Chinese company CNCT interested in RTB Bor – Majority ownership among requirements

One of the conditions set by the Chinese company to enter RTB Bor, with CNCT as one of the potential partners, is to get a majority ownership in the mine from the Government of Serbia, and with it the right to appoint the management for the entire basin, Novosti learns.

This is a rare instance of negotiations being carried out directly between the governments of China and Serbia, and the company which buys RTB Bor is sure to be state-owned. The agreement on the mine will be reached as part of the strategic contract signed between the two countries.

The agreement with the Chinese would, at least in principle, remove the current director, Blagoje Spaskovski, from his position, and his remaining in the company is one of the key unknown aspects of the arrangement. Another “difficult” aspect of the negotiations relates to the number of workers to stay in the mines. RTB Bor currently has 5,027 workers, of which over 1,000 in Majdanpek.

The Industrial Union of Bor says that the number of surplus workers mentioned is between 1,200 and 2,500.

– Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic has promised us that the Chinese will change the entirety of the company’s management – says Mladen Ursulovic of the Industrial Union.

Milorad Panovic of the Independence union says that the final results of RTB Bor’s 2016 operations are expected to be disclosed these days and that they should be positive given the debt write-off by the state.

Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor

Vlada Republike Srbije

Government of the People's Republic of China

RTB Bor

CNCT China

Government of Serbia

Government of China

Blagoje Spaskovski

Industrial Union of RTB Bor

Independence union

Ministry of Economy

Goran Knezevic

Mladen Ursulovic

Milorad Panovic

sale of RTB Bor

privatization of RTB Bor