Investments in Croatia are growing in spite of the difficult investment climate which typically sends most would-be investors running for the hills, or just across the border to more investor-friendly climes. Ivanec, a town in continental Croatia, is due to see a rather large business investment which ties in with massive technological advancements - robotics.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes on the 7th of January, 2019, this is a 1.5 million euro investment, through which BGW obtained ownrship of 10,000 square feet of land on which the construction of an industrial hall and its accompanying area is set to begin this spring. The company BGW can currently be found in a hired space in a hall in Ivanec, and the company's office space located in Varaždin has become, as company director Kristijan Danjko openly says, too small.

"The fleet that we own, as well as all of the construction equipment, is too big for the current premises we have and which we've got on lease. We selected the city of Ivanec primarily because of the benefits it provides, land prices there, documentation support, and their very approach to us as investors,'' he explained.

At the Ivanec industrial zone, the plan is to build business premises of approximately 600 square metres, and 1,000 square metres of production halls. In the second phase of this investment, as was announced Danjko, on the very same plot they plan to build yet another business facility. "A meeting with the investment and competitiveness agency was held back in October 2018, where we were introduced to the possibilities of using the state incentives we're now planning to use.

As previously mentioned, the planned investment is worth just over 1.5 million euro, and Ivanec, their location of choice, is also set to benefit from the move, as was explained by BGW. Two other companies - BGW Electronics and BGW Montaža, will also be located on the new premises. BGW Montaža was initially formed in 2013 and is involved in the installation of robots, transport belts, and more, while BGW Electronics was founded in February 2018 and deals with electrical engineering in Croatia and abroad.

At present, both companies employ about a hundred employees, and their plans are to continue on expanding. This planned investment in Ivanec, much like all other similar investments in Croatia, is likely to bring not only economic development and work positions, but a concrete demographic measure to help keep Croatia's youth within the country's borders.

Make sure to stay up to date with investments in Croatia by following our dedicated business page.

Click here for the original article by Lucija Spiljak for 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

Just how much did you spend for Christmas 2018? Croats spent a massive billion kuna more during this festive season than they did during the festive season before it, which sends out a positive signal.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of January, 2019, consumption in December 2018 reached record 14.85 billion kuna, up 7.1 percent from the same period last year when the average consumer spending amounted to 13.79 billion kuna, according to data from the Croatian tax administration. This marks an impressive billion kuna increase.

"This increase of over one billion kuna is in line with the estimates of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK). The rising of wages and their growth through tax reform(s) acted upon the optimism of citizens and also on consumption. We also had a good tourist season, which also works in favour of this year's record-breaking December,'' said HGK's Tomislav Ravlić.

She stressed that this contribution to public spending has increased as more and more employers have decided to pay their employees a higher salary, accompanied by bigger Christmas bonuses and similar monetary measures.

According to the results of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's research which was carried out last year, the largest number of respondents spent between 100 and 500 kuna on Christmas gifts (39 percent), followed by those who set between 500 and 1000 kuna (31 percent) this year.

The upper limit of 1000 kuna was exceeded 9 percent of people, while less 21 percent of the respondents spent less than 100 kuna. Almost 40 percent of people left toys and similar items under the Christmas tree in December 2018, with cosmetics (37 percent), footwear and clothing (36 percent) and delicatessen food products (25 percent) following.

As positive trends are appearing to continue, will 2019's festive season manage to outdo this one?

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated business and news pages for much more on consumerism in Croatia, spending trends, doing business and the business and investment climate.

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.''

Follow our dedicated business page for more.

Many places in Croatia have been making good use of EU funds, but others need time to catch up. The opportunities provided by accessing the funding has been showcased in one excellent Croatian example, Zaprešić.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 27th of December, 2018, last Friday, Zaprešić was the final host of the Regional EU Funds seminar for this year. The seminars aim to inform the public about the funding opportunities provided by EU funds by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds.

Zaprešić is just one example of good EU funds practice, and this is also backed up somewhat symbolically by the fact that the education seminar about the use of EU funds was held in the Vršilnica building, which was rebuilt with the very welcome help of 4,855,637.50 euro, co-financed by European structural and investment funds.

EU funds are one of the key sources of funding for urban investments and large capital projects across the Republic of Croatia, without which the City of Zaprešić simply could not have realised many projects. As explained by Mayor Zeljko Turk, in the period from 2017 until now, nearly 33 million kuna of contracted funds outside of the city budget have been spent, which have helped to deal with large capital projects, raise the overall quality of life, and accelerate the development cycle of Zaprešić in general. The fact that EU funds are a huge part of Croatia's present and future, was emphasised by the state secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds, Velimir Žunac.

"We're the youngest member of the European Union, so we're learning, growing and maturing at the same time, and this government has made significant gains. Back in January 2017 we contracted a mere 9 percent of EU funds, and this year, we'll be at 60 percent, that speak volumes about how successful we are,'' stated Žunac.

The 2017 economy analysis shows that the most prominent economic branches in Zaprešić are trade (23 percent), followed by service activities (16 percent) and professional scientific and technical, construction and manufacturing industries, holding a total of 33 percent.

"The city is doing a lot to improve the infrastructure and conditions for its entrepreneurs, and for this purpose, funds amounting to 6 million kuna have been secured, and this is 100 percent co-financed with European Union money in the entrepreneurial zone in Pojatno, where a completely new road will be built which will attract new businesses and create new jobs,'' said the head of the Zaprešić finance and economic development department, Miljenko Šoštarić.

Satisfied entrepreneurs are the souls of the city, and just how it is to actually be an entrepreneur in Zaprešić, with his own experience of using the EU contribution, is the owner of the Mihaliček company, which employs 50 people with a turnover growth of 10 to 15 percent per year.

"We applied for the tender because the appetities within our company grew, we developed new jobs and got more people. We applied for a crane and a laser machine for installing and processing concrete, and we received 300,000 kuna in non-refundable funds, which was 55 percent of our investment,'' said Stjepan Mihaliček, stating that such a form of contribution to them was relevant because renting or buying used machinery could be at the expense of safety in the workplace. 

''In order to encourage as many entrepreneurs as possible to use EU funds, entrepreneurs may submit their email addresses to receive a newsletter containing all the available information on various financing options, including funding opportunities from EU funds with the aim of developing new business ideas and boosting competitiveness on both domestic and foreign markets,'' explained Šoštarić.

Make sure to stay up to date with our business and politics pages for more information on EU funds, how Croatian companies can make use of them, and for everything going on in the political and business world in Croatia.

Click here for the original article by PD i VL native tim

An announcement from one well-frequented store, SPAR Croatia, will likely bring a smile to the faces of many, as prices are set to be slashed next month.

The Christmas spirit might be warm and fuzzy in stark contrast to the cold winter weather, but the consequences of eating, drinking and being merry (along with the need to buy more and more expensive presents), often leave our wallets feeling much thinner even if we've definitely grown, and I don't mean upwards.

Thankfully, January is a quiet, although boring month. Not much happens and for very many, it is the month of trying to earn back at least a portion of what was spent when under the soft yet somewhat deceptive blanket of December's glittery Christmas cheer. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 27th of December, 2018, SPAR Croatia has issued a very welcome announcement which guarantees that as of the 1st of January, 2019, the prices of more than 1,500 products that can be found on the popular shop's shelves will be reduced by more than 9.6 percent.

SPAR Croatia will lower its product prices according to the Croatian Government's decision to reduce VAT on fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, eggs, and baby diapers from 25 percent to 13 percent.

"We welcome the efforts of the Croatian Government, which, by deciding on tax relief, will further assist Croatian citizens as well as the Croatian economy. With our price reductions, SPAR Croatia supports this move by bringing the price of what is in the shopping baskets of citizens down,'' stated Helmut Fenzl, CEO of SPAR Croatia.

Make sure to stay up to date with our news page for everything you need to know about what's going on up and down the country, from cultural events to live performances, down to tax cuts, business ventures and the latest political scandal.

The desire of many Croatian companies, institutions and state bodies is to create a digital Croatia, in which the country's draconian and almost masochistic love of paperwork and stamps are banished to the past and recalled only as a bad memory. Despite the wishes of many, it seems that the dream of a digital Croatia will take a while to become a reality.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of December, 2018, the increase in the number of employees of various digital professionals in Croatian companies, and the retention of qualified digital professionals in Croatia, are two key goals for the establishment of the national coalition for digital skills and jobs.

A new body, coordinated by the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP), has kicked off with its work in Croatia. Representatives of HUP-ICT Association, the Croatian Government, the Ministry of Science and Education and the Ministry of Labour signed a memorandum on the establishment of the national coalition for digital skills and jobs.

Davor Majetić, CEO of HUP, says that digitalisation is now absolutely imperative for all companies which want to be competitive on today's market, and this is felt by the significant change that we have experienced in Croatia since 1997 in terms of jobs and employment.

"We lack digital skills and ICT professionals in all industries, and we're continuing to persuade people that the issue of digital skills is a matter of 21st century literacy, a standard without which our children will not be ready for the labour market," stated Majetić, adding that in solving this very issue lies an opportunity for the national coalition for digital skills and jobs.

Boris Drilo, President of HUP ICT Association and member of the Croatian Telecommunications Board, said that their ultimate desire is to move the current ICT sector's positive momentum over into other sectors of the economy and transform the Croatian economy into a digital economy.

He says that in Croatia's neighbouring countries, as well as in the rest of the European Union, the ratio is in favor of having a digital economy, as opposed to the traditional 3:1 contribution to the overall GDP of the country. He claims that the situation in Croatia is currently the other way around, adding that Croatia currently has about 50,000 ICT experts, and that the country needs 200,000 citizens with advanced digital skills for further market competition at an international level.

Bernard Gršić, State Secretary of the Central State Office for Digital Society Development, stressed that the work of this body is supported by the Croatian Government.

"This coalition should address the challenges of multi-level digital skills, and the work of the coalition is being supported by the Government of the Republic of Croatia and by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković," Gršić said.

Hrvoje Balen, Vice President of the HUP-ICT Association, who is also a member of Algebra board, says that the Republic of Croatia is experiencing a significant increase in the emigration of younger and highly educated individuals, he therefore highlighted the two main goals set by the coalition: an overall increase in the number of digital professionals, and their retention here in Croatia.

This Croatian coalition will likely become a leading power in the creation of a digital Croatia and is part of the grand coalition for digital jobs initiative, which was initially launched three years ago by the European Commission with the aim of linking the economy, educational institutions, and the state together to work on the general development of digital competencies.

Is digital Croatia on a concrete path to reality? Only time will tell.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more information on the transformation of digital Croatia and much more.

Click here for the original article by Bernard Ivezic for Poslovni Dnevnik