. the best confirmation of the correctness of our approach is the results achieved – the demonstrated resilience to external shocks unprecedented in recent history and favourable macroeconomic prospects for our economy. this is also recognised by relevant international institutions, including the imf, which assesses that we are recording impressive results and that we have earned trust. inflation in serbia returned within the 3±1. 5 % target band without any major tradeoffs in terms of economic activity. this is indicated by economic growth that will, in cumulative terms, exceed the pre - crisis level by more than 18 %. in addition, this year again, and probably in the medium run too, serbia's economic growth will be one of the strongest in europe. 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches financial sector stability has been preserved and the npl ratio now stands at the lowest level on record ( 2. 7 % ). public finances are sustainable, and the country's external position strengthened. the country's fx reserves are at record levels both in terms of their volume and structure. at over eur 28 bn, they cover more than 7 months'worth of the country's imports of goods and services. fdi inflow is also record high. it reached eur 4. 6 bn last year and is forecast to reach a similar level this year as well. for all these reasons, for the first time in its history serbia has been assigned investment grade rating by standard & poor's, which brings us closer to developed economies. another confirmation of the growth and development of our economy is the new threeyear policy coordination instrument, which i expect the imf will approve to serbia in the coming several days. this instrument is granted exclusively to countries with sound economic policies and good prospects, which is the imf's assessment of serbia. his is also in line with our expectations for the future period. more specifically : inflation will continue to move within the target band. we expect economic growth to accelerate additionally to the range of 4 – 5 %, with the central projection of 4. 5 % and a good structure of growth. owing to the maintained investment confidence and favourable financing conditions, fixed fund investment will continue to provide significant support to economic growth. the investment potential comes from corporate profitability in the previous years, as well as from fdis, which represent an important source of transfer of new technologies and productivity growth. an additional impetus will come from the implementation of government capital investments planned by the " leap

##cive to faster economic growth. this year we expect gdp growth to step up to around 3 % and then further up to 3. 5 % the following year, supported by continued favourable movements in the labour market. reduction in interest expenses and negative exchange rate differences – factor of the economy ’ s success based on data of the business registers agency, in 2016 the financial result of our economy improved by over rsd 360 bln compared to 2014. 1 in the same period, as a result of monetary policy easing by the national bank of serbia, a reduction in the country risk premium ( resulting from more favourable macroeconomic performances of our economy ) and monetary accommodation by the the difference between the net loss of rsd 131. 8 bln in 2014 and net gain of rsd 229. 3 bln in 2016. net gain of rsd 67. 2 bln was achieved in 2015. european central bank, interest expenses declined from rsd 145 bln in 2014 to rsd 99. 3 bln in 2016. this means that the corporate sector paid to creditors rsd 45. 8 bln less in 2016 than in 2014. at the same time, owing to the stability of the dinar, which is the result of successful implementation of macroeconomic policies, and thus the national bank of serbia ’ s policy as well, negative exchange rate differences fell by rsd 157. 6 bln – from rsd 246. 3 bln in 2014 to rsd 88. 8 bln in 2016. in total, in respect of both these factors, the income statement of the corporate sector improved by rsd 203. 4 bln in 2016 relative to 2014. given that the corporate sector has interest - bearing receivables, calculating positive exchange rate differences on fx receivables, the effect of savings in these two items on the profitability of the corporate sector equals rsd 148. 4 bln in this period. this makes us satisfied not only because of the volume of savings, but primarily because of the fact that this opens room for the corporate sector to engage in its regular business activities and to plan its development in more predictable circumstances. of course, we are satisfied also because this confirms the soundness of the national bank of serbia ’ s policy and gives us an incentive to continue with its implementation. ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, serbia ’ s improved macroeconomic outlook and the results achieved in terms of the narrowing in internal imbalances and implementation of structural reforms have for quite