Bosnia will sell a majority stake in its sole aluminium plant in a public tender that opens next week, authorities said yesterday.
The 88 percent stake in Aluminij Mostar was valued at about 77 million euros, said the privatization agency of Bosnia’s Muslim Croat half. In order to qualify for the tender, potential buyers would have to make commitments to maintain current employee and production levels, as well as to settle the deal with a cash payment.
Aluminij Mostar, which has almost 1,000 workers, is Bosnia’s leading exporter. Last year the company exported 121,000 tons of metal worth about 240 million euros. The tender will be open from March 5 to April 23. Since its 1992-1995 war, Bosnia has been split into two independent entities, the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska.
(AFP, 28/02/2007)