The International Monetary Fund's latest projection of Croatia's GDP will not have a direct impact on the budget and planned deficit, Finance Minister Slavko Linic told the press in Zagreb on Tuesday after a meeting of Croatian exporters on the government's policy to encourage exports.
The IMF said earlier in the day that the Croatian economy was projected to contract by 1.1% this year, which was more than expected before, and to grow 1% next year. In its forecast published in April, the IMF had expected Croatian economic activity to decline 0.5% in 2012.
When asked if the state budget would be revised, Linic said that there would be changes within individual items of the budget, but that there would be no increase in expenditures or revenues. He added that the budget deficit would remain at 10 billion kuna as planned.
On the subject of the forthcoming annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Tokyo, Linic said that the Croatian delegation would take that opportunity to discuss the World Bank's support for structural changes and for both private and government projects in Croatia.
With the IMF we will discuss how we will end the year and projections for 2013, he said, adding that he would also use his time to meet with investors in order to successfully prepare the issue of government bonds for 2013.
Speaking of the privatisation of the 3. Maj shipyard, Linic said that any privatisation that involved a serious owner was acceptable. He said that all state-owned shipyards would be privatised before Croatia's entry into the European Union, scheduled for July 1 next year.
