ZAGREB, 9 June, 2021 - Over the next five years, the Podravka Group plans to invest about HRK 5 billion in the modernisation and digitalisation of production and logistics, marketing and acquisitions, the group said on Wednesday after the Supervisory Board green-lighted its business strategy until 2025.

"The implementation of the adopted strategy includes investment of about HRK 1.7 billion in the modernisation and digitalisation of production and logistics processes, about HRK 1.4 billion in marketing to achieve organic growth, and about HRK 2 billion for acquisitions," Podravka said in a statement.

The group's Food division will focus on product and packaging development and innovation to increase the availability of products and adjust them to the needs and habits of different consumer groups.

The business strategy also sets the criteria for the consideration and selection of acquisitions. With possible acquisitions in the Food division, Podravka aims to strengthen its presence and position on markets to pursue further accelerated growth.

The Pharmaceuticals division (Belupo) will focus on strengthening growth on international markets, notably in central and eastern Europe, expanding its portfolio with products  in additional anatomical, therapeutic and chemical groups, and boosting growth on the domestic market by introducing new products.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 8 June, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices increased on Tuesday amid modest turnover, with the Crobex going up by 0.37% to 1,949.56 points and the Crobex10 by 0.31% 1,204.12 points.

Today's regular turnover was about HRK 3.9 million, about HRK 2.7 million lower than on Monday.

An additional HRK 2.8 million was generated by block transactions with shares of the HT telecommunications company.

The stock of the HT company was also the only one to cross the one million kuna turnover mark in regular trading. It generated a turnover of HRK 1.1 million, and the price of its share went up by 1.09% to HRK 185.

A total of 38 stock traded today, with half of them, 19, registering price increases, 11 stagnating in price and eight recording price decreases.

(€1 = HRK 7.497334)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 8 June, 2021 - Nine percent of Europeans and seven percent of Croatians have been misled into buying counterfeit products, according to a survey released by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on Tuesday.

The study, entitled "European Citizens and Intellectual Property", shows that consumers find it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake products.

Nearly one in ten Europeans claimed that they were misled into buying counterfeits, but there were considerable differences between EU member states. 19% of Bulgarians, 16% of Romanians and 15% of Hungarians said they were deceived, compared to 2% of Swedes and 3% of Danes.

Croatia was below the EU average, with 7% of its citizens saying they were misled into buying counterfeit products.

According to Eurostat, over 70% of Europeans shopped online in 2020, and uncertainty regarding counterfeit products has become a growing concern for consumer protection, the study showed.

Counterfeit products represent 6.8 % of EU imports worth €121 billion and impact every sector, from cosmetics and toys, wine and beverages, electronics and clothing to pesticides and pharmaceutical products. They pose serious risks to the health and safety of citizens as they usually do not comply with quality and safety standards.

The study says that the worldwide trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products has been estimated at €4 billion. Digital piracy also represents a highly lucrative market for infringers. Just in the area of internet protocol television (IPTV), €1 billion of unlawful revenue is generated every year by the
supply and consumption of copyright-infringing digital content in the EU, harming creators and
legitimate businesses.

Counterfeiting affects not only consumers, but it also causes considerable damage to the EU
economy, notably small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One in four SMEs and 21.7% of SMEs in Croatia said they suffered damage on account of intellectual property rights infringement, according to the study.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) main indices rose on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive day, and turnover was slightly higher than in previous days, with HT and Turisthotel each generating more than HRK 2 million in turnover.

The Crobex increased by 0.36% to 1,951.71 points, and the Crobex10 by 0.43% to 1,207.71 points.

Regular trading amounted to HRK 8.6 million, 4.8 million more than on Tuesday.

The most traded stock was the HT telecom company, with a turnover of HRK 2.97 million. It closed the day unchanged, at HRK 185.50 per share.

The Turisthotel tourism company turned over HRK 2.5 million and was among the more liquid stocks, with a price increase of 3.23% to HRK 3,200.

A total of 33 stocks were traded today, with 13 registering a price increase, 11 registering a price decrease and 9 remaining stable.

(€1 = HRK 7.504018)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - The budget revision, proposed by the government today, keeps Croatia in a safe financial zone, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said after the cabinet's meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed budget changes set the general government deficit at 3.8% of GDP, and the government believes that this increase still keeps Croatia in a safe zone in terms of economic and other activities as well as in terms of the opinion of credit rating agencies and the European Commission, he added.

The government is committed to reducing the public debt from 88.7% to 86.6% of GDP, this year, Marić said, announcing one more revision of this year's budget.

The proposed revision, adopted today, will probably be on the government's agenda next week.

The minister said that he was looking forward to a meeting with Zagreb's new mayor Tomislav Tomašević, and that he and his team would be at the disposal of the newly elected local authorities.

"As far as Zagreb is concerned, I am sure that the mayor and I will meet to discuss several things," he said, explaining that with regard to additional borrowing, laws were clear and applied equally to everybody.

Among the topics to be discussed with Tomašević is a limit on borrowing, he said in a comment on the topic of possible new borrowing, explaining that the amount needed to service debts and cover loan guarantees this year must not exceed 20% of last year's revenue.

With regard to the purchase of fighter jets for the army, Marić said that the government would be guided by pragmatic criteria only. Therefore, a certain amount could be paid as an advance this year, he added.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - Every entrepreneur should have one opportunity to have their debt forgiven during their entrepreneurial life and to be able to do business without hindrance, Večernji List daily said on Wednesday.

This is provided for by the Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks and second chance from 2019, which EU member states have to introduce into their legislation by mid-2021, that is in a month.

The Croatian Ministry of Justice has also announced that it will initiate amendments to the Bankruptcy Act and the Consumer Bankruptcy Act to adapt them to the Directive, but a bill of amendments has not been presented yet so it remains unclear whether Croatia will additionally regulate discharge of business debts.

In Croatia, there are currently about 16,000 entrepreneurs with blocked accounts, and about 8,000 of them are companies, while the second half are craftsmen and other entrepreneurs who keep business books. The total debt of all entrepreneurs amounts to about HRK 6 billion.

The situation is much more difficult for nearly 240,000 citizens with blocked accounts, whose debt principal totals about HRK 17 billion.

So far, the state has twice written off debts of citizens with blocked accounts as part of special campaigns, but that has not significantly affected the overall situation.

Debt write-offs for entrepreneurs were the most common in pre-bankruptcy settlements established by former finance minister Slavko Linić during Zoran Milanović's term as prime minister. Later, the law changed and debt write-offs are now less frequent.

The EU Directive does not address citizens' debts directly, but it proposes that states apply the principle for debt forgiveness for entrepreneurs to over-indebted citizens.

Under the Directive, everyone should have the opportunity to have their debt written off in a procedure that should last no longer than three years, Večernji List said.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 1 June, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) main indices on Tuesday continued their positive streak for the third consecutive trading day, with the Crobex going up 0.6% and the Crobex10 by 0.5%, while trading was modest.

The Crobex went up by 0.61% to 1,944.66 points and the Crobex10 by 0.48% to 1,202.22 points.

Regular trading was modest and amounted to HRK 3.8 million.

Not one stock crossed the million kuna turnover mark, and the closest to it was the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company, with HRK 941,600. Its price rose by 6.23% to HRK 375 per share.

A total of 39 stocks were traded today, with 20 registering a price increase, 9 registering a price decrease and 10 remaining stable.

(€1 = HRK 7.515997)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 1 June, 2021 - Podravka's project of a solar power plant, worth HRK 10.3 million, will be co-funded with a HRK 5.2 million grant by the European Union and the Croatian government under the Rural Development Programme, the Koprivnica-based food factory reported on Tuesday.

"The grant was awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture pursuant to a decision by the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, and pursuant to Podravka's application for implementation of the Sub-measure 4.2 'Support for investments in the processing, marketing and/or development of agricultural products' and implementation of operation type 4.2.2. 'Use of renewable energy sources'," the company said.

The expected period for return on investment with 50% support is 3.5 years.

The investment is valued at HRK 11.7 million, of which HRK 10.3 million is to be used for the construction of the solar power plant, while HRK 1.4 will be spent on the development of the measurement facility and the necessary transformer station.

"Podravka – Danica" 2.4 MW solar power plant is to be built at the Danica Industrial Zone in Koprivnica.

(€1= HRK 7.5)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange indices ended the day in different directions on Wednesday, with investors focusing on the preferred shares of the Adris tourism and insurance group and the Valamar Riviera hotel group.

The Crobex fell for the fourth day running and dropped by 0.16% to 1,932.26 points. 

After falling for two days, the Crobex10 picked up and ended the day at 1,197.56 points, increasing by 0.20%.

Regular turnover amounted to HRK 8.85 million or about 450,000 more than on Tuesday.

The most liquid stock was the Adris Group with a turnover of HRK 3.2 million of its preferred shares, which closed at a price of HRK 410 per share, down 0.49%.

The Valamar Riviera hotel group was the only other stock to cross the million kuna mark. It generated a turnover of HRK 1.2 million. Its shares jumped in price by 0.67% to close at 30 kuna. 

Of the 36 stocks that traded today, only 9 registered share price increases.

(€1 = HRK 7.505183)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - The JANAF oil pipeline and storage system said on Wednesday it had signed its first contract with Austria's OMV Supply & Trading Ltd for storing up to 99,000 cubic metres of crude oil at the Omišalj Terminal for a period of two years.

Management said the contract confirmed JANAF's strong export orientation, adding that the company generated over 60% of its revenue from foreign clients.

The new contract ensures the further use of our storage capacity and stable business in the longer term, Management Board chairman Stjepan Adanić and Board member Vladislav Veslica said.

For more about diplomacy in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.