March 24 to see World Bank providing a loan of USD 100 m for Serbia

March 24, the World Bank will approve Serbia a loan of USD 100 m as a support to the budget of Serbia for solving the issue of restructuring companies, the head of the Office of the bank in Serbia, Tony Verheijen, has announced today.

He announced that by the end of the year, the second part of the loan totaling USD 100 m planned for privatization of restructuring companies. Total loan support of the World Bank in Serbia this year will be USD 400 m.
Verheijen announced that by the end of 2015, the World Bank will provide financial support of USD 200 m loan for corporation implementation and financial consolidation of large state-owned companies such as EPS, Zeleznice Srbije and Srbijagas. He explained to journalists in Belgrade that it is a three-year program of settling situation in these companies and that in 2016 they will continue the program.

Verheijen outlined that issue of restructuring companies should urgently be solved since during previous years they cost tax payers of Serbia a few billion euros and only in 2013 the state set aside EUR 600 m for the support to these companies.

He said that through the agreement with IMF, Serbia clearly committed to no longer provide support to these companies and added that in case the support continued, program of Serbia with IMF would be jeopardized.

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Železnice Srbije a.d. Beograd

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

Međunarodni monetarni fond-MMF Beograd

Tony Verheijen

restructuring companies

state-owned companies

EPS

World Bank loan

IMF