VUJOVIC: Ruined state-owned enterprises Serbia's biggest challenge

(Dusan Vujovic) The biggest external economic challenge for Serbia this year is the highly complex and unpredictable situation in the world and Europe, but it's much more important for Serbia that investment activities have increased, that the completion of restructuring ruined state-owned enterprises has been revived and that production has been revived, said Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic.

At the Euromoney conference in Vienna, Vujovic said that it was good that Europe was continuing to implement the policy of monetary adaptation to market conditions, but that it remained to be seen whether that would lead to a revival of the economic growth to the extent needed, considering that 70% of Serbia's export went to that market.

On the other hand, Vujovic said, there are announcements of a change of world trade policy and other factors which “could potentially cause disturbances, but we are tracking them so that we could react in a proper fashion”.

– I believe that the effect of an increase in investment activities and restructuring problematic enterprises is a much bigger challenge – Vujovic said.

Vujovic said that it was expected that a solution would be found for RTB Bor and Azotara Pancevo and that they would no longer need state aid, that they would find their place in the market and attract investors in order to develop.

He said that the cutting of the “umbilical cord” between the ruined companies and the state had been discussed with the IMF, as it drained people's money and made the companies complacent and not feeling the need to reform.

The minister added that funds had been set aside for those enterprises, but that “there are now additional budget funds, except for those already defined”.

– It's very important that there's a determination towards improving the management of those companies – he said and added that “incurring losses, spending energy sources and not selling your product, and then expecting this to be covered by the budget, is easy”.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor

HIP-AZOTARA d.o.o. Pančevo

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

Azotara Pancevo

IMF

Dusan Vujovic

restructuring state owned enterprises

Euromoney