The Serbian market is deeply integrated into the EU market and the domestic economy depends on economic trends in the Union. The fall in GDP in the Eurozone, as well as the announcement of a slowdown in economic activity in 2023, along with the recession in Germany, which is the largest economy in the European Union, but which, along with Italy and Austria, is Serbia’s key export market, will have significant implications for the Serbian economy. And may affect economic activity slowdowns.
The Council of Foreign Investors gathers exclusively foreign companies, more than 120 of them from 23 different sectors, which have invested more than 37.5 billion euros in Serbia and which directly employ more than 110,000 Serbian citizens. About 75 percent are companies from the European Union, and even 96 of them export to the EU.
“Last year, Serbia had a record inflow of foreign investments, almost 4.4 billion euros. This year, the data show that the level of foreign investments will not decrease, but of course, like everything that happens in Europe, it is also reflected in Serbia. Inflation, recessions and the rest will certainly be reflected in the level of investment in Serbia,” says Aleksandar Ljubić, executive director of the Council of Foreign Investors, in an interview with Bloomberg Adria.
He states that with almost one and a half billion euros, Germany is the largest investor in Serbia and that all indicators related to its economy are carefully monitored.
“The level of investments is not decreasing at the moment, but we must not forget that Serbia is deeply integrated with the European economy. This is where a false dilemma is created – Serbia has no choice and Serbia is deeply integrated into the European space. Serbia is a candidate for membership in the European Union and there is no economy without the economy of the European Union. I single out three countries in particular, namely Germany, Austria and Italy.
Any disturbances in the markets of those three countries can have very serious implications for the economy of Serbia. As far as the politics itself is concerned, we expect Serbia to have a stable remains on the path to the European Union,” states Ljubić.
Investors need stability, political and economic predictability, Ljubić is specific, and he welcomes the Government’s decision to start the corporatization of public companies in Serbia, as well as to diversify energy, because energy stability is key.
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