Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Monday that a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was due in Belgrade on October 20 to discuss a new arrangement.
Mali recalled that the current arrangement expires next January and added that a standby arrangement is possible. “That would provide an added dose of security, including for foreign investments. We could draw some funds from the IMF at much more favorable conditions than is possible now,” he told the state TV (RTS).
According to the finance minister, the government now has EUR 2.5bn at its disposal. He said it has to have sufficient funds on account because of the Ukraine crisis and higher fuel prices.
“We are repaying all our debts on time and are far from the problems that other countries have in terms of public debt,” Mali said.
He said the public debt now stands at EUR 31.5bn or 53% of the GDP and claimed that the GDP, which now stands at EUR 60.2bn, would be “the biggest ever” by the end of the year. He added that there were EUR 2.6bn in foreign investments in Serbia in the first eight months of the year.
The Finance Minister said that inflation would stand at 8.7% next year.
Izvor: N1, Momentum
