Source: AG Nekretnine | Tuesday, 28.04.2009.| 15:33
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(AG Real Estate) REBEC 2009 – June 22-24, 2009, in Belgrade

In late June last year, REBEC conference was held for the first but not the last time. The premiere which took place „when the time was not ripe“ still attracted the attention of the audience who professionally deal with real estate development in Serbia. Then, just after elections, whilst neither republic nor local authorities were established, it was necessary to present the real estate in Serbia to the region in an attractively defined form, contents and quality.

This year, again with wrong timing, the REBEC organizers will try again to present an untold story about the real estate development in Serbia and the surrounding countries. This time it will be an even more demanding task, as at the height of the global financial crisis that is not yet declining, an amazingly attractive and top-quality story has to be created. Is it possible?

At the end of the premiere REBEC, the organizers promised that the following conference will be held in exactly a year, but a day sooner in relation to the current year. More precisely, the second REBEC conference has been appointed to take place on 22-24 June 2009. Similarly to the last year, two main events have also been anticipated for this year’s manifestation. The first one is a three-day exhibition and the second one is a two-day conference when all topical issues characteristic for our market are to be discussed. It will be again an attempt to present the current situation in Serbia in a high-quality manner through seven panels and/or seven key topics and to insinuate leastwise the future steps in the development of this market. As far as the exhibition is concerned, in order to fulfill the events, a few interesting manifestations will take place within the exhibition area in the lobby of the Blue cinema hall of the „Sava“ Center.


The impressions from a few great gatherings held in Europe lately, such as MAPIC 2008, MIPIM Horizons 2008 and MIPIM 2009, indicate that the most frequent topics related to the real estate development were the expectations and future projections of the global financial market recovery. Although in February „a snapshot was caught“ showing the real estate recovery in the US as well as in Britain in March, the more cautious are not prone to rejoicing and relaxing. The collapse and nationalization of great investment banks (Merill Lynch, Morgan Stenley, Goldman Sach) and well known huge insurance companies (AIG), too many approved loans without coverage, including the uncontrolably grown inertia, tore down the investment picture and the world order like a „card tower“.

Huge systems were left overnight without any resources, swift but still delayed state interventions of the United States of America (700 billion dollars), England (200 billion GB pounds) and Germany (100 billion Euros) stopped for a while further decline of the global financial order. The first to take the brunt were the automobile industry and, naturally, the real estate industry. In Serbia, except for the fact that all development projects of all kinds of real estate were literally abandoned over the night (state-of-the-art office premises, new hotel capacities, modern retail centers, logistics centers and the accompanying infrastructure), at the beginning of the crises a still healthy but conservative policy of the National Bank of Serbia was established. It succeeded to impose „reservation“ of great amounts as deposits to the already approved credit resources which the banks intended to invest into economy. In that respect, the system remained, so to say, healthy, but its potential was exceptionally diminished.

The concern caused by the subsequent risk increase and the memory of the savings collapse in the recent history brought to the epidemic of the time deposts withdrawal by the citizens at the end of 2008. Subsequent bank actions attempting at prevention of this inertia was partially successful. Still, more money remained „out of the system“ thus drastically influencing further positive support to the development of real estate projects in Serbia.


The question is: what now? Whether to wait for the situation to be solved on the global level until the improvement is felt by default in our country, too, or we might take some independant actions on the matter ourselves?

Those are just the main topics of the forthcoming REBEC!

REBEC 2009

Understanding the development of the situation, predicting the attendees expectations, according to the last year’s scheme the organizers will offer 7 panel discussions within the conference part. The novelty this year will be the topics about project management and how the activities of this multidisciplinary profession may positively impact through more intensive engagement on the more effective real estate development in Serbia. Naturally, the least developed branch of the real estate industry in Serbia – the hotel business will have a special panel where top professionals from this segment with their attendance at the conference will try to present the current situation and suggest its further development.

Similarly to the last year’s congress, the topics from town planning which are the beginning of every ’’enlightened’’ story about real estate development will be represented this year, too. Furthermore, the topics related to the undiscovered PPP financing model will be presented again, the model which can be an incentive for a lot of projects in Serbia upon passing the announced respective law. Particularly on the level of local autonomies if they were bestowed with such an opportunity to be equal partners with private enterpreneurs. Naturally, it will be imposible to avoid a somewhat „boring“ panel where discussions will be held on the state of real estate development of the modern residential, office and retail space in addition to contemporary logistics centers.

As far as the exhibition program is concerned, it is expected to be richer and more interesting this year in comparison to the previous, premiere issue. Firstly because of the foreseen performance of the „Facility Management Afternoon“ where, among other things, the newly formed ICSC committee of Serbia is to be promoted. We avail ourselves of the opportunity to boast of the fact that Serbia is the eight country in Europe to accomplish it and that no other neighbouring country has its national committee. It only means that the Committee’s head office in London has thoroughly observed the development potentials of this segment in Serbia and that the expectations for its further development in relation to the neighbourhood are greater and more valuable. In that way, the developers in Serbia will get a chance to obtain faster and more easily the current documents providing positive guidelines created on the grounds of the experience in Europe and worldwide.

Furthermore, under announcement at the exhibition part of the event is the panel discussion which is to point out to the prices trend in residential construction and also give ideas about what is to be done in order to promptly foster this branch and attain the 2008 level of activity. The knowledge that the construction industry comprises about thirty branches of the economy in this situation is far from being neglected.

The culmination of the last two days of both events, the exhibition and the conference, should be the joint action with the representatives of the Egate portal when „The best investment project in Serbia“ will be awarded to the winner according to the key „the most read article“ on the portal. All above mentioned, in the full swing of the financial crisis, have to present the otherwise existing real estate development potentials in Serbia.

There remains to be seen if the organizers will succeed to rally the key and critical mass of topical issues, distinguished and top-graded speakers, the professionals from the real estate industry, as well as to show and present the latest develoment ventures in Serbia at the exhibition part. Also, the expectation to have at the conference more speakers from abroad than the local ones has already been confirmed in addition to expected greater participation of foreign developers at the exhibiton part than at the previous, premiere REBEC.


Because of all above said, eagerly looking forward to 22 June, we recommend you to visit more often www.rebec.rs.

See you at this year’s REBEC!



Edited by Aleksandar Opsenica


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