ZAGREB, 18 July 2022 - Economy Minister Davor Filipović said on Monday that for the next fortnight the price of petrol would be HRK 13.02 per litre, down from HRK 13.50, while the price of diesel would go up from HRK 13.08 to HRK 13.43.

Also, fuel prices on motorways and elsewhere will be equated and the government will extend the price cap on blue-dyed diesel to HRK 9.45 per litre for another two weeks, he told the press after a government conference call.

The retail margin stays HRK 0.65 per litre of petrol and diesel, as do excises of HRK 0.80 on petrol and HRK 0.40 on diesel.

"Without these government moves, the price of diesel would have been HRK 15.70 and the price of petrol HRK 14.92," the minister said.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 1 April (2022) - Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Friday that the government and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development are always ready to cooperate with shipyards, but "the current problems at Brodosplit are somewhat more complex" than what has been presented in the public.

Addressing the press after a conference on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO), Ćorić said that Brodosplit had undergone successful restructuring, which had cost the state budget HRK 1.5 billion.

The minister also explained that the DIV Group, of which Brodosplit is a member, had taken the positive course, however, the progress was overshadowed by the corona crisis and the repercussions of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.

"The issue of shipbuilding in Split is not simple and should considered from several points of view," says Ćorić, adding that he is nevertheless optimistic that Croatia's shipbuilding industry stands good chances.

The president of the management board of the DIV Group and the Brodosplit shipyard said on Thursday the company was suspending production because €60 million of its funds were currently blocked. Speaking to Hina, Tomislav Debeljak said Brodosplit was financing the building of two ships with funds from VTB Europe, a Russian-owned bank subject to considerable restrictions due to the war in Ukraine.

"The situation we are in is extremely dramatic because VTB has stopped further loan payments because of the war in Ukraine, which has blocked us," Debeljak said, noting that €60 million of the company's funds were "trapped" in those projects.

A member of the DIV Group Management Board, Darko Pappo, said today at the conference which was attended by Ćorić that that DIV was very much affected by the current situation because two major projects were financed by the Russian-owned bank, with EU sanctions against Russia having prevented the completion of the projects and their refinancing.

"We are talking about two loans amounting to €90 million, with our share totalling around €60 million. That is a huge amount of money and this has made us suspend production," Pappo said.

He added that he expected the government to make decisions fast to help the shipbuilding group overcome the situation. The executive also said that there were end-buyers for both projects, contracts on long-term lease and a repayment schedule, and that, even though state aid is not necessary, the situation requires a prompt government reaction.

The government should support DIV's proposal for the loans to be refinanced with HBOR (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) funding under commercial terms, and one of the loans should be fully repaid by the end of the year while the other would be repaid over a longer period of time, said Pappo.

"That would ensure the continuation of production and normal functioning," he said, adding that both the Brodosplit shipyard and DIV Group operate in the black and employ a large number of workers, which is why they believe the government and HBOR should step in.

Pappo recalled that the recent case of Sberbank showed that a prompt reaction by the government was possible.

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ZAGREB, 1 April (2022) - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Friday he believed the year 2022 would see a further growth of the national economy.

"I believe that the Croatian economy will show in 2022, just as it did in 2021, the kind of resilience that opened the door to convergence towards the EU average," Ćorić said at a meeting of exporters, organised by Lider business weekly.

Recalling Croatia's growth rate of more than 10% in 2021, the minister said that this year could be like that as well. "That is our goal and I believe that with good exporters, we can make it happen," he said.

Croatian exporters share the fate of all European exporters who are in any way connected with the Russian Federation, while the situation is somewhat easier for exporters with diversified portfolios, whose business is not predominantly oriented to Russia, he said.

Croatia does not have too many companies that are exposed to the Russian market, he said, adding that the current situation could be overcome by companies expanding their market to other European countries, while the government would help by facilitating competition, primarily by enabling greater energy efficiency and lower production costs.

Ćorić announced a HRK 1.9 billion tender to be published by the end of Q2 referring to energy efficiency, which should help the manufacturing industry increase its capacity.

Some of the exporters have liquidity problems due to a decline in business in the Russian Federation, he said, noting that the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) would step in.

DIV Group: Situation requires rapid response

Answering questions from the press, a member of the DIV Group Management Board, Darko Pappo, said that DIV was very much affected by the current situation because two major projects were financed by a Russian-owned bank, with EU sanctions against Russia having prevented the completion of the projects and their refinancing.

"We are talking about two loans amounting to €90 million, with our share totalling around €60 million. That is a huge amount of money and this has made us suspend production," he said, adding that he expected the government to make decisions fast to help the shipbuilding group overcome the situation.

He added that there were end-buyers for both projects, contracts on long-term lease and a repayment schedule, and that, even though state aid is not necessary, the situation requires a prompt government reaction.

The government should support DIV's proposal for the loans to be refinanced with HBOR funding under commercial terms, and one of the loans should be fully repaid by the end of the year while the other would be repaid over a longer period of time, he said.

"That would ensure the continuation of production and normal functioning," he said, adding that both the Brodosplit shipyard and DIV Group operate in the black and employ a large number of workers, which is why they believe the government and HBOR should step in.

Pappo recalled that the recent case of Sberbank showed that a prompt reaction by the government was possible.

AD Plastik focusing on new deals 

Marinko Došen, Management Board chair of plastic car parts manufacturer AD Plastik, said the revenue from the Russian market accounted for 20-25% of total revenue and that the company's two factories in Russia were currently not operating and there was no information on when they could resume operation.

AD Plastik is an export-oriented company, focusing on new deals and expanding to markets where it will be able to operate, Došen said.

As for the rise in energy costs, he said that the cost of energy products had gone up significantly for all businesses and that state aid would be welcome as it would also help them cover the cost of labour for markets that were currently inaccessible.

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