The Delegation Of The CBBH Visited The People's Bank Of China

Expansion of Cooperation Between The Monetary Institutions

Upon the invitation of the Governor of the People's Bank of PR China Zhou Xiaochuan, the delegation of the CBBH, led by the Governor, visited in return the aforementioned institution and held a series of bilateral meetings with the highest officials.

Key topics of talks were based on the challenges of managing monetary policy during the global financial crisis, and the consideration of modalities for the promotion of foreign trade exchange between the PR China and BH, which was mutually assessed as insufficient given the potentials.

One of the main topics was the development of the economic conditions in the SEE region during the past few years, with particular focus on BH. Although the figures relating to the economy of PR China and BH cannot compare, the exchange of experience in the field of managing monetary policy during the crisis was interesting.

During the talks there were presented the macroeconomic data for BH. Stating the macroeconomic data, the Governor of the CBBH, Kemal Kozarić, Ph.D., listed the biggest challenges that BH faced since the beginning of the crisis in 2008, being the decline in economic activity, high unemployment rate, amounting to 28%, and the slow economic recovery, seen in a low GDP rate.

„The positive thing is that the monetary and fiscal stability has been preserved, which can be confirmed through the fact that the banking system remained stable and still serving to the economy of BH. This is confirmed by the results of the stress tests. However, the effects of the crisis on the banking sector are evident from the data on the NPL, which amounted to 12.7% in the end of 2012. We are looking forward to the projections of potential positive developments in economic trends during year 2013, such as the increase in credit activities and a slight increase of GDP", the Governor pointed out.

Along with the discussion on macroeconomic trends, the representatives of two Central Banks discussed also on the subject of mutual cooperation, related to which, the People's Bank of PR China offered its educational capacities for education and training needs of CBBH employees.

Most of the discussion was devoted to the consideration of increasing the foreign trade exchange between the two countries. The hosts have confirmed that there is a big interest of Chinese authorities for BH and the whole region, as confirmed by recently approved credit line of the Chinese Government for 16 countries in the region, including BH, in the amount of USD 10 billion. When it comes to BH, the biggest interest was shown for the electric energy sector and water resources.

The representatives of the CBBH stressed the readiness to host the meeting of Chinese investors with local companies, with the aim of achieving a more efficient contact and increase the volume of foreign trade.

Zorica Zirojević, from the Embassy of BH in Beijing, who also helped the organization of this visit, attended all meetings of the CBBH's delegations with the representatives of the Peoples Bank of PR China.

Public Relations Section