Although there is an impression that investments in Serbia come mostly from the largest countries, the truth is different because the NBS data show that last year the Netherlands was the most generous with 705.5 million euros, which is more than what we received from China, America, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
This practically means that a quarter of the total of three billion euros that foreigners invested in Serbia in 2020, which is more than half of the total foreign direct investment in Southeast Europe, originates from this European country, which in the first quarter of this year 201.4 million euros at the very top, ie in the third month.
In other words, the crisis caused by the corona virus pandemic, which left great consequences on the global economy last year, did not discourage this Scandinavian country, nor other European and world countries, from investing in Serbia, which is confirmed by the data of the United Nations Conference on Trade Development (UNCTAD).
According to these data, our country ranks third among the economies in transition in terms of the inflow of foreign direct investments last year, ahead of only Russia with the amount of 9.7 billion dollars and Kazakhstan with 3.9 billion dollars. What the final balance will be for this year is uncertain, but what is certain is that the investment trend continues, so as much as 1.7 billion euros have been invested in six months.
Foreign direct investment in 2020 (top 10 countries)
The Netherlands 705.5
Slovenia 483.3
China * 478.9
Germany 331.9
Austria 153.4
United Kingdom 106.4
USA 79.1
Russian Federation 75.2
Malta 62.3
United Arab Emirates
* including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, amounts to millions of euros
We will see in December whether these investments will exceed the figure of three billion euros from last year, but what can be seen from the official data of the NBS is that the runner-up title, behind the Netherlands, was taken by Slovenia with 483.3 million euros, then followed by the already mentioned China with 478.9, Germany with 331 million. The remaining six best-placed countries, including Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, Malta and the United Arab Emirates, have invested a total of 533.3 million euros.
The NBS notes that the Netherlands is in the first place due to its specifics.
– It is about the fact that some foreign investors, due to tax relief, realize their investments from branches in this country, even though the headquarters of the parent company is in another country, which includes Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau – they say in the NBS.
Foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2021 (top 10 countries)
Switzerland 261.6
China * 236.1
The Netherlands 201.4
Austria 533.1
France 49.7
Germany 42.1
Hungary 36.5
Luxembourg 31.4
USA 23.8
Japan 15.8
* including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, amounts to millions of euros
A surprise for laymen is probably the fact that, in addition to the Dutch, the Slovenes are on the list before the Chinese. At the same time, it may be a surprise that the Russian Federation is only in eighth place on this list, with only 75.2 million euros invested, which is slightly more than what little Malta invested in Serbia in 2020.
It is also interesting that some of the countries that were in the top 10 investors last year, in the first quarter of this year, are not in this elite society. These are Russia, Great Britain, Malta, the United Arab Emirates. Their places were taken by new countries, such as Switzerland, which in this period took the championship title with 261.6 million euros invested, but also France, Hungary, Japan and Luxembourg.
Despite the pandemic, in 2020 and this year the inflows of foreign direct investments are strong
The NBS said that despite the pandemic, which affected capital flows, in the previous and current year, inflows based on foreign direct investments in Serbia remained strong and focused mainly on export-oriented sectors.
– Balance of payments data for the first six months show that in the first half of 2021 the inflow of foreign investments into Serbia was 1.7 billion euros, and these positive trends continued in July and August, which indicates that FDI inflows to our country are approaching pre-crisis levels and to be one of the important factors of accelerated economic growth. Despite the pandemic in 2020, the inflow amounted to 3 billion euros, which shows that the interest of foreign investors in investing in export-oriented companies in Serbia is continuously growing – according to the NBS.
They add that the favorable trends in FDI are the result of the achieved and preserved full macroeconomic, financial and fiscal stability, which is based on the stability of the exchange rate.
– In addition to high inflows, it is equally important that the inflow of foreign direct investment was diversified, which was the case in previous years ,a drop of about 2 percent whereby this year the growth of exports has completely recovered and we expect that at the level of the year it will amount to over 20 percent – they say from the NBS, BiF reports.
