News

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - Total lending by monetary institutions to domestic sectors, except the central government, increased by HRK 4 billion in March, with the annual growth rate accelerating from 4% to 5%, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) said on Friday. This was the result of the increase in loans. Corporate loans increased by HRK 3.7 billion or 6.7% and household loans by HRK 900 million, while loans to other domestic sectors decreased by HRK 400 million. In the structure of household loans, housing loans and general-purpose cash loans continued to increase, both by HRK 300 million. The annual growth rates of…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Valamar Riviera hotel company generated HRK 59.5 million in operating revenues in Q1 2022, up 97% year-on-year, with an increase of 147,000 in overnight stays, or 192%, the company said in a financial statement on Friday, announcing a return to the occupancy rate from 2019 this year. Total revenues reached HRK 74.8 million, up 119% on the year. "In Q1 2022, Valamar Riviera achieved results comparable to 2019, continuing the positive trend of tourism recovering to the pre-pandemic level," Croatia's largest tourist company said. In that period, total expenditures reached nearly HRK 314 million,…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - Croatian Postal Bank (HPB) generated a net profit of HRK 30 million in the first quarter of 2022, which is about HRK 10.6 million or 25% less than in the corresponding period of 2021, the state-owned bank said in a financial statement on Friday. The main driver of the net profit achieved was operating profit, which decreased by 59.5%, from HRK 74 million to HRK 30 million. Operating revenue decreased by about HRK 34 million to HRK 157 million, while operating expenditure jumped by HRK 10 million to HRK 126 million. Net interest revenue fell by 7.1% from…

April 30, 2022 - One of the first recipients of the Croatian digital nomad permit, Steve Tsentserensky, is back in the States and reflecting on an incredible 15 months in Paradise. A really heartwarming read for lovers of Croatia.  Croatia: a year in the life/life in a year (and more) Waiting in the cold outside a restaurant on Tomićeva in Zagreb, a server approaches, “sorry for the wait, here’s a couple shots of rakija to warm you up”. In Bol, on Brac off the coast of Split, I off-handedly mention I love ljuti ajvar in the morning. The next morning,…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Podravka Group generated a net profit of HRK 88.8 million in the first quarter of 2022, a decrease of 15.6% over the same period in 2021, the Koprivnica-based food company said in a financial statement on Friday, noting that the direct cause of the decreased profit was the Ukraine crisis. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was 7.7% lower while net profit was 15.6% lower than in 2021, which is a direct result of the Ukraine crisis, Podravka said in a press release. Sales revenue amounted to HRK 1.18 billion, or 8.6% more compared…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - Croatia has recorded 896 new coronavirus cases and five COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the national coronavirus response team reported on Friday. The number of active cases in the country now stands at 6,018, of whom 433 infected persons are being treated in hospital, including 18 placed on ventilators, while 3,764 persons are self-isolating. Since 25 February 2020, when the first case was confirmed in Croatia, 1,121,662 people have been registered as having contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of whom 15,822 have died and 1,099,822 have recovered, including 622 in the last 24 hours. A total of 4,783,774 people have tested for COVID-19 to date,…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - In 2021 Croatia was among EU countries with the lowest level of employment, below the European average, a report by the Eurostat statistical office indicates. In 2021, the share of employed people in the EU population was 73.1%, corresponding to 189.7 million people, up 1.4 percentage points from 2020, the first pandemic year, Eurostat said. This was a higher rate than for the pre-pandemic year 2019, when 72.7% of the population was employed. The employment rate in the eurozone in 2021 was 72.5%, the same as in 2019. In 2020 it was 71.2%. Croatia with…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - Retail sales in Croatia continued to rise in March 2022 for the 14th month in a row and at a faster rate than in February, indicating further recovery of the national economy, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Friday. Retail sales increased by 2% from February 2022 and by 3.6% compared with March 2021. March 2022 was the 14th consecutive month to see a year-on-year increase in spending, and at a faster rate than the month before, when it increased by 0.3%. "The uncertainty and high inflationary pressure have already impacted individual... indicators such as retail turnover, with…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Night of Fortresses, a cultural event promoting fortification architecture and monument heritage in Europe, will be held on 29 and 30 April at seven venues of the cultural and tourism project "The Routes of the Frankopans". The event is taking place as part of the European project "Fortitude" with the aim of attracting visitors to heritage localities, with interpretive walks and tours. Admission is free to programmes to be organised at Trsat Castle, Grobnik Castle, Bakar Castle, Nova Kraljevica Castle, Bribir Castle, Zrinski Castle in Čabar and Zrinski Castle at Brod na Kupi. The organisers -…

ZAGREB, 29 April (2022) - The Festival of Science, the most important and most comprehensive science popularisation event in Croatia, will be held in 37 cities across the country from 2 to 7 May, the organisers said on Thursday.  This year the event will again be held live, its central theme being "Life". The theme has been chosen as relevant due to the coronavirus pandemic that has raised many questions, among others, about the fragility of life, life values, and how science impacts the quality of life and how it can make it longer and better. In Zagreb, most of the festival events…