We’ve already heard talk of US President Donald Trump not joking when he speaks about a third term, despite the fact that the US Constitution bars him from running for president again.
However, he seems convinced there’s a way to secure another four years in the Oval Office, which has sparked extensive legal analysis concerning the interpretation of the fine print in the country’s constitutional framework. The past day hinted that voters in the United States might indeed see the name Trump on the ballot once more – but this time, it could be Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the current president. He revealed his political ambitions on Wednesday at the Qatar Economic Forum, organised by Bloomberg.
The event gathered numerous leaders from various sectors, and aside from politics and other weighty issues, discussions also covered the sports and entertainment industries, where technological innovations, shifts in consumer behaviour, and new business models are becoming increasingly apparent.
Regarding local developments, another acquisition in the banking sector is in the works, and a new increase in salaries and pensions has been announced. And who knows? Perhaps one day the transport system will welcome a new player to the market. Here are five things you need to know today, and we also invite you to explore our new digital platform, Bloomberg Adria Education, which offers practical investment experience.
Why globally popular ride-hailing service Uber isn’t available in Serbia
Uber, one of the world’s largest passenger transport apps, officially expanded into Slovenia on 20 May. This marks the second country in the Adria region where the American multinational transport company has launched operations – a decade after starting in Croatia in 2015.
At the beginning of last year, some Serbian media outlets speculated that Uber was entering the Serbian market, but the company denied the claims at the time. As of the publication of this article, Uber had not responded to a Bloomberg Adria journalist’s enquiry regarding any plans to expand into Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or North Macedonia.
Currently, the Serbian market is served by taxi associations and the platform YandexGo, a branch of the Russian IT giant Yandex, which operates exclusively with registered taxi drivers. In Belgrade, the Car:Go app, registered as a limousine service, also offers transport services. Many perceive it as synonymous with a taxi, but it officially provides chauffeur-driven hire services.
A taxi drivers’ protest also led to amendments to the Passenger Transport Act in 2018, which clarified that taxi services may only be provided by legal entities and sole traders authorised by local governments. This category includes limo services, which are subject to specific regulations. To the dissatisfaction of registered taxi drivers, a compromise was reached whereby Car:Go was officially classified as a limo service, thus formally recognised as part of public transport.
“These legal amendments have limited consumer choice by excluding individuals and digital platforms without local permits, thereby reducing the number of available service providers and options,” said Mladen Alfirović, legal advisor to the National Consumer Protection Organisation of Serbia, in a statement to Bloomberg Adria.
He added that limo services like Car:Go enjoy greater flexibility in setting prices. “This gives consumers a more affordable alternative compared to fixed taxi fares,” he noted.
However, many consumers do not distinguish between registered taxi drivers and limo services. “The legal solution has introduced competition under a different name, but it creates confusion among consumers who do not see a clear difference in service, despite the differing regulatory treatment,” Alfirović added.
Uber Technologies Inc. was founded in 2009 in San Francisco, located in the southern part of Silicon Valley. Today, it operates in more than 70 out of 185 countries worldwide, covering nearly a third of the globe. Ride-hailing is available in 10,000 cities, according to the company’s official website.
From an employment perspective, Uber operates similarly to taxi associations and Car:Go in Serbia – drivers are not directly employed, but engaged as self-employed contractors. While this allows them to earn within a larger system, drivers do not have the right to a minimum wage or union membership, as previously reported by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Nonetheless, like limo service Car:Go, Uber remains competitive by striving to offer lower fares than other transport providers. Uber’s entry into the European market was controversial, with many taxi associations protesting against a competitor not bound by the same rules. As Uber attempted to classify itself as a “digital service rather than a transport company”, the matter was brought before the European Court of Justice, which in 2017 ruled that Uber’s services fall within the realm of passenger transport.
Uber’s arrival in neighbouring Croatia was also met with dissatisfaction from registered taxi drivers, who on several occasions requested that the relevant ministries ban the platform’s operations – a demand that was never fulfilled. Slovenian taxi associations, which have faced a new competitor on the streets of Ljubljana since 20 May, have also opposed Uber’s entry into the country for years.
In addition to Uber, the Croatian and Slovenian markets are also home to the company Bolt, which offers ride-hailing services and e-scooter rentals. Bolt was founded in 2013 in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, and is now present in more than 50 countries and 200 cities.
Like Uber, Bolt allows users to order rides via an app. “We’ve been operating in Croatia since 2018 and are active in nine cities, while in Slovenia we currently only offer e-scooters in Ljubljana, Koper and Maribor,” Bolt told Bloomberg Adria.
Bolt declined to disclose whether they plan to expand further within the Adria region. “Our main markets are Europe and Africa, where there is still plenty of room for growth, and we are currently working on expanding into new countries and cities,” the company said in a written statement.
Serbian Alta Group aims to acquire Stopanska Banka Bitola
The Board of Directors of Stopanska Banka Bitola has received notification from the Belgrade-based Alta Group that it intends to submit an offer to acquire up to 100 percent of the ordinary voting shares issued by Stopanska Banka Bitola. This new venture comes after Alta last year expressed interest in acquiring a 30 percent stake in the Austrian Addiko Bank. Agri Europe Cyprus Limited and Nova Ljubljanska Banka also entered the race to take over the lender, but the initial ambitions of regional companies remain unfulfilled for now.
Minimum wage and pensions to rise again by year’s end, says Vučić
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced plans for another increase in the minimum wage and pensions by the end of this year. He did not specify how much funding would be allocated from the national budget for this purpose, but the statement suggests that a budget revision will be necessary, as the approved 2025 budget already included increases in citizens’ incomes at the beginning of the year.
(Forbes Serbia, 22.05.2025)
https://rs.bloombergadria.com/ekonomija/newsletter/80083/zasto-srbija-jos-nema-uber/news#