Serbian Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric and Higson International Ltd. CEO Franz Koller signed Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the company's intention to start production in Serbia and make investment of EUR 4 million.

After the signing, Ciric said that the investment is expected to be launched in June or July, and that 1,500 people will get jobs in two years thanks to it.

Higson International, which deals with design, production and distribution of garments, is planning to start production in Zitoradja, southeast Serbia, in the former factory "Amer Prom."

Ciric qualified as very important the fact that the factory will be opened in Zitoradja, since this is an underdeveloped area with a high unemployment rate. He also said that the products will be exported to the EU, Russia and other countries Serbia has signed the free trade agreement with, and pointed out that it is good that yet another textile investor is coming to the country. Ciric underlined that Serbia was the leader in attracting investments in 2011 and that the trend has continued in 2012 as well, which shows that the government's strategy for attracting investments is good.

Franz Koller promised that he will do everything to meet the expectations of his Serbian partners, and added that the investment means that the brand "Iguana," the company's best known brand line of sports clothes, will move from Asia to Europe.

In the first phase, the company will invest EUR 1 million in high-tech equipment, whereas in the second it will invest additional EUR 750,000. It is estimated that the total investment will be worth around EUR 4 million.

Every year, the company exports three million garments from their plants in Indonesia and Myanmar, and the plan is to transfer 10-15 percent of its production capacities from Asia to Serbia. Higson International Ltd. has an annual turnover of USD 60 million.