Free shares in another company - Electric Power Company of Serbia to become closed joint-stock company in Q1 2012

The Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS) should become a closed joint-stock company in the first quarter of 2012, which is a precondition for the distribution of free shares to citizens, said people at that public company.

As people at EPS told the press, the listing and assessment of the value of the assets required for determination of the value of shares of EPS is underway.

That project, which is being implemented in association with Energoprojekt, should be finished by the year's end.

People at EPS did not want to specify the latest estimated value of the company's assets.

According to the Law on Distribution of Free Shares in Public Companies, the citizens of Serbia should obtain a total of 15% of shares in EPS, but it has not been determined yet how many shares will be distributed among current and former employees of that energy company.

According to the new Law on Energy, EPS must complete the company's transformation until 1 October 2012 in order to be ready for the opening of the market, which is scheduled to start on 1 January 2013.

- Opening of the market will lead to an increase in the value of EPS - said EPS Electricity Trade Director Dragan Vlaisavljevic.

According to the company's estimates, the annual profit of EPS may reach about EUR 600 million if it sells electricity at an average wholesale price in the region.