Founder and president of MK Group Miodrag Kostić (65), he died on Wednesday, November 13. Kostić founded the company in 1983, and became known to the public by buying a sugar factory in 2002.
MK Group deals with agriculture, tourism, energy and banking. After founding the company in 1983, Kostić, a graduate in economics, also founded the brokerage house M&V Investments, and with the purchase of sugar mills in 2002, he began development in the agricultural and food sector with the company "Sunoko", according to the MK Group press release.
That company becomes the largest sugar producer in the region, but the purchase of sugar mills has been marked as controversial in the public. Miodrag Kostić in 2014, he was also at an informative interview, because he found the export of sugar to the EU on the list of one of the 24 disputed privatizations. As the media reported, Kostić then answered questions regarding the purchase of three sugar factories: Bač, Kovačica and Pećinci.
After the sugar factory, the acquisitions of several local agricultural companies followed, ending with the takeover of PIK Bečej in 2016. Today, the MK Agriculture division cultivates around 13.000 hectares in Vojvodina, the Group's statement added.
He bought the Carnex company in 2011.
Tourism sector and ownership of hotels
The entry into the tourism sector was marked by acquisitions on Kopaonik in 2008 and taking over the ownership of the Grand Hotel. Miodrag Kostić continued his expansion in this segment in the period from 2015 to 2017 by purchasing two hotels in Istria and establishing cooperation with the world chain of luxury hotels Kempinski, under whose brand Kempinski Palace in Portorož and Kempinski Adriatic in Savudrija operate today.
He also opened the first Sheraton hotel in Serbia in 2018 in Novi Sad, in cooperation with the world chain Marriott.
In the same year, he became the majority owner of Portorož Airport, and previously entered as a minority shareholder in the ownership structure of the Budvanska Riviera and Sveti Stefan hotel groups in Montenegro, in which MK Group today has a 33,55 percent stake.
As a pioneer in renewable energy sources, together with the company Fintel, he built the first wind farm in Serbia in 2015, and then, until his retirement in 2019, he opened two more wind farms, the Group announced.
Stepping into the banking sector
Kostić also stepped into the banking sector. It takes over the majority stake in AIK Bank in 2015 and the acquisition of Alpha Bank in Serbia in 2017, and in 2019 it becomes the owner of Gorenjska banka in Slovenia. The balance sheet assets of the banking group today exceed 10 billion euros, according to MK Group.
Kostić retired from management functions five years ago, and left the strategic management of the business system to his son Aleksandar Kostić, vice president of MK Group and chairman of the Board of Directors of AIK Bank, while executive management is entrusted to professional management - the Board of Directors in MK Group and the Executive Board in AIK Banks.
Corporate social responsibility
As stated in the company's press release, Miodrag Kostić is "recognized by the public for his continuous engagement and donations for socially responsible purposes."
"He personally initiated a large number of actions and monitored their implementation year after year." He launched the regional CSR program "Support to the family", as well as numerous aid projects that are implemented every year with a tradition of more than a decade, among which are various forms of support for SOS Children's Villages and the association NURDOR, an organization of winter holidays for schoolchildren from Kosovo and Metohija, donations food to the vulnerable population and donating equipment to health and educational institutions. The humanitarian actions he financed were primarily focused on local communities where MK Group and AIK Banka operate," the company stated.
