Stein-Erik Vellan, CEO of Telenor d.o.o., was elected President of the Board of Directors of the Foreign Investors Council at the regular annual meeting of the General Assembly yesterday

Srdjan Janićijević, General Manager of Politika, will hold the post of the Vice President, while the members of the BoD include Alpha Bank’s Panagiotis H. Vlasiadis, British American Tobacco’s Luiz Heeren, Carlsberg’s Isaac Sheps, Nenad Vučinić of Henkel, Gustavo Navarro of Holcim, and UniCredit Bank’s Klaus Priverschek.

Pointing out to the plans and the future activities of the FIC, Vellan stated that the next edition of the White Book, the publication which provides recommendations for improvement of the investment climate, will be focused on the areas of the highest interest for the foreign investors, namely infrastructure, land title, and permitology.

"While the foreign investors are being humble and respectful toward Serbia, they have a strong desire to improve the general business environment. I plea on our members to use all their competence, experience and strong numbers to actively help achieve these goals," Vellan said.

The FIC will continue constant dialogue with the Government and other relevant institutions, offering concrete suggestions for upgrading the business environment for the benefit of foreign and domestic companies operating in Serbia.

The Foreign Investors Council was established in 2002 and currently gathers 110 companies, whose combined investments in Serbia amount to more than € 5 billion.

The position of President of FIC Board of Directors was previously held by late Budimir Bosko Kostic, Deputy President of the Managing Board of Raiffeisen Bank a.d.