January the 14th, 2021 - The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen many Croatian companies struggle to keep their heads above water, with small Croatian companies suffering previously unimaginable losses and the threat of total closure. A tender designed solely for small Croatian companies is now in the works.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, the Ministry of Economy is preparing an intervention aid worth 10 million kuna for small Croatian companies and craft (obrt) owners in earthquake-stricken areas for the reconstruction of machines and workshops, for which a tender will be announced in two weeks.

An important part of the wider financial package of 1.5 billion kuna, intended for capacity increase, development and digitalisation, will soon be available to all business owners there. This was announced yesterday by the Minister of Economy Tomislav Coric, who, two weeks after the earthquake hit Sisak, Petrinja and Glina, organised a conversation with representatives of the largest companies in the affected area, including ​​Petrokemija, Sherif Group HiPP, the manufacturer of plastic bags Optiplast, the manufacturer of components for microchips, Applied Ceramics, the food chain City Kebab and the Italian ABS, which took over the plants of the former Sisak ironworks.

The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Labour, Josip Aladrovic, and Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Zinic, as well as representatives of Hamag-Bicro, HBOR, HGK, HOK and HUP. The most attention, as stated, is being paid to small Croatian companies, and Coric announced that those business owners whose facilities were destroyed in the natural disaster at the end of 2020 will be given the opportunity to continue doing business in the temporary container settlement that is being built near Petrinja.

In addition to the already taken measures of the moratorium on business loans, Coric added that in the coming months, long-term measures will be taken to revitalise the affected area, and the possibility of introducing special tax treatment is also being actively considered.