Privatisation of Crvenka continues

Crvenka

Belgrade, Nov. 19, 2002 - The commission for direct negotiations with the Crvenka sugar refinery buyer, Greek-owned Hellenic Sugar, urged the Agency for Privatisation to give its opinion on the procedure of further negotiations on Crvenka's sale within seven days.

If the Agency establishes that the refinery's output in 2002 rose against 2001, and its capital value has increased, the commission will be ready to resume negotiations with Hellenic Sugar, on the basis of these conditions, stated the five-member commission for negotiations, led by Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dragan Veselinov.

"The Commission expresses its dissatisfaction with the work of the auditing company PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which failed to submit updated figures on the capital value and production volume of Crvenka to the Agency for Privatisation - even though it had enough time - and has thus slowed down the commission's work," read the statement.

Statements denying the legality of the Crvenka's privatisation have arisen in the past few weeks. The state bodies in charge announced that the privatisation would be annulled if these statements prove to be true.