February 22 (SeeNews) - Serbia's trade minister Rasim Ljajic has said the resignation of the receiver of Croatia's ailing concern Agrokor, Ante Ramljak, will have no effect on the business of the subsidiaries of the ailing concern in Serbia.
"We are in constant contact with the management of Mercator S, Frikom and Dijamant, the largest companies of Agrokor in Serbia. All these companies operate without any problems, and therefore Ramljak's resignation will not cause any turbulence," Ljajic said in a statement.
The only consequence of the resignation may refer to the process of Agrokor restructuring in Croatia, where the proposed settlement with creditors should be completed in April and is now likely to be prolonged by three months, Ljajic said.
"This will certainly not affect the activity of the companies in Serbia. Our interest is that the restructuring process of Agrokor in Croatia is successfully completed as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor the situation, but at this moment there is no reason for any kind of concerns when it comes to the operations of companies in our country," Ljajic said.
Ramljak said on Wednesday he has handed in his irrevocable resignation to prime minister Andrej Plenkovic. He explained that the uncertainty created around his position as receiver is compromising the restructuring process at the indebted food-to-retail concern.
Earlier this month, the extraordinary administration of Agrokor said it would ask the Commercial Court in Zagreb to extend by three months, to July 10, a deadline for the submission of a settlement deal with creditors. In December, Agrokor unveiled a debt settlement plan under which the creditors and suppliers of the troubled concern will take full control of a new holding company and its units, to which the assets of the sound segments of the Agrokor group will be transferred.