The company has been operating in Croatia for 49 years.
The fact that a major company such as Coca-Cola has been operating in Croatia for decades shows that it is possible for multinationals to have their production facilities located in the country. The government’s goal is to improve the operating conditions by implementing the National Reform Programme and by reducing various non-tax levies by 25 to 30%. I believe Coca-Cola has also benefited from tax reforms implemented at the beginning of the year, said Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalić, at the presentation of the Study on the socioeconomic impact of Coca-Cola in Croatia in 2016, reports Večernji List on September 12, 2017.
The study covered the direct impact and contribution of Coca-Cola HBC Croatia and Coca-Cola Adria, as well as an indirect contribution achieved in partnerships with 1,100 suppliers and 32,800 customers. The first Croatian bottle of Coca-Cola was produced at the Zagreb plant 49 years ago, and today it provides 80 percent of the company’s total offer of non-alcoholic drinks for the Croatian market, which is 142 million litres a year.
With 463 employees, Coca-Cola employs 24 percent of workers of the Croatian non-alcoholic beverage industry.
“The total value of Coca-Cola’s contribution in the form of wages, taxes and profits in 2016 was 1.8 billion kunas or 0.5 percent of total GDP. It directly generates 219 million kunas of added value, and with each kuna of value added we support the creation of another 7 kunas of value added in the Croatian economy”, said general manager of Coca Cola HBC for Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia Ruža Tomić Fontana.
Additionally, each job in Coca-Cola provides another 18 jobs within the value chain, she added, adding that, from the overall contribution of Coca-Cola on GDP, up to 1.17 billion kunas or 65 percent are tax payments, which represents one percent of the total amount of tax revenues paid in Croatia in 2016.
The Coca-Cola franchise director for Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia Stojan Ivanov said that the company had invested 9 million kunas in community projects since 2012. It reduced water consumption by 16 percent, and waste production by 39 percent.
Minister Dalić denied that she spoke with the leadership of Coca-Cola about their interest in Agrokor’s Jamnica and pointed out that the future ownership structure of Agrokor’s companies would depend on the creditors.
Translated from Večernji List.
