Thursday, 15 June 1995
Volume 2, Issue 115
BUSINESS NEWS
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**HUNGARY RESUMES FUNDING CAMPAIGN**
The International Monetary Fund this week starts detailed
discussions with Hungary on an economic program for sustained,
non-inflationary growth. The Hungarian government is hoping
the talks will lead to a long-awaited IMF agreement to extend
a standby lending facility later this year. Hungarian Prime
Minister Gyula Horn has been criticized for not securing the
agreement during a visit to the United States earlier this
month. The standby facility, which is expected to make a
credit line of some $300 million available, is important for
Hungary as the country badly needs an IMF seal of approval on
its economic reforms. Many foreign investors and
international aid organizations, including the World Bank, are
holding back on further investment in Hungary until the
standby facility is approved. A source close to the talks,
which are expected to start today, said the IMF team will meet
with finance ministry officials and the National Bank of
Hungary to work out the parameters of Hungary's 1996 budget.
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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.
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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
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date=6/14/95
type=correspondent report
number=2-180393
title=East Euro Economy (l only)
byline=Barry Wood
dateline=Prague
content=
voiced at:
Intro: In Eastern European economic developments wWdnesday
Hungary begins negotiations for a long delayed stand-by loan from
the International Monetary Fund and Slovakia says its economy is
growing at a brisk pace. V-o-A's Barry Wood reports.
Text: Slovakia's statistical office reports the economy grew at
a faster than anticipated five-point-eight percent pace in the
first quarter of this year. For all of 1995 Slovakia is
anticipating real economic growth of just under six percent.
That is considerably higher growth than is anticipated in either
neighboring Austria, Hungary or the Czech Republic. In 1994 the
Slovak economy grew just under five percent. Unemployment is 14
percent and inflation 11 percent (annually).
But despite relatively rapid growth living standards in Slovakia
have still not returned to the pre-transformation level of
1990. The Slovak statistical office says average monthly wages
fell 29 percent in real terms between 1990 and 1994. At the end
of last year the average Slovak household income was 362 dollars
per month.
In Hungary, I-M-F experts are in Budapest for detailed
discussions on the proposed stand-by loan the government hopes to
receive in the next few months. The I-M-F is examining the
proposed 1996 Hungarian budget to determine whether the
government's ambitious targets on deficit reduction can be
achieved. Hungary is looking for an I-M-F loan of about 300
million dollars.
Prime minister Gyula Horn said last week in Washington that
agreement on the I-M-F loan was near. The I-M-F stopped lending
to Hungary two years ago, complaining that the country was living
beyond its means and had not taken action to reduce the budget
and balance of payments deficits. In March the Horn government
did introduce tough austerity measures which were applauded by
the I-M-F. Hungary has Eastern Europe's largest foreign debt on
a per capita basis.
One of the uncertainties surrounding the negotiations involves
the ambitious estimate of over one billion dollars that Hungary
says it will earn this year and next from the sale of state owned
enterprises. (Signed)
neb/bdw/mh/cf
14-Jun-95 10:26 am edt (1426 utc)
nnnn
source: Voice of America
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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*][*] [*][*][*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
[*][*][*] [*][*][*] [*][*] [*][*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
*****************************************************************
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