Croatia's Ministry of Finance used a Zagreb Stock Exchange panel on the domestic market’s largest sustainability-linked bond (SLB) issuance by a private non-bank company to outline priorities for developing Croatia’s capital markets, including work to optimise the legislative framework and expand market infrastructure tools. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Marko Primorac framed SLBs as a practical instrument to support the green transition and deepen a financial system he described as relatively bank-centric, and also highlighted Croatia’s push to integrate central and south-eastern European stock exchanges with a central body based in Zagreb. Primorac said government priorities over the coming period centre on four pillars: decarbonisation, digitalisation, investment in education, and demography, and pointed to SLB issuance as aligned with the green transition pillar. He added that the ministry is considering, alongside green instruments, potential issuance of blue bonds and is working on financing green projects and green budgeting. On market infrastructure, he cited the ministry-owned e-Riznica and m-Riznica platforms, stating they will be made available to bond issuers, prospective initial public offering issuers, and other interested entities. The discussion was anchored by BOSQAR INVEST’s SLB transaction, which raised EUR 143.2 million across two tranches (EUR 105 million public and EUR 38.2 million private), with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development participating as the exclusive investor in the private tranche; the bonds have a fixed annual interest rate, seven-year maturity, and targets linked to greenhouse gas emissions reductions. On regional integration, Primorac said the next step will be signing a memorandum of understanding among finance ministers in August 2025, followed by work to align rules and the regulatory and institutional frameworks.

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