CROATIAN ECONOMY GETS GOOD MARKS FROM IMF - SKREB

ZAGREB, Feb 7 (Hina) - The Croatian economy got good marks at an international conference on countries in transition, said Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor, Marko Skreb, upon his arrival from Washington where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) organised the event. On Saturday evening Skreb returned from the United States where he had also held several separate meetings with officials of the IMF and the World Bank. No doubt Croatia is among the best countries in transition according to some indicators, the Central Bank's Governor, said adding that this referred primarily to the macroeconomic stability. But, it is clear that questions such as privatisation did not obtain good grades, Skreb said adding that some other countries had achieved much better results in privatisation and in the enhancement of efficiency. Skreb said IMF experts commended a US$ 1.1 billion decrease in Croatia's trade deficit in 1998. However, considering the fact that its trade deficit amounts to 7.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GNP), such deficit is still high and should be cut back. The IMF described Croatia's new law on banks as positive, the Governor said adding that the IMF warned that Croatia's state budget could not be filled by means from the privatisation as quickly as Croatia expected given that a crisis occurred at the world money market. The IMF welcomed the appointment of temporary trustees for troubled banks in Croatia, he said. The message which the IMF forwarded to all countries in transition was to maintain macroeconomic stability as well as to establish efficient tax administration which will be able to ensure revenue and to have a stable financial system, he added. Asked by a reporter about frequent speculations about possible devaluation of the Croatian currency, Skreb replied that kuna had no fixed rate of exchange so that a recent fall in the value of kuna was just a seasonal occurrence. (hina) ms