In the premises of the Zagreb Mimara Museum, the Foreign Investors Council in Croatia presented the fifth edition of the White Book – a publication on the business and investment climate and obstacles for investment in Croatia. Along with the host, Mladen Fogec, President of the Foreign Investors Council in Croatia, the official presentation was attended by the Envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia and her advisor on economic affairs Marko Jurčić, Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Martina Dalić, DSc, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction and Physical Planning Predrag Štromar, Minister of Labour and Pension System Marko Pavić, MSc, and the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Prof. Boris Vujčić, DSc.
In his introductory presentation, the President of the Foreign Investors Council, Mr. Mladen Fogec, expressed his satisfaction with the publication of what is already the fifth edition of the White Book. He pointed out that the significance of foreign-owned Croatian companies for the Croatian economy is increasing every year, especially in the areas of income, investments and exports. Croatia needs to change its mentality and the manner in which foreign investors are perceived, Fogec concluded and expressed his gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Croatia for its current efforts aimed at accelerating reforms necessary for the increase of foreign and domestic investment.
The Envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Marko Jurčić, welcomed the new edition of the White Book as a valuable publication which has, until now, been recognized as such, and expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the FIC has been continuously and systematically working on the advancement of the investment climate.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Martina Dalić, DSc, greeted all members of the FIC and offered an overview of the current reforms implemented by the Government with the aim of advancing the investment climate and improving the conditions for conducting business for all Croatian entrepreneurs.
This was followed by a presentation held by Prof. Boris Vujčić, DSc, who presented the manner in which the productivity of companies influences exports and investment. Even though investment has begun to recover, it is still weaker than before the crisis, Vujčić said, remarking that the key generator for the growth of foreign investment is still retained profit, while equity investments are still moderate. Education and human capital are still of key importance for economic growth, Vujčić concluded and said that, in the development of its own measures and policies, Croatia must begin to compare itself to the best.
Finally, Hrvoje Stojić, chief editor of the White Book, presented six areas for which the FIC has prepared specific recommendations in relation to the improvement of the investment and business climate. Areas recognized by the FIC as being of key importance, which need to experience improvement in order to achieve better competitiveness, can be summarized under the following categories: legal uncertainty, tax obligations, parafiscal charges, public administration and judiciary, labour issues and access to financing.
Along with representatives of the leading investors, the meeting attracted 200 guests and representatives from Croatian institutions, ministries, government agencies, the diplomatic corps and leading businessmen in Croatia, among which were the President of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts academician Zvonko Kusić, Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joseph Gene Petrić, Vice-Presidents of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Želimir Kramarić and Tomislav Radoš, Deputy Director-General of the Croatian Employers’ Association Bernard Jakelić, entrepreneurs Davor Štern and Neven Vranković from Atlantic Group, Burak Baykan from Dogus Group, Viktor Pavlinić from Tele2, Michael Mueller from RBA, Head of the Croatian office of the European Investment Bank Anton Kovačev, Ambassadors of Australia, Germany, Ireland, Serbia and many others.
