Loan condition - solve problem of restructuring companies

BELGRADE - Dusko Vasiljevic, Private Sector Development Specialist in the World Bank country office in Serbia, said on Tuesday that the condition that would be attached to the World Bank's USD 250 million loan to Serbia is not to adopt laws on bankruptcy and privatization, but to solve the problem of restructuring companies.

There was political will to solve the problem, but there was no stability for the entire process to be finalized, Vasiljevic emphasized in a conference held at the Tanjug Press Centre “How to save public companies”.

"In the course of one year, there were three ministers of economy and each had a different approach. As a result, minor or major regulatory changes were required," he added.

The time has come to finally resolve this issue, but the right approach needs to be adopted in order to make the solution as painless as possible, he said.

Most of these companies have amassed huge debts, and bankruptcy procedure will be initiated in many of them as early as on May 15, causing their employees to not only lose their jobs but also the right to severance pay, Vasiljevic emphasized .

"We need to think about this before it happens,” said Vasiljevic.

Photo Tanjug, Dragan Stankovic