The Currency [RF 4]
The Currency of Croatia since 1994 is Kuna (ISO 4217 code: HRK). It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute. The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian and the word lipa means "linden (lime) tree".
1 Croatian kuna = 0.1703 US dollars and 1.00 EUR = 7.53180 HRK
1 Croatian kuna = 0.1703 US dollars and 1.00 EUR = 7.53180 HRK
The Capital Markets [RF 3]
The Security Market of Croatia is open to both domestic and foreign investment equally with no restrictions. The Foreign Currency Act allows non-residents to subscribe, pay-in, purchase and sell securities in the Republic of Croatia in compliance with regulations of security transactions. The residents and non-residence are given the same treatment in borrowing and spending.
In January 2009, the government passed a Capital Market Act that focuses on:
This act also emphasized the importance of detailed disclosures and consequences of failure to disclose. It obligated the issuers to publish periodic financial reports as well as information about changes in corporate structure and voting rights.
The new Act improved securities regulation and increased transparency.
The Capital Market of Croatia is overseen by The Agency for Supervision of Financial Services (HANFA), headed by the Directorate for Supervision of
Agencies. All the information related to capital markets and legislation can be found on the website - www.hanfa.hr. Only an authorized company, such as brokerage houses and banks, may operate in securities in Croatia. Such activity must be licensed by the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency and entered in a court register. A brokerage company may only be a private or public limited company based in the Republic of Croatia and its only permitted activity is transactions in securities. According to national law, a brokerage company may establish a branch abroad in order to operate in securities in the respective country. Foreign brokerage companies which are authorized for transactions in securities may establish a branch in the Republic of Croatia, they must obtain a license from HANFA.
The consolidated and privatized banking sector is very advanced and becomes more competitive. More than 90 % of the total assets of the banking sector are foreign-owned. The three largest banks of Croatia are all foreign-owned. There are Zagrebacka Bank - 94.8 billion HRK in assets, holding 24.3% of total bank assets in Croatia; Privredna Bank - 64.7 billion HRK, holding 16.6% of total bank assets in Croatia; and Erste Steirmarkische Bank - 49.6 billion HRK, holding 12.7%.
The Capital Market is used to finance government expenditures. The Government debt instruments must be bought through an intermediary such as a commercial bank, and are tradable on exchanges.
The securities are traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) which was established in 1991. There are three tiers of securities traded on the ZSE. Companies must meet high disclosure and operating requirements to be fully listed. All the requirements can be found at www.zse.hr.
In January 2009, the government passed a Capital Market Act that focuses on:
- the supervision of investment companies, market operations and regulation of establishment of activities;
- the performance of investment activities and the offering of investment services;
- the rules of trading in market;
- the offering and quotation of securities on the organized market;
- the reporting requirements of quoted securities;
- market abuse;
- the settlement and payment of financial instruments transactions and the deposit of financial instruments;
- the authority and activities of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) with implementations
This act also emphasized the importance of detailed disclosures and consequences of failure to disclose. It obligated the issuers to publish periodic financial reports as well as information about changes in corporate structure and voting rights.
The new Act improved securities regulation and increased transparency.
The Capital Market of Croatia is overseen by The Agency for Supervision of Financial Services (HANFA), headed by the Directorate for Supervision of
Agencies. All the information related to capital markets and legislation can be found on the website - www.hanfa.hr. Only an authorized company, such as brokerage houses and banks, may operate in securities in Croatia. Such activity must be licensed by the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency and entered in a court register. A brokerage company may only be a private or public limited company based in the Republic of Croatia and its only permitted activity is transactions in securities. According to national law, a brokerage company may establish a branch abroad in order to operate in securities in the respective country. Foreign brokerage companies which are authorized for transactions in securities may establish a branch in the Republic of Croatia, they must obtain a license from HANFA.
The consolidated and privatized banking sector is very advanced and becomes more competitive. More than 90 % of the total assets of the banking sector are foreign-owned. The three largest banks of Croatia are all foreign-owned. There are Zagrebacka Bank - 94.8 billion HRK in assets, holding 24.3% of total bank assets in Croatia; Privredna Bank - 64.7 billion HRK, holding 16.6% of total bank assets in Croatia; and Erste Steirmarkische Bank - 49.6 billion HRK, holding 12.7%.
The Capital Market is used to finance government expenditures. The Government debt instruments must be bought through an intermediary such as a commercial bank, and are tradable on exchanges.
The securities are traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) which was established in 1991. There are three tiers of securities traded on the ZSE. Companies must meet high disclosure and operating requirements to be fully listed. All the requirements can be found at www.zse.hr.