BELGRADE (Serbia), February 23 (SeeNews) – Serbia's economy minister Goran Knezevic has said the government aims to sell agricultural company Poljoprivredna Korporacija Beograd (PKB) by the end of 2017.
The government will decide on the PKB privatisation model in the next month or so after it carefully studies the letters of interest submitted by potential investors, Knezevic told public broadcaster Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS) on Wednesday.
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UAE-based Al Dahra is among the companies interested in PKB, RTS said.
Earlier this week, local media reported that two Serbian companies, namely conglomerate MK Group and meat processing group Industrija mesa Matijevic, are showing interest in the privatisation of PKB.
"We said we agree to any form of privatisation, as the state decides. Of course, we would prefer 100% ownership but if the state believes it is interested in remaining a shareholder, we will adapt to that," MK Group director Jovan Purar told RTS.
PKB has never booked a profit, while its debt currently stands at 80 million euro and the state should get rid of this burden, the owner of Industrija mesa Matijevic, Petar Matijevic, told RTS.
The economy ministry said on Thursday that a total of eight companies have sent letters of interest, including two Serbian firms, as well as investors from China, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).