Serbian deal with IMF unrealistic in 2013 - finance minister

Serbia's Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic talks during a business forum at the Kopaonik winter resort March 9, 2010. REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic

BELGRADE (Reuters) - It would be unrealistic to expect Serbia to reach a new loan deal with the IMF this year, the country's finance minister was quoted as saying on Monday, in remarks likely to disappoint investors.

The International Monetary Fund froze a previous 1 billion euro (852 million pounds) deal in early 2012 over broken spending promises and investors had been looking for a new deal to prop up the country's increasingly shaky finances.