The World Bank said on Tuesday its board has approved a $100
million (91.5 million euro) development policy loan to support Serbia’s
structural reform agenda.
This operation is the first of two budget
support loans supporting the Government in reforming the state- and
socially-owned enterprise (SOE) sector, the World Bank said in a
statement.
This first operation focuses on resolving the 514 commercial
and socially-owned enterprises that are still in the hands of the Serbian
Privatization Agency. These companies will be resolved through privatization and
asset sales to interested investors, or through bankruptcy if they are no longer
viable, the statement said.
The SOEs in the portfolio of the
Privatization Agency are holding back development of Serbia’s economy, the World
Bank said, adding that they impose high fiscal costs to the country’s budget and
to Serbian taxpayers. In 2013 alone, these 514 companies generated total losses
of 690 million euro, or over 2% of GDP. In addition, many of these enterprises
are in arrears on taxes or social contributions, posing a further burden on the
state.