Serbia has achieved a lot in past years - investors

LONDON - A Serbian delegation comprised of National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and Ministry of Finance officials met with 75 investors at the Frontier Markets Conference, hosted by JP Morgan in London.

"All investors concluded that Serbia’s macroeconomic fundamentals are excellent and that an investment grade is long-deserved," the NBS said in a statement, noting that discussions focused "on projections and the outlook."

The investors said Serbia was a "highly positive example of a country that has achieved a lot in the past years."

"Even in the past three years, replete with crises, Serbia - owing to the credible policies it has pursued - has proven its acumen in maintaining stability and remaining on the growth trajectory. The investors noted that the Serbian authorities have undertaken all measures at hand to preserve the economy from the fallout of strong global shocks.

They particularly highlighted the manner and pace of response at the start of the Ukraine crisis, when uncertainty was enormous, which helped preserve the necessary confidence in policy makers. The response model and the capacity to respond to challenges were demonstrated, which is a guarantee that stability will be preserved no matter the circumstances.

The investors also applauded the new set of measures announced by the Serbian president, as well as excellent coordination of monetary and fiscal policies. They also emphasised a credible monetary policy, good fiscal policy, high FX reserves, vigorous and diversified FDIs that Serbia has been recognisable by for almost a decade already," the NBS said.