November 7 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Tuesday it has lifted its forecast for Slovenia's economic growth to 4.0% in 2017, from 2.5% predicted in May, on robust domestic demand.
Strong consumption momentum and strong recovery in investments, with the start of the new EU funding cycle, will boost Slovenia's domestic demand, the EBRD said in its latest Regional Economic Prospects report.
The contribution of net exports is likely to be negligible, as imports and exports should both keep rising on the back of higher domestic and favourable external demand, respectively.
The EBRD also lifted, by 0.7 percentage points, its forecast for Slovenia's 2018 economic growth to 2.9%.
Risks to the projection relate to high corporate over-indebtedness, and the slow pace of business environment reforms and privatisation, the EBRD said.
In 2016, Slovenia's GDP expanded by 3.1%.