The latest poll carried out among the members of the German-Serbian economic association showed that as much as 91 percent of the German enterprises would choose Serbia as their investment destination.

Serbia is on a list of top ten favorite destinations for German investors in central and south-east Europe along with Poland and the Czech Republic, said Michael Schmidt, head of the Delegation of the German Economy to Serbia, presenting the results of the survey conducted in February.

Hungary had worse ranking than Serbia, as each third German businessmen had complaints.

According to Schmidt, the German enterprises are ready to invest and employ new workers in spite of the economic crisis, and the German investors also expect larger turnover, incomes and export profits.

Schmidt underlined that the poll indicates that future investments and establishment of business relations between the two countries greatly depend on further improvement of the business environment, primarily the fight against organized crime and corruption, while public procurement has to be more transparent and efficient.

The mentioned factors and greater legal security, as Schmidt underlined, are preconditions for Serbia to attract German investors, particularly small and medium-sized companies.

Hans Ulrich Suedbeck, German Embassy in Serbia Deputy Head of Mission, noted that there are 300 private and 360 legal entities from Germany doing business in Serbia, adding that German companies employ more than 20,000 people in Serbia.

He underlined that the direct investments from Germany have reached EUR 1.5 billion, and that Serbia got around EUR 63 million of investments in 2011.

The survey, which included 76 companies, showed that in spite of Serbia's difficult economic environment 51 percent of enterprises expect an increase in business turnover, and 45 percent increase in profits in 2012.