.

Swinto Wins This Year’s Elevator Lab Challenge South-East Europe Project

Elevator Lab Challenge South-East Europe has been completed last night (Dec. 15) with a gala event where finalists presented their projects to a jury of experts and the audience and fought for the title of “Best Start-up in South-Eastern Europe” and a prize of EUR 10,000. The Swinto team was chosen as the winner of this fintech competition and will have the opportunity to present their work on the international Elevator Lab Demo Day in the spring of 2022, to meet the management of Raiffeisen Bank International Group and receive expert advice on business presentations and unique ways of presenting to business clients.

Tim Swinto, who is also the winner of the second semi-finals evening in the category Payments and Advanced Analytics Solutions, shared his impressions after winning in the finals:

“We enjoyed this experience, it gave us a wonderful opportunity to reveal our idea again and what it is we are offering. We have invested a lot of effort into making a presentation which fully represents our company.”

The jury of experts, consisting of Raiffeisen banka’s managers, rated the most innovative solutions in the financial technologies segment and semi-finals were held in the following categories:

The winner of the first semi-finals evening that took place on Dec. 1 was Easy Albania. Their solution was the best in the segment Innovative Banking Solutions for Retail, SME, and Corporate Clients. In the second semi-finals, Dec. 2, in the category Payments and Advanced Analytics Solutions, the best solution was offered by the Swinto team, as rated by the expert jury. The most innovative solution on the semi-finals evening on Dec 3, in the category ESG solutions, was created by TE Pema team. The teams who won in the semi-finals, as the best in their categories, won EUR 5,000 each, the possibility of developing their projects with some of the local banks, the opportunity to have their systems integrated into Raiffeisen banka and reach 2.6 million clients, as well as placement into the Elevator Lab 2021 finals.

Elevator Lab Challenge South-East Europe is a regional competition for start-ups, organized by the Raiffeisen Group, focused on supporting technology innovations that have a positive impact on the development of financial and banking systems. This year, via a live online event, the participating teams had a chance to present their fintech solutions to experts and the viewers could join the discussion and acquaint themselves with the segment of start-up solutions.

Detailed information regarding the competition, participants, jury and awards can be found at the following link: https://elevator-lab.com/challenges/regional-1/, while the entire gala event can be watched HERE.

Taming the dragon: ESG implementation – risks demystified by CMS Belgrade

CMS Belgrade is going to organize the expert panel Taming the dragon: ESG implementation – risks demystified organized by CMS Belgrade, which will be held on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at 15.00, at CMS Belgrade premises, Krunska 73 – estimated duration 90 minutes, followed by a cocktail.

The demand for sustainability information continues to grow as businesses are increasingly focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. ESG regulatory and compliance requirements are rising, and companies are facing intensive implementation challenges. Why? Because ESG matters.

The expert panel will combine ESG experiences and know-how of CMS and Delhaize, Delta Holding, ProCredit Bank, Cushman & Wakefield CBS, and EY. 

Keynote speaker:

Döne Yalçın, Partner and Head of CMS Sustainability for Austria and CEE, will bring insights on ESG regulatory trends on the horizon and current ESG challenges for multinational companies in Europe.

Language: English: keynote and Serbian: panel.

If you need additional information, please send an e-mail to: Belgrade@cms-rrh.com