Balkan Business Brief

Marriott is coming to Kotor

In the old medieval town of Kotor, the construction of a luxury tourist complex from the large multinational hotel chain, Marriott, has recently begun. The five-star luxury hotel is being built in accordance with UNESCO standards, because the city of Kotor itself is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition to the construction of the complex, this project envisages a hotel, swimming pool and the construction of a promenade. Completion is planned for May 2025

Cyber-attacks impact the Government of Montenegro

The Government of Montenegro and its institutions have been facing serious cyber-attacks since August. The value of the virus that attacked the government's IT system is estimated to be around 2.5 million dollars. The virus infected more than 150 stations in ten state institutions, which are gradually returning to normality. In addition to the cyber-attack, hundreds of administrative computers were infected with the virus. The seriousness of the cyber-attack is also indicated by the fact that several government websites were offline for a long period of time. The Electric Power Company of Montenegro was recognized as a potential target for the attack, which is why the power plants switched to a manual control system. Employees in state institutions were forced to carry out all digital business communication in person or by phone.

Officials confirmed that it was a carefully planned attack and identified the cybercriminal group Cuba Ransomware as the perpetrators. However, Montenegro is not alone in defending itself against a serious attack. France and the US have sent cyber security experts to Montenegro to help solve the problems caused by the cyber-attack and to protect the systems. The ministries confirmed that they have copies of the data and documents, while the full extent of the financial losses still cannot be fully confirmed.

International company Webhelp expands business activities in Albania

Webhelp, a leading international company providing services in business and user experience, has announced the expansion of its business activities in Albania. The company Webhelp has announced its arrival in the capital Tirana with the creation of around 200 new jobs. ?This expansion is the result of the strong growth achieved in the last year, both locally and globally. The Webhelp company has been operating in Albania since 2021, providing B2C and B2B user experience services in more than 5 languages, working with clients from a wide variety of sectors.?

Lidl causes excitement with the announcement it is coming to Montenegro

The well-known German retail chain Lidl, whose arrival on the Montenegrin market is expected at the end of 2023, continues its search for locations for the construction of retail stores. It is known that Lidl has already bought land at two locations in the capital Podgorica for the value of 10.82 million euros and 3.72 million euros respectively, and a few days ago in the municipality of Niksic for the value of 872,000 euros. According to the first plans, Lidl should open 17 retail stores and a large distribution center. Also, Lidl announced the first job vacancies, and according to the announced plan, around 1,000 jobs will be created.