Miodrag Kostić, vlasnik MK Group

BOGASTVO NE STIŽE PREKO NOĆI

Novi vlasnik 30% deonica aerodroma i budući vlasnik marine u Portorožu, Kostić planira i kupovinu Kempinskog Adriatica Savudrija na hrvatskoj strani Piranskog zaliva i nastavak ulaganja u pet hotela u Crnoj Gori

Miodrag Kostić, vlasnik MK Grupe, prema Forbsovoj listi je jedan od najbogatijih ljudi u Srbiji, ako ne i najbogatiji. Njegovo bogastvo je porcenjeno na 540 miliona dolara za 2016. godinu. 

MK Group je holding i jedan od najuspešnijih poslovnih sistema u Srbiji, u čijem se sastavu nalazi više od 35 povezanih preduzeća, koja posluju u zemlji i inostranstvu i zapošljavaju preko 5.000 radnika. Osnovne delatnosti kompanije su strateško vođenje poslovanja i korporativnog upravljanjanja u oblastima poljoprivrede i poljoprivredne industrije, turizma, upravljanja nekretninama, IT tehnologije, finansija, obnovljivih izvora energije, mesne industrije…

Poslovna istorija MK Group je duža od 30 godina i tesno je povezana sa istorijom razvoja preduzeća MK Commerce. Osamdesetih godina ovo je jedna od prvih privatnih firmi na teritoriji Vojvodine. Osnovna delatnost je bila i ostala trgovina poljoprivrednim proizvodima.

Nedavno je Miodrag Kostić medijima otkrio da je prvi milion zaradio 1988, ali novac je zarađivao još kao student.

“Igrao sam fudbal, a bavio sam se i proizvodnjom kukuruznih pahuljica. Tada sam zarađivao oko 10.000 maraka mesečno. Diplomirao sam informacione tehnologije 1983. Privatni biznis je uvek bio sumnjiv, pa i tada. Tako mi je na vrata 1986. godine prvi put pokucala policija, jer nisu znali odakle mi mercedes C klase. Videli su da radim pošteno, a za dve godine sam bio milioner”, ispričao je tom prilikom Kostić.

‘Kralj šećera’, kako su nekad zvali Kostića, danas plaća državi, samo na osnovu poreza, preko 90 miliona evra godišnje.

Do bogastva je vlasnik MK Group stigao osnivanjem 1995. brokerske kuće M&V Investements, koju je 2005. Beogradska berza proglasila za najbolju brokersku kuću u Srbiji. Tokom 1996. MK Commmerc postaje vlasnik više od 200.000 kvadratnih metara skladišnog kompleksa u Petrovaradinu. Širenje u oblast šećerne industrije započinje 2002. kupovinom četiri fabrike šećera: Donji Srem iz Pećinaca, Jugozapadna Bačka iz Bača, Bačka iz Vrbasa i Jedinstvo iz Kovačice. Sledeće godine i Panonija Vršac je u vlasništvu Kostića. 

Proces proizvodnje i prodaje šećera kompanija je zaokružila 2005. osnovanjem Sunoko, zajedničko ulaganje (joint venture) sa Nordzuckerom, trećom najvećom kompanijom za proizvodnju šećera u Evropi i postala vlasnik 49% novoosnovane kompanije. 2010. MK grupa postaje 100% vlasnik Sunoko.

Privatizacijom vlasništvo Kostića postaju i Agrounija iz Inđije, Vojvodina iz Novog Miloševa, Labudnjača iz Vajske, Đuro Strugar iz Kule i Selekcija iz Aleksinca. Tokom 2006. MK Group proširuje delatnost na tržište Ukrajine, gde je osnovano preduzeće Agro Invest Ukraine, sačinjeno od šest poljoprivrednih kompanija, koje se prostiru na 25.000 ha obradive površine.

Iste godine je osnivano i izdvojeno preduzeće MK IT Business Solutions, sa sedištem u Novom Sadu. Za samo dve godine postojanja, ova kompanija postaje silver partner SAP West Balkans i proširujući primenu SAP na sektor agrara, implementira jedinstveni ZAGA modul za praćenje poljoprivredne proizvodnje.

U vlasništvo kompanije 2007. pristižu Granexport iz Pančeva, Žitobačka iz Kule i Maksiprotein iz Požege.

Strast ka novim poslovnim izazovima Miodraga Kostića je odvela i u nove oblasti, kao što je ulaganje u hotelski i apartmanski kompleks na Kopaoniku i 2009. godine osnivana je nova kompanija, MK Mountain Resort, pod čijim se okriljem nalaze hoteli Grand i Angella, apartmansko naselje Konaci ‘Sunčani Vrhovi’, 88 Rooms Hotel u Beogradu i Hotel Kempinski Palace u Portorožu. Iste godine osniva se i preduzeće Maradik Holiday Resort, koje u svom sastavu ima jezero Šelevrenac pokraj Maradika i koje se bavi ribolovnim turizmom i uzgojem ribe. Danas se ovo preduzeće zove MK Lake Resort. 

Osim turizma, nove investicije su vezane za razvoj obnovljivih izvora energije, gde će MK Fintel Wind kao svoju osnovnu delatnost ima proizvodnju ‘zelene’ električne energije. 

Rast kompanije se nastavlja kupovinom Carnexa 2011, Elana iz Vrbasa 2012, a 2013. EBRD postaje manjinski vlasnik kompanije MK Group. 

 “U Ukrajini imam 30.000 hektara zemlje, a u Srbiji 33.000 hektara. Danas kompanija ima šest, a uskoro će kupiti još pet hotela, u Sloveniji, Srbiji i Crnoj Gori. Imamo i AIK banku, koja je najveća privatna banka u državi”, istakao je 2016. Kostić.

Tokom 2017. AIK banka je završila preuzimanje grčke Alpha banke. Pored toga, Kostić je kupio i preko 30% deonica aerodroma u Portorožu i planira da kupi i ostatak vlasništva. U planu je kupovina i marine Portorož. MK Group je vlasnik i petine Gorenjske banke, s planom da je u potpunosti preuzme.

Kostić, prema pisanju štampe, namerava da otkupi i kompleks Kempinski Adriatic Savudrija na hrvatskoj strani Piranskog zaliva, i da nastavi ulaganja u pet hotela u Crnoj Gori.

Kostić, objašnjavajući svoj uspeh, je poručio mladima da zaborave na javni sektor.

“Treba da se okrenete sami sebi, jer ako imate ideju, kreativnost i znanje, novac se lako nalazi. Treba da pratite tehnologije, digitalizuju se sve sfera života. Oni koji pomoću tih tehnologija budu brži i jeftiniji od ostalih, biće pobednici”, naglasio je Kostić.

Miodrag Kostic, MK Group’s owner

WEALTH DOESN’T COME OVER THE NIGHT

A new owner of 30% of the airport shares and a future owner of marina in Portoroz, Kostic has an intention to buy Kempinski Adriatica Savurdija on Croatian side of Piran Bay, as well as to continue to invest in 5 hotels in Montenegro. 

Miodrag Kostic, an owner of MK Group, according to the Forbes’s list, is one of the richest people in Serbia, maybe even the richest one. His wealth was estimated on USD 540 million in the year of 2016. 

MK Group is a holding and one of the most successful business systems in Serbia; it covers more than 35 connected companies, doing business in Serbia and abroad, employing more than 5.000 people. Basic activities of the company are strategic leading of business and corporative management in the area of agriculture and agricultural industry, tourism, real estate managing, IT technology, financing, meat industry, renewable energy sources…

Business history of MK Group is longer than 30 years and is tightly connected to the history of the MK Commerce Company development. During 1980’s this was one of the first private companies in Vojvodina. A core business was and still is the trade with agricultural products. 

 Miodrag Kostic revealed to the journalists that his first million he had earned in 1988; he had been earning money also in his student days. 

“I was playing football, but also I produced cornflakes. In that period of time I was earning about 10.000 German marks per month. I graduated at the Department for Information Technologies in 1983. A private business still is risky, so it was then too. So, one day in 1986 the police knocked at my door because they wanted to know how I had managed to buy  C class Mercedes car. They saw I was being working fairly and 2 years after I became a millionaire” said Kostic. 

“ The King of Sugar” as he used to be called, today pays to the state over EUR 90 million per year, only on the base of tax. 

The owner of MK Group earned his fortune when established a brokerage house M&V Investments in 1995;  Belgrade stock exchange declared it to be the best brokerage house in Serbia in 2005. During 1996, MK Commerce became the owner of more than 200.000m2 of a storage complex in Petrovaradin.  MK Commerce entered the sugar industry in 2002, when bought 4 sugar factories: Donji Srem from Pecinci, Jugozapadna Backa from Bac, Backa from Vrbas and Jedinstvo from Kovacica. Next year, Panonija from Vrsac also became Kostic’s property. 

The process of production and selling sugar this company encompassed in 2005, when established Sunoko, joint venture with Nordzucker, the third the biggest company for sugar production in Europe; in that way, it became the owner of 49% of the newly established company. In 2010, MK Group became 100% owner of Sunoko. 

Within the privatization process, Agrounija from Indjija, Vojvodina from Novo Milosevo, Labudnjaca from Vajska, Djuro Strugar from Kula and Selekcija from Aleksinac, also became the property of Kostic. In 2006, MK Group extended its business to the Ukranian market, where he found a new company – Agro Invest Ukraine- made of 6 agricultural companies, with 25.000 ha of processing area. 

In the same year, in Novi Sad the MK IT Business Solutions Company was established and separated. For only 2 years of existence, this company becomes a silver partner of SAP West Balkans; extending SAP application to the sector of agrochemicals, it implemented a unique ZAGA module for agriculture production control. 

Ownership of the company soon spread on Granexport from Pancevo, Zitobacka from Kula and Maksiprotein from Pozega. 

His passion for new business challenges brought Miodrag Kostic to some new areas, such as investment into hotel and apartments complex on Kopaonik; in 2009 a new Company was established, MK Mountain Resort, managing hotels Grand and Angella, apartment settlement Konaci “Suncani vrhovi”, 88 Rooms Hotel in Belgrade and hotel Kempinski Palace in Portoroz. In the same year, the Company Maradik Holiday Resort was established, having the lake Serevlenac near Maradik in its composition; this Company does business in fishing tourism and breeding fish. Today this Company’s name is MK Lake Resort. 

Except of tourism, new investments relate to development of renewable energy sources, where the MK Fintel Wind  Company will produce “green” power, which will be its prevail activity. 

The growth of the Company continues with buying Carnex in 2011, Elan from Vrbas in 2012 and in 2013 EBRD became a minority owner of the MK Group Company. 

“ I have 30.000 ha of land in the Ukraine, in Serbia 33.000 ha. Today, my Company has 6 and soon we will buy 5 more hotels in Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro. We have also AIK Banka which is the biggest private bank in the state”, Kostic underlined in 2016. 

During 2017, AIK Banka took over the Greek Alpha Bank. Apart of this, Kostic also bought over 30% of shares of the Portoroz airport and plans to buy the rest of ownership. His intention is also to buy marina in Portoroz. Also, the MK Group Company is the owner of one fifth of Gorenjska banka but it plans to take it over completely. 

According to newspapers, Kostic wants to buy the complex Kempinski Adriatic Savurdija on the Croatian side of Piran Bay and to continue to invest in 5 hotels in Montenegro. 

Explaining his success, Kostic underlined that young people should forget about the public sector. 

“You should turn to yourself; if you have an idea, creativity and knowledge money is very easy to be found. You should follow technologies because all spheres of life are being digitalized. Those ones who, using those technologies, are faster and cheaper than others, will be the winners” said Kostic.