At the sitting held on 18 October, the Industry Committee members endorsed the Bill amending and modifying Law on the Republic of Serbia Development Fund, submitted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, in principle, by a majority of votes.

The Bill was presented by the Director of the Republic of Serbia Development Fund, who listed the basic innovations amending the existing law viz.: relocation of the Fund seat from Belgrade to Nis, enabling the opening of Fund branch offices on the territory of Serbia, stimulation of export and infrastructure projects, granting guarantees and loans to legal subjects owned by the state, with the exception of public enterprises, as well as increasing the Fund’s basic capital from 5 to 10 million EUR.

The Directors of the AP Vojvodina Development Find and Vojvodina Development Bank took part in the long debate on the item, presenting their respective institutions’ activities as relates to stimulating domestic industry to the Committee members. The APV Development Fund has 6 billion RSD worth of capital at its disposal to credit uniform regional development, stimulate export, business dealings of small and medium enterprises and agriculture, with a 2% interest rate. More than 5100 loans have been granted this year, and most of the beneficiaries are registered agricultural households (about 2000) which use the funds primarily to procure mechanisation for crop and fruit growing and livestock breeding. The Vojvodina Development Bank was created in May this year when the then Metal Bank was transformed into the Development Bank. The Bank operates under the Law on Banks as Serbia lacks a special law on development banks. Legal entities undergoing restructuring and those whose privatisation process has been annulled are a particular burden on the Bank’s operation. Still, the Bank launched two credit lines with the help of the Development Fund and Guarantee Fund, for RSD liquidity loans and loans for agricultural households for the purchase of equipment.

In the debate, the Committee members were most interested in who the APV Development Fund could grant loans to, the potential for expanding the sources of financing of the RS Development Fund, who start up credits were intended for, what their realisation was and similar.

Following the debate, the Committee members endorsed the Bill amending and modifying Law on the Republic of Serbia Development Fund, in principle, by a majority of votes and agreed to vote on the conclusions of the debate at the next sitting.