September 28 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have expressed satisfaction with the strategic partnership deal it has signed for copper mining and smelting company RTB Bor.
IMF and World Bank representatives praised the RTB Bor deal during a meeting with Serbian energy ministry officials, particularly because it provides for the full repayment of the debt of the company by the end of 2018, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
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"This investment has ensured that RTB Bor will be stable in the long run and will play an important role in our industrial production," energy minister Aleksandar Antic said during a meeting with the head of the IMF team in Serbia, James Roaf, and the World Bank country manager for Serbia, Stephen Ndegwa.
Earlier this month, Serbia picked China's Zijin as a strategic partner in RTB Bor. The Chinese company will invest $1.26 billion (1.1 billion euro) in RTB. Apart from the planned investment, the Chinese company, which will hold a 65% stake in RTB Bor, is obliged to recapitalise the miner with $350 million.
An IMF mission, led by Roaf, is visiting Serbia during September 24-October 4 to carry out the first review of the Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI) results, to analyse the current economic, monetary and fiscal developments in the country, as well as macroeconomic projections for this and next year.
($ = 0.85998 euro)