Meeting with the delegation of SHP “Celex”

The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik met today in Banja Luka with the delegation of the commercial company SHP “Celex” led by the owner Milan Filo.

After the meeting, the President of the Republic of Srpska announced that a new investment venture is waiting for Srpska, which will be implemented by the commercial company SHP “Celex”, which has been successfully operating in Banja Luka for years, and is related to the expansion of production and the increase in the number of employees.

“They intend to invest, modernise their lines, build a power plant that is necessary for their needs”, said the President Dodik.

The President of the Republic stated that during the investment period of three to five years, Srpska will guarantee the price of electricity at the level of domestic consumers and thus stimulate the company to maintain its attention on this investment project.

The President Dodik said that Mr. Filo is a successful businessman who does not want to extract but reinvest the profit made in Srpska, and also at the level of the group.

“We would like to thank you for recognising the Republic of Srpska and Banja Luka as an important destination for your business activities”, said the President Dodik and added that today’s agreement will be presented through a memorandum that will be considered and adopted by the Government of Srpska.

Milan Filo said after the meeting that he is confident in the country where the people are hardworking, noting that the earlier investment has returned.

“We would like to invest 130 million euros in this country within five years, for it to be the best paper factory in the Balkans, for it to be a symbol of the Republic of Srpska and Banja Luka”, said Filo and explained that after signing the memorandum, the first steps will be to invest 50 million euros in ready-made lines and warehouses, while in the next two years a minimum of 50 million euros will be invested in the paper machines.

“This will increase production from the current 36,000 tons to approximately 70,000 tons”, said the owner of the SHP group and thanked the President of the Republic of Srpska and the Government of Srpska for their cooperation.

SHP “Celex” is an example of successful privatisation when the factory was taken over by the Slovakian SHP Group, the largest group in the production of hygienic paper in Southeast Europe.

So far, tens of millions of BAM have been invested in Banja Luka SHP “Celex”, and this company currently employs 300 workers and is one of the largest exporters in the region of Banja Luka.