September 18 (SeeNews) - The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Belgrade, James Roaf, has said that the situation of Serbian state-controlled copper miner and smelter RTB Bor is improving quickly as a result of the reforms carried out by the government.
The kind of reforms that the government has been pursuing under the country's current stand-by funding arrangement with the IMF have been very important in turning around situation at RTB Bor, Roaf said in a video file posted on the website of Serbian news agency Tanjug on Saturday.
"It is important that we now talk about companies like this as potential benefits for the country as foreign investors can come in and help develop it," Roaf said.
It is very important for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to work on a commercial basis without a need for subsidies by the government, he added.
An IMF team started a technical mission to Serbia on September 13 to discuss the 2018 budget draft and a possible increase of pensions and salaries. The technical mission will make no assessment of Serbia's economic performance under the country's stand-by funding arrangement with the IMF signed in 2015.