Branislav Živković, founding partner of Živković Samardžić, was recently interviewed for CEE Legal Matters, a print and online publication featuring news, interviews, analysis, and opinion, in their “The Buzz” section on the growing trends of relocations, real estate, and fees in Serbia.

In the interview, Branislav believes that the high levels of migration from Russia and Ukraine have led to a boom in the real estate sector in Serbia, during a period of overall legislative slowdown.

Following the elections held this spring, no government has yet been formed. Živković points out that the process is still within legal deadlines, but the technical government is still in office. Therefore, no new laws or legislation have been passed, except for urgent decrees, and he states that since early spring, legislative activity has essentially stopped.

Branislav states that tens of thousands of Russian citizens are now seeking to emigrate to Serbia – both individuals and legal entities – along with a smaller number of Ukrainian nationals due to their unique status. He explains that this has generated a significant amount of work, with many family businesses, employees of tech companies, and freelancers who worked for international companies relocating to Serbia, given the strong support for the IT sector and tech companies here.

Finally, Branislav reports that Serbia is “soon to finalize” a free trade agreement with China, and he explains that this will impact the market, as tariffs will decrease, and there may be the introduction of preferential rates or the cancellation of customs duties for agricultural and other exports.

Branislav's extensive experience covers mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, privatizations, corporate finance, transactional tax aspects, complex commercial contracts, real estate, and project finance. As one of the managing partners at Živković Samardžić, he coordinates cross-border transactions and international cooperation within the LGP Legal Solutions Network, a network of independent business law firms covering the Southeast European region. IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate 2022 recognized Branislav as a Highly Regarded lawyer in M&A, Real Estate Acquisitions, and Real Estate Finance.

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CEE Legal Matters is a print and online publication for and about lawyers interested in and working in Europe’s emerging legal markets, providing news, interviews, analysis, opinion, and more with a mission to be the go-to source of information about lawyers and legal markets in Central and Eastern Europe. You can visit the magazine’s website and subscribe here.