The market capitalisation of the SEE TOP 100 listed companies in 2014 rose to 46.08 billion euro, as compared to 44.7 billion euro of the entrants in the ranking a year earlier. Read more
Features
Growth prospects have improved but negative effects of 2008 financial crisis will remain
Economies in Southeast Europe (SEE) now appear to be solidly in recovery mode, after having one of the weakest performances in the last 5 years. Read more
Greece in the eye of the Balkan beholder
This survey monitors sentiment towards the events in Greece in the light of the referendum on accepting or rejecting the agreement with the country’s creditors. Social media comments, blog posts, forum discussions, and comments in news media outlets were analysed to outline public attitudes in eight countries in Southeast Europe (SEE). Read more
Forton: Bulgaria’s retail property market saturated, opportunities abound on office segment in Sofia
The Sofia office market has reached the tipping point from which investment and development offer a sizable opportunity. The retail market, in particular in Sofia and other big cities, is relatively saturated. The industrial real estate market in Bulgaria offers a large field for new project development while the opportunities for investment remain limited. Read more
LAUNCHub: SEE boasts talent-rich startup ecosystem
LAUNCHub is a 9.0 million euro seed fund, based in Bulgaria, investing in the most promising startups in Southeast Europe (SEE). Since 2012, LAUNCHub has invested over 3.5 million euro in 47 portfolio companies. Over 140 founders have joined the big family and in less than two years have managed to attract a further 3.5 million euro-plus of follow-on funding. As of September 2014, LAUNCHub’s portfolio includes companies from nine countries in SEE – Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, Ukraine, Austria and Switzerland. Read more
Bottomlines under more pressure as competition intensifies
The slow recovery in the European Union, Southeast Europe’s (SEE) main trading partner, the sluggish prospects facing nearly all economies in the region and shrunken domestic demand all left their mark on corporate bottomlines in 2013. At the same time, long overdue structural reforms, fiscal and regulatory volatility and poor infrastructure continued to be a drag on local businesses. Against this backdrop, the performance of the companies in the SEE TOP 100 ranking was expectedly lackluster – their combined revenues in 2013 were flattish, with nearly half of the entrants seeing a decline in their revenues. Read more
SEE region’s top 100 listed companies boost capitalisation in 2013
The market capitalisation of the entrants in the 2013 edition of the SEE TOP 100 listed companies ranking totaled 44.7 billion euro, compared to 39 billion euro for the firms that made the 2012 list. Most entrants in the ranking – 65, saw their market capitalisation rise, with 30 posting a decline. Read more
Uneven recovery constrains insurance business in SEE
The patchy performance of the economies of the countries in Southeast Europe (SEE) proved a drag on the region’s insurance industry in 2013, leading to a drop of 2.0% to 6.2 billion euro in the combined gross written premiums (GWP) of the entrants in the 2013 edition of the SEE TOP 100 insurers ranking compared to the companies that made the 2012 cut. Read more
Consolidation, rise of discounters shaping outlook for grocery market in SEE
• Market consolidation, spread of private labels and discounters in focus
• Agrokor/Mercator deal to have strong impact on retail landscape
• Most SEE grocery markets offer room for M&As Read more
Energy companies post heftiest losses in SEE, paced by Srbijagas
Energy companies continued to dominate the 2013 SEE money losers ranking with 13 representatives, unchanged from a year earlier. Serbian state-owned gas monopoly Srbijagas remained the biggest money loser in the region, its loss widening to 434.9 million euro. Read more
Slovenia’s Petrol cements lead in SEE TOP 100 per capita
Slovenian companies continue to dominate the SEE TOP 100 per capita ranking but their lead is dwindling, with Croatia and Serbia slowly closing the gap. Almost half the entrants in the ranking are energy companies. Read more
SEE banking sector’s losses widen sharply on Slovenian woes
Most of the lenders in the SEE TOP 100 banks ranking closed 2013 in the black but the overall loss of the sector widened to 2.18 billion euro, due to the heavy losses booked by Slovenian banks. With the exception of Slovenia, the banking system in Southeast Europe (SEE), however, managed to stay stable, although continuing to struggle with high non-performing loan (NPL) ratios, weak lending growth and subdued economic growth. The ranking was dominated by Romanian lenders, which accounted for nearly a quarter of the total assets of the banks in the region. Read more
Romanian companies rule SEE 2013 most profitable ranking, OMV Petrom grabs gold
Romania had the highest number of entrants in the ranking of the most profitable companies in Southeast Europe (SEE) in 2013. The best represented industry in the ranking was energy, with nine companies. Read more
Automakers speed up the 2013 SEE industrial ranking
The oil and gas industry, the biggest in the region, posted a slight decline in total revenue and a sharp fall in profit. Pharmaceuticals remained the most profitable industry with a 13.35% return on revenue. Read more
Energy sector takes over 2012 SEE money losers rankings
Energy companies booked the majority of Southeast Europe’s heftiest corporate losses in 2012 as 13 oil, gas and electricity firms made the TOP 20 money losers ranking of predominantly heavy-industry entries.
Companies that turned 2011 bottom lines into SEE’s biggest losses took the top four spots in the 2012 standings. Read more
European transport networks – the road to economic connectivity in Southeast Europe
The transport infrastructure of SEE consists of national transport systems and a number of integrated international networks that upon their completion should ensure quick and unhampered movement of people and goods across Europe. This makes the integrated European transport system a key prerequisite for the seamless operation of the internal market and for the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the European countries. Read more
SEE provides numerous opportunities for MBA training
SEE hosts 61 business schools across ten countries, according to compiled data in a survey carried out by SeeNews Research & Profiles on MBA training in English in the region. These universities offer some 90 MBA programmes, either full-time or part-time. While not widespread, distance learning, which provides more flexibility, is also available. Read more
2012: Taking bitter with sweet
Given the difficulties faced by the eurozone and the disastrous macroeconomic conditions in Greece and Italy, the stable picture in SEE suggests that smaller boats could survive more easily in rough waters. Read more
SEE stock exchanges gain momentum in 2012, as regional hubs stand out
Romanian and Croatian companies asserted their dominance at the lead of SEE publicly traded companies, the 2012 ranking by market cap showed. Read more
The Balkans – a crossroads of gas pipelines
Natural gas pipeline development is indispensable for Europe as a whole and for SEE in particular. Read more