PREOCCUPAZIONE E SCONCERTO DELL'AMBASCIATORE U.S.A.
PER LA GRAVITA' DELLA SITUAZIONE IN BOSNIA-ERZEGOVINA:
"E' MAI POSSIBILE CHE NON SIA STATO APERTO ANCORA
NEANCHE UN MAC DONALD'S?"
> Eternera Mailing List - http://get.to/eternera
(...)
> Why still no burger bars in Bosnia, asks US envoy
>
> SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Bosnia complained
> Tuesday about the pace of economic reform there, saying that five
> years after the civil war ended the world's most ubiquitous burger chain was still absent from its streets.
>
> Thomas Miller, speaking at a conference with other Western envoys,
> also said there had been recent "disturbing" developments in the
> privatization process.
>
> Miller said the fact that U.S. fast food giant McDonald's was not yet
> present in Bosnia was an example of difficulties facing foreign
> investors.
>
> "If you can't get McDonald's into a country you can't get anything into
> a country," he said. "We keep on cutting through red tape and there
> is more red tape before us still."
>
> "I really do hope that we'll all be eating McDonald's burgers by this
> fall," he said.
>
> Miller acknowledged that there had been some progress this year in the
> sell-off of state assets.
>
> But, he added: "There are a number of things that have developed in the
> last several months that we find disturbing."
>
> Miller cited as an example the sale earlier this month of the Holiday
> Inn hotel in Sarajevo, suggesting that more bidders should have
> participated.
>
> He estimated the hotel had been sold for less than $3 million in cash
> and in vouchers issued to compensate Bosnians for wartime losses such as
> frozen foreign currency savings.
>
> "Our concern is that there is a need for enough knowledgeable bidders
> in a process like this," he said. "Clearly if you're going to get the top price
> for a property like this you need to treat domestic and foreign
> investors equally."
>
> The head of the European Commission's office in Sarajevo, Hansjorg
> Kretschmer, stressed the need for transparency in selling state
> property, saying there was otherwise a big risk that assets would be sold below
> their value.
>
> The privatization authorities earlier dismissed similar criticism,
> saying they had informed several potential foreign investors about the
> Holiday Inn tender and advertised it in international media.
>
> Western officials involved in work to rebuild Bosnia have often voiced
> frustration over what they see as a lack of local political commitment
> to implement structural reform designed to reduce Bosnia's dependence on
> massive foreign aid.
>
> They say such changes are crucial to attract foreign investments as
> donor assistance is starting to dry up.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
PER LA GRAVITA' DELLA SITUAZIONE IN BOSNIA-ERZEGOVINA:
"E' MAI POSSIBILE CHE NON SIA STATO APERTO ANCORA
NEANCHE UN MAC DONALD'S?"
> Eternera Mailing List - http://get.to/eternera
(...)
> Why still no burger bars in Bosnia, asks US envoy
>
> SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Bosnia complained
> Tuesday about the pace of economic reform there, saying that five
> years after the civil war ended the world's most ubiquitous burger chain was still absent from its streets.
>
> Thomas Miller, speaking at a conference with other Western envoys,
> also said there had been recent "disturbing" developments in the
> privatization process.
>
> Miller said the fact that U.S. fast food giant McDonald's was not yet
> present in Bosnia was an example of difficulties facing foreign
> investors.
>
> "If you can't get McDonald's into a country you can't get anything into
> a country," he said. "We keep on cutting through red tape and there
> is more red tape before us still."
>
> "I really do hope that we'll all be eating McDonald's burgers by this
> fall," he said.
>
> Miller acknowledged that there had been some progress this year in the
> sell-off of state assets.
>
> But, he added: "There are a number of things that have developed in the
> last several months that we find disturbing."
>
> Miller cited as an example the sale earlier this month of the Holiday
> Inn hotel in Sarajevo, suggesting that more bidders should have
> participated.
>
> He estimated the hotel had been sold for less than $3 million in cash
> and in vouchers issued to compensate Bosnians for wartime losses such as
> frozen foreign currency savings.
>
> "Our concern is that there is a need for enough knowledgeable bidders
> in a process like this," he said. "Clearly if you're going to get the top price
> for a property like this you need to treat domestic and foreign
> investors equally."
>
> The head of the European Commission's office in Sarajevo, Hansjorg
> Kretschmer, stressed the need for transparency in selling state
> property, saying there was otherwise a big risk that assets would be sold below
> their value.
>
> The privatization authorities earlier dismissed similar criticism,
> saying they had informed several potential foreign investors about the
> Holiday Inn tender and advertised it in international media.
>
> Western officials involved in work to rebuild Bosnia have often voiced
> frustration over what they see as a lack of local political commitment
> to implement structural reform designed to reduce Bosnia's dependence on
> massive foreign aid.
>
> They say such changes are crucial to attract foreign investments as
> donor assistance is starting to dry up.
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------