Business

ZAGREB, 23 August, 2022 - The City of Varaždin has decided to withdraw its enforcement order against the Varteks local clothing manufacturer in order for the company's accounts to be unblocked so it can pay its workers their wages, the city authorities reported on Tuesday. On 11 August, the authorities of this northern Croatian city activated a debenture for Varteks's debt of HRK 1.3 million after the management board chairman Tomislav Babić resigned. In the meantime, an inter-party council held a meeting, and following his consultations with the council, Mayor Neven Bosilj (SDP) decided to withdraw the decision for the enforced collection of Varteks's debt.…

August the 23rd, 2022 - Could the Croatian hemp growing industry boost the overall economic picture? Many believe so, but there are many obstacles to anything being made easy, such is Croatia. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, it has been estimated that the value of the industrial hemp market across Europe should be almost nine billion US dollars by the year 2027. In Croatia, there are numerous organisations that deal with the cultivation and distribution of this particular plant, but they also encounter numerous problems, Dnevnik.hr writes. Industrial hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) is a plant from the cannabis family that contains 0.2…

ZAGREB, 22 August, 2022 - There were 1.63 million employed citizens in Croatia in July, which was 1.6% more year-on-year and 1.1% more month-on-month, the national statistical office (DZS) reported on Monday. According to the data provided by the DZS, the country's total active population stood at 1.74 million, or 1.2% more than this June, or 05% more than in July 2021. Furthermore, 109,600 persons were out of work in July, rising 3.6% month-on-month and falling by 13% compared to July 2021. The total registered unemployment rate in July 2022 was 6.3%, growing by a mild 0.2 percentage points from June 2022.…

August 19, 2022 - Looking for a job in Croatia? A new weekly feature on TCN, in partnership with leading job site agency, Posao.hr, who present a selection of weekly job listings. How hard is it to find a job in Croatia, and what is on offer? We spoke to Ines Bokan, director of leading jobs site Posao.hr, who kindly took the time for this excellent interview overview.   Ines has kindly agreed to work with us on a new weekly feature on TCN - a weekly selection of 10 job listings, as chosen by Posao.hr.  Details and links to the…

August 2022 - Meet the Bugatti W16 Mistral, the first Bugatti conceived and developed under Bugatti Rimac - and already sold out! I seem to be writing a lot about Mate Rimac these days...  From being the first person to drive across the new Peljesac Bridge, which connected Croatia, with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic the passenger in the elite RImac Nevera, to Formula  1 legend Nico Rosberg taking delivery of the first Nevera for over $2 million.   Surely cars can't get more expensive than that? Well, apparently, they can... Rimac acquired the prestigious Bugatti brand last year, and he posted…

ZAGREB, 19 August, 2022 - The Varteks clothing manufacturing company is experiencing difficult times after the Tax Administration, and the City of Varaždin blocked its account to collect claims, and part of the production has come to a halt because some workers have refused to work until they see how their next wage will be paid. The president of the Workers' Council, Božica Čiček Mutavdžić confirmed this to Hina on Friday, noting that the production department wasn't working. She said they had asked that the workers' holiday be extended until Monday, 22 August, when they should return to work. Workers…

August the 19th, 2022 - Croatian Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac has discussed upcoming changes that private renters renting out their properties to visiting tourists should be aware of as the Croatian tourism strategy looks at bumping up the hotel share in the bigger picture. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac recently spoke about the strategy of Croatian tourism, the current summer season and numbers for HRT. The share of hotels in accommodation in Croatia is still unsatisfactory, despite the fact that the most recent Croatian tourism strategy was to increase the share of hotels in total accommodation to 18%…

ZAGREB, 18 August, 2022 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday announced that the government was working on a package of measures to curb inflation and energy prices, underscoring that VAT on solar panels would be cut to zero percent. The prime minister also said they would help companies owned by local government units and entrepreneurs who are given unfavoruable gas supply contracts. At the beginning of a government meeting, PM Plenković commented on the gas supply for the winter season, saying that the Okoli underground gas storage facility was filling up at an accelerated pace, that it was currently 68% full,…

ZAGREB, 18 August, 2022 - The Croatian government on Thursday decided to invest €180 million in the construction of the Zlobin-Bosiljevo gas pipeline and the upgrade of the LNG terminal on Krk so that its capacity could be raised to 6.1 billion cubic metres of gas annually. "This is a strategic decision; we are increasing the capacity of the LNG terminal on the island of Krk twofold, and the construction of a new pipeline will start to the aim of strengthening the gas supply security in Croatia," Economy and Sustainable Development Minister, Davor Filipović, said at the government's meeting. The…

ZAGREB, 17 August, 2022 - The nongovernmental organisation "The Voice of Entrepreneurs" (UGP) on Wednesday urged the government to immediately respond to the volatile situation on the gas market and to price hikes, or it would stage a protest in Zagreb's main square. The NGO issued a press release in which it warned that the unstable developments on the gas market resulted in multiple price rises, which is why micro, small and medium-sized businesses need the government's assistance and intervention. It also criticised new gas supply contracts which are being sent recently by the Gradska Plinara Zagreb distributor of gas supplies in…