- Published: 24.03.2015.
PM Milanovic: Government should help Petrokemija
Petrokemija should be helped so that it can continue operating, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Monday after meeting with the management of this Kutina-based fertiliser company and touring its production facilities.
"This is a large industrial complex with the knowhow and products that are not available in the region and it should be preserved," Milanovic told the press. He said that the government owns 80 per cent of the company and that its task was to help Petrokemija to weather the financial storm and conclude a favourable contract on gas supply. He added that Petrokemija was worth fighting for.
When asked why Petrokemija was paying for gas at a higher rate than its competition, Milanovic said that this was a question for the previous management and that he believed that a more favourable price would be agreed. He said that Petrokemija could be successful, stressing that he had "strong confidence in this project".
The PM said that this year it would be known who Petrokemija's strategic partner would be. He called upon potential investors to be serious, noting that investors interested only in financial and business figures should not be wasting their time or the government's time.
Asked if one of the topics of today's talks was the possible entry of the INA oil and gas company and the PPD gas company into Petrokemija's ownership structure, Milanovic replied in the negative.
Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak said that the prime minister had been acquainted with the restructuring process and plans for the future. As for the possibility of INA and PPD acquiring stakes in Petrokemija, he said talks should be held on what was expected of strategic partners and how to maintain production.
Petrokemija CEO Nenad Zecevic warned that the cost of gas accounted for 70 per cent of the company's expenditure. He said that the management was working on reducing the price of gas and that the current contract was in force until October 1, but noted that this did not mean that nothing could be done about it by then.
Zecevic said he had no official information that INA and PPD were interested in Petrokemija.
Commenting on trade unions' objections to the plan to further downsize the current 1,600-strong workforce, Zecevic said that the optimum number of workers would be 1,350 and that the problem could be solved by pensioning off surplus labour given the age structure of the present workforce.
(Hina) vm