Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

RTB Bor tender to be amended

Belgrade, 4 February 2009

State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric said today that the tender for the Bor mining and metallurgical complex (RTB Bor) will be amended by the middle of February in order to bring it in line with the Serbian government’s new investment plan for the company.

In a statement to the press Ciric said that RTB Bor will become a single company under majority state ownership. He explained that investors will be invited at the tender to invest in the Bor copper mines to get minority ownership shares.

He said that the RTB Bor Group presently consists of the Majdanpek copper mines, Bor copper mines, a foundry and a refinery, adding that the state’s plan is to merge these four companies into one, which would be in majority state ownership.

He said that foreign investors will have to invest a minimum of $120 million during the next few years in order for copper mining to continue.

He said that investors will be offered an opportunity to invest only in mining while being able to get minority ownership of RTB Bor.

He said that in order to get majority ownership investors would have to make investments ranging from $300 million to $400 million, adding that this does not mean that RTB Bor will always be owned by the state and when the global financial crisis passes the government will consider privatisation models for the company.

Speaking about the government’s plan to invest $130 million in a new foundry to be built over 3 years Ciric said that for this purpose the state will ask equipment producers for a commodity loan with a five to ten years payment deadline and a grace period of one to two years.

Ciric explained that because of the global financial crisis commodity loans are currently more suitable than financial loans, adding that he does not rule out the possibility that a similar model of state investments will be used in the case of other companies, such as Petrohemija from Pancevo or MKS from Kikinda.