Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic stated that Srbijagas and Gazprom had already reached an agreement in principal on setting up a joint bank in Serbia. He says that, “having abandoned the initial idea that the state transfers its stake in Srpska Banka to Srbijagas and that Gazprom Bank then recapitalizes it with 50 to 70 million euros, thus setting up a joint bank with the capital of about EUR 120 million, we are going to ask the National Bank of Serbia to issue a “greenfield license” to us”.
– Hungarian MOL has a 9% stake in OTP Bank, while the value of these shares is estimated at USD 470 million. That is why MOL does not need the state’s guarantees. Instead, they can get a loan on the basis of their stake in OTP Bank. If MOL can do that, why Srbijagas couldn’t. The proposal for a joint insurance company is already at the table in the Government and awaits final permission – said Bajatovic.
Speaking about takeovers, Bajatovic said that Srbijagas had purchased Azotara, Serbian Glass Factory, Informatika, and Methanol Vinegar Complex, which had owed nearly 200 million euros to Srbijagas, while the acquisition of Agroziv was a “political decision”.
– We did not want anyone from abroad, such as Perutnina from Ptuj, to buy 30% of the domestic chicken meat market for EUR 10 million and the Government of Serbia made the decision on takeover of Agroziv by Srbijagas – Bajatovic explained.
Source Ekapija.com
