Business

ZAGREB, April 9, 2020 - The government on Thursday redistributed budget funds in the amount of HRK 2.1 billion to address the consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19, and the most of those funds would be used for the government's measure to help employers to retain their workers. Finance Minister Zdravko Marić informed the cabinet that a new round of the redistribution of the funds would soon ensue. The lion's share, that is HRK 1.87 billion of the reallocated funds, will be set aside for the government's measure designed to keep jobs and ensure funds to employers whose businesses are…

April 9, 2020 - Nowhere has the corona rollercoaster been more volatile than on the stock markets. So how is life as a trader in the sunshine in the Dalmatian capital of Split, and who does all this compare to 2008 and 9/11? The stock market is a brave place to be dabbling in right now with the global corona rollercoaster, but for some it is a way of life and full-time job. I am very grateful to Jason Berry of Positive Equity for finding the time to tell us how all this madness looks from the trading floor in…

ZAGREB, April 9, 2020 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) Council on Wednesday discussed recent monetary and economic trends, informing in a press release about the measures which the HNB has undertaken to maintain the liquidity and stability of the financial system during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rising uncertainty and fear of a swift spread of the pandemic as well as the measures introduced to contain it resulted in highly volatile international financial markets in late February and March. Increased pressure on the exchange rate as well as on the securities market has left a mark on trends both in…

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said in an interview with the N1 commercial broadcaster on Wednesday that in the current circumstances, the state's outlays in the next three months were estimated at 65-70 billion kuna. He said that during the government's meeting on Thursday, the cabinet would discuss how to redistribute the budget allocations in order to ensure funds for addressing the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. Marić recalled that some of the austerity measures had been already taken. He added that for the monthly functioning of the expenditure side of the state budget, it was necessary…

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - The number of people registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) as of Tuesday has exceeded 150,000 and over the past three weeks alone 21,649 registered as unemployed, 20,071 of whom lost their jobs. On March 16 there were 134,717 registered as unemployed while on April 7 that number increased to 150,308, which is an increase of 15,591 or 11.6%, HZZ data forwarded to Hina on Wednesday indicates. The HZZ notes that due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus epidemic, evidence was being kept on a daily basis of people registering or being…

April 8, 2020 — A golf course, villas and a hotel next to Prokljansko Lake have been a dream for over 15 years, outlasting several economic booms and two potential investors. The Croatian government waited instead until a global pandemic collapsed the tourism industry and caused a painful recession to attract investors, according to Jutarnji List. A binding tender for the long-awaited project "Prukljan in Skradin" opened on April 1, (with little irony). It offered interested investors 54 hectares of land for sale, and an additional 150 hectares in a concession to realize the €300 million project. The Ministry of…

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Workers of the Strabag company on Tuesday began boring the main tube of the 2,467-metre-long Debeli Brijeg tunnel, which is part of the second section of an access road to the Pelješac Bridge, Croatian Roads (HC) said. The section is 12.1 km long and Strabag is building 10.46 km. The rest will be built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Debeli Brijeg tunnel has a main and a maintenance tube. Construction on that section of the access road also envisages the Kamenice tunnel (499 m), the Doli viaduct (156 m) and two bridges,…

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Croatia's public debt at the end of 2019, expressed according to the ESA 2010 methodology, totalled HRK 293 billion or 73.2% of GDP, which is 1.6 percentage points less compared to the end of 2018, shows data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB). The share of public debt in GDP thus dropped for the fifth consecutive year but in absolute terms, at the end of last year it was HRK 6.9 billion higher than at the end of 2018. The factors that contributed to the relative decrease of public debt last year were the continuation…

ZAGREB, April 8, 2020 - Labour and Pension System Minister Josip Aladrović said Wednesday that by midnight Tuesday 94,000 employers had applied for a government measure to rescue jobs for 550,000 workers and would be paid by April 15, adding that Croatia had managed to escape the worst case scenario when it comes to preserving jobs. Aladrović told Croatian Radio that under the said measure, the government, instead of employers, will pay workers a HRK 3,250 wage for March and HRK 4,000 for April and May, adding that so far approximately HRK 760 million has been paid out. All payments…

April 8, 2020 —  One of Croatia’s larger private companies is warning of a 2020 so bad, it still cannot forecast the losses. Another cut management-level salaries to avoid layoffs.  Atlantic Grupa and Adris Grupa, two of Croatia’s more-prominent private companies, face a dismal 2020 as measures to stop the spread of coronavirus limit consumer spending and hurt bottom lines. Adris, a diverse conglomerate with holdings in everything from tourism to the nation’s largest insurance company, said anti-COVID-19 measures would have a significant impact on its revenues. But it is avoiding layoffs. Instead, it will cut management-level salaries by 30…