BELGRADE (Serbia), October 12 (SeeNews) – Serbian oil and gas company NIS [BEL:NIIS] has submitted the only bid in a tender for a strategic partner in state-owned petrochemical producer HIP Petrohemija, the Serbian Ministry of Economy said on Tuesday.

The documents will be evaluated in the coming days and a proposal for further steps will be sent to the government by the commission responsible for managing the process of finding a strategic partner for HIP Petrohemija, the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.

Serbia launched a tender on September 9. The strategic partner is expected to inject 150 million euros ($ 177 million) into the capital of HIP Petrohemija, acquiring up to 90% of the company’s capital.

The deadline for submitting bids expired on October 11.

The Serbian government owns 75.27% of the capital of HIP Petrohemija, NIS 20.86%, Lukoil controls 3.09%, while the rest is in the hands of smaller shareholders.

HIP Petrohemija has petrochemical complexes in Pancevo, Elemir and Crepaja. It specializes in the production of high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and other petrochemical products with an annual production capacity of 700,000 tons.

($ = 0.8663 euro)