Serbia has achieved excellent results - IMF mission head

BELGRADE - At a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Head Donal McGettigan said Serbia had achieved excellent results by strictly complying with IMF recommendations and pursuing the objectives defined under the current arrangement with the institution.

He said record-high FX reserves, good fiscal policy results, a high FDI inflow and strong labour market figures indicating a strong rise of employment were a testimony to that, the presidential press office said in a statement.

McGettigan noted that Serbia had reacted to inflationary pressure in a timely manner with adequate economic measures and noted that the IMF expected year-end inflation to be 8 pct or lower.

Speaking about a reform of state-owned and public enterprises, the IMF representatives welcomed the steps undertaken towards transforming and stabilising the national power company EPS and noted that a restructuring of state-owned enterprises must be expedited.

Vucic thanked them for the assessment Serbia was implementing in a responsible manner the programme agreed with the IMF.

He noted that macroeconomic stability and a good business environment had been maintained and added that Serbia, in spite of numerous challenges in the global market, had succeeded in preserving its economy and even strengthening it further.

The IMF Board of Governors will meet on December 21 to adopt conclusions on the success of a second review under the arrangement with Serbia.