ZAGREB, July 2, 2019 – Economy Minister Darko Horvat said on Tuesday that GDP was growing primarily owing to the state’s strong contribution to the implementation of major investment projects and that the second quarter would be better than the first, when GDP grew 3.9%.
Speaking at a conference on exports, organised by the Lider business weekly, Horvat said that independent economic analysts last autumn said that private investments had been kick-started but that big state infrastructure projects were lacking.
“That is what is happening now – investments worth 20 billion kuna. A 11 billion kuna investment cycle has been launched based on projects funded with grants, without loans or guarantees. That is one of the reasons for the GDP growth of 3.9%,” said Horvat, expressing confidence that GDP growth in Q2 would be even higher.
He said that EU funds were changing Croatia because they helped launch major infrastructure investments but also because there had been an increase in the share of technology, software and licence imports and the transfer of know-how in the structure of imports.
Horvat also expressed confidence that exporters positively viewed the government’s efforts to introduce the euro.
Addressing the event, the head of the northern Croatian Međimurje County, Matija Posavec, said that his county was the most successful in Croatia according to many parameters.
He said that the county’s exports were twice the volume of imports, that the county was absorbing EU funds at a high rate and that it worked constantly to improve the business climate.
Owing to local workers’ first-class productivity, foreign companies are moving their plants to Međimurje, he said.
He added that 40 business zones were active in the county, that investments were made in the education system and that construction permits were issued in 1-3 days.
The unemployment rate is at 4.4%, the county head said, calling on the state to further reduce the tax burden on the business sector and help raise wages.
More news about Croatia’s economic growth can be found in the Business section.
