JAPAN - BEAUTIFUL HARMONY
INTERVIEW
VICTOR VEKLITCH, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR ADRIATICA AT JAPAN TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL
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NEW VALUE EVERY YEAR Manager for Adriatica at Japan Tobacco International (JTI). However, thanks to its strong fundamentals, JTI managed to be the only tobacco company in the Western Balkans to grow its market share. “In Serbia we managed to sustain our core plans. Having tobacco leaf production, Japan Tobacco International remains the industry’s biggest employer in Serbia, with 3,000 people engaged from the fields in Vojvodina to shops across the country,” says Veklitch. JTI suffered no workforce reductions due to the COVID crisis and also remained the country’s fifth biggest taxpayer. “We have been consistently increasing our contribution to the Serbian economy for the last 14 years – every year,” concludes Veklitch.
Japan Tobacco International has been consistently increasing its contribution to the Serbian economy every single year for the last 14 years. Although industry has been impacted by the pandemic in Serbia, JTI has managed to sustain its core plans and keep up with investments
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truly challenging year is behind us, but Japan Tobacco International managed to maintain its business during the pandemic. Despite the difficult times, the company showed exceptional care for employees and adapted swiftly to the new circumstances, resulting in it receiving the prestigious Top Employer Serbia Award for the sixth year in a row. Furthermore, the company just opened the new JTI regional headquarters in New Belgrade. “Our industry has been less affected by the pandemic than some others, but we had our share of consequences. As I speak for both the Serbian and Western Balkan markets, we noted reduced consumption and downtrading,”says Victor Veklitch, Vice President and General 24
Were these results a matter of luck under the circumstances of the pandemic, or something else? - We must primarily thank our people for these achievements. Our focus during the pandemic was on providing a safe and motivating working environment, but also on maintaining team spirit by organising virtual events and communication. Looking forward to overcoming the COVID restrictions, we just opened JTI’s new regional headquarters in New Belgrade, which is worth three million dollars! This new modern and highly flexible office space will make our work together and day-to-day tasks easier and more enjoyable. I’m happy that JTI’s dedication during this difficult year has been recognised and that we were awarded with the certificate Excellence During Challenges, as a company that showed exceptional employee care and adapted rapidly to the new circumstances. We also received the prestigious Top Employer Serbia award for the sixth year in a row. Are you satisfied with your cooperation with the Serbian Government; are they open to listening to the needs of business? - The key to predictability in our industry, irrespective of the pandemic, is a stable tax policy. Our contribution in Serbia is big: excise duties on tobacco products account for 8.3% of total budget revenues and 10% of total tax revenues. I am glad to say that the Serbian Government and National Assembly extended the tobacco excise duty calendar for five more years, thus providing both predictability and further growth of tax revenues for the state budget. In five years, Serbia will attain the minimum EU standards of taxation, thus this is also an issue of harmonisation with the EU. Illegal trade in tobacco also impacts massively on your industry and state revenues. Has this part of the grey economy changed during the pandemic? How is your company contributing to preventing illicit trade?
