Selling to the Government
As an EU member, Croatia is part of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. The new Croatian Public Procurement Law entered into force in December 2016. The Law is based on the latest EU procurement directives and provides for the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (“MEAT”) as the sole award criterion. The Law applies to all purchases made by government bodies including those of the local government and majority state-owned companies and institutions. These institutions (which include some of the key utility and transportation companies, most hospitals, schools, some banks, and insurance companies) are obliged by law to perform most of their procurement by public tender.
These tenders are announced in the online Electronic Public Tender Advertisement. This is the official venue for publishing public tenders in Croatia. While the website is available only in the Croatian language, translate option in the Google Chrome browser allows foreigners to understand the announced tenders. An additional online source of tender documentation is the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), an EU website dedicated to all European tender announcements, available in all official EU languages, including English.
The tenders require bids to be submitted in the Croatian language. Therefore, using a local partner (or at least a translator) is essential. The U.S. Commercial Service in Zagreb can help U.S. exporters find a reliable local partner.
U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agency officials expressing support for the U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government. Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information.
Financing of Projects
Major projects in Croatia are often financed by European Union funds and Multilateral Development Banks.
Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales
Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs. The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank. Learn more by contacting the:
Commercial Liaison Office to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Commercial Liaison Office to the World Bank
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
The EBRD is the largest single investor in the region and mobilizes significant foreign direct investment beyond its own financing. It is owned by 66 countries and two intergovernmental institutions. But despite its public sector shareholders, it invests mainly in private enterprises, usually together with commercial partners.
It provides project financing for banks, industries, and businesses, both new ventures and investments in existing companies. It also works with publicly owned companies, to support privatization, restructuring state-owned firms and improvement of municipal services. The Bank uses its close relationship with governments in the region to promote policies that will bolster the business environment.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Miramarska 23, 3rd Floor
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel: +385 1 6000310
The World Bank
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. It is not a bank in the common sense. It is made up of two unique development institutions owned by 185 member countries—the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
Each institution plays a different but collaborative role to advance the vision of inclusive and sustainable globalization. The IBRD focuses on middle income and credit-worthy poor countries, while IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world. Together the Bank provides low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.
World Bank - Croatia
Radnička cesta 80/IX
10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel: +385 1 2357230
Export-Import Bank
This is an independent U.S. Government agency that helps finance the overseas sales of U.S. goods and services. In almost 70 years, the Ex-Im Bank has supported more than $400 billion in U.S. exports.
The Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to create jobs through exports. It provides guarantees of working capital loans for U.S. exporters, guarantees the repayment of loans, or makes loans to foreign purchasers of U.S. goods and services. The Ex-Im Bank also provides credit insurance that protects U.S. exporters against the risks of non-payment by foreign buyers for political or commercial reasons. The Ex-Im Bank does not compete with commercial lenders but assumes the risks they cannot accept. It must always conclude that there is reasonable assurance of repayment on every transaction financed.
To qualify for Ex-Im Bank support, the product or service must have significant U.S. content and must not affect the U.S. economy adversely. The Ex-Im Bank supports the sale of U.S. exports worldwide and will support the financing of the export of any type of good or service, including commodities, as long as they are not military-related. For more information, please visit https://www.exim.gov/.
European Investment Bank (EIB)
The EIB is the European Union’s bank owned by European Union Member States. As the largest multilateral borrower and lender by volume, EIB provides finance and expertise for sound and sustainable investment projects which contribute to the furthering of EU policy objectives. The bank generally finances one-third of each project, but it can finance as much as 50%. More than 90% of EIB’s activity is focused on Europe, but the bank also implements the financial aspects of the EU’s external and development policies.
The EIB Group consists of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIF focuses on innovative financing for SMEs. The EIB is the majority shareholder with the remaining equity held by the European Union and other European private and public bodies.
European Investment Bank
Hektorovićeva 2,
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel: +385 1 6448208
Head of Office: Mr. Anton Kovačev
Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR)
The HBOR is the development and export bank of the Croatian government. It was established with the objective of financing the reconstruction and development of the Croatian economy.
Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Strossmayerov trg 9
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel: +385 1 4591666
Fax: +385 1 459 721