December 4 (SeeNews) - Croatia's finance minister Zdravko Maric said the government has saved over 800 million kuna ($125.7 million/105.9 million euro) in 2017 through debt restructuring and refinancing, local media reported on Monday.
Croatia has reduced its debt fast, news agency Hina quoted Maric as saying. He added that austerity measures had saved the country 762 million kuna in 2016.
"We made significant progress over the past two years and through a series of domestic and international transactions we have restructured and refinanced our existing obligations, but also the overall debts and by doing so we have reduced the price of debt within a very short time," Maric said on the sidelines of international conference Economic Growth in the European Union: Benefits for Croatia.
He pointed out that Croatia's credit rating is expected to be upgraded in 2018, owing to positive trends in public financing.
Also on Monday, Austria's Erste Group predicted Croatia's debt-to-GDP ratio will move towards 80% in the upcoming quarters.
(1 euro=7.55427 kuna)