CROATIAN COMPANIES IN DEBT US2 BILLION

ZAGREB, Dec 15 (Hina) - The total amount of unpaid money orders from companies with significant overdrafts has by the end of November in Croatia reached a total of US$2 billion. This is 5.6 percent more than the previous month and 32.8 percent more than October 1997. These figures do not show the total debts of legal entities, but the amount of registered money orders whose payment had no liquid assets on the accounts of 26,959 insolvent companies. According to figures from the Bureau for Payment Transactions, the number of insolvent companies is higher by 2.2 percent than in September, and 36.4 percent higher than in November last year. These companies employed 166,893 people, or 4.5 percent more than the previous month. The highest number of insolvent companies, 23,308, along with the highest amount of unpaid money orders, US$1.3 billion, was registered in privately owned companies. The highest amount of unpaid money orders were recorded in retail shops. The largest part of registered unpaid money orders related to individuals from Zagreb and the Split-Dalmatian County in southern Croatia. Monetary funds of legal entities on transfer accounts by October 31 this year amounted to US$1.8 billion, which is 8.3 percent less than the previous month. (hina) jn ab/ha