During its first two and a half years of operation, the Serbian–Hungarian gas trading company recorded a negative balance.
Founded in 2023, the company is jointly owned by the Hungarian state-owned firm MVM ONEnergy and the Serbian public enterprise Srbijagas. At the time of its establishment, Serbia’s Ministry of Mining and Energy told Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that the joint company Serbhungas would “engage in natural gas trading in Serbia and the region”.
However, so far the company has operated only on the domestic market, and publicly available documents do not reveal who its key customers were. The gas it sold was sourced exclusively from Srbijagas, according to an RFE/RL analysis based on the company’s financial statements. “These companies operate in the same market. I don’t see the rationale. Someone should explain what is preventing Srbijagas from doing the same job without a subsidiary,” energy expert Dragan Vlaisavljević told RFE/RL.
Neither Serbhungas nor its owners – Hungary’s MVM and Serbia’s Srbijagas – responded to RFE/RL’s questions about the company’s operations.
Both the Hungarian and Serbian sides have so far invested around one million euros each in the joint company.
Its establishment was one of the projects agreed upon by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Péter Magyar, has announced that he will review contracts and agreements concluded by the government of his predecessor Viktor Orbán. Magyar’s Tisza Party did not respond to RFE/RL’s inquiry as to whether this project would also be reviewed.
Srbijagas has invested around one million euros so far
The agreement to establish Serbhungas was signed at a joint session of the Serbian and Hungarian governments in Palić, in northern Serbia, in June 2023. Vučić and Orbán attended the signing.
According to Serbia’s Business Registers Agency, the company was registered less than two weeks later in Novi Sad, at the same address as Srbijagas headquarters. The Hungarian company holds a 51 per cent stake, while Srbijagas owns 49 per cent. Together, they initially invested €200,000 as share capital.
However, several months later, further investments by MVM and Srbijagas increased the share capital to around €2 million.
Thus, Srbijagas, with the approval of the Serbian government, contributed an additional €882,000, according to financial statements. Hungary’s MVM remained the majority owner with 51 per cent after the capital increase, meaning it invested a further €918,000.
In 2023, Serbia’s Ministry of Energy announced that Srbijagas and MVM would also establish a joint company in Hungary, thereby “gradually building its position in the regional market”.
Neither Srbijagas nor the Ministry of Energy responded to RFE/RL’s questions as to whether that company has been established.
How has Serbhungas performed so far?
Serbhungas’ revenues from gas sales increased each year. In 2025, the company generated around €42.4 million in revenue. However, it ended every year with a loss. By the end of 2025, the company’s deficit stood at around €627,000.
Energy expert Dragan Vlaisavljević explains that this is a trading company, which should not incur high costs. “If it was purchasing gas from Srbijagas, it should have achieved a positive result. That means if you buy gas from your parent company, you should sell it at a higher price and generate a profit,” he said.
Financial statements show that Serbhungas has a minimal number of employees, with above-average salaries for Serbia. In its first two years, Serbhungas had just one employee. During 2024, their monthly salary averaged €11,500. The average salary in Serbia in 2024, including taxes and contributions, was about ten times lower. In 2025, the company hired one more employee, and around €109,000 was spent on their wages.
Part of the costs, according to financial reports, also went towards “other personal expenses”. These include costs for hiring non-permanent staff, fees for directors and members of management and supervisory boards, as well as business travel and transport. In 2025, around €325,000 was spent on these items.
Srbijagas’ operations have been criticised by independent state bodies responsible for financial oversight, such as the State Audit Institution and the Fiscal Council.
Srbijagas’ multi-million debts
The state-owned giant traditionally ranks among the biggest loss-makers in Serbia, according to the Business Registers Agency. In 2024, it was ranked 11th, with losses exceeding €140 million. To finance its operations, Srbijagas takes out bank loans, according to publicly available reports.
The state guarantees these multi-million loans and subsequently repays the company’s debts. In its budget assessment, the Fiscal Council estimates that in 2026 alone, around €140 million of Srbijagas’ debt to banks will fall on the state. Serbhungas is not the only subsidiary of Srbijagas.
According to the 2024 Business Registers Agency report, another 17 affiliated companies operate under its umbrella. The most recent was established in autumn 2025 – Gas Infrastructure – which, according to official announcements, is expected to take over management of Serbia’s gas infrastructure from the parent company.
What is the Hungarian side’s interest?
MVM ONEnergy is part of Hungary’s state-owned MVM Energy Group. MVM is engaged in electricity generation, distribution, and trading, but is also active in the gas sector. The Hungarian company did not respond to RFE/RL’s questions regarding its role and business interest in a company into which it has invested over one million euros, but which has so far recorded losses.
According to Dragan Vlaisavljević, if the company were to generate profits, only the Hungarian side would benefit from such an arrangement. “The Hungarian company is expanding its market and gaining new customers,” he explained.
In addition to this joint company, MVM ONEnergy also operates an electricity trading company in Serbia. In 2025, Hungary’s MVM also became the majority owner of two private Serbian companies.
Gas cooperation between Serbia and Hungary
Hungary and Serbia have been developing cooperation in gas storage since 2022.
Serbia is forced to rent storage capacity in neighbouring Hungary due to insufficient domestic storage facilities.
Serbia depends on imports of Russian gas, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of its needs. The same applies to Hungary. Data from October 2025 shows that the country imports around 95 per cent of its natural gas from Russia. Both the European Union and the United States have called on partner countries to limit imports of Russian energy, in order to reduce the revenues Moscow uses to finance its invasion of Ukraine.
(Radio Free Europe, 27.04.2026)
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-madjarska-firma-gas-trgovina/33740734.html