Search for investors starts - Serbia offers 502 firms to go private, 90.000 employees are waiting for desitny

The Agency for Privatization hasannounced today a public call for collection of investors’ letters of interestfor privatization of 502 companies.

The privatization list published at the Agency’s site (www.priv.rs) comprisesformer giants such as the Agricultural corporation Beograd,Agricultural-industrial combine Becej, Factory of cars Priboj, Methanol-acidcombine Kikinda, Fertilizer factory Pancevo, pharmaceutical company Galenika,etc.

The interested parties shoulddeliver letters via post or direct submission at the archive of the Agency ofvia electronic mail by September 15, 2014. Public call for privatization refersto 113 companies in processing industry, 83 in retail and wholesale and motorvehicles repair, 73 in information and communication field, 67 in expert,scientific and innovation activity, 51 in construction, 35 from agriculture, forestryand fishing.

The list also comprises 21 companies in traffic, warehousing, accommodation andfood as well as 16 in health and social protection, 15 in finance andinsurance, 13 in administration and support service, seven in electricity, gasand steam and six in mining.

Public call also comprises fivecompanies in water supplying and management, four in other service activities,three in arts, entertainment and recreation and one in state authorities,education and real estate business.

Companies in public informing and communicationswill go private in line with the new Law on public informing, the Agency for privatizationhas announced and stated that he public call will not comprise firms which hirethe disabled and food industry companies since these entities have been in linewith the Law on privatization and arefor the moment left out from privatization process.

As it was said the Agency will, in line the potential investors’ interest, in45 days after the deadline for letter of interests, deliver to the Ministry oftrade suggestions for model and privatization method. Deadline for privatizations, in line with the Law on privatzitai9on, is by theend of December 2015.

The Agency for privatization says foreKapija there have been interested buyers even before the call announcement,adding that they are in constant contact with potential investors.

If we sell half of these companies,we did well

The acting manager of the Agency, Marijana Radovanovic, said at RTS that foraround thirty companies the Agency has already decided to initiate bankruptcyprocedure, Radovanovic says for RTS. She points out that it will be a successif by the end of 2015 half of the companies goes private.

She underlines that the new law governs some things much better.

In 2013, total losses of the companies offered to go private totaled half abillion euros. Their property is EUR 6, 8 billion worth and their liabilitiestotal EUR 6, 6 billion – Radovanovic said for today’s Blic.

- It all proves it is not easy to find buyers for these companies, Radovanovicwho has a month to try to sell mostly bankrupt companies which hire some 90.000people, - the acting manager of the Agency for Privatization said.

Solution for 40 firms underway

The Prime Minster of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that he issatisfied with the meeting with representatives of the trade unions of thecompanies undergoing restructuring process, estimating that the state is on agood way to find solution for some 40 firms.

-We are sure that for 40 out of 156 firms a strategic partner can be found –Vucic said to journalists at the Government of Serbia after the meeting with representativesof the Association of Independent Trade Unions headed by Ljubisav Orbovic.

He pointed out that the state lists as priorities companies from differentsectors, Azotara, Petrohemija, PKB, PIK Becej 14. oktobar, Petoletka and thatthe “state is on a good way to solve these problems and rehabilitate bothFAP and Ikarbus.

(Fertilizer factory Pancevo iswaiting for a buyer)

Vucic said trade unions’ requests arerealistic and that they agreed that it is the most important to provide workfor the companies’ employees.

-At the moment we are not setting aside more funds but we are not wasting irbecause we ae investing in employees, in our production – Vucic said.

How to get to buyers?

However, finding an owner will notbe really easy for majority of the companies.

Nenad Gujanicic from Wise broker, who knows currenteconomical situation, says that unfortunately it is hard to expect that a largenumber of companies which stayed within the privatization process will get strategicpartner and adds that based on a few fresh examples we can conclude that “thestate will probably go back to investors’ subsidizing and incentives”.

New sales method

The Agency for Privatization reminds for our portal that new Law onprivatization through: sale of capitalsales properly, capital transfer and strategic partnership via publiccollections of bids. Apart from models and methods of privatization, option of preparationand debt decrease of the subject of privatization have been defined: conditionaldebt write off i.e. transfer of privatization subject’s debts into permanentinvestment (conversion).

New law provides more flexible methods and models of privatizationbased on real market conditions which will make the procedure more efficient andtransparent.

Jelena Djelic

Agencija za privatizaciju Republike Srbije Beograd prestala sa radom 29.01.2016.

BDD Wise Broker a.d. Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

FAP Korporacija a.d. Priboj

MSK a.d Kikinda

HIP-AZOTARA d.o.o. Pančevo

Ministarstvo privrede Republike Srbije

Savez samostalnih sindikata Srbije

IMK 14.oktobar a.d. Kruševac

Prva Petoletka a.d. Trstenik

Galenika a.d. Beograd

Marijana Radovanovic

public call for privatziation

bankruptcy

restructuring

Wise broker

Nenad Gujanicic

Aleksandar Vucic

Law on privatziation

Law on bankruptcy

PKB

Agricultural

Methanol-acid combine Kikinda

Law on public informing

Ljubisav Orbovic