Aster Textile, one of Turkey's largest exporters of knitted garments and fast growing knitted jersey and woven womenswear, menswear and childrenswear producers in Turkey, plans to open a new manufacturing facility in the southern Serbian city of Nis in the Balkans region with an investment to the tune of €7.2 million.

Of the total €7.2 million investment, €2 million will be funded by State Aid.

Within three years, Aster would be producing garments worth around €60 million of womens' and menswear per year for some of the world's leading brands.

Nis and the surrounding region has attracted a growing level of investment from foreign textile firms in recent years with manufacturers attracted by financial incentives, such as government subsidies, as well as its strategic position as a link between southern and central Europe and the emerging markets of Eastern Europe.

The site will initially employ 250 people although this number is expected to rise to more than 2,000 over the next three years.