David O'Byrne in Istanbul
Fri, 27th Apr -- Turkey's state oil company TPAO has started drilling for oil in the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. The chances of striking oil are slim, making the move more a riposte to the Greek half of the island, which last year allowed Noble Energy to start drilling to the south of the island despite protests by Turkey.

Ian Bancroft in Belgrade
Fri, 27th Apr -- With rising unemployment, particularly amongst young people, local economic development is a key issue in the upcoming elections € particularly after the Serbian Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurs (APPS) publicly criticized the current government and announced its support for the opposition Serbian Progressive Party.

Justin Vela in Istanbul
Thu, 26th Apr -- Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, announced on April 25 that it will buy over 95% of Turkey's Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals (MN Pharma). The $700m deal is the latest in a line of acquisitions by international drugs makers looking to tap into the Turkish market's growing potential.

Nicholas Watson in Novi Sad, Serbia
Fri, 27th Apr -- Whoever wins Serbia's parliamentary and presidential elections on May 6 will have to deal with a raft of socio-economic problems. But the elections will also serve to illustrate how much has changed in this once-pariah state of Europe.

Tim Gosling in Prague
Tue, 24th Apr -- A week after bestowing on the Russian gas pipeline South Stream the status of "strategic" project, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban drove another nail into the coffin of the EU's rival pipeline Nabucco, describing that project as "in trouble" and claiming the Hungarian state-controlled energy firm Mol would pull out of it.

bne
Tue, 24th Apr -- State-owned China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco) is in talks over investing in Croatia's Adriatic port of Rijeka and building a rail link to Hungary, as it seeks a gateway to Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), the two sides said after meetings in Zagreb on April 23.

Andrew MacDowall in Belgrade
Mon, 30th Apr -- As a mountainous country with fewer than 650,000 people and scarce few resources, Montenegro would strike few as a natural investment magnet. But the statelet has undertaken a promotional drive to raise its profile, while carrying out reforms to attract international investors like those from the Middle East and China.

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Tue, 24th Apr -- On April 18, the Turkish parliament approved the sale of 2B land, or deforested land owned by the treasury, according to Erste Bank. The ability to sell such land should help push up land valuations and advance "urban transformation" projects that the government has made a key priority.

Clare Nuttall in Belgrade
Fri, 27th Apr -- To an extent, the problems of Choomich Belgrade Design District reflect the situation in the Serbian retail sector as a whole. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the sector declined steadily throughout 2011, with sales volume dropping 18.3% in September alone.

Ian Bancroft in Belgrade
Fri, 27th Apr -- Serbia's energy sector is one of the key planks of future growth. Realising and diversifying this potential, however, will require sizable investments in infrastructure, and the success of attracting investment and securing market competitiveness will have important implications not only for the country's economic development, but for its overall strategic orientation.

bne
Thu, 19th Apr -- The clash between the Bulgarian government and the central bank over a draft law which would allow the government to invest pension funds in unrated Bulgarian bonds was stoked on April 18 by criticism of the legislation by the European Central Bank.

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Wed, 18th Apr -- Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan reiterated on April 17 that Turkey is planning to issue Islamic bonds this year, as the country continues to seek to tap Islamic financing and support Istanbul's bid to become an international financial centre.