January 20 (SeeNews) - Slovenian state holding company SDH said it plans to continue the sale of the country's biggest lender, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), in 2017.
The company, which manages state-owned assets and is in charge of the privatisation process in the country, is also expecting to launch the sale of hand tools maker Unior [LJE:UKIG] this year, it said in a statement on Thursday outlining its annual asset management plan.
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SDH also plans to pursue further activities in regard to wholesale natural gas supplier Geoplin and gas network operator Plinovodi, in which regard the spinning-off of Plinovodi from Geoplin is envisaged. In July, SDH signed a contract with energy group Petrol [LJE:PETG] to exchange its stake in Geoplin for a stake in Plinovodi.
In addition, sales of several other capital assets which have been defined as portfolio assets by way of the strategy are planned for 2017.
SDH has already initiated activities for the sale of its assets in Cimos, KDD and Paloma, it noted, adding that these will continue this year.
Slovenia is currently in talks with Italy's TCH Cogeme, a unit of investment firm Palladio Holding Group, which hopes to buy a 92% state stake in Cimos Group. However, the plan is being deterred by Croatia which is seeking compensation from Cimos for a loan it took from Croatian Rijecka banka 15 years ago, which later ceased to exist.
In terms of NLB, in September, SDH said that preparations for the sale of the bank by means of an initial public offering (IPO) continue with the aim to complete the transaction by the end of 2017.
NLB was one of two Slovenian banks alongside NKBM to show a minor capital shortfall under the adverse scenario of the stress test conducted by the European Central Bank in October 2014.
Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. is among the biggest banks in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
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