GOVT ADOPTS SET OF DECISIONS AT CLOSED-DOOR SESSION

ZAGREB, May 29 (Hina) - The Croatian government formed a working group for the project "Regulation and Implementation of the System of Personal Data Protection" at a closed-door session on Wednesday. #L# The group has been entrusted with preparing an information-legal system which would cancel the personal identification number (JMBG) and introduce unified identification according to administrative areas, in line with regulations on the protection of personal data, reads a statement issued by the government's public relations office. The government also initiated a procedure on the signing of a contract with Bosnia-Herzegovina on joint locations on border crossings. The government decided to issue 'samurai' bonds worth up to 25 billion yen. The interest rate on the bonds is fixed and will be determined upon the announcement of the issue. The maturity date of the bonds is June 26, 2008. On December 12, 2001, the Croatian parliament adopted the 2002 budget and authorised the government to seek loans on the foreign and domestic capital markets worth up to 11.66 billion kuna. The sum is intended for the current payment of the principal amount of loans which mature this year as well as for the financing of the budgetary deficit. The largest part of the loans was obtained in February this year in what is believed to be the most successful Euro-bond issue so far, totalling EUR500 million, which matures in 2009 and has a fixed interest rate of 6.25 percent. The issuing of samurai bonds completes this year's foreign loan plan based on the issuing of government bonds. The government granted its consent to the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to seek a EUR100-million syndicated loan abroad. The loan is intended for the financing of HBOR loan programmes, it matures in five years, and has an annual EURIBOR interest rate of 0.8 percent. The loan will be granted by ING Bank and Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG. (hina) rml sb