Croatia is an interesting market considering the existing economic ties, and there is room for stronger cooperation, especially in the fields of energy and tourism – said Sergey Gorkov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Management Board, to the gathered journalists in Moscow.
Regarding the latter, Gorkov emphasizes that a campaign for Russian tourists is underway, but the new visa regime that came into effect with Croatia’s accession to the European Union.
-There has been no progress in resolving this issue so far, and it will definitely be one of the topics at the meeting with Croatian ministers – says Gorkov, who is returning to Croatia this week to meet with government representatives as well as local entrepreneurs.
Business operations in Croatia, where the first rebranded branch was opened at the end of April, are proceeding, as he says, according to plan, and in the next three years, it will be based on organic growth.
We want to do what we did in Kazakhstan, where we became the fourth bank in the country from 26th in just a few years, and we will not be satisfied with a position among the top 10 – emphasized Mark Arnold, head of Sberbank for Europe.
He stresses that there will be no new acquisitions during this period as the priority is growth in countries where Sberbank is already present.
The first phase of establishing operations is underway, and we have ambitious goals in the region, but this cannot happen overnight. Sberbank has no exit strategies; in the countries where we are present, we intend to be long-term partners – he emphasizes.
The largest Russian creditor has so far confirmed cooperation with the Atlantic Group of Emil Tedeschi and Todorić’s Agrokor, and they emphasize that they want to act as a kind of bridge to Eastern markets for entrepreneurs.
-We will provide support to domestic companies not only in Croatia or Russia but also in other markets where we are present, as was the case with the Atlantic Group and Kazakhstan – Gorkov cited as an example of cooperation.
The first quarter ended with a profit of 88.5 billion RUB, which is a decline of about four percent compared to the same period last year.
This bank does not want to disclose estimates for the first half of the year, but they say they are satisfied with the development of business.
