NY Times, November 17, 2000 In Yugoslav Misery, Investors Knock By PETER S. GREEN Just over a month has passed since Yugoslavia's emerging democrats sent President Slobodan Milosevic packing and Western countries began lifting sanctions. Already, foreign investors are sifting through the physical and economic wreckage for investments and markets in Yugoslavia, a country they say should be the engine of Balkan recovery. Trade delegations from Greece, Austria and the Czech Republic have visited. American and European companies are considering investing or reviving dormant links, and some that weathered the storm have expansion plans. "My client list has doubled since the changes," said Benoit Junod, a former Swiss diplomat in Belgrade whose Geneva-based consulting firm, A&S, is scouting Serbia on behalf of foreign clients, particularly construction concerns. In 1989, Yugoslavia was the wealthiest and most open country in the Communist world. Ten years of ethnic hatred, economic mismanagement and war have left its economy devastated and its infrastructure in tatters. But where many citizens see misery, investors see opportunity. Full article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/17/business/17YUGO.html Louis Proyect Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org
