Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Bozidar Djelic announced Monday that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide Serbia with a EUR 250 million credit line for export boost.

On the margins of the conference 'Competitiveness is the Name of the Game', Djelic told journalists that Apex 4 is a credit line, which will enable Serbian businessmen to withdraw funds under favourable conditions and without additional mortgages.

He specified that EUR 80 million from this credit line will be allocated to Serbian auto industry.

Recalling that the country has previously obtained EUR 250 million from the Apex credit line so as to secure liquidity of the country's economy, Djelic underlined that it enabled many companies to refinance their loans.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Bozidar Djelic, who is also chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, will open a conference 'Competitiveness is the Name of the Game' on Monday, announced the government's media office.

Dulic: State to invest over EUR 500 million in construction

Serbia's Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic said Monday that the state will invest over EUR 500 million this year in the construction of housing and other facilities.

At the conference Competitiveness is the name of the game, Dulic told reporters that the construction sector in Serbia has recorded a growth for the third straight month "for the first time after two years."

"We expect that thanks to big construction projects, primarily funded by the state, we will manage to bring the construction sector to its feet and get it working at almost full capacity, so that it contributes to a growth in the GDP," Dulic said.

In the second part of the conference, Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric, Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management Dusan Petrovic and Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic will talk with business sector representatives about problems related to issuing of construction permits, anti-monopoly policies, inspection services and exports.

The meeting is organized by the National Competitiveness Council with the aim of establishing a constructive dialogue between government representatives and businessmen so as to solve key competitiveness issues.

The conclusions reached at this conference will be integrated into an action plan for improving competitiveness in the coming period, the announcement reads.