STA, 10 June 2021 - Chinese company Huawei plans to set up a regional  logistics hub in Slovenia for some 19 markets of central and south-eastern Europe. Thus, the flow of its goods through the port of Koper will increase and new storage facilities will need to be built near Ljubljana airport. The multiplicative value of the decision is dozens of millions of euros.

The expansion of the storage facilities near the airport will be conducted in two steps. First, the existing warehouse will be expanded to 4,000 square metres and then to 6,000, Huawei announced on Thursday.

The company said this meant that the transport flows of its goods for 13 EU and six non-EU countries would be redirected to the port of Koper and the airport in Brnik near Ljubljana. The value of the investment decision is estimated at some EUR 9 million with potential for further growth.

According to Beata Bogadi, Huawei's customs compliance manager for Europe, the decision to set up a transit warehouse for Europe in Slovenia shows "how attractive Slovenia is in the  logistics sense".

"Huawei recognises the strategic position of the Koper port, the qualified staff and services in Slovenia. We put Slovenia on our list of strategic  logistics hubs," she said.

Huawei Slovenia director general Histro Zhang said this reaffirmed Huawei's long-term commitment to the Slovenian market and strengthened Slovenia's position on Huawei's strategic map of more than 170 markets where the company is present.

He said the Slovenian subsidiary of Huawei was particularly happy about the decision, "because this means about 40 new jobs in Slovenia", which will bring the total number of staff working for Huawei directly and indirectly at over 160.

Huawei already transports about 185,000 cubic metres of cargo from China to Hungary and to other European markets through Luka Koper. The new  logistics hub in Slovenia is to cut the delivery time of goods for customers in the EU.

STA, 11 January 2020 - The port operator Luka Koper generated EUR 206 million in net sales revenue in 2020, which is 8% less than in 2019. Cargo transshipment was down by 14% to 19.5 million tonnes, shows the company's preliminary and unaudited report, published on Monday.

"The reason for revenue dropping at a smaller rate than transshipment is better operations in additional services, filling and emptying of containers and in higher revenue from storage charge in certain segments," the company said.

The operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port in Koper added that it had felt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but that transshipment of containers as a strategic group of goods had nevertheless remained stable.

Transshipment of general cargo was down by 26% to 954,807 tonnes, of containers by 2% to 9.27 million tonnes, of cars by 10% to 998,201 tonnes, of liquid cargo by 23% to 3.32 million tonnes and of bulk cargo by 25% to 19.52 million tonnes.

A total of 945,007 container units were transshipped in Koper last year, which is 1% less than in 2019, and the number of transshipped cars dropped by 13% to 617,157.

The impact of the pandemic is direct when it comes to liquid cargo, as the sales of petroleum products dropped, in particular in the aviation industry, the company said.

It added that the drop in car production had affected the entire supply chain, and that it showed in transshipment of general cargo, including steel products, and in the terminal for bulk cargo, where raw material for steel industry is transshipped.

A part of the decline in transshipment of bulk cargo is attributed to the general drop in the use of thermal coal as a consequence of the increasing taxes on greenhouse gas emissions.

In car transshipment, a positive trend was recorded in the second half of 2020 on the account of exports of cars to the Far East, which is why the drop was much smaller than in other comparable European ports, Luka Koper said.

STA, 25 August 2020 - Net profit at port operator Luka Koper declined by 40% year-on-year to EUR 15 million in the first six months of 2020, as net revenue was down 11% to EUR 107 million. All cargo categories were affected by the slowdown in trade, shows the company's interim report released on Tuesday.

Pre-tax profit (EBIT), at EUR 17 million, was down 42% compared to the same period last year and profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 29% to EUR 31 million.

While the crucial container segment fared reasonably well, declining by 4% in tonnage and TEU terms, sharp declines in throughput were recorded in other cargo categories.

Dry and bulk cargoes were down by 26%, liquid cargoes by 14%, cars by 18% and general cargoes, which account for the smallest share of overall cargo volumes, by 32%.

Total transshipment, expressed in tonnes, declined by 15% to 10.1 million tonnes.

The figures show the coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact on world trade, but North Adriatic ports were actually not among the worst affected, the company said.

In the container segment, Koper and the neighbouring ports were not confronted with shipping line cancellations that the northern European ports had to face.

In the car segment, Koper even overtook both Spanish ports which are comparable to Koper in terms of cars volumes, CEO Dimitrij Zadel was quoted as saying.

Zadel said it was difficult to predict the end-year figures but the company was "taking measures to ensure access to a sufficient amount of liquid assets to overcome these impacts".

STA, 17 April 2020 - Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec has approved a 50% reduction in port fees for Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's only seaport. Talking to the press as he visited the port on Friday, Vrtovec said that this "discount" would remain in place until September and would be extended if necessary.

The goal is to preserve the port's competitive edge in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, with CEO Dimitrij Zadel expressing satisfaction with the move. Vrtovec believes the reduction in fees will attract international shipping companies.

Zadel said that similar measures to increase the competitive edge had also been introduced at other ports and that this brought the Koper port on par with others. Vrtovec also praised the company for taking adequate precautionary measures, as none of its workers had tested positive for Covid-19.

Moreover, the ministry will also approve subsidies for railway transport in short, similar to other countries, said Vrtovec.

The minister also commented on the construction of a second rail track to the port, confirming that the ministry was looking into the possibility of folding 2TDK, a special vehicle company established for the construction and management of the new track, into Slovenske Železnice, the national railway operator.

However, a definitive answer to this will be possible only after analyses are performed and Slovenske Železnice and other key players are consulted, in about a month or two.

Vrtovec dismissed information that Hungary may join the second track project, saying no talks were taking place, but he underlined the importance of countries in the hinterland for the development of Luka Koper.

In terms of the coronavirus epidemic measures, Vrtovec would not say when public transport may be relaunched. He said however that the government may decide as early as today that vehicle inspection services reopen on Monday.

STA, 28 February 2020 - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's sole maritime port, saw a group net profit plunge by 32% to EUR 40.4 million in 2019 due to a slowdown of global trade. Revenue remained broadly flat at EUR 228.7 million, six percent below plans, the company said on Friday.

Profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by over a quarter to EUR 73.1 million and operating profit (EBIT), at EUR 45.3 million, was 35% lower than in the year before.

The volume of cargo shipments declined across the board, with general cargoes and dry bulk hit particularly hard: the former dropped by 16% and the latter by 17%.

Containers, a major category, saw a small drop in terms of tonnage, but measured by unit (TEU), the transhipment declined by 3%. Cars, another major category, saw a 4% drop.

Liquid cargoes are the only category in which the port registered an improvement, with tonnage increasing by 12%.

The company said that the second half of 2019 had been marked by the cooling of the global economy, in particular the automotive industry, electronics and the production of iron products.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is still 5% above the projections.

In line with the expectations, the results were affected by the implementation of a new business model for port services and the levy on transhipment for the construction of a new Koper-Divača railway.

The return on equity was at 10%, 6.1 percentage points down from 2018 but still 0.4 percentage points above plans.

The figures were also affected by the receipts in damages compensation for a crane to the tune of EUR 9.3 million in 2018 and EUR 0.4 million in 2019.

Going forward, the company will face the challenge of the coronavirus outbreak. CEO Dimitrij Zadel has recently said that the company is yet to feel the impact of restrictions in China.

Zadel would not speculate about expected decline in throughput yet, but he did say that transhipment of goods from China represented 30% of the port's total transhipment.

Related - Invest in Slovenia: Meet the Companies in the Benchmark Investment Index, the SBI TOP

STA, 24 February 2020 - The novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak has so far had no profound effect on Slovenia's economy, but problems have arisen in certain areas. Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said on Monday that the government was deliberating mitigation measures, such as subsidies to compensate for shorter working time.

The minister pointed out though that any measures to protect public health must not interrupt the flow of goods because the country's exports depended on that.

After meeting several CEOs whose companies have been feeling the consequences of the outbreak, Počivalšek said that the ministry had been keeping track of the situation and its effect on the economy since the start.

He said the situation in Slovenia had been under control so far, but since the country had no influence on future global developments, it needed to be ready to deal with potential challenges.

Despite no major effects being determined so far, the ministry has decided to act in prevention and consider a future strategy in cooperation with economy representatives. Počivalšek intends to present potential measures at the government session on Thursday.

Problems have so far been detected mainly in tourism and logistics while a drop in sales and orders has been recorded in manufacturing, which could lead to a slowdown in production. The government is considering introducing subsidies for those waiting for work to help the affected companies and avoid lay-offs.

Slovenia introduced this measure a decade ago during the economic crisis and Počivalšek said he hoped it would not need to be introduced again.

Closing the borders would be the country's last resort, he stressed.

Slovenia's tourism has been worst hit by the outbreak of the coronavirus - mostly due to travel cancellations of Asian tourists. The situation could be exacerbated by the virus spreading to neighbouring countries.

Last year, 160,00 Chinese tourists visited Slovenia, while Italy is a key market, with 600,000 guests visiting Slovenia a year.

The Slovenian Tourist Board will step up its promotion efforts in nearby countries and it is also hoping to get EU funds for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the Chinese-owned household appliances maker Gorenje said that the situation was under control, but there was some disruption in supplies in China.

Port operator Luka Koper expects to feel the effects of coronavirus in the next two weeks, with its transshipment from or to China accounting for 30% of its total transshipment.

All our stories on cornonavirus and Slovenia are here

STA, 18 February 2020 - With the acquisition of the logistics company Intereuropa finalised, the national postal operator Pošta Slovenije plans to further expand on the markets of the Southeast Europe and make EUR 195 million in investments in the next six years.

The company said on Tuesday, after its strategic development programme through 2025 was recently confirmed by Slovenian Sovereign Holding, that EUR 457 million in revenue was expected to be generated as early as this year.

The new strategy takes into consideration the steep growth of global e-commerce, technological progress, changed habits and expectations of users and liberalisation of postal service market, which puts an emphasis on modern technologies, digitalisation, automation and e-commerce.

Boris Novak, the chairman of the state-owned company, said that Pošta Slovenije would focus its logistics and parcel services on the markets of the Southeast Europe, which was expected to result in further growth of the entire group.

One of the key points of the development programme, which is expected to secure balanced growth and profitability over the next six years, is further expansion in Southeast Europe, which was made possible with last year's acquisition of Intereuropa.

The plan envisages a total of EUR 195 million in investments until 2025 in Pošta Slovenije and Intereuropa, which employ a combined 8,000 people. The bulk of funds will go for automation and digitalisation in postal logistic centres and in transport, as well as for expanding capacities.

"We will also invest a lot in energy efficiency and sustainable development, both in terms of the car fleet and energy efficiency of the network and buildings," added assistant director Vesna Kos Tomažič.

The company will continue to optimise the postal network, and expects that its network at the end of 2025 will feature a combination of its own postal offices, franchise offices, self-service parcel terminals and other solutions.

Pošta Slovenije wants to become a leading provider of parcel distribution services in Slovenia, and it plans to generate more than half of its revenue with logistics and parcel services as early as this year.

STA, 9 January 2020 - Luka Koper, the operator of Slovenia's only seaport, generated EUR 224.5 million in net sales revenue last year, a 1% uptick compared to the previous year, preliminary data show. Meanwhile, ship-to-ship transshipment dropped by 5% over 2018 to 22.8 million tonnes, the group announced on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Container transshipment stayed level over 2018, while liquid cargo transshipment increased by 12%. On the other hand, bulk cargo transshipment decreased by 17%, vehicle transshipment by 4% and general cargo transshipment by 16%.

Related - Invest in Slovenia: Meet the Companies in the Benchmark Investment Index, the SBI TOP

 Luka Koper said that liquid cargo transshipment was record-high in 2019, mainly due to favourable trends in fuel transport and sufficient terminal capacities.

The second half of 2019 was marked by economic cooling, which affected Luka Koper's operations as well, most notably in goods transshipment. Apart from manufacturing slowdown, the situation was made more precarious by trade wars and political conflicts overseas.

All our stories about Luka Koper are here

STA, 8 November 2019 - Slovenia and Vietnam listed logistics, information and communications technology (ICT) and tourism as areas with most untapped potential for cooperation at the second session of the Slovenian-Vietnamese intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, chaired by Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and his counterpart Tran Tuan Anh.

The ministers met ahead of the session, discussing current issues of the two countries' economic cooperation and coming to a conclusion that there are opportunities for strengthening cooperation in various sectors, in particular in transport and logistics, ICT and tourism, said the Economy Ministry.

Vietnam has the greatest potential for reinforcing Slovenian exports among all countries of South East Asia, according to the ministry.

Bilateral trade, reaching over EUR 52 million last year and more than EUR 26 million in the first half of 2019, is still below the capacities of both economies; however, it shows a positive trend.

The commission has an important role in recognising those opportunities, with the two sessions focussing on specific ways to strengthen the economic cooperation in the areas with most potential as well as in agricultural mechanisation and food processing.

Počivalšek held talks with Industry Minister Tran Tuan Anh and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh to discuss opportunities in foreign direct investments, digitalisation, agricultural machinery and the wood processing industry.

He said the recent signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement would lead to increased trade since "a stable and predictable business environment creates new opportunities for the trading partners".

Počivalšek started a two-day visit to Vietnam on Thursday accompanied by a government and business delegation, including eleven Slovenian executives who held separate meetings with government officials.

A business conference was held in Hanoi where business opportunities in Slovenia and Vietnam were presented; more than 40 Slovenian and Vietnamese companies participated in bilateral business meetings.

STA, 16 October 2019 - The Slovenian Chamber of Craft and Small Business (OZS) and the Croatian Association of Hauliers called for eliminating traffic jams at the countries' border crossings at a meeting in Croatia on Wednesday. Road congestions on the border are causing enormous economic damage, according to the hauliers.

Peter Pišek, the head of the OZS hauliers' section, said that hauliers from both countries were experiencing unreasonably long queues at the border crossings due to the border authorities' ineffective system.

"This is problematic particularly at the start of the week when crossing the border could take up to 10 hours. Since hauliers have strictly limited working hours, they cannot continue working on the day they cross the border," said Pišek in a OZS press release.

The chamber has also pointed out that hauliers from both countries had been striving for a session of the Slovenian-Croatian haulage commission to be held and include police representatives from both countries.

Both organisations believe that the commission needs to establish ten border crossings between Slovenia and Croatia as soon as possible to allow an easy and unlimited haulier passage. The commission's meeting has been postponed a number of times for unknown reasons.

The hauliers would like to see new haulage rules, including in regular weekly rest periods and changing posted worker regulation so that a person would be a posted worker only if they performed cabotage operations.

Moreover, they advocate the development of secure parking places that are equipped with hygiene and recreation facilities, and could thus serve as a resting period place.