The new president of the EBRD, Odil Reno-Baso, who will start his online “visit” to Serbia today, told Tanjug that the financial institution expects a successful recovery of Serbia this year and that it has optimistic forecasts.
Today and tomorrow, Reno-Baso will “meet” with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali, who is also the Governor of Serbia in the EBRD, then with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Zoran Mihajlovic, as well as with NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, and will have meetings with representatives of the private sector and key banks in Serbia.
“Serbia had strong growth before the crisis thanks to the responsible financial policy of the Serbian government, reforms and support to the private sector. This is recognized by the continuous increase in foreign direct investment. After the coronavirus pandemic, we are confident that Serbia will be in a good position to take advantage of “international supply chains that aim to make them less vulnerable and safer,” Reno-Baso told Tanjug.
As she stated, a healthy investment climate and proximity to the EU market will be important for attracting investors.
He points out that Serbia has a lot of potential, including local human resources, and that the EBRD believes that there will be even more investments in Serbia soon.
When it comes to the EBRD’s plans for this and next year, he says that he will provide financial resources in order to continue lending to small and medium enterprises in euros, and increasingly in dinars.
“We will also finance investments of domestic and foreign companies from the private sector, which contribute to the creation of new jobs, bring new, green technology to Serbia and encourage the use of domestic research and engineering talents,” said Reno-Baso.
He also states that the EBRD will support a recovery that will be oriented towards the green economy, the creation of new jobs, with the use of local knowledge.
“These will be projects such as investments in renewable energy sources, introduction of electric city transport, renovation of public and residential buildings to improve energy efficiency, introduction of smart electricity meters, further modernization of district heating and railway and road transport,” she added.
Commenting on the impact of the crisis on Serbia, he says that the package of the Government of Serbia to help the private sector was timely, strong and extensive.
Thus, the companies within the package received financial assistance for the payment of minimum wages, an extensive guarantee program was introduced to support continuous lending to SMEs, support was provided to certain sectors such as tourism, while one-time financial assistance was granted to all adult citizens.
“Government measures have provided liquidity, helped maintain personal spending and mitigate the impact of the crisis. The support package has had effects and, together with continued public investment, has contributed to a slight reduction in economic activity in 2020.”
Given that the latest measures could lead to, as he says, public debt exceeding 60 percent of GDP, it would be important that the new measures that are possibly considered be targeted at those sectors and citizens most affected by the crisis.
Reno-Baso stated that the EBRD, responding to the urgent needs of the economy, invested a total of 679 million euros in Serbia in 2020.
“Through partnership lines with partner banks, we have provided 480 million euros in support to the private sector and small businesses, supporting hundreds of small businesses in Serbia. In addition to credit lines, beneficiaries have received incentive grants and EU-funded technical assistance,” she said.
In the infrastructure sector, the EBRD provided a loan of 85 million euros for the construction of the section Nis – Plocnik of the Peace Highway, which will, he adds, connect Nis, Pristina, Tirana to the Albanian port of Durres, improving connectivity and facilitating trade in the region.
He notes that the bank, in addition to road infrastructure, supported Serbia to improve its digital infrastructure and financed a project to introduce high-speed broadband internet infrastructure in rural areas and digitalize 80,000 households and 600 schools.
During the 20 years since Serbia’s membership in the EBRD, more than 6.6 billion euros have been invested in almost 300 projects, the head of the EBRD emphasized.
“The effect of our investments can be seen everywhere, in all sectors, large companies as well as small private companies. The EBRD is a leading investor in supporting renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and the transition to coal.”
He adds that they supported the development of domestic companies in order to become regional champions and brands, such as MK Group or Bambi, Knjaz Milos and Nektar.
The impact of the EBRD’s work can, as he says, be seen in the new wind farms in Vojvodina, the expansion of Belgrade Airport or the new landfill and waste energy plant in Vinca, which is currently under construction.
“We have also contributed to a well-run, modern and resilient banking sector and through it. In addition to securing funding, our work includes supporting the government in developing new policies in various sectors such as energy and on current issues, such as the critical strategy for state-owned companies to improve their supervision, management and efficiency,” Reno-Baso told Tanjug.
Regarding green energy, he says that in recent years in Serbia there has been a general change in awareness, attitude and readiness to solve this huge challenge, as well as that the EBRD supports this trend at all levels.
“We are the leading financier for the two largest wind farms, we implement dedicated programs to support investments in energy efficiency of the residential sector and SMEs, and we provide advisory services regarding policies for designing a sustainable energy strategy and auctions for renewable sources,” she said.
The EBRD is also preparing investments in the modernization of district heating, including the transition from coal to gas, solar and geothermal energy.
In cooperation with the EU and the Energy Community under the Regional Energy Efficiency Program, the EBRD will support projects to improve energy efficiency in the residential and SME sectors.
“We are already working with several cities on the development of innovative financing models through heating plants in order to encourage the renovation of residential buildings, which are the largest consumers of energy,” said Reno-Baso, B92 reports.
