S U P P O R T E D B Y T H E C R O A T I A N C H A M B E R O F E C O N O M Y

pvpvinternationalinternationalCroatian Business & Finance WeeklyEstablished in 1953Monday / 5th December / 2011Year V / No 0177www.privredni.hr

Interview: Pero Kulaš, Board President, Atlantska plovidba We are extremely pleased with our business results for 2011 amidst the difficult global situationINTERVIEW

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Cosmetics and cleaning agent industrySaponia, Neva, Labud, Annyer and Biokozmetika are the top five companiesCOSMETICS INDUSTRY

PAGES 4-5

Foreign debtCompared with end of 2010, the level of foreign debt has decreased by €139 millionFOREIGN DEBT

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2008 20092010 2011

Drago Živković

T he Croatian crisis is not economic, but social and rooted in the structure of

society. This is why no one can resolve it single-handedly and nothing can change overnight, warned the President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Nadan Vidošević, at the HGK General Assembly. The debt cri-sis in the Euro zone shattered

the illusion of Europe founded on knowledge, since it became obvious that development can-not only be based on knowledge, but on the strong hierarchy which uses it. The EU does not posses that, explained Vidošević. He believes the world is headed for a significant global clash, al-though we still do not know how it will manifest itself. We must understand that the world has become multi-polar. New lead-ers are redistributing economic potential and the only opportu-nity lies in exploiting Croatian geostrategic potential, said the

President, highlighting that all social components must imple-ment a unique state policy. Peo-ple expect relative, not absolute changes. We must only reassure them that they are possible and that 2012 might be the year of a fresh start, concluded Vidošević.

Stagnation continuesThe following year will not be a year of high growth. Moreo-ver, we can expect stagnation to continue, said the Director of the Macroeconomic Analysis Cen-tre of the CEE, Jasna Belošević Matić. The real growth rate might range around 0.2% this year. In-dustrial production is currently at the level of 2005, and the scope for civil work dropped by 9.9% during the first eight months of this year. Concerning trade, a

slight real growth of 1.1% was registered during the first nine months. Tourism registered 6.8% more overnight stays, with a weaker financial effect than had been expected. Business results of entrepreneurs show a better image (income grew by 7.1%) for the first nine months compared with the same period of 2010. The current number of employed (1,408,000) is still 30,000 fewer

compared with 2010, whereas the number of unemployed and retired grew by 132,800. Real salaries declined this year. However, the positive export trend continued, increasing by 7.4%, whereas imports reduced by 1.4%. This year Croatia will be one of rare countries with a grow-ing budget deficit. It is also one of the countries with the highest increase in state debt in GDP.

CROATIAN CHAMBER OF ECONOMY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

With some effort 2012 might be the year of fresh startThe world has become multi-polar leading to a redistribution of economic potential and our only opportunity lies in exploiting our geostrategic potential

This year Croatia will be one of rare countries with a rising budget deficit

The present situation is uncertain and unstable, and the CEE had war-ned about the dangers, suggesting possible solutions, reminded Jasna Belošević Matić. Croatia is now at a standstill, waiting for a solution to ‘drop from the skies’, and we cannot expect the Euro zone to generate growth due to the debt crisis. However, if decision-makers find the will to start implementing structural reforms, 2012 could mark the year of a new start, concluded the director of the Macroeconomic Centre.

Uncertain and unstable

2

Jozo Vrdoljak

T he beginning of 2011 saw Captain Pero Kulaš made Board President of At-

lantska plovidba, one of the most successful Croatian shipping companies, following the retire-ment of a long-standing Atlant-ska plovidba Board President, Captain Ante Jerković. Atlantska plovidba Group com-prises the shipping company, two hotels – Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik Hotel and Hotel La-pad Dubrovnik and the company Atlantagent, providing cruiser, yacht, military ship and ferry husbanding services throughout Croatian ports. In conjunction with its parent company, Atlant-ska plovidba, the owner of the container ship fleet, Atlantagent, provides reliable multi-purpose supply services through its high quality human assets. Atlantska plovidba also owns the Atlant travel agency, founded in 1992 as a service department of the ship management company “Atlant-ska plovidba d.d.” Its primary activity used to be issuing tick-ets for crew members on its own ships, as well as for Atlantska plovidba business trips. In 2003 it expanded into a classical travel agency, expanding its services to other companies and individual travellers.Privredni vjesnik talked with Pero Kulaš on the current situa-tion in shipping, new investment and Atlantska plovidba Group de-velopment plans. Kulaš revealed his expectations of market recov-ery and talked about prospects. In addition, he explained his stance on market areas which will be the

first to recover. He unveiled the intentions of Atlantska plovidba to expand its range of business activities into nautical tourism and stated that it is consequently planning a marina construction in the not too distant future.

What were the business re-sults for Atlantska plovidba for 2011?We are extremely pleased with our business results for 2011 amidst the difficult global eco-nomic situation. The Group achieved slightly over $8 million nett income during the first nine months of 2011. We are expect-ing slightly inferior results in the last quarter, due to a difficult situ-ation in the maritime market and the impact of seasonality on hotel

business activities. Nevertheless, we are anticipating positive an-nual results.

What are the average age, cargo capacity and numbers in your fleet? In which market segments do you operate?Currently our fleet consists of 16 vessels with 715,000 tonnes total cargo capacity and the average fleet age is 8.5 years. Our major market is dry bulk cargo. Nev-ertheless, we are also present in heavy lift cargo and in the mari-time cabotage market.

Are you planning fleet modern-isation in the near future?

Privredni vjesnikYear V No 0177

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Darko Šket, bankruptcy estate manager of Pevec

FEAR OF EURO CRISISCustomers are disturbed by news from the EU fearing this scenario might affect Croatia and thus they are delaying their decision to purchase durables

T he general downfall of standards and spending was felt last year. Buy-

ers remain cautious and monitor the course of the market situa-tion. They are disturbed by the news from the EU regarding the Euro crisis, afraid it could affect Croatia. As a consequence they have been delaying decisions to purchase durables, house appli-ances and similar products. How-ever, we note a growing demand for goods and materials intended for interior design of apartments. It seems consumers decided to at least renovate their living space since they are unable to invest in new housing. According to our information, a similar trend

is spreading through most devel-oped countries, for example Aus-tria and Slovenia. The promotion activity for subsidising the pur-chase of apartments motivated renovation activities in Croatia and brought life to this field. For us, it would be great if this pro-motion could continue next year.We must point out that we can hardly reduce prices any fur-ther. Suppliers have played their part, traders reduced margins to a minimum and there is little left that could be done. We are con-cerned about the announced Euro zone crisis and that it could lead to decreased credit activity of European banks with branches

in Croatia. In order to meet the needs of our consumers, we must expand our product line, but this is not easy without stable financ-

ing sources. Croatian entrepre-neurs will need to invest addi-tional effort to find banks willing to place their capital. It would be good to consider financial in-stitutions in countries that have never been present in Croatia. It is very important Croatian de-velops evenly. Pevec currently generates almost 40% of income in two trade centres. We are do-ing well in Pula, Zadar and Split, whereas the poorest results are achieved in Slavonian centres. It is quite visible that public stand-ards directly influence consumer decisions.We are faced with another diffi-cult year where all market play-ers will need to make decisions very cautiously. To some extent it is a relief that new players will not arrive soon due to the crisis and the size of the market. How-ever, all of us who are already here will have to fight for sales in such difficult conditions.

Price and deadline as the main advantages of shipbuilding in Far East

INTERVIEW: PERO KULAŠ, BOARD PRESIDE

Better days fobefore 2013

Pevec currently generates almost 40%

of its income in two trade centres

(investment in business premises

€26 million

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 3

We are modernising our fleet with 7 new vessels of around 730,000 tonnes cargo capacity from Far East shipyards in 2012. Such high modernisation volume during a short period of time is a huge and extremely demanding business venture. It is a highly

complex operational task for At-lantska plovidba and it would be so for any maritime company in general. Our future plans com-prise the continuous fleet renova-tion and expansion, with a major focus on the construction of new vessels. There are plans regard-

ing the sale of old vessels to keep abreast of current trends of con-tinuous renovation and fleet sales.

How much have you invested in the hotel business and in your other businesses in addition to shipbuilding thus far?The government has invited a tender for the concession for Gruž coastal land in order to construct a Gruž-based marina, a nautical tourism port. Atlantska plovidba is planning comprehen-sive work on the project and will certainly apply for the tender.

What is the current situation in maritime transport?Currently, there are ample ad-verse consequences for the ship-ping and maritime industry due to two major issues: primarily, a supply-demand imbalance and, secondly, to the bank system crisis. The number of banks and financial institutions which are prepared to provide client sup-port in new business ventures is extremely limited. Consequently, there are currently severe diffi-culties in obtaining financing and at much less favourable terms and conditions.

Can we consider market recov-ery in the near future?Not in the near future, yet we must retain our optimism. I be-lieve we will see maritime mar-ket recovery, following world economic recovery and supply-demand balancing. Nevertheless, I do not expect this to happen be-fore the second half of 2013.

Which segments of maritime market are anticipating fur-

ther reductions in freight fees and which are will witness a recovery? In what ways has At-lantska plovidba adapted to the current situation?Freight fees are currently nega-tive and extremely low in nearly all maritime market areas. LNG/

LPG is currently the sole lucra-tive maritime market. We pro-vide dry bulk transportation services, where the outlook for the upcoming future is slightly more advantageous over tanker and container markets. In our opinion, continuous fleet renova-tion and modernisation, as well as lower maintenance costs, are imperative in order to boost com-petitiveness.

What are the main advantages of shipbuilding in the Far East com-pared with local shipbuilding?Affordable prices and more fa-vourable deadlines are the main advantages of shipbuilding in Far East.

Are you planning new invest-ment? What is crucial for in-vestment in your opinion?We continuously strive for new ventures and investment, since investment is crucial for devel-opment. We are consequently planning further investment, pri-marily in shipbuilding, which is our core business activity.

(to be added to the fleet in 2012

7 new vessels

We are in dry bulk cargo shipping segment slightly more advantageous than tanker and container markets

ENT, ATLANTSKA PLOVIDBA

or maritime market not

(in Atlantska plovidba fleet

16 vessels

INTERVIEW

Do you anticipate capital market recovery? What are your expectations for 2012?It is extremely questionable to anticipate capital markets in such volatile times, primarily since all stock markets, including the local market, have been adversely affected by global events such as the current European fi-nancial crisis. I anticipate 2012 will be a challenging year for shipbuilders. We anticipate average freight fees will be lower and believe market vola-tility will persist.

Questionable anticipation in uncertain times

We are extremely pleased with our business results for 2011 amidst the difficult global situation. Regarding our fleet renewal, we are anticipating 7 new vessels in 2012 and we have plans regarding the sale of some older vessels

4 Privredni vjesnikYear V No 0177

21 companies licensed for cleaning agent production€93.4 million revenue in 2010(

Jasminka Filipas

T he European cosmetics industry is a world lead-ing industry, whilst EU

member countries are the world’s largest cosmetics markets. Ac-cording to the latest data from the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the cosmetics and toiletries mar-ket value stood at around €69.5 billion in 2009, which is equiva-lent to one third of the world market. The largest producers are Germany (nearly €13 billion), France (€10.6 billion) and Italy (€9.2 billion), followed by Great Britain and Spain. According to estimates made by the Croatian Chamber of Economy, current growth has slowed slightly. Nev-ertheless, it is continuous and moderate. Skin care products, hair care, bath and natural ori-gin products are expected to see the fastest growth. Development costs are high in terms of overall expenditure, primarily due to the continuous focus on decreasing waste, environmental protection and human health preservation.

Raw material imports dependenceCroatian cosmetics production is dependent on raw material im-ports, the presence of large glo-bal and European producers, higher sales generated by imports and a gradually increasing focus of large producers on primary activities (cleaning agents and similar). Local product quality is extremely high and has been identified by both local and neighbouring markets and given international recognition. Ac-cording to Marina Biškupec, an

expert associate in the Industrial Sector at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, there is ample sta-tistical diversity, since some Croatian companies export from their central warehouses (a to-tal of 52 companies, generating €30.9 million revenue in 2010) creating the impression that Croatian exports are satisfactory. Nevertheless, many exported products, such as perfumes and eau de toilette, are not produced

in Croatia. 2010 saw 21 compa-nies in Croatia authorised for the production of bath soap, deter-gents and other cleaning agents, creating revenue of €93.4 mil-lion. Saponia, Neva, Labud, An-nyer and Biokozmetika are the

top five companies employing a total of 1200 staff in 2010.

Labud: sales growth and market expansion“Labud recorded a 16.03% local market sales growth during the first eight months of 2011 over the same period last year, whilst sales in foreign markets were on par with 2010. Nevertheless, in 2010 exports soared 70% over 2009”, stated Goran Bosanac, Labud Director of Sales. He added that growth was not acci-dental but the result of “intense activity regarding development and investment in the Labud and Badel brands, as well as of a wider product range during the last two years, plus satisfactory co-operation with sales chains”. Milica Damjanović, Head of Op-erational Marketing, explained that Labud, in addition to produc-ing its own brands, also produces for nearly all the large retailers in Croatia (Konzum, Mercator,

COSMETICS AND CLEANING AGENT INDUSTRY

Imports stifling Local product quality is extremely high as has been recogngiven international recognition. Saponia, Neva, Labud, Ann

Labud believes Croatian EU accession will greatly

help them with wider market penetration

0

Feroplast sign contract with IkeaSwedish furniture maker Ikea and Feroplast from Buje signed a three-year contract on the pro-duction of wire baskets Kom-plement which will be sold in Ikea stores. Feroplast started to produce for Ikea in September and the contract is valued at €1.6 million. In addition to Feroplast, Ikea is also co-operating with TVIN from Virovitica and Polira from Radatovići. Ikea has 325 stores in 38 countries. Turnover totalled €26 billion in 2010, and 734 million people visited its stores.

Mild increase in industrial productionIn October, industrial produc-tion decreased by 0.6% in rela-tion to September, but in relation to October 2010, it increased by 0.6%, according to data pro-vided by the Central Bureau for Statistics. This result is slightly better than the decrease of 0.3%, which many analysts anticipated. However, there are still no signs of economic recovery since in-dustrial production decreased by 1.5% during the first ten months. The reason for this is weak local and foreign demand; the number employed also fell by 3.2%.

Entrepreneurs’ profitDuring the first nine months of this year, Croatian entrepreneurs achieved total income of €63 bil-lion, which is 7.1% more in rela-tion to the same period of 2010. Expenditure grew at a slower pace, by 5.6%, totalling €59.6 billion. Gross profits amounted to €3.43 billion, 39.4% more compared with the same period of 2010. During the same period, employment increased slightly, by 0.8%.

::: news

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 5

NTL, Spar, Metro, Ultra), re-cording a significant increase of around 25% in production com-pared with previous years. Labud exports to Bosnia and Herzegovi-na, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Slovenia and its export share of total sales currently stands at 10% and the goal is to triple this figure by 2014.Foreign competition has been present in Croatia for several years (P&G, Henkel, Unilever, ReckitBenckiser, Colgate Pal-molive, Johnson Wax, Werner Mertz amongst others), which is an important challenge for local product competitiveness. Labud believes Croatian EU accession will allow it to deepen its market penetration. In addition, they be-lieve that their products for pro-fessional use in hotels, hospitals, the food processing industry, pro-fessional laundries and similar, could meet the needs of hotels throughout the Croatian coast with support from the Ministry

of Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepre-neurship. Currently, the company is faced with foreign owned ho-tels contracting with foreign pro-ducers thus presenting a major obstacle to the presence of local companies in such hotel chains.

Perfume and eau de toilette production terminated Biokozmetika, in addition to being a representative of well-known, world cosmetics compa-nies and professional equipment in Croatia, has its own depilatory product range. According to its brand manager Tihana Terziev, production has seen an increase of around 25% over the last dec-ade. She added that input costs are high due to high raw mate-rial and labour prices which ex-ceed competitor prices. Payment deadlines range from 75 to over 120 days, which also adversely affects production. In her opin-ion, exports are significantly

affected by distribution quality in individual countries. Biokoz-metika mainly exports to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Mon-tenegro and Macedonia and it is about to resume exports to Slove-nia. “Production in the cosmetics sector is extremely specific, due to many foreign producers with whom it is difficult to compete, particularly regarding prices and investment in marketing. I be-lieve there is growth potential primarily in specific, local prod-ucts”, concluded Tihana Terziev. Survival is a challenge, according to statistical data, which recorded a production output of cosmetics, skin care, manicure and pedicure

standing at 917 tonnes in 2000, whilst in 2010 it was a lowly 284 tonnes. We are currently witness-ing a similar situation with shav-ing and bath products, deodor-ants and other similar products: production output plummeted from 165 tonnes to just 95 tonnes in 2000. In addition, we have ter-minated production of perfumes and eau de toilette, whilst in 2000 we produced a total of 800 tonnes of such products. Nevertheless, we have recorded an increase in bath soap production and hair care products, whilst clean-ing agents have been standing at around 65,000 tonnes for the last few years. It implies a slight growth over 2000, when produc-tion output of such products was 20,000 tonnes down.

from Saponia during first 8 months in 20117.1% revenue increase(

Labud sales during first 8 months of 201116.3% up(

productionnised in local and neighbouring markets and nyer and Biokozmetika are the top five companies

Specific local products have largest growth potential

Saponia has been operating su-ccessfully amidst the global economic crisis as a result of maximum adaptation to current challenges and changes, new product development with a powerful marketing orientation, continuous reinvigoration of its clientele and achieving maxi-mum cost effectiveness, accor-ding to Dajana Mrčela, Saponia Board Member. Saponia stable regional position is also indi-cated through sales data: reve-nue was 3.2% up in 2010, and saw a remarkable 7.1% increase during the first eight months of 2011. The company has decrea-sed input costs and automated its production through inten-se investment. Their major raw material sources are in Europe.“Our principal objective in the local market is to retain mar-ket leader position for key bran-ds and, in addition, we have ambitious plans regarding ex-ports”, revealed Dajana Mrčela. They currently export mainly to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It too has high expectations from Cro-atian EU accession and the su-bsequent opening of borders, implying a plethora of new op-portunities. Nevertheless, they are aware of the presence of multinational companies in the markets they plan to penetrate. “Our major problem is compe-titiveness primarily regarding our budget and we are aware of aggressive and extremely acti-ve competition. We can address this issue from the producer’s viewpoint. We have succeeded in tackling many obstacles and have achieved a remarkable sa-les increase both in Croatia and abroad”, she pointed out.

Saponia: stable regional position

6 WE PRESENT Privredni vjesnikYear V No 0177

LMA is a business to busi-ness (b2b) web service and marketing agency for

connecting media and customers in order to sell last minute adver-tising. The LMA team consists of seven employees and its central office is in Zagreb with media partners throughout Croatia. Last minute advertising concept refers to advertising space which media have not sold, so offering it in a ‘last minute’ version at a special price. Tomislav Mileis, CEO of LMA, says the company is a new sales channel for media. They address a larger number of customers with last minute advertising, re-ducing sales expenditure as buy-ers of advertising space are very careful about costs. Hence the reason why promotional media they wish to invest with have to be extremely cost-effective, effi-cient and more reliable than ever, says Mileis.

Full-range servicesThis web service offers to small and medium sized companies as well as those that have not been present on the advertising mar-ket, consulting services, creative concepts, visuals and production for each media type. LMA is a ‘one-stop-shop’. In its personal and partner offer it helps clients fulfil all requirements as a mar-

keting agency with special condi-tions, he points out.The recession caused a consider-able slump in media space sales of almost 30%. In attempting to sell advertising space, media of-ten gave larger discounts so that their advertising space would not

be wasted. On the other hand, buyers wish to be informed about last minute special offers and take advantage of them, and LMA offers a transparent and extensive overview of such possibilities in one place, and the number of cli-ents using this type of advertising space is growing. LMA has recently started provid-ing a total service - a customer ‘wish list’ of media in which users would like to advertise. In this case, the agency provides that the clients’ wishes do actu-ally come true. In co-operation with BICRO, LMA is developing a new con-cept of expanding the web serv-ice on other services, about which Mileis did not want to elaborate for now. (B.O.)

I nternet portal Pivnica.net was created in early summer 2007. It is intended for beer

drinkers, producers, distribut-ers, importers, traders, caterers and any others who like beer. The page was tested over 10 months, during which time it was unavailable to the wider public. Since April 1, 2008, the portal has systematically updated with new content. Today its archives include 1,700 articles divided into 26 categories and subcate-gories. The portal on beer, beer lovers and beer economy (as it

is written in the header) offers world news, trends, analysis, comments, essays, columns, phenomenological reviews, pro-fessional overviews, instructive reads and an abundance of visual material (photographs, drawings and video clips).“We created the portal since beer represents much more than a drink to true beer lovers. The idea was to show how wide is the world of beer and beer events and how beer is unjustifiably neglect-ed in Croatian culture compared with wine. On the other hand, we want to become an informa-

tion service for all those who are in some way connected to beer”, points out Goran Gazdek, the portal owner.

Beer alphabetThe pages are of classic portal type with a cover consisting of three vertical columns, each di-vided into a separate unit. In ad-dition to the latest news from the beer sector, there is also a Beer alphabet consisting of informa-tion on the history of beer, pro-duction, ingredients and types as well as how it should be enjoyed. In the column Beer as a hobby, readers can learn how to make beer at home, and there are also other columns such as My beer experience, Beer in verse and prose and Gastro. The aim was to gather a large number of peo-ple with different interests and affinities, who are interested in beer, and we succeeded. We also published on the portal excerpts from the Great Czech Book of Beer by the famous Czech doc-tor, Zdeněk Susa. We translated it and prepared a Croatian edi-tion. We are also especially proud of our project Draw me a pint, about beer in art and comic strips that we exhibited in mu-seums and galleries in Zagreb, Osijek, Virovitica, Daruvar and Pakrac, says editor Mato Pejić. (P.V.)

LMA, ZAGREB PIVNICA.NET

Last minute advertisingLMA provides total media services where users wish to advertise

Portal for beer, beer lovers and beer economy

The number of companies using last minute advertising is

growing

Readers can learn how to make beer at home

The idea was to show how big the world of beer and beer events is as well as how beer is unjustifiably neglected in Croatian culture compared with wine

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 7CROATIAN FOREIGN CURRENCY MARKET

Month-on-month, for-eign debt is in decline for the third consecu-

tive month. Year-on-year, how-ever, its growth is slowing. According to the latest data provided by the CNB, gross for-eign debt totalled €46.4 billion in August, 0.3% down over July and 1.1% up year-on-year. Com-pared with situation at the end of 2010, foreign debt decreased by €139 million. Additionally, a pull-back by the financial sector contributed to the debt decrease in terms of foreign investment. Growth in external debt was mainly affected by private com-panies, which totalled €11.1 bil-

lion in August. Total external debt of the public sector stood at €14.4 billion in August. The ma-jority of this refers to state debt (€6.9 billion), followed by that

of public companies (€5.9 bil-lion). Foreign debt in this sector increased by 0.1% over 2010, contributed to by the growing state debt (4.7%) and that of

public companies (2.4%). By the end of the year, RBA ana-lysts anticipate mild changes in the growth of foreign debt, considering the state has not ap-proached foreign markets, and growth in bank finance remains relatively modest, with local de-mand remaining weak. Consid-ering the forthcoming elections, we do not anticipate any new ap-proach to the foreign market, not even in the first quarter of 2012. Notwithstanding slow growth in foreign debt, we anticipate the share of external debt in GDP might reach 103.4% due to sluggish GDP growth, conclude RBA analysts.

FOREIGN DEBT

Compared with situation at the end of 2010, foreign debt decreased by €139 million

CBRD: Nett profit of €13.74 millionAccording to their unrevised consolidated report, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and De-velopment achieved total income of €92.4 million and expendi-tures of €78.66 million with a nett profit of €13.74 during the first nine months of this year. In relation to the same period of 2010, nett interest income in-creased by 11% to €31.1 million.

The Banker: PBZ – Bank of the year in Croatia The Banker (Financial Times Group) selected PBZ in Croatia and Intesa Sanpaolo in Italy as Bank of the Year. The Intesa San-paolo Group was also selected as Bank of the Year in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The

candidates were supposed to give detailed information on profits, assets and growth of equity capi-tal (Tier 1), return on capital as well as submit evidence on the implementation of new standards in local industries.

Centar banka wants to take over Banka Kovanica The majority owner of Banka Kovanice, Cassa di Risparmio di San Marino, signed a letter of in-tent with Centar banka to merge with Banka Kovanica, which is one of the three banks that has re-cently been the subject of scrutiny by the Croatian National Bank. A few months ago, the bank was additionally capitalised with €8.9 million, which increased equity capital to €28.24 million.

Source: HNB WEEK DECEMBER 3, 2011

Currency Kuna exchange mid-rate

AUD 5,509669CAD 5,516668JPY 6,660416CHF 5,678773GBP 8,814812USD 5,565746EUR 7,382405

::: news

€46.4 billion in August According to latest data provided by the CNB, gross foreign debt stood at €46.4 billion in August down 0.3% from July

28.11. 29.11. 30.11. 1.12. 2.12.

7.52

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7.49

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EUR 5.66

5.63

5.60

5.57

5.54

5.51

USD 6.14

6.12

6.10

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6.04

CHF

28.11. 29.11. 30.11. 1.12. 2.12. 28.11. 29.11. 30.11. 1.12. 2.12.

88 Privredni vjesnikYear V No 0177

Andrea Marić

Reputable hoteliers and hotels such as the Rovinj-based Hotel Lone, are

fully cognisant of the crucial im-portance of detail in creating an impression. The hotel is a unique five star design-hotel, a true ar-chitectural phenomenon, telling an impeccable tale to visitors. The hotel Management Board resorted to a comprehensive pro-fessional concept of hotel am-bience, in accordance with the solutions provided by the 3LHD architectural and urban planning

studio, enchanting visitors into returning time after time. A sig-nificant detail was music. The musical ‘scenery’ was created by a well-known Croatian musician and producer, Zvonimir Dusper Dus and co-operation with him

has created an extremely inter-esting product – music services tailored to client requirements.“The competitive advantage of my company is the use of an off-site internet server with the pro-grammed logic of playing music, whilst the music is played via the Internet and can be played on any computer or even an iPod touch”, explained Dusper.

Music for ambiance, ambiance for musicThe major advantages of this IT solution consist primarily of the

development of a highly intelli-gent and adaptable series of play-lists. The music changes constant-ly rather than randomly and thus the programme is comparable to a top quality radio programme, without commercials and spo-ken radio shows. Secondly, the play-list and the logic of play-ing music can be effectively and

rapidly adapted to meet client needs. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly according to Dus-per, the music channel may be published on the website, whilst hotel visitors can follow informa-tion on currently playing music on TV screens, mobile phones or tablet computers. “Music conse-quently becomes a powerful tool to attract and promote via the In-ternet. Lastly, but no less impor-tant, music services are provided at affordable prices in accordance with state-of-the-art global solu-tions and in my opinion, are the first services of this type within the region”, he pointed out. He reiterated that his services do not exempt hoteliers from paying

copyright fees to the Croatian Composers’ and Collecting Society (ZAMP), although

they enable hoteliers to start their own internet music channel at affordable pric-es, perfectly suited to visi-tor needs and tastes and hence use their licence in the most effective way.

Music services for tourism

Enchanting style and musicMusic services tailored to client requirements is an innovative product for the local hotel

market launched by Rovinj-based design-hotel Lone

According to the developer his music

services are an affordable innovation throughout

the region

The company Dim Dam Dus offers its music services packages even to small hotels and other catering outlets, whilst price depends on the size of the area in which the client wishes to use it. In addition to exclusive channels, clients may subscribe to standardised channels, and consequently considerably lower the price. According to Dusper, another important advantage of music ser-vices is the legal use of the comprehensive catalogue of IDM Music, the largest regional music publisher. Zvonimir Dusper Dus has been in the music business for over 20 ye-ars and is a well-known composer, music arranger and programmer. His music has infiltrated markets in many diverse countries (Ja-pan, music for the Oman Olympic Games in the sand). His opening and closing themes as well as background music can often be he-ard on local Croatian television channels (Nova TV, RTL, and HRT). In addition, he has been co-operating with large local companies and company subsidiaries such as HT, Vip, Atlantic, L’oreal, Peuge-ot, DM, SiOL, Fructal and others for many years.

Even for small hotels