Nikos Stathopoulos, BC Partners Executive Committee member and Partner, told N1 in an interview that he had “a very positive meeting” with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, during which he mentioned he knew that the country was in a good state, that it had much better growth than a lot of others in the European market, and that BC Partners’ investment was a good example of the confidence in the country.

Asked what he meant when he said the Fund would protect its investment, Stathopoulos said “the protection is more in a sense that we will support our investment in any way we can. We have a very big investment here and in the region. We are not afraid to compete within the rule of law and the message that I got from Prime Minister this morning is very much on that basis.”

“I think there is a genuine willingness from the Government to attract foreign investments. The United Group is a positive (example) and I think there will be more investors interested in this country,” Stathopoulos said.

He added that the United Group “in our view has the best technology, the best talent, very strong people and is in the position to grow. In my perspective, the government in any country should create an environment for any foreign investor to do what they do the best.”

 Commenting on rumours that his visit had something to do with possible changes in the N1 editorial policy, Stathopoulos said there would be none.

“Neither the government nor ourselves for that matter have any interest in interfering with the editorial policy. We will have no influence on N1, nor should we have any influence on N1 and I have a strong sense that neither the Government has an interest in influencing N1,” he said.

He added that “we are doing everything we can to be independent and unbiased and that’s why we have an independent editorial board.”

Asked about accusations that Dragan Solak, the founder and Chairman of the United Group Advisory Board, was interested to enter the political scene in Serbia, Stathopoulos said that “one thing I know about Dragan Solak is that he’s been a pioneer in this industry.”

“And from our talks, I know that he has absolutely no interest in being involved in politics or any other type of similar life in this country,” he said.

For the whole interview look here: