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pvpvinternationalinternationalCroatian Business & Finance MonthlyEstablished in 1953Monday / 2nd March / 2015Year VIII / No 0245www.privredni.hr

Interview: Radwan Joukhadar I wish Vukovar were as it was, says owner of Medical Intertrade and a new factory Yasenka in VukovarPAGES 2-3

Textile industryThe scientific community and the textile industry are developing new special fibres, creating new marketsPAGES 4-5

Croatian innovators At the MTE fair in Malaysia, 10 Croatian innovation exhibits received a total of 11 awardsPAGE 8

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

2008 20092010 2011

2012

Igor Vuki

Croatian exports last year totalled 9.35 billion dur-ing the first 11 months. In relation to the same period of 2013, they increased 9.3%, ac-cording to data provided by the Central Bureau for Statistics. In addition to exports to the EU, those to Cefta grew at an even higher rate. Whilst exports to EU countries grew by 11.9%, reach-ing 5.96 billion, those to Cefta increased 12.2%, to 1.88 bil-lion.Total aggregate export growth rate is high even within Europe. According to available data for the first 10 months, Croatia saw the highest export growth rate year-on-year, and only a few transitional EU members (Po-land, the Czech Republic, Ro-mania and Slovenia) were near, with export growth rates between 6% and 7%. EU accession has enabled an easier approach to the EU market, but it also increased the trade originating from other countries, which significantly in-creased the value of exports dur-ing the first half of the year, and which was used for comparison with the pre-accession period. Certain analysts warn that in ad-

dition to other factors, the transit of goods from other EU coun-tries through Croatian ports and border crossings also contrib-uted to nominal export growth. The second half of the year was marked by a fall in the price of

crude oil and oil derivatives glob-ally. This had a strong impact on trading movements, considering the significant export share of oil derivatives in total exports and a significant import of crude oil in total imports.

Reduced deficitDuring the first 11 months of 2014, imports totalled 15.68 billion, an increase of 4.7%. Due to higher export growth, the trade deficit decreased 1.4% year-on-year. The highest ex-port growth was seen in cloth-ing, electricity, machines and appliances, whilst the export of ships, computers and waste ma-terials saw the highest decrease. Exports to other countries de-creased 3% if we exclude EU and Cefta countries. The larg-est was seen with the Marshall Islands, where four ships were exported in 2013.Analysts at the Croatian Cham-ber of Economy highlight that in terms of imports, the import of oil derivatives showed the largest increase. This is a consequence of decreased local production,

clothing, food products and vehi-cles, which are mainly related to EU accession (high import level of used motor vehicles). The im-port of crude oil decreased the most due to decreased production in local refineries.

IMPORTS/EXPORTS FOR THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 2014

Exports to EU grew, to Cefta even moreExports to EU countries grew at a level of 11.9%, reaching 5.96 billion, but to Cefta by 12.2%, to 1.88 billion

Export growth rate is high even within Europe

The export of goods showed a relatively high increase during the previous year, where the growth rate during the first ten months was the highest in EU countries. Such a movement was influenced by Croatian EU accession, that is, an easier approach to the market and increased trade of goods from other countries, Director of the CCE Sector for Financial Institutions, Business Information and Eco-nomic Analyses, Zvonimir Savi, evaluated. For 2015, we anticipate the value of exports will slow in relation to 2014, whilst imports co-uld continue their moderate growth, Savi suggested.

This year exports will slow and imports accelerate

2The Association of Producers of Equip-ment for Special Purposes at the Croatian Chamber of Economy has participated for the third time at the leading international fair of armed forces and defence industry Interna-tional Defence Exhibition and Conference IDEX 2015, recently held in Abu Dhabi. IDEX is the only international exhibition of weapons and military equip-ment held in the Middle East and Northern Africa every two years. It represents innovative technol-ogy for the military industry and defence by sea and air. The fair is a unique platform for the estab-lishment and the strengthening

of relationships with government departments, companies and the armed forces both throughout the region and globally, and is held under the auspices of the Presi-dent of the United Arab Emirates and the Commander-in-Chief of their armed forces. The compa-nies estan-Busch and Agencija Alan exhibited their products at the joint stand organised by the Croatian Chamber of Economy. They presented the programme by HS - product (weapons) and INKOP military boots, whilst the company DOK-ING showed its

products at a special exhi-

bition space. estan-Busch received an

order for over 100,000 combat helmets, which has filled its production capacity for the year with orders placed by clients from the UAE, Turkey, as well as from Bangladesh and the African market. Tajana Kesi api, Director of the Sector for Industry at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, pointed out the fact that estan-Busch is currently the largest Eu-ropean (and the highest quality) combat helmet producer. Moreo-ver, several meetings were held with other Croatian exhibitors and many companies who did not exhibit their products, such as Varteks, ateks, PMT, Ka-pko, eir and Auto Safir visited it, since they were interested in the latest products in the military and defence sector and were also aiming to visit former clients.The Croatian exhibitors were visited by Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and a delegation of the Croatian Ministry of Defence headed by the Defence Minister, Ante Kotromanovi. Over 2,800 exhibitors from 59 countries exhibited at this years exhibi-tion covering 12 exhibition halls over an area of 133,000 m2, with 80,000 visitors. (K.S.)

Privredni vjesnikYear VIII No 245

Svetozar Sarkanjac

Many were baffled last year when a pharma-ceutical factory opened in Vukovar. Unfortunately, only few entrepreneurs opt for pro-duction in Croatia. This is even rarer in the eastern part of the country, especially Vukovar one of five municipalities in ex-Yugoslavia in terms of industrial development. Moreover, the in-vestor was born in the historical, but now destroyed Syrian city of Aleppo. Radwan Joukhadar studied in Croatia and is now Master of Science in Medical Biochemistry. This man, with joint Croatian and Syrian nation-ality, explained his move very simply during the opening of his factory: The factory in Vukovar is a gift to my city and its people so I could contribute to its pro-gress and development, hoping it will become the centre it was before the war.

You are a successful medicine and medical equipment trader who has been developing the family company Medical Inter-trade for the past 25 years, with an annual income of over 0.19 billion. Why did you open a fac-tory for producing medicines?I am a dispensing chemist pri-marily this is what I wanted to become since I was a child. This is why I came to study pharmacy in Croatia. Considering the legal and financial possibilities at the beginning of my business career, I established my first private wholesale of medicines and med-

ical products in Croatia. Later I established a medical institution Ljekarne Joukhadar, which now consists of 35 dispensing chem-ists. With our present production we achieve fully vertical integra-tion, from factory and wholesale to retail we provide stability of the entire system and offer full support to our business partners.

The companys Head Office is near Zagreb. Why did you open the factory in Vukovar and how did you name it?I spent 12 wonderful years in Vukovar. My wife, a doctor of dental medicine, was born in Vukovar. We both started working in the former Medi-cal Centre in Vu-kovar. We would never have left Vukovar had the war had not hap-pen. The factory in Vukovar is my humble contribu-tion to this city, its people and soldiers who rep-resent the symbol Croatia. The deci-sion was guided strictly by heart, since it would be much easier to open a factory near Zagreb for manufacturing and staff reasons. The factory was named for my wife, Jasenka.

What do you produce, and what is your capacity?

INTERVIEW: RADWAN JOUKHADAR, OWNER O

I spent 12 wVukovar andThe factory in Vukovar is a gift to my city and its people so I Croatian student, now Master of Science in Medical Biochem

The company estan-Busch has received an

order for over 100,000 combat helmets

IDEX ABU DHABI ARMED FORCES AND DEFENCE EXHIBITION AND FAIR

Filling orders for the military

employed by Medical Intertrade in Croatia

394 staff(deeee iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCroatia

www.privredni.hrBusiness & Finance Weekly 3333333333333333333333

Production consists of three de-partments: the production of solids (capsules and tablets); pro-duction of semi-solids (creams, ointments and gels) we can pro-duce up to 15,000 metal or plastic

containers of various sizes in one shift;

and lastly, the department for the production of liquids (so-lutions and syr-ups) we can

produce 10,000 150 ml bottles

in one shift. W h e n

t h e

second shift starts, the capacity will increase. Since all our pro-duction equipment was produced by the best global producers, and was installed and certified ac-cording to standards of pharma-ceutical production, we can sell our products on any market.

You invested 10.5 million in the factory. When do you plan to repay the invested money?Everything I have, I owe to hard work and the investment in quali-ty (know-how, services, business processes and equipment). One cannot achieve his goal overnight if you are guided by these princi-ples, but one can achieve a long-term and stable business as well as positive results. If we succeed in completing our plans, the in-vestment should see a return in five to seven years.

What is your competition in Croatia?There are many pharmaceutical companies in Croatia. For exam-ple Pliva, Belupo, Jadran galen-ski laboratorij, Genera, FarmaS, Farmal

Who are your best customers in Croatia?Mainly chemists or hospitals and health centres.

Do you have companies outside Croatia?In 2002, I established a whole-sale medicines and medical prod-ucts called Medical Intertrade in Sarajevo, and another in Ljublja-na in 2003. Both daughter com-panies operate well. The only

problems we have are related to the economic situation of a given country.

Tell us about your entrepre-neurial story. How did you de-velop your company?

Medical Intertrade started op-erating on 1st August 1990, in Vukovar with three employees. The year after, I had to shut down since the war erupted. I stayed in Vukovar at the request of Dr. Juraj Njavro, and worked as a dispensing chemist in Borovo for as long as the circumstances al-lowed me to do so. Actually, in one period I was the manager of a chemist whilst living in Vu-kovar. When it was no longer possible to survive in Vukovar, I transferred to Zagreb, and in 1992 I started a wholesale trade in a leased building. Our success-ful development, an increased number of suppliers and buyers, allowed us to buy a new business premises near Zagreb in 1998. At the beginning, wholesale con-cerned mainly humane drugs; medical, diet and cosmetic prod-ucts, and over time, we expanded into diagnostic, dental and veteri-nary products as well as medical equipment. A larger market and the desire to provide better sup-

plies enabled us to open business units in Osijek in 1998 and in So-lin in 2003 as well as wholesale units in Sarajevo and Ljubljana. In 2008, the business unit in Osi-jek was transferred into newly built premises in Vukovar where the factory has recently started its work. Medical Intertrade in Croatia currently employs 394 workers chemists. Ljekarne Joukhadar has 176 employees, and Yasenka 15. You are modest, you do not like media exposure and you are known as an extremely socially aware employer. What is your business and life philosophy?I firmly believe if you do good, you receive good. Furthermore, it makes me happy to make other people happy. I believe my em-ployees are key factors of my success, and only motivated and satisfied employees can contrib-ute to the companys long-term success.

You came from Syria to study in Croatia and raised your fam-ily. Did your plans and wishes come true?Everything I ever wanted came true when I opened the factory, but I still have plenty of plans. Firstly, I would like to return the investment as quickly as possible and expand the business beyond the region. I do not have any re-grets. I came to study in Croatia, but my plan was to return home after graduating. However, with my wife, I fell in love with this beautiful country and its hard-working and kind people.

F MEDICAL INTERTRADE AND A NEW PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY YASENKA IN VUKOVAR

wonderful years in d I wish it were as it was

could contribute to its progress and development, hoping it will become a centre it was before the war, says former mistry Radwan Joukhadar. He named the factory after his beloved wife Jasenka.

I came to Croatia to study. With my wife, I fell in love with this beautiful country and its hard-working people

in Ljekarne Joukhadar

176 employed(invested in Yasenka factory

10.5 million(

4 Privredni vjesnikYear VIII No 245

Ilijana Grgi

Value-added textile prod-ucts are currently being used in our daily lives. The Croatian textile industry currently produces antimicro-bial socks or comfortable cotton suits that do not wrinkle. Digital fashion combines clothing items with electronic devices for the purposes of warming, protection, treatment or merely for the pur-poses of new fashion aesthetics. Functional textiles, which origi-nate from a combination of actual production and new technologies in order to meet the demand for textile products used in atypical conditions, has been of crucial importance. Functional textiles are multifunctional; Croatian textile companies such as Var-teks, ateks or Jadran Stocking Factory are becoming increas-ingly aware of the importance of development of such textile items. Consequently, the Omi-based company, Galeb, has been producing a broad range of functional underwear with di-verse features. Galeb underwear is made from new materials. In addition, it is resistant to tem-peratures up to 600oC and it is in-tended primarily for military, law enforcement and fire fighters. Its additional role is to provide pro-tection to those wearing it and make sure they remain uninjured in situations of extreme heat. In 2014 we began a large num-ber of projects arising from the development of new materials. This year we will focus on these functional applications in the area of our civil product range, stated Stjepan Pezo, CEO of Galeb. The

development of new functional textile materials in Galeb result-ed from its co-operation with the Faculty of Textile Technology.

Modernity for tradition The scientific community and the textile industry are providing new developments in the area of special fibres, functional materi-als and the integration of micro-electronic components into smart textiles, as well as advanced manufacturing technologies, in-cluding computer technology development and the creation of prototypes. A growing demand for high value added functional textiles provides opportunities for the resumed development of part of the traditional textile and clothing production. This contributes greatly to the mod-ernisation of the manufacturing industry, emphasised Sandra Bischof, Dean at the Faculty of Textile Technology. She also pointed out that functional textile materials, clothing, footwear and equipment need to be considered as a fundamental area of devel-opment in Croatia, as well as in the European Union, since they provide ample opportunities of application in diverse sectors ranging from the defence industry, wood processing and auto-motive industry. A European textile in-dustry which can ensure reliable and confidential procurement of military products is of strategic in-terest for the security of the EU, as well as for the creation of a European technological and

industrial defence base, stressed Sandra Bischof. A wide range of scientific achievements has been integrated into functional materials, cloth-ing, footwear and equipment that make them high value-added products gen-erating significant-ly higher revenue. Revenue is clearly a fundamental is-sue for the textile industry in both Croatia and the Eu-ropean Union whilst aiming for com-petitiveness a n d

sustainable growth at a global level. The fact that technical textiles are the fastest growing area of the textile industry globally has to be stressed. This is the result

of its huge range of uses, from medicine, industrial bio-technology and nanotech-nology to transport and civil engineering.

Technical materials The Croatian textile in-

dustry develops a range of special purpose techni-cal materials. The Varteks

Group developed func t iona l

materi-a l s

and

Textile industry

FUTURE MATERIAThe scientific community and the textile industry are developing new special fibres, functional materials and the inttextiles. The increasing demand for functional textiles provides opportunities for a resumed development of a segmepointed out Sandra Bischof

Stjepan Pezo, CEO of Galeb

In 2014 we began a large number of projects arising from the development of new materials. This year we will focus on these functional applications in the area of our civil product range.


ALS egration of microelectronic components into smart ent of traditional textile and clothing production,

The future of the Croatian con-struction industry is not based on the construction of new ho-tels, endless kilometres of new motorway or new buildings, but in the reconstruction and renovation of existing hotels, motorways and buildings. This can be achieved only by us-ing new materials, technologies and adopting new values, pointed out Anka Mrak Tarita, Minister of Construction and Spatial Plan-ning at the recently held Zagreb-based 7th Better Building Brunch. Speaking about the tradition of local construction, she primarily emphasised the fact that Croatian civil engineers have always had a reputation for being excellent and committed workers, global-

ly. She also mentioned the guide-lines stated in the National Strat-egy on Energy Efficiency, imply-ing that a limitation on the num-ber of certified buildings needs to be imposed if Croatia is to keep abreast of global practices. Urban transformation is an imperative for this country and Green Certificates need to be included in Energy Performance Certification, since there is no alternative to green building, highlighted Anka Mrak Tarita. Green building will result in a vast array of new occupations in the construction industry and hence secondary school pro-grammes need to be adapted ac-cordingly. She mentioned four Energy Efficiency Programmes that are already being imple-mented: family housing, multi-purpose residential buildings, commercial buildings and public purpose buildings. The meet-ing was organised by the Croa-tia Green Building Council and sponsored by the Ministry of Construction. (S.P.)

The Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation and Invest-ment (HAMAG) recently or-ganised the 3rd Entrepreneur-ship Forum HAMAG-BICRO, where new tenders for inno-vation programmes were pre-sented with a total value of 4.8 million. The programmes are RAZUM programmes (Development of Knowledge-Based Companies) and an IRCRO programme com-prising of co-operation between an industrial company and a re-search institution. The funding for the programme has been provided under the sec-ond project of technological de-velopment of the Ministry of Sci-ence, Education and Sport (STP II) through a loan granted by the World Bank. Co-financing of re-search and development projects under the RAZUM programme valued at 3 million is planned,

whilst the value of the funding under the ICRO programme is 1.8 million. This year we have entered a period of allocation of substan-tial financial resources and sup-port for entrepreneurship where, for innovation and technologies from 2014 to 2020, we plan to provide 0.18 billion, stressed Gordan Maras, Minister of En-trepreneurship and Crafts. The first tender for innovative entrepreneurs, worth around 29.9 million, will be invited over the forthcoming months., stated Maras. (K.S.)

clothing items to meet the specif-ic requirements of niche markets. These materials are fire resistant fabrics of extreme resilience, as well as being water repellent. These clothing items are intend-ed to meet the requirements of clients such as fire fighters, pet-rochemical industry workers and law enforcement agencies who, against a backdrop of specific operational situations, need ad-ditional protection. ateks also engaged in the devel-opment of a sophisticated polyu-rethane membrane whose princi-pal feature is excellent transpira-tion - the evaporation of sweat and moisture, with simultaneous imperviousness to rain and wind. A water repellent, breathable textile technical material is creat-ed through laminating the mem-brane to a textile surface. In addi-tion, there is the company Kroko International who is engaged in the development of functional rucksacks and vests of a modu-lar military style. New materials were used also in the creation of functional military boots that are waterproof, slip- and steam-resistant, with anti-shock insoles, microbicides and technical pro-tection; they were developed by the companies INKOP diz Poznanovec and the akovec-based Jelen Professional.

Employers value science Josip Pelin, President of the Competitiveness Cluster of Tex-tile Industry emphasised that em-ployers value highly and accept the opinion of the scientific com-munity, yet the real value of these products shows primarily in their commercial value on the market.

We need to enhance the com-petitiveness of our economy and need to form clusters. It has to be stressed that we need primarily to focus on our competitiveness on the domestic market, as if we are not competitive here, the same will apply globally, stressed Pe-lin, who pointed out that Croatian economic development can be based on textiles, as this sector is one of the most active areas of the processing industry. Croatian companies are slowly entering the world of new tech-nologies and materials and their pace depends on their ability to group and connect, as well as on co-operation with scientific institutions and the quantity of invested funding.

Nanotechnology to reate millions of jobs The financing of research in the field of nanotechnology at a global level doubles annually. Nanotechnology permeates a vast number of fields, ranging from electronics, robotics and new medicines to textiles and is aiming to create a material of specific features through manip-ulation at the level of atoms and molecules. The European Union has dedicated special attention to research and innovation in nanotechnology, as it is striving to rank amongst the leaders in this area. By 2020, nanotechnol-ogy will be integrated with most technologies and applications, impacting significantly on the quality of life. Market value es-timates, which include nanotech-nology, stand around 2 trillion by 2020, in addition to the crea-tion of 2 to 6 million new jobs.

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CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN CROATIA 2015-2030

No alternative to green building

THIRD HAMAG-BICRO ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM

Funding for innovation


Igor Vuki

eljko Lovrinevi is the winner of Gorazd Niki award for the best busi-ness analyst in 2014. The award is presented by Privredni vjesnik based on a survey conducted amongst owners and managers of leading Croatian companies. It was recently presented at the Croatian Chamber of Economy, during the presentation of the new edition of Business Senti-ment 2015, a traditional publica-tion by Privredni vjesnik that an-ticipates future trends. A round-table discussion was held on the messages conveyed by the Business Sentiment: The time of catchphrases is over, now is the time for concrete measures for exiting the crisis.417 entrepreneurs questioned in the survey conducted by Privred-ni vjesnik expect no radically positive measures. This is a year of elections when significant re-form measures do not normally occur, certainly not measures which may negatively affect the status of specific social groups. Darko Bukovi, Editor-in-chief of Privredni vjesnik, pointed out that those questioned rated the general economic condition with grades ranging from the worst (grading 1) to the best (grading 5), with an average grading of 2.16. The highest proportion of busi-ness people (67.52%) believe that economic growth in 2015 will approximate with 2014, while almost an equal number

(15.06%) believe it will see only slight growth or even drop slight-ly (15.26%). Almost two thirds of business people (73.24%) believe that in-vestment conditions and business in 2015 will remain unchanged over4. Opinions on the priorities for managing exit strategies are divided. Nevertheless, several have been pointed out, such as more affordable entrepreneurial lending, a substantial reduction in state administration, lower taxation and contributions, re-strictions to the duration of court proceedings upon bankruptcy, tackling illiquidity and the action of foreign direct investment.

Small businesses most pessimisticAccording to Bukovi, small businesses are the most pessi-mistic, yet throughout the sec-tors, here are companies who are

confident in seeing results on par with 2014. That is the case also among companies in construc-tion. Around 32% of civil engi-neers expect to see an improve-ment, 33% anticipate results identical to 2014, with around 27% anticipating a continued de-

crease in business activities. Significant changes are not ex-pected concerning taxation and contributions. Around 67.54% of those questioned believe they will remain unchanged com-pared with 2014. More optimism has been expressed by business people concerning the impact of the crisis on the operation of their businesses in 2015. Thus, 45.84% believe they will be ad-equately prepared for and suc-cessful in tackling the impact of the crisis, 27% generally believe they will be successful concern-ing that issue, whilst 20.84% stated they would attempt to

tackle the impact of the crisis. According to the survey, one third of respondents believe that their businesses will tackle the crisis through an expansion of their product range, one third an-nounced a decrease in production costs, whereas one third will re-sort to re-organisation. Luka Burilovi, President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, is also optimistic. During the roundtable discussion organised during the presentation, he point-ed out that, irrespective of years of recession, there are still resil-ient business people who con-tinue providing solutions against

Business sentiment edition and Gorazd Niki award presented, a roundtable discuss

The time of catchphrasetime for concrete measu417 entrepreneurs questioned in the survey conducted by Privredni vjesnik do not expect any radically positive measin the fact that the majority of entrepreneurs 67.52% - believe that economic growth will be approximate with 201

that conditions for investment and business will be on a par with last year

72.24% of entrepreneurs believe(


sion held by Privredni vjesnik

es is over, now is the ures for exiting the crisis

sures. This is a year of elections when significant reform measures do not normally occur. Pessimism is reflected also 14. Significant changes are not expected concerning taxation and contributions.

a backdrop of adverse business conditions. He stated that he would be even more optimistic if Croatia had a concept of long-term economic development to rapidly boost the business cli-mate, with the government and the Croatian Parliament accept-ing their responsibility more cou-rageously. Burilovi highlighted the fact that hasty legislative amend-ments need to be stopped, since entrepreneurs require a stable and predictable legal framework. EU funding absorption has been unsatisfactory thus far, the forth-coming elections are postponing

reforms, and against such unsta-ble circumstances a large number of investors are unwilling to take any risk. Foreign capital is often

compared with bashful animals, such as hares. In my opinion, do-mestic capital is very similar and

can be compared with squirrels, pointed out Burilovi.

Gri: Surpluses higher than deficitsBranko Gri, Vice-President of the government, emphasised the transition from a rent-seeking economy, from import and trade towards export and production, which is somewhat insignificant at this point, albeit certainly an important step forward seen on the domestic market. Integration with the EU greatly aids the op-eration of domestic companies globally. Against a backdrop of the general conditions on the

domestic market, surpluses are higher than deficits. This year will see a continuation of posi-tive trends in exports due to Cro-atian EU membership. Moreo-ver, companies which have been given a new opportunity through pre-bankruptcy settlement agree-ments will also substantially con-tribute to growth, stated Gri. Gri stressed that the govern-ment will provide incentives to the economy through available instruments in compliance with EU regulations. Nevertheless, it will not interfere in monetary policy or that of the Croatian Na-tional Bank.

According to Minister Gri, public administration causes severe problems to both businesses and government ministers

do not expect any alterations in taxation and contributions

67.54% of those surveyed(

The Gorazd Niki award for economic analyst of the year was pre-sented for the fifth time. Ljubo Juri, a triple laureate, has been declared the best over the first five years. Juri entered the short list this year, in addi-tion to Damir Novotny, Zdeslav anti, Guste Santini and eljko Lovrinevi. None anticipates any significant changes this year. The weather will greatly impact on the entire situation, as it si-gnificantly affects tourism and harvests which are fundamen-tal, stated Juri. Santini added: Always the same people, the same stories, the same expectations. 2015 will be identical as last year.Damir Novotny stated that Croatia has seen no substantial growth during the last three decades. Consequently, the reforms need to be comprehensive and challenging, yet it is highly unli-kely they will be implemented. Zdeslav anti anticipates just 0.2% growth, which will not improve the current situation on the labour market. Nevertheless, prices will see a slight increase, which will prevent dangerous deflation. Affordable funding via the European Central Bank will provide a breathing of a year or two, which needs to be exploited to implement reforms, belie-ves anti.

No substantial positive changes eljko Lovrinevi, the economist of the year, warned the go-vernment, as well as the general public, of the fact that popu-list solutions to meet the requirements of specific social groups need to be avoided at all costs. The current situation is serious, the results of the Croatian economy are weak, whilst cheap po-pulism and temporary solutions are likely to cause chaos with unforeseeable consequences. Export results that we continuou-sly point out are in fact fictitious: half the growth or perhaps even more, has been achieved through goods in transit following Croa-tian EU accession. The real growth actually stands at barely 4% to 5%, as opposed to 9% stated in statistical data. Should irresponsi-ble conduct and adverse business climate continue, foreign capi-tal might start leaving Croatia aiming to find more favourable cir-cumstances and homes. Lovrinevi pointed out that the private sector has managed to adapt to the crisis, as opposed to the state and the public sector. Consequently, it is high time to implement reforms to halt the si-tuation that has led to a substantial brain drain during which the public debt has reached 13 billion and the standard of living of those opting to remain in Croatia has reduced by 10%, highlighted Lovrinevi.

Economic populism needs to be avoided


Sanja Pljea

Croatian innovators have achieved yet another sig-nificant success at the recently held innovations fair of Southeast Asia 14th MTE Malaysia Technology EXPO in Kuala Lumpur. 10 Croatian in-novative exhibits won a total of 11 awards, whilst several Croa-tian companies signed contracts of co-operation and delivery of their products to Malaysia. The Zagreb-based company Citus re-ceived a gold medal. Citus is a Microsoft partner and is involved in consultancy, design, develop-ment and introduction of mobile and cloud IT solutions based on Microsoft technology. Three Ci-tus employees are Microsoft Most Valuable Professional titlehold-ers for Office 365, virtualisation (Hyper-V) and web application development. Citus has received over 40 international awards thus far, as well as several gold medals for innovations in ICT in the US, Russia, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Croatia. It has re-cently received a gold medal for their product C@N eMotion, a software module that recognises facial expression, as well as for the www.ConferenceAtNet.com web site, which is an online mo-bile solution, for the management and organisation of workshops, conferences, and for the prod-uct C@N Motion, an innovative multimedia system managed by hand or body movement.

Gold, silver and bronzeTomislav Bronzin, owner of Citus, pointed out that the com-panys products are available globally. Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, America, as well as Arabian and Asian coun-

tries are just a few of the markets we have penetrated and where our products are sold. Instead of thinking locally, we think glob-ally, as technological develop-ments have abolished all borders; the world has transformed into a global stage with 24 hours a day accessibility, as well as equal opportunities for success, em-phasised Bronzin. Since the com-pany and its operations, products and services are primarily fo-cused on innovations, it is of vital importance to be present at exhi-bitions that provide opportunities for co-operation with investors, as well as potential partners who will work on distribution in a country or region. Participation at fairs and exhibitions is addi-tionally helped when we appear with a group of innovators or entrepreneurs supported by the Zagreb Innovators Alliance, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts. Our partners are primar-ily the leading companies in the areas covered by our products,

such as marketing, conferences, business process management, health status assessment and IT, stated Bronzin. In addition to the gold medal from the exhibition in Malaysia, Bronzin and his team returned to Zagreb with several new contracts amongst which it is important to highlight co-oper-ation with the University of Ma-laya. This agreement will enable them to deliver the first 10 soft-ware packages of C@N Motion to the Malaysian market follow-ing the successfully implemented pilot project.

Business plus academic In addition to the company Citus, another Zagreb-based company Live Good - achieved a signifi-cant success. Its founder, Anita Bui, will be one of the leading researchers in a tripartite project, whose results will be incorpo-rated into the Croatian product BodyRecog-Fitness Asia. It is an excellent example of connection and co-operation between busi-ness and the academic communi-ties, which was the objective of

the exhibition in Malaysia. MTE this year covered a large number of innovators and innovations from Malaysia and the countries of Southeast Asia and Europe. The most successful Croatian exhibitor innovator was Rosa Ferenevi from the company Marinalab Opus, who received Best Award for the innovation Acidosalus baby. The Best Award is given for one of the ten most successful exhibits at the MTE exhibition. Antun Drvar received a silver medal for his ionisation technology, for the lowering of the point of fossil fuel flow to 0oC without the use of chemicals. Moreover, the company Super-nova received a silver medal for an innovation for dyeing hair samples in one or more colours at a single application. Addition-ally, the company Herbafarm-

Magnolija won a silver medal for its innovation Herbafertil, as did the innovation InfraredART by Nada iljak and the company CEI Mikroelektronika for the in-novation of intelligent clothing with thermal insulation features. A bronze medal was awarded to the young innovators Jakov Soldi and Josip Horvat for the innovation Magreg, the company Priroda lijei (Nature cures) for its innovative cosmetics Nikel and Marinalab Opus for its inno-vation Toothpaste 3-in-1.

CROATIAN INNOVATORS SUCCESS AT THE MALAYSIAN FAIR

And now going global At the MTE fair in Malaysia, 10 Croatian innovation exhibits received a total of 11 awards, and several companies signed contracts of co-operation and delivery of their products to Malaysia

The company Citus won a gold medal at MTE

previously having been awarded for a software

module that enables facial recognition

(at MTE in Malaysia won by 10 Croatian innovations

11 awards8

CROATIAN INNOVATORS SUCCESS A

a


Sanja Pljea

During the eight months of the project Development of social networks in the Croatian Employment Agency (HZZ), 1.1 million individual consultations were held and 14,000 unemployed people par-ticipated in training workshops, focusing on how the individual can present him or herself to em-ployees, said Tatjana Dali, Dep-

uty Minister of Labour and Pen-sion System, at last weeks pres-entation of the project. Consulta-tions and workshops were some of the activities that took place in conjunction with the Twinning Light Project worth 240,000, funded by the European Social

Fund from the EU programme. The goal of the project was to improve the quality and effi-ciency of HZZ services through social networks and other inter-net tools. This project motivated the process of offering informa-tion and specialised services to the unemployed, promoting op-portunities for employment and training and supporting com-munication with clients through social networks.

Social networks connect peopleTatjana Dali noted that 252,442 people found work last year

through HZZ (which did not happen in the past 11 years), of whom 107,000 were under 30 years old with 89,000 being employed without measures for subsidising self-employment. As an additional positive activity of this project, Deputy Minister of Public Administration, Leda Le-pri, mentioned the introduction of e-Uprava (e-Administration) policies through the project e-Graanin (e-Citizen) which includes all services realised in the real world of the manage-ment-client relations. She also added that the drafting of the strategy e-Hrvatska (e-Croatia)

2020 is in its preparatory phase, and this strategy should clear all doubts regarding business activ-ities. It still happens that a client cannot do everything through e-business, which forces him to come personally to the rele-vant institution. Concerning the project Development of social networks in HZZ, the Director of HZZ, Ankica Paun Jarallah, highlighted the project reached its goal of integrating social net-works in the business activities of the institution. She added we are all a part of the cyber world we must not run away from, and state institutions have to adapt and offer information to clients through the internet or social networks. Social networks are a tool for connecting people since they are a part of the digital rev-olution. The precondition of business behaviour is that the channels in the social networks slowly enter companies, but they are mostly used by IT companies, which is logical. Gradually, all compa-nies will use them, Ankica Paun Jarallah concluded.

The Croatian list of 77 projects, to be funded by the Juncker Fund, has been reduced to 25 proposals. After the meeting of Government Vice-President, Branko Gri, and Vice-Presi-dent of the European Commis-sion, Jyrki Katainen, in February, it was published that the Euro-pean Fund for Strategic Invest-ment would focus on subsidising private or public-private part-nerships, and not on investment

projects that are primarily public. The Croatian short-list is valued at around 9 billion, of which projects worth 2.2 billion could

be realised over the course of the next three years, Government Vice-President Gri said. The present list mainly includes projects to be realised through public-private partnerships. The point is to mobilise private money, which is why the focus is on private investment, Katain-en said. The Fund will finance projects, not governments. This means everyone has a chance; each sustainable project, even if

high risk, has a chance to receive funding, the EC Vice-President concluded. Gri announced the Government would call on pri-vate investors to express their interest in participating in this initiative. The Government and the Croatian State would provide support in communicating with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank in realising these projects, Gri said. (I.V.)

(employed through HZZ last year

252,442 people

EU PROGRAMME FOR CROATIA: DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN HZZ

Welcome to cyber worldThe goal of the project is to improve the quality and efficiency of HZZ services through social networks and other internet tools

Consultations and workshops were some of

the activities that took place in conjunction

with the Twinning Light Project worth 240,000

EU FUNDED PROJECTS SHORT-LISTED

The list reduced from 77 to 25 proposals


( (total ITER project the ITER construction site area

13 billion 60 football elds

Boris Odori

Scientists from the Croa-tian Fusion Research Unit (CRU) participate in one of the biggest projects of today the project of obtaining cleaner and constant energy from nu-clear fusion. Owing to the Ruer Bokovi Institute, Croatian sci-entists are part of the research consortium EUROfusion, cover-ing 27 countries around the pro-ject for constructing the Inter-national Thermonuclear Experi-mental Reactor (ITER), which will allow the testing of a series of technologies required for op-erating a fusion power plant.To achieve these goals, scien-tists globally were provided with 850 million for the period 2014-2018, of which almost half will be provided through the Horizon 2020 programme. The sum of

nearly 0.4 million has already been allocated to Croatian sci-entists for a period of five years as pointed out during the visit of EUROfusion programme Di-rector, Tony Donne, at the Ruer Bokovi Institute (IRB). This is tremendous recognition for our scientists. The funds from the Horizon 2020 are allocated through extremely competitive tenders. To win a project in con-junction with this programme

means the EU recognises your work as competitive science, which can be compared with the work of other scientific institu-tions from countries with far more generous funds for science and research, such as Germany, France or Great Britain, noted co-ordinator of the Croatian Fu-sion Research Unit and member of the EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Community) Scientific Technical Committee (STC) Toni Tadi.

Significant undertakingCroatian scientists from the Ruer Bokovi Institute, Insti-tute of Physics and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FESB), are participating in five work pack-ages of the fusion programme, based on which IRB will assess

the retention of fusion fuel in the walls of fusion reactors with the help of ion beams; the origin of dust particles inside the fusion reactor (tokomak), and the con-struction of the chamber for the radiation of fusion materials with two ion beams, one of only four in the EU.FESB scientists will be dealing with the mathematical modelling of magnetic fields and plasma in the fusion reactors and col-leagues from IFS will work on the development of a laser ma-chine for damage control of the tokomak walls.The Institute of Physics and IRB together participate in the EU training programme, under which 300 students from all EU countries write their theses relat-ed to the field of physics. To cre-ate solar energy on Earth is a sub-

stantial undertaking. Everything relating to ITER is enormous. This biggest fusion reactor will be built in Cadarache in France, over an area equal to 60 football fields, and around 2.5 million metres3 of earth has been dug out to create room for the ITER tokomak and accompanying fa-cilities, Donne explained.One of the largest scientific ex-periments in the world has been designed to obtain self-burning fusion plasma for the first time in history, literally a drop of Sun on Earth. The entire project is worth 13 billion and scientists from 34 countries participate in it. Each research laboratory has its task. We are seriously counting on Croatian scientists, which are confirmed by their participation in the joint Horizon programme, Donne concluded.

Fusion power

A drop of sun on Earth One of the biggest scientific experiments in the world was designed to obtain self-burning fusion plasma for the first time in history. Owing to the Ruer Bokovi Institute, Croatian scientists are a part of the research consortium EUROfusion, encompassing 27 countries around the ITER construction project

This is tremendous recognition for our

scientists, co-ordinator of the Croatian Fusion

Research Unit Toni Tadi observes

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( (use Agrivi agri-tech system currently employed by Agrivi

over 80 countriestl ll d

6 people

Boris Odori

Croatian Agrivi, an agri-tech start-up system, is a system for agricultural production management that helps farmers secure production productivity and profitability. The system is currently used by farmers in over 80 countries, and the number of users is increasing monthly. Preparations for ex-

panding into the markets of Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland and Russia are in progress, and they have already started with the an-nouncement of partnership with a distributor in Nigeria. The Board and development head office, which started work in 2013, is in the Croatian town of Kutina. Ag-rivi currently employs six people and several part-time staff. At the World Startup Competition, held in November in Seoul, Ko-rea, Agrivi won first prize and $50,000. Matija ulj, CEO of Agrivi, says that there is a market for software development is his field of expertise. Since he has been active in the ICT industry since the beginning of his career, it was only natural to proceed in the same direction. ulj high-lights this is an industry of high added value which offers many challenges, but also potential.

Is it difficult to compete on the global software market?The global market is full of vari-ous products, and it is difficult to stand out, let alone get attention from potential customers. Until you have enough references to give credibility, western mar-kets will prefer products from more developed markets. When you have references, the story changes as they give your prod-uct credibility and you become an equal, that is, the entire story comes down to product and ser-vice quality.

In your opinion, is the Croatian market of ICT product and services developed?Our ICT market is developing intensively. Until recently, only a small number of companies offered such products. Most of

them offered services of solu-tion development, but now there are more companies offering ICT products they deliver internation-ally. I believe we have great po-tential and that the ICT industry has to become one of Croatias strategic determinants. What advice would you give your colleagues who wish to develop software for the global market?It is difficult to give general ad-vice since each industry and niche is different, and a secret recipe does not exist. However, it is crucial to identify your pilot market and focus on it. In some cases, Croatia can be an ideal pi-lot-market, but if you cannot ac-quire enough references, I would recommend choosing another market as a starting point.

How hard is it to find investors for start-up projects? Extremely hard in Croatia, since only a small number of people are motivated to invest in start-up pro-jects. Therefore, they cannot in-vest in every good project. Moreo-ver, we do not have venture capital funds that invest in ICT start-ups. Therefore, almost all projects have to turn to foreign investors for funds, especially when it concerns bigger investment projects.

To what extent is the ICT sector important for the economic de-velopment of any country?The fact that start-ups created over 50% of jobs in the USA during the past decade proves their im-portance. The ICT sector is one of the most crucial sectors in short-term, mid-term and definitely long-term. Moreover, the rising success of Croatian start-ups is a positive promotion of Croatia. Un-til recently, Croatia was known in the world mainly for its athletes or Dubrovnik, but today the word of our successful start-ups has started to spread.

What can Croatia offer Europe and the world in this industry?Croatia has a good ratio of labour/price, quality and location. We can offer western European quality at a lower price than western coun-tries. We are also close to these markets, so it is not a problem to travel for meetings with custom-ers, which they appreciate. Most of our ICT companies know very well how to use this leverage, even this part could be communicated strategically, at state level.

INTERVIEW: MATIJA ULJ, CEO OF AGRIVI

Agrivi used by farmers in 80 countriesUntil recently Croatia was known in the world mainly for its athletes or Dubrovnik, but today the word of successful start-ups has started to spread, says Matija ulj whose Agrivi System won first prize at the World Startup Competition in Seoul

We can offer west European quality at a

lower price than western countries

12 Privredni vjesnikYear VIII No 245::: news

Varteks revenue and exports increase

Varteks Group generated 27.9 million revenue in 2014, of which 26.8 million was sales, 17% up in relation to 2013. Exports at 12.2 million were 8% up com-pared with 2013. Concerning costs, expenditure dropped by 61%. All key operating features in 2014 showed positive trends, yet the implementation of finan-cial restructuring, given its par-tial progress thus far, will more significantly affect operational effectiveness only in 2015.

Holcim increases operational effectivenessThe company Holcim Croatia bettered its operational effective-ness by 4.5 million and imple-mented the first aspect of its plan entitled 2015 Plus. In addition to business results shown in 2014 by Holcim employees, the impor-tance of the start of construction projects and a 65,000 increase in the salary pool have been par-ticularly highlighted.

Ezpada takes over the Zagreb-based Proenergy

The Croatian Competition Agen-cy (AZTN) has approved the takeover by Ezpada AG, with its headquarters in Switzerland, thus becoming the majority share-holder in Proenergy Zagreb. In addition to the takeover, Ezpada also took over the ownership-related companies Proenergyja in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. Ezpada operates as an umbrella company of the Ezpada Group that is involved in trading electricity in Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Romania, Mac-edonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The core activity of Proenergy is electricity sup-ply, as well as trade in electricity and gas.

SWISS SPACE SYSTEM CROATIA

SPACE TECHNOLOGY A Swiss company specialising in space technologies has opened an affiliate in Croatia. Tand after 2020 start the assembly and launch of commercial space satellites

It might seem a difficult chal-lenge to combine high fash-ion and high technology, but this young businesswoman, with experience in fashion and with a sense of high technology, de-signed the ideal fashion acces-sory for businesswomen.How often does your phone battery die at crucial moments and places where it was impos-sible to recharge? This was the problem that served as the start-ing point for Mirta Udovii. I worked in fashion and computer

programming, and graduated in fashion design. This allowed me to combine two things in which I am experienced fashion and electronic accessories, Mirta Udovii says.The result of this work is an in-novative bag equipped with a battery and charger, which can be charged in a conventional way (electrical socket) and with solar panels attached externally. Each bag is also equipped with a bat-tery charge indicator. Total ca-pacity of the battery is 5,000 mA

and it can charge a mobile phone multiple times. Future products will have a battery of even larger capacity. The bag also has some-thing that many women would find useful LED internal light-ing.

Ready for the worldThe process from idea itself to finished product was not easy. Three years passed from my ini-tial idea until the finished prod-uct, but we finally reached our goal and the product is here now,

Kreimir Sokovi

The Swiss company Swiss Space Systems - S3 con-firmed it would open an affiliate in Croatia. The Croatian affiliate could play an important role in the business activities of their holding on a global level, since it would be focused on the completion of suborbital shuttles for launching satellites into orbit. It would also offer commercial space launching services.The first activities of the Croa-tian Swiss Space Systems affili-ate will relate to ZeroG flights simulating weightlessness starting from next year. For the next phase (launching satellites, suborbital commercial flights), they anticipate support from Croatia to construct a spaceport at Udbina which seems to be the best location. The spaceport itself could be based on the con-cept of the S3 spaceport in Swit-

zerland, which is already under construction. Udbina, however, is a small municipality in Lika,

known for its extremely beauti-ful nature and the Plitvika jezera National Park.

Invitation to the European Space AgencyFormer President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovi supported this project, and the General Director of Swiss Space Systems Croatia, Slaan Zovko, says that all countries in-side the European Space Agency

in Switzerland, Spain and the USA

75 S3 employees (S3 shuttle laun

80 km (

The Croatian affiliate of Swiss Space Systems should play an important role in global business activities

GAMMA BAGS - THE FASHION ACCESSORY FOR BUSINESS WOMEN

High fashion and high tecA combination of high technology and high fashion has resulted in a fashion accessory tdesire a bag equipped with mobile phone and tablet chargers, powered by sunlight


::: news

Innovative services development programmeThe Science and Technology Park of the University of Ri-jeka has created a Development programme of innovative ser-vices based on existing products PROTOS, which will enable entrepreneurs to focus their busi-ness operations on services aris-ing from products through train-ing and mentorship. The pro-gramme consists of three mod-ules: development workshops, the development of services, and the preparation of the company for the commercialisation and the sales of the service.

Marine experimental centre for biodiversity A structural project entitled Ma-rine experimental centre for bio-diversity MORExpo is being conducted by the Rovinj-based Marine Exploration Centre of the Ruer Bokovi Institute and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU). The project is valued at 16 million and has recently been included in the infrastructure project list of the Ministry of Science Edu-cation and Sports (MZOS) for the European Regional Develop-ment Fund, for the period 2014 to 2020. The joint structural project between the Ruer Bokovi In-stitute and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts will enable the establishment of a modern centre equipped with high tech-nology and programmes, as well as a new research vessel.

Park Hotel opening in Pula6.5 million has been invested in the Park Hotel owned by the Pula-based tourist company Are-naturist. Following comprehen-sive reconstruction, the hotel will be renamed Park Plaza Arena Pula - and will receive its first visitors by the end of May 2015. The Arenaturist investment cycle began in 2011 with the recon-struction of the Histria Hotel and continued with investment in the tourist resort Punta Verudela and the hotels Medulin, Palma and Belvedere in Medulin, following which all the reconstructed fa-cilities were branded Park Plaza. The Park Plaza Hotel Group port-folio comprises 16 hotels includ-ing the artotel brand. Park Plaza Arena Hotel will be the 22nd Park Plaza hotel.

FROM LIKA The company wishes to construct a spaceport at Udbina,

nches the construction

high

wish to strengthen and develop space activities. I am inviting institutions to take all necessary steps so that Croatia could also join this institution. Swiss Space Systems Croatia will act as ac-celerator that will guide Croatia towards achieving this goal, and our space research centre will generate immense strategic value inside the country, notes Gen-eral Director Slaan Zovko.

S3 Croatia announced their co-op-eration with Croatian universities and research centres on various research and training activities as well as the testing of airspace technologies for small satellites.

Croatias important roleThis co-operation will also ben-efit Swiss Space Systems and Croatia, says the founder and CEO, Pascal Jaussi. S3 wishes

to develop long-lasting partner relationships, and the relation with Croatia is certainly a good example. Swiss Space Systems Croatia will play an important role in all main aspects of the S3 programme ZeroG flights, de-velopment and production of the upper component for launching satellites, as well as research and training activities, Jaussi high-lighted.

Swiss Space Systems has expanded its business and employs 75 people in Switzerland, Spain and the USA. They are currently working on the research-development phase of multi-use, flexi-ble and safe systems for launching small satellites, based on the Airbus cargo plane and suborbital shuttle SOAR. The SOAR shuttle, developed by S3, will launch at a height of 80 kilometres, the upper construction that will deliver small satellites into Earth orbit up to 700 kilometres. After delivering the satellite, the third component of the delivery system combusts in the atmosphere and does not remain in orbit as waste.

Swiss Space Systems

Mirta Udovii highlighted.She already has experience in selling conventional fashion ac-cessories, and her new and inno-vative bag is approaching its mo-ment of entering the market, first locally and then globally.Everything is almost ready for launch. This month we are pre-paring the first line of bags, and our plan is to launch new lines every few months, Mirta Udovii says. She also added there are similar products in the world, but the combination

of this type of high-tech and high-fashion still does not exist. There are solar bags of larger dimensions, like backpacks, in-tended for explorers and those who travel in places where they are not able to use other energy sources. However, a prod-uct for a business woman, student or anyone in an urban environment has not existed until now, Mirta Udovii says.The production of the bags is still manual; they are

manufactured in Croatia, but it is likely that production will move to the east when it starts to expand. As this young inno-vator and designer said, the bags will cost between 65 and 455, depending on the size, design,

materials and capacity. How-ever, what is important for

future customers is that the bags are already availa-

ble online in the MBS Store in Zagreb or at www.gammabags.com. If you have problems with a

low battery on your cell phone, tablet or mobile com-

puter then Gam-ma solar bag will

be extremely use-ful. (K.S.)

chnologythat any businesswoman would

Everything is nearly ready for the market. This month we have been preparing our first line of bags, Mirta Udovii says.

small satellites sent into Earth orbit

700 km high (

14

showing huge interest in Croatian wines over 500 participants(

Privredni vjesnikYear VIII No 245

The annual tasting of Croa-tian wines, as well as two Masterclass tastings, were held on 24th February 2015 in the New York-based Astor Center, organised by the Association of Winemakers at the Croatian Chamber of Economy. Croatian winemakers presented four Croa-tian wine regions and the best wines with several international medals produced by the Croatian wineries such as Agrolaguna, Badel 1862, Benmosche Fam-

ily Vineyards, Bibich, Degrassi, Feravino, Gali, Grgi Vina, Ko-rak, Korta Katarina, Kozlovi,

Krauthaker, Lagradi, Markus, Matoevi, Milo, Pp Orahovica, Rizman, Rota vina, Saints Hills, Stina Vino, Suha Punta, Vinogra-di Volarevi, Zigante and Zlatan Otok.Annual wine tasting is the theme of the The promotion of the Croatian wines to the USA, was co-financed through European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, the

State Budget of Croatia and the National Assistance Programme for the Wine Industry 2014-2018. The specific objective is to en-hance the recognition of Croa-tian wines on the US market and substantially increase exports in terms of both quantity and value.

Good opportunities Over 500 participants wine experts, media representatives, distributors, hotel owners and tour operators, registered for the event, which shows the wide interest in Croatian wines. Mrs Christy Canterbury, MW was in charge of masterclass tastings. Croatian winemakers established and strengthened a large number of contacts with potential buyers, which will certainly encourage exports. The promotion of Croatian wines is the principal aim of the com-prehensive brand strategy of the

Association of Winemakers en-titled Vina Croatia Vina Mo-saica. This unique visual identity of all the activities in the project has been defined through graphic solutions of the strategy compris-ing a logo for Croatian wines and four logos from the four Croatian wine regions Slavonia and the Croatian Danube Basin, Croatian Uplands, Istria and Kvarner and Dalmatia. Similar events provide a unique opportunity to present Croa-tian wines and introduce them to a substantial and demanding American market. I am aware of a large number of challenges, as well as immense opportunities for Croatian winemakers with a product of unique quality and recognition, emphasised Ivica Matoevi, Vice-President of the Executive Board of the Win-emakers Association, speaking at the annual wine tasting.

ANNUAL WINE TASTING VINA CROATIA VINA MOSAICA NEW YORK 2015

New York showing huge interest in Croatian winesAnnual wine tasting is the theme of the The promotion of the Croatian wines in the USA, co-financed through the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the State Budget

Such events are a unique opportunity to present

Croatian wines to a demanding and immense

American market

The order placed by the Japa-nese client Fuji Trading at the recently held Tokyo-based fair Super Market Trade Show, where several Croatian se-lected wines were presented, clearly shows that the qual-ity of Croatian wines has been recognised in the Far East. The first contact with this Japanese client was established in Sep-tember 2014, near Zadar, where, in addition to locally produced wines, Belje wines were also

presented. Nevertheless, Frank-ovka wine produced by PP Ora-hovica aroused specific interest. As stated by Kraljevski vino-gradi sources, whose winemak-ers visited the Japanese fair, half of Croatian wines presented at the fair were sold instantly. We optimistically believe that a new order of Croatian wines for the Japanese market will be placed in the not too distant future. We are prepared for a product range expansion with high quality and

top quality wines, stressed Jo-sip Toki, Director of Business Unit for Fruit-Growing and Viti-culture PP Orahovica. It is im-

portant to highlight that, as it is not easy to compete with the top quality wines from France, Italy, Spain, California and Chile. Super Market Trade Show was visited by almost 85,000 busi-ness people retail centre own-ers, as well as owners of stores, restaurants and hotels. It has to be stressed that, in addition to Croatian wine sales in China and Japan, wine makers are expecting the sale of Croatian wines also to South Korea soon. (S.S.)

Super Market Trade Show in Tokyo

Croatian wines in the Far EastWe optimistically believe that a new order of Croatian wines for the Japanese market will be placed in the not too distant future


of mandatory pension funds in January 2015 total nett assets1,713,355

f f members 8.9 billion( (

Boris Odori

Mandatory pension funds (PBZ/Croatia osi-guranje, Erste Plavi, Raiffeisen OMF and AZ fund) in Croatia had 1,713,355 members at the end of January with total net assets of almost 8.9 billion.

Despite the general belief that the Croatian pension system does not achieve desirable results, it is positioned near the top in terms of produced real return amongst other European countries.

Profit for membersAccording to the global pension statistics of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De-velopment (OECD Global Pen-sion Statistics), since the begin-ning of their work in 2002 until 2013, Croatian pension funds produced an average real annual return (real being deducted from average by the inflation rate) of 3.09% (it totalled 3.75% by the end of 2014). This result is bet-ter than the average real return of German (2.56%), Swiss (2.34%), Belgian (2.9%) and Italian (1.62%) pension funds. On this list, on which Croatia ranks six, between Luxemburg (3.63%) and Finland (2.93%), there are Polish pension funds with average real annual return of 4.24%.President of the Association for the Management of Pen-

sion Fund and Pension Insur-ance Companies (UMFO) and Board President of PBZ Croatia Osiguranje Mandatory Pension Funds Dubravko timac, high-lighted at the presentation of the Association that mandatory pen-sion funds produced an average return of 11.36% during 2014. In other words, the funds earned over 1.50 for each 13 invested. During the past three years, aver-age return was 9.32%. Now, af-

ter almost 13 years of work, the mandatory pension systems pro-duced an average annual return of 6.06%, timac said.With this level of return, man-datory pension funds managed to produce by 2015 a total of 2.7 billion in new value, that is, profit for members. The average member from 2002 has 7,135 on his account, and deposited 5,365. Therefore, his current profit equates to 1,770, timac

highlighted, adding that the pen-sion system, which relies ex-clusively on the Pillar 1, cannot be sustainable long-term. This means that the Pillar II in Croatia is very important for the sustain-ability of the pension system, timac said.It is important to mention that according to the models that consider all relevant parameters, the present 75% of contributions paid to Pillar I result in 54.14% of total pension, and 25% of contributions paid to the Pillar II result in 45.86% of total pension income.

Satisfied and not satisfiedFurthermore, results of the sur-vey, conducted by the Ipsos puls Agency covering 1100 par-ticipants in mid-2014, show that 30.7% of people believe that the contributions for Pillar I should reduce, and those for Pillar II should increase. Therefore, both experts and public feel that the state of Pillar I is extremely criti-cal with uncertain stability and future, UMFO Director, Dijana Bojeta Markoja, pointed out. She also added that al-most 40% of the survey par-ticipants are both satisfied and dissatisfied with the pen-sion system.The survey showed that the pub-lic, especially the young and middle aged, are not focused on planning their living condi-tion after retirement. Therefore, 29.9% of the survey participants think about their retirement peri-od only occasionally, and 24.1% never think about it, whereas 13.2% think about very often, Dijana Bojeta Markoja pointed out.

Mandatory pension funds

Croatia between Luxemburg and Finland According to global pension statistics, Croatian pension funds produced a real annual return of 3.09% between 2002 and 2013, which is better than German, Swiss, Belgian and Italian pension funds

Mandatory pension funds earnings stood at 2.7 billion at the

beginning of 2015

At the first presentation of this independent, non-party, non-profit professional association, it was highlighted that UMFO was esta-blished on the initiative of mandatory and voluntary pension com-panies. The goals of the association are to promote and represent the interests of mandatory and voluntary pension companies and their members, raise awareness on the importance of pension funds, and impart general information on the pension system and its long-term sustainability, UMFO Director Dijana Bojeta Marko-ja highlighted.

UMFO


Sanja Pljea

Over the last several years, Croatia has been identi-fied as one of the best yacht and charter destinations in the Mediterranean, confirmed by statistical data according to which the charter business has seen annual growth rates through all segments. According to data presented by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, 2014 saw the ar-rival of 347,093 charter tour-ists to Croatia who recorded 2.4 million overnight stays and over 60,000 charterers. Simultane-ously, in 2014 Croatian ports reg-istered 3,305 active charter ves-sels and 61,085 charterers. There are currently 645 active charter companies in Croatia that gener-ated revenue of at least 0.17 bil-lion. Irrespective of the fact that growth is not substantial in terms of demand as it stands at around 2%, taking into account adverse weather conditions and the fact that Greek tourism has seen a recovery, I believe that charter companies here can consider

2014 successful, pointed out Branimir Maer from the Tour-ism Sector at the Croatian Cham-ber of Economy. He warned of an anomaly recurring for 10 years that can create insurmountable problems for the charter business in Croatia that supply exceeds demand.

A charter destination This is not a major issue during the peak tourist season when the demand for charter vessels is at its height, yet during pre-season and post-season an increasing num-ber of charter vessels remains in

port. In view of increasing oper-ating costs, high investment and competition, Maer also warned that, should this trend continue, it is uncertain how much longer charter companies will be able to operate profitably. A large num-ber of charter companies have already made substantial invest-ment in marketing and sales, in addition to normal quality up-grading. Nevertheless, without vigorous assistance provided by the state and competent in-stitutions, a significant growth in demand cannot be expected. Consequently, charter companies

anticipate a robust, organised and planned promotion of Croatia as a nautical destination at the na-tional level, stressed Maer. One of the steps towards more effective promotion is certainly a recently held specialised nautical fair - International Charter Expo 2015 - ICE in Opatija which cov-ered over 130 charter agencies from 25 countries, as well as over 200 local and foreign suppliers of equipment and service providers, all playing a vital role in charter-ing. Tino Prosenik, Director of Char-ter Expo 2015 ICE fair, em-phasised the fact that the first two fairs were organised solely for Croatian charter companies, whilst the recently held, Opatija-based fair, encompassed compa-nies globally, which shows the strength and the rle of Croatia as a charter destination. He stressed that over the last several years there has been increasing interest in larger vessels, with four or five cabins, as well as in catamarans. As a result, charter companies are adapting their fleets to client requirements.

CHARTER TOURISM

A problem in sight: supply exceeding demand In 2014, Croatian ports saw the arrival of 3,305 charter vessels and recorded 61,085 charterers arriving. The 645 active charter companies registered in Croatia showed revenue of at least 0.17 billion

in Croatia in 2014

347,093 nautical charter tourists(

The Zagreb-based company MMKSystems has been operating for 13 years, and its principal product is software for online bo-oking intended for charter companies and agencies, the so-called booking manager system. This is used by 200 charter com-panies and 1,400 charter agencies globally. As pointed out by Martina Babi, Director of Marketing and Sales at MMKSystems, irres-pective of the fact that at its start-up, its cli-ents were exclusively Croatian charter com-

panies, currently over 50% are non-Croatian clients. MMKSystems organises worksho-ps for charter companies and agencies as it did at the recently held Opatija-based char-ter fair. Martina Babi pointed out the fact that during each fair at which the company presents its product, it is customary to sign co-operation contracts with new clients who will be using its software. She added that the software is currently used by almost all charter companies and agencies in Croatia.

A Croatian product that conquered the world MMKSystems software for booking equips 1,400 agencies and 200 companies

pvinternational

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