Business
Saturday, 13 July 2019
Government Considering Situation in Mostar-Based Aluminij Company
ZAGREB, July 13, 2019 - The Croatian government, a minority stakeholder in the Mostar-based Aluminij smelting plant, has announced consultations with the company's management and the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federation over the debt-ridden smelter and considers that it is necessary to thoroughly change its current business model to make the company successful. The Croatian government has a 12% stake in the plant, while Bosnia's Bosniak-Croat Federation entity is the biggest single shareholder with a 44% stake, and small shareholders hold the remaining 44%. The Andrej Plenković cabinet today issued a press release to express its concern over the…
Friday, 12 July 2019
Leading Entrepreneurs Want Additional Tax Cuts
ZAGREB, July 12, 2019 - The CEOs of ten leading Croatian companies met with Finance Minister Zdravko Marić at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Thursday regarding a fourth round of tax reform, saying that without tax cuts it was not possible to increase wages and competitiveness. "A decrease in income tax and raising the non-taxable amount on allowances (accommodation, transport and meal allowances for employees) were the primary demands by entrepreneurs," the HGK said in a press release, adding that they also talked about overtime work and reducing the profit tax. The HGK has for years been articulating…
Friday, 12 July 2019
Opatija Hotel Company Purchased by Top German Yacht Manufacturer
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 11th of July, 2019, the buyer, which in this case a company with some very handsome capital behind it, acquired 53.94 percent of all shares of this Opatija-based company, resulting in the obligation of publishing the takeover bid for LRH's shares. The largest package of shares of the aforementioned Opatija-based hotel company, Liburnia Riviera Hoteli, was purchased yesterday by the company Gitone Adriatic. As has since come to light more to those who had never heard of this particular company before, this is a highly successful company behind which stands the handsome capital…
Thursday, 11 July 2019
Croatia to Ask for 3-Year-Extension of Moratorium on Selling Farmland to Aliens
ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - The Croatian government on Thursday dismissed allegations from the interpellation submitted by the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS) and Democrats parliamentary group over the government's failure to extend a moratorium on the sale of farmland to aliens. The government states that it will submit the request in a timely manner to the European Commission for an extension of an additional three years to the 7-year moratorium on the sale of farmland to aliens. The deadline for submitting the request expires on 1 July 2020, seven years after Croatia's admission to the EU. Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić…
Thursday, 11 July 2019
Croatian National Bank Raises Economic Growth Projection to 3.1%
ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) has increased its projection of economic growth this year to 3.1%, a HNB Council said in a press release on Wednesday. The current indicators of economic activity and the expected growth of public and private investments as well as household consumption indicate that the growth rate of real GDP in 2019 could be 3.1%, the press release said. The HNB's forecasts at the end of last year projected a growth of 2.7%, while in spring it was decreased to 2.5%. The latest increase is in line with the European Commission…
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Finance Minister Comments on Demands for Lower VAT on Hospitality Services
ZAGREB, July 10, 2019 - Commenting on demands by restaurant owners for a VAT cut so that they could become more competitive, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Wednesday that prices, too, were important for their competitiveness. "If we look at VAT alone, we can see that we have higher rates on hospitality services than some other Mediterranean countries, but if we look at price competitiveness, the question is not the VAT rate but prices that we have overall," Marić told the press after a meeting of the inner cabinet. He said that as part of changes to the tax…
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
EC Expects Croatia's GDP Growth to Pick up to 3.1%
ZAGREB, July 10, 2019 - The European Commission on Wednesday revised markedly upward Croatia's GDP growth in 2019 to 3.1% from first estimates of 2.6%. "Real GDP growth is forecast to pick up to 3.1% in 2019 as a whole before moderating to 2.7% in 2020," the Commission says in its interim European Economic Forecast for the summer 2019. The Commission also notes that the rise is on the back of domestic demand. "Domestic demand remained the main driver of growth due to strengthening investment and robust household consumption," reads the report. Croatia's exports rebounded following an unexpected contraction in…
Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Orbico's Branko Roglić: Our Aim is to Become Leading Distributor in Europe
Orbico's owner Branko Roglić has become the majority owner of Interbrands, Romania's largest consumer goods distributor. As Novac/Adriano Milovan writes on the 8th of July, 2019, as they have explained from Orbico, after having agreed with Cyprus' Holson and taken over 25 percent of Interbrand back in January, at the end of last week, on July the 4th, the second phase of the takeover of this large Romanian distributor was completed, during which Croatia's Orbico purchased an additional 35 percent of the company, thus becoming the majority owner of Interbrands. The takeover of an additional stake in Interbrands was preceded…
Monday, 8 July 2019
Unionists Slam Government for Not Publishing Letter for Croatia's Admission to ERM II
ZAGREB, July 8, 2019 - Representatives of the Matica union federation criticised the government on Monday for not making its letter of intent and action plan for Croatia's admission to the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) public. "Unfortunately, the government is treating this issue with undemocratic inconsistency, and to make matters worse, state institutions and some media outlets are taking part in such conduct. Croatia's general public is not faced with the truth, which is extremely concerning and alarming," the leader of the trade union federation, Vilim Ribić, told a news conference in Zagreb. This past Thursday, Croatia sent…
Monday, 8 July 2019
Investment in Croatian Agriculture Justified, Says World Bank
ZAGREB, July 8, 2019 - The initial results of an in-depth analysis of Croatian agriculture show that investment in agriculture is economically justified, and that 1 million dollars invested in agricultural production generates an increase of 5.19 million dollars in the value of the total volume of economic output. The analysis was carried out by World Bank experts, who say that the Croatian agricultural sector has many comparative advantages that can be used to increase growth and development, such as unrestricted access to the EU market, access to funding under the Common Agricultural Policy, diverse agricultural and environmental conditions, good…
Monday, 8 July 2019
Croatia Finally Ready for New Investment Cycle, Investors Interested
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 7th of July, 2019, the director of Cushman & Wakefield CBS International for Croatia, a global real estate market player who entered Croatia's market back in May, explains why the domestic property market has been more lively over the last few years and to what extent developers have taken advantage of that positive trend. He also revealed his recommendations that Croatia can follow to make sure everything improves, how it can use this new investment potential to the maximum extent possible, and discussed the situation in Croatia's region. Cushman & Wakefield has expanded…
