Page 24 - bne magazine July 2022_20220704

24 I Companies & Markets bne July 2022
highlighted the workforce as another challenge especially for tourism, IT and construction companies in the country.
Bakshi also singled out the labour market, saying it had shrunk further in recent years in terms of skilled workforce. The company responded wth a successful recruitment drive within Croatia, as well as seeking foreign workers, predominantly from the Philippines, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Indonesia. However, Bakshi added, international recruitment adds to the labour costs, for example through commissions, travel, housing and food.
Croatia’s Rimac Group raises €500mn in series D investment round
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Croatian electric supercar producer Rimac Group said on June 1 it has raised €500mn in a series D investment round, putting the company’s value at over €2bn.
The fundraising was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and the private equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with participation from existing Rimac shareholders, including Porsche and InvestIndustrial, the company said in the statement.
Mate Rimac, CEO and founder of Rimac Group, remains the largest shareholder of the company.
“This latest Series D investment reflects Rimac’s success both in developing and delivering high-performance electrified vehicle components and in-house-developed hypercars.
The funds will be primarily used to further develop Rimac
“The intends to hire 700 people in 2022, open new offices in several locations across Europe and expand its new production facilities at
the campus”
Another major tourism company Valamar Rivera, said in
its presentation that retention of existing employees and attracting new ones are among its main needs. It warned of an increase of around 14% in the salaries for occupations such as chefs, waiters and receptionists.
Span’s Keca Vidovic said securing talent is the main obstacle to the company’s growth. “To grow more we have to employ more. We are importing people from Asia, employing as many as we can. Our growth would be much bigger if more resources were available,” Keca Vidovic said.
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Technology as it commences large-volume series production for global OEMs,” the company noted.
Rimac has been rapidly expanding and has become a significant global player. In November 2021, it launched a joint company with Bugatti Automobiles, Bugatti Rimac. The Rimac Group is the majority shareholder in the new company, with a 55% stake.
Meanwhile, the company started building a campus near Zagreb to accommodate all its operations. The Rimac Campus will also become the HQ of Bugatti Rimac which is responsible for the future development of both the Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili hypercar brands.
“Rimac has ambitious growth plans in the next few years, and we are humbled by the support of significant new investors like SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs Asset Management believing in our vision. Our gratitude also goes to Porsche and InvestIndustrial who have played an important part in our success so far and reinforced their support with new investment,” Mate Rimac commented in the statement.
As the company intends to rapidly scale up its operations, it intends to hire 700 people in 2022, open new offices
in several locations across Europe and expand its new production facilities at the campus.