BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5075

HR-BULLETINS-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5075 HINA Zagreb 13 September 2003IMF: EXTERNAL DEBT NO IMMEDIATE THREAT, BUT MUST BE CLOSELY WATCHEDZAGREB, Sept 13 (Hina) - The level of Croatia's external debt does not pose an immediate threat, but it should be monitored closely, the head of the International Monetary Fund's mission to Croatia, Hans Flickenschild, said after a meeting with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic in Zagreb on Saturday. The Croatian National Bank (HNB) as well as the government should do their utmost to keep a lid on external debt growth and reduce the current account deficit. The current account deficit is not necessarily an additional debt, because direct foreign investment and reinvested profit can finance it without increasing the debt, Flickenschild said. HNB governor Zeljko Rohatinski stated this week that the external debt, which now totals US$19 billion, could by the end of this year, together with the current account deficit of seven percent