CROATIAN ECONOMY CONFERENCE BEGINS IN OPATIJA ( Editorial: --> 0019 )

( Editorial: --> 0019 ) OPATIJA, Nov 20 (Hina) - A two-day conference of Croatian economists began in the north-Adriatic tourist resort of Opatija on Thursday. The conference is called "Croatia's Economic Policy - What and How in 1998". Participants said Croatia needed to transfer from a macroeconomic stability maintenance policy to an economic development policy. According to Vladimir Veselica, president of the Croatian Economists Association, the results of Croatian economic transition ranged from very good to very poor. The degree of stability of economic trends was assessed as very good. Poor assessments referred to a low development rate in relation to prewar 1989, a low growth rate of the gross domestic product, a high lack of liquid funds, a low level of investments and privatization accompanied by big social deviations and tensions. According to Mato Crkvenac, the realized growth was insufficient for Croatia's needs. Zeljko Rohatinski said it was necessary to invest in manufacturing, since 81,000 out of 177,000 Croatian companies were trading companies. Up to 70 percent of Croatian economy was in private or mixed ownership which, he said, caused conflict among individual and collective interests. (hina) ha jn 201646 MET nov 97