U novembru 2018. godine je, već tradicionalno, uz prisustvo državnih zvaničnika i predstavnika privredne i društvene zajednice, po petnaesti put organizovano predstavljanje Bele knjige Saveta stranih investitora. Tom prilikom, predsednica Saveta, Jana Mihajlova, istakla je da između dva izdanja Bele knjige Srbija nastavlja stabilan, ali umeren napredak u reformama, što je osiguralo stabilnost, ali nije dovoljno da se ostvari cilj - potpuno održiva i konkurentna poslovna klima; jaka privreda koja može da parira razvijenim tržištima; i viši životni standard građana. Po njenim rečima, potrebno je da Srbija ubrza reforme i pristupne pregovore kako bi se sustigao nivo ekonomskog razvoja u EU. Sa ovim se slaže i šef delegacije Evropske unije u Srbiji, Sem Fabrici, koji je na ovom skupu ocenio da je Srbija u proteklih nekoliko godina učinila veliki napredak u ekonomiji i postavila dobre osnove, dodavši da se time ne treba zadovoljiti budući da proces reformi nije konsolidovan, te da su one ključne u definisanju dinamike pridruživanja Srbije Evropskoj uniji.

Kao tri ključna očekivanja Saveta stranih investitora od Vlade Srbije navedena su: 1) ostvarenje održive fiskalne konsolidacije (strukturne reforme, a posebno privatizacija i korporatizacija državnih preduzeća), 2) unapređenje primene zakona, pre svega u oblasti poreza (jačanje poreske administracije) i 3) obezbeđenje veće transparentnosti u javnim konsultacijama sa fokusom na reforme u osam prioritetnih oblasti. Te oblasti su porezi, rad, trgovina i inspekcije, bezbednost hrane, nekretnine i izgradnja, digitalizacija i elektronsko poslovanje, telekomunikacije i opšti pravni okvir sa akcentom na zakone o stečaju i deviznom poslovanju. Prema FIC indeksu koji je objavljen u najnovijem izdanju Bele knjige za 2018. godinu, četiri oblasti sa najboljim učinkom ostaju iste kao prošle godine: građevinsko zemljište i izgradnja; zaštita korisnika finansijskih usluga; transport; i regulativa koja se odnosi na duvansku industriju. Od osam gore navedenih prioritetnih tema, samo su nekretnine i izgradnja i inspekcijska kontrola zabeležili vidljiv napredak. Digitalizacija, stečaj i propisi o deviznom poslovanju zabeležili su umeren napredak, dok u ključnim oblastima poput poreza, radnog prava i bezbednosti hrane nije bilo napretka. Ukupni rezultati sprovođenja preporuka u protekloj godini ukazuju da u 66% oblasti nije bilo napretka, da je u 30% njih ostvaren određen napredak, dok je samo 4% oblasti zabeležilo značajan napredak.

Veroljub Dugalić

Udruženje banaka Srbijeubs@ubs-asb.com

6Bankarstvo, 2018, vol. 47, br. 4

uvodnik

KA BOLJEM POSLOVNOM

OKRUŽENJU U SRBIJI

In November 2018, traditionally, in the presence of state officials and representatives of the economic and social community, the White Book of the Foreign Investors Council was presented for the 15th time. On this occasion, the Council President, Yana Mikhailova, pointed out that between the two issues of the White Book, Serbia continued to maintain stable but moderate progress in reforms, which ensured stability, but not to the point of achieving the goal - a fully sustainable and competitive business climate; a strong economy that can compete with the developed markets; and a higher standard of living for the citizens. According to her, Serbia needs to accelerate reforms and the accession negotiations in order to catch up with the level of economic development in the EU. Sem Fabrizi, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, agreed, assessing at this gathering that Serbia has made major economic progress over the past several years, laying down some solid groundwork, yet adding that Serbia should not be satisfied and stop there since the reform process has not been consolidated, although this is crucial in defining the dynamics of Serbia’s accession to the European Union.

The three key expectations of the Foreign Investors Council from the Government of Serbia are: 1) achieving sustainable fiscal consolidation (structural reforms, in particular the privatisation and corporatisation of state-owned enterprises), 2) improving the implementation of laws, primarily in the field of taxation (strengthening the tax administration) and 3) ensuring greater transparency in public consultations with a focus on reforms in eight priority fields. These fields are taxes, labour, trade and inspections, food safety, real estate and construction, digitalisation and electronic commerce, telecommunications and a general legal framework focusing on bankruptcy and foreign exchange laws. According to the FIC index published in the latest issue of the White Book for 2018, the four fields with the best performance remain the same as last year: construction land and development; protection of users of financial services; transport; and regulations relating to the tobacco industry. Out of the eight priority topics mentioned above, only real estate and construction, and inspection controls have recorded visible progress. Digitalisation, bankruptcy laws and foreign exchange laws have seen moderate progress, while there has been no progress in key fields such as taxes, labour laws and food safety. The overall results of the recommendations implementation in the past year indicate that 66% of the fields have shown no progress, some 30% have made certain progress, while only 4% of the fields have recorded significant progress.

Veroljub Dugalić

Association of Serbian Banksubs@ubs-asb.com

7 Bankarstvo, 2018, Vol. 47, Issue 4

editorial

TOWARDS A BETTER BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN

SERBIA

Preporuke FIC-a u oblasti bankarstva i finansija

Kada je reč o rangiranju prema napretku u primeni preporuka u 2018. godini, u prvoj polovini liste našle su se četiri oblasti iz sfere bankarstva i finansija. Zaštita korisnika finansijskih usluga, sa FIC indeksom 2,00 kao i prethodne godine, zauzela je visoko 2. mesto zahvaljujući određenom napretku ostvarenom u pogledu 5 preporuka FIC-a. Savet stranih investitora u Beloj knjizi za 2018. godinu za ovu oblast navodi 3 preporuke: dalje usklađivanje propisa koji se odnose na zaštitu korisnika finansijskih usluga sa međunarodnim standardima i propisima u zemljama EU; dalju edukaciju korisnika finansijskih usluga o njihovim pravima; i usaglašavanje najavljenih zakonskih rešenja sa postojećom zakonskom regulativom koja je na snazi. Sprečavanje pranja novca i finansiranja terorizma zauzima 10. mesto sa FIC indeksom 1,75 i sledećim preporukama Saveta: razviti sistem koji bi omogućio bolju saradnju Uprave za sprečavanje pranja novca i obveznika, kao i Vlade, a takođe i bolju saradnju sa Ministarstvom inostranih poslova i sudovima; omogućiti kvalitetnu javnu raspravu u vezi sa donošenjem novih propisa iz oblasti borbe protiv pranja novca i finansiranja terorizma i uložiti dodatne napore sa ciljem delotvornije primene već postojećih propisa u ovoj oblasti; i nastaviti sa organizovanjem adekvatnih seminara i radionica u cilju sprovođenja odgovarajućih obuka za lica na koje se Zakon primenjuje, sa ciljem povećanja efikasnosti njegove primene.

U pogledu Zakona o platnim uslugama, koji se na 15. mestu nalazi sa FIC indeksom 1,67, Savet preporučuje osnivanje zajedničke platforme banaka za razmenu informacija u postupku promene računa i kod otvaranja i vođenja računa sa osnovnim uslugama, dok u vezi sa tržištem kapitala (FIC indeks 1,50 i 27. mesto na rang listi) Savet navodi sledeće preporuke: • stimulisati izdavanje državnih i

municipalnih obveznica za finansiranje infrastrukturnih i drugih projekata od javnog značaja, kao i stimulisati inicijalne javne ponude u privatnom sektoru;

• potrebno je generalno unaprediti pravni okvir za obavljanje poslova sa finansijskim

Savet stranih investitora

Savet stranih investitora (Foreign Investors Council - FIC) je nezavisno poslovno udruženje koje je 2002. godine osnovalo 14 stranih kompanija koje su poslovale u Srbiji. Misija Saveta je da aktivno promoviše i razvija predvidivo, konkurentno i održivo poslovno okruženje putem otvorenog dijaloga sa vlastima i drugim značajnim činiocima. Ujedno, on snažno podržava ekonomske integracije sa EU i otvorenu tržišnu privredu. Savet funkcioniše preko svojih 11 odbora koji okupljaju predstavnike kompanija članica, analiziraju regulatorni okvir i predlažu načine za njegovo unapređenje zastupajući zajedničke stavove članica, a ne pojedinačne ili grupne interese. Samo u periodu od novembra 2017. godine do septembra 2018. godine pokrenuto je 47 regulatornih inicijativa. Savet trenutno okuplja 122 članice iz 22 sektora, koje u Srbiji direktno zapošljavaju više od 100 hiljada ljudi i čije su investicije u Srbiji u vrednosti preko 33 milijarde evra.

Dugalić V.Ka boljem poslovnom okruženju u Srbiji

Bela knjiga

Bela knjiga predstavlja jedan od glavnih projekata Saveta stranih investitora i objavljuje se na godišnjem nivou od 2003. godine. Predstavlja prikaz poslovne klime i nudi skup preporuka za njeno unapređenje, ujedno promovišući ekonomsku integraciju sa EU i otvorenu tržišnu privredu. Publikacija se priprema uz angažman nezavisnog urednika, koji takođe daje makroekonomske podatke i priprema FIC indeks. Urednik za izdanje u 2018. godini je prof. Miroljub Labus, a ono sadrži ukupno 272 preporuke.

Svaka tema je upotpunjena pregledom realizacije preporuka datih u prethodnoj godini, a na osnovu ostvarenih rezultata, teme dobijaju ocenu u rasponu od 1 (najniža) do 3 (najviša). FIC indeks zapravo poredi napredak (ocene) između svih predstavljenih tema i rangira ih tako da je na prvom mestu oblast u kojoj je zabeležen najveći napredak, dok je na 67. mestu oblast u kojoj je zabeležen najmanji napredak.

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Bankarstvo, 2018, vol. 47, br. 4 8

FIC’s Recommendations in the Field of Banking and Finance

When it comes to the ranking according to the progress in the recommendations implementation in 2018, the first half of the list featured four segments from the field of banking and finance. The protection of financial services users, with the FIC index of 2.00, the same as in the year before, made it to the 2nd place due to certain progress made concerning 5 FIC recommendations. In the White Book 2018, the Foreign Investors Council specifies 3 recommendations in this respect: further harmonisation of regulations related to the protection of financial services users with international standards and regulations in the EU countries; further education of the users of financial services concerning their rights; and the harmonisation of the announced legal solutions with the existing legislation in force. The prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing takes the 10th place with the FIC index of 1.75 and the following recommendations of the Council: to develop a system that would enable better cooperation between the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering and the taxpayers, as well as the Government, together with better cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the courts; to enable a high-quality public debate on the adoption of new regulations in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing and to make additional efforts with the aim of more effective implementation of pre-existing regulations in this field; and to continue with the organisation of adequate seminars and workshops in order to carry out appropriate training for the persons to whom the Law applies, in order to increase the efficiency of its implementation.

Regarding the Law on Payment Services, which is ranked 15th with the FIC index of 1.67, the Council recommends the establishment of a common platform for the exchange of information in the process of changing the account and for opening and maintaining accounts with basic services, while in relation to the capital market (FIC index 1.50 and 27th place on the ranking list) the Council makes the following recommendations:

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC)

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) – is an independent business association founded in 2002 by 14 foreign companies operating in Serbia. The Council’s mission is to actively promote and develop a predictable, competitive and sustainable business environment through an open dialogue with the authorities and other relevant stakeholders. At the same time, it strongly supports economic integration with the EU and an open market economy. The Council operates through its 11 committees that bring together representatives of member companies, analyse the regulatory framework, and propose ways to improve it by representing the common attitudes of members, and not individual or group interests. In the period from November 2017 to September 2018, 47 regulatory initiatives were launched. The Council currently gathers 122 members from 22 sectors, which directly employ more than 100 thousand people in Serbia and whose investments in Serbia are worth over 33 billion euros.

Dugalić V.Towards a Better Business Environment in Serbia

The White Book

The White Book is one of the main projects of the Foreign Investors Council and has been published annually since 2003. It is an overview of the business climate offering a set of recommendations for its improvement, at the same time promoting economic integration with the EU and an open market economy. The publication is prepared with the engagement of an independent editor, who also provides macroeconomic data and prepares the FIC index. The editor for the 2018 issue is Prof. Miroljub Labus, and it contains a total of 272 recommendations.

Each topic is finalised with an overview of the implementation of the recommendations given in the year before, and based on the achieved results, the topics get a grade ranging from 1 (lowest) to 3 (highest). The FIC index actually compares the progress (grades) between all presented topics and ranks them so that the field with the greatest recorded progress holds the first place, while the 67th place is reserved for the field with the least progress recorded.

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9 Bankarstvo, 2018, Vol. 47, Issue 4

derivatima, pre svega kroz omogućavanje pune implementacije standardnih ISDA master ugovora;

• potrebno je dodatno liberalizovati zakon u delu koji će uključiti mogućnost da fizička lica rezidenti ulažu u hartije od vrednosti na stranim tržištima, uključujući obveznice, strukturne proizvode, strukturne depozite, ETF-ove i investicione fondove, a sve u skladu sa Evropskim standardima i ESMA direktivama.Pored ovih, od kategorija relevantnih za

bankarski sektor na listi su i problematični krediti (na 42. mestu, sa zabeleženim indeksom 1,22) čiji se udeo zahvaljujući ozbiljnom pristupu i nacionalnoj strategiji za njihovo rešavanje znatno i kontinuirano smanjuje u proteklom periodu. Ono što Savet dodatno preporučuje jeste promovisanje vansudskog restrukturiranja dugova u praksi u skladu sa pravnim okvirom i motivisanje investitora da pružaju svež novac sa najvišim prioritetom u odnosu na postojeće poverioce u postupku vansudskog dobrovoljnog restrukturiranja duga; omogućavanje prenosa NPL-ova između rezidentne banke i rezidenata na nerezidenta, kao i uklanjanje preostalih prepreka za otpis kredita od strane banaka.

Na kraju, prenosimo i, najbrojnije, preporuke u pogledu deviznog poslovanja, koje se našlo na 43. mestu uz FIC indeks 1,21:• prilagoditi tekst Zakona o deviznom

poslovanju i tumačenje u praksi tako da se zabranjeni poslovi izričito propisuju kao takvi, dok se sve ostale aktivnosti smatraju slobodnim;

• omogućiti bolju javnu dostupnost mišljenja državnih organa nadležnih za oblast deviznog poslovanja, a posebno NBS, zbog konzistentnosti u primeni propisa od strane svih učesnika (npr. uvesti objavu zvaničnih mišljenja na vebsajtu regulatora, uvesti sekciju odgovori na pitanja na vebsajtu i sl);

• razmotriti širok opseg ovlašćenja NBS da ograniči rezidenta da da jemstvo ili obezbeđenje po kreditnim poslovima sa inostranstvom, a naročito u vezi sa redovnim kreditnim poslovima sa inostranstvom i detaljnije regulisati taj postupak;

• pojednostaviti pravila o prebijanju potraživanja za sve vrste tekućih i kapitalnih

Pet oblasti sa najboljim učinkom u 2018. godini

1. Nekretnine: Građevinsko zemljište i izgradnja 2,14

2. Zaštita korisnika finansijskih usluga 2,00

3. Transport 2,00

4. Duvanska industrija 2,00

5. Intelektualna svojina 2,00

Pet oblasti sa najslabijim učinkom u 2018. godini

58. Porezi: Porez na imovinu 1,00

60. Radno pravo: Zakon o radu 1,00

61. Hrana i poljoprivreda: Proces registracije sredstava za zaštitu bilja 1,00

66. Zakon o centralnoj evidenciji privremenih ograničenja prava 1,00

67. Sektor osiguranja 1,00

Izvor: Bela knjiga 2018, http://www.fic.org.rs/projects/white-book/white-book.html

Dugalić V.Ka boljem poslovnom okruženju u Srbiji

Bankarstvo, 2018, vol. 47, br. 4 10

• The issuance of state and municipal bonds for the financing of infrastructural and other large communal projects should be stimulated, while IPOs in the private sector should be encouraged;

• The general legal framework for performing operations with financial derivatives should be improved, first and foremost by enabling the full implementation of standardized ISDA master agreements;

• Further liberalization of the law is necessary in the part that incorporates the possibility for natural persons resident in Serbia to invest in securities on foreign markets, including bonds, structural products, structural deposits, ETFs and investment funds, all in accordance with European standards and ESMA guidelines.In addition to these categories, NPLs are also

among the categories relevant to the banking sector (in the 42nd place, with the index of 1.22) whose share, due to the serious approach and the national strategy for their resolution has been significantly and continuously decreasing in the recent period. What the Council further recommends is to promote out-of-court debt restructuring in practice, in line with the legal framework, and to motivate investors to provide fresh money with the highest priority in relation to the existing creditors in the out-of-court voluntary debt restructuring process; enabling the transfer of NPLs between a resident bank and residents to non-residents, and removing the remaining obstacles for the banks’ write-off of loans.

Finally, we also list the, most numerous, recommendations regarding foreign exchange operations, which ranked 43rd with the FIC index of 1.21:• Adapt the wording of the Law and

interpretation in practice so that prohibited operations are explicitly prescribed as such, whereas all other activities are considered permitted;

• Ensure better public availability of opinions of state authorities in charge of forex operations, in particular NBS, for the consistency in application of regulations by all participants (e.g., to introduce the publication of official opinions on the regulator’s website, introduce a section of responses to questions on the website, etc.);

Five fields with the most progress recorded in 2018

1. Real estate: Construction land and development 2.14

2. Protection of users of financial services 2.00

3. Transport 2.00

4. Tobacco industry 2.00

5. Intellectual property 2.00

Five fields with the least progress recorded in 2018

58. Taxes: Property tax 1.00

60. Labour legislation: The Labour Law 1.00

61. Food & Agriculture: Registration of plant protection products 1.00

66. Law on Central Register of Temporary Restriction of Rights 1.00

67. Insurance 1.00

Source: White Book 2018, http://www.fic.org.rs/projects/white-book/white-book.html

Dugalić V.Towards a Better Business Environment in Serbia 11 Bankarstvo, 2018, Vol. 47, Issue 4

poslova i dozvoliti udruživanje novčanih sredstava odnosno salda na računima (cash-pooling), između povezanih lica;

• članove 7, 20 i 33 Zakona o deviznom poslovanju preispitati tako da se pitanja prenosa, plaćanja i naplate potraživanja i dugovanja reše adekvatno za sve vrste tekućih i kapitalnih poslova;

• omogućiti priliv iz inostranstva bez prethodnog obaveštavanja banke, uz uslov (ukoliko je to neophodno) da se takvo obaveštavanje vrši naknadno i elektronski u određenim vremenskim intervalima (npr. mesečno, kvartalno, itd.);

• dalja liberalizacija depozitnih poslova rezidenata u inostranstvu, naročito za kompanije koje su predmet projektnog finansiranja od strane stranih banaka i međunarodnih finansijskih institucija.U kontekstu poboljšanja poslovnog i

privrednog okruženja svakako treba pomenuti

i to da je Republika Srbija početkom decembra 2018. godine, na međunarodnoj konferenciji u Briselu, otvorila Poglavlje 17 - Ekonomska i monetarna politika, u pogledu koga Narodna banka Srbije ima rukovodeću ulogu. Usklađivanjem sa standardima Evropske unije u oblasti ekonomske i monetarne politike Srbija će nastaviti da održava makroekonomsku stabilnost i unapređuje konkurentnost i rast domaće privrede, koja počiva na tržišnim principima i slobodnoj konkurenciji. Ovo će dodatno podstaći unapređenje domaćeg poslovnog okruženja i nadograditi do sada već postignute rezultate, posebno u domenu makroekonomske stabilnosti, rasta BDP-a, fiskalnih pokazatelja, ukupnog nivoa stranih direktnih investicija i smanjenja problematičnih kredita.

Glavni i odgovorni urednik dr Veroljub Dugalić

Dugalić V.Ka boljem poslovnom okruženju u Srbiji

Bankarstvo, 2018, vol. 47, br. 4 12

• Reconsider the wide scope of NBS’ discretion to restrict a resident from granting securities or guarantees in relation to foreign loans, especially in relation to regular foreign loans and further regulate the procedure thereof;

• Simplify the set-off rules for all types of current and capital transactions and allow cash pooling between affiliated parties;

• Reconsider Articles 7, 20 and 33 of the Law so that the transfer, payment and collection of receivables and debts are resolved adequately for all types of current and capital transactions;

• Enable foreign inflows without prior notification to the bank, subject to condition (if necessary) for such notification to be made subsequently and electronically at certain time intervals (e.g. monthly, quarterly, etc.);

• Further liberalisation of foreign deposit transactions of residents, especially for companies subject to project financing by foreign banks and international financial institutions.

In the context of improving the business and economic environment, it should be noted that in early December 2018, at the international conference in Brussels, the Republic of Serbia opened Chapter 17 - Economic and Monetary Policy, in respect of which the National Bank of Serbia has a leadership role. By complying with the EU standards in the field of economic and monetary policies, Serbia will continue to maintain macroeconomic stability and improve the competitiveness and growth of the domestic economy, which is based on market principles and free competition. This will further stimulate the improvement of the domestic business environment and upgrade the results achieved so far, especially in the fields of macroeconomic stability, GDP growth, fiscal indicators, total foreign direct investments and the reduction of NPLs.

Editor-in-Chiefdr Veroljub Dugalić

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