November 11, 2020 - Croatian Infobip bought the American company OpenMarket for $300 million. It is a subsidiary of Amdocs, which, like Infobip, deals with SMS sending services.

"We can confirm that an OpenMarket purchase agreement has been signed with the seller, Amdocs. We are currently awaiting final details and will release more information today during the day," Infobip briefly confirmed on Index.hr.

This summer, Infobip raised more than $200 million in the first round of financing from the One Equity Partners investment fund.

After that success, they announced that it would help them expand the company in the United States through acquisitions.

Infobip started in 2006 as a small start-up company from Vodnjan in Istria. Today, with almost 15 years of experience in the IT industry, it employs more than 2,100 people globally and operates on six continents through 67 offices.

The reason for this success is Infobip's communication platform and services for businesses that can reach almost 7 billion users and things in more than 190 countries, thus enabling seamless mobile communication of businesses with their end-users - on every channel and device, at any time and no matter what part of the world they are in.

In 2018 alone, two-thirds of the world's population, or 4.7 billion people, used Infobip's services. The company collaborates and partners with leading mobile operators, messaging application companies, banks, e-commerce companies, social networks, and technology companies. Infobip is recognized worldwide as the winner of numerous awards for the quality of services it provides, collaborating with more than 300,000 clients; with the world's largest chat applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, and with globally known brands such as Virgin Megastore, Fear, Uber, Zendesk, Burger King and many others.

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November 11, 2020 - A look at the new measures in Sibenik-Knin County as cafes must shut at 10 pm starting Thursday.  

Dalmatinski Portal reports that in the past 24 hours in Sibenik-Knin County, 69 people were infected with COVID-19. These are 17 from the area of Sibenik, 11 from the area of Drnis, nine from the area of Knin, five from the area of Vodice, three from the area of Pirovac, two from the area of Bilice, and one person each from the area of Promina, Tribunj, Primosten, Ruzic and Ervenik.

Eight residents and one employee of the Mihek Home for Mentally Ill Adults, Sibenik branch, also became infected. Furthermore, eight people who currently reside in this county, and their place of residence is elsewhere, were infected.

The Sibenik Hospital Department of Infectious Diseases is treating 23 people, one of whom is on a ventilator. Others have milder clinical symptoms and are in self-isolation. There are currently 215 active cases of COVID-19.

In the last 24 hours, 91 samples were tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, 700 people are under health supervision and self-isolation measures.

The National Civil Protection Headquarters, at the proposal of the Civil Protection Headquarters of Sibenik-Knin County, amended the Decision on introducing necessary epidemiological measures for Sibenik-Knin County, which enters into force tomorrow.

The decision prohibits holding all public events and gatherings of more than 30 people in one place, except for sports competitions where there may be a maximum of as many competitors and officials as allowed by the competition regulations for each sport. A maximum of 50 people may be present at professional art performances and programs, cinema screenings, and exhibitions in museums, galleries, and other exhibition spaces with strict adherence to all prescribed epidemiological measures and special recommendations and instructions of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

The working hours of all types of catering facilities are limited until 10 pm. Visits to residents of social welfare institutions that provide accommodation services and exits of residents outside the premises and courtyards are prohibited unless conditioned for medical reasons.

At religious ceremonies indoors, the number of persons present is limited according to the space's size, so that at least 4 m2 of space must be provided for each person present. It is recommended to sports associations and other organized groups that do not participate in official competitions not to hold training, preparatory exercises, and recreational activities indoors.

It is recommended that private gatherings are not held. If a private gathering is still held, it is recommended to limit the gathering to members of the same or as few connected households as possible. It is recommended that sessions of representative bodies of local and regional self-government units be held via videoconference or other technologies for holding remote meetings.

It is recommended that employers organize work with the greatest possible distance between workers and maintain a minimum physical distance of at least 2 meters, whenever possible.

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As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 10th of November, 2020, although there has been no serious production of protective masks and disinfectants in Croatia until this year, primarily because they are relatively simple and cheap low value-added products, the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent disruption of logistics chains has seen the situation totally change and we're witnessing Croatian companies that have, to a greater or lesser extent, seriously entered this segment. One of them is Medikor, which is primarily a representative of numerous medical brands for the Croatian market, such as Omron and Beurer, and they also decided to develop their own project of protective masks.

Technology, design and packaging

As was explained from Medikor, the current situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic was an additional incentive for them to devise the concept of a face mask that they believe is the optimal combination of protection and comfort for the end user.

"The concept of Mask in mask wasn't just created overnight, it was worked on for months by experts from Medikor who, with dedicated work, invested their knowledge and conducted research, and as such created a quality product available to everyone. In the entire production process, we had only one thing in mind: to create a high-quality product respecting all set standards, and with practicality and cost-effectiveness to make it desirable to those for whom it is intended. When we add the involvement of several Croatian factories in the production process to that story, we can freely say that we succeeded in our plan,'' they explained from Medikor, which is led by its director, Dr. Dujo Kovacevic. They added that so far, five Croatian companies are working on the production, sewing and packaging of their masks, while the production of filters is also here in Croatia.

"We supply raw materials for the production of filters to a lesser extent from China, and to a greater extent from Germany. These filters are produced by using a special technology of joining together non-woven materials and cutting them. The know-how, technology and design of the filter itself, masks and product packaging are the result of the work of the Medikor team consisting of a doctor, then a public health specialist, marketing experts and product and graphic designers,'' they pointed out from Medikor.

The filter lasts for a month

Their masks and filters have been on sale in foreign markets for a short time, so far in Austria, the Czech Republic and Serbia, and Medikor expects the opening up of other EU markets. Additionally, in the coming weeks, they will start an online shop - Mask-in-Mask.com, which will be focused on the B2C segment. As for the mask itself, the five-layer model PTFE mask, as they explained from Medikor, is an innovative and very simple concept - it is a mask that, as its name suggests, consists of two parts. The outer part consists of a two-layer, canvas mask with a built-in flexible nose band and elastic earmuffs. It is available in a wider range of colours which makes it adaptable to different fashion styles.

The main feature of this mask, they say, is the interior which consists of a unique PTFE (semi-crystalline polymer plastic Polytetrafluoroethylene) with a three-layer hydrophobic replaceable filter that has a bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) of 99.2% and an effective particle filtration (PFE) of 97%. It is made of PTFE membrane and two layers of non-woven polypropylene, which are joined together by a special technique in one of the well-known Croatian factories, and which they don't want to name from Medikor because they want to keep the exclusivity of this technology. They add that with proper use and regular disinfection, the mask's filter can be used for 30 days.

Medikor has been operating in Croatia since back in 1995 and currently employs 23 people. They say that today, in addition to wholesale, their main sales channel is their own online store, with one specialised store and two pharmacies.

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November the 11th, 2020 - The words ''Croatian automotive industry'' probably sound funny to anyone remotely familiar with the draconian attitude towards foreign investment here, but shining entrepreneurial stars like Mate Rimac believes that Croatia has a chance, and a good one at that.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, five years after Uber entered the Croatian market and changed the world of taxi transport, a new initiative to improve transport has emerged, but with far broader implications. Rimac Automobili has announced the establishment of the Association for the Promotion and Regulation of Autonomous Vehicles. They want to bring together and support the work of companies, regulators, cities and everyone else who would participate in the future autonomous vehicle ecosystem.

Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, says that by the year 2030 there will be a bigger change in the automotive industry than we've seen in the last hundred years. In September alone, more electric cars than diesel cars were sold in Europe for the first time.

"Many think that the big change in the car industry is electrification, but when you add vehicle networking and autonomous driving into the mix, our attitude towards car production and use will become very different. In the next five to ten years, autonomous vehicles will change everything, and we want Croatia to recognise that and seize the opportunity," Rimac said.

He stated that Croatia missed out on two large investments, so this is its "third time lucky" chance to build a Croatian automotive industry.

R&D centres

According to the data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), only 2,861 people work in the Croatian car industry, and according to the CBS, that number is growing to about 10,000. It accounts for only 1.1 percent of total production in Croatia and 4.7 percent of Croatia's exports. Namely, companies in this sector export more than 90 percent of their production, regardless of whether it is research and development (R&D), software or goods.

It is the investments of the automotive industry in research and development that are growing the most and they are changing the image of the future automotive industry and the autonomous transport industry in general, both in the world and right here in Croatia, expanding it beyond already well-known players such as AD Plastik.

Two years ago, the German company dSPACE opened its R&D centre for the automotive industry in Zagreb, and this year Porsche did the same in cooperation with the Croatian company Infinum. Porsche is also present in Varazdin with a development centre for its company Cetitech.

Here in Croatia, the Austrian AVL and the German Atron also have an R&D centre. Work on autonomous vehicles and robots for industry in this country is also done by, among others, DOK-ING, Gideon Brothers and Inetec.

In the field of cyber security, companies such as Reversing Labs are present, navigation is dealt with by Mireo and OptimoRoute, and the hardware for such vehicles is produced by Xylon. Startups such as AIR-RMLD and Hipersphere and King ICT work with autonomous drones in Croatia, too.

We haven't yet found any examples of robotic ships in Croatia, but the Viktor Lenac shipyard does engage the work of robots to rebuild ships. In addition, Rimac is not the only one in Croatia that produces vehicles. Hittner and Rasco, among others, are also involved in the Croatian automotive industry, however small it currently is.

While some entrepreneurs have already recognised the new opportunities which shine within the Croatian automotive industry, Rimac also looked at deadlines. Autonomous drones already exist in the aviation industry. Autonomous ocean-going ships are expected to become a reality by around 2035, and Mate Rimac expects autonomous vehicles to arrive around 2030.

The Hungarians are in the lead

"Back in 2015, cars weren't autonomous at all, today they are at their second level and by 2030, vehicles will be 80 percent autonomous and therefore networked and shared. In the era of autonomous vehicles, the car will no longer sit in a car park and only actually be in operation for four percent of the time, instead, it will be used 70 percent of the time and cover more than 250,000 miles a year.

This raises many questions because in such a world no more traffic police are needed, the business model for airports must be changed because parking brings them 40 percent of their revenue, and the question arises who will own the vehicle because one robotic taxi will replace 20 traditional vehicles,'' explained Rimac.

The EU warns of a similar thing with its regulatory tsunami. In two months, from January 2021, the first regulation of smart, robotic or, more simply, self-driving cars will come into force in Croatia and across the rest of the EU.

According to them, vehicles will have to have a black box, much like planes do, and the rules of application of the system for automatic lane monitoring will be defined. One year later, an EU regulation will come into force, which will expand the set of rules that manufacturers will have to comply with and which will automatically be applied in Croatia as well.

In neighbouring Hungary, which might come as a shock to some, such projects have been being implemented for three years now.

Sven Loncaric, head of the FER Centre for Artificial Intelligence, agrees with Rimac that statistically, driving autonomous vehicles proves safer than human driving does, although there have also been issues during testing which need to be resolved.

Davor Kovacec, the founder and director of the Croatian company Xylon, which develops hardware for self-driving cars, says that there are many business opportunities in this segment and the development of the Croatian automotive industry and that they also cooperate with some companies in Croatia, although most of their clients are from abroad.

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As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes on the 10th of November, 2020, for several weeks now, the Kuwaiti shipowner Livestock Transport and Trading Company has been unsuccessfully trying to agree with the Croatian state administration on the completion of the construction of the largest ship in the world for the transport of live cattle in Pula's Uljanik - New build 526/Novogradnja 526.

As confirmed to Jutarnji list from several sources, the aforementioned Kuwaiti company which operates within the Al Mawashi group, and whose business is the transport of live cattle, came across the walls put up by Croatia's state institutions after they expressed interest in Uljanik's construction of New build 526, a livestock carrier, which is now sitting in an unfinished state at the Pula shipyard.

''There's a buyer for the vessel, the vessel is there at a certain degree of completion, there is equipment for the ship that is in the warehouses of Uljanik, and there is the company Uljanik shipbuilding 1856 which the state founded to continue shipbuilding in Pula with workers and capital. Everything is there, but the state has no will, doesn't want to do it, or something else is in question. It doesn't want to sit down with the Kuwaitis and finish the job,'' explained the interlocutor, who is well acquainted with Al Mawashi's contacts with Uljanik.

He doesn't want his name or surname to be revealed, but he claims that a representative of Al Mawashi was at both the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and at the Ministry of Finance, which represent the state's interest in the bankruptcy of Uljanik, and put forward an offer from the Kuwaitis to buy Uljanik's New build 526.

''The Kuwaitis are well known to both Uljanik and Croatia's state institutions because they ordered the construction of New build 526 back in 2015, but in April 2019, like most of Uljanik's clients, they terminated that contract due to the opening of bankruptcy proceedings in the Pula shipyard. Now they're ready to get back into business, they want to buy the vessel and that's the only commitment any serious investor can take on at this stage of construction. Everything else about the completion of the vessel is up to the state, which constantly repeats this mantra that shipbuilding in Uljanik hasn't been shut down,'' the interlocutor explained.

New build 526, or what has been done so far in terms of its construction, isn't formally owned by the state at this time, but is part of the bankruptcy estate of Uljanik d.d., whose main creditor is the state. Hence, the representative of Al Mawashi "knocked" on the door of the two ministries that represent the interests of the state in the bankruptcy drama surrounding Uljanik.

The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development didn't confirm or deny the information that a representative had made an offer to purchase New build 526.

''New build 526 is part of the bankruptcy estate of the company Uljanik d.d. Bankruptcy proceedings against Uljanik d.d. were opened on May the 20th, 2019. The Bankruptcy Trustee is taking care of the protection and liquidation of the bankruptcy estate,'' the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development briefly stated. It's quite clear from this answer that they don't intend to get involved in saving New build 526.

In other words, the state doesn't want to separate New build 526 from the bankruptcy estate of Uljanik d.d. as it has done in some other cases. Nor does it want to invest in the completion of the vessel and sell it to the Kuwaitis and thus charge for the investment. There has, as yet, been no answer from the Ministry of Finance to questions about negotiations with the Kuwaitis and the state’s plans as the main creditor in the bankruptcy of Uljanik with the construction of this vessel.

Shifting the blame

''According to the information I have, the Kuwaitis are losing patience and will definitely give up buying by the end of the year at the latest. If this happens and the ship doesn't find another buyer, it's clear that it is very likely a huge damage, for which, according to the old custom in our country, no one will be responsible,'' noted the source.

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As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes on the 10th of November, 2020, after attracting public attention a few months ago by announcing the production of four-layer masks with 99% antibacterial and antiviral protection, the Croatian company Splendor tekstil from Zagreb produced the first large quantities of masks for the market and contracted with Croatian wholesalers for their delivery to pharmacies.

''Distribution is just starting through wholesalers, legal entities can order these masks directly from us, and people can get them in all the best pharmacies across the country,'' says Splendor's Textile Development Manager, Suzana Percic, revealing that serial production of four-layer masks in Splendor's plants in Sesvete and Klanjec started a month ago, after their trial production back in July.

Antivirus filtering

The motives the Croatian company Splendor were guided by when they decided to start with the production of masks aren't hard to guess and concern the current struggle of humanity with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company says that they realised that the type of protective mask used so far in the fight against the virus should be improved so that, as they point out, the manufacturer, in addition to a high degree of antibacterial filtration, provides a high degree of antiviral filtration.

''In communication with European laboratories with which we've been cooperating for years, as well as in communication with our suppliers of layered fabrics with different types of membranes, we recognised the direction of development of the mask in which we want to go. As European laboratories are only just beginning to think about antiviral filtration test methods, we did that part in America. With antibacterial filtration greater than 99 percent, our masks showed extremely high values ​​of virus filtration, more than 99 percent,'' explained the interlocutor from Splendor Textiles.

The technology of achieving high antiviral and antibacterial protection of the Croatian company Splendor's mask is based on the raw material composition of the mask, nanofilters which, as they pointed out from Splendor, are an additional value of the mask because there is no negative impact on human health whatsoever.

There are plans to export

The retail price of Splendor's four-layer mask currently stands at a mere nine kuna, or 11.25 kuna with VAT included. The masks will be available for purchase in packs of 55 pieces. Splendor claims that they plan to export their masks to foreign markets after discovering that their monthly production capacity of masks can reach an impressive four million copies.

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November 11, 2020 - "Holiday homes with a story," a project that brands rural accommodation in Varazdin County, continues to expand.

HRTurizam writes that after the Varazdin City Market initiated the delivery of groceries to the homes of Varazdin citizens, now groceries from the market can be directly delivered to all guests thanks to "Holiday homes with a story."

The first step of connecting agricultural producers in the Varazdin region with holiday homes was realized through the so-called "Varaždinske kištrice" (see photo below) which each group of guests receives as a welcome gift and aims to present indigenous products of Varazdin County.

Namely, the Varazdin County Tourist Board has provided this for free ​​for all "Holiday homes with a story" members, and it currently contains Varazdin pumpkin oil, gingerbread, honey, buckwheat flour mlinci, lavender and eco-cosmetics, and tourist brochures with all relevant information.

The availability of fresh food, without leaving your holiday home has been recognized as an opportunity to better connect small farmers with tourism and involve the wider local community in developing and raising the quality of the project.

Fresh food delivery can be ordered from Monday to Saturday. The completed order leaflet, which can be found in every participating holiday home, must be photographed and sent to the e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Varazdin market has a Certified Peasant Market status, which guarantees sales directly from producers and the ecological origin of products. The price of delivery depends on the distance of the holiday home, and the price list of groceries can be checked HERE.

TZ Varazdin County

This is certainly a step further in involving small farmers in tourism and responding to the needs of modern guests who believe that “eating local, healthy, and homemade” on vacation or traveling is increasingly important.

Furthermore, Varazdin pumpkin seed oil is the first in Croatia to protect its name and geographical origin. The fact that Varazdin pumpkin seed oil won two gold medals at the prestigious world competition Monde Selection in Brussels in May this year confirms that it is a top product.

Varazdin County has seven products under one of the forms of protection in the European Union and/or in Croatia. In addition to pumpkin oil, these products include Varazdin cabbage, Zagorje turkey, Zagorje mlinci, Varaždin klipič, Zagorje struklji, and Zagorje acacia honey. 

There are currently 45 holiday homes with a total of 220 beds included in this project.

According to data before the coronavirus pandemic, about 90 percent of tourists who visit "Holiday Homes with a Story" are Germans, Danes, and Scandinavians. On average, they stay a minimum of seven nights. You can find out more about the whole project and a list of all the homes with a story on the dedicated website.

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November 11, 2020 - The latest news for flights to Croatia as Edelweiss connects Zurich and Split in December and January, just in time for the holidays. 

Croatian Aviation reports that Edelweiss and Swiss airlines are planning a short return to Split Airport in December 2020 and January 2021.

Although Edelweiss operates to Split only in the summer flight schedule, this Swiss airline has announced flights on the Zurich - Split route for December this year and January next year. Tickets are on sale on the official websites of Edelweiss and Swiss, which has a code-share on this line.

Edelweiss will operate three flights to and from Split in December, on Saturday, December 19, Wednesday, December 23, and Saturday, December 26. The planes will take off from Zurich on all three flights in the morning.

Three flights were announced in the first half of January, more precisely, on Saturday, January 2, Wednesday, January 6, and Saturday, January 9. Edelweiss will then return to Split Airport with the start of the summer flight schedule in April 2021.

Recall that in the last 10 days, two more carriers have announced the introduction of flights on the Zurich - Split route: the German airline Condor and Chair Airlines.

Edelweiss, in cooperation with Swiss, will offer flights on the route Zurich - Split - Zurich just in time for the holidays, considering that many citizens will return home for the festive season, and it is to be expected that some tourists will also decide to spend the holidays in Split and the Dalmatia region.

A320 aircraft have been announced for all flights, which have a capacity of 174 seats in the fleet of this airline. Edelweiss's decision to briefly launch a line to Split just in time for the holidays is certainly commendable, and it is to be expected that German Lufthansa could do the same.

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