S&P has upgraded Serbia’s long-term sovereign rating from BB+ to BBB-, which removes its foreign currency bonds from junk status and puts them in the investment grade category, Bloomberg reports citing a statement from the agency.
The rating outlook is stable. Thus, the rating company now assesses Serbia’s creditworthiness on a par with Hungary and Romania and one notch below Mexico. The country’s speculative rating remains at Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Ratings.
“The rating upgrade reflects Serbia’s increasing resilience to shocks thanks to effective macroeconomic management, which we expect to continue in the coming years,” S&P said in a statement.
It emphasizes that robust domestic demand, accumulated reserves, and prudent fiscal and monetary policies, supported by cooperation with the IMF, allow Serbia to withstand economic difficulties and future potential shocks.
S&P changed its outlook on Serbia’s credit rating to positive in April 2024, and Fitch and Moody’s followed suit in August, raising the possibility that the country will soon receive an investment grade rating from the three global rating agencies, according to Bloomberg. Serbia became the first country in the Western Balkans to receive an investment grade rating and the only EU candidate country with such a rating. Yields on Serbia’s 2034 dollar-denominated bonds fell 70 basis points from their June peak to 5.63% as of Friday, October 4.
Since June, Serbia’s bonds have posted a 7% return, outperforming the Bloomberg EM Hard Currency Index, which was up 5.8%. Some investors, such as Morgan Stanley Investment Management, have long believed that Serbia deserves a rating upgrade, the agency notes.
The death toll from the devastating floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are being called the worst in decades, has already reached 19. On the morning of October 4, it was reported that heavy rains in Bosnia on Friday night had flooded several cities in the central and southern parts of the country.
After 16 people died in the municipality of Jablunice, rescuers also found the bodies of three people in the city of Fojnice, where the bad weather destroyed many houses and outbuildings.
Against this backdrop, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic agreed to provide all necessary assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Vucic previously noted that Serbia could send rescue helicopters and boats, as well as provide financial assistance.
And the Croatian prime minister said that his government is in constant contact with the head of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krishto, and is ready to provide “all the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the flood.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also confirmed the readiness to help. He noted that Bosnia could benefit from the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which it joined in 2022.
Fourteen EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, have signed an appeal calling on the EU executive to propose new rules to strengthen return policies, Politico reports.
In their letter to the European Commission, 17 European countries ask for new rules that will allow governments to detain illegal migrants if they pose a threat to national security, force migrants to cooperate with authorities, and ensure that all EU countries use the same data management software.
The letter to the Commission states that migrants who do not have the right to stay in the EU “must be brought to justice.”
It is noted that Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein have also signed the appeal, although they are not members of the EU, they are members of the Schengen area.
The publication notes that the push comes amid a right-wing and anti-immigration shift in many EU countries.
As of October 4, farmers in all regions of Ukraine have harvested 56.6 million tons of new crops from 15.8 million hectares, compared to 50.4 million tons from 14.2 million hectares a week earlier.
As reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Friday, 37.3 million tons (34.3 million tons) of grains and legumes, 15.8 million tons (13.6 million tons) of oilseeds and 3.5 million tons (2.5 million tons) of sugar beets have already been harvested.
The Ministry specified that the harvest of wheat has been completed, with 22.3 million tons harvested from 4.9 million hectares at a yield of 42.4 c/ha, barley – 5.5 million tons from 1.4 million hectares at a yield of 39.2 c/ha, peas – 465.3 million tons from 212.2 thousand hectares at a yield of 21.9 c/ha.
Corn harvesting continues, with 7.7 million tons harvested (4.72 thousand tons a week earlier) from 1.5 million hectares (37% of the plan), buckwheat – 121.8 thousand tons (115.5 thousand tons) from 84.3 thousand hectares (95%), millet – 154.8 thousand tons (147.75 thousand tons) from 84.3 thousand hectares (88%).
Ukraine continues harvesting oilseeds. In particular, 3.457 mln tonnes of rapeseed (3.4 mln tonnes a week earlier) have been harvested from 1.266 mln ha (100%), soybeans – 4.277 mln tonnes (3.5 mln tonnes) from 1.97 mln ha (74%), sunflower – 8 mln tonnes (6.659 mln tonnes) from 3.9 mln ha (79%).
At the same time, the leaders in grain harvesting are farmers in Odesa region who threshed 4.2 mln ha, Poltava region – 3.3 mln tons, and Vinnytsia region – 2.6 mln tons. In terms of yields, the leaders are the farmers of Khmelnytsky region with 64.3 c/ha, Ivano-Frankivsk region – 59 c/ha, and Ternopil region – 61.3 c/ha.
TAS Agro Agro Agro Holding has completed the harvesting of oilseeds in the 2024 season from 34.1 thousand hectares, the yield exceeded the targets for 2024 and was higher than the average for Ukraine, the press service of the agricultural holding reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, at the end of September, TAS Agro completed sunflower harvesting, harvesting more than 43.6 thousand tons from an area of 17.7 thousand hectares, and soybeans from an area of 16.4 thousand hectares weighing 37.2 thousand tons.
“This year, late summer and early fall were abnormally dry, which had a negative impact on the yield of oilseeds throughout Ukraine. Today, there is a shortage of sunflower seeds on the market, which affects price growth and the overall situation on the agricultural market. In general, we carried out our autumn field work in an extremely narrow time corridor, but we did a great job,” said Oleg Zapletnyuk, CEO of TAS Agro.
Currently, the agricultural holding continues to harvest corn and is completing the sowing of winter wheat on an area of 22.7 hectares.
In addition, in 2024, TAS Agro almost doubled its winter rapeseed sowing, from 8 to 15 thousand hectares. Winter rapeseed has already sprouted and autumn chemical protection measures are underway. The agroholding expects favorable weather and good germination of winter wheat.
Taking into account the experience of 2024, the company will continue to implement the updated strategy, providing the clusters with the necessary amount of new agricultural machinery,” TAS Agro summarized.
TAS Group was founded in 1998. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
Before the war, TAS Agro Group cultivated 83 thousand hectares in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kherson, and Dnipro regions, where it grows soybeans, sunflower, rapeseed, wheat, barley, and corn. In addition, the agricultural holding is engaged in dairy farming (up to 5.5 thousand heads of cattle) and owns six elevators with a one-time storage capacity of 250 thousand tons.
The founder of TAS is Sergey Tigipko.
The head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhiy Deyneko, met with the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of India to Ukraine, Ravi Shankar, to discuss the issue of border crossings by Indian citizens.
According to the press service of the State Border Guard Service, Deineko thanked India for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also emphasized the importance of further developing friendly relations and professional cooperation.
“We discussed the issue of border crossing by Indian citizens – since the beginning of 2024, about 5 thousand Indian citizens have entered Ukraine. The parties agreed to clarify the details of further effective cooperation,” the Telegram channel said.
In turn, the ambassador expressed gratitude for the attention and time devoted to the meeting.
