The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Marko Cadez, stated that the Serbian economy has a good start for 2021, because during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to the help of the state and the quick reaction of businessmen, the economic base was preserved and production was maintained.
“Only thanks to your ability to react quickly and adjust business to new conditions, production and export capacity have been maintained, and the state has played a big role. You have a good start for 2021, which will be full of uncertainty,” Cadez told businessmen at the PKS online assembly.
He pointed out that the Serbian economy would have achieved record good results this year, if the coronavirus pandemic had not broken out.
“Despite everything that happened this year, Serbia will have the smallest decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe, and all projections show that it will have the largest growth next year, of six percent,” Cadez pointed out.
He stated that at the beginning of the pandemic, PKS gave 16 initiatives for easier business, of which 14 were adopted, which saved the economy a lot of time and money.
“We also worked on the best possible international position of Serbia, and above all on the establishment of a regional economic area. The crisis has shown us how vulnerable we are, so it is important to use this moment to accelerate regional economic integration and joining the European Union,” said Cadez.
According to him, PKS will try to ensure, in communication with the Government of Serbia, that the payment of taxes and contributions to small companies that are most affected by the pandemic will be postponed next year, and that small and medium enterprises will have easier and more favorable access to financing.
“For successful business, further development of electronic payment is of great importance, but also constant work on innovations, ie to change business models and to realize new chances in the new world,” said Cadez.
The Minister of Economy, Andjelka Atanaskovic, said that 1.3 billion euros were set aside this year to support the economy, preserve liquidity and encourage employability, and that 250,000 companies received state support.
“For the next year, the Ministry of Economy has determined the largest part of the budget for the support of the economy and for new investments, which will have the greatest impact on GDP growth,” the Minister pointed out.
She stated that the support to the economy will be in three directions: towards large investments, development of entrepreneurship and improvement of business infrastructure.
“The intention is to support the affirmation of women’s and youth entrepreneurship, and we are currently working on defining that program,” Atanaskovic said, N1 reports.
