ZAGREB, 16 March, 2021 - The European Commission on Tuesday disbursed €9 billion to seven EU member states, including €510 million to Croatia, in the fifth instalment of financial support to preserve employment during the coronavirus pandemic under the SURE instrument.

This is the second instalment this year. Czechia has received €1 billion, Spain €2.87 billion, Italy €3.87 billion, Lithuania €302 million, Malta €123 million and Slovakia €330 million.

So far, 16 member states have received a total of €62.5 billion under the SURE instrument in loans which the Commission is taking out on financial markets at the best terms.

Croatia received the first instalment of €510 million on 17 November.

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ZAGREB, 16 March, 2021 - The Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) on Tuesday said that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan should include trades and crafts.

HOK said that a survey of 1,722 HOK members indicates a huge interest in EU grants.

Most of them (85%) consider investing in tangible and non-tangible assets to be the most important, notably purchasing equipment and machinery, and upgrading and building new production capacities.

The estimated value of projects that would be submitted by the majority of trades ranges from HRK 150,000 to 750,000, HOK said, adding that trades are willing to invest their own funds too.

HOK in particular noted that more than 73% of trades do not plan to use financial instruments in the coming period.

HOK is investing significant effort in preparing programme documentation for the 2021-2027 EU financial period.

The aim is to raise awareness of the needs of trades and that adequate calls for applications for grants are ensured.

HOK said that the needs of trades should be recognised through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan due to the consequences of the COVID pandemic and the negative economic trends. Hence HOK has sent its recommendations to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in an effort to find the best possible solution for trades.

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ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Labour Minister Josip Aladrović and deputy director of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development Luka Bogdan presented eight contracts in Zadar on Friday worth nearly HRK 10 million for projects to strengthen the capacities of old and new social enterprises and entrepreneurs.

"Today, we signed contracts with entities that are just starting and that are developing their business in accordance with principles of social entrepreneurship," said Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Josip Aladrović, noting that the ministry has provided over HRK 112 million to encourage social entrepreneurship.

The pandemic and crisis have created an opportunity for doing some things better and fairer, he said.

I believe that we can find a way in our business to regain a positive social impact. There are four counties among the co-signers: Zadar, Šibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia and Lika-Senj counties. All forms of entrepreneurship in these areas are more important than ever before, mostly due to the impact the pandemic has had on the tourism sector and all related activities, Minister Aladrović said, adding that by signing the projects they want to strengthen the capacities of old and new social enterprises through additional employment and education.

Deputy director of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development Luka Bogdan  said that social entrepreneurship was one of the models connecting solidarity and entrepreneurship that could be seen every day, not just in a crisis.

The purpose of the projects is to employ members of vulnerable groups -- women, Croatian war veterans and victims of the Homeland War, people with disabilities and others, and this will include creating new jobs and improving the knowledge and skills of employees through specialised forms of training and employment.

Before presenting the contracts cofinanced by the European Social Fund, Minister Aladrović and his associates had a working meeting with representatives of the City of Zadar on increasing capacities of retirement homes.

According to state secretary Marija Pletikosa, it is estimated that about 5% of the population aged over 65 needs accommodation in a retirement home, and Zadar has not yet reached the capacity to accommodate 3%, so it is necessary to build new retirement homes.

Aladrović said that he supported the idea because increasing the number of accommodation units for the elderly population across Croatia was one the priorities of his ministry.

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ZAGREB, 12 March, 2021 - Croatia's industrial producer prices fell by 0.8% in February 2021 compared with the same month in 2020, while increasing by 1.4% from January 2021, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

The annual downward trend has been present since March 2020 when industrial producer prices dropped by 2.7% compared with March 2019. The 0.8% decrease in February 2021 is the lowest in the last 11 months, while the highest annual decline was recorded in May 2020, of 6.6%.

In February 2021, compared with January 2021, industrial producer prices rose by 1.3% on foreign markets, while compared with February 2020 they declined by 2.1%. On the domestic market, they increased by 1.4% compared with January 2021 and by 0.2% compared with February 2020.

Month on month, prices of energy grew the most, by 5.1%, followed by intermediate goods (+0.7%), capital goods (+0.2%), non-durable consumer goods (+0.1%) and durable consumer goods (+0.1%).

Year on year, industrial producer prices rose by 1.2% for capital goods, by 1.1% for intermediate goods and by 0.4% for durable consumer goods, while decreasing by 4.9% for energy and by 0.3% for non-durable consumer goods.

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ZAGREB, 11 March, 2021 - After a slight drop on Wednesday, the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) Crobex index rebounded on Thursday, increasing by 0.12% to 1,864.90 points, while the Crobex10 continued its upward movement for the fourth day in a row, closing up 0.25% at 1,166.04 points.

Turnover at the close of the trading session reached HRK 7.3 million, about 2 million less than on Wednesday.

The highest turnover, of HRK 2.25 million, was generated by the stock of the HT telecommunications company. It closed at HRK 192 per share, up 2.13%, its highest price since June 2013 when it closed at slightly over HRK 200 per share.

The only other stock to pass the turnover mark of one million kuna was plastic car parts manufacturer AD Plastik, turning over HRK 1.2 million. It ended the day at HRK 185.50 per share, up 0.27%.

A total of 44 stocks traded today, with 18 of them recording share price increases, eight registering price decreases and 18 stagnating in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.582776)

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ZAGREB, Dec 5 (Hina) - A total of 51% of 432 directors, senior executives or company owners, who were polled by the Promocija Plus agency about the economic prospects for 2019 and the business optimism in Croatia, think that the situation will be unchanged compared to this year, while one in three (34%) expect some improvements next year.

Presenting the findings of the survey called "Barometer of Optimism", conducted among members of the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), the pollster's director Agan Begić said that the fact that only 34% of those polled expected a little better situation reflected the trend of decline in business optimism in Croatia, which could give rise to concern to some extent.

Considering the assessments of the state of affairs in 2018, every second respondent described the economic state of affairs this year as moderately good. Furthermore, five percent (5%) see the situation as excellent, and five percent (5%) describe the situation in the outgoing year as extremely bad. Also, 20% described the situation as very good and the same percentage saw the situation as bad.

Thus, the average grade on the scale from one to five is 3.01, which reflects the trend of mild rise from year to year, Begić said, adding that this trend is in correlation with economic growth.

Broken down by sectors, the lowest grade, 2.8%, was given by the construction sector, and the producing sector gave the highest grade, 3.09.

Broken down by regions, the current economic situation got the lowest grades in Dalmatia, 2.75% and Slavonia 2.89, while employers in central and northern Croatia as in the Rijeka area gave the highest grade, 3.

In the same vein, two in five employers (41%) assessed that the situation was moderately better in comparison to 2017, and one in three (33%) said it was about the same.

The findings of the poll show that 60% do not expect any major changes in conditions for doing business next year.

HUP Director-General Davor Majetić said the Croatian economy was functioning in an environment in which it was very close to its maximum. Croatia's growth potential is now 2.5% to 3%, he explained.

He said that employers usually cite high taxes, inefficient public administration, poor judiciary, non-fiscal tariffs and labour legislation as well as corruption and labour shortages as main barriers to doing business.

Majetić called on the government to launch reforms that would remove the above-mentioned obstacles as soon as possible.

For more on doing business in Croatia, click here.

Doing business in Croatia is always tricky, it's a long road often filled with an insane amount of paperwork and this bizarre requirement for you to physically go to multiple locations in order to get things done. Let's not forget the dreaded and archaic stamps, and the typical utter lack of desire on the faces of those apparently employed to help you. Is all that about to change with the country's gradual formation into a digital Croatia?

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of November, 2018, as of April the 1st next year, all those who want to start their own business in Croatia would be able to complete the process for registration and start doing business within just 48 hours. No, it isn't just an April Fools' trick.

A new business start-up system called Start will enable those who want to start their own businesses in the country to do just that, in a move which has been a deeply desired pipe dream up until now. With digital Croatia now finally on the horizon, getting your business off the ground is about to get a lot easier.

The service, which has been prepared by the Finance Agency (FINA), was finally given the green light following a government decision since last week. By the end of March next year, this system will be available to all those operating from within Croatia who own companies, including d.o.o and j.d.o.o's, while those abroad will see the service enabled for them by the end of 2019.

While start is an incredibly welcome news, it isn't the only player on the field, since 2005, Hitro.hr has been active, and is also a service from Fina. However, the Ministry of Economy, which is overseeing this project, clarified that there are some big differences between Hitro.hr and Start.

"Hitro.hr allows only the establishment of an Association or a company (obrt), or entry into the court or company register, while Start also enables the start-up of a business, which includes registration with the court and the company register, as well as entry into the register of business entities at the Central Bureau of Statistics, the filing of the beginning of the business and the beginning of the insurance with the Croatian Health Insurance Institute and the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute,the  registration of the taxpayers' register with the Tax Administration, registration in the VAT system, the opening of a bank account, and the electronic payment of any fees incurred during the process of all this,'' they explained from the Ministry of the Economy.

The beginnings of a digital Croatia will see that in the future, company owners will not physically have to go to all of the mentioned institutions as they currently need to, and all of the applications involved in this paperwork ridden and tiresome process will be able to be exported in one place by filling out a single digital form.

The establishment of this system amounts to 5 million kuna, as foreseen in the Ministry of Economy's budget, and in a year's time, it intends to back the project up with yet another half a million kuna.

Start requires automated communication and the exchange of data and documents between the ministries of economy, justice, finance, the tax administration, DZS, HZMO, HZZO, and credit institutions. Hitro.hr will not be harmed or otherwise threatened by the more than welcome launch of the Start system, as was confirmed by the Ministry of Economy, this service fulfills the objectives for which it was founded - better informing future entrepreneurs and providing better communication between people and the state administration, as well as offering far more ease and saving precious time when establishing a company.

"Hitro.hr will continue to provide services to users who need that kind of help - information ''at the counter'' and help with name reservations, or just the mere establishment of a company," the Ministry pointed out.

Fina added that if a user wants to start a business from their own home, they will beed to use Start, and if they want to start a business by going to the Hitro.hr counter and taking all the other steps individually, they will still have that option as well. Therefore, for those who prefer the "classic" Croatian way of starting a business, characterised by their physical arrival at the dreaded counter, Fina intends to keep the Hitro.hr offices open.

However, due to the ever-increasing trend in the digitisation of public services and the inclusion of newer generations in their use, Fina has also estimated that the percentage of those who prefer to use Start will grow year-by-year. Since the establishment of Hitro.hr, a large number of entrepreneurs have used it during the first step, especially when establishing a j.d.o.o., where every other such form of company since the service's introduction back in 2012, was established through Hitro.hr.

Altogether, Hitro has helped to create more than 57,000 new companies, of which some 32,000 are d.o.o.'s and 25,000 are j.d.o.o.'s. Obrt owners, however, have rarely used this registration service, since their start-up process is different, and since 2015, e-Obrt services have been introduced, which has completely taken over the registration processes of such companies.

The introduction of the Start system will not automatically open new jobs according to Fina's information. Currently, the offices of Hitro.hr are located in 61 Fina offices throughout Croatia, and information and support services are provided to them by Fina's existing employees, while as far as Start is concerned, as an online service, part of Hitro.hr staff will be engaged in staffing it via Fina.

Among the recommendations the World Bank gave to Croatia, the pressing need to create a more digital Croatia in order to improve the entrepreneurial climate was among the most outstanding, and it is precisely the creation of a unique online procedure, as opposed to the archaic dragging of one feet to numerous different offices in which processes are slow, confusing and often delayed, that will help paint a better picture of doing business in Croatia the most.

Interesting data from the analysis of Doing Business shows that starting up a business in Croatia is the easiest in Split, and there in the popular Dalmatian city are the largest number of Hitro.hr users. Out of five large Croatian cities, the worst results have rather surprisingly been recorded in Zagreb. According to Doing Business's analysis, more than half of Split's newly established companies use Hitro.hr, and for starting a business there, it is necessary to complete six individual procedures and the process typically lasts six days on average.

In Zagreb things appear bizarrely different, in the capital, a would-be entrepreneur has to complete eight different procedures and it takes a ridiculous average of three weeks for all the paperwork to be dealt with.

The welcome electronic changes that April the 1st, 2019, is set to bring owing to Start will require these procedures to be reduced in all cities across Croatia to just one step, and thanks to digital Croatia's roots finally being planted, the duration of this previously insanely time consuming process will go on for an absolute maximum of two days.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more information on digital Croatia and much more.

Click here for the original article by Marija Brnic for Poslovni Dnevnik

The hotel investment conference Adria Hotel Forum (AHF) is leaving Zagreb, and its seventh edition will be held at Hotel Crown Plaza in Belgrade in late February next year. The reason for the move is the investment climate in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on November 23, 2018.

Although organizer Marina Franolić tried to explain that the move actually fits in with the regional character of the conference, sources say that the major factor in the decision to leave Zagreb was the inactive investment climate in Croatia, with low interest for foreign investors and hotel brands. The atmosphere in Belgrade is very different, said the entrepreneur who launched the AHF to revive the market and bring leading global tourism investors to Zagreb.

“The relocation news was positively accepted by forum partners, such as global hotel companies, consultants and investors, who have confirmed their arrival, as well as local hotels who have been fully supporting us. Croatia has not been able to capitalize on the fact that the AHF was held for six consecutive years in Zagreb. We can still see that investment activities, especially those related to foreign direct investments, are very low. That is not the main reason for the relocation of the conference, but it certainly influenced our decision. People are asking us daily about investment opportunities in Croatia, and we have nothing or little to offer,” explained Franolić.

The AHF is the only hotel-investment conference of international character in the region and one of the five largest in Europe. Franolić added that the conference gathered more than 1,800 participants, 250 panelists and 150 partners in six years, and its importance was demonstrated by the arrival of some of the most important players in the global hotel industry who came to the conference. Last year, they brought to Zagreb investment funds which manage assets worth over 500 billion dollars, as well as high-ranking representatives of AccorHotels, Hilton and other companies.

Belgrade was not selected by accident as the new conference seat. Although Croatian tourism is considered more developed than the one in Serbia, in the corporate and public sector, apart from the fact that Serbia has significant growth in the number of foreign tourists, Belgrade has been attracting foreign investors and global brands more successfully than Croatia. In addition to the Holiday Inn, the Hyatt Regency, the IHG Crown Plaza and the Falkensteiner Hotel, Hilton and Accor's Mama Shelter were opened this spring, while in 2020 it is expected that Hilton’s DoubleTree and Marriott' St. Regis brands will also open their hotels.

For more on investments in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Marija Crnjak).

ZAGREB, November 22, 2018 - The final deadline for making operational the START information system for the online electronic establishment of companies is set for the end of March 2019 for founders of local companies and small businesses, and foreign founders can expect this system in December 2019, according to a decision made by the government.

The START system is being developed as a single information system to electronically start a company, Economy Minister Darko Horvat said.

For starting a business it is currently necessary to make a series of steps and visit several institutions, and some of the steps are to register a new business entity in relevant registries, apply for statistical processes by the national statistical office (DZS), register with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZJZ) and the Croatian Pension Insurance Fund (HZMO), open a bank account and some other steps.

The START system for electronic establishment of companies will network those systems and citizens and entrepreneurs will be able to start their businesses in a digitised way on one spot, Horvat said.

All participants in the system are obliged to ensure automatised communication within the START system.

The system for electronic establishment of companies is expected to become operational for local would-be business owners by 31 March 2019, and for foreigners by 31 December 2019.

A total of 5.5 million kuna is to be set aside for the establishment of the START system.

For more on the business climate in Croatia, click here.

ZAGREB, November 20, 2018 - The head of the Foreign Investors Council, Mladen Fogec, said on Tuesday that the recommendations made by that association were not being implemented and that this year the association wouldn't publish its "White Book" as it made no sense when nothing was implemented. Addressing a conference organised by the Zagreb Initiative and Konrad Adenauer Foundation - Economic Situation and Reform Processes - Croatia and its Surroundings, Fogec warned that reforms were constantly being talked about in Croatia, however, he considers that changes to the business climate in Croatia won't occur soon.

He said that this year, investors had decided not to issue their White Book because it made no sense constantly repeating themselves. "We published it five, six years in a row, repeating the same things each time. Our recommendations are the same and there is no point in repeating them," he said and added that when things start to change and at least some of the recommendations are accepted, they would once again release a new publication.

He announced that instead of publishing the White Book, they would organise an event that will try and analyse what Croatia has lost, due to not attracting foreign investments, or rather the opportunities it has missed.

Assistant Economy Minister Zvonimir Novak believes that Croatia needs investments into technology that will lead to innovations, better cooperation between the real sector and science organisations, more investments made by the private sector in research and development and more innovative products and services.

Investments aren't numbers in the balance sheet. They are investments into economic security, Novak said and added that an economy that is responding to the future has to be driven by the know-how and innovation.

In addition to ICT as a resource, innovation is what almost all economic sectors will have to rely on if they wish to survive on demanding global markets, Novak said, adding that that is why research and development projects are essential.

He underscored the importance of digitisation and said that it was necessary to build a productive economy that is innovative, competitive and stable, while growing sustainably.

For more on business in Croatia, click here.