Montenegro's Montecargo to take 3 mln euro loan from CKB

The government has also agreed to provide Montecargo with state guarantees that cover 80% of the loan, it said in a statement on Thursday after its regular cabinet meeting.

CKB will extend the credit for a period of 72 months, including a 12-month grace period, at a fixed interest rate of 5.5% annually, the statement read.

Montecargo will use the loan to finance the repair of rolling stock, including locomotives and wagons.

The state controls 85.4% of Montecargo, while the remainder belongs to smaller shareholders. The company's shares last traded on the Montenegrin bourse on September 19, 2022, closing flat at 0.4 euro.

According to its latest available financial report, Montecargo turned to a net loss of 587,136 euro in the first nine months of 2023, from a profit of 427,783 euro in the prior-year period.

CKB, which is the Montenegrin unit of Hungarian banking group OTP, was Montenegro's largest bank in terms of assets among eleven lenders active at the end of 2023, according to central bank figures.

($ = 0.921 euro)