Business

ZAGREB, 31 March 2022 - Gas is at the centre of the current global energy crisis which resembles the oil crisis of the 1970s, however, Croatia is in a somewhat better position than most European countries albeit the high price of gas and other energy sources cannot be avoided, a Gas Forum heard on Thursday. The developments concerning the global energy sector are unprecedented and the war in Ukraine just worsened the situation in particular, the gas crisis, Danijel Žamboki,  the head of the management board of the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) said addressing the forum organised by the Energy…

ZAGREB, 31 March 2022 - Croatia's industrial production continued to rise in February for the 15th month in a row, and faster than the previous month, indicating further recovery of the economy. In February 2022, industrial production increased by 2.6% compared with the previous month and by 4.0% compared with February 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Thursday. This was faster growth than in January when production had risen by 3.5% year on year. The growth was recorded in all five sectors.  Production of capital goods increased the most, by 11.5%, production of durable consumer goods by 5.4%,…

ZAGREB, 30 March 2022 - Expectations for Croatia's economy improved in March however, uncertainty prevails due to the war in Ukraine which is bothering managers and consumers in the EU and the euro area, triggering a wave of pessimism, shows a report released by the European Commission on Wednesday. The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for Croatia picked up in March by 1.5 points compared to February and now stands at 109.1 points. The strongest improvement was seen in managers' expectations in the industry, improving by 2.9 points with consumer confidence also improving by 1.7 points. Given the high inflation, trade confidence slumped with the…

ZAGREB, 30 March 2022 - Croatia's industrial sales in January 2022 increased by 15.7% compared with January 2021 and by 5.5% when compared with December 2021, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). Compared with January 2021, industrial sales increased by 11.6% on the domestic market, and 24.5% on the foreign market. Broken down by main industrial groupings, sales of energy rose by 51.2%, sales of intermediate goods by 21.2%, sales of capital goods by 14.1%, sales of non-durable consumer goods by 11.5%, and sales of durable consumer goods by 7.0%. Industrial sales had been on the rise…

ZAGREB, 30 March 2022 - The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) has granted permission to the Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation to enter the leasing market in Croatia, HANFA reported on Wednesday. The Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation has been granted permission to establish a leasing company that will operate as Toyota Tsusho Leasing Croatia d.o.o. and to acquire a qualified share of 100% of equity in Toyota Tsusho Leasing Croatia d.o.o. This is the first time a Japanese group has entered the leasing market in Croatia, HANFA said in a press release. HANFA also reported that N3 Capital Partners has been given approval to…

March the 30th, 2022 - The brand new Movenpick Hotel Zagreb is set to become a favourite place for business travellers looking for a modern and well-equipped space in which to hold their business meetings, according to the Accor Group's development director for Southeastern Europe. As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, even before the announced opening of Accor's hotel under the Movenpick brand in Split in 2023, Accor will open its first hotel with the brand's signature right here in the City of Zagreb this June. The new hotel will be located in the business zone of Novi Zagreb, less than…

ZAGREB, 29 March 2022 - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Tuesday that fuel prices could go down next week again, and that in case they escalated significantly for a longer period of time, the government could again resort to reducing excise taxes. Ćorić told reporters this after a meeting of the ruling coalition partners, when asked how the government planned to respond since fuel prices have gone up again. As of Tuesday, Eurosuper 95 is sold at most petrol stations in the country at HRK 12.45 per litre, HRK 0.61 more than on Monday, when it…

ZAGREB, 29 March 2022 - Thanks to an injection of fresh capital of HRK 15.81 million for the Daruvar-based Vodoprivreda water management company, which employs 140 workers, its business future has been secured. The company is for the most part owned by Bjelovar-Bilogora County and after the company's recapitalisation, the majority owner now is the Zagreb-based EnergoVizija company while the county's ownership share has decreased from 60.58% to 29.67%. County Prefect Marko Marušić underscored that the company's agony had been ongoing for two and a half years and now it had been bailed out. Most importantly, 140 jobs have been saved, he said. Marušić…

ZAGREB, 29 March 2022 - Germany is Croatia's key trade partner and Croatia is open to further investment by German companies, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday after meeting with a delegation of the German Eastern Business Association. The meeting discussed the strengthening of Croatian-German economic cooperation and the main areas for the further investment by German companies in Croatia, the government said in a press release. Germany remains Croatia's number-one foreign trade partner and trade in 2021 totalled €6.4 billion, it added. The meeting at the government was also attended by Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman and Economy Minister Tomislav…

March the 29th, 2022 - Croatian covid certificates are going to remain necessary for companies to receive state/government support despite the fact that in most other places across the country and indeed across Europe in which they were once needed, they're being scrapped. As Marina Klepo/Novac/Jutarnji list writes, employers operating within economic activities with reduced activity can continue to count on the government's job preservation aid for the months of March and April in the maximum amount of 4,000 kuna per worker, but they'll need to show they still have valid Croatian covid certificates As reminded in the Ministry of…