A May 1 Newsmax article stated:
Telekom Serbia, also Telecom Srbija, the leading telecommunications and broadband provider in the Balkans, is accelerating its international expansion, leveraging strong financial performance, strategic partnerships, and growing media ventures to establish a presence across Europe and now the United States.
The private telecom giant is coming off a record-breaking year, reporting €2.3 billion in revenue and €1.3 billion in operating profit.
[…]Under the leadership of CEO Vladimir Lucic, the company has announced several major initiatives he says will help push company revenue above €3 billion as expansion gains momentum.
Seems like an odd bit of obscure business news — until you get to the 18th paragraph, which explains why Newsmax has such an interest here, which is that Newsmax and Telekom Serbia are partners:
A key component of that strategy is its partnership with Newsmax, one of the U.S.’s leading news organizations and cable channels.
The collaboration has already proven successful in the Western Balkans, where Newsmax Balkans has gained traction.
Building on that success, Telekom Srbija has helped launch Newsmax Poland, including the recent debut of the news portal newsmaxpolska.pl, with plans to roll out a television channel in the near future.
Lucic expressed pride in the Newsmax partnership, describing it as a model for future collaborations.
“We have shown that we can successfully expand one of the largest international news brands across Europe,” he said, adding that the company aims to replicate this success in other sectors, including artificial intelligence and digital platforms.
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy had high praise for Lucic.
“Mr. Lucic is a visionary and builder who made Telecom Serbia into a telecommunications and broadband powerhouse in just a few years,” Ruddy said, adding “he doubled revenues while skyrocketing profits.”
Newsmax followed up by gushing in a May 14 article:
Telekom Serbia has successfully completed a landmark €1.95 billion Eurobond transaction, attracting nearly $14 billion in investor demand in what company executives described as a defining moment for both the telecommunications giant and Southeast European capital markets.
The multi-tranche offering of senior unsecured notes, denominated in both U.S. dollars and euros, generated $13.87 billion in orders from approximately 300 major institutional investors worldwide, making it the largest corporate bond issuance ever executed in Southeast, Central, and Eastern Europe.
The offering also ranks among the most oversubscribed emerging-market corporate debt transactions globally over the past two years.
Newsmax waited until the 15th paragraph to mention that it’s a partner with Telekom Serbia.
Seemingly tied to this is a May 13 column by Mark Vargas:
This writer recently had the opportunity to present Milorad Dodik – the influential voice of Bosnia’s Serb- majority Republika Srpska – with the inaugural “Leadership and Standing Up for Democracy” award at Judson University’s World Leaders Forum.
Milorad Dodik’s recent visit to Judson University sparked protests and predictable outrage.
But beneath the noise lies a more important question: why should Americans care about the Serbian people of Republika Srpska?
In an age of endless global crises, it is easy to tune out places like the Balkans.
But ignoring the Serbian struggle for sovereignty would be a mistake – one that runs counter to American interests, American values, and our own history.
Vargas did not mention the fact that the publisher of his column has a partnership with Telekom Serbia.
(Pictured: Vladimir Lucic)