The foreign direct investment (FDI) influx in Serbia rose 14% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, the president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Cadez, said.
The issue of a Eurobond on the international financial markets by the Serbian government in June is a further stimulus for investments, as it will allow banks to lend money more cheaply and facilitate access to financing, Cadez said for Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS).
On June 19th, Serbia issued 1 billion euro of ten-year Treasury notes, to be listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The transaction represents the first Serbian euro-denominated government securities issue on the international capital market. The proceeds will be used to finance the early redemption of $1.1 billion of US dollar-denominated Eurobonds.
Talking about the new $80-million investment in Smederevo Ironworks by the Chinese majority owner, Hesteel, Cadez said that that showed that the Chinese partner came to stay for a longer period, to modernize production and be more productive despite the turmoil in the global market.
According to him, Hesteel intends to increase the level of processing and therefore invests in more complex export products.
In May, Serbia’s central bank governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic said the net influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Serbia rose 14% year on year in the first four months of 2019 to 1.2 billion euros. “The attractiveness of investing in Serbian economy is a result of the improved business environment, favourable financial conditions, and implementation of infrastructure projects,” Tabakovic said back then.
In 2018, the net influx of FDI into Serbia rose to 3.2 billion euro from 2.41 billion euro in the previous year, according to central bank data. Net FDI in the manufacturing industry accounted for 28% of the total, with 61% of coming from the EU member states.
Source; Serbian Monitor
