Are the Japanese investing $ 1.9 billion in a factory in Serbia?

Nidek is in the final phase of talks with Serbian authorities on plans to build a factory and research center in Serbia, as the company seeks to expand its presence in Europe, whose electric vehicle market rivals that of China. writes the Tokyo Business Journal Nikei.

The plant in Serbia will become one of the largest production centers of the Japanese company in Europe, which will reach an annual production of between 200,000 and 300,000 units by 2023, adds the text transmitted by the Seenews portal.

It is further recalled that the office of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced in September that Nidek was considering an investment in the construction of a factory in Novi Sad, which could start operating in 2021.

The president of the Japanese company, Yun Seki, visited Serbia in September, and on that occasion discussed a possible investment with the president Aleksandar Vučić.

A delegation from Nidek, led by Seki, also visited the North 4 area in the Novi Sad industrial zone at the time to explore a potential location for the project.

The mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević, stated at the time that the city was ready to be a serious partner for the Japanese investor and that he believed that the Nidek delegation was convinced that the state of Serbia and Novi Sad provided the best conditions. for your investment and that we had comparative advantages. in Europe.

“They announced that they would make a final decision early next year, but President Vučić asked them to do so before the end of the year,” Vučević said after speaking with Nidek leaders in September.

Nidek is a leading Japanese company in the field of electric motor production and has the largest share of the world market for small spindle motors that power hard disk drives.

In 2017, the company has 296 subsidiaries located, in addition to Japan, in Asia, Europe and America.