The annual business awards were presented in Zagreb this morning.
Večernji List and Poslovni Dnevnik have presented the most prestigious business awards in Croatia for 2017, reports N1 on December 4, 2017.
According to the decision by the expert jury, composed of leading Croatian business and economy journalists, as well as representatives of the professional organisations, the Businessperson of the Year is Mate Rimac, the owner of Rimac Automobili. The Business Event of the Year is the adoption and implementation of the Law on Extraordinary Administration (so-called “Lex Agrokor”). This award was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Martina Dalić.
Readers of Večernji List also had an opportunity to select their favourites. They chose Željko Kukurin from the Valamar Riviera as the Businessperson of the Year, and the EU’s decision to fund the construction of the Pelješac Bridge as the Event of the Year. This award was presented to Minister of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković.
In addition to these awards, additional prizes were presented in categories of the best small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
The award presentation ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who said that 2017 was one of the most challenging years since independence, with a large number of unexpected events. He announced the continuation of the implementation of structural reforms since the reduction of macroeconomic imbalances is key to the further continuous growth of the economy.
“In this context, the government had a continuous and permanent aim to implement its programme, on the principles we have advocated during the electoral campaign,” said Plenković. He pointed out that the tax reform was implemented, which lessened the burden on entrepreneurs and led to higher revenues. There was also an increase in the spending of citizens, which all resulted in the growth of the Croatian economy. “It is clear that estimates show that the economic growth will surely be over three percent this year, which encourages us in terms of results,” said Plenković.
He also pointed out the results of fiscal consolidation, adding that the budget has recorded a primary surplus for the second year in a row. Plenković said that the government wanted to strengthen the fiscal situation further and reduce public debt so that in the coming year the public debt should fall below 80 percent of GDP. In the following years, Croatia will slowly move towards the fulfilment of the Maastricht criteria, which are the precondition for the introduction of the euro.
Discussing the adoption of the Lex Agrokor, Plenković said that it prevented all possible negative consequences for the Croatian economy, numerous suppliers, entrepreneurs and family farms. “We have prevented things which many people do not even perceive. When something does not happen, then people see the situation differently. I want to remind you that this was one of the most important events this year, which should change the way of doing business in Croatia,” said Plenković.
“The government will continue with the reforms and firmly stick to the direction it has set out – to keep the pace of smart fiscal consolidation, meeting the criteria for the mid-term adoption of the euro and enabling Croatian economy to continue to grow at this rate,” concluded Plenković.
Translated from N1.
