Business
Thursday, 11 June 2020
Croatia Issues 11-year €2 bn Bond
ZAGREB, June 11, 2020- The Finance Ministry on Wednesday issued an 11-year €2 billion bonds on the international capital market at 1.5% interest and 1.643% yield, the ministry said in a press release on Thursday. The issue was arranged by Banca IMI/Privredna Banka Zagreb, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan. The transaction was announced on Tuesday, after which the ministry held a global teleconference to prepare the broadest market possible. The investment community's interest was exceptional, with more than 400 potential investors, which was helped by investors who invest only in investment credit rating securities. Investors were from the UK, the US, Germany,…
Thursday, 11 June 2020
FinMin: Investors in Bond Recognise Croatia's Successes
ZAGREB, June 11, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday the new euro bond issue met with big interest among investors and that they recognised Croatia's successes in the affirmation of the investment credit rating, drawing closer to the euro area and the fight against COVID-19. Speaking to the press, he said investors' interest in the new bond was 4.2 times bigger than the issue, i.e. €8.4 billion. "I can't remember such a big interest among quality investors across the world." That means that "several big and important houses recognised what was done and what is being done in Croatia" and…
Thursday, 11 June 2020
HDZ's Idea to Create Own Version of "Booking.com" Falls Spectacularly Short
As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 10th of June, 2020, where does one possibly start when it comes to HDZ's announcement about creating a domestic booking portal which, as some on the political scene belonging to a certain party have dreamed, should offer Croatian accommodation to foreigners for only five percent of the commission, and do it better and more successfully than the world's most well established platforms? We should first look at the sheer absurdity of the idea that a state institution, possibly the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ), would have the financial means and work capacity to maintain…
Thursday, 11 June 2020
Coronavirus Pandemic Encourages Croatian Cities to Cut Surtax
As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 9th of June, 2020, as a source of revenue for local budgets, surtaxes are more important for larger cities, so they're harder to give up for some. However, the coronavirus pandemic has caused several to think again... Valpovo and Motovun will both abolish the surtax on income tax at the end of this month. The aforementioned locations thus join a small number of local units in Croatia whose residents don't have the burden of surtax on their backs, as well as everything else they need to think about in these coronavirus-dominated times. Pozega and Belisce…
Wednesday, 10 June 2020
Croatia Ranks Sixth Among 30 European Countries for Economic and Financial Measures
ZAGREB, June 10, 2020 - Croatia was ranked sixth among 30 European countries in terms of the number of measures for preserving the stability of the economy and the financial sector, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) said on Wednesday. Croatia is also one of the nine European countries that have temporarily banned insurance companies from paying dividends. At today's meeting, HANFA's board discussed measures to preserve financial stability taken in the European Union following the COVID-19 pandemic and measures and recommendations by the Croatian financial regulatory authority issued to companies in Croatia. "According to the analysis of data…
Wednesday, 10 June 2020
Council For INA: Final Report From Lazard Expected In a Month
ZAGREB, June 10, 2020 - The financial advisory firm Lazard has presented a due diligence report on the INA oil company to the Council for INA, a final report is expected in about a month, and the first meeting with executives of the Hungarian oil group MOL is expected by the end of this month, Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric said on Wednesday. "The Council for INA today received the first preliminary report on due diligence from our consultant, Lazard. A final report is expected within a month. What follows is intense communication with the other party and in…
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
Rijeka 2020 Company Director Relieved from Duty at her Own Request
ZAGREB, June 9, 2020 - Emina Visnic, the director of the Rijeka 2020 company tasked with the implementation of the project of Rijeka the European Capital of Culture in 2020, was relieved from the duty at her own request and the city authorities reported on Tuesday that Irena Kregar Segota would be the new director. A press release reads that Visnic explained her request for being relieved from the duty with the assessment that after the completion of the "demanding process of redefining the programme and the outlays" in the new circumstances in which the project has found itself, it…
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
HRK 2.5m in Grants for Projects for Croats Abroad
ZAGREB, June 9, 2020 - The Central State Office for Croats Abroad has granted a total of HRK 2.5 million for 153 projects by non-profit organisations of Croats abroad after receiving as many as 585 applications, the office said on Tuesday. Grants ranged from HRK 5,000 to HRK 60,000 and one applicant could have submitted two project proposals at the most. None of the projects was granted the maximum amount of HRK 80,000. The single largest amount, of HRK 60,000, was granted to the Croatian National Council from Subotica, Serbia. The Croatian self-governing authority in Budapest, Hungary and the Alliance of Croatian Associations in Lendava,…
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
Drazen Orescanin Talks Coronavirus Crisis, Government and Future
As Moj Biz writes on the 8th of June, 2020, one of the initiators of the Voice of Entrepreneurs and Croatia 2.0 Initiative, Drazen Orescanin, answered a few questions sent to him from the MojBiz.com portal, and he did so in just a few minutes. If everything worked that way in Croatia, it would be heaven on earth. A successful entrepreneur and the initiator of what is currently one of the strongest entrepreneurial initiatives in the country analyses the current situation and proposes new measures. The speed, success and efficiency of Drazen Orescanin is not only recognised in Voices of…
Tuesday, 9 June 2020
HAK Entering Rent-a-Car World With Focus on Clients Instead of Tourists
The HAK Rent-a-Car company will be engaged in the renting out of vehicles on a commercial basis, which is a bold move considering the fact that this particular sector almost ''died'' because of the coronavirus crisis. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 9th of June, 2020, the Croatian Auto Club (HAK) is in the process of forming its daughter company HAK Rent-a-Car, which, as its name quite obviously suggests, will be engaged in renting out cars on a commercial basis - but with a focus on clients as opposed to tourists. The company was registered on March the 19th,…
Monday, 8 June 2020
Croatia's Underwater Archeological Discoveries Have Tourism Potential
June 8, 2020 — Ancient underwater vessels and sites recently unearthed off the coast of Pag could become another draw for travelers. Firefighters taking scuba diving lessons chanced upon the remains of a ship and cargo dating back to Roman antiquity in the seabed not far from Novalja on the island of Pag. It’s the latest in a seemingly endless train of underwater discoveries, and some see an opportunity for a niche form of tourism. The group stumbled upon the 2,000-plus-year-old remains accidentally. Local divers reportedly spent years ignoring the pile, which appeared to be random detritus at the bottom of…
