Business

The continental Croatian city of Bjelovar is fast becoming a shining example of just what can be done with a little willpower and genuine desire for forward momentum, and other Croatian cities are following in its footsteps. As Novac/Gradonacelnik.hr writes on the 19th of February, 2020, last year, 15,445 new companies were opened in the Republic of Croatia, 1178 more than were opened back in 2018. However, 10,814 enterprises were closed or deleted from court registers, 623 more than one year earlier. This is evidenced by data from the Ministry of Justice confirming the growth of entrepreneurship in Croatia, which…

ZAGREB, February 19, 2020 - Representatives of the BH-gas company, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday signed a grant agreement in Sarajevo for a project to connect Bosnia and Herzegovina's and Croatia's gas networks. BH-gas, which is the largest gas provider and distributor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said in a press release that the agreement would activate funds earmarked for environmental impact and feasibility studies for the South Gas Interconnection project. The project involved building a gas pipeline from Zagvozd in southern Croatia toward Posušje and on to…

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of February, 2020, it has been over a month since the European Commission (EC) launched a tender for the promotion and marketing of EU agricultural and food products entitled "Enjoy, decided from Europe" for 2020, worth a massive 200.9 million euros. Croatian producers are, for now, avoidant. The money is not distributed according to the size of the members, but according to the programmes which will be chosen by the EC in the autumn, which would increase the competitiveness and consumption of EU products worldwide. But hardly any projects from Croatia will come…

Smokvica is a little island located in the picturesque Sibenik archipelago in Dalmatia. This beautiful, quaint paradise was once used by the notorious, formerly untouchable Todoric family, the head of which is Ivica Todoric, the former owner of the Agrokor empire. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 18th of February, 2020, after the island was returned to state ownership after the Agrokor crisis broke out back in 2017, resulting in the sale of Todoric's property to try to attempt to cover costs incurred during his alleged dodgy dealings, the Ministry of State Property signed a thirty-year lease with Green…

ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Tuesday that the economic situation in Croatia is satisfactory but that further reforms are necessary given the always present question of how sustainable the existing situation is. "Progress is necessary because even though the current economic situation is satisfactory, with a growth rate of around 3%, balanced public finances, a current account surplus and a further drop in public debt, there is always the question of the sustainability of such a situation," Marić told reporters who after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels asked him what he…

ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Tuesday that increasing the national share of co-financing EU projects would mean additional pressure on the state budget, adding that he was confident that discussions on this topic at the EU level would result in a good compromise. Ahead of a second meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) under Croatia's EU presidency in Brussels on Tuesday, Marić commented on plans to increase the national co-financing component for EU projects from 15% to 25%. European Council President Charles Michel on Friday proposed a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)…

This is not the first time Americans have shown interest in the now devastated Dubrovnik Belvedere Hotel, constructed back in 1985 and once known as one of the best hotels in all of former Yugoslavia. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of February, 2020, after eight whole years of failing to make a new investment at the site of the war-ravaged Dubrovnik Belvedere Hotel, Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is now tired of the charade and could sell the Dubrovnik Belvedere Hotel to another, new investor. Over recent days, American investors have visited Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic because they are…

As Novac/Tanja Simundic Bendic writes on the 17th of February, 2020, never before have Croatian hospitality industry employers from the coast set out in search of a workforce so early before. The situation is alarming, there is a shortage of chefs, waiters, support staff, to such an extent that the search for a good worker began as early as October last year. In comparison, in the previous tourist seasons, Croatian hospitality industry employers started looking for staff at the end of March. This year, the situation is already desperate. This is known firsthand, from the famous Croatian chef, Duje Pisac…

Croatian Telecom (HT) have managed to expand their business in the Eastern Croatian city of Osijek owing to the previously announced introduction of a 5G network in the city. There has been a lot of talk about the introduction of 5G in Croatia. With rumour recently being confirmed about the continental Croatian city of Osijek becoming the first Croatian 5G city, the new technological step forward has attracted as much criticism as it has praise. From arguments about potential health issues arising to praise about how 5G's introduction will only help Osijek's encouraging IT and tech community to grow and…

The idea of this complex in Savica, Zagreb, first met the public eye and caused somewhat of a proverbial storm back in 2013, and has been bubbling under the surface without much attention ever since. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of February, 2020, if you're coming off the Bridge of Youth (Most mladosti) the complex in Savica will be the first thing you'll notice. The four towers, the tallest as high as 135 metres, will rise up from the ground at the entrance to Savica, Zagreb, according to a report from Vecernji list. More specifically, the fourth tower…