EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK REPS VISIT HBOR

ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - A delegation of the European Investment Bank (EIB) headed by the coordinator of a working group for the Balkans, Massimo d'Eufemia, held a working meeting with representatives of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR). EIB representatives are visiting Croatia in a fact-finding mission, coordinated by the Croatian Foreign Minister, with the aim of implementing projects which are part of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, the HBOR said in a statement Friday. The HBOR on Thursday presented EIB bankers with programmes of loans for reconstruction and development of small and middle-scale businesses, local infrastructure and the Bank's role in Croatia's economy in the segment of financing exports and securing political and commercial risks. Massimo d'Eufemia said he was considering the possibility of cooperation with HBOR in the areas of small and middle-scale businesses, tourism and local infrastructure. The EIB is a European Union's non-profit financial institution and functions by the principles of international financial institutions, which HBOR had adopted in its work. The EIB is a potential source for long-term loans (up to 15 years) with favourable interest rates, and finances 50 per cent of the value of projects, the statement read. (hina) lml