Greek crisis not expected to greatly affect Macedonia's economy
Skopje, 22 June 2011 (MIA) - The crisis in Greece is not a positive development for Macedonia's economy, however the consequences are not expected to affect the domestic economy more seriously, Vice PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski told reporters at a joint press conference on Wednesday with the Head of the IMF mission, Wes McGrew and the National Bank governor, Dimitar Bogov.
"The Greek crisis is surely not a positive event for the Macedonian economy, but on the other hand Macedonia's economy has successfully made up its loses caused by the Greek crisis by entering new markets. The fact that export in the first four months rises with a 44% rate when export in Greece decreases shows that the problem has been solved - Macedonian companies are present on other markets, said the minister.
He added that channels through which the crisis could be transferred in Macedonia were limited. "Nevertheless, it would be good the crisis to be settled in a normal fashion with Greece reaching an agreement with private investors to re-program their debt, thus reducing the risks and tensions," Stavreski said.
Wes McGrew also deems that the Greek crisis hasn't hit Macedonia greatly. "This is not a positive event in relation to some investments here, however country's banks are in stable situation without depending on their branches in Greece. Hopefully the situation will be stabilized, but till then risks are high," he added.
The crisis could spill into Macedonia through the banking sector, foreign trade and foreign direct investments (FDI).
Commenting foreign direct investments, governor Bogov said that Greece in the past 3-4 years was not one of the biggest foreign investors and that other countries had a dominant capital. "
FDIs in the first three months are pretty high after reaching 204 million euros," he noted.
http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId= ... 2&pmId=501-----
These are solid and very promising figures for Macedonia.
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