Gasoline retailer OKTA, a member of the ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) group, has established itself as a dominant player in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom), where it stands as the neighboring country’s biggest gasoline supplier by far.

OKTA was ranked third, based on total turnover, in a list of Fyrom’s 200 biggest enterprises published by local economic news magazine Capital. OKTA’s total turnover reached 311 million euros, a 5.6 percent drop compared to the previous year.

The publication’s top-200 list includes seven more Greek or part-Greek enterprises.

Greece’s diplomatic mission in Fyrom is keeping a close watch on the country’s economic developments and other matters of interest to Greek enterprises interested in the neighbouring market. Athens is being updated on a regular basis.

Fyrom’s newly appointed government, embraced by the EU and USA, is keen to improve the country’s bilateral ties with Greece.

Part of this effort includes the implementation, as of January 1, of a delayed directive stretching back to 2009 concerning storage costs of required fuel reserves. Until now, these storage costs have been covered by petroleum firms without any compensation. Given its dominant market share, OKTA has shouldered a considerable part of this cost. Fyrom’s new administration has decided to implement the aforementioned directive, which will rid OKTA of the considerable storage costs it has been forced to cover.

OKTA was one of three Greek enterprises to receive a prize in an annual competition staged by Fyrom’s economy ministry in recognition of corporate social responsibility. The Greek petroleum firm received an award for its contribution to the country’s traffic education and road safety.