Vice President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) Vidosava Dzagic said Friday that the Gorenje affair is sending a bad message to potential investors in Serbia.

The conflict among ruling coalition officials, as well as local officials, as to which city will be receive the new investment of Slovenian home appliance maker Gorenje, comes as a consequence of a poor regional development and investment encouragement policy, and the cost is paid by the citizens of Serbia, Dzagic said in a statement with Tanjug.

This kind of behaviour is not conducive to attracting foreign investments of creating a positive image for the state or the investor, but rather creates a chasm and enmity between regions and hinders the integration of foreign investors into the local community, she said.

The role of the ministries and the government is not to decide about investment destinations, but to create a business environment which is transparent, predictable and with established institutions, where the investor will be able to choose, she believes.

Dzagic stressed that in place of the principle of fairness, non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all, there is legalized discrimination whose "consequences today are Valjevo and Zajecar, and tomorrow some other towns."

Businessmen are wondering, according to Dzagic, if a study has been done on the rate of return for investment attraction projects subsidized from the state budget.

Dzagic believes that the government bears the brunt of the responsibility for spending budget and borrowed funds in this manner.

Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic signed Thursday a deal with Gorenje on the construction of a new factory in Zajecar. The initial investment is EUR 2.9 million, and the ministry will support the investor with EUR 10,000 per every new hire.

The choice of Zajecar caused quite a stir in Valjevo, where Gorenje already has a factory. The town expected the new investment to come its way as well.