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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Great interest of foreign investors in Serbia

Vienna, 17 January 2006

Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic said today that from an economic point of view there are no obstacles preventing Serbia from becoming a member of the European Union by 2012.

Vienna

Participating in the 11th economic forum of central and eastern Europe organized in Vienna by the Euromoney magazine that specialises in finances, Dinkic said that the political issues that remain to be solved are the future of the state union and the status of Kosovo-Metohija, but that from an economic point of view there are no obstacles blocking Serbia's path towards Europe.

According to Dinkic, the conference is further proof that there is a great interest of foreign investors in Serbia, not only of those from Austria who are especially interested in the privatization of insurance company DDOR from Novi Sad, but also for the entry of foreign investors in the Serbian market.

He said that the current characteristic of development in Europe is good for Serbia, referring to many companies which move their production from countries that entered the EU to EU candidate countries.

The Minister said that this year should be very successful for Serbia in terms of foreign direct investment, bearing in mind that the privatization of Vojvodjanska Banka, Panonska Banka, DDOR, and a tender for mobile telephony are to take place.

The characteristic of this conference is that the issues in the field of energy prevail in view of the recent crisis with gas. Dinkic added that foreign investors are most concerned about the future supply with energy products since Russia and a few other countries have a monopoly over energy products.

Dinkic said that the conclusion of this conference is that the countries which have an adequate response to the crisis with energy products can overcome it easily, and that others only through the capacity of their economies to export as many products as possible can reduce the deficit caused by high prices of energy products. The Minister voiced hope that Serbia will be able to overcome problems that have been externally imposed by those who produce energy products.

The Vienna economic forum gathers more than 950 investors, bankers, finance ministers, central bank governors and representatives of international financial institutions.