"We have raised the HBOR's stock capital from HRK 180 million to 600 million and next year we will go up to HRK 700 million, which will make the HBOR a strong instrument that can stand behind our exporters," Cacic said opening the HBOR's 11th international conference on export stimulation in Petrcane near the costal town of Zadar which drew 160 representatives of export companies and financial institutions.
Cacic said the HBOR would be able to back major projects in shipbuilding and the energy sector.
He said the export of goods and services accounted for 40 per cent of Croatia's gross domestic product, so strengthening the position of exporters was a priority.
Cacic said that whereas the government was increasing investments by one-third, commercial banks, 95 per cent of which were owned by large foreign banks, did no favours to exporters with their defensive policy.
He said exporters must prove themselves on the domestic market as well, adding that excellence must be achieved in domestic production and that subventions should no longer be given to ailing companies but those which were doing well to help them achieve excellence.
CEO Anton Kovacev said the HBOR would continue to encourage investors. The bank is marking its 20th anniversary this year.
Kovacev said that from its beginning through this past August, the HBOR had approved more than HRK 32 billion in loans for exports and insured export deals worth nearly HRK 16 billion. In this year's first eight months, the bank supported Croatian exporters with HRK 5.5 billion.
Participants in the conference underlined the need to step up the preparation of projects to be financed from the EU's structural funds.
Asked by the press to comment on the fact that GDP decline in Q2 2012 was 2.2% and not 2.1% as initially predicted, Cacic said it was a statistical error. "Whether the decline is 2.13 or 2.18, there's no need to comment."
Asked if he anticipated a GDP turnaround by the end of the year, he said that in big investments and projects nothing happened in 30 days or even six months.
He said some projects, like the energy projects Plomin, Kosinj or Dubrovik II, would be agreed in the first quarter of 2013, with construction to begin in the first half of the year. He added that many small but important projects, such as private projects and investing in wind farms, were being agreed. Projects worth EUR 150 million are currently being agreed for implementation in 2013 and they will impact GDP and growth, said Cacic.
Asked to comment on the announcement that 20,000 people in the public sector would be laid off, he said no one would be laid-off but that those were people who would go into retirement.
(EUR 1 = HRK 7.39)