ZAGREB, Aug 14 (Hina) - The government's public relations office issued a statement on Thursday saying that yesterday's joint press conference of Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac and National Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski was
misinterpreted by the media.
ZAGREB, Aug 14 (Hina) - The government's public relations office
issued a statement on Thursday saying that yesterday's joint press
conference of Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac and National Bank
Governor Zeljko Rohatinski was misinterpreted by the media. #L#
"Failure to distinguish between basic notions in coverage of the
press conference of Minister Crkvenac and Governor Rohatinski
resulted in the misinformation of the public," the office said,
asking the media to carry the following statement in accordance
with the law:
"At the press conference of Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac and
Croatian National Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski on August 13,
most of the reporters did not realise that two different values were
discussed: the public debt of the state and the country's overall
foreign debt.
"Public debt is the debt of the state in the country and abroad, of
local and regional government units, public companies, Croatian
Highways, Croatian Roads, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, the Croatian Privatisation Fund plus all issued
guarantees. The public debt is primarily the responsibility and
concern of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and that is
what Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac talked about.
"According to international standards, the public debt of the
Republic of Croatia on June 30, 2003 was 50.8 percent of GDP (gross
domestic product), and there is no reason for it to increase above
52 percent. The acceptable level of debt is up to 60 percent of GDP.
"The foreign debt includes a portion of the public debt abroad,
meaning the debt of the state, banks, companies and all others. That
is a completely different notion and value from the public debt and
is closely connected to the balance of payments deficit.
"The foreign debt is primarily the concern of the Croatian National
Bank, but also of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, which
is what Croatian National Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski spoke
about.
"The share of the foreign debt in GDP in the Republic of Croatia is
68 percent, and the general position is that it should be kept at
that level. That is why additional measures are being taken in
monetary policy to prevent an increase in the share of the foreign
debt.
"When talking about the same notion, the views of Finance Minister
Mato Crkvenac and Croatian National Bank Governor Zeljko
Rohatinski do not differ. They do differ, as shown by the figures,
with respect to the dimensions of the public debt and the overall
foreign debt.
"The general conclusion is, and both Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac
and Croatian National Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski agree with
this, that the public debt, being the debt of the state, is within
acceptable limits, but that the overall debt is worrying and that
(its growth) must be slowed down, particularly the portion of the
debt generated by banks. Croatian banks borrow more and in a
different way than (banks) in other countries where borrowing is
mainly connected with projects. This matter falls within the
competence of the Croatian National Bank, and that is why it is
preparing certain measures.
"They share the view that the priority of the Government of the
Republic of Croatia in the forthcoming period should be boosting
the export of commodities and services. The Government will work
out projects and measures to achieve this long-term goal of the
national economy.
"The views of Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac and Croatian National
Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski are in harmony, which is shown by
the fact that they organised a joint press conference. We therefore
regret that failure to distinguish between the notions of public
debt and overall foreign debt resulted in the misinterpretation in
the media," the statement said.
(hina) vm