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Registry portal to improve transparency and access to information and the investment climate -
The EBRD continues to support the initiative by extending the project -
More Western Balkan countries expected to join the register
A new regional online business registration portal in the Western Balkans will provide investors with transparent and easily accessible information on local businesses thanks to support from the EBRD.
THE Commercial and financial data exchange (BIFIDEX) was created by the Serbian Business Register Agency and the Central Register of the Republic of North Macedonia as the first countries in the region to join this regional initiative. The portal will serve as a single point of information for businesses and investors, providing up-to-date information from national business registration agencies.
The database currently includes more than 500,000 companies and provides information on company ownership, governance, financial reporting, organizational changes, and more. A database will allow interested parties to search for companies operating in a specific sector, geographic location or other predefined criteria.
The portal is a direct result of the EBRD Investment Climate and Governance Initiative, which aims to improve the business environment in the Western Balkans and other regions where the Bank operates. Improving access to up-to-date and reliable information and increased transparency will promote greater confidence in local markets.
The EBRD supported the development of the Western Balkans Regional Business Register portal and will continue to support the expansion of the initiative and the integration of other Western Balkans business registers into BIFIDEX.
Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Regional Director for the Western Balkans and responsible for Serbia, said: “We are pleased with the regional dimension of the project and are working to include other business registers from the region as they are “ready to receive data”. entirely in line with the “connectivity agenda” for the Western Balkans that we are pursuing with our partners. »
Marija Boškovksa Jankovski, Director of the Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia, said: “These initiatives pave the way for the creation of a common market in the Western Balkans, so that the entire region is transformed from one with the negative connotations that have brought us the last decades, in a region recognized by the principles of mutual respect, cooperation and synergy of our economies.
Milan Lučić, Director of the Serbian Business Register Agency, added: “Over the last two years, the Serbian Business Register Agency and the Central Register of the Republic of North Macedonia have created this joint portal based on a unique methodology that will provide businessmen in the region, but also foreign investors, with access to valuable business information with added value and beyond existing services.