ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - The question how much Croatia is indebted has often recently been raised in the public. According to statistic data, Croatia has about 2,150 dollars of foreign debt per capita.
ZAGREB, March 26 (Hina) - The question how much Croatia is indebted
has often recently been raised in the public.
According to statistic data, Croatia has about 2,150 dollars of
foreign debt per capita.#L#
In the mind of independent economists, Croatia is considerably in
debt according to the manner how means from foreign debts have been
used to date.
Apart from different assessments on the moderate or huge
indebtedness, one of more important issues is which consequences
and impact this indebtedness is producing and how much efficiently
foreign debts have been used.
Many indicators show that a substantial part of borrowed money has
not been used where it should have been - like the development of the
export-minded industry and services.
According to a new methodology for the evaluation, Croatia's
foreign debt totalled 9.67 billion US dollars in October last
year.
It made up almost 48 percent of the 1999 gross domestic product
(GDP) assessed to be $20.19 billion, read the March bulletin of the
Croatian National Bank.
Assessing the structure of the foreign debt, the state (state
administration and funds) owe $3.67 billion, or some 38 percent of
the total foreign debt.
Banks owe 1.998 billion , or over 20 percent, and other sectors
(non-financial companies, other financial institutions,
population) have incurred 3.5 billion or over 36 percent.
While commenting on the foreign debt of a country, one should bear
in mind the ratio between the debt and the GDP.
In 1996, Croatia's foreign debt made up 26.7 percent of the GDP, and
that year the rescheduled debts towards the Paris and London Clubs
were included in Croatia's foreign debt.
In 1997 it climbed to 37 percent of the GDP.
A year later the foreign debt made up 44 percent of Croatia's GDP,
and last year it came to 47.9 percent of the GDP.
It is generally known that the import of capital can help accelerate
the tempo of the economic growth if the capital is spent rationally.
In Croatia, however, a total economic activity has been reduced.
Last year saw the decrease of some 5.5 percent in the export of
commodities and services. The 1999 GDP is believed to be by one
percent smaller than the GDP in the year before.
Furthermore, some internal debts are coming to the open, and the
state must further incur debts to service regularly its foreign
debts.
The Government will have to take on new debts in order to pay back
6.2 billion kuna (some 775 million dollars) of the capital sum of
loans which should be collected this year.
In the beginning of this year it issued state bonds, valued 500
million euro with the maturity for five years and seven percent of
interest rates, and this means going in new debt to cover old
debts.
Last year, a level of the foreign debt's instalments that were
serviced rose to the six percent of the GDP, and this year it will go
over eight percent.
What is encouraging is the new Government's announcements that it
will give priority to exports and draft a new law on stimulating
foreign investments. The Economy Ministry have prepared that law
and recently forwarded the document to the Government.
(hina) ms