Mali: Serbian inflation to drop to 3 or 3.5 pct in 2024

BELGRADE - Serbia's Finance Minister Sinisa Mali says Serbian inflation will continue to decline in 2024 and drop to 3 or 3.5 pct, and announced further wage and pension increases for as early as this year.

In an interview for Tanjug, Mali said he expected further professionalisation of public enterprises in a manner that would mirror that of the national power company EPS to enable the companies to be more profitable and operate without political influences.

He noted that Serbia had registered 3.6 pct GDP growth in Q3 2023 and that overall 2023 growth would be at 2.5-2.6 pct.

He said the Serbian economy was fully stable, strong and still growing in spite of enormous challenges primarily associated with the global economy, such as the corona virus, the energy crisis, the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts and soaring inflation worldwide.

Unlike the German economy, which has been in recession for the past three quarters, the Serbian economy is growing, he said.

"For the first time in history, our GDP will exceed 69 bln euros, compared to 33 bln only 11 years ago," Mali said, adding that this was, in part, a result of opening new factories and major infrastructure works.

He said Serbia's jobless rate was at an all-time low of nine per cent and that the employment rate was at a record-high 50.7 pct.