New Possibilities for Croatian Investments Abroad

Cooperation Agreement between HBOR and MIGA Opens New Possibilities for Croatian Investments Abroad

WASHINGTON, DC, October 4, 2004—HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency), a member of World Bank Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which aims to determine key areas of cooperation between the two institutions. The President of HBOR's Management Board, Anton Kovacev, and MIGA's Executive Vice President, Yukiko Omura, signed the agreement.

HBOR and MIGA will cooperate in providing support to foreign direct investment, primarily through insurance and reinsurance of projects in which one or the other institution issues guarantees or insurance policies for investments. The agreement would also enable more intensive experience and know-how transfer in the field of political risk insurance.

"This agreement represents an important step in strengthening business relations between HBOR and MIGA, opening thus additional possibilities for investments of Croatian companies abroad and also stimulating foreign investments into Croatia", stressed Anton Kovacev, president of HBOR's Management Board on the occasion of signing the agreement.

For its part, MIGA has been very active in the Western Balkan region, and has issued six guarantees for projects in Croatia. “The signing of this memorandum, as well as the recent launch of MIGA's European Investor Outreach Program for the promotion of investments in the Balkans, signal our commitment to increasing the flows of foreign investment into the region," said MIGA’s Executive Vice President Yukiko Omura. "By formalizing our cooperation with HBOR, we take this commitment one step further”.

HBOR was established in 1992 by the Republic of Croatia as a financial institution entirely owned by the state with the main task of financing economic and infrastructure reconstruction and development. As Croatia's sole specialized development and export finance bank, HBOR supports the government's economic and development policies, in particular by promoting exports through export credit financing and insurance, financing infrastructure projects, and promoting small and medium-sized enterprises.
For information
At HBOR:
Koraljka Perutka Fabijanic
tel: 385 (0)1 45 91 791
fax: 385 (0)1 45 91 790
eMail: kperutka@hbor.hr

At MIGA:
Federica Dal Bono
tel: 202.458.9292
fax: 202.522.0316
eMail: fdalbono@worldbank.org