01/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, Eurostat took a decision on the sectoral classification of a state owned real estate corporation in Austria, the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) and on the treatment of the transfer of government real estate to BIG. The transfer will not be treated as a market sale but as a restructuring in the context of improved management of state owned real estate. Moreover, Eurostat decided that BIG is an institutional unit and is to be classified in the "non-financial corporations" sector. This has the effect that BIG's debt is not included in the general government sector's debt. This decision complies with the European System of Accounts (ESA 95) and is consistent with the opinion of the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB).