Business

ZAGREB, April 7, 2020 - The SSSH trade union on Tuesday proposed that the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) immediately make public a list of employers who have been granted subsidies under the government aid scheme as a measure to help them to overcome the corona crisis. The SSSH also calls for the publication of updated figures about those out of work on a daily basis. Without the publication of employers, the general public will not be able to have insight into how the state subsidies are used, the SSSH said in a press release in which it criticised the government…

ZAGREB, April 7, 2020 - The number of policyholders with the Croatian Pension Insurance Fund (HZMO) fell in March from the previous month, indicating that the crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic has resulted in lay-offs and that employers did not hire seasonal workers as in the previous years. The number of policyholders decreased by 12,423, or 0.8%, to 1,529,905. The largest monthly decrease, of 6.4%, was recorded in the tourism and hospitality industry. The number of insured persons also fell in other important categories, including the manufacturing industry (-0.3%) and trade (-0.9%). "Despite the pre-crisis expectations that the start…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 7th of April, 2020, the Croatian Government's rescue package has many measures related to the tourism industry, which is Croatia's strongest economic branch and is most affected by the coronavirus crisis. The measures include job preservation, financial and administrative burdens, wage benefits and tax breaks, RTL reports. Nonetheless, Croatian tourism professionals are in awe, especially with regard to Croatia's very many private renters, and almost half of them think they will not be able to support their families without their usual tourist rental income. Otherwise, we would not be able to take so much…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 6th of April, 2020, in addition to the donation of three million kuna by the Adris Foundation for the procurement of respirators for hospitals in Rijeka and Pula, the Adris Group's administration has decided to donate two million kuna for the restoration of cultural monuments damaged in the recent earthquake in Zagreb. In order to overcome the gravity of the situation caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Adris Group's management, with the consent of its supervisory board, has made a number of decisions that will affect the operations of their affiliates, primarily their liquidity…

As Poduzetnik writes on the 6th of April, 2020, in this text, a consultant and entrepreneur, otherwise a Polish woman living and working in Croatia, Natalia Zielinska, summarises the coronavirus crisis measures taken by the Polish Government to help the troubled Polish economy. As the situation with these figures is changing and updating very quickly, the situation on April the 4th, 2020 is discussed here. Otherwise, at 16:00 today, Natalia Zielinska is organising a webinar where participants can get a lot of useful advice regarding assistance measures and Hamag-Bicro working capital loans. The situation in Poland In Poland, there are currently…

ZAGREB, April 6, 2020 - A total of 2,724 new passenger cars were sold in Croatia in March 2020, which is 45.9% fewer than in the same month of 2019, the Promocija Plus market research agency said on Monday. The best-selling car model was the Skoda Octavia, with 130 units sold, ahead of the Volkswagen T-Cross (99), the VW Golf (84), the Dacia Duster (82) and the Suzuki Vitara (71). In the first quarter of this year, sales of new cars fell by 17.4% to 10,029 vehicles compared with the same period in 2019. During the first three months of…

ZAGREB, April 6, 2020 - Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Monday the national civil protection authority could adopt a decision to reopen farmers' markets tomorrow. "Meetings are under way with local civil protection authorities and associations of towns and municipalities, and when we see which measures have been taken, the decision to open farmers' markets will be made public. I expect it could be already tomorrow," Božinović said, presenting to MPs four bills which extend the validity of identity cards, driver's licences, firearms licences and passports. Responding to questions from MPs, he said 520,000 e-passes to leave one's place…

ZAGREB, April 6, 2020 - Croatian lawmakers on Monday again appealed to the government to help local agricultural producers and vulnerable social groups affected by the coronavirus crisis. Mladen Mađer of the Work and Solidarity Party called on the government to urgently arrange a meeting with retail chains and agree purchases of local produce. He also called for urgent reopening of farm produce markets and for greater flexibility in issuing passes so that farmers can work their land. "We must allow small family farms to sell their produce or otherwise we will destroy the little production that we have," Mađer…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 6th of April, 2020, a second package of economic measures to help the economy deal with the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic showed that the Government had accepted the pleas and requests of Croatian employers, who now have a clearer picture of how to plan their businesses, and their employees are now more confident that they will have their jobs preserved and their income guaranteed. At this point, with the top priority being that the measures are properly adopted are effectively implemented, it is important for the Croatian Government to remain financially disciplined…

ZAGREB, April 6, 2020 - The results of an analysis of consumer behaviour in Croatia during the coronavirus epidemic, conducted by the global data analytics company Nielsen, have shown that the highest sales growth was recorded in the second week of March and that there are six stages of consumer behaviour during this crisis. The first stage is proactive health-minded buying, which started at the end of February. The first case of the coronavirus infection in Croatia was confirmed on February 25, and already in the week from February 23 to February 29 there was a significant increase in the…