Expanding into
Serbia
Global expansion is a step to make for any business, regardless of what you wish to achieve. The opportunities that can come with an expansion can be both incredibly exciting as well as intimidating and confusing, especially when you consider all of the registration procedures that needs to be done and documentation required.


Get the Support You Need
Expanding to countries such as Serbia – which is characterized by a diverse and dynamic workforce, strong employment and tax laws, a robust infrastructure network linking to both Europe and Asia, and leading sectors in energy, automotive industry, machinery, mining, and agriculture – can bring both excitement to the possibilities, but also significant stress to ensuring the entity with the country’s rigorous legal structures and laws.
Ensuring compliance without the sufficient knowledge of the country’s laws also adds to the stress of getting your new entity off the ground and ready to test new markets. Going at it without the proper support can increase the costs, time and risks involved.
Each new markets bring new challenges, and these can be worked through more efficiently and cost-effectively with the support of an International Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as Bradford Jacobs, especially through our Employer of Record (EOR) framework.
This can be best utilized when businesses are just beginning their expansion process and require more information before committing to incorporating an entity and fully establishing themselves in that market.
Hiring Staff
in Serbia
Serbia is located in the heart of Southeast Europe (SEE) – which is at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In this region, there are a number of emerging markets of varying sizes, all of which have economic development plans focusing on bringing their laws, educational and medical systems, infrastructures, and security/defense frameworks up to European standards.
In terms of market opportunity, Serbia combined with Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia represent a market the size of Texas, with 60 million inhabitants and a GDP of around $500 billion.
Despite its relatively small size, Serbia’s emerging economy creates significant opportunities for exports and investments across a wide range of sectors, particularly infrastructure, ICT, healthcare, agribusiness, energy, and environmental technologies.
Serbia is the largest and most prosperous economy in the Western Balkans, serving as a regional hub and springboard for companies to access the larger regional market.
The economy of Serbia is a service-based, upper middle economy, which functions on the principals of the free market. The strongest sectors of Serbia’s economy are energy, manufacturing (most popular in the automotive and machinery industries), mining, and agriculture.
Trade plays a major role in Serbian economic output, with its main trading partners being Germany, Italy, Russia, China, and the neighboring Balkan countries. The country’s leading trade exports are automobiles, base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tires, clothes, and pharmaceuticals.
Neighboring Balkan countries are highly active in Serbia, focusing on procurements, investments, trade liberalization, and infrastructure. Serbia is also Europe’s fourth-biggest recipient of Chinese investment, particularly in greenfield projects, and participates in China’s Belt & Road Initiative. U.S. firms have invested around $4 billion into Serbia and continue to play an active role in the Serbian economy.
Certain segments of the Serbian economy remain highly price-sensitive, but rising prosperity among business and government presents a window in which they can afford Western brands of high quality, to modernize and focus on purchases with the best return on investment. Key challenges remain in public procurement, bureaucratic burden, corruption, and inefficient commercial courts.
In Serbia, SMEs have a considerable impact on the country’s economy. SMEs currently make up 99.8% of the number of businesses in the country. They generate about 2/3 of employment, a turnover of 54.1% of GDP and account for 43.2% of total exports.
80% of the total workforce in Serbia works in the SME sector. Concerning market innovation, 83% of Serbian entrepreneurs are highly educated, 97% of them implemented some kind of innovation in their business.
SMEs businesses are primarily in the sectors of agribusiness, production, and IT.
VAT ID
Unique Master Citizen Number
Hiring Staff
in Serbia
In terms of market opportunity, Serbia combined with Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia represent a market the size of Texas, with 60 million inhabitants and a GDP of around $500 billion.
Despite its relatively small size, Serbia’s emerging economy creates significant opportunities for exports and investments across a wide range of sectors, particularly infrastructure, ICT, healthcare, agribusiness, energy, and environmental technologies.
Serbia is the largest and most prosperous economy in the Western Balkans, serving as a regional hub and springboard for companies to access the larger regional market.
The economy of Serbia is a service-based, upper middle economy, which functions on the principals of the free market. The strongest sectors of Serbia’s economy are energy, manufacturing (most popular in the automotive and machinery industries), mining, and agriculture.
Trade plays a major role in Serbian economic output, with its main trading partners being Germany, Italy, Russia, China, and the neighboring Balkan countries. The country’s leading trade exports are automobiles, base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tires, clothes, and pharmaceuticals.
Neighboring Balkan countries are highly active in Serbia, focusing on procurements, investments, trade liberalization, and infrastructure. Serbia is also Europe’s fourth-biggest recipient of Chinese investment, particularly in greenfield projects, and participates in China’s Belt & Road Initiative. U.S. firms have invested around $4 billion into Serbia and continue to play an active role in the Serbian economy.
Certain segments of the Serbian economy remain highly price-sensitive, but rising prosperity among business and government presents a window in which they can afford Western brands of high quality, to modernize and focus on purchases with the best return on investment. Key challenges remain in public procurement, bureaucratic burden, corruption, and inefficient commercial courts.
In Serbia, SMEs have a considerable impact on the country’s economy. SMEs currently make up 99.8% of the number of businesses in the country. They generate about 2/3 of employment, a turnover of 54.1% of GDP and account for 43.2% of total exports.
80% of the total workforce in Serbia works in the SME sector. Concerning market innovation, 83% of Serbian entrepreneurs are highly educated, 97% of them implemented some kind of innovation in their business.
SMEs businesses are primarily in the sectors of agribusiness, production, and IT.
VAT ID
Unique Master Citizen Number
The Main Sectors of the Serbian Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:
The Main Sectors of the Serbian Economy
The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:

Commercial Laws in
Serbia
Commercial Laws in
Serbia
