|
Macedonia
successfully
completed
stand-by
arrangements
with
IMF,
Popovski
says
Skopje,
August
4
(MIA)
-
At
Wednesday's
press
conference,
Finance
Minister
Nikola
Popovski
stressed
that
he
was
not
surprised
by
the
positive
estimations
of
the
first
international
credit
rating
of
the
country
since
its
independence.
"We
expected
this,
because
the
acquiring
of
the
credit
rating
was
one
of
my
main
priorities",
Popovski
said,
adding
that
the
preparations
of
this
plan
began
in
January,
with
the
signing
of
agreements
with
two
of
the
three
world
leading
companies
for
preparation
of
a
credit
rating
-
"Standard
and
Poor's"
and
"Mudis".
"'Standard
and
Poor's'
prepared
the
assessment
and
the
credit
rating,
with
an
expectation
for
'Mudis'
to
do
the
same
in
30-50
days",
Popovski
stated.
World-renowned
house
for
determination
and
monitoring
of
the
credit
rating
"Standard
and
Poor's"
marked
Macedonia
with
a
BB/positive
rank,
and
a
total
positive
mark,
out
of
the
four
main
and
four
sub-rankings,
which
are
marked
with
letters
A
to
D,
triple
A
(AAA)
being
the
highest
rating
a
state
can
receive.
This
international
estimation
on
Macedonia's
capability
to
fulfill
domestic
and
foreign
financial
obligations
provides
a
wider
assessment
on
the
capability
of
business
entities
in
the
state.
The
credit
rating
is
a
kind
of
an
ID
of
Macedonia,
if
a
foreign
business
entity
or
financial
partners
want
to
make
a
deal
with
the
state
or
certain
companies.
It
is
considered
that
the
assessment
is
very
important
for
attraction
of
foreign
investment
and
future
EU
accession.
According
to
the
explanation
of
company
"Standard
and
Poor's",
the
rating
is
based
on
the
significant
progress
in
the
political
stability
of
Macedonia
according
to
the
Ohrid
Framework
Agreement,
and
the
perspectives
for
EU
membership,
as
well
as
the
macroeconomic
stability
and
the
controlled
level
of
foreign
obligations.
Minister
Popovski
informed
that
the
Board
of
Directors
of
the
International
Monetary
Fund
(IMF)
reviewed
the
Stand-by
arrangement
with
Macedonia
on
August
2,
and
analyzed
the
prior
experiences
from
the
arrangements
between
Macedonia
and
IMF.
"The
Board
concluded
that
Macedonia
successfully
completed
the
Stand-by
arrangement
and
fulfilled
all
criteria
for
execution
of
the
Program,
thus
enabling
the
realization
of
the
essential
macroeconomic
goals
provided
with
the
arrangement,
among
which
preservation
of
the
low
inflation
rate
and
decrease
of
the
high
budget
deficit",
Popovski
stated.
"We
expect
to
receive
the
last
two
installments
of
the
arrangement
in
the
following
few
days
in
amount
of
$9
million",
Popovski
said,
adding
that
the
IMF
mission
would
come
to
Macedonia
in
mid-October
for
discussions
on
a
new
mid-term
arrangement
between
Macedonia
and
IMF.
According
to
Finance
Minister's
expectations,
the
industrial
production
in
July
2004
in
relation
to
the
one
of
July
2003
should
be
equal.
"If
there
was
a
decreasing
trend
by
May
due
to
the
non-operating
of
'Balkan
Steel'
and
the
Veles
Smeltery,
we
have
had
an
increasing
trend
in
June,
which
should
be
preserved
by
the
end
of
2004.
There
is
no
blow
to
the
industrial
production,
i.e.
one
factory
dragged
the
results
downwards,
but
it
has
now
restarted
its
production,
with
an
expectation
to
reach
the
zenith
of
its
technological
capacity",
Finance
Minister
Nikola
Popovski
stated.
hs/ik/15:45/mia/MTnet/
###
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2000
MIA
-
Macedonian
Information
Agency.
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Rights
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