LUKA BURILOVIĆ
INTERVIEW
CONSTANT GROWTH OF CROATIAN ECONOMY
President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce
In 2015, economic growth stood at 2.2%, and last year at 3.0%. This year's growth is expected to remain on the same level
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n an interview for Diplomacy & Commerce magazine, President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Barilović says that the most important things for further economic growth are consistency and removing barriers in doing business. This will bring a better business climate, investors and create new jobs. According to your estimation, how much will the Croatian GDP grow this year, and, generally speaking, how good is this year going to be for the Croatian economy considering various turbulences it went through? ― The GDP data for the Q1 shows that domicile demand did grow during this period, as did the export of goods and services which was more dynamic than in the Q1 of last year. However, this growth is not accompanied by an adequate production increase. The available data for the upcoming period shows that similar trends continued into the Q2. In the first five months of this year, retail recorded a growth that was more dynamic relative to last year's, while the industrial production growth has been considerably slowing down. Additionally and despite the dynamic export growth, the commodity
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Focus
GERMANY 2017
balance shows an even more pronounced hike in import and a higher deficit. Which direction should the policy makers take in terms of boosting competitiveness of the Croatian economy? ― Innovation is the key factor in the competitiveness of the Republic of Croatia and in other countries which are similar to the Republic of Croatia (small, open economies) which cannot build their competitiveness on economy of volume. Hence, innovation, in such countries, is the driving force behind productivity, higher efficiency, and generating new markets. Investing in research and development should also result in production of new, innovative products and services, or in finding innovative solutions which add value and help
MOST OF OUR REVENUE FROM GERMANY IS GENERATED BY THEIR TOURISTS
companies to position themselves higher up the global value chain thus increasing their competitiveness and export. Is your proposal to adopt the new format of export assistance and assistance in attracting investments to the satisfaction of the Croatian government? ― Export assistance has been our core business throughout our history. In terms of our cooperation with the government, it would be more accurate to say that our Chamber is coopearing with governments in the best interest and to the benefit of its members. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce was the first chamber to open its door to regional markets following the war, and promote the importance of export. We have been continously and actively developing services that support export in line with the needs of our business community. Also, we are going to start implementing a new business strategy with strong emphasis on internationalization of the Croatian economy. How does this fit into your idea about internationalizing the Chamber through
