Business

ZAGREB, 24 February 2021 - A group of Croatian IT companies have developed a new computer for education purposes, a counterpart to the BBC's micro:bit, the Jutarnji List newspaper wrote on Wednesday. The name of the Croatian computer is VIDI X. It is an open-code microcomputer intended for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in schools. It was designed and manufactured by a group of domestic companies brought together by the technological and media company Vidi. Byte Lab, Rimac Automobili and Gideon Brothers were also involved in the project. Tomislav Kotnik, the founder and CEO of Vidi, said that the new Croatian…

February the 24th, 2021 - Krk companies are the strongest of all enterprises registered as being headquartered on Croatia's many islands, with impressive revenues to boast of. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, Krk companies enjoyed an amazing 12.1 billion kuna in revenue back in pre-pandemic 2019, a tenth of the total revenue generated by the tourism sector that record year. When compared to back in 2018, the income of Croatian enterprises operating in various municipalities, towns and cities of Croatia's many inhabited islands increased by a fifth in just one single year, according to the analysis of the Financial Agency…

February the 24th, 2021 - The very first Croatian venture capital fund, South Central Ventures, has done excellently over the last five years when it comes to investing huge sums into regional startups. As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, the first Croatian venture capital fund is now worth an impressive 40 million euros. It recently announced that in just five years of operating both independently and in a group, it has invested as much as 77.6 million euros in startups operating in Croatia and the immediate region. The first Croatian venture capital fund has so far invested in a total of 28…

February 24, 2021 - After many years of successful business, Rijeka's Rakhia Bar embarks on a new challenge - going global through franchising. HRTurizam reports that despite the pandemic, they did not give up on their idea because they were confident in this project from the very beginning. They believe that it would be a real shame for such an original and above all successful business concept to remain in only one city, without giving the world an opportunity to experience it. Only a few days after they went public, inquiries for the franchise started arriving, not only from Croatian…

ZAGREB, 23 February 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday visited the construction site of the Gaženica fishing port in Zadar, where he presented local officials with contracts on the financing of local infrastructure projects with HRK 44 million from EU funds. Construction work on the Gaženica fishing port, a project worth HRK 23 million, is now in its second stage. All the contracts presented today refer to the development of island communities, and the most valuable one refers to the fishing port Vela Lamjana in Kali on the island of Ugljan. The project to expand the fishing port is…

ZAGREB, 23 February 2021 - Now, when Croatian tourism is practically at a standstill because of the pandemic, it is the right time for a new development cycle focusing on new investments into high-quality accommodation, greater engagement and repositioning of destinations, Horwath HTL told a press conference on Tuesday. Partners from this consulting company Katarina Miličević and Siniša Topalović said that the pandemic has shown just how important tourism is to everyone and that is why the approach to its recovery is also important. Speaking about the need for a new development cycle, the two consultants said that this does not only refer…

ZAGREB, 23 February 2021 - Ericsson Nikola Tesla netted HRK 94.5 million in profit in 2020, down 7.8% on the year, while sales revenue grew 13.7% to HRK 2.02 billion, according to the company's consolidated financial statement released via the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Profit before tax was down 1.5% to HRK 106.6 million, while operating profit went up 1.8% to HRK 104.4 million. Gross margin decreased by 8.6%. Domestic sales accounted for 45.8% of total revenue, services for Ericsson for 42.6% and exports for 11.6%. Domestic sales totalled HRK 926.7 million, up by 86.5% on 2019, while exports, excluding the…

ZAGREB, 23 February 2021 -The Croatian National Bank (HNB) has warned of three risks - inflated real estate prices, public debt and difficulties in loan repayments, the Večernji List daily said on Tuesday. Now that immunisation has started there is some hope that the pandemic might be stopped in mid-2021, however the process of immunisation is progressing slowly in the entire European Union which increases the risk of yet another wave of COVID-19 about the middle of the year. In its latest analysis of financial stability, the central bank notes that the possibility of restrictive measures being tightened or extended and…

February the 23rd, 2021 - Croatian rental owners want to strengthen their own role as cogs of the machine of Croatian tourism, and get more of a say when it comes to decision making with local tourist boards. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, this week, for the very first time at the initiative of private landlords of Kvarner, Istria and Zagreb, which started up last summer, the National Association of Family Accommodation was founded. ''The main goals of the association will be to strengthen the role of Croatian rental owners and the private/family accommodation sector when it comes to decision…

ZAGREB, 22 February, 2021 - The heads of five Croatian northwestern counties agreed a list of projects worth HRK 10 billion (€1.3bn) at a meeting in Bjelovar on Monday. The projects relate to transport infrastructure, education, health care, and tourism. The list was agreed ahead of the signing of a development agreement with the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds. The meeting in Bjelovar involved Bjelovar-Bilogora County Prefect Damir Bajs, Varaždin County Prefect Radimiir Čačić, Međimurje County Prefect Matija Posavec, Koprivnica-Križevci County Prefect Darko Koren, and Krapina-Zagorje County Prefect Željko Kolar. They concluded that the development agreement was a key…