Business

As we reported recently, the Croatian Government has put together a new package of measures worth several billion kuna which should be finalised today. Companies will be able to defer the payment of loan installments, but such a move is not yet planned for regular residents. Croatian companies will also receive money to purchase the materials they need. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of March, 2020, the Croatian Government is currently busy finalising an extremely expensive package of measures to help businesses cope with the economic issues caused by the current coronavirus outbreak, as Ivan Pandzic writes for…

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has well and truly dragged the world into a state of total disarray and with the health systems of many countries struggling, and the economy taking a proverbial nose dive, Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has decided to close his company as of Monday. As Novac writes on the 15th of March, 2020 apart from those who are able to do their jobs from the comfort and safety of their own homes, no Rimac Automobili employee will come to work. Mate Rimac is one of Croatia's most incredible entrepreneurial stories and is an idol for many…

ZAGREB, March 15, 2020 - Economy Minister Darko Horvat said on Sunday in light of the coronavirus epidemic that Croatia had sufficient commodity stockpiles in warehouses to last for a month in the event of a government intervention. "I just got back from the field. The warehouses are full, any supplies that are released are replenished. We are ready for nearly a month if the need arises for such an intervention," Horvat told reporters ahead of a meeting of the national civil protection service. He said that the State Inspectorate would monitor price movements for staples, and that if necessary,…

ZAGREB, March 15, 2020 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Sunday that sales in shops on Saturday, compared with the same day in 2019, had increased by 41%. "Yesterday, compared with the same day last year, sales increased by 41%," Marić told reporters after a meeting of the national civil protection service. "Some retail chains told me that in the first half of the day consumption was nearly double the amount on the same day last year, but things stabilised towards the end of the day," the minister said. He praised all warehouse workers, drivers and cashiers for their…

Konzum, Croatia's largest retail chain, has stated that its stores and warehouses are adequately equipped, and enhanced hygiene and sanitation measures are being implemented in all shops, warehouses and administration buildings. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of March, 2020, all of Konzum's warehouses and stores are well-equipped and supplies are stepping up, especially when it comes to groceries and products that customers are seeking the most during these circumstances, Konzum reports. In this way, Konzum claims that it is fully prepared for increased demand across all of its stores and is taking all measures to respond to any…

ZAGREB, March 14, 2020 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) on Friday said that the growth of the country's GDP would probably deviate from the initial forecasts to a considerable degree due to the outbreak of coronavirus, and the bank will take measures to help the economy to overcome the situation. One of the measures which the HNB is going to conduct is a structural operation for five years at the interest rate of 0.25%, and this will be carried out on Monday, 16 March. In addition, the HNB has started buying state bonds with the aim of maintaining stability…

ZAGREB, March 14, 2020 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices on Friday increased by approximately 6%, recovering in part after the previous day's losses which exceeded 10%, however, on the weekly level they sank for the third week in a row, by nearly 17%. On Friday, the Crobex index rebounded by 5.78% to 1,512 points, and the Crobex10 by 6.04% to 902 points. All sector indices were in the green today, and the building sector increased the most, by 8.26%. The main stock exchange indices recouped a part of the previous day's losses, when they sank by more…

ZAGREB, March 13, 2020 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) on Friday intervened on the foreign exchange market for the third time this week, selling €479.55 million to commercial banks. HNB sold €479.55 million at a middle exchange rate of HRK 7.564914, withdrawing an additional HRK 3.63 billion from the financial system. This is the third time in a week and this year the central bank has intervened with more than €1.2 billion being sold to banks withdrawing about HRK 9.1 billion from the financial system. HNB on Monday sold €387 million at a rate of 7.512738 for HRK 2.9…

As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes on the 12th of March, 2020, as many as sixty percent of companies working in the Croatian wood industry, particularly in wood processing, have recorded a drop in orders, around a twenty percent drop since coronavirus has begun to spread, according to a survey by the Croatian Wood Cluster, which includes sixty companies operating within the sector. ''More than half of the respondents encountered difficulties in transporting their goods to Italy, which is traditionally one of the major export markets, as well as to China and Asia. All of this caused a drop in liquidity in…

Among the current doom and gloom, there are some great stories waiting to be told as well. How about this one, a huge investment in Rijeka's 3 May shipyard, as Scenic Group owner Glen Moroney talks details on the 860 million euro deal to build five luxury cruise ships with Novi List..   March 12, 2020 - Australian businessman Glen Moroney, the owner of Scenic Group, the man who wants to build five luxury cruise ships at the ‘3. Maj’ shipyard is not a man to throw around the big words and extravagant promises. ‘Easy, let’s take it one step…