Who are Serbia’s biggest creditors?

Less than a week ago, the Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, announced on social media that the share of external debt in GDP is currently 50.5 percent, while data on its structure as of June of this year are available on the portal of the Public Debt Administration. The level of public debt was 51.7 percent.

According to the Administration’s report, at the end of June, the total public debt amounted to 35.74 billion euros, and the biggest creditors of Serbia were the buyers of Eurobonds and long-term government bonds in dinars. The state owes EUR 8.93 billion on the basis of Eurobonds, and EUR 7.79 billion on long-term securities.

A kind of “top list” of Serbia’s biggest creditors has been made up by the same institutions for years, only their position in the table changes. By comparison with the data from June last year, however, it is noticeable that there was an increase in indebtedness for significant sums.

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In June of this year, the big Chinese bank, Export-Import Bank Of China, was in fourth place among creditors, to which Serbia currently owes 2.37 billion euros, according to data from the Public Debt Administration.

With that bank, as can be seen from this year’s budget, our country has contracted 13 projects, some of which are already being repaid, such as the loan for the construction of the Zemun – Borča bridge, the Obrenovac – Ljig and Surčin – Obrenovac highways, the loan for the modernization of the railway from Belgrade to of Budapest or the construction of the new block of Kostolac B.

Serbia owes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development only a hundred million euros less than the Chinese bank – exactly 2.21 billion euros.

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When it comes to arrangements with foreign and domestic commercial banks, the budget for 2023 plans to issue guarantees in the amount of slightly less than two billion euros this year, for Srbijagas, EPS and Elektrodistribucija projects, as well as railway projects.

Since October last year, such an opportunity has been used for Srbijagas, namely for 225 million euros worth of obligations of that company with OTP and DSK Bank, as well as for another 105 million euros with Unicredit Bank, AIK and NLB Komercijalne Banka.

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