Investments in Croatia come in various forms, and while we tend to read about either investors running for the hills when faced with Croatia's draconian love of red tape, or investments being made in the tourism sector along the coast, large sums of cash are continually being poured into both the healthcare and the education sectors, with one county standing out from the crowd.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 10th of January, 2019, as much as 10.5 million kuna has been invested in school renovations in Koprivnica-Križevci County, the co-financing of school transport, and the largest number of scholarships have been secured so far. One of the priorities of Koprivnica-Križevci County, which was defined in the county's development strategy, is constant investment in education that continued throughout 2018.

In addition to the large amount of money having been invested in school renovations, two capital projects for energy reconstruction are due to be set up. The involved schools are primary schools in Virje and Drnje, these projects are worth as much as 9 million kuna, and both schools will achieve heating savings of a massive 70 percent. Given the fact that the aforementioned county has recognised the importance of investing in energy efficiency, new contracts have been signed for the development of major energy renewal projects in Novigrad Podravski, Ferdinandovac, Đelekovec, and Veliki Poganac.

These investments in Croatia are more than praiseworthy, and in addition to improving the overall material conditions in schools, the county is continuing to co-finance student transport and support projects for students with disabilities and special needs, offering free school meals for students from less wealthy backgrounds, and more. In addition, last year the largest number of student scholarships was awarded to date, up to 35 of them, including those awarded to medical students, which is an important contribution to the project of the promotion of vocational professions.

Despite all of the above, 2018 will most likely be remembered for investments made in the health sector, and thanks to the joint cooperation of the county, the head of Koprivnica hospital and the parliamentary representatives with the Minister of Health, a long-awaited 10 million kuna magnetic resonance (MR) device arrived at Koprivnica hospital. Other capital projects include the very welcome eight-million-kuna "POZDRAV - Improvement of Primary Health Care in Koprivnica-Križevci County" initiative.

Make sure to stay up to date with investments in Croatia and much, much more by following our dedicated lifestyle and business pages.

For some, the mere idea of the introduction of the euro in Croatia is enough to induce passionate debate. For others, the introduction of the single European currency is the next step to leaving the country's tumultuous past behind, and joining the ''ever closer union'' that Eurocrats in Brussels speak so highly of. While the United Kingdom managed to secure a way out of the currency's introduction much earlier, Croatia had to agree to take on the euro in order to join the bloc.

Introducing the euro in Croatia is likely to bring problems as well as solve them, but what use is the adoption of the single currency when many of Croatia's national institutions are in total disarray? Until state institutions can be brought into line, the introduction of the euro and the overhaul that involves will only work to contribute to existing issues, rather than help to solve them.

As Ana Blaskovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 9th of January, 2019, just over a year after the announcement of the Croatian Government's intention to introduce the euro, encouraged by positive signals from Europe, Croatia will send a letter of intent to enter the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) by the summer. The aforementioned mechanism is known as the ''waiting room" for a country's introduction of the euro as its currency. Although the letter is only the first formal step in the process of replacing the kuna with the formerly problematic single currency, its content is not merely a pleasant yet rather empty formality.

The letter will involve the Croatian Government agreeing on a series of concrete reform moves, in a relatively short period of about a year. "The ball is now in the government's court to make a list of moves that can be completed within a year, within the gauge that they're achievable, easily measurable, and are written in the letter of intent," an interlocutor close to the central bank told Poslovni Dnevnik.

Judging by the Bulgarian version of the letter that Sofia officially sent to a number of European Union addresses at the end of July, the answer to the question of what exactly Andreja Plenković's government could or should put on paper doesn't need great philosophical effort put into it. There is already a list of specific recommendations from Brussels for the Republic of Croatia.

Reforms is a word that everyone in Croatia gets sick of hearing, and this next political move involves a well-known series of infamous reforms, the implementation of which has been largely shifted to ''next year''. The euro in Croatia however, demands certain reforms be met, and sooner rather than later.

For example, there are administration reforms (including those regarding salaries), reforms to the utterly bizarre Croatian justice system, the establishing of a more just system of social benefits and rights, the strengthening of the fiscal framework, and the introduction of property taxes, a controversial idea which Plenković has moved around quite a lot on.

"The European Commission supports member states' efforts to introduce the euro, not only politically, but in also providing the necessary technical assistance and potential financial resources," said Valdis Dombrovskis, adding that Croatia is very serious in its intentions and is working intensively to meet the conditions for its eventual entry into the eurozone. One of the panelists at that conference was the Croatian National Bank's Boris Vujčić, which is also regarded by all as a firm sign of Croatia's support.

"The most difficult thing to do is to enter the ERM II, because there are no clear criteria that a country needs to meet in order to enter the exchange rate mechanism. Once you're in the ERM, the criteria for introducing the euro is clear, although some of it is constantly changing, so you do need a bit of luck on your side in order to be able to fulfil it,'' said Latvia's governer. One thing is certain, unlike the correspondence Croatia has had with the European Commission until now (primarily concerning becoming a member of the EU), the rules for a country's adoption of the euro are much stricter.

Make sure to stay up to date for more information on the intended introduction of the euro in Croatia and much more by following our dedicated politics page.

Click here for the original article by Ana Blaskovic for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Ana Blaskovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of January, 2019, the Croatian capital city of Zagreb exports 33.2 billion kuna of goods annually, whereas all of the counties of coastal Croatia together export only 15.9 billion kuna annually as a whole.

Despite ever louder warnings that the Croatian domestic economic model is growing weaker because of excessive reliance on tourism, it's likely that not only will that trend change soon, but that the changes will continue to strengthen in the future.

When analysing the figures on commodity exports, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) points out that Zagreb exports 33.2 billion kuna of goods annually, twice more than the total exports of all of the counties of coastal Croatia put together - just 15.9 billion kuna. While the commodity export of Zagreb stands for one third of Croatia's total exports, these startling regional differences are so high that, for example, Croatia's southernmost county of Dubrovnik-Neretva, fails to even produce 157 million kuna's worth of goods, let alone export it.

If exports are looked at per capita, then the largest regional exporter is Varaždin County, followed by Zagreb and then Međimurje County. With 172.5 euro per head, Dubrovnik-Neretva County is far, far below the national export duty, of 3,360 euro per capita. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce says that Zagreb is far ahead of all of the others for the simple reason that data on foreign trade is recorded at the headquarters of companies, which logically gravitate to the capital.

Zagreb has the largest foreign trade surplus among Croatia's counties, standing at 46.8 billion kuna. Following are Sisak-Moslavina with 1.2 billion kuna, Brod-Posavina with 868 million kuna and Međimurska with 766 million kuna.

"Despite the shortcomings of the statistics, including the temporary relocation of large companies, it can be concluded that Croatia's accession to the EU and the period of recovery of EU-level demand were the most profitable for Lika-Senj, Zagreb County, and Brod-Posavina, which have achieved the largest export growth rates,'' stated Zvonimir Savić.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for more. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow.

Click here for the original article by Ana Blaskovic for Poslovni Dnevnik

As Josip Bohutinski/VL/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of January, 2019, the Croatian Government is set to propose an increase in the amount of PSO contracts Croatia Airlines receives for domestic flights to the European Commission (EC). Croatia's national airline Croatia Airlines (CA) should select a financial advisor to develop a recapitalisation model and find a strategic partner by the end of this month.

The two-time bidding was announced last September, and as has since come to be known, reputable world companies such as Deloitte, AT Kearney, PwC, the Boston Consulting Group and DBV, which are part of a consortium with Croatia's PBZ, have come to be involved.

From Croatia Airlines themselves, they stated that last year, the Croatian Government put the company back on the list of companies of strategic and special interest of the Republic of Croatia, and that in the national reform program, it was stated that the goal in respect to Croatia Airlines is to ensure the further development and strengthening of competitive advantages and positions in the air transport market through quality strategic partnership. That strategic partner, which is obviously yet to be found, should expand Croatia Airlines' transport network and increase market share, as well as successfully recapitalise the air company.

Just how much money is actually needed?

When asked about this, Croatia Airlines responds the bid is still in process and therefore the company isn't in a position to comment on its details at the moment. The selected advisor should assess the amount of money really needed for the recapitalisation of the airline. Croatia Airlines' provisional director, Jasmin Bajić, has already estimated that it stands at about 250 million kuna.

In the past year, the Polish national airline LOT and the 4K German investment fund, which has already taken over Slovenia's Adria Airways, have both been interested in entering Croatia Airlines. As is already known, some Chinese air carriers have recently shown a somewhat general interest, but air carriers outside the European Union can only have up to a 49 percent share in an airline from within the European Union at most. As potential buyers, the Chinese have also mentioned the previous sales attempts by Croatia Airlines, all of which have failed.

Nobody made any serious offers or even showed a great deal of potential interest back in the 2013 recapitalisation bid, although Indonesia's Garuda and China's Hainan Airlines were mentioned as potential buyers. Of course, nothing came of it.

The then government started looking for a strategic partner for Croatia Airlines once again back in 2015, they hired IFC, a World Bank fund that verified the interest of European and world air carriers for the Croatian national airline. At that time, Korean Air and Taiwanese Eva Air were mentioned as the most prominent companies. IFC was supposed to propose a proper privatisation model for Croatia Airlines, after which a public tender was to be launched. But yet again, nothing came of it, because parliamentary elections were held at the end of the year, and the powers that be were subsequently changed.

While the new advisor elaborates the model of privatisation of Croatia Airlines again, the government will, along with the European Commission, try to find a way and hopefully agree on how the state could further assist the still struggling Croatia Airlines.

The Croatian proposal will be to increase the amount of public service obligation (PSO) contracts that Croatia Airlines gets for domestic flights, currently amounting to 75 million kuna. In addition, this year the Croatian National Tourist Board will receive 7.5 million kuna for joint advertising.

Make sure to stay up to date with the Croatia Airlines saga and much more by following our dedicated business, politics and lifestyle pages.

Click here for the original article by Josip Bohutinski/VL on Poslovni Dnevnik

Could a brand new Croatian flight company be on the horizon? According to Nino Borić, who has been working in international aviation for thirty years, yes it could.

As Sasa Paparella/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 6th of January, 2019, there could soon be a new Croatian flight company named Smile Air. Although the airline company's name was registered in Zagreb during the summer of 2017, its director and co-owner, Nino Borić, who has been working for over thirty years in the field of aviation, is in no particular hurry to set up the project, and is proceeding cautiously.

"We'd like go start work at the end of this year, but it's difficult to succeed in such a move because we need to find the right aircraft on the market and their prices are high at the moment. We're not under any real pressure for the project to be completed either this year or next year, but this does need to sustainable, longterm story in which there must be no mistakes. In addition to that, flight permits take some time, so we'd be happy with [beginning work at] the beginning of 2020. People are coming to us themselves and we've gathered together a good team,'' Borić told Poslovni Dnevnik.

He added that he follows the philosophy of Virgin's Richard Branson, who, as he says, knows that a good attitude towards employees also results in satisfied passengers. Borić is the owner of Avio Nova, headquartered in Florida, and for years he has been employed in high positions in the operations of various airlines. The other co-owner of Smile Air is Bernard Lukač, a 30-year-old pilot and former instructor in Croatia Airlines, who, for the last eight years, has worked as an inspector at the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (CCAA).

The third member of the team is Krunoslav Dumlija, a pilot with fifteen years of valuable experience, who is also a former CCAA inspector. When asked about the amount of capital needed to start the business side of this entirely new Croatian flight company, Borić said he would start with two aircraft on operational leases, and for that between 3-5 million dollars would be required. The plan is to start with the Embraer E-190 Brazilian aircraft, with a capacity of 100 passengers, which is ideal for all-year operation. Later on, they would obtain the Airbus A321, which they would use for seasonal flights.

In the long run, the plan for this Croatian flight company focuses on getting an Airbus A330, and the aim is to have a fleet of five aircraft in the first three years. As quoted on the company website, Smile Air will deal with ACMI and wet lease business, regular charter and leisure lines, and ad hoc charters. They will have flights to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and even to Iceland. They will also rent their crew to other companies, and combinations are also possible with such a scenario.

The idea has already had some initial support from the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ).

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business  and news pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Sasa Paparella for Poslovni Dnevnik

The demographic has had numerous repercussions on Croatian society as a whole, and a lack of adequate or qualified labour force for Croatian employers is perhaps the most hard hit sector of them all. But just how is the tourism sector doing?

The paradoxical society which somehow manages to exist despite all and any circumstance in Croatia is that there is no work for a lot of people, while on the other hand there is a lot of work on offer but nobody to actually do it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 5th of January, 2019, from November 2018 to February 2019, HZZ is conducting a survey among Croatia's unemployed population on their intentions and their readiness to work along the coast in various tourist destinations.

Croatian employers, more specifically hoteliers from numerous tourist resorts up and down the Croatian coast are searching out potential seasonal staff from continental Croatia earlier and earlier with each passing year, with their sights set on the overlooked eastern Croatia in particular. Thus, HZZ's Vinkovci-based regional office has already organised as many as eight employer visits for the purpose of seeking seasonal workers for 2019's upcoming tourist season this summer.

In order to better respond to the demands of Croatian employers and to better coordinate the job supply with the demand, HZZ's aforementioned survey focused primarily on how Croatia's unemployed population feel about working on the coast should the opportunity be offered to them.

The day of jobs in tourism for the Slavonian counties is set to be held on January the 18th in Osijek, and HZZ's Vinkovci branch office is organising transport on the day for all those interested, Glas Slavonije writes.

As of now, it is unofficially known that Croatian employers are willing to offer higher salaries, raising them by 10 to 20 percent for chefs, waiters and confectioners, with almost all potential job offers including not only free accommodation, but free food for the duration of the work too.

In the past year, from January to September, the most sought after were employees chefs, assistant chefs, waiters, cleaners, receptionists, people to work in shops, and other occupations in the area of ​​accommodation and food preparation and service, as well as the wholesale and retail trade.

In that period, there was a pressing need for 23,652 seasonal workers in Croatia, and a little less, 22,144, were actually employed during that time, which indicates that Croatia's lack of seasonal workers is not significant or particularly worrying, yet.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more information on Croatian employers and much more.

As tportal writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, The Banker, a magazine which belongs to the Financial Times group and is issued monthly, gave two prestigious awards of recognition to the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujčić, for the year 2018 - one as the best European governor, and the one for the best central banker on a global scale.

The Banker has been following various financial developments across the entire world since 1926. It has been declaring the best regional governor and governor of the year on an international level each year in its January issue, and the winners are based on the magazine's editorial rating and research conducted among bankers and economic analysts.

Recognition from The Banker is guided by the criterion that the winners are those responsible for "stimulating growth and stabilising the economies in which they operate". The recognition is awarded globally, as well as regionally - for Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The Banker also gave recognition to the former Governor of the CNB (HNB), Željko Rohatinski, back in 2008.

In the article published by The Banker on the occasion of the award to Croatia's Boris Vujčić, his versatility was emphasised: "Seven years before Croatia's entry into the European Union in 2013, he was the deputy chief negotiator during the successful candidacy of that country for joining the European Union. He was Deputy Governor of the Croatian National Bank and has been Governor since 2012. He has recently co-ordinated central bank management and the development of the Croatian strategy for joining the Eurozone with the chairmanship of the Vienna Initiative steering committee.''

The explanation further states that the Vienna Initiative, which is less known outside of the region, was launched in 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis with a view to securing the financial stability of emerging economies with markets in Central and Eastern Europe. There was a fear that the major Western and Northern European banks, which dominated the financial systems of these countries, would withdraw from lending and cause a catastrophic credit crunch. Since then, the Vienna Initiative has spread to seventeen countries in the region, as well as to international financial institutions, the European Commission, and to several major European lenders.

The Banker cites the role of Boris Vujčić and the Croatian National Bank in ​​keeping hold of Croatia's financial and banking stability during the recent Agrokor crisis. The article also highlights the public advocacy of the governor of the Croatian National Bank for structural reforms - particularly when it comes to education, in order to create market competencies that will dominate innovation and technological progress, as well as a smart immigration policy as one of the measures to address the problem of labour shortage which is currently enfeebling the Croatian economy.

Upon receiving the prestigious recognition, Boris Vujčić said: "I'm exceptionally honoured; this is a great tribute to the Croatian National Bank, and to me personally. This award is further motivation to me to continue working on our goals - price and exchange stability, so that every citizen of the Republic of Croatia knows, with certainty, that what they earn won't lose value. We're also thinking about Croatian companies and the security of their financial operations and financing possibilities. We will continue to monitor banks in order to maintain financial stability, as well as to improve consumer rights and information.

Success in achieving our goals contributes to creating a better environment for economic growth and the development of the entire country. And finally, we believe - and in this way we'll communicate with all citizens and companies, inform and answer every question and dilemma - that our entry into the Eurozone can further stimulate economic growth and development, make our country stronger within European frameworks, and thus serve for the prosperity of every citizen of Croatia.''

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business and politics pages for much more.

Digital Croatia might seem a bit like a pipe dream for many, but could it be a closer possibility than we might think? Croatia has some plans to help out its entrepreneurs.

As Marija Brnic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, at the initial time of this report, these were still the unofficial estimates of the Croatian Ministry of the Economy, which Minister Darko Horvat was set to turn into concrete measures and present at a government session.

Abolishing, or at best reducing some of the administrative procedures which continue to needlessly hinder domestic entrepreneurs should result in 626 million kuna's worth of relief for the Croatian economy.

This so-called government "rescue package" was first rather unexpectedly unveiled as part of a New Year congratulations post on Facebook, of all places. The measures proposed are designed primarily to "attack" a total of 314 different (and mentally draining) administrative processes which entrepreneurs, both would-be and established, need to go through, these often include an incredible amount of red tape, needing to pay for things nobody quite understands several times, waiting in lines for hours, or having to deliver a variety of paper reports to various institutions.

In essence, the desire behind the rescue package ties in with the deeply desired digital Croatia as well as with the wish to keep Croatia's brimming talent within the country's borders by reducing the truly unfathomable amount of bureaucracy that faces everyone in Croatia who simply desires to create something of their own, from start ups to companies and businesses.

Among Minister Darko Horvat's list of remedies regarding the process of the registration of a company in the court registry are savings of about 173 million kuna in this field alone. Entrepreneurs should also see the scope of their need to report to the tax administration reduced, too. When speaking about his action plan, the Minister of Economy says that it was all based on good inter-ordination coordination and a high degree of consensus between the lines.

"Certain processes have been defined within the nine ministries successively, and as amendments to the laws or regulations, they'll come into effect in 2019. I expect that the vast majority of these 314 implementation measures will be implemented during the first half of 2019,'' he said. The major relief for Croatia's entrepreneurs will largely be owing to the digital Croatia aim, more specifically the digitisation of various administrative processes.

The first concrete moves of a digital Croatia should enable business start-up through the simple filling in of a single electronic form, which is a far cry from the current situation. Minister Horvat explained that this "action" will also include the banking sector, in order to ensure that entrepreneurs can manage to open a bank account in just a day or two to make their payment transactions easier. Such a system implies the use of digital Croatia once again, involving e-signatures, e-trademarks and other electronic services.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business page for more on digital Croatia, Croatian entrepreners, Croatian companies, products and services, as well as the general business and investment climate. Follow our politics pages to keep up with any measures being proposed or introducted in order to relieve the country's typically burdened entrepreners and businesspeople by the Croatian Government.

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

Croatia's Master Yachting is one of the country's frontrunners when it comes to Croatian nautical tourism, and recent investments, their last one having been in the Lagoon 620 luxury catamaran, have seen their revenue increase.

As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, Croatia's Master Yachting from Sukošan celebrated twenty years of existence last year, and as its director Darko Obradović says, they are one of the first companies in the nautical tourism sector in Croatia and their biggest advantage is that they're near the two national parks and their bases are close to Zadar.

Today, they have 25 full-time employees, and up to 40 during the tourist season. The company has a fleet of 80 vessels, most of which are the catamarans of the Lagoon brand, as well as a large range of sailboats of at least 35 feet in length, to the latest Oceanis 51.1, and motor boats of various different sizes.

As Croatia's Master Yachting claims, their clients and associates are mostly from European Union countries, and the most sought after vessels are typically catamarans. "They're equipped like luxury apartments which sail, and seven days, which is often for which they're rented, it's possible to sail the routes that include visiting the most attractive places and bays along the Adriatic," says Obradović. The summer season is of course the most popular, and lovers of sailing also appear to enjoy taking to vessels owned by Croatia's Master Yachting in April, May, and in October.

"We're adapting to the market and the demand. Today, when everything is available online, it can be difficult to meet all customer requirements, and owing to that, our concentration is on quality and comfort. The company also operates in the YachtInvest segment, which enables it to buy boats through its own channels, and thus provides the ability to place your vessels under your own "charter managemnet". That means that a start-up investment is justified because the vessel makes a profit during the leasing period, which largely covers all the relevant expenses. In the end, the investor chooses how much he will use for himself and how much will be for commercial lease," explains Obradović.

He also praised the fact that Croatia's Master Yachting is growing in terms of the sale of vessels. Their operating income amounted to almost 23 million kuna in 2017, and according to Obradović's estimates, 2018's results will see revenues of about 50 million kuna.

"We're constantly investing in employee training and process optimisation, while investing heavily in the fleet. The last investment was purchasing a luxury Lagoon 620 catamaran which marked our entrance into the luxury charter, which is the future of nautical tourism because more and more customers require ''all inclusive'' packages.

We believe in our own knowledge of the matter, given our long experience, the number of customers returning to us from year to year, and the in importance of the number and quality of our boats. In the YachtCharter sector, the company has been recognised as the leader in the region," added Obradović.

Croatia's Master Yachting arrived to such a status, as they say, owing to a personalised approach to their clients and "tailor-made" offers, which was made possible thanks to their wide range of vessels.

"The plan is the expansion of our base, ie, the opening of new ones in other regions, and the continuation of investment in new products, namely new vessels, where the niche is the luxury charter," Darko Obradović of Croatia's Master Yachting.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more. If you're interested solely in sailing in Croatia, give Total Croatia Sailing a follow.

Click here for the original article by Marta Duic for Poslovni Dnevnik

With the implementation at the Commercial Court in Zagreb, the information that all of Agrokor's future mirror companies, which have thus far been registered as companies under generic names, will officially get new names.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of December, 2018, the new names of companies that will start operating with the completion of Agrokor's creditor settlement are made up of their old names plus an add-on.

For example, Konzum will become Konzum plus following the implementation, Jamnica will become Jamnica plus, Zvijezda will operate as Zvijezda plus, Ledo will be Ledo plus, and so forth. At the transition stage, the headquarters of all of these new companies will be in Zagreb, and upon the completion of the settlement, they will be returned back to the various cities across Croatia in which they currently operate.

Unlike mirror companies, the Agrokor d.d. umbrella company will get a totally new brand name by the end of January and will no longer use the name "Agrokor" at all.

All of these changes are part of the process of implementing Agrokor's creditor settlement, which should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Meanwhile, Agrokor's extraordinary administration under the leadership of Fabris Peruško and Irene Weber is successfully completing the financial implementation and business restructuring of the company, the results of which are good business results and reports from all major operating companies.

In ten months in 2018, Agrokor's companies had a total revenue of about 20 billion kuna, while operating profit amounted to 1.7 billion kuna. The largest contribution to these positive operating results was given by companies in the food segment, whose operating profit was nearly 70 million kuna higher than the plan, while retail and wholesale companies realised 28.7 million kuna higher operating profit than planned. In the first ten months of this year, Konzum exceeded its projections by as much as 50 percent and realised nearly 430 million kuna in operating profit alone.

On this occasion, Agrokor's extraordinary commissioner Fabris Peruško said, "While 2017 was a year of the painstaking rescue of the collapsed system, 2018 was a positive breakthrough in all respects, from negotiations, the settlement, and validation through international recognition of the [Agrokor's] extraordinary management from the United States and Switzerland, to the excellent performance of the system. 2019 will be a year of even better prospects for all of our companies, employees, and [Agrokor's] new owners.''

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