Hungary’s MVM becomes majority owner of two Serbian firms

Hungarian state-owned energy company MVM has become the majority owner of Serbia-based firms Energotehnika – Južna Bačka from Novi Sad and Elektromontaža from Kraljevo.

Energotehnika – Južna Bačka and Elektromontaža, which were privately owned, provide a wide range of services and goods in the energy sector, primarily in Serbia.

MVM is the dominant producer, distributor, and supplier of electricity and gas in Hungary.

According to local media, MVM has signed a contract with Maneks Group from Serbia to acquire stakes of 60% in its subsidiaries Energotehnika – Južna Bačka and Elektromontaža.

The Hungarian company already owned 33.4% of the two firms.

Zbiljić: Maneks Group’s vision is to operate in the European Union market

Dragoljub Zbiljić, owner of Maneks Group, expressed his satisfaction with the continuation of the merger with MVM. The company’s vision is to operate in the European Union market, he added.

MVM CEO Károly Tamás Mátrai pointed out that the transaction is very important for the company from a strategic perspective.

It has switched from a minority to majority owner, implying a much higher level of cooperation with Serbia, he stressed.

Matrai: The two firms are crucial for energy infrastructure

According to Matrai, the two firms are important for energy infrastructure, and very reliable. Together with them and their management, MVM will be able to contribute to Serbia’s further success, in his view.

The Hungarian company purchased the 33.4% stakes in the two Serbian firms in March 2022. Earlier it said that it saw Serbia as a gateway to the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

In June 2023, MVM signed a contract with Serbia’s state-owned gas firm Srbijagas to set up a gas trading joint venture called SERBHUNGAS, based in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Serbia and Hungary are working on a new power line between the two countries, as well as on their first joint oil pipeline.

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July 4, 2025

by AEA in News

Serbia, North Macedonia working on gas interconnector project

Serbia’s state gas company Srbijagas and North Macedonia’s gas transmission system operator Nomagas signed a memorandum of understanding expressing their intention to soon build a gas interconnector between the two countries. Srbijagas is also expected to present a plan for a gas interconnection with Romania.

The memorandum, signed by Srbijagas General Manager Dušan Bajatović and Nomagas Executive Director Muhamet Elmazi, confirms the pipeline’s border crossing point, an important step in preparing technical documentation and project implementation, according to a press release from Srbijagas.

The interconnector’s planned two-way capacity is 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The feasibility study, financed through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), is expected to be completed soon, according to a statement by Nomagas.

The interconnector’s planned capacity is 1.5 billion cubic meters

In North Macedonia, the interconnector would be connected to the existing Klečovce gas pipeline, and in Serbia, to a pipeline in Vranje that has already been built. Its total length would be approximately 70 kilometers – about 47 kilometers in Serbia and 23 kilometers in North Macedonia.

The memorandum reaffirms the political will expressed in a memorandum signed by the two countries’ relevant ministries in October 2024, particularly the importance of interconnecting energy markets, strengthening the security of gas supply, and diversifying supply routes, according to Srbijagas.

With this document, the two sides also declare their support for increased cooperation between Southeast European countries and the establishment of a regional energy market as part of the European Union’s internal energy market.

Serbia-Romania interconnector project to be presented in September

Srbijagas has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Romania’s national gas transmission system operator SNTGN Transgaz. On the sidelines of a meeting in Bucharest, the two companies’ top executives agreed to present a joint plan in September for a gas interconnection.

The project involves the construction of a new natural gas pipeline to link the BRUA pipeline in Romania with the Mokrin hub in Serbia. The plan is also expected to include the construction of a gas pipeline between Južni Mokrin and Belgrade, via the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage facility and the city of Pančevo, according to a press release from Srbijagas.

The Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector was put into trial operation at the end of 2023.

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