Kosor Says 2010 Will Be a Difficult Year
Zagreb | 20 October 2009 |
Jadranka Kosor
Kosor was speaking at the Investor of the Year 2009 Awards, organised by the Export and Investment Promotion Agency in cooperation with the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship Ministry.
She said that the next year can be regarded with moderate optimism "if we put our house in order and adopt a realistic budget", Radionet reported.
This year, GDP is expected to contract by 5 per cent, before rising in 2010 by a modest 0.5 per cent. The inflation rate for 2010 is expected to stand at around 3 per cent, she said.
Kosor said that the government would continue to insist on cost-cutting in the public sector, reminding the managers of public companies that they had to reduce salaries in their companies by 10 per cent.
Speaking of measures undertaken by the government to promote entrepreneurship and investment, Kosor said that 506 million kuna (69 million euros) had been invested in the development of enterprise zones since 2004, which, she added, resulted in the creation of 31,000 jobs.
The government aims is to ensure that Croatia becomes one of the 30 most attractive investment destinations in the world in 2010, she said.
Last year, foreign direct investments exceeded three billion euros, while in the first half of this year they fell to 913 million euros, Kosor noted
Packaging glass manufacturer Vetropack Straza of Hum Na Sutli won the Investor of the Year award.
The award for investment with the highest number of newly-employed workers went to the Solaris company of Novigrad, which manufactures photovoltaic modules and equipment.
Plastic tubing manufacturer Vargon won the award as the most innovative investor, while wood veneer manufacturer Decospan Mato Furnir of Oprisavci, near Slavonski Brod, received the award as the best investor in underdeveloped areas.
Stankovci municipality in the Zadar hinterland won the award as the most successful local authority in attracting investment.
2009-10-20 20:18:12