Josipović has nothing against Serbian capital in Podravka

- When he heard that Serbian company FIA would take over 10.6% of Podravka's stocks, Croatian President Ivo Josipović said it was not important where the capital came from - HRT announced.

He visited Podravka yesterday (April 6, 2010) and spoke to the members of the management of the biggest food company in Croatia, but they did not talk about the sale of Podravka.

- I did not talk about that. That is not an issue that concerns the President. There are business laws that must be equally valued in Croatia. I have nothing against that idea. Capital is capital, no matter where it comes from, except, of course, if it comes from the black market or as the result of money laundering and criminal acts. I do not believe that is the case here - said Josipović.

Josipović also said that he believed that Podravka would come out of its current problems and added that the good news was that the company's sales had grown by 6% in March.

Even Podravka's management does not have the answer to the question - what happens with the disputable package of stocks.

- Podravka's management does not deal with the issues concerning the ownership structure - said Miroslav Vitković, the management's president.

As it was announced earlier, FIA Group, with the headquarters in Serbia, intends to purchase 10.6% of Podravka's stocks, which are now in the possession of company Fima Ami from Malta. FIA is ready to set aside 400m HRK (55m EUR) for the stocks of Podravka.

- Through its personal funds in Italy, FIA Group has an access to renowned corporation Coop through which it would offer Podravka's products to Italian market - it is stated in FIA Group's announcement.