Friday, 7 May 2021

Oleg Butković Presents Reforms And Investments For Transport Sector

ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - A part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) refers to developing a competitive, energy sustainable and efficient transport system, and it is valued at HRK 5.5 billion, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković said on Friday.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan totals HRK 47 billion and comprises five components, with the economy component valued at HRK 26.2 billion. That component includes a sub-component on developing a competitive, energy sustainable and efficient transport system, with investments worth HRK 5.5 billion, recalled Butković.

The plan, he said, foresees the continuation of significant investments in modernising transport infrastructure with the aim of developing a sustainable transport system and stimulating the development of smart solutions as well as  reforming rail, road and air transport as well as maritime and inland navigation.

We are prepared to make these reforms and that is an opportunity to continue the current strong investment cycle in transport infrastructure, which amounts to more than HRK 25 billion. With the resilience programme we are continuing that investment cycle which will amount to more than HRK 30 billion by 2030, particularly in railway projects as well as all the other projects, said Butković.

He announced that reforms would include amendment of the Roads Act by 2026 to create conditions for the interoperability of electronic road toll systems and improve road safety.

Answering reporters' questions, Butković said that the Hrvatske Autoceste road management company is well on its way to advertising a tender for a new contactless toll system at all motorways in the country.

He estimates that the tender could be advertised in September or October and that the new system will most likely mean the introduction of a digital vignette.

The plan also foresees the adoption of new laws on maritime zones and sea ports, on inland waterway transport and ports, and on regular and occasional sea transport to ensure uniform implementation of regulations on public port management.

The plan also includes the construction and reconstruction of railway infrastructure, the modernisation of sea ports, the procurement of three passenger ships and three catamarans, new ferry boats, trams, buses, a new photovoltaic power station, and the construction of a new Level 5 autonomous vehicle, said Butković.

According to Butković, HRK 2.8 billion of the HRK 5.5 billion planned to be invested in the transport system would be allocated to the private sector.

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Friday, 7 May 2021

PM Andrej Plenković Says Gov't to Continue With Active Employment Policy

ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who is taking part in the Social Summit in Porto, said on Friday that his government would continue with its active policy towards workers because it considered workers to be important.

"After four years we are again focusing on social rights, workers' protection, social inclusion and dialogue, equal opportunities, the possibility to help our workers across the EU through the principle of European solidarity and to save jobs through cooperation," Plenković told reporters upon arrival in Porto, Portugal, where the summit is taking place.

Portugal, which has been chairing the EU since January, is hosting the summit at which the leaders of the EU's 27 member states will try to put into practice a document called "The European Pillar of Social Rights", agreed to four years ago.

Among the 20 principles stated in the document, are training and lifelong learning, gender equality, fair pay and workers' participation in talks on forms and conditions of work.

"In that regard, Croatia has done quite a lot in the past 15 months," said Plenković.

"We have saved jobs, supported workers, as well as employers. Numbers speak for themselves, today we have more insurees than we had last year, and what is more important, we have more than we did in 2019," he said.

"We have invested more than €10 billion in workers' wages, secured funds for those who had to work shorter hours, as well as for fixed costs, making it possible for more than 120,000 employers to keep their workers and pay wages," he said.

Croatians, just like citizens of other EU countries, have felt the health and economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis. Thousands of workers have lost jobs and many fear poverty.

According to figures form the Croatian Employment Service, the unemployment rate in Croatia is 9.3%.

"The state has exempted many from paying both taxes and contributions. We will continue with an active employment policy," Plenković said.

Portugal's Socialist government in January set strengthening social rights in Europe as on of its priorities during its EU presidency, which ends in June.

The European Commission in March presented a plan under which the number of poor people in the EU would be reduced by 15 million by the end of 2030.

The forum in Porto focuses on that plan and PM Plenković is expected to participate in a panel discussion on that topic later in the day.

The Porto summit is taking place one week after International Workers' Day, when workers across Europe once again pointed out their difficult situation.

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Friday, 7 May 2021

Zagreb Stock Exchange: Indices Close Day in Opposite Directions, Stronger on The Week

ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange indices closed the day in opposite directions on Friday compared to the previous day, while on the week they recorded a strong growth of 2.2%.

The Crobex index increased by 0.25% to 1,935.53 points, which is its highest level since 21 February 2020.

The Crobex10, however, dropped by 0.18% from Thursday to 1,194.07 points.

Thanks to increasing for five straight days, the Crobex ended 2.22% higher on the week.

The Crobex10 increased by 1.37% on the week.

Regular turnover amounted to HRK 9.5 million, about HRK 300,000 more than on Thursday.

The highest turnover of HRK 4.4 million was generated by the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company. The price of its shares closed at HRK 338, up 6.62% from Thursday. Atlantska Plividba has been among the most traded  stocks for several weeks, marking a strong increase in price. At the start of this week, its price jumped by 12% and then increased at a rate of more than 6% for three days, rising by more than 30% on the week.

The Podravka food manufacturer generated a turnover of HRK 1.3 million, with the price of its shares increasing by 0.34% to HRK 588.

The Riviera Valamar hotel group's stock also crossed the million kuna mark with a turnover of HRK 1.2 million. Its price also increased, going up by 0.35% to close at HRK 29.

A total of 45 stocks traded today, with 20 of them registering price increases, 12 recording price decreases and 13 stagnating.

(€1 = HRK 7.532309)

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Friday, 7 May 2021

Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS): Croatian export rises 9.5%, import 2.1% in 2021 Q1

ZAGREB, 7 May, 2021 - Croatia exported the commodities worth 30 billion kuna in the first three months of 2021, which was 9.5% more in comparison to the corresponding period in 2020, whereas the imports rose 2.1% to HRK 46.5 billion, the national statistical office (DZS) reported on Friday.

As a result, Croatia's foreign trade deficit in Q1 2021 narrowed by nine percent to HRK 16.45 billion compared to the 2020 Q1.

The coverage of the import by the export was 64.6%.

In the first three months of 2021, HRK 20.7 billion worth of goods was exported to the EU, 8.9% more on the year, and HRK 9.3 billion to non-EU countries (+10.9%).

The import of goods from the EU totalled HRK 36.7 billion, which was the same level as in the corresponding period of 2020, while import from other countries rose 11.4% to HRK 9.7 billion.

Expressed in euros, Croatia's goods export totalled €3.97 billion, up 7.9%, while import increased 0.6% to €6.1 billion.

The foreign trade deficit was €2,2 billion.

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Thursday, 6 May 2021

Zagreb Stock Exchange: Crobex Continues Upward Movement For Fourth Day in a Row

ZAGREB, May 6, 2021- The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices strengthened on Thursday, with the Crobex continuing its upward movement for the fourth day in a row to reach its highest level since the end of February 2020.

The Crobex rose by 0.38% to 1,930 points, while the Crobex10 gained 0.4% to end the day at 1,196 points.

Turnover at the end of the trading session reached HRK 9.2 million, about 1.5 million less than on Wednesday.

The stock of the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company turned over HRK 1.8 million, closing at HRK 317 per share, up 6.73% over Wednesday. It was the only stock to pass the turnover mark of one million kuna.

A total of 43 stocks traded today, with 13 of them registering price increases, 19 recording price decreases and 11 stagnating in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.534594)

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Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Zagreb Stock Exchange: Crobex Continues to Climb Slowly For Third Day Running

ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange Crobex index continued to increase slowly on Wednesday for the third day running while the Crobex10 weakened, with investors focusing on the HT telecommunications stock, which traded without dividend rights.

The Crobex increased by 0.35% to 1,923 points, climbing for three straight days and reaching its highest level since February 2020.

The Crobex10, however, weakened slightly, by 0.02% to 1,191 points.

The transport sector index registered the highest increase, of 3.93%, while the construction sector index plunged by 2.48%.

Regular turnover amounted to HRK 10.4 million or 1.65 million more than on Tuesday.

The highest turnover of HRK 1.77 million was generated by the HT telecommunications company. The price of HT shares dropped by 2.33% to HRK 188.5. This was due to the fact that as of today, the HT stock trades without the right of paying out a dividend of HRK 8 per share.

The Atlantska Plovidba shipping company generated the second highest turnover, of HRK 1.23 million, with the price of its shares soaring by 6% to HRK 297.

The Ericsson Nikola Tesla stock also crossed the million kuna mark with a turnover of HRK 1.2 million, and the price of its shares increased by 1.19% to close at HRK 1,705 per share.

A total of 47 stocks traded today, with 18 of them registering price increases and 14 registering decreases, while 15 remained stable in price.

€1 = HRK 7.538774)

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Tuesday, 4 May 2021

Zagreb Stock Exchange Indices Close At Record High Since Late February 2020

ZAGREB, 4 May, 2021 - The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices -- the Crobex and Crobex 10 -- on Tuesday increased 0.57% to 1,916 points and 0.35% to 1,191 points respectively, closing at a record high since the end of February 2020. 

Broken down by sector, the transport index saw the biggest increase of 4.62%, whereas the industry index slid by 1.13%.

Today's regular turnover totalled HRK 8.75 million, 2.5 million less than on Monday.

In terms of the volume of trading, the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company was the top performer, with HRK 2.35 million. Its share price jumped 12% to HRK 280.

The HT telecom turned over HRK 1.33 million, with its share price falling 0.26% to HRK 193.

A total of 39 stocks traded today, with 20 of them registering price increases and 10 registering decreases, while nine remained stable in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.547556) 

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Friday, 30 April 2021

Podravka Group Generates Q1 Net Profit of HRK 105.2 Million

ZAGREB, 30 April, 2021 - The Podravka Group generated a net profit of HRK 105.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 15.6% over the same period in 2020, the Koprivnica-based food company said in a financial statement on Friday.

Sales revenue amounted to HRK 1.08 billion or 12.1% less compared to the same period last year.

Podravka said that the decrease in revenue had been expected and was in line with business plans.

"The expected fall in sales revenue compared to 2020 was due to the unusual withdrawal of goods from buyers and extra stocks created in March last year as a consequence of the lockdown in most of the countries where Podravka is present."

The company's supervisory board adopted the revised business results for 2020 which show that the group had generated a net profit of HRK 248.9 million, or 12.3% more than in 2019.

 (€1 = HRK 7.5)

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Friday, 30 April 2021

Zagreb Stock Exchange Indices End Mixed

ZAGREB, 30 April, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices ended mixed on Friday, with the Crobex decreasing by 0.03% to 1,893.51 points and the Crobex10 increasing by 0.02% to 1,177.94 points.

Turnover at the close of the trading session was HRK 10.1 million, about 500,000 less than on Thursday.

The highest turnover, of HRK 1.4 million, was generated by the Končar Electrical Industry stock. Its price remained unchanged at HRK 715.

Only two more stocks passed the turnover mark of one million kuna.

The stock of the Maistra hotel company turned over HRK 1.3 million, ending the day at HRK 306 per share, up 1.32% from Thursday.

The Arena Hospitality Group stock turned over HRK 1.1 million. Its price fell by 0.65% to HRK 308 per share.

A total of 45 stocks traded today, with 21 of them registering share price increases, 15 recording price decreases and nine remaining stable in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.553299)

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Thursday, 29 April 2021

Croatian National Bank: Banks Still Do Not See Climate Change As Serious Threat to Business

ZAGREB, 29 April, 2021 - Most banks in Croatia still do not see climate change as a serious threat to their business, a survey carried out by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) showed on Thursday.

The survey was presented as part of an online conference called "The Role of Banks in Greening Our Economies", organised by the HNB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The survey, carried out among 20 Croatian banks, showed that the banks did not see climate change as an immediate and serious threat to their business.

Only one bank said that climate change would have a generally significant impact on the Croatian banking system, 11 banks said that the impact would be moderate, while eight said that it would be insignificant.

Only two banks have a climate change-related strategy included in their overall business strategy, expressing concern about risks and anticipating possible changes to the regulatory framework. On the other hand, 15 banks said they were waiting for the regulators to take the initial steps in this regard.

Responding to the question about risk materialisation, 10 banks said that climate risks would not materialise in the near future, while 11 said they were not attaching major importance to exposure to climate change and environmental risks to their portfolio.

Physical risk includes the financial impact of climate change, and five sectors in Croatia are particularly vulnerable to it - tourism, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and energy distribution. More than a quarter of Croatian banks' exposures to non-financial institutions concern these sectors, mostly tourism, the survey showed.

However, none of the banks has so far assessed its exposure to climate and environmental risks, citing lack of reliable data and methodology as well as lack of qualified staff.

The sectors facing the biggest transition risk from climate change are transport and traffic, agriculture, motor vehicles, energy and oil products, and construction.

Only 9 banks offer green product to their customers

Most banks recognise opportunities brought by the transition to a low-carbon economy, with three-quarters of them saying they could benefit from this transition by financing green projects. However, only nine banks said they were offering a green product to their customers, such as loans for the energy renovation of buildings or the purchase of electric vehicles.

 HNB Governor Boris Vujčić said in his opening remarks that both the HNB and EBRD had acknowledged their responsibility for highlighting the role of banks in the climate transition. He recalled the Paris climate change agreement of 2015, which has been ratified by 189 countries, saying that it set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent further global warming.

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