Business

ZAGREB, 10 February 2021 - A total of 165,345 unemployed persons were registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) at the end of January 2021, up by 3.4% from the previous month and by 18.2% compared with January 2020, the HZZ said on Wednesday. HZZ records show that there were 5,500 unemployed people more at the end of January 2021 than at the end of December 2020 and 25,421 more than at the end of January 2020. Daily figures, available on the HZZ website, show that 163,884 unemployed persons are currently registered with the HZZ, which is 1,461 fewer than…

ZAGREB, 10 February 2021 - Nearly 500 companies took part in online business talks between Croatia and Israel, laying the groundwork for stronger economic cooperation, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) said on Wednesday. The talks were held as part of a new cycle of online business meetings within the HGK's export promotion platform "Go Global, Go Virtual," the HGK said, adding that it was continuing this project because of a great interest among businesses. HGK president Luka Burilović said that Israel had some of the best research institutions in the world, spending about 5% of GDP on research and…

ZAGREB, 10 February 2021 - Croatia is listed among countries that have designated seafarers as key workers, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure said on Wednesday citing the International Maritime Organization. The inclusion of Croatia on the list of countries that have designated seafarers as key workers alleviates acute problems currently faced by seafarers around the globe, in particular with regard to difficulty in organising crew shifts and seafarers' repatriation, the ministry said in a statement.  Many countries have responded to the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic by restricting travel, thus causing considerable problems for the…

ZAGREB, 10 February 2021 - In 2020, the A1 Hrvatska telecommunications company generated a revenue of €428.1 million, which is 1.1% less than in 2019, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) dropped by 1.2% to €143.4 million, A1 Hrvatska reported on Wednesday. Apart from unforeseeable extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting A1 results, the performance of this telecom, which is part of A1 Telekom Austria Group, was also exposed to the consequence of devastating earthquakes in Zagreb and Sisak-Moslavina County, A1 noted. The fall in the company's EBITDA mostly resulted from a decreased revenue…

February the 10th, 2021 - The manager of the popular Zagreb City Centre One shopping outlet, which (in pre-pandemic times) drew in many bargain hunters on a daily basis, has now made a bold business move and taken over yet another Croatian shopping centre. As Ana Blaskovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, CC Real, the manager of the Zagreb City Centre One shopping centre, is set to take over the management of the Max City shopping centre in the beautiful Istrian city of Pula, which is under that company's umbrella. The company specialising in property management is taking over the strategic and operational…

February the 10th, 2021 - One Koprivnica company has thought up some new technology which will work to meet the demands of new railway infrastructure, which has been a topic of investment conversations in Croatia for a while now. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, due to investment projects for the renovation and construction of railway infrastructure across Croatia, there was a need for the creation of various products that require new technologies, which was a demand met by the Koprivnica company Igma d.o.o., a member of the Nexe Group from Nasice, which has developed a new technology for the production…

ZAGREB, 8 February, 2021 - COVID-19 measures delayed thousands of bankruptcies last year, resulting in a drop of 30%, Večernji List daily said on Monday. A moratorium on enforcement procedures and the measures put in place to help businesses reduced the number of bankruptcies, with 4,796 initiated in commercial courts in 2020, down from 7,166 in 2019. At the moment, there are 3,019 Financial Agency motions in courts for the bankruptcy of over-indebted businesses. Almost 4,000 bankrupt businesses owe HRK 17 billion and court decisions are pending for another 3,061, the newspaper said. European institutions say the number of new business bankruptcies in the…

February 6, 2021 - The Voice of Entrepreneurs Association protest gathered at least 5,000 people on Wednesday in Zagreb, according to estimates. Executive Director of the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association, Dražen Oreščanin, announced the continuation of similar actions if nothing changes, most likely at the end of February.  Index.hr reports: "At the end of the month, on Friday, February 26, we will again organize a protest at Ban Jelačić Square if the epidemiological situation improves and discriminatory measures against entrepreneurs continue. We are also asking the government for fair compensation for closing facilities because all they give us now is only…

February the 6th, 2021 - Martina Dalic, perhaps best known for her role in the weird and rarely wonderful Agrokor saga which dominated the Croatian public and nearly sent the economy down the drain just a few years ago, has come to the helm of the Croatian company Podravka following Marin Pucar's premature death. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the corporate, but also very much political news of the week is certainly what many as referring to as the "rehabilitation" of former government minister Martina Dalic by appointing her to the position of President of the Management Board of Podravka. Martina…

February the 5th, 2021 - Croatian business owners have had their say, but many believe it will be ineffective. The recent protest was covered across the country, but what will actually come of it? As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, several thousand protesters, mainly Croatian business owners, gathered on Wednesday at Zagreb's Ban Jelacic Square to attend a rally organised by the Voice of Entrepreneurs Association (UGP) over dissatisfaction with the Croatian Government's measures to stop the spread of the pandemic and properly compensate business owners who have been banned from working, such as gym, sports centre, cafe and restaurant owners.…