Belgrade - The governor of Serbia's central bank on Saturday welcomed a 530.3-million-dollar standby loan from the International Monetary Fund to help it weather the global financial crisis, calling it a "positive mark" for Serbia's economy.

The IMF approved the loan on Friday. Under the deal, 353.3 million dollars would be immediately available to Serbia. However, the government has said it only plans to tap the 15-month standby arrangement if absolutely necessary.

"There is still no need to use those funds," central bank governor Radovan Jelasic told Belgrade media.

Serbia missed a deadline by a month, but eventually passed a restrictive 2009 budget in order to meet the IMF criteria. To do so, it had to trim its deficit so that it totalled no more than 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product.

Jelasic noted that the budget will likely have to be revisited by March, since revenue is expected to be lower than in earlier projections.

Serbia has become increasingly exposed to the global financial crisis. Its currency has been in free fall, despite central bank interventions which have partially depleted foreign exchange reserves. The country has also had a hard time winning investments or securing lines of credit.

Economist Goran Nikolic said the arrangement with the IMF could be a good signal for foreign investors to come to Serbia.

Money shortages forced the freezing of wages and tripped up nearly finished talks between labour unions, employers and authorities. Strikes and protests loom in Serbia.

The IMF in November helped the government in Belgrade to draft the 2009 budget in November. It had previously been expected to make its decision about the arrangement on December 12. (dpa)