Page 82 - Ekonomija i Biznis_noemvri 2015.indd

EVENTS

DEBATE

“TIME OF LOW INTEREST RATES”

O n October 29, a debate took place challenging both globally and locally. How we
on the premises of the “Macedoni- got here, what are the consequences and op-
an Stock Exchange”, titled “Time of portunities for economic agents, is something
Low Interest Rates”, jointly organ- going to change in the forthcoming period? A
ized by the “Macedonian Stock Ex- very representative panel of experts debated on
change” and the magazine “Economy and Busi- all these issues.
ness”. The fact that the low interest rates have The video of the debate can be seen on the web
turned into economic environment that has sites of “Economy and Business” and “Macedo-
been going on for years, makes this a hot topic, nian Stock Exchange”.

Patrick Gitton, Patrick Gitton, IMF Resident Representative in Macedonia, pointed out that financial
IMF Resident markets are globally integrated and there are global factors that affect the savings/investment
Representative in ratio, i.e. the supply and demand for funds and can partially explain the reason why the
Macedonia interest rates are low on any of the financial markets. First, interest rates are low because
there is excess of savings, especially in the emerging countries and regions. Second, after the
82 global financial crisis, the appetite of the investors for safe funds, such as bonds, increased.
Third, the investments in the developed countries decreased. All these caused a decline in the
interest rates. Gitton emphasized that it is hard to predict what will happen in the future, but
that the majority of analysts believe that in a medium run the interest rates will increase, but
will not reach the level from the past.

November 2015