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Croatian news- archive |
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Wednesday, 14th July, 2010
Austria named top Q1 investor in Croatia
Austrian firms have invested more in Croatia than companies from other countries in the first quarter of this year, it has been announced.
The Croatian National Bank (HNB) said yesterday (Tues) Austrian businesses spent 195.8 million Euros during the first three months of this year. Germany is in second with business activities worth 90.4 million Euros, while the Netherlands take third place with investments of 70.2 million Euros.
Overall foreign investments in Croatia made 434 million Euros between January and March of this year, according to HNB research, which is around as much as foreign investors spent in the country in the first quarter of 2009.
With 246.9 million Euros, most money was invested in the financial sector, followed by 81 million Euros spent on retail business activities.
Overall foreign investments in Croatia reached 2.1 billion Euros in 2009, down around 50 per cent year on year.
Austrian firms and the government have invested around 6.2 billion Euros in Croatia since 1993.
Austrian Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann said he is convinced Croatia will get through the credit crunch after meeting the country’s Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor in Zagreb yesterday.
The chancellor praised the country as a "role model for the whole region", claiming its business relationship with Austria was strong enough to ensure both countries will handle the blows they had been forced to deal with after the global economic downturn kicked in around one and a half years ago.
Klaus Mangold, the president of the German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said at a recent economic summit he hoped his country would soon become the biggest investor in Croatia.
Germany has invested 2.6 billion Euros in Croatia over the last 16 years. The Croatian Times reports Mangold praised Croatia as a "leading country in the region in many ways". austriantimes.at
 Wednesday, 14th July, 2010
This year all Croatian neighbours have growth but not Croatia
While central and south-eastern Europe can count on slight economic growth of one per cent on average, Croatia is the only neighbouring country that will not leave recession this year and can expect its GDP to drop 1.5 per cent, the Vienna Institute experts predict.
Slovakia will be the regional leader with three per cent growth, followed by Poland whose economy is expected to grow around 2.7 per cent. Exports are considered to be the main factor for improved growth, and whether a country will manage to permeate foreign markets will depends on the strength of its industry and the exchange rate mechanism.
"Those countries that have flexible exchange rates and stronger industrial base will have the most benefit from the recovery of international trade. They will achieve a growth bigger than the regional averages," the report states.
For Croatia, who together with two Baltic countries Bulgaria and Romania will note a drop in its GDP again this year, the biggest problem is unresolved structural issues, local experts warn. High expenditures and a large tax burden as well as barriers in market competition are some of the highlighted issues.
In its optimistic scenario, the Vienna Institute anticipates regional growth of 2.5 per cent next year, and 3.5 per cent by 2012. According to analysts, Baltic countries and south-eastern Europe have the worst outlook for recovery because of their weaker industry and reliance on fixed exchange rates. croatiantimes.com
23.June 2010
Croatia ahead of Hungary in purchasing power
Croatians have greater purchasing power than any neigbouring countries in the region, says a report by Eurostat.
According to the report, Croatia reaches 64 per cent of the EU27 average in terms of its purchasing power, overtaking Hungary with 63 per cent.
Another six EU countries are behind Croatia including Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria, where the purchasing power is just 41 per cent of the EU27 average.
In the countries in the region, trailing Croatia is Montenegro (43 per cent of EU27 average), then Serbia (37 per cent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (30 per cent) and Albania (27 per cent).
Luxembourg is number one on the ladder with 268 per cent of the EU average. Behind Luxembourg are two non-EU countries, Norway (177 per cent) and Switzerland (144 per cent).
The richest Luxembourgians have nearly seven times higher purchasing power than the poorest Bulgarians, the Croatian daily Vecernji List writes. croatiantimes.com
23.June 2010
Chinese wholesales shopping center comes to Zagreb
Chinese firm Kunlun d.o.o. has signed a multimillion dollar agreement with Austrian landlord Segro d.o.o. for a lease of a16,700 square-metre building in Zitnjak (Zagreb) where it plans to open a shopping centre.
The company plans to invest one million Euros in remodelling the space that once housed Bauhaus, with an annual rental fee of 15 million kunas or 2.1 million Euros.
The director of Kunlun, Lu Jianjing confirmed the agreement with Segro d.o.o, reached after several months of negotiations.
The duration of the lease is 15 years and the building will host wholesalers of clothing, shoes, leather goods, furniture as well as several catering facilities.
A member of the negotiation team Sinisa Zorman said that not only Chinese wholesalers would do business in the centre, but also wholesalers from Croatia. He added that he sees this as a good opportunity for Croatian businesses to make contacts with the largest world market.
The opening of the centre is scheduled for the beginning of September, the Croatian daily Vecernji List writes.croatiantimes.com |
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Friday 11th June 2010
INPEX-2010
EventPilot implementation for INPEX, America's largest invention and new product expo, June 16-18, 2010. INPEX, the Invention & New Product Exposition, is America's largest invention trade show. INPEX provides a forum for inventors to exhibit their inventions and attempt to make contacts with companies interested in licensing, marketing or manufacturing new products.
25th Anniversary Show will be held June 16-18, 2010 at the new Monroeville Convention Center, just minutes from downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
For information:
INPEX contact information:
Telephone: (412) 288-1343
Toll Free: (888) 54-INPEX [46739]
Fax: (412) 288-4546
www.inpex.com
info@inpex.com
INPEX
217 Ninth Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3506
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Thursday,3th June 2010.
Great interest Serbian tourists for holidays in Croatia
Serbian tourism agencies are noting a doubling of interest and 20 to 30 per cent increase in reservations for vacations in Croatia.
On top of visitors’ lists are Istria and Kvarner, with the city of Rijeka and islands Krk, Losinj and Rab being the most popular. The islands of central Dalmatia, namely Brac and Hvar are other favourites.
Tourism professionals in Serbia point out the reliable transportation and the proximity of the countries and their languages as advantages of booking in Croatia.
They say, however, that the potential visitors may be wary of their accents that disclose their origin, and may fear incidents such as cars with Serbian plates getting damaged. Only two such incidents were recorded last year, in Dubrovnik and Sibenik.
The biggest obstacle, however, are the high costs of boarding, because of which even Croatian citizens are deciding to vacation elsewhere, the Croatian daily Vecernji List writes.
Seeing a decreased interest, some hotels lowered their prices last year. The owners of camps and boarding houses, however, had been satisfied with their turnout, leaving prices unchanged.
Croatian tourism marketing campaign in Serbia has cost around 100,00 Euros. It has not resulted in a considerably higher number of tourists yet, but their overnight stays have increased significantly.
Last year there were 89,000 tourists from Serbia, or one per cent more than in 2008, but they had 440,000 overnight stays or 14 percent more than the year before.croatiantimes.com
Accomodation in Croatia |
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Monday,31th May 2010.
European Sme Week 2010.
Training Business Champions from 25th May to 1st June
European SME Week 2010 aims to:
- provide information on what the EU and national, regional and local authorities are offering as support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses,
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promote entrepreneurship so that more people, and in particular younger ones, seriously consider becoming an entrepreneur as a career option;
- give recognition to entrepreneurs for their contribution to Europe's welfare, jobs, innovation and competitiveness.
Croatian Chamber of Economy participates in European Sme Week, http://www.hgk.hr/wps/portal
Events http://ec.europa.eu |
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Wednesday, 19th May, 2010
Big demand for Croatian ties at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai
Croatia’s ties, scarves and handkerchiefs drew big interests from crowds at EXPO 2010 held this year in Shanghai.
"We found ourselves in a situation where in a week we were left without any merchandise," Franjo Busic director of Potomac-Croata told Croatian business daily Poslovni Dnevnik. He added that several thousand Croatian products were sold at the Croatian Pavilion and that the demand remained strong
"Chinese markets are hungry for quality brand products from Croatia," Busic said, adding that Chinese buyers and businessmen interested in cooperation recognised the products’ designer quality.
He emphasized that they had sold the most expensive ties and that these high-end products had the best chances on the Chinese markets.
"We are the only Croatian brand present at the EXPO, and that turned out to be a full hit," Busic added.
Croatia is considered the motherland of neckties, with Croatian mercenaries introducing the accessory to the European continent some 370 years ago.croatiantimes.com
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Friday,2nd April 2010.
Croatia´s mortgage loans among most affordable in region
Croatia's average interest rate of 7,4 percent on mortgage loans are amongst the lowest in the region.
However, when compared to the Eurozone averages that are approximately 3,2 percent lower, Croatia's loans may not seem that affordable.
Although the mortgage crisis heralded the current recession, developed economies lowered interest rates in order to stimulate the construction sector.
The registered fall of variable interest rates from 4,8 percent in 2009 to 4,2 percent in 2010 is one of the results of these measures.
No similar action was taken in Croatia and other countries in the region, and lack of foreign investment has led to further credit crunch and more restrictive lending, the Croatian daily Vecernji List has reported.
Croatia's interest rates on mortgage loans are around 7,4 percent, the lowest in the region. The highest are in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, around 10 percent.The good news is that interest rates on savings are also much higher than the Eurozone averages which are around 1,8 percent for one-year term deposits. For Croatia's savers, they average four percent. At 6 percent, Montengro’s interest rates on term deposits are the highest. croatiantimes.com
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Friday,2nd April 2010.
Job fair in Osijek attracts thousands
Sixty five employers from Osijek-Baranja county in northeastern Croatia offered new jobs at the Osijek Job fair held yesterday, on Monday.
Coloured balloons indicated the types of vacancies available - red for highly-qualified workers, yellow for those with medium qualifications and green for low-skilled people.Ante Barukovic, the head of the regional Osijek branch of the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), said in his opening speech that last year 200 contracts had been signed. He said he expected more interest and visitors this year
"We anticipate that there will be 700 to 800 vacancies on offer." Last year, the fair had 2,500 visitors.
Osijek-Baranja county had 20.2 percent more unemployed people last month than in the same month last year. Approximately 48 percent of the unemployed have been waiting for a new job for over a year, Croatian business portal Business.hr has reported.
The number of the unemployed in Croatia is 317,625. croatiantimes.com
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19th March 2010.
Croatian Riesling wins silver medal at Vinalies Internationales
Croatian Riesling Grasevina Goldberg has won a silver medal at the Vinalies Internationales held in Paris.
The 2008 vintage from southeastern Croatia had won several other awards in the past, including a bronze medal at Decanter World Wine Award in London and a silver medal at Vino Ljubljana in Slovenia.
The latest award at one of the most-prestigious competitions lends the wine added respectability in the eyes of its buyers.
One hundred experts judged the entries at Vinalies Internationales, which is organized by the Union of French Oenologists. croatiantimes.hr
www.vinalies-internationales.com
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