Serbia expects to get between EUR 2.5 million and three million in direct foreign investments, counting those which have already started, and the volume of foreign investments should grow once it passes a law on public-private partnership, Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Economy has completed the public-private partnership bill and forwarded it to the Serbian government, and it will be adopted in October, Ciric said at the 11th Economic Summit in Belgrade.

According to him, the bill provides a good framework for private investors from abroad to invest in projects which local communities cannot realize on their own. Ciric pointed out that in order to make economic progress, Serbia needs an annual GDP growth of four percent, which can be achieved with an increase in production-oriented direct foreign investments and higher exports.

He mentioned examples of good foreign investments with state incentives - Benetton and Fiat - noting that Fiat's car plant in Kragujevac is expected to export between EUR 1.3 and 1.5 billion next year.

Ciric said the main objections coming from foreign investors are currency risk, that is the risk of excessive fluctuation in the exchange rate, and the need to reform the public sector, fight corruption and the grey economy in order to turn Serbia into an even more attractive investment destination.