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EBRD keen to improve Slovenia’s competitiveness
Bank adopts new country strategy
Slovenia has recorded solid growth with low inflation and will be the first
new EU member to adopt the euro in January 2007. However, a number of key
transition challenges remain, particularly linked to reducing the influence of
the Government in the economy, as the EBRD says in its new strategy for
Slovenia.
A number of sectoral challenges which are key to improving Slovenia’s
competitiveness, can be usefully addressed by the EBRD:
• Supporting the Government’s stated intention to reduce its influence over
the economy through further privatisation.
• Improving the availability of specialised financial instruments, like long
term structured finance, equity and quasi-equity which offer yet unexploited
alternatives to support the private corporate sector, especially SMEs.
• Help defuse growing demand-supply imbalances in power sector, particularly
through improvements in energy conservation and the development of the market
for renewable energy projects.
Based on these findings the EBRD’s objectives for the strategy period will be:
• Provide equity and structured debt for local companies to fund their growth,
in particular in the context of cross border expansion.
• Stand ready to support viable privatisation structures of the remaining
state enterprises, in particular in the banking and insurance sectors.
• Strive to facilitate private sector involvement in infrastructure
development.
• Seek to develop an energy efficiency and renewable energy programme with the
support of the Government.
As of to date, the EBRD has invested €597 million in 27 projects in Slovenia.
The new country strategy was adopted after the launch of the Bank’s new
overall strategy in May 2006, which envisages the cessation of new investments
in the new EU member states by 2010.
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