Serbia: Opportunities for Investors
Western-oriented, democratic parties enjoy strong support, while the Government is fully committed to building a highly attractive setting for doing business. The ongoing substantial legislative reforms, repeatedly commended by leading international institutions, aim to bring the legal framework in line with the EU acquis communautaire. The EU Feasibility Report particularly acknowledged recent reforms in the field of macroeconomic stability, financial sector improvement, legislative activities, and foreign relations.
Serbia is a full member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Partnership for Peace, and many other international institutions.
Upon receiving a positive Feasibility Report, the negotiations on the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) have begun, and it was signed on April 28th 2008. Furthermore, WTO general director has confirmed that Serbia could become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of 2009.
Investment projects in the country are insured against non-commercial risks by all major national and international investment and export insurance agencies, like MIGA, OPIC, Hermes, COFACE, SACE, ECGD, Kontrollbank, and others.
The protection of foreign capital is further safeguarded by Bilateral Investment Treaties signed between Serbia and 34 other countries, including the USA, UK, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, and Greece.
Attracting the highest FDI in the region and consecutively winning awards for the largest Greenfield investments are marking Serbia today.
Since 2001, total FDI in Serbia has reached $ 8.9 billion. The year 2006 brought a 283% upsurge against the previous year, with an all-time record of $ 4.387 billion. Serbia’s strong FDI track record is substantiated by internationally recognized awards for local Greenfield investors. In the past three years, Greenfield projects in Serbia were awarded by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as the largest Greenfield investments in SEE.
FDI was as high as $ 99.5 million in 2007, generally stemming mostly from privatization and acquisition deals in telecommunications, banking, insurance, and top manufacturing industries.
