SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 24 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria has set a 4.7% economic growth target in its budget draft for 2009, significantly lower than previous forecasts of over 6.0%, in view of expected repercussions of the global financial crisis in the country, 24 Hours daily reported on Friday.
“Concerns that the crisis will affect Bulgaria’s economy are mirrored in the budget draft. It has a GDP growth target of 4.7%,” 24 Hours quoted unnamed sources as saying.
Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Ivailo Kalfin forecast economic growth of 5.0% to 5.5% next year, cutting previous government projections for 6.0%-6.5% growth.
The International Monetary Fund and Italy’s UniCredit banking group have both projected that Bulgaria's economic growth would slow down to 4.2% in 2009. The government expects growth of 6.2%-6.5% in 2008, Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov said in August.
The ex-communist state of some 7.6 million people, which is running a huge current account deficit and operates a currency board regime that prevents the central bank from lending to the government, has pledged to stick to rigid fiscal policies, including the maintaining of a budget surplus of more than 3.0% of the projected GDP, in order to offset external shocks.
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