JOURNAL: MORE OPTIMISTIC FORECAST FOR BUSINESS 2003

ZAGREB, Dec 18 (Hina) - The expectations of Croatian business people in 2003 are more optimistic than in the past ten years, which is how long the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and the "Privredni Vjesnik" journal have been conducting polls about business results and expectations. #L# The results of the survey for 2002 and 2003 were presented on Wednesday. The polls cover the expectations of 36 business people and assessments of the business climate in 68 biggest and most successful companies in the Croatian processing industry. The revitalisation of the industry and the enhancement of export should be the two most important goals of the economic policy until 2010, i.e. during preparations for admission to the European Union, expert Zarko Primorac said. Therefore domestic research, foreign investment and import of technology should be encouraged, given that development research is a key factor of the development of Croatian export products, Primorac said, adding that Croatia invested only 50 US dollars per capita in research and development, while Hungary invested USD100, and Austria and Finland USD485 and USD800 respectively. Presenting the results of the poll for the processing industry, another expert, Gorazd Nikic, said the situation had improved in relation to 2001 and managers could expect the continuation of the trend. His optimism is based on the projected growth in demand on the domestic market, as well as on the possibility of increasing exports to former Yugolsav markets. Results of the polls show that 77.6 percent of managers described 2002 as better than 2001, while 81.4 percent expects even better results in the new year. An encouraging indicator is that 87.5 percent of respondents announced that in 2003 they would invest into expanding business and product lines. (hina) ms sb