- Published: 02.02.2017.
PM Plenkovic says Croatia starts 2017 with encouraging indicators
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said that Croatia ushered in the new year in a positive atmosphere boosted by positive economic indicators and positive assessments made by international credit ratings.
Commenting on the improved assessments from Fitch and Standard & Poor's that have recently revised upward Croatia's economic outlook from negative to stable, Plenkovic said at the start of his cabinet's meeting in Zagreb on Thursday that he believed that "it is encouraging how major international credit ratings agencies perceive us and how they are looking at our fiscal and economic policy and efforts we are making in the economic growth and in prudent and rational public finance governance."
He expressed hope that Moody's would also appreciate the efforts made by his cabinet.
Last week, Fitch Ratings revised the Outlook on Croatia's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDRs at 'BB'.
The premier underscored the latest statistics showing a 14.9% jump in the country's industrial production in December 2016.
Industrial production in Croatia increased in December 2016 for the 23rd consecutive month, by 14.9%, which is the highest increase since 2001. The national statistical office (DZS) said this past Monday that according to working-day adjusted data, industrial output in December last year grew by 4% compared to the previous month.
"These figures are excellent, too and it is good to see that Croatia's industrial output is on the rise." Plenkovic said.
"In addition, unemployment is declining and we can say that we entered 2017 with encouraging figures."
In December 2016, Croatia saw the sharpest drop in unemployment annually, Eurostat data show. In Croatia, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate, defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), was 11.4% in December 2016, unchanged from the previous month. Annually, the unemployment rate in Croatia fell by 3.6 percentage points (from 15.0% to 11.4%), the largest decrease among the EU member states. Croatia had recorded the sharpest annual drops in unemployment for five consecutive months.
Commenting on the Croatian President's economic council recommendations, presented on Wednesday, Plenkovic said that those were a set of suggestions that could help the government to accomplish the fundamental objective of ensuring the economic growth and development.
"I believe that some of those suggestions which we find compatible and meaningful will be incorporated into our activities," Plenkovic said.
Text: Hina