TOMCIC: TALKS ON PRIVATISATION WILL RESUME

ZAGREB, Nov 8 (Hina) - Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) president Zlatko Tomcic has announced the drawing up of a list of 22 companies about which the government will make separate decisions and a list of some 170 companies from the sectors of tourism and agriculture in which the state holds more than one half of shares and about whose privatisation the government will make separate decisions. #L# Tomcic gave this statement to reporters after a three and a half hour meeting at which HSS representatives and the Social Democrats (SDP) discussed privatisation issues. The SDP delegation was led by party leader Ivica Racan. "We have made significant progress in bringing closer our views of privatisation, but there are still some open questions, such as the role of the Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP)," Tomcic said, adding that the SDP saw the Fund as an institution responsible exclusively for privatisation, while the HSS also insisted on its managing role. The HSS leader said his party would prepare a report on how it saw the HFP's organisation and functioning. Asked whether the meeting tackled candidates for the HFP president, Tomcic said this had not been discussed and his party would not insist on it until a privatisation strategy was defined. He said that the HSS would prepare a proposal on privatisation in agriculture, i.e. companies in which the state holds more than half the shares. Those are nine financially consolidated co-operatives and seven agricultural firms, he said, adding that privatisation talks would continue in seven to ten days. He said there would no longer be any bilateral talks on privatisation, but that all coalition partners would participate in them. (hina) rml