The Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) expects Serbia to receive about USD 4 billion worth of foreign investments this year, people at this government agency told Dnevnik daily newspaper. The value of foreign investments in the country in January amounted to USD 59 million, said people at SIEPA.
– This year we can expect about USD 4 billion foreign investments. Privatization of Telekom Srbija is ahead of us, while Fiat plans to carry out most of its operations in Kragujevac in order to be able to start the assembly-line production of new models in Serbia. Also, investments will be made in the Petroleum Industry of Serbia, as well as in many other projects – people at SIEPA explained.
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has not yet announced the data about the inflow of foreign direct investments in the country in the first quarter of this year. Only the data for January are available at the moment and people at SIEPA believe that, once announced, the results for the first quarter will provide reason for optimism that the value of investments in Serbia this year will be much higher than in 2010.
– The first quarter of this year seems very promising, especially when having in mind that Delta Maxi was sold to Belgium’s Delhaize for EUR 932.5 million – said people at SIEPA.
People at that agency stated earlier that the implementation of a large number of medium-sized investment projects was expected in 2011 and that most investments would be made in the automotive and electronic industries.
Subsidies for 6,000 new jobs
The Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency this year continued to implement the Programme for stimulating direct investments, through which the budget money is allotted to investors in the form of subsidies. Since the beginning of the year, EUR 38 million have been approved through this programme for the total of 25 projects that will result in the creation of 6,058 new jobs. The total value of these investments amounts to EUR 182 million. Out of 25 companies that have obtained these funds, 12 are foreign ones, people at SIEPA announced.
