Ministry of Economy proposes bankruptcy proceedings for HIP Azotara

The Commercial Court of Pancevo has confirmed for the 013info portal that, on July 4, the court received a proposition from the Ministry of Economy for initiating bankruptcy proceedings in HIP Azotara. The reason cited in the proposition are HIP Azotara’s excessive debts.

The portal learns from the court’s spokesperson, Nenad Uncevic, that the procedure is for an individual judge to first examine the validity of the proposition and then, if necessary, require additional data.

The procedure further entails the scheduling of the hearing for examining reasons for the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings in HIP Azotara. In practical terms, this means that it will be examined whether the company’s debts are excessive.

The deadline for the court to reach the decision is 30 days, Uncevic notes.

HIP Azotara is an LLC. Srbijagas ran this company on behalf of the state after a failed attempt at the privatization. In the meantime, Srbijagas has become the majority owner of Azotara and extracted a port form it, forming the Special Port, fully owned by Srbijagas.

The Pre-Packaged Reorganization Plan, adopted by the Commercial Court of Pancevo, is still in effect in Azotara. In order to get to the plan, Azotara had undergone a short bankruptcy period. This time, 013info learns at the Commercial Court, the proposition for the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings is not accompanied by a reorganization plan.

Around 1,000 workers are employed at Azotara, a large majority of them being permanent workers.

In the past years, Azotara has been coordinated by the Committee for the Petrochemical Sector of the Government of Serbia.

The state has occasionally invited partners to carry out a new privatization of Azotara. Several companies, including Serbia’s Promist, did express interest, but the privatization hasn’t taken place.

HIP-AZOTARA d.o.o. Pančevo

Ministarstvo privrede Republike Srbije

Privredni sud u Pančevu

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

Promist d.o.o. Novi Sad

PPRP HIP Azotara

HIP Azotara bankruptcy proceedings

HIP Azotara privatization