VIENNA HOSTS INT. FORUM ON INVESTMENTS IN CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPE

VIENNA, Jan 16 (Hina) - An investment forum focused on central and eastern European economies, began in Vienna on Tuesday. The event, organised by a renown British financial journal 'EURO- MONEY' and Bank Austria, has gathered some 700 participants, including Croatia's reconstruction minister Radimir Cacic, deputy finance minister Damir Kustrak, and officials of the Croatian National Bank, commercial banks and big companies. Officials of countries in transition, representatives of financial institutions and corporations, representatives of European and world banks and leading investors in the region are discussing the strategy and possibilities for foreign investments as well as prospects of the progress in the countries in concern. One of the topics to be considered is the European Union eastward enlargement. A special study entitled 'The Balkan Study' on chances for southeastern European countries' development will be presented on this occasion. The document, drawn up by Bank Austria and an international economic institute (WIIW), covers Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo). According to the findings of the authors of the study, the above- mentioned countries show first signs of their economic recovery and their economic growth in 2001 is estimated to rise by four percent. Business people are advised to consider opportunities for investing in the fields of telecommunications, power industry, the finance sector and food-processing industry of those countries. The paper also underlines that the cooperation with and support from the European Union will be important for the further development of the said countries. In this context, Croatia is cited as a country which has launched negotiations with the Union on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Speaking at a news conference, CAIB Investment Bank Management chairman, Willi Hemecberger, assessed that in the post-war period and with a new government, Croatia enjoyed great opportunities for the economic recovery, and he was optimistic about its further progress. For Hemecberger, Croatia's advantage in comparison to other neighbouring countries lies in possibilities for investment in its tourism. (hina) ms