Austrian companies operating in Croatia took part in a survey.
More than half of the representatives of Austrian companies operating in Croatia, which participated in a survey conducted by the Austrian Foreign Trade Office, believe that in the next year the general business climate and economic conditions in Croatia will improve and that they will consequently increase their investments, reports tportal.hr on January 31, 2017.
Director of the Austrian Foreign Trade Office Sonja Holocher-Ertl presented on Tuesday the results of the survey conducted in October 2016, with the participation of 121 companies owned by Austrians.
In Croatia, there are about 650 Austrian companies, of which 121 companies participated in the survey. Of these 121 companies, 49 percent are engaged in providing services, 34 percent are subsidiaries for the distribution of Austrian products and services, while just 17 percent are engaged in production in Croatia.
Of the 121 companies surveyed, 55 percent believe that in the next 12 months the economic situation and climate in Croatia will improve. On the other hand, 39 percent think that it will remain unchanged, while six percent expect worsening. Regarding the last year, 42 percent of respondents indicated that the economic climate had improved, 45 percent that it had remained unchanged, while 13 percent said that the state of the economy and the business climate had worsened in 2016.
Representatives of 64 companies said that their total revenues increased in 2016, 34 companies had revenues at about the same level, while the remaining 23 companies recorded a decline in revenues. For this year, 81 Austrian companies are optimistic and expect revenue growth in 2017, 36 companies expect that the revenues will be unchanged, while 4 expect a decline of revenues.
An increase in the number of employees in the past year was registered by 37 companies, while in the next 12 months an increase in the number of employees is planned by 50 companies.
Regarding investment volume, last year 28 companies registered an increase in investments, 77 companies kept them at the same level, while 16 companies recorded a decrease. For this year, Austrian businesses are more optimistic: 51 companies expect to increase investment volume, while just 12 companies expect a decrease.
The vast majority of respondents said that legal certainty (79 companies), the reduction of bureaucracy and legal provisions and regulations (75 companies) and the predictability of economic policies (58 companies) were the top three regulatory elements which would make Croatia even more attractive for Austrian companies.
