Meanwhile, IBM brings a new breath of optimism.
With the arrival of IBM to Croatia, optimism has increased again about the investment climate in the country. One famous brand is enough to change perceptions. In addition to IBM, there are many other investments by somewhat smaller global companies. However, investments they have put into the economy are not very large; if they were, they would have been reflected in the GDP. On the other hand, maybe the investments are simply not big enough to alleviate all the negative stories about the production and jobs being cut. Still, every investment counts, reports Večernji List on August 5, 2016.
Unlike in the previous years, when most of the investments were directed towards the service sector, now there are many investments in production, while the biggest ones are related to tourism. One of the largest is Dogus Group’s investment in marinas and hotels in the amount of 350 million euros. Domestic companies are also active. Maistra has contributed to the country’s tourism sector with 1.6 billion kuna during a three-year period, and Valamar is just as dynamic. Tourism Minister Anton Kliman has said recently that this year's total investments in tourism were about 670 million euros. Meanwhile, about 260 million euros were invested into the Zagreb International Airport and this is currently one of the largest single investments in the country.
Moreover, in recent years the Israeli Teva company had large investments in the pharmaceutical giant Pliva’s production facilities and an IT centre in Croatia. These were estimated at about 150 million euros. Investments in the pharmaceutical industry were strong altogether in the past several years. Domestic companies Jadran – Galenski Laboratorij and Belupo have focused on new facilities, while the total investment of the local companies in this sector amounted to two billion kuna. The Indian ACG Lukaps has also stepped up its activity in the sector, putting 35 million euros into the construction of a new plant for production of capsules.
