During his visit to the Novi Sad Fair , the president of the German Business Club in Romania, Peter Hohmut, said that German investors were very interested in investing in Vojvodina.

Hohmut talked to representatives of the Novi Sad Fair and the Vojvodina Investment Promotion Fund (VIP Fund), after which he addressed members of the press. He said that German businesspeople working in Romania were currently most interested in investing in power supply, transport and agribusiness.

- We are interested in the whole region of Banat, since German investors see this area as a special unit, said Hohmut and added that the comparative advantages of Vojvodina were qualified and skilled labour force, good infrastructure, tradition of industrial production and the proximity to the European Union.

According to the data of the German Business Club, the Romanian Timis County, there are over one hundred small and large enterprises owned by German companies, employing between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

A representative of the Chamber of Agriculture at the German Business Club, Andreas Bardo, said that Austrian and German companies owned a lot of land in Romania and that their aim was to expend to Banat as well.

According to him, investors are interested in agribusiness and scientific-research work in the field of agriculture, since Serbia is quite developed in those fields. There is also interest in investing in transport ports on the Danube, since Timisoara lacks such facilities.

Deputy director of the VIP Fund (VIP fond), Milana Milić, said that it was very important for the Fund that the companies operating in Romania were interested in investing in Banat.

-It is our common wish, since there are already projects relating to building new facilities and making joint investments, she said and added that at that moment she could not say anything more.

According to the data of the VIP Fund, around 20 German companies have invested around 800 million euros and employed around 6,000 people in Vojvodina over the past ten years.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Novi Sad Fair, Goran Vasić, said he was very satisfied to have had an opportunity to talk to German investors about the importance of "Investexpo" and the forthcoming Agricultural Fair, which will also be attended by German investors.

- We hope that 2011 will bring great improvements in terms of investments, since German businesspeople have recognised this environment as very attractive for conducting business, Vasić concluded.