Business

ZAGREB, April 4, 2019 - Unions called on citizens on Thursday to support their "67 is too much" campaign to call a referendum which would bring back the full retirement age to 65 as it was prior to the pension reform. The signature collection campaign will run from April 27 to May 11. In support of the campaign, union leader Krešimir Sever said that "Croatians have a shorter life expectancy than the EU average, citizens are sicker, working conditions are harder and technology is at a lower level." Sever was addressing a conference on the pension system organised by the…

ZAGREB, April 4, 2019 - Unionists at the Uljanik dock on Thursday warned of the unbearable situation facing workers at that Pula-based shipyard who have been striking for 15 days yet there is no positive information from the management or the government, which has led them to send a fourth letter to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and urge him to finally resolve the situation in the Uljanik Group. The head of the strike committee, Boris Cerovac, confirmed for Hina that he had sent yet another letter to the prime minister. "There are fewer and fewer workers at the dock and…

ZAGREB, April 4, 2019 - The Commercial Court in Split on Wednesday opened a pre-bankruptcy procedure over the Brodotrogir shipyard and appointed Zdravko Tešić a trustee in bankruptcy. The court called on creditors to submit their claims to the relevant Financial Agency (FINA) within 21 days while a hearing at which claims will be examined is scheduled for 10 July. Brodotrogir proposed the opening of the pre-bankruptcy procedure on March 8, but the Court requested additional documents as the restructuring plan was not included. The Trogir-based dock has been owned by Danko Končar for the past five years. The shipyard…

As Morski writes on the 3rd of April, 2019, what has been happening with prosciutto for the past three to four years is truly spectacular. Due to its superior properties and specific traditional production technology, Croatian prosciutto producers have stumbled upon some great export potential and even more potential for the product's better placement in Croatian tourism through the country's already rich gastronomic offer. When compared to five years ago in 2014, exports have increased in quantity by fourteen times, and perhaps most importantly, in value eleven times. Approximately 88 percent of total exports go to the EU market, and…

ZAGREB, April 4, 2019 - Omišalj Mayor Mirela Ahmetović on Wednesday commented on the latest ruling by the Administrative Court rejecting the municipality's lawsuit questioning the changes made to the development permit for a floating LNG terminal on Krk, saying that the municipality would appeal and that it and its residents would turn to European judicial bodies and institutions. Ahmetović told a press conference that the court had rejected the municipality's lawsuit against the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning questioning the legality of the development permit issued for the floating LNG terminal. Ahmetović said that the municipality would appeal…

ZAGREB, April 3, 2019 - Economy Minister Darko Horvat on Wednesday said that it was possible for ships to be built in the Pula and Rijeka docks for the Jadrolinija liner shipping company, however, that requires numerous details and requires a public call for bids. Asked by the press who would pay for those ships to be built, Horvat said "whoever needs them." With regard to the deadlines for the ships to be built, the minister added "that will be seen with the people in Jadrolinija," who, he said will "have to renew the fleet in any case." In response…

ZAGREB, April 3, 2019) - The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures has rejected a complaint filed by the Aktor company against the state-owned Hrvatske Ceste (HC) road operator's decision to award the Greek company J&P Avax a contract to build access roads to the Pelješac Bridge, citing as the reason for its decision the fact that Aktor paid an insufficient fee to launch the complaint procedure. The job to build access roads was awarded to J&P Avax, after which complaints were submitted by Austria's Strabag company and Greece's Aktor. J&P Avax offered to build 12 kilometres of…

ZAGREB, April 3, 2019 - The Swedish company Transcom WorldWide opened its office in Zagreb on Tuesday, its fourth in Croatia, and plans to hire about 300 people to provide customer support services, which will bring the total number of its employees in Croatia to about 1,200. Transcom WorldWide is a global company operating in 20 countries on three continents, providing customer support services, telemarketing and direct sale services to customers in the telecommunications, finance, tourism, insurance and retail sectors. The company has been operating in Croatia since 2005 when it opened its office in Vukovar. It has also opened…

April 3, 2019 - It's not an April Fools’ joke – the 1st Business Café International event was held on Monday evening in Zagreb, gathering more than 50 experienced Croatian and foreign entrepreneurs.  Business Café International was established to highlight the opposite of migration trends, i.e., showing examples of entrepreneurs who moved here and started their businesses in Croatia. It is a joint effort to make Croatia a country that is not just great to live in, but also an attractive place for doing business.  Kristina Ercegović, Business Café founder, promoted her vision of Croatia as one of the best…

As Adriano Milovan/Novac writes on the 2nd of April, 2019, the economic expansion period for most of the transition countries, including the Republic of Croatia, is now over, and in the coming years we can count only on very modest rates of economic growth, this was the message from experts from the renowned Vienna Institute for International Economics Studies (WIIW). According to the latest forecasts of the Vienna Institute, this year, Croatia can expect a growth rate of 2.6 percent. However, in the coming years, economic growth will slow down even more, meaning that the Croatian economy will likely grow…