Business

ZAGREB, March 5, 2019 - European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu said in Dubrovnik on Tuesday that there is no danger for future EU projects in Croatia that would be financed from the Cohesion Fund following a reduction of budget funds, and Croatia's minister responsible for European funds, Grabrijela Žalac, said that Croatia had some objections to the European Commission's proposed budget for the period 2021-2027. A ministerial conference of the group of "Friends of Cohesion - Cohesion Policy and Structural Reforms Post 2020", organised by the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, was held in Dubrovnik…

ZAGREB, March 5, 2019 - Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić said on Tuesday that he expected a national agricultural strategy to be adopted in June. Speaking at a national agricultural conference in the eastern city of Osijek, Tolušić said that the strategy was being drawn up by the World Bank with the participation of Croatian, French, Dutch, American and Greek experts working at the World Bank. "I expect the strategy to be adopted in June this year, which I think is very soon given that we haven't had one so far," the minister said. Tolušić said that a tender would be…

ZAGREB, March 5, 2019 - Croatia's gross foreign debt at the end of November 2018 totalled 39.1 billion euro, 1.9 billion or 4.5% less than the year before, analysts at Raiffiesenbank Austria (RBA) have said, noting that the foreign debt to GDP ratio is expected to continue to fall. "The current dynamic of the annual debt decline has been going on since December 2015," the analysts said in a comment on figures recently published by the Croatian National Bank (HNB). The reduction of the foreign debt is due to an 11.7% drop in the debt of other monetary financial institutions,…

Pula's Arena Hospitality Group, which refers to itself as one of the most dynamic hospitality groups in Central and Eastern Europe, currently offers a portfolio of 26 owned, co-owned, leased and managed properties with more than 10,000 rooms and accommodation units here in Croatia, as well as in Germany and Hungary. As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of March, 2019, the total investments of the Arena Hospitality Group in 2018 and 2019 amount to 447 million kuna in hotels and camps in both the Republic of Croatia and over in Germany, plus the 190 million kuna that the…

March 4, 2019 - More international expertise is arriving to help the development of the Croatian medical tourism industry, as Bagatin Education Center announces another niche seminar. And still they keep on coming...  It is now about 18 months since I first discovered the huge potential of medical tourism in Croatia, writing my first article on the subject after visits to Bagatin Clinic, Svjetlost Eye Hospital and St Catherine Specialty Hospital. Those visits opened my eyes and culminated in Health Tourism is Coming Home: Why Zagreb is the Next Big Medical Tourism Destination. Since then, the story - and the potential…

ZAGREB, March 4, 2019 - The solution for the Uljanik Group has to be sustainable and in accordance with European Union regulations and it has to bring the Uljanik and 3. Maj docks closer to market principles, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday. Responding to reporters whether the government is closer to an agreement with Brodosplit owner Tomislav Debeljak regarding a solution to the ailing Uljanik Group, Plenković announced a series of meetings this week and underlined that a "solution has to be found that is sustainable and in accordance with state subsidies at the European Union level." Asked…

ZAGREB, March 4, 2019 - A total of 20.5 million passengers were transported in Croatia in the last quarter of 2018, or 1.3% fewer than at the same time in 2017, while the transport of goods increased by 6.4% to 32 million tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) show. In the whole of 2018, 1% fewer passengers and 3% more goods were transported than in 2017. Quarter-on-quarter declines in passenger transport were recorded in road and air transport, while all other modes of transport generated growth. On the other hand, goods transport increased for all modes of…

Investment in Croatia continues despite problematic red tape, and thanks to EU funds (among others), Istria County is set to see a huge cash injection for their numerous ports. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of March, 2019, Istria County is the founder of five port authorities: Pula Port Authority, Rovinj Port Authority, Rabac Port Authority, Poreč Port Authority and Umag-Novigrad Port Authority, which are expecting big investments this year, according to a report from Glas Istre. In Pula, the completion of the new 130-metre-long coastline is expected, which will surely contribute to the further overall growth of maritime…

As Adriano Milovan/Novac.hr writes on the 4th of March, 2019, the situation on the Croatian labour market is all the more alarming: despite the significant number of registered unemployed people, there are numerous activities for which a labour force must be imported. With regard to the further trends on the labour market, as well as the challenges that Croatia is facing in terms of a digital revolution, Novac sat down and talked to the leading man of the consulting house of the EC in Croatia, Berislav Horvat. Berislav Horvat has good knowledge of the trends on the labour market, as…

ZAGREB, March 3, 2019 - Valamar Riviera earned 276.4 million euro in total revenues in 2018 or 11% more than in 2017, according to the audited annual results which this leading hotel company has recently published. The company's total expenditure was 1.79 billion kuna, rising 11.6% from 2017. "Total overnights reached 6.5 million growing 4.6% compared to the same period last year, while the average rate grew by 5%," the company says in a press release. "In 2018, operating profit adjusted for one-off items increased by 13% to 94.8 million euro as a result of previous investments in portfolio repositioning…