ZAGREB, Oct 15 (Hina) - Croatia's credit rating for October remains unchanged - DB4d, which categorises the country as one of moderate investment risk, the international credit rating agency Dun&Bradstreet said in its latest report.
However, the mark is accompanied by an arrow pointing to downward trends.
ZAGREB, Oct 15 (Hina) - Croatia's credit rating for October remains
unchanged - DB4d, which categorises the country as one of moderate
investment risk, the international credit rating agency
Dun&Bradstreet said in its latest report. However, the mark is
accompanied by an arrow pointing to downward trends. #L#
Although the country's economy in this year's first three months
saw a growth rate of 4.2% and industrial production in the first
seven months increased by 5.8%, D&B analysts warn about the growing
effect of extremely unfavourable indicators pointing to an
increase in the trade deficit. With an increase in imports of 21.3%
and an export growth rate of only 1.7% in relation to last year's
first seven months, the trade deficit in late July amounted to
USD2.7 billion.
Based on such data, carried by the Zagreb-based agency Bonline, D&B
has changed its previous forecast about the country's balance-of-
payments current account deficit from 3.3% to 4.2% of GDP in this
year, and from 2.7 to 3.5% in the next year.
At the same time, the agency has also changed its previous forecasts
about this year's budget deficit from 4.9 to 5.2% of GDP.
The main factor affecting the realisation of the government's
economic goals and its efforts to decrease the budgetary deficit is
the poor performance of privatisation receipts. Of the 6.8 billion
kuna (approx. USD829 million) of planned revenues, a total of 163.4
million kuna have been realised in the first seven months. While the
Croatian government still expects to sell the Croatia Osiguranje
insurance company and two banks by the end of this year, its
expectations may be over-optimistic given the current global
economic climate, the agency believes.
(hina) rml