The Montenegro Stock Exchange week was marked by a drop in indices and an increase in trading volume, coinciding with the government’s decision to raise funds through the issuance of state bonds totaling up to 900 million EUR.
The value indicator of the top ten companies on the Montenegro Stock Exchange, MNSE10, fell by 0.7% to 1,205.95 points, while MONEX decreased slightly to 17,925.36 points.
The trading volume amounted to 429,360 EUR, which was 13 times higher than the previous week, mainly driven by transactions in shares of Hipotekarna Bank. On Wednesday, 0.4% (41,940 shares) of the bank’s stock was traded for about 390,000 EUR.
Agri Europe Cyprus, part of the MK Group, announced in early December its intention to acquire Hipotekarna Bank, and recently, management confirmed that the acquisition is expected to finalize by the end of April. Agri Europe Cyprus signed an agreement in December to purchase 74.93% of the bank’s shares at a price of 9.77 EUR per share.
The bank’s shares ended the week at 9.3 EUR.
Shares of Plantaže were also traded, experiencing a slight drop to 18.5 cents. The shares of Veleprodaja Nikšić, Poslovno Logistički Centar Morača, and Zetatrans were priced at 25 EUR, 5 EUR, and 1.18 EUR on Friday, respectively.
Shares of the Montenegrin Electric Transmission System and Railway Infrastructure ended the week at 1.23 EUR and 2.58 cents.
There was also trading in shares of the Trend fund, which were priced at four cents on Friday.
The week was also marked by the announcement that the government decided to issue state bonds worth up to 900 million EUR, based on the proposal from the Ministry of Finance. The funds are planned exclusively for repaying old debts and financing capital expenditures, with the majority of the debt related to 2018 bonds due for repayment in early April.
The credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), confirmed Montenegro’s stable outlook and maintained its B+ rating.
“The confirmation of the country’s credit rating is an encouraging result and an incentive to continue positive economic trends, which will contribute to improving citizens’ living standards, attracting more investments, implementing major capital projects, and other positive developments,” stated the Ministry of Finance.
Montenegro is considered the most advanced in the Western Balkans in its EU accession process, having made progress in several areas concerning EU obligations and rights.
Mid-week, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecasted Montenegro’s economy to grow by 2.9% this year, with a projected 3% growth next year. The EBRD also revised down last year’s growth from 3.8% to 3.1%.
The week also featured the announcement that the second section of the highway from Mateševo to Andrijevica should be completed and open to traffic by 2030. Monteput director Milan Ljiljanić stated that land expropriation had already begun, and there were no expected delays. The tender for the construction of this section was announced last week, with bids due by the end of April. The project is expected to take five years, including the preparation of the main project and the main works, with completion expected in 2030.
A panel discussion on the topic of “Analysis of Prices and Operations of Trade Chains in Montenegro” was held at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica. The Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, participated in the event, stating that wage growth in Montenegro through the “Europe Now” program did not lead to inflation spikes, emphasizing that inflation was mainly driven by imports and food prices, which increased by 29% and 31%, respectively, between 2021 and 2023.
Spajić also pointed out that margins had been limited since September of the previous year, while the “Europe Now 2” program was running simultaneously. The average inflation rate in November, December and January in Montenegro was lower than that of the Eurozone, indicating that net wages did not affect business costs.
