Written bids for taking over the Serbian copper mining and smelting basin Bor company have been received from as many as 15 investors. The Canadian and American companies already operating on our market also wish to take part in the copper mine company privatization.
As many as 15 investors are interested in buying the Mining and Smelting Basin “Bor”, four of them coming from – Serbia, “Novosti” has found out. Among the foreigners, the companies from the Great Britain are the most numerous, and the investment bank “Goldman Sachs“ is the most well-known among them, its letter of intent obviously hiding a bigger investor. Namely, this institution provides financial services for big corporations, rich individuals, but also for the governments of various countries.
From the list of 15 potential buyers having contacted our Privatization Agency, only a few are from the metal sector. The Canadian “Mundoro Capital“, involved in acquisitions, exploration and development, is already present in Serbia and possesses the permits for ore explorations. In addition to it, the company “Reservoir Minerals“ from the same country has also applied, this company already possessing 12 licences for ore exploration in Serbia, which includes the projects related to the explorations of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. This company also possesses the permits for ore explorations in Africa, in Cameron and Gabon.
The interested investor from America is already present in our country, too. In addition to the ore exploration and mining, the “New Generation Power“ from the USA is also involved in the energy sector within the sphere of renewable resources. There are already preliminary agreements with the Republic of Serbia and the EPS related to energy projects. The other interested company from this country, the “Simon Metalurgic“, is registered in Delaware, the popular American offshore zone.
CHINESE, ALTHOUGH OURS One of the four Serbian companies, the proposals of which have arrived at the address of the Privatization Agency, which will be in charge of resolving the fate of the MSB “Bor“, is also the “Betec Resources“. Although this is a domestic company, seated in downtown Belgrade, all four of its owners are from China. The company is specialized in technical testing and analyses, it has no employees and, last year, it operated at a loss of 3.4 million dinars.
The letter of one of the “sector“ companies has also arrived from the Great Britain. This is the company “Lundin Mining“, which has developed business operations and projects within the field of metal industry in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the USA, where they produce copper, zinc, lead and nickel. This company also has a 24-percent share in a copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The nature of the particular bids, i.e. of the investors’ wishes with regard to the MSB “Bor“ is still unknown, and the possibilities vary from a strategic partnership to the purchase of a part of property. Judging from the activities in which the possible investors are involved, they are completely different. Among the Serbian companies, there is one consulting company, the “Tara Consulting“ from Belgrade, owned by Tomislav Živanović, with one employee and the last year’s profits of 172.000 dinars. There is also the “Stema Balkan Consulting“, from the capital city, too, with two employees, owned by Zoran Milinković, which is registered for non-specialized wholesale trade. The “Gama System“ from Požarevac, with one employee, owned by Slobodan and Goran Petrović, is registered for setting up electrical installations and it has also sent a letter of intent towards the MSB “Bor“. It is a characteristic of all three companies that their directors are their owners at the same time. The fourth Serbian company is, in fact – Chinese.