May the 6th, 2021 - HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) supported Croatian enterprises throughout the coronavirus-dominated year of 2020 with almost eight billion kuna.

As Novac writes, throughout 2020, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development held Croatian companies up with an enormous amount of money, around 8 billion kuna, which is 13 percent more than was needed back in pre-pandemic 2019, as was announced in the audited annual financial report issued by HBOR for last year.

In total, HBOR supported more than 1,800 projects of Croatian enterprises back in 2020, and last year, HBOR approved 43 percent of the total amount of loans granted by banks in Croatia to business entities under the COVID-19 measures. In order to mitigate the consequences of the ongoing pandemic, HBOR put almost half of its total gross loan portfolio in a moratorium that companies could access and use for a period of up to 16 months, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced.

HBOR's operations during 2020 were marked by activities related to mitigating the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of Croatian businesses, and back at the end of March 2020, the very first COVID-19 measures for preserving the liquidity of such companies and jobs were adopted.

''2020 was exceptionally challenging for us, both because of the pandemic and because of the earthquake that severely damaged our headquarters. In such a year and in such changed working conditions, HBOR approved as much as 43 percent of all COVID loans across Croatia. This share is especially pronounced if we take into account the fact that HBOR has only 2 percent of the employees and 6 percent ofthe  assets in the whole banking system,'' said the President of the Management Board of HBOR, Tamara Perko on the occasion of the publication of their annual report.

Under the COVID-19 measures, Croatian business owners were given the opportunity to use the aforementioned moratorium for up to 16 months and to reschedule their existing obligations. During the approved moratorium, HBOR didn't charge their clients regular interest rates or fees, and clients were allowed to use the moratorium despite the fact that HBOR was still obliged to regularly settle its obligations to creditors without the possibility of using the moratorium itself.

The offered possibility of using the moratorium was accepted by clients for more than 1,600 approved loans.

Within the general scope of the COVID-19 measures, HBOR, both directly and in cooperation with commercial banks, provided loans to domestic business owners at an interest rate of as little as 0 percent without the usual fees. By the end of 2020, under lending programmes under those same COVID-19 measures, HBOR approved almost 1.3 billion kuna in loans, which is 43 percent of the total amount of loans granted to Croatian businesses under the COVID-19 measures during 2020.

In order to encourage commercial banks to grant new liquidity loans to companies, HBOR introduced new ways of securing loans as part of the COVID-19 measures and issuing guarantees that assume up to 90 percent of the risk of loan repayment. In addition to HBOR's insurance, banks granted 1.24 billion kuna in liquidity loans to companies back in 2020.

The largest users were small and medium-sized enterprises, and exporters were supported by 4.7 billion kuna

In addition to approvals issued under the COVID-19 measures, HBOR continued to implement all its existing lending programmes for investments and working capital and financial instruments, export credit insurance programmes and encouraging the development of the venture capital market, as well as other similar activities.

Due to the circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was marked by the use of moratoriums and loans to maintain corporate liquidity. However, even in these conditions, more than 50 percent of HBOR's approvals were intended for investments. The share of approved loans for investments is important because they represent investments that are focused on the development of one particular area, increasing the competitiveness of businesses, investments in new technologies and production, and new employment.

The most numerous beneficiaries of HBOR's loans in 2020 were small and medium-sized Croatian enterprises, to which 1,168 loans were approved, ie 88 percent of the total number of approved loans during 2020. Last year, HBOR supported Croatian exporters in more than 800 projects with a total amount of almost 4.7 billion kuna.

Capital investment market development

A series of analyses indicate that, due to the poorly developed risk and equity capital market, Croatian micro, small, medium and medium capitalised companies face the challenge of finding appropriate sources of financing. For this reason, HBOR has recently launched a number of initiatives to develop this market in order to provide adequate resources to help the growth of entrepreneurial activities.

During 2020, two new venture capital funds started operating within the CROGIP programme and preconditions were created for the start of the third, and through the VC fund Fil Rouge Capital (FRC2), which was established back in 2019 with HBOR's support. Due to the consequences of the ongoing pandemic, the need for funds for investment in risk or quasi-risk capital is expected to increase further, and HBOR's activities will continue in the same sense in the future.

For more, follow our business section.

April the 28th, 2021 - The Adriatic sea is full of resources for a very good and very healthy meal, and several Istrian companies decided to embark on projects showcasing the best of what the rich Adriatic sea has to offer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although Istria is perhaps best known for tourism and for its tobacco and construction industries, and more recently for technology, beautiful Istria County is increasingly focusing on the development of its local fisheries and aquaculture. One of those Istrian companies in the sector is S.I.C. from Visnjan, which wants to expand its fish processing programme with products from Adriatic algae.

Back in 2014 they moved into their new business complex larger than 6000 square metres, intended for their production, processing and the trade of fish products, including the centre for the purification and dispatch of live shellfish. They successfully place their products on export markets, which account for more than 80 percent of their total sales.

The company buys fish for further processing, purchasing the catches of about 150 fishing boats along the entire Adriatic sea, and they point out that Adriatic fish is among the highest quality and most appreciated across Europe and the world.

Otherwise, S.I.C. has been operating since back 1994 as a business venture of two entrepreneurial families, their headquarters are in Visnjan, and today it has more than 160 employees. Their annual income stands at just under 80 million kuna in total.

Market recognition for Istrian companies operating within this sector

The Istrian Development Agency (IDA) recently prepared an analysis of the current situation and guidelines for the development of fisheries and aquaculture in Istria County for the period from 2021 to 2027 as part of the Investinfish project.

IDA Director Boris Sabatti emphasised that the document contains a vision of implementing the strategic transformation of fisheries and aquaculture development in Istria County for the upcoming programming period until 2027, with the aim of strengthening the overall sustainability of the blue sector.

''The emphasis in the analysis and guidelines is placed on strengthening the sustainability of Istrian fisheries and aquaculture in all its aspects (ecological, social, economic) and on introducing innovations in fisheries and the value chain of fishery products, strengthening cooperation between the public sector, the scientific community and the private sector in piloting new and innovative technologies, production processes and the standards of market recognition certificates, as well as the transfer of knowledge and experience,'' said Sabatti.

He added that the most of what is in the aforementioned document is dedicated to processing the specifics of Istria's fisheries and aquaculture sector, based primarily on input data collected from eight Istrian companies and enterprises from the fisheries and aquaculture sector who responded to a public call announced by the IDA.

In addition to the already mentioned SIC, another company, Milena from Bacva, which deals with cod processing, wants to expand its range with white and blue fish products from the Adriatic sea, while Levan from Medulin, which recently launched its first canned sardines with the Hook & cook brand, wants to expand its range of canned sardine products with different flavours.

The Medulin-based enterprise Ruza plans to open an anchovy shop in Pula, and Ribarska zadruga Istra from Porec recently developed a burger made of mullet and Adriatic shrimp as a new product through another international project, Prizefish, and this encouraged team wants to develop other new Adriatic fish-based products.

Another Istrian company, Istrida, grows oysters and mussels in the Lim Channel, and wants to get closer to the tourist market by purchasing a tourist boat for sightseeing the farm, which would also double up as a tasting room of sorts for their own products.

The projects being taken up by Istrian company has also been joined by Oli Mare from Porec, and the fishing enterprise Bonaca from Stinjan. The total value of the planned investments of the eight involved Istrian companies stands at a massive 72 million kuna.

The Investinfish project, with a total value of 11 million kuna, is being implemented with the co-financing of the cross-border cooperation programme Interreg V-A Italy - Croatia.

For more, follow our business section.

April the 27th, 2021 - The Zagreb IT company Q, one of the fastest growing such companies about which much has been written in recent times, has gone one step further with their developments and have come up with something innovative for the medical field.

As Novac writes, one of the fastest growing European IT enterprises, the Zagreb IT company Q, has recently developed a futuristic product for the medical field. It is a software solution that helps a donated kidney find its suitable recipient more easily and more quickly. More specifically, according to the company's statement on the topic, the application should determine in advance whether the new host will be able to receive a particular organ before the organ is actually transplanted, all with the aim of fully unleashing the potential of each donated organ before the procedure takes place.

About 15-20 percent of donated organs across the world end up never being re-used because there are no tools to thoroughly analyse them or their potential in a new body. That is why the Zagreb IT company Q has developed the Accunea Transplant Monitor application for the English company Accunea, which will help in organ transplantation and work on increasing the number of successful operations in this sense. The application, which is still in its conceptual phase, will soon be tested in one of the most prestigious London hospitals.

"With the help of this application, nephrologists will be able to remotely monitor key biochemical data and save human lives in time. It's the first such concept made with human organs in mind which is a revolutionary step in healthcare. We're very happy to have the opportunity to work on global projects that affect the well-being of people,'' said Filip Ljubic, the CEO of the Zagreb IT company Q.

The technology itself works by placing sensors connected to an Arduino device on an organ set to be transplanted in a sterile environment, which read three values ​​- creatinine, glucose and lactate, as well as their oscillations. Such a principle makes it possible to monitor that particular organ's functions in real time via Bluetooth. The London-based biotech company Accunea is otherwise engaged in analytical medicine, and this new application will be used primarily in kidney transplantation procedures in the future.

This is just one of the recent successes of this Croatian IT company. Last year, Q was named as one of the Top 20 best development companies in the world by the world's leading IT company ranking agency, and it also won the award for the best employer in Croatia.

The Zagreb-based enterprise already has extensive biotech experience and has enjoyed close cooperation with prestigious biotech clients from Switzerland, Germany and the United States of America. They currently have over 190 experts working for them, and their plan is to hire about 100 more over the next year, their statement concluded.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

April the 25th, 2021 - The Croatian AD Plastik Group has managed to contract new jobs totalling more than 17 million euros with an automotive giant despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis which is continuing to dampen business across the world.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the Croatian AD Plastik Group is a highly successfully multinational company with eight production sites across five countries. It is also one of the leading Eastern European companies for the development and production of components for car interiors and exteriors. The company's already extensive business book is continuing to record positive changes in the form of yet more new and pricey contracts concluded with large partners in the automotive industry.

According to the latest announcement through the Zagreb Stock Exchange, the Croatian AD Plastik Group has contracted new deals with the buyer Stellantis in the total value of 17.3 million euros, with an estimated project duration of a decade.

Stellantis is otherwise one of the largest automotive groups in the world in terms of the number of cars produced, which, they say, was created by merging the FCA and PSA Group. At the beginning of November last year, the Stellantis logo was presented to the public, which was one of the last steps in the final completion of the merger of the FCA and PSA groups, which was officially completed in January this year.

It is a new corporate name in the demanding automotive industry world, with a portfolio of fourteen recognised automotive brands making it a de facto giant in the market. Regarding the aforementioned merger, as well as the impact on the business of the Croatian AD Plastik Group, its President of the Management Board, Marinko Dosen, stated that the merger definitely benefits the company. It is a group that, he pointed out, includes the likes of Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Fiat, Chrysler, Vauxhall Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

"The merger should put a spring in Fiat's step, as it had slowed down a bit, and the main reason for the merger is joint development and the market. They used to be a direct competitor, and by merging they became the fourth largest car manufacturer in the entire world. Due to the production on a common platform, they'll manage to achieve huge savings and be more competitive in the market. As we're on the panel of suppliers of all car manufacturers from their group, we won't have restrictions like those who worked with only one of them,'' explained Dosen.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated business section.

April the 21st, 2021 - The Croatian company Monestiq has developed an innovative solution for small businesses such as cafes, restaurants and boutiques. Now, they can all have their own ATMs.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, with the innovation designed and created by the Croatian company Monestiq, which created the first franchise license for ATMs in all of Europe, everyone will be able to become an ATM owner should they so wish.

As explained by the Croatian company Monestiq, the activity that was previously reserved only for banks and other financial institutions thanks to their solution is now open to everyone: from those in the catering and hospitality industry and similar business owners to entrepreneurs interested in having stronger involvement in this domain of financial operation.

The price of the ATM itself is between eight and fifteen thousand euros, and the situation on the market where the owners of attractive spaces, mostly in tourist centres, could rent their facility out for an ATM and the price of a thousand euros a month shows that it is a profitable business and that many are interested in getting a slice of that proverial cake.

There is interest from the Hungarians and the Germans

Ivan Dusevic, the director of the Croatian company Monestiq, pointed out that this is a financial-technological solution that combines all of the necessary protocols and rights for processing transactions and connects ATMs with global card schemes such as Visa and MasterCard.

"This allows ATMs to do what they do: accept cards and pay out money. At the same time, it enables entrepreneurs to easily become owners of one or more ATMs and join an exclusive company of service providers in the financial industry,'' explained Dusevic, who built his career in various international consulting companies and has now decided to use his knowledge to transform the financial sector here in Croatia.

He added that this year, Monestiq will start with the Croatian market, after which the company plans to expand across Europe. As no other similar possibility currently exists here on the Old Continent, the company said that they already have inquiries for franchise rights from both Hungary and Germany.

Their ultimate goal, as they pointed out, is to build the largest ATM franchise chain in all of Europe.

''In short, the Croatian company Monestiq serves as a link between small businesses and the titans of the financial industry such as Visa or MasterCard which are the basis of global payment transactions. We connect the owners of shops, stores or other business premises with complex card schemes and enable them to manage their own ATMs,'' concluded Dusevic.

For more Croatian innovation, check out Made in Croatia.

April the 18th, 2021 - Zabok Dekor lamps are finding themselves on the global market, located on huge cruise vessels and gracing the rooms of some of the most luxurious hotels.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, in a country where people many live from tourism and renting out properties, and with open global competition from across the globe, it isn't easy to be a producer. Especially not when it comes to products like lighting fixtures as they can be found in hundreds of shapes, sizes and colours in almost every shopping outlet.

Zabok Dekor lamps, made by the Dekor company which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, is one of the brightest examples of Croatian innovation stepping up its game; not only do they resist global competition, but they do very well on the demanding market with their exclusive products.

This Zabok company is the only lighting manufacturer in this part of Europe that has a complete "in-house" production. The annual income stands at around 21 million kuna, and they currently employ 70 workers.

"We generate half of our total revenue on foreign markets where we've achieved a good reputation in the production of lighting fixtures by design and special customer requirements such as designed hotel lighting and chandeliers for cruise ships," explained Dekor's director, Nevenka Varjacic.

The chandeliers produced in that factory adorn some of the largest cruisers in the world, and ''Symphony of the seas’', ‘'Harmony of the seas'’, ‘'Celebrity edge'’ and ‘'Norwegian joy'’ are just some of them. When the coronavirus finally allows for more movement and the borders open once again, those tourists who head to Italy, to the Pisa, will see the famous tower better in the evening, thanks to the external Zabok Dekor lambs surrounding it.

Zabok Dekor lamps illuminate many city and town centres, squares and parks, from Zrinjevac, to Dubrovnik's famed Stradun, through to Slatina, Pula, the city centre of Koprivnica, Rogoznica, Nin, Pag, to Tribunj and Primosten. They are also present where lighting requires more than just the very basic characteristics.

When it comes to exclusive hotel companies, the possibility of production according to the customer's design is made available, as is lighting for production plants with special conditions, but how does this Zabok-based enterprise manage to compete with foreign, often very cheap competition?

"We compete exclusively with the high quality and durability of our products and our name, which has been out there for more than 60 years now," said Nevenka Varjacic. At Dekor, they haven't been immune to the effects of coronavirus' tremendous damage to the economy. The pandemic has slowed down the investment momentum of Croatian tourism, but with the preparations for opening up the world yet again, stagnation felt in Croatia has been successfully compensated on the foreign market.

They are currently engaged in two major projects, one is the central lighting of the church at the papal seminary in no less than the Vatican, a project they're working on in collaboration with the Zagreb-based company Bokart, a glass processing company, and the other includes a light installation for a central chandelier on the ''Celebrity Beyond'' cruiser.

“Our projects are always unique, but for example, this cruiser project is already the third of a total of five twin ships. We expect the next one next year,'' thet stated from Dekor.

When it comes to highly specific and custom orders, the delivery time depends on the complexity of the project, as well as the time required to develop the smallest detail of the initial design according to the wishes of the customer. It is especially demanding because only one segment of such a custom lighting fixture is assembled there in the factory, and each part must be extremely precisely made so that everything fits perfectly when assembling it on, for example, a cruiser.

Faced with highly demanding orders, this Zabok company embarked on the necessary modernisation, starting their investment cycle in that regard back in 2017. One year later, a tender was opened within the European Regional Development Fund, where they were granted funds, and those funds were intended for investment in equipment and for the further education of their employees.

With good experience in withdrawing EU money, as a medium-sized company, the creators of Zabok Dekor lamps decided to apply to all of the tenders that would benefit them to improve their productivity, energy efficiency, work environment and overall competitiveness.

Objective obstacles to doing business here on the domestic market can often be heard about from company owners and other entrepreneurs, from labour shortages, low purchasing power to the extremely high tax burden and a comfusing, slow, outdated administration. With such weights on their shoulders, what might the perspective of Croatian manufacturing companies such as this one actually be?

"Although there's always room for improvement, we as a producer are satisfied with the changes in society that are slowly focusing on production and growth based on creating added value, and not solely on consumption," said Varjacic, seeing room for progress in the possibility for investors in Croatia to orient themselves towards domestic producers and domestic products.

"This is especially important in the sense of public procurement for local government and self-government units, where it often happens that imported products go through tenders solely for lower prices, although the state should take care to send money from our citizens indirectly from Croatia with every type of spending like that. I'd like to call on all local government units that have our lighting, to contact us if they need renovations or the installation of new LED light sources because our poles and decorative lamps are not to be thrown away even after 20 years and it's easy to renew them at a relatively low cost, replace the source lights and breathe new life into them,'' he added.

“Investors are often misled by the short payback period of investments in energy efficient LED public lighting, we've often witnessed situations where such a model of financing public lighting with a payback period of five years or less has been contracted, but nobody cared that investors profit in terms of savings, it actually comes in the years after the return on investment,'' explained Varjacic, adding that it happens that after a short time the new lamp needs to be replaced due to poor quality and a short lifespan, which sees the investment totally lose any meaning for the investor, and they're then forced to buy new lamps yet again.

It is even worse if the supplier of such lamps is a company that is not capitalised enough to be able to provide a credible warranty for what is made.

"We see Zabok Dekor lamps and our company in the future here, in Zagorje. Our mission is to become an international boutique for lighting the most demanding projects and to see our products go out into the world instead of just to the rest of Croatia and to our fellow citizens,'' Varjacic added.

They see the current situation dominated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as a great opportunity, not only for their company, but for all Croatian producers, as the difficulties caused by the earthquakes and the pandemic present with an opportunity for those particularly affected areas to start things up again.

“Every producer knows that, no matter how hard things can get, creation is a joy and nothing makes a person happy like when they see the fruit of his work. That's why I believe that with all the difficulties, people will find joy in creating,'' concluded the director of the company behind the Zabok Dekor lamps.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

April the 16th, 2021 - The Croatian Jadrolinija ferry company is obtaining yet another used vessel to add to its fleet. To briefly recall, many were unhappy with Jadrolinija's insistence on purchasing only used vessels instead of new ones, but the company has stated that their way limits red tape and is better.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, as mentioned above, the last in a series of public debates, especially in the circles of Croatian shipowners and shipbuilders, about Jadrolinija's policy to modernise its fleet with used ships instead of building new ones, still hasn't gone away.

A public procurement of a Ro-Ro passenger ship with an open deck for transporting vehicles, up to 50 metres long and 17 metres wide, with a capacity for transporting at least 200 passengers and 35 cars, and not older than 20 years was recently announced by the Croatian Jadrolinija ferry company. This is a smaller ship for which Jadrolinija has pointed out an estimated value of 5.7 million kuna, and they will collect bids until May the 7th, 2021.

In addition to the best price for the final decision, of course, if there are more offers, the points that the age of the ship will bring are also important, more points is equal to a smaller number of years.

The tender documentation only shows that the delivery will be carried out within a maximum of 60 days from the conclusion of the sales contract, and on which line the ship is currently planned to be sailed, the Croatian Jadrolinija shipping enterprise otherwise hasn't provided any details or answered any questions as to whether it will supplement the fleet with this ''new'' vessel or if it will replace some of the smaller smaller ships that will then retire.

With their latest fleet "reinforcement", the Losinj ferry, which was bought in Russia at the end of last year and refurbished in Kraljevica, and was built in 2010, the national shipping fleet has been rejuvenated and its average age currently stands at approximately 28.5 years.

The most important step expected in the further renewal of the Croatian Jadrolinija's fleet is the replacement of the legendary ferry Lastovo, the oldest in the fleet, for which a project was prepared and construction is expected, and local shipyards they hoped to get the job.

However, according to the latest information, for the successor of Lastovo, which is significantly larger than the vessel for which a tender has since been announced, the search will be organised on the used boat market.

The position of the company's management hasn't deviated from its initial opinion even after all criticism that the design and construction process takes a long time, at least three years, and that the market can find quality and tested ships that meet the ever higher environmental standards set at European Union (EU) level.

For more on maritime transport in Croatia, including prices, tickets and all important 2021 updates, check out our dedicated section.

April the 15th, 2021 - The Croatian Microblink company has been one that has made headlines for all of the most positive reasons of late, showcasing yet another shining example of Croatian entrepreneurial skills and the drive and determination to keep going.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, the Croatian Microblink, a domestic software company that has developed the fastest mobile document scanner in the entire world and received (individually) the third largest startup investment in all of Croatia, has announced that it has artificial intelligence technology that is 50 percent faster than that used by both Apple and Google.

''The basis of the company's success is an advanced AI platform that is fully developed in the Republic of Croatia, and whose components in various tests which have been undertaken show that they're the best in the world. One of the components of this AI ​​platform is the execution of neural networks on a mobile device, and the Croatian Microblink performs this process 50 percent faster than similar platforms of the largest global companies such as Apple and Google,'' Microblink announced.

Jurica Cerovec, the global executive director of Microblink for technology, says that they have been developing artificial intelligence technology since way back in 2012, and the one that makes them better than Apple and Google since back in 2015.

''We've been developing the AI ​​platform for mobile devices since the very beginning, and in 2012 alone we had a machine learning team that was focused on how to make the best use of cameras on smartphones, in addition to mere photography,'' explained Cerovec, adding that deep neural networks began to be used directly on mobile devices in 2015.

''It was at a time when others were using this technology on large servers. In many ways, we were among the first in the world, which enabled us to enjoy the current position in that we're really one step ahead of global competition,'' said Cerovec.

The company, co-founded by Damir Sabol, has also announced that it is entering a new phase of development.

The Croatian Microblink plans to further accelerate the development of its advanced computer vision platform, which is based on artificial intelligence. It is also moving to commercialise its existing and new products for a range of industries, with the goal of doubling revenue in the coming years.

Igor Strejcek, Microblink's director for Croatia and the company's global vice president of operations, pointed out that their software is used by more than a million people every day. He stated that today they're in a position to have globally competitive products, a state-of-the-art platform that allows them to develop new products and scale the business.

''We have a development team for AI which is among the best in the world and is an excellent position for the exchange of knowledge among teams working in both Croatia and New York. That gives us the right to be very ambitious in our plans,'' assured Strejcek.

Microblink manufactures software for the rapid digitisation of various types of personal documents and the automation of data entry in a range of industries, particularly in the financial and telecommunications industries. Strejcek noted that in order to realise their ambitious new plans, they must double the number of experts they have on board.

This Croatian company currently has 111 full-time employees, and more than 50 new people joined them last year alone. Strejcek said he will continue to strengthen the artificial intelligence team, which is currently among the strongest in all of Europe with 70 people, and will look for new employees in other parts of the company as well.

Most of the employment is related to the office here in Zagreb, which will remain the main development centre for AI technology, and in expanding in the global market, they also rely on their office across the Atlantic over in New York.

''We can see room for growth in the development and implementation of our AI platform into new products for industries that are rapidly digitising. For example, in the development of document authentication products and the simplification of the remote authentication process, thus completely eliminating the need for physical contact between users and service providers. Microblink's technology will enable the protection of privacy in such a way that the data remains at all times only on the user's mobile phone,'' concluded Strejcek.

For more on Croatian companies, check out Made in Croatia.

April the 15th, 2021 - The wildly successful Croatian businessman Mate Rimac is going from strength to strength, and he sat down with Bloomberg to discuss not only his plans going forward but his concerns.

As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes, reports claim that Rimac Automobili is set to produce a maximum of 100 vehicles per year. After his company announced its highly detailed plans for a new campus, which will include the first car factory in Croatia, Croatian businessman Mate Rimac told Bloomberg that his focus in this segment will remain on small series vehicles.

Bloomberg writes that Rimac has stated that cars with his name on them will always be sold in small quantities - meaning less than 100 units of them per year - to avoid competing with manufacturers who are customers of his company.

It's worth noting that Rimac Automobili's core business isn't actually the production of electric vehicles, but the development and production of components for electric vehicles. The technology of this Croatian company is thus incorporated into the Aston Martin Valkyria and Koenigsegg Reger models.

In addition, Rimac Automobil's largest partner, Volkswagen, has been trying to consolidate Bugatti through this particular Croatian company for a long time. After Croatian businessman Mate Rimac rejected the possibility of transferring the majority ownership of Rimac Automobili to Volkswagen or Porsche, in exchange for Bugatti, the Germans presented a new plan.

Bloomberg recalls that back in March, Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen, proposed that Porsche enter into a joint venture with Rimac and thus take over Bugatti.

As such, Volkswagen, or Porsche, would de facto give up most of its ownership of Bugatti only if the well-known French manufacturer of internal combustion engines took over and modernised the most successful European manufacturer of technology for electric vehicles. Rimac Automobili thus found itself in a somewhat unenviable position, because Porsche is, after Rimac, individually the largest co-owner of Rimac Automobili and a company that raised its market valuation to the status of close to 1 billion US dollars.

Bloomberg also reports that, although Croatian businessman Mate Rimac has already stated once that he is not inclined to go public through the SPAC, he is still, at least theoretically, thinking about it.

''It wouldn't be a good feeling for me, that while everyone is collecting heaps of money in this way and may not have as many things to show for it, in the same way as we do, that we're left behind without capital, so of course we're still looking into this possibility,'' explained Mate Rimac.

SPAC is when company is created and has the obligation to take over another company and de facto sells the shares of that other company through itself. Rimac told Bloomberg that he has a high opinion of companies like Lucida or the company Rivian Automotive in which Amazon has invested, but also that he is suspicious of how much SPAC can be used by other startups for electromobility.

Late last year, Mate Rimac told the Financial Times (FT) that frequent use of SPACs could harm the long-term prospects of the industry in which it operates.

''The managers of such specialised companies (SPAC) don't bear the same responsibility for the potential growth prospects of the company as managers who raise money through an initial public offering (IPO) in stock markets do, which raises fears,'' said Mate Rimac. He explained that a lot of money can be obtained today for companies that don't have any product to speak of and that it scares him.

''When we list shares on the stock exchange, I want to show the numbers, I want the shares to be traded on the basis of facts,'' Rimac told the Financial Times at the time.

Now for Bloomberg, he pointed out that no other company in the field of electromobility can boast of making a profit for five years. Back in 2019, Rimac Automobili had revenues of €23 million and a profit of €1.4 million in total.

For 2020, Rimac Automobili pointed out that they have achieved strong growth and that they expect even stronger expansion this year. However, the result for 2020 has not been revised yet, so it hasn't been made public yet either.

For more on Croatian businessman Mate Rimac and other local entrepreneurs and their products, make sure to check out our dedicated section.

April the 14th, 2021 - It might be all doom and gloom when listening to stories about doing business here in Croatia, but it can't all be that bleak. The number of Croatian entrepreneurs has doubled in the last 18 years, which provides encouragement that things are improving.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the total revenues of Croatian entrepreneurs generated back in pre-pandemic 2019 reached the impressive amount of 796.1 billion kuna, when compared to way back in 2002, these figures are higher by 403.9 billion kuna, stated the Financial Agency (Fina) in its analysis entitled: "The financial results of Croatian entrepreneurs since the establishment of the Register, from 2002 to 2019."

“According to laws and bylaws, companies and sole proprietors and business units of Croatian entrepreneurs based in a foreign country are required to submit their annual financial statements (AFS) to the Financial Agency, which maintains the Register of Annual Financial Statements, as of April 2003. Since back in 2008, companies have been required to submit their AFS for statistical and other purposes and for public disclosure, and other taxpayers have been asked to do so only for statistical and other purposes.

The register of annual financial reports was established on the model of such registers in European Union (EU) member states, as a central source of information on business performance and the financial position of legal and natural persons, including corporate taxpayers,'' they stated in the introduction.

According to Fina, over the last 18 years, Croatian entrepreneurs have operated positively and reported a net profit - the exception is 2010 when they operated negatively and reported a net loss of slightly less than 1.7 billion kuna, with 2019 being their best year in terms of their total financial results.

"Back in 2019, 31.3 billion kuna was realised in net profit, which is the highest net profit in the observed 18 years. The highest revenues in 2019 were generated by INA in the amount of 21.6 billion kuna (with a share of 2.7 percent in the total revenue generated by Croatian entrepreneurs), while the highest profit for the period, in the amount of 1.1 billion kuna was earned by HEP. Back in 2002, INA was also the best in terms of revenue, which then amounted to 14.1 billion kuna (holding a share in the total income of Croatian entrepreneurs of 3.6 percent),'' Fina stated.

Back in pre-pandemic 2019, the Register collected and processed 136,260 annual financial reports for statistical and other purposes, corporate taxpayers without financial institutions, which is twice as many Croatian entrepreneurs (114.4 percent) as in the initial observed year (2002). The number of Croatian entrepreneurs was higher from year to year throughout the observed period, except in 2012, when it was lower than it was in the previous year of 2011. The share of Croatian entrepreneurs operating from profit was the lowest in 2010 (57.4 percent), and the highest in 2002 (70.9 percent) and 2003 (71.0 percent).

The analysis of business results of Croatian entrepreneurs in recent years, they say, indicated the importance of a small number of entrepreneurs on the overall financial results of Croatian entrepreneurs. This was also the case in 2019, when the first 10 entrepreneurs generated 79.7 billion kuna or 10.0% of the 796.1 billion kuna in total revenues of 136,260 entrepreneurs, and the first 100 entrepreneurs generated 227.3 billion kuna of the total revenue.

Their analysis shows that INA, with a share of 2.7 percent in total revenues, is far ahead of everyone else, as it has been in previous years. HEP with 10.5 billion kuna and Konzum plus with 7.7 billion kuna are in second and third place, and together they hold a share of 2.3 percent in the total revenue earned by Croatian entrepreneurs, which means that the three first-ranked companies have a share in total income of such entrepreneurs of 5.0 percent.

"The first 100 entrepreneurs in terms of profit for that period generated 16.2 billion kuna or 33.2 percent of the profit of all Croatian entrepreneurs. Back in 2019, the largest profit for that period was generated by HEP in the amount of 1.1 billion kuna, followed by Pliva Hrvatska with a profit of 984.4 million kuna, and Hrvatski Telekom in third place with 717.1 million kuna,'' they stated.

The number of employees of Croatian entrepreneurs in the observed period was the highest in 2019 - a total of 969,776, and the lowest in 2002 when they had 754,186 employees. From 2002 to 2008, the number of employees increased, while from 2009 to 2014 it generally decreased, with the exception of 2013, in which it was slightly higher than it was back in 2012. However, since 2014, the number of employees has been growing continuously and period increased by 139,660. The average number of employees per entrepreneur in the observed period was the highest in 2002 - when it stood at 11.9 employees per entrepreneur, and since then it has been decreasing from year to year, and in 2019 the average was 7.1 employees per entrepreneur.

“The highest average monthly net salary of employees at the level of all Croatian entrepreneurs was calculated in 2019, when it amounted to 5,815 kuna, which is 80.6 percent more than in 2002, when the lowest average monthly net salary in the observed period was calculated (3,219 kuna),'' Fina's analysis showed.

For more on Croatian entrepreneurs, check out Made in Croatia.