BELGRADE (Serbia), October 26 (SeeNews) – The Abu Dhabi Development Fund will extend a $1 billion (915.2 million euro) loan to Serbia for budget support, the government in Belgrade said on Wednesday.
The loan, with an interest rate of 2.25%, is considerably more favourable than funding from international markets, finance minister Dusan Vujovic said, according to a government statement.
Vujovic added that the loan will be repaid in equal semi-annual installments for a period of five years from 2021 to 2026. It will also help Serbia refinance maturing obligations and loan deals concluded in the past five to six years.
Serbia's parliament has yet to ratify another five loans, including funds from the European Investment Bank to back commercial banks in their on-lending to SME's; a 69 million euro loan from the World Bank for upgrades to public administration; a 17 million euro loan from the Council of Europe aimed at bringing the Kragujevac-based prison in line with European standards; and a further 8 million euro from the Council for relieving consequences of the earthquake which shook Kraljevo six years ago.
($=0.915193 euro)