CRO PRIVATISATION FUND SEVERS ALMOST 180,000 CONTRACTS

ZAGREB, March 23 (Hina) - With this date, March 23, the Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP), severed almost 180,000 agreements on the purchase of shares, nominally valued 2.8 billion German marks (or over 11 billion kuna). In this case, DM 958 million-valued shares have been paid off and remained with their owners, while DM 1.8 billion-valued shares have been returned to the HFP portfolio. At the moment, shares valued 9.5 billion kuna (about 2.35 billion marks) are available to the Fund, and it makes up 10 percent of the nominal value of 2,600 firms at the beginning of (ownership) transformation, the Fund's head, Stipe Hrkac, told a news conference on Tuesday. He added that most portfolios of shares available to the Fund are in fact the shares which have been returned due to the break of the contracts or failures to be paid. He told reporters that out of a total 578,469 contracts concluded for the purchase of the shares with reduced prices, 154,741 deals were terminated, and the value of the severed agreements was 845 million marks. Out of 42,103 agreements on the purchase of shares without discount, 20,486 contracts have been severed the value of which amounted to 95 million marks. The Fund's leaders said people with whom the Fund broke the agreements on the buying of any company, were not and would not be offered to buy shares. (hina) ms