FOREIGN INVESTORS' INTEREST IN CROATIA GROWS ( Editorial: --> 8088 )

( Editorial: --> 8088 ) SPLIT, Nov 4 (Hina) - The interest of foreign investors in investing into Croatia keeps growing, despite obstacles and recent pressures on the country, executive director of the Croatian Agency for Stimulation of Investments, Vanja Kalogjera said in Split on Tuesday. He stressed that in the past year a stronger interest in investing into Croatia was evident, adding that there was an increasing number of big corporations and business people who were calling the agency with questions. The reason for this was primarily the stable democratic authority in Croatia, Kalogjera said. Economic stability is an important factor in the interest of big corporations in Croatia - inflation which never exceeds four percent, the kuna which follows the stable trend of the German mark, stable reserves of the Croatian National Bank, and a tendency of increasing foreign exchange reserves. According to Kalogjera, about US$ 920 million and about DM 50 million had been invested into Croatia, and only in 1996 the amount of foreign investments was US$ 492 million and DM 30 million. The Tuborg company invested DM 75 million into the production of beer, Ericson invested DM 70 million into telecommunications systems, Vetropack Holding invested DM 58, Cement Portland DM 55 million etc. (hina) lm jn 041659 MET nov 97