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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia open to investors from entire world

Belgrade, 15 October 2012

Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkic today delivered agreements to domestic and foreign companies that plan to take on 5,000 new workers during the next three years and invest €120 million in opening factories throughout Serbia.

Dinkic stressed that the government’s priority is to combat unemployment and attract investment, adding that agreements have been delivered to companies from Europe, the United States and China, which shows that Serbia is open to investors from all over the world.

He observed that of the 22 companies that have received agreements, 11 are domestic companies which will mostly invest in the food and light industries, while 11 foreign ones will invest in the electronics industry.

This year we will earmark RSD 6.5 billion from the budget for these purposes, while in 2013 the plan is to set aside RSD 8 billion, the Minister specified, noting that this is the most efficient manner to invest funds.

Dinkic said that apart from the Italian footwear producer Geox, with whom Serbia recently signed an agreement, the second greatest investors is Cooper Standard, a US company that will invest €20 million and take on 500 workers for its car parts factory in Sremska Mitrovica.

He voiced his expectation that this will be an incentive to other American investors to come and invest in the automobile industry in Serbia.

The Minister announced that the government’s Committee on Finance and Economy will tomorrow contemplate the draft budget for 2013, noting that the government plans to adopt the draft by 25 October and forward it to the parliament to make sure MPs have enough time to be familiarised with the document before the vote.

A parliamentary debate on the budget should commence around mid-November so that the budget can be adopted by the end of that month, he added.

Dinkic stated that Serbia’s GDP next year should rise by at least 2% and the recession should be over by the end of 2012.

He noted that the National Bank of Serbia estimates that GDP growth in 2013 may even reach 3%, while the government is somewhat more conservative and remains within its projected 2%.

The growth will be based on investments and export, and our main export asset will be cars made in Fiat’s factory in Kragujevac as there is great demand for them in the market, the Minister noted.

He voiced his expectation that production in Smederevo steelworks will also be launched, that exports and industrial production will be increased and our balance of payments reduced, all of which are elements that will affect the growth in GDP.

In 2012 GDP drop will be 1% due to the recession in the first half of the year, he recalled, adding that the IMF has been given an open invitation to come to Serbia for official talks on a new arrangement.

Director of the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) Bozidar Laganin noted that 22 companies received subsidies totalling €3 2million.

Laganin specified that these are companies in the textile and shoe industry, as well as food, car and timber industries, IT sector, recycling, logistics, and metal and machine sectors.

These 22 companies applied for incentives to investments through the creation of new jobs as part of the 16th round of the public competition for the Programme of encouraging direct investments, administered by SIEPA.

Since 2006, SIEPA has financed 248 projects through 16 competitions for incentives, which attracted €1.4 billion investments and hired almost 45,000 people, Laganin noted.

This is the most remunerative way to invest budget funds because the investment is repaid within two years and for one invested dinar the government earns seven, he concluded.