Page 123 - bne IntelliNews SE Outlook Regions 2024

Excluding the exchange rate effect, growth in total loans to the non-monetary sector was 0.8% y/y in June. During the month, corporate loans fell by 1.1% and household loans rose by 2.7%.
A survey carried out by the NBS in October shows that Serbian commercial banks continued to apply slight tightening of standards for approving loans during the third quarter.
This trend was particularly evident in foreign currency-indexed loans, with larger companies experiencing a more pronounced impact.
Bankers said they anticipated a further mild tightening of standards for foreign exchange-indexed loans, while easing was expected for dinar-denominated loans.
Factors contributing to the decline in overall loan demand included a reduction in capital investments and corporate activities related to mergers and acquisitions.
5.10.3 Industry
Major sectors in Serbia include energy, the automotive industry, machinery, mining and agriculture. Among its top industrial exports are cars, base metals, furniture, machinery, chemicals and tyres.
Several of the country’s top industrial assets are owned by Russian and Chinese companies. The top three most profitable companies in Serbia in 2022 were Russian or Chinese owned, a report by the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR) showed.
Russian-owned oil company Nafta Industrija Srbije (NIS) was the top profit earner in Serbia in 2022, NIS accounted for 7.5% of the overall net profit and 2.9% of operating income. Second and third ranked were Chinese-owned mining companies Zijin Mining D.O.O. Bor and Serbia Zijin Copper DOO Bor.
Serbia is home to the Stellantis factory at Kragujevac. Set up in the Yugoslav era, it is currently being transitioned to produce electric vehicles. Stellantis group has announced the production of a new generation of EVs at its Serbian factory in Kragujevac, among them the revamped Panda, with hybrid and electric variants.
As the electric revolution continues in the automotive sector, Slovakia-based Inobat is planning a €2bn investment in Ćuprija, Serbia, to establish a factory for EV battery production and recycling.
123 SE Outlook 2024 www.intellinews.com