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NBS: Talks with IMF completed, Serbia's macroeconomic results described as good Beta 3–4 minutes _____ An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission said at the end of its visit as part of a third revision of the results under the agreed economic program within the stand-by arrangement that Serbia's macroeconomic parameters were good, said the National Bank of Serbia (NBS). “Macroeconomic outturns under the program remain strong, with growth recovering, a solid fiscal position, ongoing disinflation, record high foreign exchange reserves and a strong labor market,” said Serbia’s central bank. It added that all quantitative targets for end-2023 have been met, and the structural reforms program is progressing well. “Record high foreign exchange reserves are now in excess of 25 bn euros, the country’s financial stability has been preserved, inflation is retreating, backed by adequate monetary policy, a record high inflow of foreign direct investments was recorded, goods and services exports reaffirmed their resilience despite low external demand,” said the NBS. It added that the current account deficit of 2.6 percent of GDP is the lowest deficit to date, that the fiscal deficit has been lowered to 2.2 percent of GDP, and the share of public debt in GDP has contracted to below 53 percent. The IMF expects the results to remain strong in 2024 as well, and estimates that inflation will enter the bounds of the NBS target tolerance band of 3±1.5 percent by summer 2024 and projects GDP growth at 3.5 percent in 2024 and 4.5 percent in 2025, said the NBS. As a guarantee of Serbia’s good perspectives, the IMF stated that the Serbian economy has considerable buffers to deal with future shocks, such as strong exchange reserves, relatively low public debt, sustainable external debt dynamics and a well-capitalized and liquid banking system, said the central bank. Following talks with the IMF, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said that, although Serbia will be able to withdraw an additional 400 million euros after approval by the IMF Executive Board, it will not withdraw these funds and will treat the rest of the available funds as a precautionary regime, said the Serbian Government in a press release. The Serbian authorities proposed that the stand-by arrangement should continue to be treated as a precautionary arrangement. “Last year saw record results in many areas and in the period ahead of us is Serbia’s formal introduction into a group of investment grade countries, which is well deserved,” said NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic. -- http:www.antic.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SERBIAN NEWS NETWORK" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/senet/0a2401da835c%24ce703160%246b509420%24%40gmail.com.
