World Bank to grant USD 100 million loan to Serbia for budget as early as in March

Serbia could get the first drawdown of the loan for the budget support totaling USD 100 m from the World Bank as early as March, WB Country Manager for Serbia Tony Verheijen said.

The first man of the World Bank in Serbia said in his announcement for Tanjug news agency that the plan was to grant a USD 200 million loan to Serbia for the budget.

Thus, Serbia could count on the second part of the loan totaling also USD 100 m, he added, in late 2015, when the privatization process comes to an end.

The first drawdown of USD 100 m, as he said, will be approved soon since the Government of Serbia is continuing with the privatization process in line with the plan and it adopted the Action plan on bankruptcy for 188 companies from the list of the Agency for privatization.

- This is a brave decision of the Government which should have been made long time ago. Unfortunately, the longer the delay was, damage for Serbian economy was becoming bigger – Verheijen said.

These companies cost tax payers in Serbia more than a billion euros in the previous five years, through subsidies and lost profit, a collocutor of Tanjug specified.

- We are ready in the sense to support the budget of Serbia since this decision costs as well. It is significant cost since the Government is obliged to pay reimbursements to employees in these companies. Especially, having in mind the fact that the Government did not have commitment after all to pay reimbursements for all those companies but it still opted to do it– Verheijen said.

The World Bank Country Manager for Serbia stressed out that now equal terms for private business development are being created which will bring new, right business.

- This is one of the elements of wider reform sets we discussed with the Government of Serbia. Further on, Government should be encouraged to start with the sale of 225 companies from the list of the Agency as soon as possible, which attracted serious interest of investors– Verheijen said.

The World Bank, as he said, expects that privatization process will end by the end of the year so that the state would get the second part of the loan for budget support totaling USD 100 m.