I was a critic of past economic policies. I cannot afford to miss the chance to implement my ideas. These ideas span all the spheres of Macedonia's economy. VAT was introduced and immediately generated a budget surplus that was used to pay off internal debt and to reduce other taxes. VAT had an adverse effect on inflation.
Foreign banks are interested in opening branches here.
This will greatly enhance the competition and revitalize the banking sector. During the 1999 Kosovo crisis, Western investors and trading partners escaped. Greek investors, who know this region better, came in and picked up enterprises at bargain basement prices. I hope investors from other countries learned the lesson. Since the current crisis started, we have sold our biggest bakery Zhito Lux and our biggest fairgrounds Skopski Saem to Greek and Slovenian investors.