ROME – A business visit to Serbia for 27 Italian businesses, organised by Intesa Sanpaolo with the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria) Trent, Confindustria Small Industry and Confindustria Serbia, began on Monday, the banking group announced.

 The aim is to get to know the country and its market, facilitate meetings between Italian and Serbian companies, illustrate tools and opportunities to support the internationalisation of Italian companies, Intesa Sanpaolo said.  This is the first time that the ten-year partnership between Intesa Sanpaolo and Small Industry has extended its actions abroad.

 It is being run by Cinzia La Rosa, Vice President of Small Industry for Internationalisation, and, for Confindustria Trent, by Ilaria Vescovi, Chairman of the Technical Committee for Internationalisation Confindustria.

 The 27 small and medium entrepreneurs from all over Italy were selected from among 60 candidates.  They belong to various commodity-related sectors including engineering, information technology and textiles.

 Italian business relations with Serbia are strong - in 2018 commercial exchanges between the two countries exceeded 4 billion euros according to Serbian statistics, making Italy the first destination country for Serbian goods and Belgrade’s second commercial partner.  In 2018, Italian exports to Serbia increased by 4.7 per cent. Italy is also the most important foreign investor in Serbia, with a presence of about 600 firms, with an estimated invested capital of about 3 billion euros.

 The event is an opportunity to make contact with the structures in Belgrade that offer constant assistance and support to Italian industry, belonging to Sistema Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo, in particular through its subsidiary Banca Intesa Beograd, said Intesa Sanpaolo. This presence is shown on the spot through a widespread network of branches, which allows Banca Intesa Beograd to play a leading role in products and services for businesses, also through the activity of a specific Multinational Desk.

 The Multinational Desk, thanks to dedicated and Italian-speaking representatives, experts in local realities and problems related to the internationalization of the company, is a point of entry for Italian companies in the Serbian market, providing specialist advice and assisting them in banking and financial needs.

 The visit to Serbia was organized thanks to the support of Intesa Sanpaolo, the bank said, in particular through the network of the Divisione Banca dei Territori led by Stefano Barrese and Banca Intesa Beograd, part of the Divisione International Subsidiary Banks  headed by Paola Angeletti, confirming the solid trade relations between the two countries.

 Participation in the visit to Serbia corresponds to the strategy of Intesa Sanpaolo to support the internationalization of Italian small and medium businesses in the world, when they face new international markets or if they intend to strengthen their presence abroad.

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