As Morski writes on the 13th of January, 2019, Jadranovo near Crikvenica, which continues to record an encouraging and steady rise in both tourist arrivals and overnight stays, needs to give its beach and immediate coastal area a makeover. The inhabitants of Jadranovo, as well as their growing number of guests, require a safe, well-kept beach area that will allow for the further development of tourism in the area.

Therefore, and in addition to Perčin port, Grabrova bay, and more precisely its area located under the beach, will be given that much needed makeover. Behind that, a new square will be constructed, which together with the beach will make up the brand new face of Jakovarska bay. Creating a quality and attractive beach space will create the opportunity for new initiatives to develop, including the placement of tourism facilities and shopping areas on the coast, writes Novi list.

This project was recognised by the Ministry of Tourism and the Deputy Mayor of Crikvenica, Silvia Crnić, who signed the contract for the co-financing of the project in the amount of 640 thousand kuna, in accordance with the program of development of the public tourist infrastructure for 2018.

About 250 meters of Jadranovo's beach area will get a new look as well as some very welcome brand new facilities. There will also be, as previously mentioned, a new square that will fit perfectly into the coastal area and become an integral part of Grabova's new look. The cost of these works stands at fourteen million kuna and such investments will easily be justified by the much faster development of Jadranovo as a destination.

In the area itself, locals think that Grabova's makeover, as well as the doing up of Perčin port, will see Jadranovo truly become a place that lives on the sea and not just by the sea. Although Jadranovo boasts many beautiful beaches, they are mostly hidden away and more difficult for people to access. This project will provide an easily accessible oasis in the very centre of a place that both tourists and locals will fall in love with at first sight.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Natasa Car for Novi list

Investments in Croatia come in various forms, and while we tend to read about either investors running for the hills when faced with Croatia's draconian love of red tape, or investments being made in the tourism sector along the coast, large sums of cash are continually being poured into both the healthcare and the education sectors, with one county standing out from the crowd.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 10th of January, 2019, as much as 10.5 million kuna has been invested in school renovations in Koprivnica-Križevci County, the co-financing of school transport, and the largest number of scholarships have been secured so far. One of the priorities of Koprivnica-Križevci County, which was defined in the county's development strategy, is constant investment in education that continued throughout 2018.

In addition to the large amount of money having been invested in school renovations, two capital projects for energy reconstruction are due to be set up. The involved schools are primary schools in Virje and Drnje, these projects are worth as much as 9 million kuna, and both schools will achieve heating savings of a massive 70 percent. Given the fact that the aforementioned county has recognised the importance of investing in energy efficiency, new contracts have been signed for the development of major energy renewal projects in Novigrad Podravski, Ferdinandovac, Đelekovec, and Veliki Poganac.

These investments in Croatia are more than praiseworthy, and in addition to improving the overall material conditions in schools, the county is continuing to co-finance student transport and support projects for students with disabilities and special needs, offering free school meals for students from less wealthy backgrounds, and more. In addition, last year the largest number of student scholarships was awarded to date, up to 35 of them, including those awarded to medical students, which is an important contribution to the project of the promotion of vocational professions.

Despite all of the above, 2018 will most likely be remembered for investments made in the health sector, and thanks to the joint cooperation of the county, the head of Koprivnica hospital and the parliamentary representatives with the Minister of Health, a long-awaited 10 million kuna magnetic resonance (MR) device arrived at Koprivnica hospital. Other capital projects include the very welcome eight-million-kuna "POZDRAV - Improvement of Primary Health Care in Koprivnica-Križevci County" initiative.

Make sure to stay up to date with investments in Croatia and much, much more by following our dedicated lifestyle and business pages.

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

A two million kuna project will see the popular Sovlje beach in Tribunj near the historic Dalmatian city of Šibenik get a variety of new facilities, including new steps, smart benches, new showers, and a very welcome cash injection from the ministry.

As SibenikIN writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, the new year has started off wonderfully for the Tribunj Municipality, where the Croatian Ministry of Tourism has approved 400,000 kuna for the ''doing up'' of the popular Sovlje beach, while the rest of the funds are set to be provided by the municipality itself.

''The public procurement process is currently in progress, and as soon as January the 8th, we should know who the contractor to carry out the works on Sovlje beach will be, as that will be when the public procurement process ends,'' said Tribunj Mayor Marko Grubelić.

With a massive total investment of around two million kuna, the entire coastline of Sovlje beach will be given a new lease of life. There will be stone steps going into the sea in more place,s and a ramp for wheelchair access for the disabled will be constructed. There will also be two brand new smart benches and two new showers on the beach.

''Considering the increase in the tourist accommodation capacities in the area of ​​Sovlje, increase the surface area of the beach should reduce the crowds during the summer months,'' stated Grubelić.

Grubelić was initially dissatisfied with the original conceptual solution for the fixing up and modernisation of Sovlje beach and, when he took over the function of Tribunj's mayor, he requested that the architectural office in charge of overseeing the procedure to change its plans.

As a result of the new conceptual solution and the collection of all the necessary certifications and green lights to get things going, the Sovlje beach project became a major one and a building permit was finally obtained. Works should begin in January this year following the announcement of the company which will be chosen and contracted to do the works on the 8th of this month, and the project's completion is expected as soon as May this year.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for much more.

Croatia's Master Yachting is one of the country's frontrunners when it comes to Croatian nautical tourism, and recent investments, their last one having been in the Lagoon 620 luxury catamaran, have seen their revenue increase.

As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of January, 2019, Croatia's Master Yachting from Sukošan celebrated twenty years of existence last year, and as its director Darko Obradović says, they are one of the first companies in the nautical tourism sector in Croatia and their biggest advantage is that they're near the two national parks and their bases are close to Zadar.

Today, they have 25 full-time employees, and up to 40 during the tourist season. The company has a fleet of 80 vessels, most of which are the catamarans of the Lagoon brand, as well as a large range of sailboats of at least 35 feet in length, to the latest Oceanis 51.1, and motor boats of various different sizes.

As Croatia's Master Yachting claims, their clients and associates are mostly from European Union countries, and the most sought after vessels are typically catamarans. "They're equipped like luxury apartments which sail, and seven days, which is often for which they're rented, it's possible to sail the routes that include visiting the most attractive places and bays along the Adriatic," says Obradović. The summer season is of course the most popular, and lovers of sailing also appear to enjoy taking to vessels owned by Croatia's Master Yachting in April, May, and in October.

"We're adapting to the market and the demand. Today, when everything is available online, it can be difficult to meet all customer requirements, and owing to that, our concentration is on quality and comfort. The company also operates in the YachtInvest segment, which enables it to buy boats through its own channels, and thus provides the ability to place your vessels under your own "charter managemnet". That means that a start-up investment is justified because the vessel makes a profit during the leasing period, which largely covers all the relevant expenses. In the end, the investor chooses how much he will use for himself and how much will be for commercial lease," explains Obradović.

He also praised the fact that Croatia's Master Yachting is growing in terms of the sale of vessels. Their operating income amounted to almost 23 million kuna in 2017, and according to Obradović's estimates, 2018's results will see revenues of about 50 million kuna.

"We're constantly investing in employee training and process optimisation, while investing heavily in the fleet. The last investment was purchasing a luxury Lagoon 620 catamaran which marked our entrance into the luxury charter, which is the future of nautical tourism because more and more customers require ''all inclusive'' packages.

We believe in our own knowledge of the matter, given our long experience, the number of customers returning to us from year to year, and the in importance of the number and quality of our boats. In the YachtCharter sector, the company has been recognised as the leader in the region," added Obradović.

Croatia's Master Yachting arrived to such a status, as they say, owing to a personalised approach to their clients and "tailor-made" offers, which was made possible thanks to their wide range of vessels.

"The plan is the expansion of our base, ie, the opening of new ones in other regions, and the continuation of investment in new products, namely new vessels, where the niche is the luxury charter," Darko Obradović of Croatia's Master Yachting.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and business pages for more. If you're interested solely in sailing in Croatia, give Total Croatia Sailing a follow.

Click here for the original article by Marta Duic for Poslovni Dnevnik

Some excellent Zagreb news in the works for Novi Zagreb as a brand new mega project carrying a massive billion euro price tag is announced on no less than Christmas morning.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of December, 2018, on a cold and crisp Christmas morning in the Croatian capital city, Milan Bandić, the long-standing mayor of Zagreb, announced some very welcome Zagreb news to his fellow citizens, detailing everything the city is set to gain, all of which has been planned to be built in 2019.

To accompany the already cheerful Christmas spirit, Mayor Milan Bandić announced and further detailed the beginning of some of the the most important projects for next year set to take place in Croatia's increasingly popular capital city.

"We'll bring the [works taking place on] the roundabout to an end as soon as possible, as well as the Jarun bridge, because the roundabout without that bridge is like soup without any salt in it, we're going design a rail link to the airport, a congress centre, and in some fifteen to twenty days, we will finally begin work and stick the spade in the ground for a new cable car for Sljeme'', the mayor readily announced.

In addition to these already welcome announcements, the mayor went on to detail yet more Zagreb news - a huge billion-euro mega project for which the City of Zagreb is actively seeking a foreign partner. The giant project in question is the total redesigning of the popular Zagreb Fair (Zagrebački Velesajam), at which numerous events are regularly held, according to a report from RTL.

"If this comes to fruition, Novi Zagreb will become a city within a city, and Zagreb will be much more beautiful," Mayor Bandić concluded.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated lifestyle and news pages for much more. If it's just Croatia's capital you're interested in, make sure to follow Total Zagreb for everything you need to know about what's going on in Zagreb, from cultural events and live performances to the latest political scandals.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of December, 2018, as a group, Orion achieves revenue of about 6 million euro and is constantly investing in security, consumer education, and further innovation. Owing to the constant investment and care of their business, Koprivnica is set to get a huge cash injection, and new work positions are set to be opened.

Poslovni Dnevnik talked with Damir Šimunic, the founder and owner of Koprivnica's Orion, about the situation and the development of the market for pyrotechnics in Croatia and the wider region, the business plans of the company, and the latest investment in Podravina.

In which countries is Orion the market leader?

As a company, we've existed for more than twenty years and the word ''leader'' carries with it a huge responsibility. If you think about where the Orion Group does business under that [title], most of it is done in neighbouring countries, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In Croatia, we've established a serious business system based on the professionalism and an innovative approach with pyrotechnics, which today, primarily, is mainly in the entertainment world. Over the years, we've become the leading specialised company for producing and distributing entertainment pyrotechnics, fireworks, and stage effects. As a company, we're oriented towards the development of new products in order to meet the needs of a more demanding market.

How did you manage to break even on Western markets such as Austria or Belgium?

In Croatia, there is a fairly regulated market for pyrotechnics, because we're part of the European Community, but on the western markets the laws are very rigorous and without the required quality [standard] you can't be competitive. Foreign distributors have recognised our product quality as well as our distribution service, so we started working with Austria and Belgium over time. All our pyrotechnics have CE certificates, which is the European standard today, and a prerequisite for sales on the EU market.

Why did you decide to go into the world of pyrotechnics?

Like all kids, I liked pyrotechnics during my childhood and over time, that game turned into work. In those years, especially during the 1990s, the pyrotechnic market was not regulated and as a company we were actively involved in drafting regulations and then developing the market in accordance with those regulations. After that, from a small family business, I managed to create a serious company that employs over 120 people during the sales season and is developing new products that are successfully marketed every year.

When and how did you become the market leader in Croatia?

We started with the sale of pyrotechnics back in 1993, first as a distributor for foreign brands and then as independent importers from China. Of course, there was no serious and well-organised sales system before, because not even the legal regulations were defined, but today, our company has the most selling points in Croatia. According to the number of sales outlets, ie chains we supply, and according to the number of our seasonal sales outlets, popularly known as pyroshops, we've been a distributor since 2009 in Croatia. We've been seriously present in the region since 2006, and in 2012 we took the lead. In Croatia, we supply a total of over 4,000 sales outlets.

If you do, how do you influence the development of the local community?

Like every responsible company, we work very closely with our local community. We're sponsors and donors for many activities and events and we're involved in a large number of humanitarian, cultural, sport and social events both in Croatia and in the region. So, within our capabilities, we help local communities realise their projects.

Is the law on sales in Croatia too high? And what is it like in the rest of the EU?

The law has set rules which apply to everyone. The provisions of the law primarily protect consumers and users. In that, there will always be those who are satisfied and those who are less satisfied with the prescribed rules, but we didn't invent the rules. A major problem is in controlling and enforcing the law due to a short sale period. We have always supported the more transparent [way of doing] business, and as such, a clearer and more concrete law, because only a market of that kind can function properly.

How many sales outlets (pyroshops) do you have in Croatia and beyond?

In Croatia, we have 260 of our own pyroshops and about 100 distributors. In other countries in the region, we have several of our own pyroshops and we serve over 350 sales outlets. But as time passes and given the fact that we're introducing some modern forms of marketing into our system, the story is expanding rapidly and in three years we expect to expand on the regional market.

What are your specialty stores and your distributors' stores?

Specialised pyrotechnic shops must obtain approval from the Ministry of Interior to conduct retail sales of pyrotechnic items. The conditions for such an approval include staff training, fire prevention, security protocols, anti-burglary protection and a variety of other conditions that ensure safe storage and the safe sale of entertainment pyrotechnics. Pyrotechnics is fun, but to be able to sell them, we as distributors have to meet a number of legal and safety rules.

How much is your annual income?

Orion as a group earns about 6 million euro in revenue depending on the season and on the market conditions. Of course, as a company, it's in our interest to grow, and every year we're investing additional resources into security, the education of our consumers, as well as the innovations that are indispensable if we want to keep up with modern world trends.

How do your sales go outside of the main season?

Out of the main sales season, that is, from January to November, a smaller part of the range is sold. Mostly specialised [items] for purposes such as naval pyrotechnics and rescue pyrotechnics. There are, of course, party pyrotechnics (confetti, cake fountains, sprays etc.), professional pyrotechnics and special effects that are always sought throughout the year, especially for some festivals, concerts and the like. We also produce a great number of fireworks and stage effects during the tourist season, and there are more and more wedding pyrotechnics which are always attractive.

What innovations in pyrotechnics are you introducing?

We're constantly working on the development and improvement of the safety-technical properties of pyrotechnics so that we can make our customers as safe as possible. We have two recognised patents. A more secure rocket system, a worldwide-recognised patent, followed by a patented security system for firecrackers and innovation called PyroBlock. Pyroblock is the latest technology for box fireworks that we have launched on the market. Now our fireworks are even better and even safer, so that users can enjoy their luxurious effects and our spectacular fireworks.

What are the trends in sales that today's customers look for the most?

As information and education grows alongside the fans of entertainment pyrotechnics, consumer trends and tastes are changing. Once upon a time, firecrackers made up 80 percent of sales, while today they account for less than 40 percent, and consumers are increasingly using our fireworks, rockets, fountains and Roman candles. Naturally, firecrackers will always be popular, but the trends are changing, and interesting new items are always expected from us as the market leaders.

How are you approaching the younger generation - events, collaboration with YouTubers and influencers?

We use all permitted channels for communication with our consumers. Today, we live in the digital age, so we've adapted to this trend which will soon become our strongest communication medium with the youth. Currently, social networking is in fashion, YouTubers and influencers closely monitor what's happening in this product segment. What is in and what is not in is created today by the media of the younger generation who capture everything on their vlogs and videos. Through these channels, we primarily want to act educationally and affirmatively to give the younger generation better quality information with an emphasis placed on security and regulation. Education through entertainment has always been effective, it is today just as it was before. Some things never change.

What are your business plans for the future?

The list of plans is time-consuming and is solely related to the development and production of safer and more quality products. We're an entertainment industry and our goal is to have safe entertainment successfully implemented. This is possible only by investing constantly in infrastructure, technology, equipment, and our expert associates. For this reason, we're able to announce the construction and expansion of the regional distributive centre in Koprivnica, and thus create a new need for workers. The planned value of investment in the distribution center and storage systems amounts to 1.5 million euro, and it will be the future of pyrotechnics in Croatia and in the region. This business policy has provided us with a leading position in the region as consumers have recognised our work and the effort that we invest into our products.

Mišel Jakšić, the mayor of Koprivnica stated that he welcomes every good entrepreneurial idea and investment, and expressed his desire to encourage young people to stay in the city.

"As the Mayor of Koprivnica, I'm proud of the economy of this city that we're increasingly developing every day. The business zones which are expanding, and the entrepreneurial incubator, where more and more young people are ready to start their own businesses, is our vision and desire to provide a decent life for young people The cooperation with Orion as the leader of the fun-pyrotechnic market is exceptional, and every year Orion sponsors our events as a responsible company in the local community. As Mayor of Koprivnica, I will always support all the important, however big or small entrepreneurial endeavors so that our young people remain here in Koprivnica, and so that employment gets as high as possible,'' the mayor concluded.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for more information on Croatian companies, products and services, as well as doing business in Croatia, and the overall business and investment climate.

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

Entrepreneurs and startups in Croatia often have a difficult time getting things off the ground when starting with their business here, with the country's notoriously draining red tape and a usually slow and outdated approach to everything, launching a business, company, or startup in Croatia isn't a particularly attractive thought for most. Despite that, many startups in Croatia are seeing the arduous process through to the end, and are succeeding. 

Just what can Croatia and Croatian startups learn from the wildly successful TransferWise founder?

As Novac.hr/Jutarnji/Gordana Grgas writes on the 15th of December, 2018, because of his ''robbing'' of the earnings made by banks on their faithful customers' money, this Estonian entreprener is being referred to as a modern day Robin Hood.

The financial and tech startup that he founded with his partner back in 2011, TransferWise, was one of the most valuable in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and was built on the foundation of offering a cheap and fast money-sending service around the world with the help of a simple and handy mobile app. Already holding 0.5 percent of the global market, transferring about 4 billion dollars per month, and having four million users, it's not doing too badly, to say the very least.

The brain behind the genius idea which is rubbing the banks up the wrong way is Taavet Hinrikus, 37, an Estonian citizen, and this past week he was in Zagreb, because in the meantime, he has gone a step further and become a business angel, entering into the development process of the promising Croatian startup based in Osijek, Gideon Brothers, which deals with robotics and was founded by Matija Kopic and Milan Račić, who he says are a fantastic team.

While Novac.hr talked with the Estonian in the Katran club, where the first industrial robot made by Gideon Brothers had just been presented with great enthusiasm, the talented entrepreneur was asked about just how he earned the title of Robin Hood, Nottingham's famous outlaw who went down in history by robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Taavet responded with the fact that TransferWise ''returns'' the money to the people, which they would otherwise be forced give banks in hidden and sometimes very unfavourable exchange rate costs when it comes to international transfers.

"We've noticed that as a global problem and we've been able to find a ten-fold better solution for that than the existing ones," said Hinrikus, and this point was also the main ingredient of his ''recipe'' for business success in a lecture he had previously given to his young audience at the largest hall of the Zagreb Faculty of Electronics and Computing (FER). Among the students, all of whom are interested in startups in Croatia, were the minds behind the Gideon Brothers startup from Osijek.

''There's no better place in Croatia to start a technology company than FER,'' Kopić of Gideon Brothers told them.

And what exactly does Transferwise do so well to make it so popular and successful? The best description is probably the fact that it is the ''Skype for money transfers'', and they have succeeded in a world that has been, at least until now, ruled almost entirely by banks and their often unfair fees, these all-powerful banks have been ''wounded'' only by the likes of America's PayPal and Western Union, so far. They came to this business idea because they often sent money to Tallinn from London and were shocked and hindered when they'd see that they lose money each and every time.

''How we started is very simple. We're focused on applying new technology. And we're less greedy,'' said Hinrikus, adding that there's no real reason why sending money electronically should actually be expensive.

They're even anything from five to ten times cheaper than PayPal. Since last year, their services have also been made available in Croatia, and they are currently focusing on the further expansion of their business platform, and further remuneration for cash transfers. They currently employ about 1,300 people, several hundred of them are in Estonia, where both founders are themselves from.

Their success was initially driven by marketing, and they were rebellious against the "evil banks in London", as was recalled by Ivo Špigel, a Zagreb entrepreneur and the founder of Perpetuum Mobile.

Hinrikus's acquaintance with Matija Kopić from Osijek, who also also presented his own startup at the same London event, has gone from strength to strength. Both then won over investor interest with their performances and ideas.

Should Croatia dream of being like Estonia? Novac.hr asked Hinrikus.

''Of course you should. You need a government that appreciates the importance of technology, a government which thinks about how to make the government more efficient itself, and better for citizens with the help of technology,'' responded Estonia's answer to Robin Hood.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for more information on startups in Croatia, doing business in Croatia, Croatian companies, products and services, and the business and investment climate.

Click here for the original article by Gordana Grgas for Novac.hr/Jutarnji

Greek investor Petros Stathis has been visiting numerous institutions in order to complete the most luxurious tourist project in the Republic of Croatia, Amanresorts Cavtat, in Croatia's southernmost county of Konavle which borders Montenegro.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of December, 2018, Greek investor Petros Stathis has re-activated matters over more recent days in regard to the eventual realisation of the Amanresorts project in Cavtat, otherwise being hailed as the most luxurious tourist project in the whole of Croatia, which could even end up making the list of strategic projects in the Republic of Croatia, which would be a useful move in terms of resolving the outstanding issues of spatial planning, among others, as soon as possible.

As a result of the large amount of paperwork involved in the process, the aforementioned investor has been heavily engaged in all of the required fields, from the state administration to the local administration, as Poslovni Dnevnik has unofficially published. The reactivation of the Amanresorts Cavtat project comes after more than three years after Amanresorts Cavtat was supposed to open its doors, but unfortunately encountered several stumbling blocks, mainly typically administrative ones, although Stathis never once gave up on it.

"I'm convinced that the Amanresorts Cavtat project will be successfully completed, and together with other Aman projects in the vicinity, Amanresorts Venice and Sveti Stefan (Montenegro), will become the star of the tourist sector of South East Europe," said Petros Stathis in the spring of 2015, when he explained why he was suddenly closing the Cavtat construction site.

He then stated that there were problems with the Bonvena Hotels company which was due to take care of the Cavtat project, which Stathis took over in the meantime, and that the entire chain of Amanresorts luxury resorts had gone through the process of ownership change.

For the realisation of the project, the investor is supposed to adapt the spatial planning documentation, and it's necessary to reach an agreement on various other factors, considering that the investor is seeking the closure of the beach below the area with his 30 million euro project.

The Municipality of Konavle didn't respond to Poslovni Dnevnik's question of what exactly they are willing, or unwilling, to offer to the investor in order to realise the Amanresorts Cavtat project. In addition, not even the investor himself, who has been investing in Montenegro in the meantime, has spoken publicly on the subject.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle, travel and business pages for much more.

Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik

The Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker's plan) is one of the key EU steps in boosting investment in Europe, aimed primarily at creating jobs and boosting growth. A large sum of money from the plan will flow into both small and medium Croatian companies.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 7th of December, 2018, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will support Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) with the guarantee contract for 25 million euro's worth of new credit for innovative small and medium-sized Croatian companies (MSPs) and those of a smaller size (up to 500 employees).

The EIF guarantee has been secured through the Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker's plan), through the Innovfin SME Guarantee Program, established by the EIF, part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EC).

Innovfin's guarantee enables innovative MSPs and small and medium Croatian companies to borrow under more favourable conditions than currently available on the Croatian banking market, meaning that the loans included in the Innovfin portfolio will enable MSPs, among other things, to grow and and open up new job opportunities.

Carlos Moedas, the EU's commissioner for research, science and innovation, stated: "I welcome the new contract supported by Juncker's plan and Obzor 2020 in Croatia, which brings new funding for innovative Croatian small and medium companies, and that's often exactly what they needed to launch their new products, integrate innovative processes, create new jobs, and expand their business outside of the local market.''

Dario Scannapieco, EIB's vice president said: "Innovation and MSP support is one of the top priorities for the EIF and the EIB Group. Innovations and MSPs are crucial to Croatia and to the European Union in its efforts to improve and maintain competitiveness on local and global markets, create new jobs, and create conditions for sustainable economic development. We're happy to find a reliable partner in PBZ for such an important task.''

Dinko Lucić, CEO of Privredna banka Zagreb, said: "For many years, Privredna banka Zagreb has been very active in establishing and supporting programs aimed at developing the MSP segment and striving to contribute more to the strong growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country. The bank has confirmed this by participating in the COSME program and now in InnovFin, through which innovative MSP clients will have further facilitated access to funding sources and more favourable lending will be enabled.''

The Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker's plan) is one of the key European Union steps in boosting investment in Europe, creating jobs and boosting growth. The EIB Group plays a key role in this investment plan.

With the European Investment Funds (EFSI) funds, the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) can take on a larger share of risk in projects, encouraging private investors to participate more in these projects. Initially, EFSI was to launch 315 billion euro in investments across the European Union over a period of three years, until mid-2018.

In December 2017, the European Parliament and the EU's member states reached agreement on extending EFSI's lifetime to the year 2020 and thus increasing the financial resources to a massive 500 billion euro. In addition to the EFSI, the new EIAH advisory platform helps both the public and the private sector's project promoters to structure investment projects more professionally. The investment plan should also create an EU regulatory environment that is favoured by investments.

Until November 2018, Juncker's plan has already mobilised 360 billion euro in additional investment, including over one billion euro in Croatia alone, with 850,000 small and medium Croatian companies benefiting from easier access to finances.

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