Business

November 11, 2019 - The 2nd Adria Business Network event will be held on Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at Algebra LAB in Zagreb.  Adria Business Network is conceived as a networking event for business people in Croatia and the region, creating business opportunities and encouraging continuing education. Through the event, participants are offered the chance to find new clients and enter into lucrative business deals. The concept of the event, which is held once a month for two hours, is organized in such a way that the guest lecturer speaks for 30 minutes, followed by a pitch (i.e., personal presentation)…

November 11, 2019 - There are bubbles of positivity all over Croatia and in the most unlikely of places. Bubbly bubbles, such as EU funds specialist Natalia Zielinksa in Ogulin, a long way from her native Poland.  2019 so far has been the Year of the Positive Person. I have met SO many interesting and positive people all doing their amazing things that there really are not enough hours in the day to keep up with them all. Among them is one very cool Polish lady living in Ogulin, who I had never heard of until we both spoke at…

As Novac/Matija Boltizar writes on the 10th of November, 2019, Croatia has a world champion in concrete construction. His name is Mateo Grgić, he is just 22 years old, he is a native of Prgomelje, a small town near Bjelovar, and is a carpenter by profession. This talented Croat has experienced great success, but not under the flag of the country of his birth. This news in itself is amazing owing to a couple of things. First of all, because of something called World Skills, where professionals show off their skills in, well, just about anything. The first "Olympic Games…

As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes on the 8th of November, 2019, following the official announcement of the decision of Croatian roads (Hrvatske ceste) to assign the construction of the access roads to Pelješac bridge on the Duboka-Šparagović/Zaradeže section to the Austrian company Strabag, a ten-day deadline for appeals from other bidders against that decision before the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures began. Considering the current progress of the tender for the contractor for the access roads to Pelješac bridge and the installation of supporting equipment on these roads, it would be a great surprise if there were…

While the Croatian Government has decided on the total abolition of foreign employment quotas, which should boost the economy by providing easier access to the Croatian labour market for third country (non-EU) nationals, and take effect in early 2020, it seems that the Croatian economy will still spend some time proverbially biting its nails as certain key industries struggle until then. As Novac/Dora Koretic writes on the 9th of November, 2019, Jutarnji list is in possession of the first unofficial version of the 2020 quota decision, which was delivered to all stakeholders in the negotiation process for foreign workers last…

As Croatia's presidency of the EU quickly rolls around, AmCham, the US Chamber of Commerce in Zagreb, held a conference on the opportunities that the six-month rotation brings to the Croatian economy. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes on the 7th of November, 2019, a whole six and a half years after its accession to the EU, Croatia is soon set to take over the EU Presidency from January the 1st, 2020. During these six months, Croatia will represent the common interests of all EU countries in addressing pressing issues such as Brexit and harmonising the European budget. On top of…

Jadrolinija's fleet renewal action plan has been being mentioned for some time now, but nobody has really spoken about it in any particularly specific terms. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes on the 8th of November, 2019, regardless of the fact that Jadrolinija is doing well and is liquid, successfully servicing Croatian tourism and "carrying" the season on its proverbial shoulders, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butkovic, has stated that this national shipping company has a worryingly old fleet and estimates that "the acquisition of a new fleet should have gone better'' than it did. He emphasised this…

ZAGREB, November 7, 2019 - Ericsson Nikola Tesla (ERNT) on Thursday marked its 70th anniversary and on that occasion, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that the company had been setting a positive example for the domestic business community for years. "We can be proud of having such a company in a sector that is crucial for the development of technologies," Grabar-Kitarović said at the anniversary-marking ceremony, noting that companies like ERNT raised the level of competitiveness of the Croatian economy and that Croatia needed the competence, excellence, innovation and social responsibility that characterised the company. ERNT president Gordana Kovačević said that…

ZAGREB, November 7, 2019 - The Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Croatian National Tourism Board (HTZ) on Thursday, presented Croatia's economy and tourism at the China international import expo, which is being held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10. This is the 2nd edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) with more than 150,000 Chinese and foreign buyers and exhibitors from more than 100 countries and Croatia is participating in the expo with its "Croatia Day" exhibition which has enabled numerous contacts between Croatian companies and Chinese partners, HGK and HTZ informed on Thursday. HGK president, Luka…

ZAGREB, November 7, 2019 - The European Commission on Thursday mildly revised down Croatia's growth outlook from the initial 3.1% to 2.9% in 2019, due to a slower growth rate in the country's main trading partners, and in the next two years, the EC expects investments to robustly rise in Croatia, alongside a record low employment rate and a declining public debt. "As growth in Croatia’s main trading partners moderates, domestic demand will remain the main driver of economic activity," the EC says in its latest document called "European Economic Forecast for 2019, 2020 and 2021". "Household consumption remains strong,…