January 26 (SeeNews) - Croatia plans to cut its public debt to 75.3% of GDP by the end of 2019, from 83.9% at the end of last year, the country's finance minister said on Thursday.
Croatia's public debt is projected to fall to 81.5% of GDP at the end of 2017, and further on to 78.6% of GDP in 2018, Zdravko Maric said during a weekly session of the government.
Croatia closed 2015 with a public debt of 86.7% of GDP.
The reduction of the public debt will come as a result of economic growth, continued fiscal consolidation and better use of state assets, Maric explained.
He added that the government will bring down the budget deficit to 1.6% of GDP at the end of this year, and strive to cut it to 0.6% in 2019.
Croatia reduced its deficit below the EU's ceiling of 3% in 2016, following substantial consolidation efforts, Maric also said, without elaborating.
Croatia will issue a bond on the domestic market in the next two weeks to refinance a 10-year bond worth 5.5 billion kuna ($785.7 million/734.3 million euro), Maric also said.
It will also tap the foreign market in early March to refinance a foreign bond worth $1.5 billion and maturing in late April.
Towards the end of the year, the country will issue another domestic bond valued at 4 billion kuna.
The government projects that the country's economy will expand by 3.2% in 2017.
(1 euro= 7.4886 kuna)