News
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This summary is provided by the STA:
New record as almost 17,500 coronavirus cases confirmed
LJUBLJANA - Slovenia confirmed 17,491 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, by far the highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic and an increase of more than 40% on the week before. The positive cases come from the highest daily number of PCR tests performed to date, almost 23,000. There were 670 patients with Covid-19 in hospital this morning, up by over a hundred from a week ago, whereas ICU cases declined by 24 over the week before to 127.
Golob elected new head of renamed green party, Janša says he is "Janković exam resit"
LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, the former chairman of energy trader Gen-I who is generally seen as the most serious rival of PM Janez Janša in the upcoming general election, became the leader of the non-parliamentary green party formerly known as Z.Dej, which has been renamed Movement Freedom. Janša has commented on Golob venturing into politics saying it was an "exam resit by Zoran Janković", referring to Golob in 2011 becoming a vice-president of Positive Slovenia, a party formed by Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković that won the 2011 general election but failed to form a government. Instead, the government was formed by Janša.
Foreign Policy Committee acquainted with new foreign policy strategy
LJUBLJANA - The Foreign Policy Committee got acquainted with the country's new foreign policy strategy, with Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan saying that most of the changes were made because the international environment had changed. The opposition expressed some reservations, in particular about Slovenia no longer being referred to as a core EU member state. Dovžan said there was more focus on the role of the EU as Slovenia's main political, economic, legal and value environment.
Minister says risk too grave to ease Covid restrictions
BREŽICE - Health Minister Janez Poklukar warned that Slovenia is yet to see the Omicron-driven wave of coronavirus outbreak hit its plateau, arguing the risk is still too great for any easing of restrictions. He said the risk would remain high until the curves of infections and hospital admissions started turning down. The epidemic is still in expansion and this week alone 33% more patients have been hospitalised and there were 85% more fatalities than the week before, said the minister.
PM talks energy challenges, tourism opportunities in Posavje
BREŽICE - The Posavje region still has many challenges to meet despite its breakthrough in reaching the Slovenian average, PM Janez Janša said as part of the cabinet's visit to the region. He highlighted challenges in the energy sector as the top priority, but also noted the role of other efforts, including tourism development. Janša noted that ten years ago Posavje had been 12 percentage points behind the Slovenian average in terms of development, but today it was at the level of the country's average. He also visited the Faculty of Tourism in Brežice, welcoming the faculty's plans to expand its capacities.
Bill passed to reduce sick pay cost on employer, energy poverty bill rejected
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed a bill that will reduce the cost of sick pay on the employer at the expense of the public healthcare fund, with a majority of the opposition opposing it due to this expected consequence. Tabled by a group of MPs headed by Marko Bandelli of the opposition Alenka Bratušek Party (SAB), the bill reduces the period of sick leave when compensation is covered by the employer or sole trader from 30 to 20 work days and the total within each calendar year from 120 to up to 80 days. On the other hand, the MPs defeated another opposition-sponsored bill proposing energy vouchers.
MPs against referendum on deal over Boxer APCs purchase
LJUBLJANA - The opposition Left's motion to call a referendum on the government's purchase of Boxer armoured personnel vehicles (APCs) from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) did not receive sufficient support in parliament. MPs may now continue with the ratification of the agreement with OCCAR. Only eight MPs voted in favour of the proposal, that is all seven MPs from the Left and MP Željko Cigler, a former member of the Left who recently quit the party's deputy faction and instead joined the one by the SocDems. A total of 42 MPs were against the motion and 27 abstained.
Slovenia calls for de-escalation in Ukraine
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan expressed concern about the Ukraine crisis and called for a de-escalation. It is crucial that reason and dialogue prevail, he told the Foreign Policy Committee. "We are keeping an eye on the situation and remain on the side of peace. We have been calling for de-escalation."
Dovžan sees values at core of UN Security Council bid
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Ministry State Secretary Gašper Dovžan dismissed fears that the prime minister's recent statements on Taiwan may adversely affect the country's bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2024-2025. Slovenia is an advocate of the respect for human rights, of peace and stability, respect of international law and borders and the candidacy will be a good opportunity to show which of these values enjoy support in the international community, he told the Foreign Policy Committee.
Vice-governor candidate highlights inflation as challenge
LJUBLJANA - Marjan Divjak, candidate for vice-governor at Slovenia's central bank, said that the bank should actively participate in monetary policy-making in the eurozone, highlighting elevated inflation and climate change as the biggest future challenges. "Monetary policy-making will be extremely challenging in the coming years," he said during a presentation at the Presidential Palace. Divjak believes the financial sector will play a key role in the transition towards an environmentally sustainable economy.
Bishop of Celje forms office for victims to report sex abuse
CELJE - Maksimilijan Matjaž, the Bishop of Celje, has founded an office to admit complaints by and monitor the victims of sexual abuse committed by the clergy and other members of religious life in a bid to help the victims and prevent repeat of this type of crime. A post on the website of the Celje Diocese announcing the formation of the new office refers to an apostolic letter by Pope Francis of May 2019 instructing dioceses to form one or more permanent systems easily accessible to the public to report sexual abuse committed by the clergy or members of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life.
Judge Masleša shows diploma, berates Council for falling for media allegations
LJUBLJANA - Supreme Court judge Branko Masleša has shown his diploma and refuted suggestions by some media that he may not have graduated in law or passed the bar exam in in response to a call by the Judicial Council to do so, criticising the body for "falling for imputation in some media", which he says is politically-motivated. He said the council's actions undermined his reputation as a judge and the reputation of the judiciary as a whole.
Spar Slovenija's ex-boss Igor Mervič becomes Manager of the Year
LJUBLJANA - The Manager Association picked Igor Mervič as the Manager of the Year for transforming retailer Spar Slovenija from a company with four stores into the country's second largest retailer during his 28 years as director general. Mervič led Spar Slovenija between 1992 and the end of 2020. He is now a member of its supervisory board, and an adviser at the Spar multinational.
Man who stalked, harassed judge arrested
LJUTOMER - A man who has stalked a Ljutomer judge for ten years and recently smashed the windscreen on the judge's car has been detained. The prosecution initially argued there were no grounds for detention, but it changed its mind after the perpetrator continued his threats on social media.
STA, 26 January 2022 - Health Minister Janez Poklukar has warned that Slovenia is yet to see the Omicron-driven wave of coronavirus outbreak hit its plateau, arguing the risk is still too great for any easing of restrictions.
Speaking to reporters as the country logged a record of almost 17,500 new coronavirus cases for the previous day, the minister said the risk would remain high until the curves of infections and hospital admissions started turning down.
The epidemic is still in expansion and this week alone 33% more patients have been hospitalised and there were 85% more fatalities than the week before, said the minister as he called on the Brežice general hospital during the government visit to the eastern region.
"We would like to reach the peak as soon a possible and as soon as we do it'll be easier to breathe and talk of how to proceed," he said.
Although the Omicron variant does not appear to cause so many hospitalisations, the caseload of infections is four-fold what it was with the Delta variant.
"Even if instead of 4% hospitalisation rate that we saw with Delta the hospitalisation rate is now 1%, with 30,000 positive tests a day it means 300 admissions," he said, adding it was too early to say what the impact of Omicron to intensive units will be.
A total of 670 patients with Covid-19 were hospitalised this morning, including 127 in intensive care. Including Tuesday's 14 fatalities, Covid-19 has claimed 6,268 lives in Slovenia, according to data released by the Health Ministry.
Poklukar noted that Slovenia had adapted testing and quarantine rules, hospital and lab organisation to Omicron, indicating talks are under way to follow suit of some other countries which have opted to issue QR codes for rapid tests as well to alleviate the burden on PCR testing facilities.
STA, 26 January 2022 - Maksimilijan Matjaž, the Bishop of Celje, has founded an office to admit complaints by and monitor the victims of sexual abuse committed by the clergy and other members of religious life in a bid to help the victims and prevent repeat of this type of crime.
A post on the website of the Celje Diocese announcing the formation of the new office refers to an apostolic letter by Pope Francis of May 2019 instructing dioceses to form one or more permanent systems easily accessible to the public to report sexual abuse committed by the clergy or members of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life.
The Celje Diocese office will be headquartered at the Laško address of lawyer Pavel Teršek. It will operate based on the attached statute, in accordance with the mentioned apostolic letter, guidelines for the protection of children, minors and vulnerable adults in the Slovenian Catholic Church, and other binding documents of the Church issued or to be issued by the Holy See and the Slovenian Bishops' Conference concerning sexual abuse committed by clerics or members of the institutions of consecrated life or of the societies of apostolic life, reads the release.
Just yesterday a Catholic advocacy for victims of sexual abuse in the Church that is led by a priest who was victim of abuse himself called for appointing an independent commission comprising individuals of high moral integrity to investigate and crack down on the abuse as soon as possible.
STA, 25 January 2022 - Slovenia's Employment Service has recorded a significant rise in applications for the employment of foreigners last year, announcing on Tuesday that it had received 52,281 work permit applications in 2021, the most since the current system was put in place in 2015.
Slovenia has thus exceeded the previous record of 48,127 work permit applications received in 2019, when employment of foreigners in Slovenia was at its highest in recent years.
Of the 52,281 applications received in 2021, 46,264 were approved and 6,017 were denied.
The increased interest of foreigners in working in Slovenia is also a consequence of structural imbalances in the labour market, with employer demand far outstripping supply.
Foreigners in Slovenia are mostly employed in activities characterised by work in the field and under difficult conditions - construction, transport, manufacturing, catering and hospitality, and agriculture.
The Employment Service said that despite receiving a record number of applications, "the average processing times for applications are within the legal limits and are even getting shorter".
They also pointed out that most potential issues arise due to a lack of procedural knowledge by the applicants, inadequate or incomplete documentation, congestions at certain administrative units, and procedures to ensure that permits and workers are not abused by the employers.
The Employment Service added that it will organise special meetings to inform employers about the procedures as soon as possible, and that it will adjust its work towards taking on more staff and optimising tasks related to processing work permits for foreigners.
STA, 25 January 2022 - Tourist arrivals in Slovenia increased by 31% in 2021 to reach just over four million, while overnight stays were up by 22% to 11.3 million, show data released by the Statistics Office on Tuesday.
Both figures are still far behind the records of 2019, when Slovenia reported 6.2 million arrivals and 15.8 million overnight stays
Domestic tourists accounted for 2.2 million arrivals last year, an annual increase of 17%, and 6.5 million overnight stays, an increase of 10% over 2020.
While the Slovenian tourism sector catered to more domestic guests, to a significant extent due to tourism vouchers issued to all citizens, there was a significant number of foreign tourists as well.
The contribution of vouchers and government measures to help tourism was also highlighted by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek.
"For the continued turnout by both domestic and foreign visitors it is important that they should know that tourism providers in Slovenia offer safe and quality services and welcome all guests with a great deal of hospitality," commented the minister.
"Successful tourism will, by virtue of multiplier effect, contribute to higher economic growth this year and in the future," Počivalšek was quoted as saying in a press release of the Slovenian Tourist Board.
The board's acting director Ilona Stermecki added that Slovenian citizens would be encouraged to spend holidays at home this year as well.
Promotional campaigns will focus on active outdoor and sports tourism. A further focus will be on digitalisation of tourism and tapping on Slovenia's potential for tailor-made tourism offerings.
Arrivals and overnight stays of foreign tourists in 2021 stood at 1.8 million (up 51%) and 4.8 million (up 43%), respectively.
Most of the foreign tourists came from Germany - just under 415,000, up 43% compared to 2020 - and they accounted for just over a million overnight stays, up 31%.
Germany was followed by Austria with 171,000 arrivals (up 20%) and 434,000 overnight stays (up 16%), and Italy with 162,000 arrivals and 354,000 overnight stays, which is roughly the same as last year.
Tourists generated the most overnight stays in mountain resorts, almost 3.5 million, followed by seaside resorts and health or spa resorts with just over 2.6 million and 2.5 million, respectively.
The most popular type of accommodation were hotels, which accounted for just over 4.5 million overnight stays, followed by private accommodations with almost 2.7 million and camping sites with almost 1.8 million.
STA, 25 January 2022 - Slovenia placed 41st among 180 countries in the 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in its poorest showing since 2013 to lag even further behind the average for EU and OECD countries.
Compared to last year, Slovenia slid six spots and lost three points to score 57, which compares to the EU average of 64 and the OECD average of 67 points, follows from the CPI report, released by Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday.
TI Slovenia believes such a result is the product of "the efforts to prevent corruption being pushed to the political margins", years of failure to implement sweeping reform and some bad practices in recent years.
"After years of stagnation, recurring scandals, pressure on the media, civil society and independent institutions it has expectedly come to this decline, which is cause for concern. In the super-election year, we need clear commitments from political players to stop the decline and reverse the trend," commented Samo Bardutzky, the interim head of TI Slovenia.
He believes one of the first tests will be putting in place legal protection of whistleblowers. TI Slovenia believes the bill presented in December is faulty, urging more inclusive dialogue to improve it and calling on political players to commit to adopting a comprehensive protection for whistleblowers.
Bardutzky warned that decisions taken during the Covid-19 epidemic "broadly encroached on fundamental human rights that are important for control of government", something that has been detected by the international Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in its latest (IDEA) report.
In releasing the latest index Transparency International noted a lack of progress in most countries and historically low scores posted by 27 countries, observing the curtailing of fundamental rights and a decline in democratic standards across the globe.
Two out of three countries in the index scored less than 50 points with the average score at 43. Apart from Slovenia, 26 other countries recorded their lowest score in a decade.
The index is topped by New Zealand, Finland and Denmark, which all scored 88, ahead of Singapore, Sweden and Norway, which scored 85 points.
The lowest scoring Slovenian neighbour is Hungary, which ranks 73rd with 43 points. Croatia ranks 63rd with 47 points and Italy 42nd with 56 points. Austria is 13th with 74 points.
The index measures the perception of corruption in the public sector, with 0 points indicating a high level of corruption perception and 100 points a very low level of perceived corruption.
It collates data and analyses from international institutions that measure perception of corruption through the eyes of business representatives, analysts and experts. This year's index relies on independent sources, TI Slovenia said, adding that data had been collected in the past 24 months.
Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.
This summary is provided by the STA:
Slovenia not scaling down Kyiv embassy staff, urges diplomatic solution
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Foreign Minister Anže Logar came out of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels saying "we must do everything in our power, use all diplomatic means for a diplomatic solution to the dispute" between Russia and Ukraine. As for Slovenia providing direct help to Ukraine, Logar said that a decision had not yet been taken. Should such a decision be taken, the public will be promptly informed, he added. According to the Foreign Ministry Slovenia is not planning to reduce its diplomatic staff numbers in Kyiv for the time being and was coordinating all activities with other EU countries.
Committee against referendum on Boxer APCs
LJUBLJANA - The parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee voted down the opposition Left's motion to call a referendum on the government's purchase of Boxer armoured personnel vehicles (APCs) from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCA). The National Assembly was scheduled to ratify last month the agreement between Slovenia and OCCAR on the purchase of 45 eight-wheeled Boxer APCs, but the vote was delayed by the Left's proposal to call a referendum on the bill.
Golob ends speculation about political career
LJUBLJANA - Robert Golob, who has been ousted as chairman of energy trader Gen-I, ended speculation about his future by announcing he will vie to become a president of a small non-parliamentary party this week to contest the general election. Z.Dej, a green party formed by former environment minister Jure Leben in May 2021, will hold a congress this Wednesday. "I hear the [presidential] post is vacant," Golob said but would not go into detail about his political plans before Z.Dej members hear about them.
SDS remains ahead of SD in latest POP TV poll
LJUBLJANA - The ruling Democrats (SDS) remain ahead in the latest POP TV poll. They lost about a percentage point in a month to 16.3%, with the opposition SocDems in second adding a bit more than a point to 11.3%, shows a poll released by POP TV. The Left lost almost two points to poll at 7.6%, followed by the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ), which was flat at 6.3%. The government's approval rating rose by three points to 33%, with the share of those saying it is doing a poor job declining by six points to 56%.
Judge Masleša urged to clarify his graduation, bar exam
LJUBLJANA - The Judicial Council urged Supreme Court judge Branko Masleša to provide explanation about his law graduation diploma and bar exam, but said it was beyond its power to examine the authenticity of Masleša's documents as it could not examine the meeting of formal criteria in cases where appointment procedures had been completed. Some pro-government media had questioned Masleša's graduation, wondering how he could have passed the bar exam a year earlier after graduation than possible under the law.
GEN-I posts record-breaking results
LJUBLJANA - Energy trader GEN-I generated a net profit of EUR 71 million last year on EUR 3.4 billion in revenue, according to figures presented by Robert Golob, the former CEO. He called the results fantastic, record-breaking. The profit was up more than fourfold and revenue rose by 50% after the company reported sales of EUR 2.1 billion and a net profit of EUR 15.4 million for 2020. Golob said he withdrew his consent to be reappointed CEO as he announced his bid for the April general election.
Dutch fund takes majority stake in prefab house maker Marles
MARIBOR - Invera Equity Partners, a Dutch private equity fund manager, has acquired a 58.2% stake in Slovenian prefabricated house maker Marles Hiše Maribor. Invera said it intends to strengthen the company's position in existing markets, increase production capacity, and secure new opportunities to consolidate its position as the leading manufacturer of prefabricated wooden buildings in Slovenia and become a major player in Central Europe.
Telemach chosen as public administration's mobile telephony provider
LJUBLJANA - The Ministry of Public Administration has chosen telco Telemach as the provider of mobile telephony services, cell phones, and data transfer for the Slovenian public administration in 2022-2025 in a deal worth around EUR 6.6 million. Telekom Slovenije and A1 Slovenija also submitted their offers, but the ministry excluded them over what the newspaper Finance said was excessive prices and their exceeding the funds allocated for the services.
Luka Koper takes out EUR 60m loan to finance investment drive
KOPER - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole commercial port, announced signing a EUR 60 million syndicated loan agreement with NLB and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, to finance its investment activities. The loan has a fixed interest rate with quarterly repayment instalments. These will be paid from mid-2023 to the end of 2031. Luka Koper is amid an extensive investment drive. Last year it inaugurated a 100-metre extension to Quay I of the container terminal with several investments ongoing.
November wages up by a tenth due to Christmas bonuses
LJUBLJANA - The average Slovenian gross wage stood at EUR 2,085 in November, up by a tenth both in real and nominal terms over the month before and almost 3% on 2020. The Statistics Office attributes the jump to Christmas bonuses. A quarter of all employees received end-year bonuses with their wages for November - which are paid out in December - with the average bonus at almost EUR 797, an increase of 5.3% over the year before.
Alenka Sottler illustrates new English translation of Bambi
LJUBLJANA - Acclaimed Slovenian illustrator Alenka Sottler has contributed drawings for a new English translation of Bambi, a classic written in 1923 by Austrian Jewish writer Felix Salten. The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest brings a new perspective on what is believed to be a much darker story than many saw in Walt Disney's film. The first English translation, by Whittaker Chambers from 1928, left out the Jewish aspect of the story, and Disney made a popular animated film based on it.
Mountain rescuers worried about large number of casualties
LJUBLJANA - Slovenian mountain rescue units have already responded to 41 incidents in the mountains this month in which nine people lost their lives, which they say is cause for concern as these numbers are much higher than they should be in such a short period of time. If the trend continues, this year's increase in accidents will be much higher than the average of 10% recorded in recent years. Last year Slovenian mountains claimed 22 lives. A total of 630 rescue operations were carried out.
STA, 24 January 2022 - Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar said that "we must do everything in our power, use all diplomatic means for a diplomatic solution to the dispute" between Russia and Ukraine, as he spoke to the press after a session of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Before the session, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU would not follow in the footsteps of the US, which is withdrawing family members of staff at its embassy in Ukraine from the country over a continuing threat of military action from Russia.
Borrell said he could not see any reason for such a move until talks were continuing with Russia, as he spoke to the press before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefed the EU's foreign ministers via video call about the reasons for the US decision.
Logar said after the session Borrell had clearly said that the EU's diplomatic delegation remains in Ukraine with all staff, and added that the delegation itself also saw no reason for any change at the moment.
Asked whether the US decision meant a war was close, Logar said that "it's not an announcement of an expected course of events".
As for Slovenia providing direct help to Ukraine, Logar said that a decision had not yet been taken. If it decides to do so, the public will be promptly informed, he added.
The minister noted, however, that the question of helping Ukraine is up to each individual EU country, it is not subject to harmonisation at EU level.
#StandWithUkraine @ZelenskyyUa @Denys_Shmyhal ?? ?? https://t.co/k3WQ4k5Kup
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) January 22, 2022
The Foreign Ministry told the STA Slovenia was not planning to reduce its diplomatic staff in Kyiv for the time being and was coordinating all activities with other EU countries.
As to the Ukraine travel advice, the ministry said the general recommendation published on its website remained valid.
Slovenian citizens are advised against all travel to the temporarily occupied areas of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol and certain parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk.
This is because the Slovenian Embassy in Kyiv cannot provide consular assistance to the Slovenian citizens that would encounter difficulties in those regions.
The ministry also expressed Slovenia's concern about the buildup of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border. "We are calling for de-escalation and a diplomatic solution while welcoming efforts by the European External Action Service and allies in that direction," it said.
The ministry noted that Slovenia is providing support to Ukraine within its NATO membership. In case of potential escalation, it called for a unified and fast response in coordination with the alliance and other international partners.
The EU's Foreign Affairs Council discussed the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border, as well as the situation in Libya and Syria.
STA, 24 January 2022 - Robert Golob, who has been ousted as chairman of energy trader Gen-I, has ended weeks of speculation about his future by announcing he will vie to become a president of a small non-parliamentary party this week to contest the general election in April.
Z.Dej, a green party formed by former environment minister Jure Leben in May 2021, will hold a congress this Wednesday. "I hear the [presidential] post is vacant, this is the magic of adventure," Golob said on Monday as he presented the company's results.
The decision comes after Golob spent several weeks in talks with various party leaders, having already decided before that he would enter politics in one way or another.
A critic of particracy, he was initially sceptical of joining an existing party, but he recently acknowledged the realities of the Slovenian political system necessitated this type of political organisation.
Golob would not go into detail about his political plans and said the members of Z.Dej would hear about that first. "Out of respect, they should not learn that from the media. This is the only way I can expect respect from them as well."
The statement came at a press conference at which he talked at length about the success of Gen-I, a company he established and led since its inception, offering it as a model for how the country could be governed.
While he refused to answer many of the direct questions about his politics, he made repeated references to the election during the presentation, for example by noting that mistakes in the country would be "addressed in April" and saying that his next job will probably be in parliament - should the voters decide so.
He also referenced a "combination of seemingly impossible goals" of the kind that Gen-I achieved, and said the focus should be on green, digital as well as investment in people and the sharing of gains.
Golob thinks it is time to change political culture in the country. "Anger and fear lead to nothing but perdition," he said, noting that there would be "more light" come April.
"The man whose ultimate value it is to instil fear among the citizens will never be my interlocutor," he said, in an apparent reference to the current prime minister.
Golob was eased out of Gen-I in what the centre-left opposition and many media outlets have described as political staffing.
The company is still without a CEO and a court is currently deciding on several competing proposals for management. Golob was among the names put forward but he said today he had revoked his consent and would not be joining the company again.
STA, 24 January 2022 - Invera Equity Partners, a Dutch private equity fund manager, has acquired a 58.2% stake in Slovenian prefabricated house maker Marles Hiše Maribor. Invera said it intends to strengthen the company's position in existing markets, increase production capacity, and secure new opportunities.
Marles will get the opportunity to expand its business, consolidate its position as the leading manufacturer of prefabricated wooden buildings in Slovenia, and become a major player in Central Europe, the company said in Monday's press release.
They added that Invera's strategic investment will result in additional hiring, increased investments and even more successful future operations, especially in the markets of Western Europe.
Invera is a private equity fund based in the Netherlands. It focuses on southeastern Europe, and its investor base consists of institutional investors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Fund.
"We are very proud to assist Marles in its further development and expansion into the challenging Western European markets," said Janez Škrubej, a partner at Invera Equity Partners.
"We believe that the company can play a key role in the prefabricated timber building industry in the most demanding markets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and beyond," he added.
Marles Hiše's board of directors described the transaction as good for all stakeholders. The remaining 41.8% stake in the company will be held by the Slovenian company Investma.
The company has consolidated annual revenues of around EUR 30 million and bills itself as the largest Slovenian producer of prefabricated wooden houses and buildings. It is also the largest exporter in this sector.
STA, 19 January 2022 - Many Slovenian cities and towns are twinned with cities all over China, with the oldest link being between Ljubljana and Chengdu, lasting over 40 years, and the most recent one being the twinning of Kranj and Zhangjiakou, one of the host cities of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China.
The mayors of Kranj and the Chinese city of Zhangjiakou, which has 4.7 million inhabitants and lies 200 kilometres north-west of Beijing, signed a document twinning the two cities in December, focusing mainly on cooperation in sport and business.
Zhangjiakou will be one of the venues for the Winter Olympic Games in February 2022, with teams competing there in ski jumping, cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined, snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
Zhangjiakou boasts state-of-the-art winter sports infrastructure, while Kranj is passing on experience gained through a well-established school system for young athletes, quality work in sports clubs and its experienced coaching staff.
The twinning with a Chinese city is a historic step, as it is the first time that Kranj became twinned with a non-European city.
"Sport is the strongest link between our two cities, and we look forward to working with our Chinese friends, exchanging experience and knowledge," Kranj Mayor Matjaž Rakovec said upon the signing of the twinning document in December.
Zhangjiakou, also known as "Beijing's northern gate" due to its strategic location, has seen an accelerated focus on tourism in recent years, including winter sports tourism. This is an aspect that can provide opportunities for Slovenian partners as well.
Many Slovenian cities and municipalities have already established links with China in the past. The oldest is Ljubljana's link with Chengdu, and the list of twinned cities is quite extensive.
Ajdovščina is twinned with Jorung, Črna na Koroškem with Harbin, Koper with Jiujiang, Novo Mesto with Yixing, while Maribor is twinned with a total of eight Chinese cities: Wuxi, Yancheng, Huai'an, Nanchang, Nanjing, Ningbo, Chongqing and Hangzhou
