Italy's CDP opens office in Serbia to serve W. Balkans

CDP also signed a 10 million euro ($11 million) long-term loan with Banca Intesa Beograd (BIB) through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) to support the growth of Serbian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in green sector areas, social entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and eco-tourism, BIB said in a statement on Friday.

Under the agreement, CDP's resources will be able to cover up to 50% of the loan, with the remainder being granted by BIB. The loan agreement is part of a programme divided into several tranches that will involve other countries where Intesa Sanpaolo is present.

BIB added that CDP's entry into Serbia will help strengthen the economic relations between the two countries, as well as increase the cooperation opportunities of both banking groups in the Balkan area, with the main focus on SMEs. CDP's office in Serbia, which is located at BIB's headquarters in Belgrade, will also help Italian companies interested in doing business in the region, with a view to supporting international supply chains.

($ = 0.919 euro)