BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH

HR-BONDS-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3668HINA Zagreb, June 23 2000MINISTER CRKVENAC SUCCESSFUL IN SELLING GOVT BONDS IN JAPANZAGREB/TOKYO, June 23 (Hina) - Croatian Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac is on a visit to Japan, where he is trying to sell government bonds with the help of Deputy Prime Minister Slavko Linic. Japanese financiers have been sold as much as US$350 million worth of government bonds under exceptionally favourable terms - a seven year deadline and an annual interest rate of only three percent, Croatian Television reported on Friday. "Until now, we paid interest rates of seven or even 12 percent on government bonds, both on the Japanese and European markets. However, the most important thing is that the new loan will help us settle old commitments which were undertaken under much less favourable terms," Crkvenac said. He added the bonds would "help bridge the time gaps between the influx of revenues and spending, and serve