Opening of bids for Zelezara Smederevo on April 1st - China's HBIS submits bid for steelworks in Smederevo

Bids for Zelezara Smederevo will be opened tomorrow. The starting price for this steelworks in Smederevo was set at about EUR 45.7 million. The Serbian Economy Ministry was unable to confirm if there were any bids, but the daily Politika reports that China's HBIS has definitely submitted a bid for Zelezara Smederevo.
As announced earlier, this Chinese company is interested in opening a welded pipe factory in Smederevo and invest about EUR 300 million in it.
The tendering process for the sale of Zelezara Smederevo is monitored by the European Union because the rules of that community forbid the state to help the steel industry in order not to distort the competition. Serbia will have to guarantee that Europe will be getting only the steel made in Smederevo and not from China if the Chinese company takes over the Smederevo steel plant.
The estimated market value of Zelezara Smederevo's assets that are put up for sale was at about EUR 91.4 million at the end of 2015. The steel mill in Smederevo has been managed by the Dutch company HPK since April 2015.
January 2012 saw the Serbian government buying back Zelezara Smederevo for USD 1 from U.S. Steel, which was the owner of that steelworks since 2003.
Zelezara Smederevo currently employs about 5,000 workers.

Železara Smederevo d.o.o.

Ministarstvo privrede Republike Srbije

Esmark Steel Group SAD

HPK Engineerig B.V. Holland

Zelezara Smederevo

Economy Ministry

HBIS

welded pipe factory in Smederevo

HPK

Esmark

US Steel