Agrokor: Political Aspects of the Crisis of Croatia’s Biggest Conglomerate

Abstract

When the conglomerate Agrokor, the biggest privately-owned company in Croatia and the Balkans, found itself on the verge of bankruptcy in 2017 due to its outstanding debts, the whole Croatian economy was under a threat of collapse. Since Agrokor accounts for 15% of the country’s economy and employs approximately 60000 people, the situation was particularly alarming for the government, which decided to intervene by starting the bailout process. Taking into consideration the fact that Agrokor’s biggest creditors were Russian banks Sberbank and VTB, the crisis also had certain political implications. In the midst of the critical situation, the Croatian leadership had to coordinate the country’s domestic and global policies, attempting to find a common ground with Russia and surmount the crisis.