EBRD interested in Telekom Srbija and Belgrade airport

LONDON/BELGRADE - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) wants to invest in Telekom Srbija and Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport when the two public companies are privatized.

EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti told RTS on Thursday that Serbia has good prospects and that the bank will continue to invest in the country.

The challenges for the new government will be the privatization of public companies, the fight against corruption, and infrastructure development. We are interested in investing, especially in the privatization of public companies and in infrastructure, Chakrabarti said at EBRD headquarters in London.

Specifically, EBRD is interested in the privatization of Telekom Srbija and Nikola Tesla Airport.

Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, EBRD Managing Director for Central and South Eastern Europe, said that the possible privatization of Telekom would certainly attract a large number of bidders and the EBRD would also take part in the process.

An arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and progress in the accession talks with the European Union, would certainly help win the confidence of new investors, said Peter Sanfey, Deputy Director of Country Strategy and Policy at the EBRD Office of the Chief Economist.

The bank's top officials have announced increasing investment in countries of South Eastern Europe, and the priorities here include increasing competitiveness of the private sector, the financial sector and investment in energy and infrastructure.

Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Kori Udovicki and EBRD Director for Serbia Mateo Patrone agreed during a meeting they had in Belgrade on Thursday that...