State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric announced that in 2010 the state plans to provide RSD 2.5 billion for the economy through loans for liquidity and investments. He also stated that banks are expected to invest some RSD 65 billion.

Ciric specified that the state will allocate RSD 2 billion for liquidity while banks will provide RSD 50 billion for that purpose.

These loans will have a one year repayment period, he added.

As for loans for investment, he explained that the state will allocate RSD 535 million, while banks will invest RSD 15 billion.

These loans will have a repayment period of three to five years, he added.

Ciric recalled that the government last year set aside €700 million for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Acting Director of the National Agency for Regional Development Goran Dzafic said that a survey of SMEs showed that their biggest problem is lack of financial resources, difficulty obtaining a building licence and the lack of qualified labour.