In the new issue read Dossier Rimac – all opportunities and dangers

If he were to decide from scratch today, Mate Rimac would probably not develop his business in Croatia. Last week at the ‘Bug Future Show’, he stated that staying in Croatia is his big mistake and claimed that his life is ‘much harder because we are doing this in Croatia’. This statement further divided the already polarized public regarding Rimac: some adore him without a shred of doubt; others find him unlikable and question every step he takes. The ‘Dossier’ Rimac that we publish in this issue of Lider is an attempt to find criteria by which the public, whether they like Mate Rimac or not, will in the future evaluate every news that comes from the Rimac Group with less cheering and more objectivity. All about Rimac was learned by Goran Litvan.

When a representative of the tenants of a building in Zagreb went to the City Hall to resolve a problem, the clerk was taken aback upon learning in which neighborhood the building is located. He told the tenant representative: ‘If we were to start enforcing regulations, we would demolish half the buildings in your neighborhood!’ This is the essence of the problem with illegal construction in Croatia: the prescribed penalties are not insignificant, yet it is clear that the violators of the regulations are not afraid of them, so perhaps it is time to seriously discuss classifying illegal construction as a criminal offense. Edis Felić writes about illegal construction for which there are no legal obstacles to declare it a criminal offense.

Although he has been in the position of HUP’s chief economist for just over two months, Hrvoje Stojić has encountered quite a bit of analytical work, from the introduction of a ‘solidarity’ tax to entering the eurozone to the mass penalization of entrepreneurs for raising prices. Years after the last financial crisis, he was regarded among journalists as Croatia’s Dr. Doom, and although his forecasts are still among the ‘sharper’ compared to most of his analytical colleagues, the estimates and messages sent to the public (and the authorities, when they are willing to listen) are very thoughtful, economically well-balanced, and, importantly, feasible. Gordana Gelenčer spoke with Hrvoje Stojić.

We see the guys for whom this is a way of life at bus stations, on buses… We see that they are tired, that their clothing is not suitable for winter conditions, their gaze wanders as if they do not want to be asked who they are, where they come from, and where they are going, and they often look like they haven’t eaten for days. That was Ayman’s story, but it is no longer. He is neither hungry nor hiding his gaze, and he has no reason to because Ayman is a successful entrepreneur in Croatia. How Ayman walked from Egypt to Europe and how he became an entrepreneur in Croatia was learned by Ksenija Puškarić.

With the new issue comes a special supplement ‘Construction and Real Estate’.