D&B TO DISCUSS BETTER CREDIT RATING FOR CROATIA - SAYS ANALYST

ZAGREB, Jan 11 (Hina) - Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), one of the world's leading agencies for business information and credit rating, recently decided to discuss allocating Croatia a better credit rating in the wake of the results of recent parliamentary elections. Business risk for foreign investors will decrease according to how the new government implements necessary changes, D&B analyst Meirion Board told Hina on Tuesday. The latest D&B estimates regarding Croatia reflect the agency's earlier position that political risk in Croatia could decrease after the Opposition's victory at parliamentary elections. It was assumed Croatia would then be capable of implementing necessary economic reforms. Assessing that the victory of the SDP/HSLS coalition at the January 3 elections increased the possibility of Croatia's implementing reforms in the economy, Board pointed out a better credit rating also depended on the resistance to announced reforms, as well as on the results of impending presidential elections. Board said the new government was expected to incite economic revival and integration with Western institutions. According to the D&B analyst, business risk for foreign investors in Croatia could decrease if the new government managed to introduce necessary reforms, by alleviating the liquidity crisis and proclaiming some companies insolvent. Ultimately, investors have to be sure their investments will generate profit, Board asserted. D&B in its latest report for January, drawn up before the January 3 parliamentary elections, gave Croatia the DB5b credit rating, which has remained unaltered for a year. This ranks Croatia ninth among 24 countries of Central and East Europe, and 91st among 131 countries rated by D&B. DB5b stands for high risk area for investors, an area with a considerable amount of insecurity in which only transactions with high returns are recommended. (hina) ha