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 / 14th February / 2011Year IV / No 0140www.privredni.hr

20102010

Croatia lagging, Central Europe moving awayCroatian average annual GDP growth of 6% an imperative in order to catch Western EuropeINTERVIEW

PAGE 5

Slavonian oak conqueringEuropean floorsCroatia ranks the third timber flooring supplier in the European Union and fourth in the world TIMBER INDUSTRY

PAGES 2-3

Sea, snow, valley, hillMore than €100 million tobe invested in both water-park and a ski centre construction sitesTOURISM

PAGE 8

Svetozar Sarkanjac

Turbulent activity in North African countries, par-ticularly in Tunisia and

Egypt, has incited considerable economic uncertainty. According to calculations, political turmoil has been causing daily losses for Egypt and its economy of over US$300 million. The con-sequences have deeply affected the world economy as well as several Croatian companies. Ac-cording to data from the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), many prominent Croatian com-panies such as Ina, Crosco, Ge-ofizika, Ingra and Končar and also wood exporters have their subsidiaries in Egypt. Moreover, there are many smaller Croatian companies there with jobs. How-ever, total Croatian company data of business activity with the Egyptian market is definitely not irrelevant. Trade in goods and services between Croatia and Egypt in 2009 totalled US$110 million, with Croatian exports of US$97 million. Turmoil in North Africa can also be deeply felt in Slavonian companies with busi-ness activities, or with the antici-pated conclusion of contracts, on local markets. A good example is Saponia from Osijek, whose an-nual exports has been €200,000

for years. At the beginning of this year it also started activities with the Tunisian market with an an-ticipated sales value of €500,000, stated Damir Skender, Saponia Board President. Certainly, due to altered circumstances the whole project has had to be postponed until the situation has stabilised.

Slowed, but not haltedThe textile company Hemco has a parallel way of reasoning. Ac-cording to the director, Slobodan Mihalj, it contacted potential Egyptian partners showing inter-est in Hemco’s products at the end of last year. Current events

have slowed the negotiations, but they have not halted them. As soon as basic safety and business conditions have been met, Hem-co will set out for Egypt.OLT from Osijek is also planning a business trip to North Africa. The company signed negotiation pre-contracts covering agricul-tural machinery and equipment export worth about €1.37 million in 2010. Ante Ćorluka, OLT Board Presi-dent, confirmed the negotiation slowdown. “This situation is convenient for us, nevertheless, as we are currently working on the final hammering-out of con-

clusive contracts. Irrespective of the fact that Morocco has not been as deeply affected by the turmoil as Egypt and Tunisia, it is inextricably connected. We are aiming for long term quality jobs. Currently we are only in the first tranche of negotiations. Success here will open several other Arab and African doors to us. Our partners in Morocco are striving for a long term business relationship of at least 15 years and that is also a favourable con-dition. This type of negotiation requires careful preparation and considerable effort”, concluded Ćorluka.

TURMOIL IN NORTH AFRICA AND CROATIAN ECONOMY

Business activity as an imperativeSlavonian businessmen are not interrupting negotiations with partners in Egypt, Tunisia or Morocco in spite of the current obstacles to business

2 Privredni vjesnikYear IV No 0140

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VINKO FILIPIĆ, DIRECTOR FASHION.HR CONCEPT

Croatian textile industry is not historyWe believe that joint work of designers and fashion houses through Fashion.hr will provide more accessible products

A slump in production and job cuts have been a con-stant in the textile indus-

try for some time. Producers are faced with a series of problems and one of the most severe is public image and media percep-tion of Croatian textile workers. There is a contradictory situa-tion. On one side, a number of companies supply houses such as Zegna or Dolce&Gabbana, and on the other the media and public view them as a thing of the past. This is the completely wrong attitude, since work and technical potential are immense. Some companies are actually opening new markets, and op-erate successfully despite the crisis. Survival on the market is also a great challenge for many Croatian designers. Consider-ing we are dealing with unique

items of clothing, which com-mand a higher price, we believe that joint work of fashion de-signers and fashion houses will use Fashion.hr to make their products more accessible. We have been preparing the project for two years with the aim of connecting Croatian designers and textile, leather, watches and footwear factories. Established designers, such as Zoran Mrvoš, Robert Sever or Ana Maria Ri-cov are designing prototypes for their autumn/winter collections, which they will reveal at the na-tional fashion fair. After indus-trial production, the collections will be on the shelves already in autumn. In co-operation with industrial giants, such as RIO - Riječka industrija odjeće, MK Arena from Pula, San Peter from Ludbreg, Bambi from Varaždin and Marli from Zagreb, the de-signers will create something which we will be able to call modern Croatian fashion brands and a Croatian fashion scene. Furthermore, the companies, that have already joined this project, are opening new markets. Their strategy, which demands invest-ment and is visionary in its core, is praiseworthy. We hope to de-velop Croatian brands this way, and the project’s success will depend on the way it will be in-stitutionalised. Institutions are interested in keeping production plants alive and turn Croatian fashion into an export product. This has been recognised by the Croatian Chamber of Economy with whom we work closely and hope others will soon join.

Croatian timber flooring exported

%(

Drago Živković

The recession severely hit the wood and timber indus-try in Croatia and resulted

in over 9,000 jobs lost from the end of 2008 to the end of 2010. Since then between 700 and 800 employees have resumed work-ing, although the job deficit is still about 8,500. The industry recovery from the beginning of this year could indicate an overall economic recovery. Overcoming the crisis is certainly encouraged by the positive trends seen on the main export markets, particularly Germany, where the construc-tion industry is flying high again in addition to a recovery in the real estate market. Confirmation of this could be seen on the three most important interior decoration fairs in Germany, held in the sec-ond half of January: IMM in Koln, Domotex in Hannover and BAU in Munich. The crisis is definitely not the main current economic topic in Germany and further stabilisation of economic growth is expected by the strengthening of the construction sector. The strongest impression from the BAU fair is the huge optimism

of German suppliers and buyers, which encouraged the optimism of Croatian exhibitors, who re-turned to Croatia anticipating sat-isfactory business activity in 2011.

Sixth year of expansionSix Croatian companies (Parketi Požgaj, DIN Novoselec, Pan par-ket, Drvoproizvod, DIP Karlovac and Lipa) exhibited together in

WOOD AND TIMBER INDUSTRY SOARING

Slavonian oak European flooCroatia ranks the third timber flooring supplier in the Eu

Our timber flooring sales are stagnating. Howe-ver, we produced between 11,000 and 12,000 m2 of rustic floor in January 2010 and are cu-rrently producing between 22,000 and 23,000 m2 monthly. I anticipate the quantity will conti-

nue growing as there has been a return of the British market, mostly due to investment in the London 2012 Olympic Games and an incre-asing number of Russians are interested in our rustic flooring. We are anticipating “sweet torment” as the demand will exceed supply, whi-ch could contribute to a price increase.

Moris Puljiz, Spačva:

Sweet torment anticipated

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 3

export value in 2010

US$850 million (

conqueringors

uropean Union and fourth solid timber flooring producer in the world

Munich, organised by the Drvni klaster from Delnice, whilst Ex-portdrvo had its own exhibition space. Exhibits comprised of high quality wood flooring covering, based on Slavonian oak in addition to several innovations. Croatian timber flooring quality follows in-novations from the leading Euro-pean producers, whilst timber in-dustry expansion has already been

ongoing for six years. 2.2 million m2 of timber flooring in 2004 in-creased to 5.6 million in 2010, with 70% for export. Exports to-talled about US$850 million. In Germany, an FSC certificate (in-ternational certificate of sustain-able forest management) is usually required, which is an advantage for Croatian producers as Croatia has been so certified since 2001.Croatian floorers have managed to retain their high position on the European market, mostly for the quality of their timber flooring, meeting deadlines and constantly turning to new markets, opined Drvni klaster Director, Marijan Kavran. “The EU continues to be our main market, yet countries such as Russia and Turkey are launching new investment where they need a considerable amount of timber flooring. Croatia ranks as the third timber flooring sup-plier in the EU and the fourth solid timber floor producer in the world. Oak has the highest level of demand with about 49% of timber flooring production, which, with respect to the well known Slavonian oak quality, opens up new doors for produc-ers on an expanding market. All

markets require certified timber flooring and the greatest success this year has been rustic flooring (wide, long planks of rustic de-sign from solid oak), where de-mand exceeds supply, so much so that Spačva from Vinkovci does cannot produce sufficient quan-tity to meet all orders.

More brand strengthening needed The demand for exotic materi-als has dropped considerably, so German designers avoid dark and extravagant wood on floor cover-ings (such as mahogany and teak), and it is often dark coloured oak which is used as an alternative to these more exotic woods. The target market for Croatian floor-makers are importers, wholesalers as well as designers who are, un-fortunately, less acquainted with Croatian wood products, often identifying them with low qual-ity and low priced mass products from Eastern Europe.According to Branko Banović, representative to several Croatian companies in Germany, local wholesalers who are well acquaint-ed with quality wood are aware of Slavonian oak and European ash,

whilst floor-makers are mostly unacquainted with it as they are constantly bombarded by Polish and other country timber flooring and cannot distinguish the origin of the raw material. Therefore, the Croatian timber flooring brand in Germany is still quite weak. How-ever, recent efforts put into brand-ing have had a positive impact on the results and the number of Ger-man wholesalers aware of Slavo-nian oak quality is increasing. The competitiveness of Croatian pro-ducers at the beginning of this year improved significantly as prices of raw materials rose across East-ern Europe, Poland and Ukraine. Some large European buyers are, therefore, turning to new suppli-ers and the price of Croatian tim-ber floor is currently 15% lower than that in Poland. Producers have new competitive products, adapted to rapid delivery stand-ards and they have been sourcing representatives in Germany. The first contacts and job offers at fairs in Germany indicate that the Croatian wood and timber industry results this year could almost equal the record of 2008, when exports totalled US$960 million, antici-pated Kavran.

Ivan Požgaj, Parketi Požgaj:

Investment into distribution an imperative for expansion

Tamara Svetina, DIN Novoselec:

We have satisfactory raw material and a good image

Our export products to Germany are mostly pre-fi-nished multi-layered timber flooring and solid fur-niture. Three-layered rustic timber flooring of spe-cific width has aroused considerable interest in Britain and is our latest innovation, yet our quan-tity is currently limited as we need quality raw materials. We have a sa-lesroom in Munich, which has just become profitable, but investment into distribution is an imperative for expansion.

We sell about 90% of our furniture on Western Eu-ropean markets so IMM is of extreme importance for us. We exhibited our wood flooring in Munich, particularly solid timber flooring, popular in We-stern Europe. FSC certification is also a huge ad-vantage and we have strengthened contact with German wholesalers as well as buyers from Dubai, Iran and Turkey. Croatian producers have satisfactory raw materials and a good image.

4 Privredni vjesnikYear IV No 0140INTERVIEW

Boris Odorčić

At the beginning of 2007 Ina started separation activities for gas stor-

age. These were completed in 2008 when Podzemno skladište plina (eng. Underground gas storage-PSP) was founded. On May 1 2009, the company be-came 100% owned by Plinacra. Privredni vjesnik discussed with Dragica Krpan, director of PSP, the development, investment and importance of gas storage.

What is your evaluation of Croatia’s gas market? Much has been invested into the supply of natural gas over the past several years. Most was invested in the construction and moderni-sation of the transport system, especially in gas pipelines. They were the biggest infrastructural energy facilities in Croatia, and a total of 2,700 kilometres of gas pipelines will be built by 2014. Last year, €0.18 billion was in-vested in system construction.

How will such construction benefit the market?The construction of gas pipelines encouraged and speeded up the construction of the distribution network, specifically the allo-cation of concessions in those counties which had not been connected to gas pipelines. The development of the distribution system enables more rapid eco-nomic growth in these areas and the ultimate goal for all entities on the gas market is to increase consumption.

But there is a crisis, and con-sumption is reduced.This is true. However, the lat-est reports from the European Commission and international gas organisations point to grow-ing consumption. This proves the crisis is on its way out and we are on the way to economic recov-ery and revival of production as well as industrial growth in most European countries. I believe the same will happen in Croatia. The government measures will speed up investment activity and we will reach the amount of 5% of annual consumption of gas, planned by the Energy Sector Development Strategy.

Will the share of local gas pro-duction decrease as a result?Naturally it will. We must keep in mind that the local production of gas, which now secures between 63% and 87% of our needs, will decrease. It is difficult to predict

the exact amount since precise data do not exist. Therefore, Croatia will need to secure new quantities of imported gas and from more remote sources, such Africa or the Middle East. This will increase the price of gas, but also reduce energy independence.

What needs to be done in order to make Croatia more inde-pendent?Above all, storage facilities must increase. The Energy Sector De-velopment Strategy of Croatia includes the construction of two new storage sites of natural gas in order to provide a more secure supply. Without investing in new gas storage facilities, Croatia will find itself in a difficult position from 2015.

Where and when will new local storage facilities be built?After PSP separated from Ina, a three-pronged development plan

was developed. Firstly, the exist-ing storage in Okoli in Croatia will be upgraded. The goal of the company is to increase vol-ume in Okoli from 550 million m3 to 630 million m3, and to in-crease the outgoing capacity of extracting gas from storage. This will provide a more secure sup-ply in conditions of higher gas consumption during winter. We are also working on obtaining a concession for the construc-tion of new peak gas storage in Grubišno Polje. Research has shown that the geological con-struction of this location makes it possible to obtain high extract-ing capacity from a small stor-age of 25 million m3. The third project regards the construction of larger regional storage units in Beničanci with a volume of 2 billion m3. These are three projects in which €41.1 million will be invested during the forth-coming three years.

gas pipelines to be built by 2014 invested into system construction

2700 km €0.18 billion( (DRAGICA KRPAN, DIRECTOR OF PSP

Without investment in new storage facilities, Croatia will be in a difficult position from 2015The Energy Sector Development Strategy of Croatia includes the construction of two new storage containers for natural gas to provide more secure supply

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly

Drago Živković

Gross domestic product in Croatia has seen the mea-gre growth of 3.7% over

the last 20 years, with industrial production down 28% and agri-cultural production by 23%. Em-ployment numbers are currently 15% lower than in 1990, the number of retirees has ballooned and the actual appreciation of the kuna has reached almost 15%. It is not surprising that the Croatian human development index cur-rently stands at 54%, whilst in 1989 it was 77% as was stated at a round-table conference on eco-

nomic and social development, held at the Croatian Academy of Science and Art (HAZU).

Urgent measures20 years ago, Croatian GDP out-performed that of Poland by 40%; currently it lags behind Poland by 12%. Over the same period, Slovakia lagged behind Croatia by 17%, whilst it currently ranks 30% higher. The human develop-ment index in Slovenia and the Czech Republic was some 15% higher than Croatia and current-ly in Slovenia it stands at 62% higher and in the Czech Republic 51%.

Although the war and the post-war period undoubtedly contrib-uted to this state of affairs, the key issue was the lack of work and employment as well as the pref-erence for redistribution over the creation of added value, according to Tihomir Domazet, President of the Croatian Institute for Finance and Accounting. Domazet pro-posed a solution based on urgent anti-recession measures and a range of development strategies. He suggested that the Croatian National Bank and the govern-ment provide low interest funds urgently, that monetary and fiscal policies become the start-point

for assistance to companies and projects and to encourage de-mand by a range of measures, including budgetary and salary policy reforms. Vladimir Stipetić, a member of the academy, drew his conclusions, based on the example of agriculture, that the situation in Croatia is parallel to other South-eastern European countries, which is why the en-tire area may be regarded as the most backward part of Europe. Croatian average annual GDP growth of 6% is an imperative for Croatia to catch up with Western Europe, which Stipetić considers highly unlikely.

ACADEMICS WARNING

Croatia lagging, Central Europe moving awayCroatian average annual GDP growth of 6% an imperative to catch up with Western Europe by 2030

National clearing system (NKS) owned by the Financial agency has marked the first decade of its work. NKS is a payment system for the contin-uous clearing of funds transfer orders of small value between participants based on a multi-lateral net principle, where the settlement account result is the final nett position on settlement accounts at the end of an NKS clearing day.

From the initial 62.2 million processed payment transactions in the first 11 months in 2001, the number of transactions in 2010 rose by more than 100%, amounting to 131.5 million. Cur-rently there are about 500,000 processed transactions daily

with an average total value of about €0.34 billion. The record number of processed transactions within one clearing day totalled 1,033,920.Fina has been continuously pro-moting its payment system over the last ten years, meeting the needs of the Croatian National Bank which regulates and con-trols the system and the Croatian Banking Association. Therefore, the Council of NKS Members was founded, constituted of all participating Croatian banks as well as the Croatian National Bank, the Croatian banking As-sociation, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and Fina. Council meetings are opportunities for in-forming banks on NKS business transactions and the best way for the users to express their vision of the system in the future through personal contact as well as give proposals for any improvement. This trend is also expected in the future with special emphasis on Fina participation in the adapta-tion of the national payment sys-tem to European payment trends and standards. (V.A.)

In the latest edition of the In-ternational Risk&Payment Review, which includes busi-ness risk assessments of 132 countries, the reporting agen-cy Dun&Bradstreet still puts Croatia amongst countries with a mild investment risk, ac-cording to the statement of the credit reporting agency Bon-Line. Business risk in Croatia re-mains closely monitored due to the decrease in bank lending activity, an increased number of bankruptcies and weak eco-nomic recovery. D&B therefore recommends all goods to be in-sured under a letter of credit. Concern was also expressed about the slow rate of economic recovery (0.2% GDP growth), a 9.5% fall in investment activity in the private and public sector compared with the year before and a fall in government spending for the fifth consecutive quarter. The latest available data point to a temporary recovery and the fact that the economic downturn will continue. This is confirmed by data on the drop in industrial pro-

duction and also the construction sector as well as rising unemploy-ment, whilst any growth in lend-ing remains weak. This resulted in a 1.5% GDP fall in 2010 and slight 1.3% growth in 2011, according to D&B’s evaluation. D&B also states that weak fiscal policy led S&P to lower their long-term rat-ing to BBB, which puts Croatia at the bottom end of the invest-ment class. However, D&B gave a positive mark to the government new fiscal act according to which it will attempt to decrease public spending by 1% of GDP each year. Even though this is a good plan, D&B remains sceptical as to whether this will this manage to limit government spending during this year. (V.A.)

NATIONAL CLEARING SYSTEM

135.5 million transactions last year

Dun&Bradstreet on Croatia

Business remains closelyclosely monitored

5

6 Privredni vjesnikYear IV No 0140

Boris Odorčić

Hrvatsko kreditno osig-uranje (HKO – Croatian Credit Insurance), is the

first insurance agency specialis-ing in receivables collection from business organisations. From its foundation in July 2010 until the end of last year, it achieved written gross premiums of €0.21 million. HKO offers its clients insurance of current receivables against political and commercial risks, with a deadline from 180 days to one year at maximum, covering the sale of goods and services in Croatia and abroad. At the end of October 2010 HKO created a sister company, Poslov-ni info servis, whose main task

is to assess risk and evaluate the creditworthiness of companies. Edvard Ribarić, board president of HKO, says that one advantage for the (currently) 26 Croatian ex-porters and clients of the company is decreased financial risk, which leads to better loss protection.

Better risk management Another advantage is positive influence on cash flow, which enables better collection of claims or compensation and improves possibilities of indebtedness. Moreover, HKO’s clients can bet-ter manage risk, improve sales, and attract new clients and mar-kets, increasing competitiveness. It is also important to note that HKO provides its clients with a

direct access to the Euler Hermes network, a leading credit insurance company with a 36% share of the global market and a database of 40 million companies. Entrepre-

neurs can thus quickly check with whom they are dealing when ex-porting and decrease or eliminate the risk of problematic collection of claims at an early stage.

Vaba bank: nett profit of €0.14 millionAccording to unaudited data, Vaba bank had successful busi-ness in 2010 . Nett interest in-come was 14.8% up over 2009 and by retaining the level of expenditure to that of last year impacted on the 29.8% increase of profit before provisions. Due to difficult economic conditions, nett expenditure, provisions and adjustments soared from €0.31 million to €1.17 million, having a serious effect upon nett profit, plunging from €0.70 million to €0.14 million.

Erste Maestro Plus: over €12.05 million in new lendingErste&Steiermarkische Bank new consumer lending stood at over €12.05 million in the first nine months after introducing their unique service in Croatia, Erste Maestro Plus. It loaned Maestro card current account users with some €11.72 million, payable in instalments. Concurrently, the transaction volume of purchased goods at contracted points of sale amounted to almost €0.37 mil-lion. A significant number of cli-ents opted for repayment of with-drawn cash over a longer term, most often in 12 instalments.

When interest rates do not flyRaiffeisen building society launched a media campaign aimed at informing the general public on the most favourable housing loans on the market, with a fixed interest rate of 0.5% and a fixed monthly annuity throughout the loan repayment period. The campaign was called “When interest rates do not fly” These loans can also be granted in kuna, are not affected by ex-change rate alterations, have a fa-vourable interest rate and a short repayment period.

CROATIAN FOREIGN CURRENCY MARKET

Source: HNB WEEK FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Currency Kuna exchange mid-rate

AUD 5,470077

CAD 5,490743

JPY 6,563317

CHF 5,632184

GBP 8,764283

USD 5,481809

EUR 7,411954

HKO TO ACCESS DATA ON 40 MILLION COMPANIES

INTERNATIONAL ROUTE IS EASIER Hrvatsko kreditno osiguranje has created a subsidiary company, Poslovni info servis, whose main goal is to asses risk and evaluate the credit status of companies

::: news

Clients can better manage risk, improve sales, and attract new clients and markets, increasing competitiveness

7.2. 8.2. 9.2. 10.2. 11.2.

7.44

7.43

7.42

7.41

7.40

7.39

EUR 5.50

5.48

5.46

5.44

5.42

4.40

USD 4.72

4.70

4.68

4.66

4.64

4.62

CHF

7.2. 8.2. 9.2. 10.2. 11.2. 7.2. 8.2. 9.2. 10.2. 11.2.

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 7

Once the Sveti Ilija tunnel is completed, it will con-tribute to the development

of tourism in the underdeveloped area of Dalmatinska zagora, con-necting it with the tourist riviera of Makarska. However, despite the development possibilities of tourism, only a few entrepreneurs dared to invest in tourism in the municipalities of Šestanovac and Zagvozd. One of rare people who did so is Ante Dundić. After 30 years of working in Germany, he invested his savings in the reno-vation of his birthplace in Grabo-vac. Dundić intended his family house and estate for tourists, and

also created a small zoo with around 260 animals. Amongst several breeds of horses, roe deer, fallow deer, mouflons, chamois, wild boar, Vietnamese pigs, bears, poultry and birds, he is especially proud of the Lipicaner horses he has recently bought. His associa-tion Zecan has its headquarters on the estate and is responsible for horse and game breeding. Visitors to the farm can see and use vari-

ous types of antique tools, car-riages and two-wheeled vehicles, hike, ride and drive in carriages

Children’s’ delightIn addition to tourists from all over the world, the estate has be-come a favourite destination for Croatian hikers and school chil-dren. Three years ago, Dundić renovated and opened the first pri-vate museum of hunting, contain-ing over 650 exhibits. He is proud to say that foreign reporters have become interested in stories from his museum. The news about this unique museum and its owners has been published in 24 foreign magazines. He is also proud of the 54 medals won for his hunting trophies. However, he expected more help from state institutions, since the amount he is receiving now is so small that it does not cover food expenses for animals, even for a couple of days. “I do not know what more I could do to cover basic expenses,” opines Dundić. Notwithstanding, it is clear to everyone who has visited the estate that it has great tourist potential, es-pecially since it is located only a few kil-ometres from the motorway. (J.V.)

The companies Manpower Hrvatska and Manpower counselling were founded

in Croatia at the end of 2008.

They are part of the Manpower Corporation with around 4,000 offices in 82 countries. They of-fer various solutions to employ-ees, including successful tools for talent assessment in order to link them to the appropriate candidate. “We offer counselling services in the area of market research, so that new companies can find out in advance the local business climate, information on where to find talented people who would take up the required positions, information about their expectations in the finan-cial sense and how competition might effect the demand for tal-ented people,” explains Tomislav Marjanović, operational man-

ager with Manpower Hrvatska. When he took over Manpower’s management in Croatia, he was faced with a series of challenges, starting with bureaucracy and the market, since companies need time to realise the advantages of outsourcing and to focus on the main subject of business as well as a long-term vision of develop-ment and success. “However, it was precisely this challenge that delighted me about the profes-sional opportunity – to develop and expand business from its foundations, enabling companies and individuals to become win-ners in the volatile professional world,” says Marjanović.

Acceptance of life-long learningMany companies are pessimistic about the economic situation. Companies need to make painful decisions, cutting the number of employees. Therefore they need to take into consideration an al-ternative way of managing them, such as outplacement, so they can attract these employees again when the economy boosts, opines Marjanović. Another problem is that many highly educated peo-ple cannot find work. People need to accept the concept of life-long learning if they want to participate on the labour market, concludes Marjanović. (B.O.)

OPG ANTE DUNDIĆ, GRABOVAC

Zoo and museum of hunting Visitors to the farm can see and use various types of antique tools, carriages and two-wheeled vehicles, hike, ride and drive

Easy way to real employeesMany highly educated people cannot find work showing state education is not in harmony with business market needs

MANPOWER HRVATSKA, ZAGREB

Companies need to make painful decisions,

cutting the number of employees. Therefore

they need to take into consideration

an alternative way of managing them, such as

outplacement

The news about this unique museum and its owners has been published in 24 foreign magazines

PHO

TO: S

lobo

dna

Dal

mac

ija

8 Privredni vjesnikYear IV No 0140

The theme park “Winnetou” covering an area of 30 hectares, will be con-structed along the Zrmanja canyon and the main road leading from Masle-nica to Zaton Obrovački, for which the urban-development plan has been made and has already obtained a location permit. We are currently working on ownership regu-lations and on obtaining the construc-tion permit. Visitors to the theme park will travel the locations and facilities shown in films that were made in this area in the 1960’s.

::: news

NEW TOURISM PROJECTS

Sea, snow, valley, hillOver €100 million to be invested in a water-park construction and a ski centre on Velebit mountain

Sanja Plješa

Projects related to the con-struction of a water-park project near Zadar and a

ski centre on Velebit mountain date back some two years, yet finalisation is nowhere in sight. Notwithstanding they have a val-ue of over €100 million and that they should have been completed last year or this at the latest, they are on hold due to the current economic crisis.

“The water park concept cover-ing an area of 4 hectares origi-nated in a Hungarian investors proposal, as they were inter-ested in the location and it is a fortunate circumstance that there is an appropriate area for such a construction. The ski centre concept originated from the Lovinac municipality and, as we also liked the idea, we decided to become involved”, stated Martin Baričević, head of Jasenice municipality. “Cur-rently the start of work on the ski centre cannot be defined. We have been working on the pre-liminaries, the area has been de-mined, conceptual plans created and we are anticipating further activity. The situation concern-ing the water park construction, with €8 million investment, is slightly better defined and the start of work depends upon the construction documentation. In-vestors have been granted a 50 year concession, at €35,000 an-nually”.

The water park and the ski centre will create new jobs and some 120 mostly sea-sonal staff is anticipated to be employed in the water park alone.

Trip back in time

€20.8 million loan to Croatia Last week, the World Bank approved a loan of €20.8 million, in or-der to help Croatia to successfully prepare for EU accession in the area of environmen-

tal protection. Total funding of this project equals €43.7 million, of which the govern-ment will provide €2.9 million, in addition to co-funding from paralleled structural EU funds of €20 million. The deadline for re-demption is 20 years, including a grace pe-riod of five years.

EC co-financing BIOCentar project The European Commis-sion gave the Croatian business and innovation centre BICRO, the gov-ernment agency for the implementation of pro-grammes for technologi-cal support, its approval for the construction and foundation of BIOCentar, an incubation centre for bioscience and the commercialisa-tion of science. Total investment is €18.8 mil-lion, of which €16.4 will go into the construc-tion, monitoring and fitting, funded through the Ipa programme.

Janaf profit plummets 10%Last year profits from Jadranski naftovod plummeted by €1.64 million or 10.2% to €14.58 million on an annual basis, according to the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Profits sig-nificantly dropped in the last quarter of 2010, slumping by 57% to €2.05 million over 2009. Total profit of Janaf amounted to €64.25 million in 2010, which is 0.9% up over 2009, whereas total expenditure in-creased by 6.9%, to €45.82 million.

annual concession fee

€35.000water park investment

€8 million( (