Increase of Business Activities in 2022 Expected by 70% of Members of American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia

Businesses’ plans for growth are more positive than one year ago. As many as seven out of ten (70%) AmCham members now expect growth and greater investment in the coming year, while more than one-half (56%) are planning to take on new staff, revealed the latest Ninth Lap Time business climate and investor confidence survey.

As pointed out at the presentation of the survey, over two-thirds of AmCham member companies (69%) felt the business climate was favorable, awarding it an average score of 2.8 on a scale from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), in line with the findings of previous years’ surveys.

The survey also shows that optimism has increased by 14 percentage points on last year to return to levels seen in 2018 and 2019, although still less than what firms had planned for 2020,

For economic recovery in 2022, what remains crucial is to improve the judiciary and rule of law, to reduce corruption, the further development of the e-Government and a more efficient administration, but also the cooperation between public and private healthcare sectors.

– Our economy has seen truly robust growth this year, but the challenges we faced in 2021, including, quite apart from the pandemic, inflation and energy price hikes, are certainly set to persist into next year – said AmCham President Zoran Petrović.

He added that this meant that companies will continue to face an uphill struggle in 2022 and that the government therefore ought to step in to minimize the administrative burden and regulatory risk.

The survey has revealed the pandemic had a much lower impact on AmCham members in 2021 than in the previous year.

One-quarter of the association’s members expected a decline in their operations, in contrast to as many as two-thirds who shared this view in 2020.

The same as last year, the pandemic has been much more damaging to revenues than to employment and investment.

The sample of non-member micro- and small enterprises surveyed alongside AmCham firms reported significantly different results, with over 50% claiming to have seen a decline in both revenues and profits, although layoffs were only half as common.

Most AmCham companies (63%) reported not having used government subsidies, and those that did make use of these measures were primarily small and medium-sized firms.

By contrast, the majority (69%) of non-member micro- and small companies included in the survey did opt to use government relief funds offered in response to the pandemic.

The businesses were highly appreciative of the Covid-19 immunization process and the availability of vaccines, but felt the Government should promote cooperation between public and private healthcare providers for the duration of the pandemic.

Moreover, in excess of one-half of all members felt that a vaccine mandate for working-age population was necessary to normalize operations during the public health crisis.

As an investment destination, Serbia was generally ranked better than Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but worse than neighboring countries that were European Union members.

The same as in the past two years, AmCham members believed reforms should primarily target institutions and focus on strengthening the judiciary and rule of law and tacking corruption.

E-Government was ranked third (with respondents praising the development of digital services to date), together with continuing efforts to improve the efficiency of public administration.

Greater transparency and efficiency of public procurement was seen as somewhat more of a priority than in the previous two surveys.

Availability of human capital was perceived as the key challenge for the coming year, with AmCham members also anxious about inflation and rising prices of energy.

In common with past surveys, public investment in education was seen as a priority, in parallel with investing in environmental protection and healthcare, a particular concern during the ongoing pandemic.

Non-member micro- and small enterprises shared many of these priorities but also highlighted the importance of continuing efforts to tackle the shadow economy and reduce unfair competition.

Američka privredna komora u Srbiji AmCham Serbia

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Ambasada SAD Beograd

Microsoft software doo Beograd

NCR d.o.o. Beograd

AmCham

Ministry of Finance

US Embassy in Serbia

NCR

Microsoft

Bechtel

Pfizer

Anthony Godfrey

Zoran Petrović

Siniša Mali

Ninth Lap Time

survey

coronavirus

pandemic

state aid