CAVTAT, Oct 28 (Hina) - An international conference on the stimulation of exports is being held in Cavtat on Monday under the organisation of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), on the occasion of the bank's
10th anniversary. The conference has gathered some 80 representatives of European exports-guarantee banks and agencies, international financial institutions and companies.
CAVTAT, Oct 28 (Hina) - An international conference on the
stimulation of exports is being held in Cavtat on Monday under the
organisation of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (HBOR), on the occasion of the bank's 10th anniversary.
The conference has gathered some 80 representatives of European
exports-guarantee banks and agencies, international financial
institutions and companies. #L#
Opening the conference, Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac
said that the Croatian balance of current accounts deficit was not
such as to cause concern, since it was within margins in highly
developed countries.
According to him, contributing to the deficit are insufficient,
unsuccessful and uncompetitive exports, which are several times
lower than in some neighbouring countries.
For example, Croatia's exports per capita last year amounted to
about 1,000 US dollars, Hungary's were 2,700 dollars, and
Slovenia's as much as $5,500, said Crkvenac.
Croatia's export of goods will this year be a little over four
billion dollars, while the export of services will most probably
exceed this value.
Although the export of services, primarily tourism and transport,
together with several strategic branches such as the production of
health food, will make the export base, one must not allow Croatia
to depend solely on exports of the service sector, the minister
said.
Therefore, budgetary resources intended for the financing of HBOR
will next year be almost twice as high as this year's. This year HBOR
has received a little more than 160 million kuna (US$20.5 million),
and next year it will be allocated more than 280 million kuna ($36
million).
HBOR has been dealing with financing exports and insuring against
political and commercial risks for more than three years, and in
this period more than 25 percent of all loans were directed towards
stimulating exports and supervising exporters' programmes, said
the bank's management board chairman, Anton Kovacev.
The first part of the conference focused on presenting the work of
exports-guarantee banks from Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia,
the United States, Slovenia, Hungary and others, while the second
part dealt with concrete experience of Croatian exporters.
(hina) lml sb