In 2022, most of the most important economic branches in Serbia reduced both production and export, and this trend continued this year as well.
The most worrisome trend is the increasingly noticeable decline in domestic private investments, which in 2022, were reduced to around seven percent of the national GDP.
“The biggest reason for this is the state policy, which is constantly (directed) at foreign investors, causing long-term damage to the most competitive part of the Serbian economy,” states the Biznis Top 2022/23 edition.
In 2022, the domestic economy increased its business income by slightly less than a fifth annually, to 17,285.6 billion dinars.
The total profit increased by a quarter, to 864.2 billion dinars. In comparison, the total loss was higher by 4 percent and amounted to 3,906.5 billion dinars at the end of 2022, according to the Biznis Top edition published by the business monthly Biznis i Finansije (Business and Finance).
Biznis Top publishes a list of the 150 largest companies in Serbia in 2022, according to generated profit and income, based on data from the Agency for Business Registers (APR).
The leading one hundred companies generated 5,172 billion dinars of revenue, with more than 20 percent of this amount generated by only five companies.
In 2022, total investments recorded a slight decline (0.3-0.4 percent), foreign direct investments increased by more than 20 percent and public investments stagnated in real terms.
Domestic private investments fell to around 7 percent of the national GDP, according to the analysis of the National Convention on the European Union.
Although the government blames companies for fueling inflation with excessive price increases, an analysis of financial reports submitted by companies in Serbia shows that only 1/10 of inflation growth can be attributed to business income growing faster than expenses.
According to the National Convention on the EU, the retail sector is an exception to this rule, which managed to transfer the entire burden of growing inflation onto suppliers and shoppers, indicating potential violations of the Law on the Protection of Competition in that sector.
Last year, the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) was the absolute ‘winner’ as it generated the highest earnings and operating income. NIS increased its profit by more than four times, to 93.5 billion dinars, and revenues by over 77 percent, to almost 500 billion dinars.
In second and third place are mining companies – Serbia Zijin Mining from Bor with a profit of 75 billion dinars and Serbia Zijin Copper, with a profit of 35.2 billion dinars.
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