Problem of the Czech economy resolved. Industry and Trade Minister Miroslav Grégr said that the 18% of Czech companies, whose assets are mismanaged or their activities halted for various reasons, brakes the economic growth in the Czech Republic. According to Grégr, a fast resolution of their situation is necessary for higher competitiveness, lower trade deficit and increasing state budget revenues. The problem concerns Tatra, Zetor and Škoda among others.
EBRD released "Transition 2001" report covering all CEE countries. As for the Czech Republic, EBRD advises to strengthen the legal framework for enterprises, enforce creditor rights, and work out bad loans transferred to the Czech Consolidation Agency. Like other institutions, EBRD criticized loose fiscal policy, particularly increasingly generous social payments and enterprise subsidies. EBRD expects GDP in the Czech Republic to increase by 3.0% in 2002.
OECD released a similar document as EBRD. Also OECD criticized widening public finance deficits. OECD recommended that the government should, instead of raising expenditures, use the privatization revenues to reduce the public debt. Considering the global economic recession, OECD warns against the danger that foreign investments in the Czech Republic could lessen to the level at which they would be insufficient to cover the current account deficit. OECD diminished its GDP growth forecast for the Czech Republic to 2.7% from 3.5%.