ZAGREB, March 31 (Hina) - Croatia's economic growth this year will be burdened by a high external debt which will cause monetary and fiscal restrictions. As a result, the annual national growth rate will fall below four
percent.
vo-Gospodarski pokazatelji
ZAGREB, March 31 (Hina) - Croatia's economic growth this year will be
burdened by a high external debt which will cause monetary and fiscal
restrictions. As a result, the annual national growth rate will fall
below four percent.#L#
These projections were presented on Wednesday by Ivan Sutalo,
assistant head of the Central Bureau of Statistics, who said last
year's Gross Domestic Product rose by 4.3 percent.
Saying that economists cannot give accurate projections, Sutalo said
that according to his rough estimate, the national growth rate in 2004
would be between three and 3.5 percent.
The growth has so far ben based on the foreign debt, which has also
been used for financing loans which triggered off a rise in personal
consumption as well as most investments. The need for decelerating the
foreign debt could lead to a slower rise in this year's GDP, Sutalo
said.
Figures on the export of goods and services on the balance of payment
of the Croatian National Bank (HNB), indicate a rise of 10.1 percent
in real terms in 2003 in comparison to 2002, while imports increased
by 10.9 percent. Last year saw a relative reduction in the
discrepancies between exports and imports, Sutalo added.
Describing this as a herald of recovery, Sutalo warned that an
overdraft in the balance of payments could in the long run undermine
the entire macroeconomic stability. On the other hand, a rise in
exports will enable the growth rate to be higher than the growth rate
in the foreign debt and solve the high unemployment which has been
present in Croatia for long time.
(Hina) ms sb