Business

May the 12th, 2022 - The very successful Croatian company AKD is succeeding more internationally, having offered its solution to the neighbouring Slovenian Finance Ministry and been readily accepted for the job. As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, for five years now, the Public Payments Administration of the Ministry of Finance has selected the Croatian company AKD and ED Solutions as the issuer of unique identification marks for unit and aggregate packaging of tobacco products as an integral part of the European Union's overall traceability system. This is a continuation of successful cooperation because the system was first established back in May 2019,…

ZAGREB, 11 May 2022 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) Council on Wednesday said the domestic financial system's exposure to systemic risks has increased due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, and that inflation will increase the cost of new loans and burden loan repayments with variable interest. The HNB Council discussed current economic and financial trends, underscoring that statistical indicators show that economic growth strengthened at the start of the year but that weaker consumer confidence is evident which, despite a mild recovery, retained a relatively low level in April. Increased employment stopped in March, even though nominal wages are growing…

May the 11th, 2022 - The global giant OYO Rooms has taken over the Croatian Direct Booker which has its origins in Dubrovnik and is eyeing further European expansion. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, with the aim of further expansion across Europe, the global online platform for tourist accommodation, OYO Rooms, has taken over the Croatian Direct Booker, an online agency founded in Dubrovnik which specialises in the management of units for tourist accommodation and technology development. The founders of Direct Booker, Nino Dubretic and Nikola Grubelic, as well as IT expert Ivan Bogoje, remain within the company's management, and with…

ZAGREB, 10 May 2022 - Several state institutions are involved in caring for Croatia's digitisation, while for any more significant progress and easier decision making it would be worthwhile for that to be just one body, AmCham director Andrea Doko Jelušić said on Tuesday at the "Digital Croatia 2030" conference. The conference is an annual event organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia (AmCham) and attracts representatives of its member companies. Doko Jelušić said that according to the EU's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), last year Croatia ranked 19th, and that the entire ICT industry accounts for 4% of GDP, which shows that there is…

ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices fell by slightly more than 0.3% on Monday. The Crobex dropped by 0.38% to 2,102 points, and the Crobex10 declined by 0.31% to 1,254 points. Regular turnover amounted to HRK 8.67 million, or HRK 2.1 million less than on Friday. An additional HRK 2.3 million was generated by a block transaction with the Atlantic retail group stock at HRK 1,620 per share. Atlantic Grupa also had the highest turnover in the regular session, HRK 1.61 million. Its price fell by 1.83% to HRK 1,610 per share. The stock of the…

ZAGREB, 9 May 2022 - In the first three months of 2022, the value of Croatia's commodity exports totalled HRK 41.7 billion, up 36.6% on the year, while imports increased by 41.2% to HRK 67.4 billion, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Monday. The foreign trade deficit in that period amounted to HRK 25.6 billion, 8.5 billion more on the year, while the coverage of imports by exports was 61.9%, whereas in the comparable period of 2021 it was 64%. The export of goods to the EU in Q1 totalled HRK 30.2 billion, 42.9% more on the year, while imports from the EU increased…

May the 9th, 2022 - Former Croatian economy minister Ivan Vrdoljak has invested a large chunk of money in the Rovinj campsite (Porton Camp), which is set to re-open in about one week following a ''makeover'' of sorts. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Rovinj campsite is set to re-open its doors as a more luxurious destination in a week's time, thanks to an investment of 3 million euros in the first 27 cottages which truly do stand out in terms of design and execution. Everything there has been made in Croatia and are Croatian products, made of sustainable materials,…

ZAGREB, 8 May 2022 - Croatia lost HRK 1.3 billion (€173m) in budget revenues to the consumption of illegal cigarettes and cut tobacco in 2021, a survey conducted by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) in cooperation with the Ipsos market research agency shows. The purpose of the survey was to determine the size of the untaxed tobacco market and its impact on the national economy. It was carried out in December 2021 and January 2022 on a representative sample of 1,243 households including 3,062 respondents aged 19 and above. The survey showed that 27.9% of the population aged 19 and…

ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - Finance Minister Zdravko Marić on Saturday denied Brodosplit CEO Tomislav Debeljak's statement that a solution had been found for the shipyard, saying talks are under way and that the situation is very complex. "Unfortunately... no agreement has been reached," Marić told the press. He said the Brodosplit situation became even more complex in the past few weeks due to the opening of pre-bankruptcy proceedings. They imply an additional procedural as well as "temporal component" regarding the approval and regime of state aid, he added. Also, he said, the Finance Ministry has been analysing the technical, legal and financial justification…

ZAGREB, 7 May 2022 - The Fitch Ratings agency has affirmed Croatia's investment rating at 'BBB' with a positive outlook, estimating that the recovery of the country's tourism industry will support the economy at a time of slowing exports and that eurozone entry will mitigate financing risks. Fitch revised down its projection of Croatian growth for 2022 from 4.4% to 3.3%, citing base effects and a sharp slowdown in household consumption as high inflation affects consumer spending. "A slowdown in key trading partners, primarily the eurozone, will affect goods export performance this year but we expect key services sectors such…