New challengers thoughtfully conquer the market even in crisis

Among 164 new players, as many as 53 companies grew by more than 40 percent. Some of them were established for one-off projects, primarily in construction. However, new challengers also include companies from other sectors that are developing much better than their declining sectors. Konikom, Babić, Makromikro, and others are examples of new challengers who thoughtfully conquer the market even in crisis.

IN THE NEW ISSUE OF THE BUSINESS WEEKLY LEADER, TAKE A STEP FURTHER AND LEARN MUCH MORE ABOUT CURRENT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

So far, Kosor can only boast of rhetorical readiness for cuts and taking responsibility. However, there is no development strategy, and the crisis is crying out for ‘non-political’ moves. Why the Prime Minister has failed the crisis management test in a year is revealed to us by Matilda Bačelić.

In the elite company of the thousand largest companies in Croatia according to financial results for the past year, 164 new companies have entered. Although among them are a few companies that appeared on the largest list in previous years but did not submit their reports for 2008 on time (and therefore did not make it to the list for that year), most are newly established companies and those that have found the recipe for growth in a modest year and difficult business conditions.

The business weekly Lider thus brings a list of companies that appeared in 2009 among the largest, with total revenues growing by 40 percent or more. Interestingly, among the 164 new players, as many as 53 companies grew by more than 40 percent, while among the ‘old’ companies on the list of the thousand largest, there are only 26 such examples left. More in the weekly topic from the pen of Bojana Božanić.

While half of the ‘disappearance’ is explained by the rise in unemployment, and more than 50,000 employees have retired, another 10 to 15 thousand employees have transitioned into the gray economy without layoffs. While the government joyfully announces every new figure of reduced unemployment, a much more serious problem looms from the ‘background’ – the decline in employment. From April 2008 to April this year, 130 thousand people have disappeared from the labor market! That is even 10 percent of employees, mostly in the private sector. More in the story by Gordana Gelenčer.

The economic crisis has brought more than 300 notary offices to the brink of collapse, the business weekly Lider learns. According to data from the Croatian Chamber of Public Notaries, the number of services provided by public notaries last year fell by 40 percent compared to the previous year, 2008, and in the first five months of this year, a further decline of 50 percent was recorded.

The fate of Hypo Group has not yet been decided. Even after the bank’s capital was strengthened with one and a half billion euros and a restructuring plan was developed, the new management still cannot sleep peacefully. Gordana Gelenčer spoke with Gottwald Kranebitter, who took over the helm of the troubled bank just three months ago, and Markus Ferstl, the head of Hypo Croatia, who claims to Lider that the bank is doing well and that Austrian events have not been reflected in the domestic market. 

The restructuring that must be completed by autumn and the new law on HRT should be understood as historical moments for HRT because it has reached a wall in terms of losses, debts, and revenues, leading to an unsustainable situation. This cannot be changed even by the fee that the authorities use to keep Prisavlje in uncertainty and submission. The crisis is also intensifying with marketing, which recorded a 20 percent drop in advertising two years ago, and this trend continues. More in the story by Kristina Kardum and Željka Laslavić ‘Key changes at Prisavlje left to officials’.

Our advisor, Prof. Dr. Hrvoje Kačer, writes about changes in the law. Did you know that from July 15, craftsmen are liable for debts with their personal property?! The Constitutional Court decided to correct the ‘injustice’ that craftsmen guarantee only with the property entered into the craft, while individual traders guarantee with their entire property. According to the new law, if a craftsman does not settle his obligations, creditors will be able to seize all his property, including inherited or gifted property as well as the property of his spouse.

In Business Knowledge, read about finances. Indeed, recognitions and titles can be a good guide in seeking a financial advisor, but they do not indicate personality, ability, behavior, and honesty. The essence is in finding the right person, not a person with the right titles. How to avoid mistakes in selection?

In the World section, read about G8 and G20. It has been agreed that the budget deficits of advanced economies will be halved by 2013 and that higher capital reserves will be imposed on banks, but again – in principle. Here, Obama achieved much better results, but at home – American banks will only be able to invest up to three percent of their own capital in hedge funds.

The bosses knew everything, claims Jérôme Kerviel at his trial, who nearly destroyed Société Générale. The scandal was uncovered in January 2008, but Kerviel’s trial only began on June 8 of this year. He is officially charged with illegal access to computers, abuse of trust, and forgery. These are fraudulent transactions on which Société Générale lost 4.9 billion euros. The ‘calm Frenchman’ faces up to five years in prison, up to 375 thousand euros in fines, and payment of damages up to 4.9 billion euros. More in the feature. (G. J.)

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