BELGRADE (Serbia), November 24 (SeeNews) – Serbia’s Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic has said the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 7.5% this year, faster than an earlier Finance Ministry forecast of around 7.0% and the 5.9% growth target set in the 2007 budget bill, Belgrade-based daily Danas reported on Saturday.
Serbia's GDP-per-capita will reach $5,500 (3,800 euro) this year, Danas quoted Dinkic as telling an international conference on small and medium-sized enterprises in Belgrade. Government statistics put Serbia's GDP-per-capita at little over $4,000 (2,700 euro) in 2006.
Serbia's central bank has recently forecast a 6.1% rise in GDP in the third quarter after the country's economy grew by 7.7% in the second quarter and by 8.4% in the first quarter.
GDP growth slowed to 5.7% last year from 6.2% in 2005. The government targets an average economic growth of 6.3% a year by 2010.
Serbia must accelerate structural reforms to enhance development of entrepreneurship, because only small and medium-sized enterprises can increase employment in the country, said Dinkic. The country needs to speed up company registration procedures to 24 hours from 14 days now to give a boost to its entrepreneurs, he added.
Currently, 95,000 firms are registered in Serbia, of which 99% are SMEs, and these employ 60% of the labour force and generate 50% of the GDP.
($ = 0.674 euro)