CROATIA

Why Croatia could be a great place for you to invest

• Peace was achieved in 1995 and from 1999 the economy started to grow with the last six years showing a 4.2% average annual growth rate.
• In 2003, a record 137 kilometres of modern highway were opened, connecting the central part of the country with the Adriatic coast, providing more potential for future rental income and capital growth.
• Croatia is a country with low inflation (0.9% in 2003) and a stable rate of exchange that has remained at 7.5 Kuna per Euro (pegged currency), so the currency risk for investors is significantly reduced.
• There are 46 banks operating in Croatia with 23 majority foreign-owned banks controlling around 90% of the total banking assets – a sign of general confidence in this emerging economy.
• Croatia has enormous development potential with a well-established legal and institutional framework, a strong manufacturing tradition, a highly educated labour pool, a modern communication system and a strong presence of West European financial institutions.
• With a controlled development policy, there’s a real prospect of property prices matching those of some of the more established Mediterranean destinations in the medium to longer term.
• Relative to other emerging markets Croatia may seem expensive. But with more than a thousand islands and nearly 6,000 kilometres of breathtaking coastline, Croatia could become the property buyer’s number one choice in Europe.