Croatia woos Punjab investors

The Croatian Ambassador to India Dino Debeljuh is taking initiatives to attract investment in Croatia from the Punjab region.

He flagged off the first Indian tourist delegation to Croatia of 15 members. The team comprises industrialists, doctors, real estate developers and tourists. It is the first organised delegation from India to visit Croatia.

Apart from this, he is holding meetings with other entrepreneurs and is planning to launch a publicity campaign to attract Indian tourists.

Debeljuh told Business Standard, "Croatia's appeal is its combination of culture, history, cuisine, accessibility and affordability. At present, of the 9,000,000 tourists visiting Croatia annually, only about 500 are from India. Of the estimated 2,200,000 Indian tourists who will go abroad, we want more Indian tourists to visit us."

"We will launch a publicity campaign to attract tourists. After Chandigarh, our campaign will start in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. We are also holding dialogues with Bollywood producers and directors to get them to shoot their films in Croatia which offers European scenic beauty at much less cost."

He said there was a huge potential for investing in Croatia as it would become a member of European Union in the next couple of years.

"There is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs in constructing, renovating, buying resorts, hotels, restaurants, apartments et al," he added.

The ambassador said Croatia was also keen to increase bilateral trade with India, which now stands at $43 million.

He said Indian exports to his country were mainly cotton fabric, while light engineering machinery was exported from his country to India. Croatia's economy has been growing at the rate of 5 per cent and tourism constitutes about 23 per cent of the GDP.

In Croatia, foreign investors have the same rights, obligations and legal status as domestic investors, provided the condition of reciprocity is met. Foreign investors can acquire rights to additional guarantees that are not given to domestic investors.

The rights acquired through capital investments cannot be withdrawn by law or any legal act. Croatia also insures free repatriation of profits and capital on disinvestments.

He said that property is cheaper in Croatia than in Chandigarh and there were better chances of appreciation.

Giving an example, he said with an investment of about Rs 12 to 15 crore (Rs 120 to Rs 150 million), one could buy a good hotel in the heart of the capital city Zagreb, which had a population similar to that of Chandigarh. He added that two Indians had recently made an investment of about Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) in the hotel sector.

Naveen Sharma, a businessman and trustee of Millionaires Trust, who has also written an e-book on Croatia has set up an Indian resort and restaurant there. K R Arya, chairman of the Rehabilitation Council of India, has set up a hospital in Croatia while KK Dheer, another entrepreneur, has started a school.

"Foreign legal entities can invest capital on a contractual basis, invest in a company, bank or insurance firm. If a foreign person establishes a company in Croatia, it is considered to be domestic legal entity and it may acquire real estate ownership rights. Indians can invest in real estate. They can buy the property in the name of their fully-owned corporation as they are permitted to establish and own 100 per cent share in a Croatian company," said Sharma. 

Sharma added that Croatia had recently relaxed its visa norms and made them people-friendly. ''Visas are easily available, almost in one day. Croatia now grants 500 tourist visas and 300 business visas to Indians every year,'' he said.

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