Serbian state-owned enterprises received 63.6 billion dinars (about €542 million) in budget subsidies during 2025, according to data in the government’s Fiscal Strategy for 2027. The transfers represented approximately 2.5% of total state budget expenditures. The Ministry of Finance data also shows that the level of support reflected direct fiscal backing for a portion of the public sector.
The Ministry of Finance monitors 36 strategic state-owned enterprises. Together, these companies employed roughly 64,000 workers at the end of 2025. Of the monitored firms, 27 received subsidies during the year.
Total subsidies amounted to about 6.2% of the combined revenues generated by the subsidised enterprises, according to the same figures. The share was broadly unchanged from the previous year.
Largest recipients among Serbia’s strategic state-owned enterprises
The biggest beneficiary was Infrastruktura železnice Srbije, which received approximately 17.9 billion dinars from the state budget. The company manages and develops Serbia’s railway infrastructure. It has been involved in the country’s rail modernization programme.
Putevi Srbije ranked second with 17.3 billion dinars. Support directed to both infrastructure companies is linked to financing major capital investment projects.
Other major recipients included PEU Resavica, which received 6.4 billion dinars, and Srbijavoz, which received 5.3 billion dinars. The Fiscal Strategy states that the five largest beneficiaries accounted for approximately 81% of all subsidies paid to state-owned enterprises during 2025.
Share of revenues and scale of fiscal transfers
The government’s figures describe an ongoing fiscal burden tied to Serbia’s strategic state-owned companies. A large part of the support is directed toward infrastructure investment and public service obligations, based on the Fiscal Strategy data. The data also points to continued corporate restructuring and operational improvements within the state-owned sector.
The subsidies are presented as part of efforts to balance infrastructure expansion with fiscal discipline in Serbia’s public finances. Transfers remain a recurring element in budget support for monitored enterprises under the Ministry of Finance framework.
