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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 9, 1996

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Czech and Slovak American Enterprise Fund Interim Board

The President has designated an interim Board of Directors for the Czech and Slovak American Enterprise Fund (CSAEF), a $65 million fund created in 1991 to promote private sector activity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The following persons have been named to the CSAEF's new interim Board of Directors: John J. Cavanaugh (Chair), Chairman and CEO of Summit Limited and a former member of the United States House of Representatives, from Omaha, Nebraska; E. Patrick Coady, Managing Partner of Trinity International Partners, Washington, D.C. and former U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank; and Hughlyn F. Fierce, retired Senior Vice President of Chase Fund.

The interim Board of Directors of the CSAEF has been asked to serve for a limited period, during which it will oversee the management of the Fund and will make recommendations to the U.S. Government on the Fund's long-term structure and direction.

The CSAEF, with offices in Washington, Prague and Bratislava, has been in operation for almost five years. Since its inception, the Fund has invested over $26 million in a combination of loans and equity to 96 small and medium-sized companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Fund has also provided $2.9 million in technical assistance grants for private sector development in the two countries.

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