Eastern, Central Europe - region attractive for investment

LONDON, BELGRADE - The region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Serbia, could become an attractive region for investment and serve as an incubator to thriving, competitive companies, says a recent report of a survey conducted by the KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) Global Institute.

The report, titled ‘Unlocking the World for Central and Eastern European Champions', points to the competitive advantages of the region, which should help investors "adopt a more constructive view in looking at CEE: as a region that has achieved notable albeit uneven gains over the last 25 years."

The report was based on interviews with entrepreneurs and CEOs of leading companies, and experts and government officials in the CEE region.

"Over the past 25 years, the CEE region has experienced strong albeit uneven economic growth, democratization, and political development. Most CEE countries have integrated into the Euro-Atlantic security and governance architecture or are in the midst of doing so," said Johannes Huth, co-author in the survey and report and a KKR member responsible for KKR's operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

"We believe that the next 25 years for CEE can be marked by further convergence with Western Europe and the emergence of global champions, bringing valuable innovation to the global marketplace," Huth said. "We are confident that, over the next quarter century, they can harness their talents to realize their region's enormous economic potential too."

The report says that the region benefits from a well-educated and inexpensive workforce with particular strengths in technology and engineering, and because of its location, is ideally situated for building trade links between Western...