While numerous foreign companies they are leaving Serbia, leaving thousands of people without income and work, some new ones strangers continue to receive state subsidies for business development and employment.
Ministry of privrede Serbia announced that it has agreed to provide a subsidy of seven million euros to the Chinese manufacturer of cores for electric motors Fine Stamping for the development of the factory in Apatin, which it opened in November last year, writes the business portal SeeNews.
According to the contract subsidy signed on December 12, 2025, Fine Stamping committed to invest 47,1 million euros in the plant in Apatin and to employ 150 permanent workers by the end of 2028.
The Ministry of Economy will provide a subsidy, which amounts to 15 percent of the total investment, in four annual installments during the period 2026-2029. year.
The Fine Stamping company applied for the incentive in June 2024.
This company has been operating in Serbia since 2024 through the Belgrade subsidiary Finestamping Technology, which is its first foreign unit.
The factory in Apatin will produce cores for electric motors for electric cars.
The factory was opened in November with cameras, and the President of the Provincial Government, Maja Gojković, attended it.
When the subsidies dry up, the padlock
While the cameras recorded the ceremonial opening of plants and the cutting of red ribbons, many investors left the country in silence as soon as possible subsidies they dry up or profits decline.
For years, the state has subsidized foreign companies with citizens' money, offering them cheap labor, weakened labor laws and minimal obligations to the local community. The result of that model today are closed factory, devastated industrial cities and workers who were left without work, "Vreme" wrote earlier.
The year 2025 was marked by the abandonment and closure of a large number of factories, and several thousand people were left without work in many regions. The most tragic was in the south of the country.
Why do foreigners leave?
Once popular for the opening of foreign factories, Serbia is now less attractive, President Aleksandar Vučić claimed, and they have repeatedly blamed the blockades and the fact that there is no more cheap labor for this.
Government representatives have repeatedly said that university blockades are to blame for investors leaving.
However, experts do not think so.
"The real reason we have less foreign investment and some foreign investors are leaving is really our bad general climate here." foreign investment consultant Milan Kovačević told Vreme earlier.
Among the reasons for the absence of foreign investments economists Saša Đogović stated an extremely high degree of political crisis, an extremely high degree of corruption in the country and the lack of a stimulating institutional environment.
Economic consultant Bogdan Petrović previously indicated for "Danas" the possible faster departure of foreign investors due to the increase in the minimum wage, especially in labor-intensive industries.
"All foreign investments that are contracted with state subsidies have a clause that wages must be 20 percent above the minimum wage. This means that an increase in the minimum wage will automatically raise costs in those factories," he said.
What will happen in Apatin after 2029?
The new Chinese factory in Apatin will receive subsidies until the end of 2029.
Maja Gojković, the President of the Provincial Government, announced at the opening of the factory in November last year that it is very important that this investment will significantly contribute to the development of the local community, the improvement of infrastructure and the quality of life of the citizens of this region.
Apatin, she said, along with Kragujevac and Novi Sad, will become one of the centers of the automotive industry in Serbia.
"It should not be emphasized that our country is one of the centers of the production of electric motors and electric vehicles, which not only improves the domestic industry, but also additionally positions Serbia on the world market as a favorable and desirable destination for investment," said Gojković and added that attracting foreign direct investments is one of the key priorities of the Provincial Government.
If we look at the events of last year, it is clear that Serbia is no longer that interesting to foreigners, and that companies often close when the subsidies expire.
