World Bank cuts Serbia's 2023 GDP growth f'cast to 2%

For 2024, economic growth in Serbia is seen at 3%, unchanged in comparison with the June projection, the global lender said in its fall 2023 World Bank Europe and Central Asia Economic Update report.

"The growth of the Serbian economy slowed down in the first half of 2023 amid elevated inflation that started to hurt consumption, though growth is expected to pick up in the second half of the year," the World Bank said.

The impact of the war in Ukraine, a slowdown in global growth and tighter financing conditions, were the main reasons for the downward revision of Serbia's 2023 GDP growth.

Over the medium term, foreign direct investment is expected to continue to play a signifcant financing role, while inflation is expected to fall gradually as commodity prices return to normal. Structural reforms in state-owned enterprises, along with additional improvements in governance are key to encouraging private investors to invest more, thus raising the quality of foreign investments in Serbia, the World Bank said.