Business

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - Despite the latest government measures, such as lower property sales tax, and planned subsidies for housing purchases, developments on the Croatian real estate market are not in favour of buyers because housing prices have increased by between six and seven percent since 2017, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) said on Friday. With the start of the New Year, property sales tax was cut from four to three percent, and it has been announced that the five-year housing subsidy scheme could be extended for another two years to include couples who already have a child,…

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - Economy Minister Darko Horvat and Uljanik shipbuilding group chairman of the board Emil Bulić said on Friday two serious partners were interested in the group and that they were conducting due diligence, with Horvat hopeful that two more partners would express interest by January 25. Horvat said after a three-hour meeting with the management of Uljanik d.d. that he was optimistic, although he realised an official receiver was appointed today to examine the situation in the 3. Maj dock and submit a report to a judge within 15 days, and that a similar situation awaited…

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - The Publishing and Printing Organisation with the Croatian Employer's Association (HUP) said in a press release on Friday that it supported proposals and efforts of umbrella organisations of European publishers who want to use changes to the EU Copyright Directive to prevent the use and commercialisation of their online contents without a permission or an adequate fee. "European and Croatian publishers call on MEPs to support a proposal to introduce the so-called neighbouring rights (or related rights), namely the rights of a creative work not connected with the work's actual author, within the EU Copyright…

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - The Rijeka-based Commercial Court on Friday launched procedure to establish the prerequisites for the approval of official receivership for 3.Maj Rijeka shipyard and appointed Zdravko Čupković temporary official receiver. The next hearing at which a final decision on official receivership will be made is set for 6 February. A week ago, the Financial Agency submitted a request with the local commercial court for official receivership proceedings for the 3.Maj dock, which is part of the ailing Uljanik Group. The request was submitted after the dock's account was blocked for 120 days due to overdue liabilities…

More than 58.5 million vehicles used the Croatian motorways managed by the Croatian Motorways (HAC) and Rijeka-Zagreb Motorway (ARZ) companies in 2018, which is 5 percent more than in 2017, while tolls have been charged in the amount of more than 2.87 billion kuna without VAT, which is 6 percent more, reports Večernji List on January 4, 2019. The increase in the number of vehicles by 5 percent compared to 2017 means that the motorways under the jurisdiction of the HAC and ARZ saw almost 3 million more vehicles, while the 6 percent increase in revenue from the tolls brought…

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - Data from the fiscalisation system show that consumption in 2018 increased on the year, with the total amount of receipts issued exceeding 184 billion kuna, up 7.98%, while the number of receipts issued went up 0.76%, the Tax Administration said on Thursday. Over 2.363 billion receipts were issued in 2018, as against 2.345 billion in 2017. Their total amount was 184.08 billion kuna, as against 179.48 billion kuna in 2017. The average receipt amount was 77.89 kuna, up 7.16% on the year (72.69 kuna in 2017). In December 2018, consumption went up more than 7%…

As tportal writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, The Banker, a magazine which belongs to the Financial Times group and is issued monthly, gave two prestigious awards of recognition to the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujčić, for the year 2018 - one as the best European governor, and the one for the best central banker on a global scale. The Banker has been following various financial developments across the entire world since 1926. It has been declaring the best regional governor and governor of the year on an international level each year in its January issue,…

ZAGREB, January 3, 2019 - Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) director general Davor Majetić commended on Thursday an action plan to ease the administrative burden on businesses the government endorsed today, saying it was important not to stop relieving the business sector. "We commend the action plan to relieve businesses which the government presented today and which plans savings in excess of 600 million kuna," Majetić told Hina. This is very important "because this 600 million kuna will stay in the hands of employers who will be able to invest it and increase workers' salaries." He underlined the simplification of procedures,…

ZAGREB, January 3, 2019 - Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Thursday, while commenting on the business transformation of the INA oil company, that the government was insisting that as many Sisak oil refinery workers as possible should be retained. He dismissed claims that he and State Assets Minister Goran Maric disagreed on the issue of the Sisak refinery. "What Minister Marić said in 2016 and what we have been saying all long is that INA should be a vertically integrated company. We believe that modernisation of INA's refining business has no alternative and an investment of between…

Croatia's Master Yachting is one of the country's frontrunners when it comes to Croatian nautical tourism, and recent investments, their last one having been in the Lagoon 620 luxury catamaran, have seen their revenue increase. As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, Croatia's Master Yachting from Sukošan celebrated twenty years of existence last year, and as its director Darko Obradović says, they are one of the first companies in the nautical tourism sector in Croatia and their biggest advantage is that they're near the two national parks and their bases are close to Zadar. Today, they…