FinMin: Government bonds to be presented to possible investors next week

Croatian Finance Minister Ivan Suker said on Tuesday that he would visit five or six international stock markets next week to present government bonds to possible investors.

"Next week, we will go on a road show during which we will visit five to six stock markets and present to investors Croatia's economic and monetary policy, and everything else we could attract investors with," Suker said at a news conference the Croatian Reconstruction and Development Bank (HBOR) held to present measures designed to alleviate the effects of the global economic crisis on the national economy.
Suker said that the value of the government bonds to be presented next week was EUR 750 million.

He would not comment on media reports that the government could opt for another issue of euro-bonds in the autumn, or on the possibility of a new budget revision.
"What will happen in the autumn will depend on what the situation will be like then," the minister said.
Asked how the budget had been filled in the first four months of this year, Suker said that "revenues were 4-5 percent below last year's budget execution".
He added that revenues from VAT and excise taxes had dropped much more.

Revenues from contributions are as expected, but the effect of the budget revision on contributions will be visible after the payment of reduced salaries of government and public servants, Suker said.
The HBOR has maintained its credit activity at last year's level and in the first four months of this year it granted more than two billion kuna in loans. It has launched a new working capital credit programme and a production credit programme, as well as made changes to the existing programmes in a bid to alleviate the impact of the global economic crisis, HBOR officials said at the news conference.

The HBOR will do its best to ensure, with the government's support, enough funds to prevent credit activity in 2009 from falling below last year's, HBOR Management Board chairman Anton Kovacev said.
So far, the HBOR has ensured around EUR 380 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the German KfW development bank, and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). It also plans to sign new credit agreements with the World Bank, the KfW, the CEB and the EIB in order to finance export and tourism.

We have managed to ensure around EUR 400 million, and once government bonds are issued, the HBOR is likely to issue its own bonds, said Finance Minister Suker, who chairs the HBOR Supervisory Board.
Even though previous estimates indicated a 30-percent drop in the HBOR's credit activity in 2009, we have managed to keep it at last year's level, said Kovacev.

He added that in the first four months of this year, the HBOR granted loans worth more than two billion kuna, of which HRK 900 million was granted to small and medium businesses and trades.
Demand for the HBOR's export programmes in the said period grew by around 30 percent and around HRK 500 million was granted in loans for that purpose, Kovacev said, adding, however, that this instrument of exporter protection had not been fully utilised.

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