- Montenegro gaining popularity as a tourist destination
- Investment in tourist accommodation looks increasingly attractive
- Benign investment climate for foreign capital
With temperatures in the Adriatic hovering at 72-86°F (22-30°C) in the summer, it’s no wonder that the beaches of Montenegro are teeming with tourists. In 2017, close to one million of them perambulated along the country’s 72 kilometers (45 miles) of beachfront, an influx of foreigners that, though welcomed, must have caused some trepidation, since the local population is just around 625,000. As the friendly hordes hunt for accommodation, investment in camping facilities, guesthouses, holiday villages, hotels, mountain huts and villas is scrambling to keep up. Rising demand for beds (the preferred measure of Montenegro’s statistical office) promises attractive returns to tourist investments, like those under consideration by American-Swiss Capital, Inc. The company has identified a number of distressed properties in Montenegro, which it plans to develop in the near future.
The Goldilocks ambiance of the Adriatic may be responsible for Montenegro’s benign investment environment. The Montenegrin Investment Promotion Agency (MIPA), set up in 2005 to promote foreign investment and facilitate economic development, defines a “foreign investor” as ‘a company that has been set up in Montenegro by a foreigner, or foreign legal entity, whose share of investment capital is higher than 25% of total capital invested.’
A blurb on its website proclaims that foreign investors may invest freely in any industry. There are no limitations on the amount of capital that can be invested, nor on the transfer of assets, profits or dividends. Moreover, foreign investors can acquire rights in real estate, such as commercial property, office space, residential space or construction land. In Montenegro, foreign companies are guaranteed legal treatment equal to domestic ones, which makes offshore real estate investors, in some sense, Montenegrin locals.
To capitalize on these opportunities, American-Swiss Capital (“ASC”) has an attractive property in the Boka Bay community of Tivat under active consideration. Tivat is home to Porto Montenegro, which is the heart of the coastline’s burgeoning tourism industry. ASC is presently in negotiations to purchase the property, an 18-unit apartment beachfront development, for approximately $1.9 million. The property, constructed in 2012 but never occupied, has been valued at about $4.5 million. It includes apartments that range in size from 60-160 square meters. Notably, the property has a private beach with a fixed pontoon boat berth situated only one kilometer from the full-service marina of Porto Montenegro.
ASC is also eyeing another Tivat project – the acquisition of about four acres of land located on the picturesque, UNESCO-protected Bay of Kotor, about 6.2 kilometers from Porto Montenegro. ASC wants to create a gated community with the construction of 30 villas, each measuring about 360 square meters (or about 3,875 square feet). ASC estimates the total cost of the project would be approximately $9.3 million, which it expects to be funded by presales and debt financing.
American-Swiss Capital is led by John Karatzaferis, who has been chief executive officer, secretary and treasurer since March 2015. Karatzaferis served for 25 years as a consultant for several major organizations, including PeopleCo., AGWS, and NAB Bank in Melbourne, Australia. His experience includes working in the consulting and recruitment fields in both Australia and Europe. For three years, he worked exclusively in debt management and credit control for NAB Bank and NCC in Melbourne, Australia.
Karatzaferis is ably assisted by Robert Sultani, who has served as a director of American-Swiss Capital since February 2018. From January 2016, Sultani served as a managing director at RCS Global Services, an international firm providing advisory, audit and training services with respect to the sourcing of natural resources. Operating out of the Dubai office, Sultani worked with clients in the mining, oil and gas, and enterprise software industries. He has also been a consultant and regional director for the Middle East and Africa for Viziya Corporation and Global PTM, both of which specialize in enterprise resource planning maintenance software and consulting.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AS-Capital.com
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