June the 14th, 2022 - German business owners are beginning to look at the Croatian business climate a bit more optimistically than they have done so far, which is good news for Croatian companies.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, a mere three percent of German companies operating here in the Republic of Croatia are concerned about their own businesses, which is a better result than in previous years and better than in the rest of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where in this year's German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce research (AHK), nine percent of respondents rate their business opportunities as bad.

In the seventeen years that this survey has been being conducted here in Croatia, this year, as pointed out by AHK President Thomas Sichla, the largest number of companies said they would re-elect Croatia for business, accounting for 84 percent among a total of 105 respondents. This means that German business owners are clearly seeing the Croatian business climate in a far better light than they had done in the past.

When compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, that's a thirty percent better result. The current economic situation here in Croatia is also assessed as the best so far, only 26 percent see it as worse, while in 2021, that share stood at a rather unimpressive 50, and in 2019 - at 61 percent.

For the first time ever, soaring energy prices and the lack of skilled labour currently available in the country are cited as the biggest risk to a company's operations in Croatia. Thomas Sichla explained the need and importance of a predictable tax system for doing stable business.

One of the biggest challenges this year will be hiring skilled and qualified employees, and according to the survey, 42 percent of companies expect to increase their numbers, which is more than in previous years.

Half of those companies intend to solve the problem of the shortage of workers through further employee education, and 39 percent by increasing the wages they're willing to pay their employees to above the market average. For next year, AHK is expecting positive effect on Croatia following its entry into the Eurozone, as it will facilitate business operations and reduce currency risks.

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