Macedonian economy will exit recession in the first quarter this year, Minister of Finance Zoran Stavreski said during today’s visit in Krusevo.
 
– According to the data of the last months of 2009, when industrial production increased by 4 percents in November and by 20 percents in December, Macedonian economy is already exiting recession. I expect for the Macedonian economy to also formally exit recession in the first quarter this year and recovery will gradually begin. Probably by the end of this year, the growth will gradually increase and I expect at least 2 percents growth for the whole year, Minister said.
 
Stavreski did not want to comment on how much the excises on old vehicles when imported will reduce. However, he announced that the news will be favourable for the citizens.
 
– Be patient another two-three days. Analyses for excises are almost completed and as a result of market sensitivity, I could not give any statements on the solutions. However, the solutions will be positive and favourable for the citizens and they can expect good news, he added. Regarding the reduction of interest rates on credits, Minister of Finance explains that the level of crediting should also increase.
 
– There are several factors positively influencing and contributing to cutting interest rates. Reduction of reference interest rate of the Central Bank, as well as she new Law on Contracts and Torts, according to which the Government reduced the default interest rates for natural persons by three percentage points and by one percentage point for legal entities, obliging the commercial banks to also reduce the contractual interest rates. There is also the reduction of interest rates on treasury bills of the Ministry of Finance by only 5 percents at the auction in February. All these factors contribute to reducing credit costs. It is important not only for the credit costs to drop but also for conditions for more credits to be created, for the volume of credits to increase. This requires loosening of monetary policy and disciplined conduct of fiscal policy, to which we committed ourselves, Minister Stavreski pointed out.
 
He rejects the accusations of opposition that the country borrowed seven new credits in the amount of around EUR 300 million for a period of six months and that they are spent in an unproductive manner.Everything is under control as regards the financing.
 
-In conditions of economic crisis, all countries in the world increased the level of support they require from the financial institutions so as to offset the consequences of the crisis. Thus, in order for Macedonia to be able to realize more infrastructure projects, it has to request credit support from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and other institutions. The fact that we repaid the debt in 2007 and 2008, showing good economic performance is also a good signal. Thus, we reduced the level of country indebtedness, creating conditions and possibilities, when facing difficult times such as in 2009 and 2010, to help the Macedonian economy with an additional financial injection. It was exactly this that helped the Macedonian economy in 2009 to show the third best performance in Europe. So, everything is under control as far as financing is concerned, Minister Zoran Stavreski said.(MIA)
