Business

ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - President Zoran Milanović visited Infobip, the leading IT company in Croatia and the region, in the Istria County town of Vodnjan on Tuesday, saying he was impressed by the company's business performance. "People used to come to Vodnjan for its tourist attractions and olive oil, and now they come because of a company that is not so well known in Croatia, but is incredible. I want to draw attention to what competent and dedicated people can do, because this firm operates throughout the world and was not established with the aid of the state," Milanović said. "The…

ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - Parliament will debate seven bills this week including a report on investments in island development during 2018 and 2019, a topic which will be on the agenda on Wednesday. In 2018 and 2019 the state and public sector invested more than five billion kuna for the development of islands, mostly in grants, notes the report on the results of implementing the Islands Act in 2018 and 2019. More and more money is being invested for island development and in 2018 more than HRK 2 billion was invested which is 20% more than in 2017. In 2019, almost…

ZAGREB, 2 March 2021 - Prices of agricultural products in Croatia increased 0.5%  in 2020 from 2019, the national statistical office (DZS) has reported. The prices of plant products rose 0.4% and the prices of livestock and animal products went up 0.6% on the year. The increase in prices of plant products "was influenced primarily by the increase in the prices of industrial plants, of 15.7%, fruits, of 9.5%, and olive oil, of 7.9%," the DZS says adding that  the prices in all other groups decreased. For instance, prices of cereals went down by 0.4% and of vegetables by 6.2%, while the price of potatoes (including…

March 2, 2021 - Adria Business Network 15, organized by successful entrepreneurs Željka Barišić, owner of Forca Digital Agency (www.forcadigitalagency.com), and Kristina Krstinić, owner of MIKRIS Project Management (www.mikris.eu), will be held on March 31, 2021, at 6 pm, at the new location, Aspira High School, Heinzelova 62a, Zagreb. In the first part of the event, the guest is Matija Žulj, founder and director of AGRIVI - a global agro-technological company with a vision to change the way food is produced and positively affect a billion people. AGRIVI software serves farmers to help achieve sustainable and profitable production. Matija himself…

March the 2nd, 2021 - The Rijeka JGL Group pharmaceutical company did excellently in pandemic-dominated 2020, achieving enviable growth in revenue and earning an impressive title. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, last year, the Rijeka JGL Group generated an impressive 1,020 million kuna in total revenues with double-digit growth and became the largest Croatian pharmaceutical company in Croatia. "Despite difficult and reduced access to healthcare in all countries in which we operate, a decline in the value of local currencies of about 30 percent in our largest markets, and consequently a decline in the purchasing power of the population, in…

February the 28th, 2021 - The European Investment Bank Group enjoyed a record year in Croatia last year despite the economic woes caused by the pandemic, the unstable situation and the restrictive epidemiological measures introduced. As Marina Klepo/Novac writes, the European Investment Bank Group had a decent 2020, securing 530 million euros in loans, equity and guarantees. The European Investment Bank invested a massive 342.5 million euros, and the European Investment Fund, the second component of the group, invested 187.9 million euros. ''Responding to the economic crisis caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, small and medium-sized Croatian enterprises have been…

ZAGREB, 26 February, 2021 - The annual drop in GDP of 8.4% is as expected, Maruška Vizek, a researcher from Zagreb's Institute of Economics, told Hina, adding that Q3 saved Croatia from a deeper downturn because of the key contribution of tourism and underscoring the contribution of government's strategy in H1 2020. "The year-on-year decline in GDP of 8.4% compared to 2019 is in line with expectations, and Q3 saved us from a larger contraction, since it was much better than expected thanks to the strategy the government employed in the first half of last year," Vizek said. She recalled that…

February 26, 2021 - Although Croatia is better known for tourism, the world of Croatian startups is an increasingly fascinating - and successful - place.  After many years of writing mostly about tourism, the world of Croatian startups is an area that I find not only much more interesting, but also one with infinitely more potential.  These young entrepreneurs are of the younger generation, less held back by the baggage of the past, and much more focus on business and the future, rather than politics and history. There are, I believe, a fundamental cornerstone in the building of Croatia 2.0.…

ZAGREB, 25 February, 2021 - Expectations for the Croatian economy increased in February to the highest level since March 2020 reflecting the wave of optimism in the services and retail sectors, as business leaders signalled a lower demand for workers, a European Commission report showed on Thursday. In February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) was 94.1 points, or 3.9 points higher than in January, which was its highest level since March 2020 and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Its value, however, is below the long term average of 100 points. The greatest improvement was observed in services confidence, increasing by 6.5…

February the 25th, 2021 - The Croatian Employers Association (HUP) want more European Union cash to be directed towards the private sector, with employers doing their best to urge the government to amend a certain document to ensure this happens. As Novac/Gordana Grgas writes, at least 50 percent of European Union money is set to be available to Croatia in the next period, which is a total of about 24 billion euros. The Croatian Employers Association believes that around half of that massive amount should be made available to the private sector through calls for grants. Employers are also urging…