December 20 is not a legally binding final deadline on any aspect of the negotiations, including financing and other outstanding issues, Grampet said in a statement, adding that it had no obligation to offer by December 20 official bank guarantees or any amount of money.
Grampet cannot be asked to offer any amount or bank guarantees before an agreement is reached on all aspects of the contract by the two sides, Grampet Group as the buyer and the Croatian Transport Ministry, said the statement.
The only obligation that Grampet undertook this week regarding the privatisation of the state-owned Croatian company was launching financing talks with HZ Cargo's creditors, the statement said, adding that the talks were launched as planned.
Earlier this week, Grampet expressed its dissatisfaction with the pace of HZ Cargo's privatisation. Grampet is particularly interested in the property of HZ Cargo and has requested information on the status of the Agit company in the privatisation process, the plans for surplus labour and the lawsuits in which HZ Cargo is involved.
The Romanians said their giving up on HZ Cargo was out of the question but added that they wanted to clarify with the Croatian government what exactly they were buying.
Croatia's rail market is open and liberalised, and Grampet can operate on it even without buying HZ Cargo, but buying HZ Cargo is a very important part of its regional strategy, said Ferovia.
Ferovia has been chosen at a tender for a 75% stake in HZ Cargo. Under the tender terms, the buyer must take over all the liabilities and guarantees, which amount to HRK 800 million, and immediately invest EUR 30 million to provide for the workers, some of whom are to be laid off, and to upgrade the rolling stock.