Public-Private Partnership

Issues within the field of public-private partnerships, such as subject, principles, methods, forms and conditions under which a public-private partnership can be achieved as a way of joining resources, capital and expert know-how for the purpose of construction, repair, and maintenance of infrastructure, are regulated by The Law on Public-Private Partnership in the Republic of Srpska („Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska“, number 59/09), while the procedures in the realization of projects of public-private partnerships are regulated by Regulation of the Procedure sin the Realization of Public-Private Partnerships in the Republic of Srpska („Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska“, number 104/09).

For the purpose of removing possible administrative barriers, and reviving business environment as well as of providing incentive to attract foreign and domestic investors, new amendments to the existing law have been proposed and the following law has been passed Law on Amendments to the Law on Public Partnership in the Republic of Srpska (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska “, number 63/11). Proposed amendments to the Law make the procedures in the realization of projects of public-private partnership simpler and shorter. The Government of the Republic of Srpska, at its meeting held on 14 June 2012, adopted Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Procedure of Implementation of Public-Private Partnership Projects in the Republic of Srpska. More information on public-private partnership in the Republic of Srpska can be found in this document.

WASHINGTON - Republic of Srpska opened a representative office for trade, investment and cooperation with the United States in Washington on Friday evening, which will be headed by Obrad Kesic, the Washington-based analyst and consultant.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic and Minister of Finances Zoran Tegeltija attended the opening of the representative office. Besides many distinguished figures, the opening ceremony also brought together Serbian Ambassador in Washington Vladimir Petrovic, former Serbian president Boris Tadic who is on a private visit to the United States.

In her address, the RS prime minister said this is Republika Srpska's eighth representative office in the world.

Parachute Club Banja Luka hosted the European Parachuting Championships and World Cup from which from today until 19th August will be held at the sports airfield “Zalužani”.

This sport event has gathered about 280 parachutists from the top 20 countries in the world (U.S, UK, Ukraine, Belgium, Slovenia, Poland, Norway, Lithuania, Israel, Italy, Denmark, Austria, France, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands , Venezuela, Sweden, Hungary).

At the Sports Airfield in Zalužani near Banja Luka today is held the official training and competition will officially start on 14th August.

On March 20-21, the Ministry of Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation and Agency for Information Society of the Republic of Srpska organized a roundtable in Banja Luka entitled Strategic Approach to Business Environment Reform in the Republic of Srpska.

The purpose of the two-day Roundtable was to assist the Government of the Republic of Srpska in formulating a strategic approach to an integral business environment reform, using the experiences and good practices from the region and a particular overview of the direction of the forthcoming business registration reform in the Republic of Srpska.

Presentation of investment opportunities in wood processing industry, mining and infrastructure in the Republic of Srpska was organized today by the Ministry for Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation, for representatives of the Embassy of Azerbaijan and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade with head office in Romania.

We presented investment opportunities in the fields of wood processing industry, infrastructure with a special focus on Banja Luka Airport, as a potential location for investment in mining. In a way, this is preparation for a business forum to be held in February, which will be of regional nature, organized by the Government of the Republic of Srpska and Government of Azerbaijan and coordinated by the Ministry for Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation and Chamber of Commerce of the RS, as well as other economic institutions of the countries of the region – said for the press the Minister for Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation of the Republic of Srpska, Zeljka Cvijanovic.

According to the International Finance Corporation‘s 2012 Doing business report, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked at the bare bottom (162 out of 183) of the ease of starting the business chart.

According to the Republic of Srpska Ministry for economic relations and regional cooperation, to start the business by registering limited liability company in Republic of Srpska, in best case scenario one needs:

The Government of the Republic of Srpska accepted today, at its 37th extraordinary meeting held in Banja Luka, the Information about the Activities of the Working Group for Business Start-Up Process Reform in the Republic of Srpska and the supporting Reform Action Plan.

The reform provides for the establishment of a one stop shop for receipt of applications at the Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services (APIF) (central unit in Banja Luka and several operating units throughout the Republic of Srpska) and the IT linking of APIF with responsible registration courts, Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska, Republic Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Srpska, Inspectorate of the Republic of Srpska and potentially with the Indirect Taxation Authority - ITA (Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska –ITA).

This would enable the companies, after notarization of their founding acts, to only refer to APIF which would then send applications ex officio to other institutions. Also, the companies would be receiving all registration decisions from APIF, not later than 3 days from the date of application submitting.

• Many reforms of business start-up process in the Republic of Srpska over the past few years were aimed at creation of most favorable business environment. The outcomes are evident and activities on this task are continuous
• Specialized commercial courts have been established to facilitate company registration procedures
• Companies with foreign investments are subject to equal registration treatment as local companies
• Local partner is not necessary for business start-up
• RS Law on Companies (RS Official Gazette, no. 127/08, 58/09 and 100/11) governs establishment, operation and termination of operation of companies in the Republic of Srpska.

In the sense of the above Law, a company may have one of the following legal forms: general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company or (open or closed) joint stock company.

Most frequent way of starting a company is establishment of a limited liability company. Details about the procedure for company establishment are available below.