The International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative for Serbia, Sebastian Sosa, said the country’s GDP growth should quicken to 5%, but this is only possible if the business environment is improved.
Serbia should focus on structural reforms, support to private sector and restructuring of state-owned enterprises, Sosa said at a conference of Serbian National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED), according to a video file posted on the website of Serbian news agency Tanjug on Wednesday.
“Now we see that growth factors may be greater than 3%-3.5% in the next few years. The current growth rate is not sufficient,” Sosa said.
Progress is also necessary for the rule of law and contract protection, he added.
Earlier this week, Serbian finance minister Dusan Vujovic said the country does not need a new Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF as it is in a sound macroeconomic condition.
The IMF said earlier in April it expects Serbia’s economy to expand by a real 3.0% in 2017, up from its October forecast of 2.8% growth. Serbia’s economy expanded by 2.8% in 2016.
