In the garden of the House of Serbian Business Club “Privrednik”, the traditional reception of the Club was held. Members of the Club hosted His Holiness, the Patriarch of Serbia Mr. Porfirije, Minister of the Government, representatives of ministries, representatives of the City Administration of Belgrade and Novi Sad, Their Royal Highnesses as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, domestic and foreign companies, state institutions, dignitaries from the world of science, culture, sports and media.
On behalf of all members of the Club, the guests were greeted by the President of the Club, Zoran Drakulić, who first congratulated our basketball team for their great victory over Lithuania and their placement in the semi-finals of the World Championship in Asia.
According to him, the Club consists of 62 of the most successful businessmen in Serbia. “The companies they manage regularly fill their budgets, the workers receive their salaries regularly, and none of the employees in the companies work for the minimum wage,” said Drakulić, noting that “even that is not enough for the relevant ministers from the Government to find it necessary to appear at this event.”
Drakulić said that “this time he will not talk about macroeconomics, inflation, and other topics that concern businessmen”, but will refer to three current topics.
“The first is highlighting the one-year moratorium that the NBS made with the banking sector, and the behavior of domestic banks and the increase in their profits, which does not bypass even the poorest citizens of this country.” “Since the end of the moratorium, some domestic banks have been charging 39 to 40 percent overdraft charges on citizens’ current accounts, which is unacceptable and a big blow to the budget of the poorest citizens,” said Drakulić.
Another topic he spoke about was the announcement by the line minister of energy for a new increase in electricity.
He said: “The Serbian economy currently pays for electricity at the level of the European Union economy, and the production price of electricity in Serbia is 4 times lower, which also indicates a significant increase in EPS profits in the first 6 months of 2023.”
According to Drakulic, the third, no less important topic is “corruption in Serbia, which has penetrated into every pore of society and which accounts for almost 5 percent of Serbian GDP.”
He pointed out that “with all the increases, we will end this year with inflation of 8 percent” and that “Serbia with its almost 7 million inhabitants and the natural resources it possesses can be a great leader in the region.”
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