TWO CAPITAL MARKETS IN CROATIA BECAME MORE ACTIVE IN MAY

ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - The total turnover of securities at the Zagreb Stock Exchange and the Varazdin Securities Market (VTV) came to 194.4 million kuna (27.7 million dollars) in the first three months of 1999, or less than a half of the turnover registered in that period last year. In April and May, the turnover rose from 5.03 million kuna to 5.64 million at the Varazdin Securities Market, whereas the April turnover on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) was 18.9 million kuna and in May it climbed to 45.41 million kuna. In the last two months the number increased of securities traded on these two markets. On the ZSE the number climbed from 26 to 31, whereas on the Varazdin Market it increased from 20 to 22 securities, along with shares of privatisation investment funds (PIFs) of which two were active in April and seven in May. CROBEX, the official Zagreb Stock Exchange share index, rose in May by 5.36 percent to 746.2 points, whereas VIN, the official Varazdin Market share index increased by 2.94 percent to 280 points. According to data of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Macroeconomic Analysis Department, the turnover on the ZSE was 190.8 million kuna in the first three months of this year, whereas in the same period the turnover on the Varazdin Market was just 3.6 million kuna. On the ZSE, the biggest turnover was realised with shares of the pharmaceutical company, Pliva, and the Zagrebacka Bank. The biggest turnover on the other market was conducted with shares of Ericsson Nikola Tesla in the first three months of this year. (hina) ms