LAST YEAR'S FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN CROATIA REACH 1.4 BILLION DOLLARS

ZAGREB, March 12 (Hina) - Direct foreign investment in Croatia last year exceeded 1.4 billion US dollars, while investment from 1993 to the end of 2001 amounted to $6.6 billion, the Croatian National Bank said Tuesday. (All figures are in US dollars.) Last year's direct foreign investments exceeded those in 2002, which reached $1.12 billion. The year 1999 saw record foreign investments of $1.63 billion. Last year's chief investment was the sale of 16 percent of Croatian Telecom shares for 500 million euros. In 1999, half of the investment was obtained from the sale of 35 percent of Croatian Telecom's shares. Almost 70 percent, or $4.58 billion, of overall investment from 1993 through 2001 was direct foreign investment in Croatian companies. Almost a half of foreign ownership investment in the same period was directed towards telecommunications and banks. There were no investments in new production capacity. Last year half of the foreign investments, $708 million, were registered as ownership investments, of which more than 64 percent were in telecommunications. More than 16 percent of overall direct foreign investment last year was directed towards the production of cement. According to the central bank, most foreign investment from 1993 through 2001 ended up in the telecommunication system. A lesser amount was invested into banks, and only 15.5 percent into the pharmaceutical industry. Of the total, 5.08 percent of foreign investment went to cement production, 3.13 percent into crude oil and natural gas exploitation, 2.66 percent to hotels and motels with restaurants, 1.67 percent to wholesale, 1.53 percent to the production of bricks and tiles, and 1.35 percent to the production of beer. Austria invested the most in Croatia, with 26.94 of overall investment from 1993 through 2001. Austria is followed by Germany with 25.51 percent and the United States with 17.9 percent. (hina) lml sb