Pursuant to the decision of the Council of the National Bank of Croatia made in January 1997 and published in the National Gazette No. 4/97, the National Bank of Croatia has initiated the process of systematic monitoring of foreign direct investments as well as portfolio investments in Croatia, which should make it possible to get a more complete insight into the developments in the country's balance of payments. In order to ensure an efficient enforcement of the aforementioned regulation, the Governor of the National Bank of Croatia issued a relevant instruction. The instruction, including a form for reporting on foreign investments, will be published in the National Gazette No. 28/97.

Under the provisions of the mentioned regulation, all domestic juridical persons in which foreign institutions hold ownership stakes, or domestic juridical persons that hold ownership stakes in entities domiciled in foreign countries are required to submit to the National Bank of Croatia - not later than March 31, 1997 - a report on the value of foreign investments at the end of 1996 (annual reports on foreign investments should in future be submitted by the end of February).

The mentioned reporting requirement applies also to all branch offices of foreign institutions operating in Croatia. In addition to foreign companies, the definition of foreign investors encompasses also branch offices of Croatian companies located in foreign countries; companies in foreign countries that are owned by Croatian entities; as well as natural persons residing abroad, which also includes Croatian citizens who have a work permit in a foreign country of their temporary residence.