On Wednesday, March the 6^th, a large and high-level economic delegation with 33 representatives of Slovenian companies, economic andscientific-research institutions arrived to Japan. This time visit of economic delegation takes place along the visit of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor, to His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, Akihito, and the Prime Minister of Japan, AbeShinzō. As part of the efforts of the international investors' programs of PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD): Invest to Slovenia(investo.si) and International Investors' Network (invest-to.net), the President of VZMD, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, is also visiting Japan as a member of Slovene delegation.

In organization of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and SPIRIT Slovenia, partner Japanese agency JETRO andJapanese Agency for Development of New Energy and Industrial Technologies – NEDO, numerous bilateral business meetings, presentations and events are being held in Tokyo and Yokohama. Thus, members of the delegation on Wednesday visited the Toyotapresentation center Toyota Mega Web and the Panasonic Center, where they were received by the highestrepresentatives of global corporation. Visits were followed by a joint dinner of Slovenian businessmen in Japan, businessmen and members of the delegation, which was also joined by the President of the Republic of Slovenia. The meeting was held in the famous Yam Yam restaurant in the center of Tokyo, which is renowned as an important meeting point for Slovenes in Japan, and it impresses distinguished Japaneseguests with the outstanding selection of Slovenian wines. At the end of the evening, individual members of the delegation, including the President of VZMD, have beenadmitted to the eminent association of Japanese-Slovene friendship – Fuji Triglav Society (FTS).

Yesterday, "Japan – Slovenia Technology Cooperation Seminar" was held on the premises of Association for Technological Excellence Promoting Innovative Advances – TEPIA, where President Borut Pahor addressed the participants. The seminar was followed by a working lunch, organized by the President of NEDO, Mr. Hideo Hato. In addition to the members of the economic delegation, President of the Republic of Slovenia, President of the Board of Hitachi Corporation, Mr. Hideo Hato and many other prominentbusinessmen also attended the lunch. After lunch, the participants set out for Yokohama, where they visited Kankankyo and the Nissan Global Center premises.Slovene economic delegation concluded its intense and successful day at the reception for reputable Japanese representatives and members of the Slovene community in Japan, hosted by the President of the Republic of Slovenia in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Japan.

Also on these occasions, the proper presentation of companies, institutions and investment projects, included in the international investors' programs investo.siand invest-to.net, was provided. After a successful cooperation in economic delegation, which in January visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and this time visitof the economic delegation in Japan, VZMD invites all interested companies, institutions, communities and individuals to take advantage of opportunities for cooperation and inclusion of their informational materials, promotional materials and investment projects in web portals, materials and occasional magazines"investo Expo", as well as in events on numerous other anticipated occasions, which are being prepared within the context of both international investors' programs in 2013.

In the framework of Memorandum of cooperation between International Center for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE) and PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD), the international investors' programs invest to Slovenija (investo.si) and International Investors'Network (investo.international) were presented in India by ICPE Acting Director General, Mr. Janez Podobnik. ICPE ADG joined the Slovenian government and business delegation to India, led by Mr. Radovan Žerjav, M.Sc, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, The Government of the Republic of Slovenia.

On the 27^th and 28^th of January, the delegation attended the 2013 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit in Agra, joining the over 1200 business representatives from India and worldwide delegations. They met with Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Shri Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. On January the 29^th, the delegation attended the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) India-Slovenia Business forum and visited the CII premises in New Delhi.

As the delegation continued with B2B meetings in Kolkata, ICPE ADG met in New Delhi with representatives of the Government of India and individual institutions, with which ICPE had closely cooperated in the past.

On Wednesday, the 30^th of January, ICPE ADG visited the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and met with Dr S. K. Sarkar, Additional Secretary, and Smt. Deepika Lohia Aran, Deputy Secretary. ICPE ADG shortly presented the recent restructuring and improvement of ICPE's educational programmes and the ICPE plan of activities with regard to the international MBA and short-term training programmes for the Government of India. DOPT will offer their support to ICPE programmes in agreement with the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), responsible for ICPE, and the key government institutions, which will enrol their officials to ICPE's programmes.

Late afternoon, ICPE ADG, Minister Žerjav and HE Mr. Janez Premože, Ambassador of Slovenia to India, met with Shri Praful Patel, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, State Secretary of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and ICPE Council President Shri O. P. Rawat, as well as Joint Secretary DPE, Shri Ashok K. Pavadia. The possibilities of strengthened economic cooperation between the two countries were discussed, while underlining the crucial role of ICPE in intensifying and opening new possibilities for concrete cooperation

On Thursday, the 31^st of January, ICPE ADG and HE Premože met with Secretary O. P. Rawat and Joint Secretary Ashok K. Pavadia to discuss in more detail the near future activities of ICPE in cooperation with the Government of India. Secretary Rawat specifically noted the immense potential for cooperation within the energy sector and the central role which ICPE could play in this field with the support of the Government of India and the Government of Slovenia. Further on, firm grounds were laid for the conduct of short-term training programmes in the period of the following six months. They discussed the details of the international postgraduate MBA programme, which is to be re-launched in September 2013 in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. It is expected that 20 candidates will be nominated by the Government of India to enrol in the ICPE MBA programme in this renewed programme first study year (2013/2014).

Later on, ICPE ADG met with Prof. R. K. Mishra, Director of the Institute of Public Enterprise from Hyderabad. ICPE and IPE have a signed Memorandum of Understanding, which broadly defines the scope and content of cooperation between the two institutions. They specifically discussed the details of organising training and educational programmes on e-Governance, commencing joint research projects, as well as the organisation of the joint conference on Public-Private Partnerships with a focus on energy issues in October 2013 at IPE.

On Friday, February the 1^st, ICPE ADG held the inauguration address at the "Board Orientation Program", organised by IPE in New Delhi and attended by management boards representatives from major public sector enterprises, as well as private companies. ICPE ADG was also introduced to Shri T. K. A. Nair, Advisor at the Prime Minister's Office, who
addressed the participants on behalf of the Government of India.

In the afternoon, ICPE ADG visited the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad, Haryana. NIFM is a premier Indian research and teaching institution in the field of financial management, supported by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India, it was a long-term partner of ICPE and numerous programmes were organised at ICPE for NIFM participants. Together with the NIFM Director, Shri Anupam Kulshreshtha, and Dr Namrata Agrawal, ICPE ADG set solid ground for a re-start of the short-term training programmes in the following months, as well as explored the potential for joint research and faculty or student exchange programmes between the two institutions.

The Memorandum between ICPE and VZMD was signed as part of the efforts for further successful and closer cooperation between ICPE and the international investors' programs invest to Slovenija (investo.si) and International Investors'Network (invest-to.net), while there are additional options of expanding the international activities of VZMD also as part of the plans and presence of ICPE in Africa, Asia and South-East Europe.

The aim of cooperation is to develop common content, through which alliances between ICPE member states and VZMD, as well as between international organizations, of which VZMD is an active member (World Federation of Investors – WFI and European Federation of Financial Service Users - EuroFinuse), and their member states (55 national organizations of shareholders and investors). The emphasis is on the areas of active shareholding, education, strengthening entrepreneurship, investments and social responsibility. (To view investo.tv's video report from the recent international conference ICPE and Knowledge Economy Network (KEN) about the Benefits and Challenges of Public-Private Partnerships for Improving Energy Efficiency, click the picture to the right).

During "investors' Week" – the world's largest meeting of investors' representatives – which took place in Ljubljana in September 2013, numerous international guests, investors' representatives from 55 countries, among others visited the Postojna cave and the Jamski Dvorec Mansion.

VZMD invites all institutions, communities, business entities and individuals from Slovenia, the region and a wider area to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to realize and expand their interests and business plans, offered by the programs Invest to Slovenia – investo.si andInternational Investors' Network – investo.international.

A sizeable business delegation with representatives from over 50 Slovenian companies, economic, science and research institutions visited the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on the 15th and 16th of January 2013, where, within the framework of the they met with representatives of over 100 Azerbaijani companies within the framework of the Azerbaijani-Slovenian Business Forum. The Azerbaijani representatives demonstrated a strong interest for business cooperation with the attending Slovenian companies, as well as with those companies and projects represented and presented within the framework of the international investment programs of the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD); invest to Slovenia (investo.si) and International Investors' Network (investo.international).

The visit of the business delegation took place during the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dr. Illham Aliyev. The Slovenian Prime Minister took the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Artur Rasizade, with which he agreed on the establishment of a joint economic committee, and signed two agreements, i.e. the Agreement on International Road Transport of Passengers and Goods and the Agreement on the Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Service Passports. The important political and economic visit was also attended by the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Radovan Žerjav, M.Sc., for whom cooperation with Azerbaijan is a priority.

The opening of the Azerbaijani-Slovenian Business Forum was followed by one-on-one discussions between the Azerbaijani and Slovenian entrepreneurs and businessmen. The acting director of the newly established Slovenian Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Development, Investment and Tourism (SPIRIT Slovenia), Boštjan Skalar and the President of the Azerbaijani partner agency AZPROMO, Rufat Mammadov, took this opportunity to sign a memorandum of understanding.

Additional important agreements, memoranda and contracts were signed at the business forum – the Azerbaijani company Baghlan Group and the Slovenian company Duol signed a contract worth € 600.000 for the covering of the stadium in Baku, while Iskratel signed a letter of intent for cooperation with the Azerbaijan Technical University in the field of broadband connections. An agreement of cooperation was also signed by Ljubljana University and the Baku State University. Furthermore, a partnership memorandum was also signed by the Oguz region executive authorities and the Slovenian town of Nova Gorica.

The PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) invites all companies, institutions, communities and individuals to take advantage of the opportunity to participate and include their informative and promotional material and investment projects on the web portals, in literature and the commemorative magazine »investo Expo« and in the numerous other international business opportunities – conventions, conferences and presentations – which are prepared within the framework of VZMD's international investors' programs invest to Slovenia (investo.si) and International Investors' Network (investo.international).

The European Federation of Financial Services Users (EuroFinuse), of which the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) is an active member, supports the efforts and initiative of MEP Sven Giegold in the framework of the project »Dangerous Financial Products«, which calls on individuals, organizations, businesses and professionals to participate in the search for the most dangerous financial product through the web portalhttp://www.dangerous-finance.eu.

More information on the invitatioin and participation opportunities can be found in the letter below or on the given web link.  

Dear friends, dear colleagues,

I would like to start this year with an interesting project I need your help with. Europe is searching for the most dangerous financial product.

During their establishment in 2011 the new European Supervisory Authorities were given the power to ban certain financial products from the markets. However, this new power has not been used even though it is known that many products are dangerous. Nonetheless, at least the practice of naked short selling could be banned following an initiative of the European Parliament under the surveillance of a Green drafts person by special European legislation.

Some products are opaque and complex and thus threaten consumer protection with concealed risks and high costs. They harm third parties such as the global poor, particularly in developing countries by speculation with food and land. They put the stability of the financial system and sustainable development at risk because in some cases they cannot even be sufficiently analysed by financial markets experts or regulators and because they exacerbate price volatilities (also for currencies, credits, etc.). Other financial products might harm the environment by investments in non-sustainable industries or resource consumption. They might also endanger development policy by channeling funds through tax havens which has severe consequences for much needed revenue, in particular in the developing world but also in Europe.

Therefore, we are launching a competition to find the most harmful and dangerous financial product traded on the marketsand want to create publicity and raise awareness.With your input and the help of an expert jurythe most dangerous financial product shall be determined and brought to the attention of the supervisory authorities. We then expect them to scrutinize the product and limit its application or ban it totally from the markets if necessary.

We are happy to receive contributions from citizens, organisations, corporations, consumer advocats and financial markets experts via our online platform (http://www.dangerous-finance.eu). All proposals can be discussed in a public forum after expiration of thedeadline of submissionson15 February 2013on this website. Subsequently, a jury of experts will analyse and rate all proposed products. In a public vote one out of three very harmful financial instruments nominated by the jury will be elected the "winner".

You can join the competition and debates here:

http://www.dangerous-finance.eu

I am looking forward to receiving your submissions and to holding constructive debates - let's work together to make 2013 the year in which the interests of people in developing countries, consumers and our planet prevail over badly regulated financial markets.

In co-operation,

Sven Giegold

On Tuesday, 8 January 2013, the Acting Director General of the International Center for Promotion of Enterprises (ICPE), Mr. Janez Podobnik and the president of the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD), mag. Kristjan Verbič signed a Memorandum of cooperation between the two institutions, with which synergetic effects and cooperation on a wider international market will be additionally strengthened. The Memorandum was signed as part of the efforts for further successful and closer cooperation between ICPE and the international investor programs invest to Slovenija (investo.si) and International Investors' Network (investo.international), while there are additional options of expanding the international activities of VZMD also as part of the plans and presence of ICPE in Africa, Asia and South-East Europe.

The aim of cooperation is to develop common content through which alliances between ICPE member states and VZMD as well as between international organizations, of which VZMD is an active member (World Federation of Investors – WFI and European Federation of Financial Service Users - EuroFinuse), and their member states (55 national organizations of shareholders and investors). The emphasis is on the areas of active shareholding, education, strengthening entrepeneurship, investments and social responsibility. (To view investo.tv's video report from the recent international conference ICPE and KEN network about the Benefits and Challenges of Public-Private Partnerships for Improving Energy Efficiency, click the picture to the right).

The program investo.si was established in 2008 by VZMD, prior to the first investor conference and the »investo Expo« convention in Ljubljana. Since then, they have arranged notablepresentations of business opportunities in Belgium, Bolgaria, Brazil, France, Holland, Libanon, Luxemburg, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and Great Britian for their members, while strong presence in the international investment market on similar conventions, conferences and presentations is expected to continue also in the future (you are welcome to view video reports on www.vzmd.tv andwww.investo.tv).

In 2012 the international investment programs investo.si and invest-to.net, among other events, organized the World's Largest Meeting of Investors' Representatives: »Investors' Week«, during which Ljubljana's Cankar hall also hosted the international investor conference and the »investoExpo« convention. The meeting of over one hundred investors' representatives from 55 countries, which was supported by the European Comission, was organized by the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD) together with the international associations of shareholders and investors EuroFinuse, Euroshareholders and the World Federation of Investors (WFI), which only in Europe directly represent over 4 million individual investors.

VZMD invites all companies, institutions, communities and individuals to take advantage of the opportunity to participate and include their informative and promotional material and investment projects on the web portals, literature and happenings at the many anticipated opportunities in the year 2013:

• BAKU – visit of business delegation, during the visit of the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dr. Ilham Alyev, January 2013,
• PERU, CHILE – visit of EU business delegation with the Vice President of the European Commission Antonio Tajani during the EU-Latin America Summit (in confirmation process),
• LONDON – Conference of European Banking Authority (EBA), January 2013 (in confirmation process),
• BRUSSELS – International Conference of the European Confederation of Directors' Associations (ecoDa), EuropeanIssuers and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), February 2013 (in confirmation process),
• BRUSSELS – International Investors' conference and General Assembly of the European Federation of Financial Services Users (EuroFinuse), March 2013,
• LJUBLJANA – "Kapital" convention, April 2013,
• LJUBLJANA – Slovene Capital Market Days 2013, April 2013,
• PARIS – OECD Forum, May 2013,
• International Investors' Conference, June, 2013 (in confirmation process, to be held in one of the EU countries),
• MADRID – International Investors' Conference and the General Assembly of the World Federation of Investors (WFI), September 2013,
• LJUBLJANA – Ljubljana Forum, October 2013,
• LJUBLJANA – FDI Awards, November 2013,
• VIENNA – International Investors' Conference, date not yet determined (in confirmation process),
• Annual conference of the Slovenian Association for Quality and Excellence, date and location not yet determined.

Thus, after successful the presentations and activities of 2012:

BLED – International conferences "India and Slovenia as Business Partners" and "CloudForum", March 2012,

BRUSSELS – International Conference at the Brussels Stock Exchange, March 2012,

LJUBLJANA – Visit of International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative responsible for the area of International Capital Market Regulation, Richard Britton, at the VZMD headquarters, April 2012,

BLED – International conference "Bled Forum", April 2012,

LJUBLJANA - "Kapital" convention and Slovene Capital Market Day 2012, April 2012, LJUBLJANA – International conference "Africa Day", organized by the International Center for Promotion of Entrepeneurship (ICPE), the Slovenian Association for International Relations (SDMO), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, May 2012,

MARIBOR – International conference Knowledge Economy Network (KEN) 2012, June 2012,

SAO PAOLO – Visit of business delegation during the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister mag. Radovan Žerjav, June 2012,

BLED – Bled Strategic Forum and Business lunch with the Secretary- General of OECD, Jose Angel Gurria, September 2012,

LJUBLJANA – World's Largest Meeting of Investors' Representatives "investors' Week", international investors' conference "investo Expo" and a conference on educating financial services users, September 2012,

LJUBLJANA – Mayor's reception and award ceremony of Euroshareholders and VZMD award "Shareholders' Friendly Company", September 2012,

PTUJ – Slovenian Development Days on International Development Cooperation and a business conference on International Integration of Local Entrepreneurship, October, 2012,

LJUBLJANA – International Conference on Benefits and Challenges of Public Private Partnerships for improving Energy Efficiency, October 2012,

PORTOROŽ - Slovenian Association for Quality and Excellence (SZKO) awards ceremony, November 2012,

BRUSSELS – "European Public Affairs Awards" award ceremony, November 2012,

LJUBLJANA – roundtable discussion "The Future of the Eurozone" with Maria João Rodrigues, Special Advisor to the European Commission, November 2012,

WIESBADEN – International Investors' Conference, December 2012,

VZMD would like to invite companies and institutions to continue to participate in and benefit from the opportunities offered by the programs investo.si and investo.international in 2013 and also participate in all upcoming opportunities and events. Membership in the above mentionedinternational programs enables companies, institutions and projects, for which they require partners or investors to be seen on both web portals (in English), the production and use of professional video materials from www.vzmd.tv and www.investo.tv, the inclusion of informative and promotional materials at important investor conventions, meetings of representatives of national and trans-national organizations of investors and shareholders,the possibility of active representation in individual countries or environments, presentation in the commemorative magazine"investo Expo", promotional leaflets, folders, etc.

VZMD.TV VIDEO GREETING:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q4G5AkdCBs&feature=youtu.be

The representatives of VZMD and investo.tv prepared an exclusive interview with the Head of Division of the OECD Economics Department, Mr. Pierre Beynet, together with a video report about current Slovenian problems, privatization and withdrawal of the Slovenian State and politics from major State-owned companies. Respected international guest attended conference on "Withdrawal of the Slovenian State & politics from major State-owned companies", organized in Ljubljana by Academic Association Lawyer.

At the conference, round table titled "The Government's strategy and foreign examples and recommendations" also took place. At this round table, the President of VZMD and EuroFinuse Board Member, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, M.Sc., within the framework of the efforts for the programsInternational Investors' Network – invest-to.net and invest to Slovenia – investo.si also actively participated.

During the discussion, Mr. Verbič set a question to the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Janez Šušteršič, Ph.D., to the Head of Division of the OECD Economics Department, Mr. Pierre Beynet, and to the Vice-President of Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Mr. Tom G. Palmer, Ph.D., about possibility of public offering of State-owned shares of most important Slovenian companies and participation of citizens – at least at the first round of intended privatization – maybe with appropriate fiscal stimulation and in the light of the pension reform.

After International Investors' Conference titled "Shareholder Value meets Sustainability", organized by German Shareholders' Association (DSW) and European Federation of Financial Services Users (EuroFinuse) in Wiesbaden, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, M.Sc., the President of VZMD – PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association, actively participated at Euroshareholders General Assembly, EuroFinuse General Assembly and Joint EuroFinuse and Euroshareholders General Assembly that follow conclusions of the Ljubljana declaration. The Declaration, adopted at Septembers' General Assemblies in Ljubljana, has brought and outlined the process of merger (with January the 1^st, 2013) of two European associations, which protect rights and interests of shareholders, investors, and financial services users, comprising 50 national organizations that represent over 4 million individual shareholders and investors. (To view VIDEO REPORT about Ljubljana declaration, click on the left picture)

At this opportunity VZMD in Wiesbaden, for the third time in last five years, among others successfully presented investment opportunities and potential of Southeastern Europe's economy, companies and institutions that are part of International Investors' Network – investo.net and invest to Slovenia – investo.si program. At this opportunity VZMD invites all institutions, companies, and individuals from Slovenia and worldwide to take advantage of this program to expand and realize their interests and business plans.

After notable International Conference on "The future of European Equity Markets", which was organized last week at the Milano Stock Exchange by pan European organization, created to promote the interests of issuing companies – EuropeanIssuers, and association of Italian joint stock companies – Assonime, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, M.Sc., the President of the VZMD – PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association, actively participated at the International Investors' Conference titled "Shareholder Value meets Sustainability". The Conference was organized in Wiesbaden by German Shareholders' Association (DSW) and European Federation of Financial Services Users (EuroFinuse).

Within the framework of the efforts for the programs International Investors' Network – invest-to.net and invest to Slovenia – investo.si, Mr. Verbič met with numerous respected guests and speakers, among others with Manuel Soto Serrano, Vice-president and member of  Board of Santander Bank (headquarters of which the President of VZMD visited last year, when he discussed with the bank's President, Don Emilio Botin), Jeroen Hooijer, European Commission representative – Head of unit for Corporate governance, social responsibility, Sven Giegold, Member of European Parlament, Steven Maijoor, President of ESMA, and numerous representatives, advisors and analysts of companies like Allianz Global Investors, Blackrock, Union Investment, F&C, Railpen Investments, Hostettler, Kramarsch&Partner, BT Pensions Scheme, MN Services, Henkel, K+S, APG. 

This year's Conference included interesting panels and keynote speeches: "What can we further expect from the EU-Commission with regard to Corporate Governance?", "Why we need sustainable corporate management-future viability as a condition of economic success?", "What is sustainability good for? – the companies & investors' view", "Supervising the capital markets in Europe – a progress report", "EuroFinuse Report on ‘The research findings on the real return of private pensions", "Sustainable pay for directors – do we need any limits?", "The Pfizer case – how non sustainable behavior can harm the shareholders?", "How can we turn to a long term sustainable approach in investment? Discussion on the UK Kay review" and "Incentives for a long term approach by new remuneration structures for asset managers".

At this important international conference, VZMD representatives once again successfully presented investment opportunities and potential of Southeastern Europe's economy, companies and institutions that are part of investo.net program. At this opportunity VZMD invite all institutions, companies, and individuals from Slovenia and worldwide to take advantage of this program to expand and realize their interests and business plans.