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24.01.2022 Overview of latest GDP forecasts for Slovenia Ljubljana, 24 September - The latest forecasts for Slovenia indicate the country's economy will shrink by roughly 7% this year, while a rebound in the 5% territory is expected in 2021. Most recently, IMAD, the government forecaster, significantly improved its forecast. Below is an overview of the latest projections by major forecasters. GDP growth/time of projection 2020 2021... ---------------------------------------------------------------- IMAD/September -6.7% 5.1% European Commission/July -7.0% 6.1% OECD/June -7.8% 4.5% Banka Slovenije/June -6.5% 4.9% EBRD/May -5.5% 5.0% IMF/April -8.0% 5.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Individual forecasts STA

23.01.2022 https://the-slovenia.com/business/dejan-kovacevic/

23.01.2022 Schedule of events for Tuesday, 22 September Ljubljana, 22 September - Below is a schedule of events for Tuesday, 22 September: LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will begin a two-day plenary debate on the supplementary budget for 2020; Parliament House, ubieva 4, 9am.... BRUSSELS, Belgium - Public Administration Minister Botjan Koritnik will meet European commissioners Thierry Breton and Janez Lenari, and Slovenians MEPs. A press briefing is scheduled for 4:15pm. BRUSSELS, Belgium - Janez Cigler Kralj, the minister of labour, the family, social affairs and equal opportunities, will meet European commissioners Nicolas Schmit, Helena Dalli and Commission Vice President in charge of democracy and demography Dubravka uica. BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gaper Dovan will attend a session of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council focussing on Covid-19 measures. AJDOVINA - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec will present his ministry's plans for sustainable mobility; Regional Development Agency, Vipavska 4, noon. LJUBLJANA - The Faculty of Sport will present the results of a study of children's physical aptitude tests before and after the coronavirus lockdown; Faculty of Sport, Gortanova 22, 11am. BLED - The International PEN Writers' Meeting will kick off with a meeting of the management board of the International Writers for Peace Committee; Hotel Park, Cesta Svobode 15, 11am. LJUBLJANA - City of Women, an international festival of contemporary arts focused on feminism and gender equality, will kick off with a public reading of #metoo testimonies; Stara Elektrarna, Slomkova 18, 6pm. LJUBLJANA - An exhibition of portraits by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson will open at the Cankarjev Dom arts centre; Preernova 10, noon. LJUBLJANA - Sonica, a festival of contemporary electronic music and transitory art, will kick off; Museum of Contemporary Art, Maistrova 3, 7pm. LJUBLJANA - The Office for Slovenians Abroad will hand out the awards for best theses and dissertations about the Slovenian diaspora; Parliament House, ubieva 4, 10am. LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release consumer sentiment figures for September. STA

22.01.2022 Slovenian researchers publish major paper on smart plant growth management Ljubljana, 24 September - Researchers from the National Institute of Biology, working with colleagues from the Joef Stefan Institute (IJS) and international experts, have started to pave the way for the smart use of microorganisms in agriculture, having completed a study entitled Menage a Trois: Unravelling the Mechanisms Regulating Plant-Microbe-Arthropod Interactions. Kristina Gruden and Marko Petek... from the national institute, Vid Pean from IJS and others have published a paper on their research in the journal Trends in Biotechnology (https://www.sciencedirect.com//a/abs/pii/S1360138520302193). The researches have found that plant-microbe-arthropod interactions have a significant impact on plant fitness and that recent studies shed light on how plants regulate responses in such complex interactions. While certain combinations of microorganisms can already be used as fertiliser or for plant protection, they do not always get the job done and have not become widely used. "Plant reactions can be very complex, involving several hundred molecules. To understand them correctly we need a comprehensive, systemic bioecological approach," Gruden was quoted in a press release by the National Institute Of Biology. According to Petek, such approaches have become possible only "with the development of high-performance methods in biology and in combination with information and mathematical sciences". Most lab research so far has focused on the interaction of plants with only one organism, but now the researchers have shown that such research does not allow predictions on how a plant will react in a more complex ecosystem. "We focused in particular on the triple interaction involving the plant, a microbe and an insect. Most mechanisms are triggered in triple interactions too, but this often differs from simpler interactions between two organisms in terms of the intensity and speed of the response," Kristina Gruden explained. "The order in which the reaction proceeds is also very important, since a useful microorganism for instance needs to establish interaction with the plant at least a few hours before the pest," she added. It is noted in the paper that securing a next generation of farming practices that are environment-friendly while brining high-quality and sufficient yields is one of the key challenges for humanity at present. According to FAO data, the global production of food will need to increase by 70% by 2050 due to the rise in population figures. STA

21.01.2022 Govt extends furlough scheme until year's end for all industries Ljubljana, 24 September - The government has endorsed the fifth stimulus package. Chief among the measures is an extension of the furlough scheme until year's end for all industries, albeit with stricter eligibility criteria, Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj announced on Thursday. ...Continue reading

21.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenias-mercator-applies-for-constr

19.01.2022 Medicop (Slovenia) https://scientect.com//hand-handled-medical-suction-devic/

19.01.2022 https://tradingeconomics.com/slovenia/building-permits

18.01.2022 https://the-slovenia.com/business/manager/wolfgang-zeike/

16.01.2022 https://data.si//registered-address-of-your-company-in-sl/

16.01.2022 NGOs urge against giving in to pressure of oil and gas company Ascent Ljubljana, 22 September - Slovenian NGOs have warned against the country caving in to the pressure of UK-based company Ascent Resources, which has announced a lawsuit against Slovenia over its insistence on an environmental impact assessment for a hydraulic fracturing project. The NGOs highlighted the dangers of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. "Suing Slovenia because we implement our... laws and rules protecting the environment and people's health is unheard of. The effects of fracking entail so much danger for the environment and people's health that many European countries, including Ireland, France and Bulgaria, banned it entirely," Lidija ivi of the Focus NGO wrote in a press release on Tuesday. "They are probably aware at Ascent Resources what the environmental impact assessment would conclude in the face of the harmful effects of fracking and have thus resorted to the only remaining option to avoid it," she added. The lawsuit by the London-based oil and gas exploration company, which is operating the Petiovci gas field in the north-east of Slovenia, leans on the ISDS mechanism, the dangers of which have been highlighted by NGOs for years. Andrej Gnezda of Umanotera feels Slovenia would immediately need to withdraw from all free trade agreements and international treaties that include ISDS or its variations. "Only this way will Slovenia be able to implement its own legislation and protect its environment and people without being under the threat of millions-heavy lawsuits at special arbitration tribunals," Gnezda argued. The NGOs added that this is also the right time for Slovenia to actively push in Brussels for a change of the Energy Charter Treaty, which includes this mechanism as well. Talks are under way on overhauling the treaty and if the mechanism stays, the NGOs feel Slovenia cannot but follow Italy's example and fully withdraw from the treaty. The Environment Agency (ARSO) decided in March 2019 that an environmental impact assessment is needed before a permit can be issued for extraction of gas in Petiovci by re-stimulating two currently producing wells. While the decision was upheld by the Administrative Court in June this year, Ascent has decided for a lawsuit, with procedures reportedly launched in July. The company alleges actions by Slovenia in breach of its obligations under the UK-Slovenia bilateral investment treaty and the Energy Charter Treaty, which it alleges caused considerable harm to the investors' investments in Slovenia. STA

15.01.2022 Luka Koper's operating profit down 44% in first nine months Ljubljana, 27 November - The Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact the global flow of goods in the third quarter of the year, affecting the nine-month results of Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, which saw its sales revenue drop by 11% year-on-year to EUR 155 and operating profit by 44% to EUR 22 million. This is a result of the Koper port recording a 16% drop in transshipment in the January-...September period year-on-year, Luka Koper said in a press release on Friday. It added that, in addition to the lower revenue, the drop in operating profit should also be attributed to higher labour costs as a result of a greater number of employees as the company has switched to a new employment model. Also affecting the bottom line of Luka Koper was the transshipment tax that the company started paying last March to finance the construction of a new railway line to the port. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first nine months of the year thus amounted to EUR 43 million and net profit to EUR 22 million. Between January and September, a total of 14.9 million tonnes of goods was transshipped in the port, with the transshipment of containers and cars, two strategic segments for Luka Koper, remaining stable. A growth in the transshipment of cars was actually recorded in recent months, while the transshipment of energy products continued to decline. Considering the EU regulations dictating decarbonisation in all segments of the economy and the growing emission taxes, the transshipment of thermal coal is also expectedly declining. When it comes to liquid cargo, the impact of the pandemic on the sales of petroleum products, in particular in the aviation industry, is evident, Luka Koper added. CEO Dimitrij Zadel commented on the results by saying that growth in transshipment had been expected after the pandemic ended, and adding that "Luka Koper continued making development-oriented investments in expanding the port capacity." In the first nine months of the year, the Luka Koper group spent EUR 50 million for investments or almost twice as much as in the same period last year. The construction of a new parking garage for 6,000 vehicles is in full swing, a project to extend the container terminal was launched in August, and an additional entry point for lorries is also being built. Two major projects were concluded this year - an investment in new moorings for roll-on/roll-off ships and additional tracks for the car terminal, the company also said in the report. STA

15.01.2022 SBI TOP index sheds over 1% Ljubljana, 21 September - SBI TOP lost 1.08% to close at 831.10 points on Monday as several issues on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange traded in the negative. Stock brokers made deals worth just around EUR 383,000, with the bulk, or EUR 202.500, coming from pharmaceutical company Krka (-1.64% to EUR 84.20). Index Change pts Change %... SBI TOP 831.10 -9.060 -1.08% ADRPR 973.07 -5.670 -0.58% Stock Price Change Intereuropa 1.2500 1.63% Krka 84.2000 -1.64% Luka Koper 18.8000 -1.05% Mercator * 14.0000 0.00% NLB 38.2000 -0.78% Petrol 300.0000 -0.66% Sava-RE 16.6000 -1.19% Telekom Slovenije 44.0000 -2.22% Zavarovalnica Triglav 27.7000 -0.72% Cinkarna Celje 161.0000 0.00% KD Group 54.5000 0.00% Unior 9.3000 0.00% * the stock is not included in the SBI index London Stock Exchange NLB (in form of global depositary receipts; 1 share makes 5 GDRs) Price 7.40 Change -0.27%

14.01.2022 https://seenews.com//tender-for-slovenias-hotel-brdo-renov

14.01.2022 Stock market index adds a third of percent Ljubljana, 27 November - The benchmark SBI TOP index on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange added 0.34% to 884.98 points on Friday, as the port operator Luka Koper gained more than 1%. The drug maker Krka (+0.23%) was meanwhile the busiest item, accounting for almost EUR 741,000 of the EUR 1.85 million in daily turnover. Index Change %... SBI TOP 884.98 0.34% ADRPR 1,041.79 0.08% Stock Price Change Intereuropa 1.1400 1.79% Krka 88.0000 0.23% Luka Koper 18.5000 1.09% NLB 45.1000 2.50% Petrol 328.0000 0.00% Sava-RE 18.1000 0.00% Telekom Slovenije 44.8000 0.00% Zavarovalnica Triglav 29.0000 0.35% Cinkarna Celje 170.0000 -1.16% KD Group 54.5000 0.00% Unior 8.5000 0.00% * the stock is not included in the SBI index London Stock Exchange NLB (in form of global depositary receipts; 1 share makes 5 GDRs) Price 8.91 Change 4.82% STA

13.01.2022 https://kongres-magazine.eu//slovenian-aviation-the-most/

12.01.2022 Impairments result in EUR 69m loss for retailer Mercator in H1 Ljubljana, 24 September - Mercator Group sales revenue increased by 4.4% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year, to reach EUR 1.06 billion. Due to the revaluation of property and impairments of other assets, and the effects of Covid-19, the group posted a loss of EUR 69.2 million in the January-June period. These factors excluded, the group would record a profit of EUR 86,000, reads a pres...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Ljubljana hotel chain battles coronacrisis with inventive solutions Ljubljana, 22 September - Union Hotels Collection, which runs five hotels in the centre of Ljubljana, has come up with alternative options to fill its capacities during the coronacrisis. In some hotels, rooms have been rented out to students on long-term leases, while in others real estate is rented out to be used as office space. The group has pointed out in a press release that most industries have been fac...ing tough business conditions since the start of the epidemic in early March this year, including the hotel industry. Thus, the management has been looking for new opportunities in addition to traditional business models since the state of emergency began. They started to rent out available hotel units to students in the renovated Central Hotel and the new youth hotel The Fuzzy Log, rent out real estate for office space, and they are actively trying to attract domestic tourists by offering various package deals for a short holiday in Ljubljana. Their marketing strategy for foreign tourists is targeting markets within driving distance from Slovenia. "Most of the newly introduced business solutions have proven to be successful, as the rooms rented out to students are almost completely full," they added. The coronavirus crisis has severely affected Slovenian tourism. According to the Slovenian Tourist Board, international arrivals will be 70% lower than last year. The state has come to the aid of the industry with tourism vouchers, which especially helped hotels on the coast, in mountain destinations and spas, but they did not bring much profit to city hoteliers. The Union Hotels Collection consists of five hotels: Grand Hotel Union, Uhotel, Hotel Lev, Central Hotel and The Fuzzy Log. STA

12.01.2022 GZS supports government's deregulation blueprint Ljubljana, 22 September - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) has no serious reservations about the deregulation plan unveiled by the strategic council for debureaucratization, and would like to see them implemented as soon as possible. The GZS has also endorsed some of the proposals from a new anti-coronavirus legislative package. The conclusion was made on Monday as the GZS executive committee met Ivan Simi, the chair... of the government advisory body, to discuss the proposals in the fields of taxes and business environment. Simi said that the goal was to simplify procedures, while preserving control over and reliability of the relevant processes, which would save citizens and businesses a lot of time and costs. Budget revenue would meanwhile increase. According to him, the main point of contention will be the plan under which some sole proprietors would pay higher contributions and taxes as the tax base would be raised. Simi also presented to the GZS representatives the idea to introduce an annual cap on social security contributions for those with a monthly salary of over EUR 6,000, and a new 10% tax rate that has been proposed for income in excess of EUR 1 million. GZS president Botjan Gorjup noted that the chamber's representatives had been involved in the strategic council, which had been established in May, drafting a series of concrete proposals for reducing administrative barriers. The executive committee also discussed yesterday two initiatives which aim to support cooperation in the future development of Slovenia into an economically successful and knowledge- and added value-based society, the GZS said in a press release. Gorjup said that the initiatives were focused on a post-coronavirus era and that they stimulated higher added value and greater exports. GZS director general Sonja muc added that the economy should develop at a faster pace, with an emphasis on sustainability and contribution to broader social values. Higher demand in export and domestic markets is key to the recovery, according to her. muc also touched on the newly-proposed anti-coronavirus legislative package, which is being discussed by social partners, saying that the GZS supported the extension of subsidised wages for furloughed workers until the end of December. The chamber also proposes that subsidies for shorter working time be extended until June 2021, and that subsidies be introduced for coronavirus testing in the cases when a large number of employees in a company are suspected of contracting the virus. STA

11.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenia-seeks-builders-for-ormoz-ptu

10.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenias-outgoing-mobile-voice-traff

10.01.2022 https://seenews.com//ljubljana-stock-exchange-to-extend-tr

10.01.2022 https://tradingeconomics.com/slovenia/capital-flows

09.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenias-unior-swings-to-cons-loss-i

09.01.2022 Krka (Slovenia) https://galusaustralis.com//animal-disinfectants-market-2/

09.01.2022 https://seenews.com//ec-approves-croatias-fortenova-acquis

08.01.2022 https://www.themayor.eu//slovenian-railways-stride-towards

07.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenias-building-permits-up-19-mm-i

07.01.2022 SBI TOP up slightly in uneventful day on stock exchange Ljubljana, 22 September - Pharma company Krka was the most traded (EUR 274,000) as well as profitable (+0.95%) blue chip in a slow trading day on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The SBI TOP index closed 0.25% higher as the big names had mixed fortunes. Total turnover for the day amounted to EUR 620,000. Index Change pts Change %... SBITOP 833.14 2.040 0.25% ADRPR 975.88 2.810 0.29% Stock Price Change Intereuropa 1.2500 0.00% Krka 85.0000 0.95% Luka Koper 18.9000 0.53% Mercator * 14.0000 0.00% NLB 38.0000 -0.52% Petrol 300.0000 0.00% Sava-RE 16.6000 0.00% Telekom Slovenije 43.8000 -0.45% Zavarovalnica Triglav 27.8000 0.36% Cinkarna Celje 161.0000 0.00% KD Group 54.5000 0.00% Unior 8.8000 -5.38% * the stock is not included in the SBI index London Stock Exchange NLB (in form of global depositary receipts; 1 share makes 5 GDRs) Price 7.30 Change -1.62%

06.01.2022 Business sentiment up for fifth consecutive month in September Ljubljana, 24 September - The business sentiment improved for the fifth month in a row in September. The sentiment indicator stood at -4.1 percentage points, up 2.4 percentage points on August and down 8.7 points year-on-year. The latest figure is lower by 4.2 percentage points compared to the long-term average, said the Statistics Office on Thursday. The monthly increase was impacted by confidence indicators in s...ervice industries (by 1.7 p.p.), manufacturing (by 0.7 p.p.) and construction (by 0.1 p.p.). The retail confidence indicator had zero effect on the business sentiment this month, while the impact of the consumer confidence indicator was negative (by 0.2 p.p.). Meanwhile, the decrease at the annual level is mostly a result of a lower confidence indicator in services (by 5.9 p.p.). The consumer confidence indicator was also negative (by 2.9 p.p.), as were the confidence indicators in construction (by 0.5 p.p.) and in retail (by 0.3 p.p.). The manufacturing confidence indicator was thus the only indicator to have a positive impact on the September figure compared to the same month in 2019 (by 1 p.p.). Confidence indicators in manufacturing, construction and services rose in September, whereas the retail confidence indicator was on par with the August figure and the long-term average. The manufacturing confidence indicator also improved year-on-year (by 2 p.p.) and compared to the long-term average (by 1 p.p.). On the other hand, the retail confidence indicator dropped by 6 p.p. year-on-year, the services indicator by 19 p.p. and the indicator in construction by 11 p.p. on September 2019. The services figure was also down 12 p.p. on the long-term average, whereas the construction figure was up 11 p.p. compared to the long-term average. STA

06.01.2022 Brussels clears concentration of Fortenova and Mercator Ljubljana, 22 September - The European Commission has given the Croatian group Fortenova a concentration approval in the Mercator case. Thus, yet another condition has been met for the transfer of the Slovenian retailer from insolvent Agrokor to its successor Fortenova, which still needs an approval from Mercator bank creditors and the Serbian anti-trust watchdog. Fortenova expects the transfer to be carried out by the e...Continue reading

05.01.2022 https://tradingeconomics.com/slovenia/car-registrations

03.01.2022 Pahor calls for structural reforms at Manager Congress Portoro, 24 September - The two-day Manager Congress got under way in the coastal town of Portoro on Thursday, with President Borut Pahor, the event's honorary guest, highlighting that managers' accomplishments helped Slovenia in tackling Covid-19. He also called for necessary structural reforms. ... In his address, Pahor said that confidence in the Slovenian economy had improved due to economic restructuring compared to the situation during the financial crisis more than ten years ago. However, politicians have not followed suit by implementing key reforms and are thus seeing extremely low levels of trust, he said. Regarding an action plan to increase productivity which was presented earlier today, Pahor said that the document was a basis for opening wider social dialogue and reaching an agreement on Slovenia's targets. Addressing the opening as well, Economy Minister Zdravko Poivalek highlighted the role of the action plan, which he deems "the Bible of the economic and social revival of Slovenia" and the first serious attempt to increase productivity, and warned that such efforts would necessitate a wider social agreement. The minister believes that Slovenia achieved great development shifts in the past three decades, but has also sidestepped certain tasks and is thus lagging behind. The economic recovery depends on the epidemiologic developments, he said, adding that lockdown measures as seen in the first wave of infections would be replaced by localised restrictions in the second wave if need be. Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenari meanwhile said via videoconference that the corona crisis was a turning point and that the European economic recovery should be fair and inclusive and should switch from stimulus measures to improving the foundations of member states' economies. The action plan for increased productivity was drawn up by the Managers' Association in cooperation with the School of Economics and Business and the Economy Ministry. Medeja Lonar, the head of the organisation, said at today's press conference that increased productivity meant increased welfare for all. The strategy envisages specific measures for 18 areas, including striving for a stable and operative political system. The plan proposes raising the parliamentary threshold, abolishing the National Council and stricter terms for holding emergency sessions, filing ouster motions, initiating impeachment and discussing laws which are not in line with the constitution or the state's financial capacities. The Managers' Association also presented the Manager of the Year award at the press conference. Enzo Smrekar, Atlantic Droga Kolinska director, has been given the 2020 accolade. STA

03.01.2022 Petrol share soars in anticipation of fuel market liberalisation Ljubljana, 24 September - The issue of energy company Petrol gained more than 6% on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Thursday following the government's announcement of full deregulation of fuel prices. The benchmark SBI TOP index gained 1.44%. Trading volumes amounted of EUR 1.47 million, almost EUR 639,000 of which in Petrol shares. Index Change pts Change %... SBITOP 846.80 12.030 1.44% ADRPR 995.99 8.390 0.85% Stock Price Change Intereuropa 1.2500 0.00% Krka 85.4000 0.00% Luka Koper 18.9000 0.00% Mercator * 14.3000 0.00% NLB 38.0000 0.80% Petrol 320.0000 6.31% Sava-RE 16.7000 0.60% Telekom Slovenije 43.8000 -0.45% Zavarovalnica Triglav 27.5000 -0.72% Cinkarna Celje 163.0000 0.00% KD Group 54.5000 0.00% Unior 9.0000 0.00% * the stock is not included in the SBI index London Stock Exchange NLB (in form of global depositary receipts; 1 share makes 5 GDRs) Price 7.26 Change 0.00%

03.01.2022 Fuel prices to be fully deregulated Ljubljana, 24 September - Fuel prices in Slovenia will be fully deregulated, the government decided at a session late on Wednesday. The current decree on administered prices expires at the end of September and will not be extended, which means prices will be deregulated as of 1 October. Prices of fuel sold along motorways and expressways have been deregulated since 2016, as has the price of heating oil and premium petrol regardless of poin...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Schedule of events for Wednesday, 23 September Ljubljana, 23 September - Below is a schedule of events for Wednesday, 23 September: LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will vote on the supplementary budget for 2020 after two days of debate on the budget documents; Parliament House, ubieva 4, session starts at 9am, vote scheduled in the evening.... LJUBLJANA - The European Parliament's Office in Slovenia will host an online debate on how to mitigate social problems in the coronacrisis featuring trade unionists, business representatives and NGOs; 9am, registration at https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_4m7ytTmYQ8ylM-ajInOk_g. LJUBLJANA - The Trade Union of Retail Workers will speak to the press ahead of a parliamentary debate on legislative amendments concerning the Sunday opening of shops; ZSSS, Dalmatinova 4, 11:30am. LJUBLJANA - The Marjan arec List (LM) will host a debate on fake news and hate speech featuring LM leader Marjan arec, Metina Lista editor Nataa Briki, and columnists Matja Gruden and Luka Lisjak Gabrijeli; Hotel Slon, Slovenska 34, 5pm. LJUBLJANA - Day of Slovenian Sports, a new national holiday, will be marked with sporting events and celebrations around the country. The main ceremony organised by the Slovenian Olympic Committee and featuring several Olympic medallists will be held in Kongresni Trg at 10am. STA

02.01.2022 https://seenews.com//slovenias-economic-activity-to-declin

02.01.2022 Maribor mulls public passenger transport on the Drava river Maribor, 22 September - Aiming towards better accessibility without cars, Slovenia's second largest city Maribor is considering a regular boat line on the Drava river. A similar plan is also being considered in Ljubljana, but such an option does not exist in Slovenia as of yet. "The municipality has commissioned a navigability study, which includes checking the Drava river for the suitability for public passenger tra...nsport," the municipality said. According to Deputy Mayor Samo Peter Medved, the study will be used as input for a new state decree on the navigability of the Drava river. The city wants to use a wider range of vessels and sailing at higher speeds than currently allowed. "Our goal is to establish a system of public passenger transport on the river quickly. We have authorized the Maribor Development Agency to lead this project and they are doing well. We have already held a meeting with all municipalities and other entities utilising the Drava river, who were very happy with this initiative," said the deputy mayor. The establishment of landing sites along the river is planned as part of the project of the establishment of the Drava promenade, which is already being implemented. For the time being, only a walking path has been built along the river, and the only vessels sailing along it are rafts and privately owned boats dedicated to catering and tourism. With the recent renovation of the main square, the city has lost an important transport connection through the centre. By boat, for example, it would be possible to get from the Maribor central market on the left bank of the river to the hospital and the Europark shopping centre on the right bank in just a few minutes, avoiding heavy road traffic. A new footbridge across the Drava standing near the Old Bridge in the city centre is to be built soon as well. The plans for construction were already in place when Maribor was the European Capital of Culture in 2012, but was then abandoned. "We have obtained a valid building permit for the footbridge. We will shortly announce the tender for the selection of the contractor and the footbridge is expected to be under construction next year," announced Deputy Mayor Medved. STA

02.01.2022 https://kongres-magazine.eu//cankarjev-dom-iapco-plastic/

01.01.2022 AMS Flight (Slovenia), Pipistrel (Slovenia) https://newsbrok.com//gliders-market-overview-development/

01.01.2022 Slovenia's economy to contract at slower pace than initially feared Ljubljana, 24 September - IMAD, the government's macroeconomic forecaster, has upgraded its GDP projections for this year. Instead of a 7.6% contraction at the annual level predicted in the summer, it now expects the economy to shrink by 6.7%. However, it warns that uncertainty remains high. Economic activity is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2022, but only assuming that there is not a new lockdown ...affecting certain activities, IMAD said in its autumn forecast released on Wednesday. "Were that to happen this year, the contraction would accelerate by two percentage points, while bankruptcies and higher unemployment would slow down the recovery in the coming years," IMAD director Maja Bedna wrote. The upgrade is underpinned by more favourable forecasts in Slovenia's main trading partners, the adoption of the EU recovery deal, and an improvement of confidence indicators from May to July. Economic activity has already picked up, but IMAD warns it will be uneven across industries. And while emphasising that the uncertainty remains high, IMAD says that the recovery could accelerate beyond current predictions in the event a vaccine is put to broad use or the novel coronavirus is sustainably contained in another way. IMAD assumes that stimulus measures in Slovenia "significantly cushioned" the consequences of the pandemic. Without these measures, the contraction would have been three percentage points deeper. The government was informed about the forecast at yesterday's session and will include the projections in its budget plans for the next two years. STA

01.01.2022 http://www.roymorgan.com//8526-australia-during-covid-19-e

01.01.2022 Schedule of events for Thursday, 24 September Ljubljana, 24 September - Below is a schedule of events for Thursday, 24 September: LJUBLJANA - President Borut Pahor will deliver a video address at a virtual session of the UN General Assembly.... LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will resume session to debate amendments to the pension and disability insurance act and to the state border control act; Parliament House, ubieva 4, 9am. PORTORO - The two-day Manager Congress will get under way following a press conference at which Economy Minister Zdravko Poivalek will present an action plan to increase productivity and Manager of the Year will be declared; GH Bernardin, Obala 2, 1:30pm. BLED - Debates on violence in literature (9am) and literature in exile (3:30pm) will be held as part of the International PEN Writers' Meeting; Hotel Park, Cesta Svobode 15. LJUBLJANA - Retailer Mercator will release its financials for the first half of the year. YEREVAN, Armenia/MURSKA SOBOTA - Slovenian football champions Celje will play FC Ararat-Armenia (4pm) and Mura will take on PSV Eindhoven (7pm) in the third round of qualifying for the Europa League. LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release business confidence figures for September. STA

01.01.2022 Slovenian bathroom maker ventures into new territory Lendava, 23 September - Varis, one of the leading manufacturers of prefabricated bathrooms in Europe, has been doing well despite the coronavirus pandemic. It is now preparing to venture into production of wooden bathrooms and other sustainable prefabricated buildings. The family-run business is building a new, 2,500-square-meter production hall adjacent to existing facilities in Lendava in north-eastern Slovenia.... According to the company's director, Sabina Soboan, they hesitated for some time whether they should start building it at all, given the circumstances during these uncertain times, but as soon as they received the building permit, the process started. During the corona crisis, Varis did not face any delays either within the company or their installations abroad. They say that the new hall is not being built in order to increase sales, but mainly to create higher value added with new products. "Our value adde already reaches almost EUR 50,000 per employee, but we want to develop new products, because without innovation and investment you can't stay on top," explained Soboan. The company generates three quarters of its sales revenue in Germany, where it has a 15% market share. Other important markets are Austria and Switzerland, but they want to expand into other markets as well. Its main product remains prefabricated bathrooms made of self-compacting lightweight concrete. In the past, most of them were made for hotels, while recently they have recorded greater demand for their products in housing, hospitals, student dormitories and nursing homes. They are now studying the behaviour of wood in damp conditions, as they plan to replace the concrete frame with a wooden frame. Last year the company posted record sales of EUR 31.4 million, an increase of 74.5% compared to 2018. They also recorded an 84% increase in the number of bathrooms built, and they expect a positive outcome this year as well. Varis has increased its revenue 2.5-fold over the last five years, and has kept on working at full capacity during the pandemic. The only problem that persists in Varis is the lack of staff. There are now 250 employees, but skilled tile layers, painters, fitters, electricians, masons and even engineers are hard to come by, as are unskilled workers. They are also looking for staff for field work, organization and planning. While salaries in construction usually reach 75% of average salary in the country, the gross monthly salary in Varis in February was around EUR 1,730, close to the national average. STA

01.01.2022 Residential real estate prices up in Q2, fewer transactions Ljubljana, 23 September - The prices of residential properties in Slovenia in the second quarter of 2020 were up 1.9% compared to the first quarter, and 5.2% higher than in the same period last year, the Statistics Office said. But transactions were significantly lower, with the total value of all real estate sold being the lowest since the first quarter of 2015. The prices of new apartments and houses were up by 7.1...% compared to the previous quarter. After dropping by 0.3% in the first quarter, the prices of new apartments jumped by 7.5% in the second. New houses were also 2.6% costlier than in the first quarter. The prices of used homes rose by 1.4% in quarterly comparison. This means 1.6% higher prices for used apartments, and 1% for houses. Family properties were on average 5.2% costlier in the second quarter of this year than in the second quarter of 2019. Up the most were the prices of new family houses (by 23.6%) and used apartments outside Ljubljana (by 7.8%). Meanwhile, a notable drop was recorded in the prices of used apartments in Maribor (by 1.2%). The total value of all residential real estate sold in the second quarter reached EUR 229 million, which is some EUR 60 million less than in the first quarter. This is also the lowest total value of all residential real estate sold since the first quarter of 2015, when sales stood at EUR 207. The Statistics Office partly attributes the drop in transactions to the Covid-19 epidemic, which virtually stopped all activity on the Slovenian real estate market. A total of 2,161 units of used residential real estate were sold in the second quarter, in the total value of EUR 220 million, which is almost half of the figure recorded in the same period last year. Only 55 pieces of new residential real estate worth EUR 10 million in total were sold in the second quarter, while in the first 76 were sold worth EUR 14 million. STA