ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - Economy Ministry officials on Tuesday presented contracts awarded as part of the HRK 326.3 million public call "Increasing Energy Efficiency and the Use of Renewables in Manufacturing Industries", with the total value of the projects to be implemented standing at HRK 672 million.

340 businesses applied to the call, and 28 - five micro and small businesses, six medium-size businesses and 17 big companies - were awarded money from the EU Competitiveness and Cohesion Fund.

Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said he expected the companies that were given grants to increase their energy efficiency as well as competitiveness as a result of lower energy consumption and increased production efficiency.

He noted that significant funds were envisaged for that purpose also under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and that domestic businesses could expect new calls for applications by the end of this year and the beginning of 2022.

The approved grants must be invested in the next one to two years.

As a small, open economy, in the previous decades Croatia mostly exploited its development capacity in the services sector, including tourism, while now national plans and strategies should put special emphasis on manufacturing industries so that the country can catch up with EU standards, Ćorić said, adding that domestic producers could impact export as one of the key variables of the national economy.

"There will be more calls like this one in the period to come," he said.

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ZAGREB, 27 July, 2021 - In H1 2021, Croatian telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson Nikola Tesla generated a net profit of HRK 101.4 million, up 190% on the year, the ICT company said in a press release on Tuesday.

The company's gross profit amounts to HRK 154.3 billion, up 105.1% on the year.

The company's sales revenues rose by 5% to HRK 1.01 billion in the first six months of 2021. Of the total sales revenues, 44.1% was generated on the domestic market, services to parent Ericsson accounted for 44.9%, while other export markets contributed 11%.

In the said period, sales revenues on the domestic market amounted to HRK 447 million, up 6.2%, while sales revenues on foreign markets (without services to parent Ericsson) increased by 5.7% to HRK 111.5 million.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The Croatian coat-of-arms, a geographical map of Croatia, the marten (Croatian: kuna), the Glagolitic script and Nikola Tesla are motifs proposed for the Croatian side of euro coins, the Croatian National Bank (HNB) said on Wednesday.

The HNB Currency Committee today defined the final proposal for motifs for the national sides of future Croatian euro coins, which will now be considered by the National Council for the Introduction of the Euro as Official Currency in the Republic of Croatia, and then the government will adopt a conclusion.

The Croatian coat-of-arms will be used as a background on all coins, and other motifs will be used on coins of different denominations so that the 2 euro coin will feature a geographical map of Croatia, the 1 euro coin the marten, the 50, 20 and 10 cents coins Nikola Tesla, and 1, 2 and 5 cents coins the Glagolitic script.

The HNB said the main criteria for the selection was that the motif is acceptable to the general public and that it is a national symbol.

The rating given by citizens via an online survey at euro.hr, in which nearly 50,000 citizens took part, and a structured national survey on a sample of 1,000 citizens also influenced the Committee's final decision.

Based on the selected motifs, the HNB will announce a tender for the design of the national side of the euro coin. In mid October, the HNB will send the design of the motifs to the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, the press release said.

The production of euro coins with the Croatian national side should start at least six months before the introduction of the euro, that is the decision of the Council of the EU that Croatia is introducing the euro.

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices dropped again on Wednesday after going up on Tuesday.

The Crobex decreased by 0.29% to 1,918 points, while the Crobex10 went up by a mere 0.06% to 1,185 points.

Regular turnover amounted to HRK 3.7 million, or HRK 1.4 million less than on Tuesday.

No stock crossed the million kuna mark and the highest turnover, of nearly HRK 879,000, was generated by the stock of the HT telecommunications company. The price of its shares went up by 1.85% to HRK 27.5.

A total of 33 stocks traded today, with 14 of them registering share price increases, 11 recording share price decreases and eight remaining stable in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.494568 )

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Ćorić on Wednesday spoke of an informal EU meeting of environment ministers in Slovenia on new legislation on climate and the European Commission's recommendation to reduce greenhouse emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990.

He explained at a press conference that this refers to 12 legislative proposals from various areas that are being considered by EU member states in reference to the set objectives.

Ćorić said that this was an important step towards strengthening the EU as a leader in the fight against climate change.

Tax on carbon is a novelty - legislation is very ambitious

Ćorić explained that the new legislation envisages a carbon tax that should protect production in the EU compared to countries that export to the EU but are not encompassed by EU standards and mechanisms.

We are aware that if nothing is done in the next ten years, the potential costs of the damage could be much higher than the costs of transforming economies, he said.

With reference to financing that transformation, Ćorić said that Croatia has more than HRK 60 billion available over the next ten years to be spent in various commercial segments to reduce carbon emissions.

He underscored that the new legislation is very ambitious and a step towards Europe's economic transformation.

Price hikes to be eased with absorbed funds

He said that transition is a huge challenge and is being disputed by some but that it is also a huge opportunity for economies like Croatia through generous allocations of EU funds.

He recalled that Croatia's energy sector has a very small portion reliant on carbon, considering the significant share of hydro-power and potential for renewable sources.

Referring to the announcement for the construction of a new block at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) in Slovenia, Ćorić said that that project could take up to a decade to be achieved, adding that Croatia has still not been officially informed of that project.

He recalled that obligations existed under international conventions for projects of that nature with a cross-border impact. Croatia has been advised of extending the lifespan of NEK to 2043.

He underscored that NEK is a stable source of energy and believes that it will continue to be so. He added that his ministry is interested in seeing more formal proposals to see whether Croatia would enter into a partnership with Slovenia regarding the construction of a new block at the Krško plant.

He added that Croatia was monitoring the situation with the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary because Croatia imports 30 to 45% of energy needs from abroad, depending on the hydrological situation.

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - The volume of construction work carried out in Croatia in May 2021 rose 15.9% compared with May 2020, and it fell by 0.1% compared with April 2021, according to data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Wednesday.

May was the 12th consecutive month to see the rise in the volume of construction work on an annual level.

Year on year, the volume of construction work to buildings increased by 18% and the volume of construction work to other structures grew by 13%. Month on month, the volume of construction work to buildings fell by 0.3%, while the volume of construction work to other structures decreased by 0.9%.

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ZAGREB, 21 July, 2021 - At the end of 2020, 3.45 million Croatian consumers had at least one payment card, which means that of 4.05 million residents, 85% possessed cards for cashless payment,  according to the data provided by the Croatian National Bank (HNB).

The HNB's publication on cards and card transactions in 2020 shows that as many as 8.78 million such cards were registered at the end of 2020, which was down by 4.5% compared to the end of 2019.

Thus, 85% of the population held at least one payment card, more than 29% held at least two payment cards, and 17% three cards.

 Also, 240,264 payment card holders were business entities.

The HNB says that 4.83 million cards were used during 2020, 3.55 million were unused and 0.55 million were blocked.

As many as 6.92 million cards were debit cards (79%), up 0.41%. The remaining 21% (1.85 million) were credit cards, down by 20.32% compared to the end of 2020.

This decline in the number of credit card was ascribed by the HNB to the business decision of American Express to leave Croatia's market.

The HND data shows that there were 21 credit institutions and two electronic money institutions as payment card issuers in Croatia last year.

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ZAGREB, 20 July, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange indices increased on Tuesday, the Crobex by 0.43% to 1,923 points and the Crobex10 by 0.33% to 1,185 points, while regular turnover was HRK 5.1 million.

The most traded stock and the only one to cross the million kuna mark was the Podravka food company, turning over HRK 1.8 million. It closed at HRK 582 per share, up 0.34%.

Thirty stocks traded today, 11 rising in price and 11 dropping, while eight were stable.

(€1 = HRK 7.492196)

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ZAGREB, 20 July, 2021 - For May 2021, the average monthly net earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities in Croatia amounted to HRK 7,104, nominally higher by 6.7% and really by 4.5% as compared to the same month last year, the national statistical office said on Tuesday.

As compared to April 2021, the nominal increase was 0.3% and the real one 0.2%.

The highest average monthly net earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities for May 2021 were paid in Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (HRK 10,756), while the lowest were paid in Manufacture of wearing apparel (HRK 4,401).

Median net earnings for May 2021 amounted to HRK 5,966 kuna.

For May 2021, the average monthly gross earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities amounted to HRK 9,553, a nominal increase of 0.3% and a real one of 0.2% as compared to April 2021.

The average monthly gross earnings per person in paid employment in legal entities were nominally higher by 5.4% and really by 3.2% for May 2021 as compared to the same month last year.

The average monthly net earnings per hour for May 2021 amounted to HRK 41.57, which was 4.3% higher than in April 2021. As compared to the same month last year, they increased by 6.3%.

The average monthly gross earnings per hour for May 2021 amounted to HRK 55.90, which was 4.3% higher than in April 2021. As compared to the same month last year, they increased by 5%.

In May 2021, there were 167 paid hours on average, decreasing by 4% as compared to April 2021. The greatest number of paid hours was recorded in the Human health activities (178) and the smallest one in Social work activities without accommodation (152).

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 18 July, 2021 - The Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor, Boris Vujčić, said on Sunday that Croatia's economy would likely reach a growth rate of about 18% in the second quarter of 2021, which was partly due to the low base in the Q2 2020 when the country had experienced a strong downturn.

Vujčić told the press in Dubrovnik where he had formally opened the 27th international economic conference, that Croatia's economic activity for the whole of 2021 would likely rebound at a rate of 6.8%, however, the epidemiological situation caused by the COVID pandemic still created uncertainties.

Vujčić explained that in the worst-case scenario, the GDP could rise by 4.8% in 2021.

The governor underscored a significant role of the government that provided job-retention grants which helped save jobs and made it possible for the recovery to be faster.

The crisis has made the ongoing digitisation processes faster, prompting remote working. I expect a large number of people to go back to work sites. Only after all things go back to normal, we will be provided with the real picture regarding the labour market that has behaved during the pandemic differently than during the big financial crisis in 2009 and 2010. In Croatia, we have already reached the 2019 levels in terms of employment figures and we are now faced with the recurring problem of shortage of skilled workforce, he said.

Commenting on the European Union's Next Generation plan, he said that that would be crucial for the economic recovery in the medium term.

In the next two years, the maximum of available funds will be tapped, and this amount of the funds withdrawn from the EU will have a positive impact on Croatia's GDP, according to his explanation.

The 27th Dubrovnik Economic Conference brought together about 70 experts and researchers from abroad and Croatia as well as representatives of financial institutions, central banks and the financial sector.

Some of the topics on the agenda of the conference are the further strengthening of the role of the state, particularly through the EU Next Generation programme, exchange mechanisms, corporate bankruptcies and so on.

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