Key Trends in the Economy of City of Laktaši
Economic developments in the area of the city of Laktaši in 2022 are characterized by the following:
- growth in overall economic activity (measured by total income),
- increased level of foreign trade exchange with export growth and balanced coverage of imports by exports
- the net profit growth of the economy with profitability indicators above the average of the Republika Srpska economy
- employment growth followed by a decrease in the unemployment rate
- presence of indebtedness (credit indebtedness in relation to capital above the average of the Republika Srpska, but with greater creditworthiness of the city’s economy) and insufficient liquidity of the economy, especially from the point of view of accelerated and immediate liquidity (the coefficient of current liquidity above one and the average of the Republika Srpska, coefficient of accelerated liquidity below one, but above the average of the Republika Srpska, coefficient of current liquidity below one and the average of the Republika Srpska)
- impossibility of securing favourable sources of financing,
- difficulties in the realization of products, especially the collection of receivables (the average number of days of collection of receivables higher than the average of the Republika Srpska) and liquidation and bankruptcy of economic entities, but also the establishment of new companies.
It was the development of the economy (long-term status of a developed municipality and an employment rate above the national average) that enabled the municipality of Laktaši to acquire the status of a city and thereby further strengthen its position as an attractive environment both for investors and for residents moving to its territory. The migration balance, also in 2022, is positive and amounts to 143.
By volume of foreign trade exchange the City of Laktaši ranks second in the Republika Srpska (second in imports; sixth in exports) after the City of Banja Luka, in terms of total revenue, net profit and number of companies takes third place (behind the cities of Banja Luka and Bijeljina), as well as in terms of total revenue per inhabitant (behind Trebinje and Banja Luka). By the number of employees in companies the City of Laktaši takes fourth place (behind Banja Luka, Bijeljina and Prijedor), and by the number of total employees it is in fifth place (behind the cities of Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Prijedor and Doboj).
Great advantage of Laktaši, besides the geostrategic position and the created image of the entrepreneurial centre, is the fact that through the allocation of significant funds from the budget for capital investments, it has constantly improved the conditions for the life of the population and the development of the economy. In addition to investments in classic infrastructure, particularly important are investments in entrepreneurial infrastructure (industrial zone Aleksandrovac I and II), as well as benefits that investors receive (efficiency of the administration when issuing permits and other documents (BFC certificate for a favourable business environment), lower administrative fees, financial benefits in the form of a reduction in city fees for the construction of production and agricultural facilities and the possibility of paying obligations in instalments, etc.
The creation of favourable conditions for investment influenced a significant inflow of capital. In the last few years, more than 250,000,000 euros of direct foreign and domestic investments have been invested in the area of the city, and about 30 countries have registered capital in Laktaši (which is more than 30% of the registered investor countries in BiH).
The attractiveness as a business destination is also confirmed by the presence of large global and regional companies (Coca Cola; PepsiCo Investments; OAO NeftaGazInkor, Perutnina Ptuj; Маhle Group; Kolektor CCL; Cablex Group; Agrokor; Sano, etc.)
Chart 1. Number of companies by sector and activity
Business entities – Laktaši Number of business entities per thousand inhabitants
The structure of companies according to size indicates the dominance of small business entities (small and micro-enterprises), both at the RS and the city level. In a period of one year, the structure of business entities according to size in the city area did not change significantly:
- small enterprises – 533 (116 of small enterprises, and 414 micro enterprises)
- medium-sized companies – 20
- large companies – 6 (Integral Engineering Laktaši, Collector CCL Ltd, Mahle Ltd, Niskogradnja Ltd, Cablex BiH Ltd Aleksandorvac – Laktaši, and Marbo Ltd)
The number of small companies increased by 28, medium-sized companies decreased by 4, and the number of large companies did not change.
- Financial results of the economic business operations
The overall economic activity in the area of the City of Laktaši (measured by total income) is very developed. The economy, seen as a whole, is operating positively, but with a low rate of profitability and an insufficient orientation towards exports.
Chart 2. Total revenue, profit and export (in millions of BAM) and Profit rate, ROA, share of export in revenue (in %)
The total income of the economy (income of companies, cooperatives and other legal entities that operate on a profit basis) in relation to the year 2021 (1,547,832,415 BAM) increased by about 191 million BAM (190,977,978 BAM), that is by 12% (12,34%) and is about 1.74 billion BAM (1,738,810,393 BAM) which is an indicator of an extremely high level of economic activity. In the total income of the economy of the Republika Srpska, Laktaši participate with about 6% (5.82%).