July 18 (SeeNews) - Serbian steel mill Zelezara Smederevo, run by China's Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS), will close the year with a profit of 20 million euro ($23.1 million), the government in Belgrade said on Tuesday.
The steel mill has increased production by 50% and almost doubled its monthly profit, the government said in a statement, following a meeting in Belgrade between prime minister Ana Brnabic and HBIS president Yu Yong.
Smederevo is contributing between 1.0% and 1.5% to Serbia's GDP thanks to HBIS and the steel mill, Brnabic noted.
On Monday, Serbia's economy ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with HBIS Group for the development of an industrial park in Smederevo.
Yu Yong said that the Chinese group has 16 projects ready for the future industrial park.
HBIS took over the management and ownership of Zelezara Smederevo in July 2016. In April 2016, the government agreed to sell the steel mill to the Chinese group for 46 million euro.
($=0.865250 euro)