(Belgrade, Thursday January 17 2008) MPC Properties and Merrill Lynch representatives organized working brunch with journalists on Thursday  January 17,  at 24th floor of BC Usce.

The hosts of the working brunch were Mrs. Radmila Nikolić, Deputy CEO MPC Properties and Mr. Robert Schweizer, Director for Global Principal Investments Merrill Lynch, and topics included:
 Investment climate in Serbia
 Merrill Lynch in Serbia
 MPC Properties and Merrill Lynch partnership.

Mr. Robert Schweizer explained the reasons of Merrill Lynch’s coming in Serbia. He assessed that over the last few years, Serbia has developed into a stable growing market economy. Serbia’s GDP has outperformed the majority of its neighbors in CEE. Serbia is well positioned (it occupies a prime location between Western Europe and Turkey; main transport route between Turkey and Vienna) to attract significant foreign direct investment, hopefully exceeding 2006 levels of c. $4 billion. Labor costs are amongst the lowest in the eastern European region which should attract foreign investors planning new business. Unemployment rate of c. 28% provides a potential large employment base. Government undertaking privatizations which will hopefully help the Serbian economy continue to grow, employee more Serbians, increase labor wages and provide a better future for Serbia and stable taxable income for the Government, for example RKB, IMT have been successful for the Serbian Government. Inflation rate has continued to decrease over the last few years, hopefully now in single digits. Serbian corporate tax rate is 10%, the lowest in Eastern Europe. This has attracted many companies to the market, including Carlsberg, Tetra, Philip Morris, Coca Cola, Telenor, etc. Serbia requires new investment in all real estate classes to help continue the growth in the Serbian economy, stated Mr. Robert Schweizer.

Merrill Lynch was looking for a solid local partner and in MPC Properties we found a company that met or exceeded all of their criteria. By signing this agreement, they formally initiated the co-operation, which is important not only for both companies but also for Serbia, and it is a good indicator that foreign investors have confidence investing in the further development of the Serbian market.

MERRILL LYNCH
Merril Lynch (www.ml.com) is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with offices in 37 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management companies with more than $1 trillion in assets under management.
 
MPC PROPERTIES
MPC Properties (www.mpcproperties.co.yu) is one of the most successful companies in the field of investment and real estate in the region of southeastern Europe. For less than a decade, through innovation, dedication and focus, the company’s vision evolved into a portfolio redefining the construction standards for residential and commercial purposes. Such results were based on a clear vision, excellent strategy and focus on maximizing cost-effectiveness.

The value of real estate investment to be generated by MPC in the 2007-2009 period will amount to more than 550 million EUR. This MPC segment covers the following areas:
 Investment analysis and evaluation
 Project acquisition
 Project development
 Investment Management
 Construction Management
 Property Management
 
The projects realized so far satisfies international standards, esthetic and functional requirements as well as clients’ demands.