VOUCHER PRIVATISATION: ROUND ZERO STARTS FOR GOOD

( Editorial: --> 3395 ) ZAGREB, March 30 (Hina) - After several false starts, Round Zero of the voucher privatisation finally opened on Monday and will last for a fortnight. Round Zero involves 56 companies from the areas liberated in the Flash and Storm operations, which account for two percent of the total value of companies participating in the voucher privatisation, which has been assessed at 12 billion kuna, according to the Croatian Privatisation Fund. Only individual voucher holders are entitled to participate in Round Zero, while rounds one to three will also involve Privatisation and Investment Funds (PIFs). The employees of the participating companies will have the highest priority in acquiring shares. The main reason for delays in implementing Round Zero concerned difficulties in establishing a list of participating companies. The most valuable of the companies offered in Round Zero is the Glina-based Cotton Mill, assessed at 60 million kuna. The offer includes 13 veterinary stations and several textile companies and industrial farms which some have qualified as hardly likely to set investors' pulses racing. Other, more likely starters, which will be involved in the following rounds, include the Nama megastore chain and hotels such as Internacional and Intercontinental, Marija Trudic with the Croatian Privatisation Fund said on Monday. Round Zero will be followed by a two-week breather necessary for compiling and processing new data. Round One is scheduled to begin in mid-May. (hina) as/mrb 301421 MET mar 98