Today, the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Cadez, assessed that the decision of the state to extend the measures of direct assistance to entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium enterprises is another timely and quick response to the “current situation” due to the pandemic.
Cadez said that would enable companies in Serbia to maintain the liquidity preserved in the past months and save jobs.
“It is also a great incentive for new employment and significant growth in consumption at a time of declining demand due to the pandemic in the domestic and foreign markets,” Cadez said in a statement.
The first package of state aid measures, according to Cadez, “saved the backbone of the economy, and the additional support, this time widely set, but directed towards the most vulnerable segment of the economy, is another strong injection.”
This new help will provide the economy with a break, to be able to penetrate, to find new jobs more financially relaxed, to preserve the supply chain and to be ready for autumn and, later, a time of stronger recovery.
“State aid by covering part of the minimum wage for July and August, as well as the month – two tax deferrals, a new moratorium on credit obligations, subsidies for new employees’ salaries, with existing credit support for liquidity, comes at the right time and is an important step for our economy,” Cadez pointed out.
He pointed out that the first results of the latest survey show that 80 percent of the surveyed businessmen used loans and that almost as many respondents solved the liquidity problem in three to six months, expressing great interest in using that type of support again.
“The next step is to further help the most vulnerable sectors such as tourism, catering, passenger transport, but also to support our companies in the manufacturing industry to better position themselves in the new circumstances in the domestic and foreign markets, to contract new jobs in the country and abroad. We help them to join the chains of international companies, secure export business, increase competitiveness, design production, new business models and markets in which they will operate,” announced Cadez.
As PKS announced, “businessmen are optimistic about the announced measures” and estimate that it will enable them to maintain production and employment, as well as recovery in the long run.
The owner and director of the company “Tenen” from Chennai, Jovo Rodic, believes that the new measures, as well as the previous ones, will help the economy to overcome the business challenges it faces due to the global health crisis, maintain production continuity and hire new workers.
He praised the “My First Salary” project, emphasizing that he plans to hire interns and other staff.
Rodic said that the company “Tenen”, which is engaged in the production of animal feed by soybean processing, as well as chicken breeding, did not lay off workers, that it organized work in accordance with recommendations and regulations – from home and in shifts, and that it implements all preventive sanitary more.
As for the family company “Ipon” from Indjija, a manufacturer of sports equipment, the new measures will, as its co-owner Mariana Miljkovic pointed out, enable recovery in the long run and keep the workers.
It is especially important for her to extend the minimum payment for another two months, so that all employees “stay together”.
“It would be neither correct nor human in this situation to fire workers who support their families. These measures will enable that not to happen,” said Miljkovic.
The owner of the consulting agency “Life in Harmony”, Dragana Nerandzic, said that she was pleasantly surprised by the latest measures of state aid intended for the economy, mostly entrepreneurs and small businessmen.
“They will prevent the bad scenario that we now see in many countries and their economies, because there is almost no activity that is not directly or indirectly affected by the crisis,” she said.
According to her, the new incentives came at the right time to significantly help the private sector to “survive” the summer attack of the corona virus.
“I was especially pleased with the news about the first salary program, which I believe will help all private individuals to receive compensation for young people who are ready to work and improve by working,” said Dragana Nerandzic, Danas reports.
