As it was announced earlier in the notice on material event of 12 May 2010, with reference to the 29 March 2005 Agreement of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro on reciprocal investment promotion and protection, on 12 May 2010 the Company sent an official notice to the Government of the Republic of Serbia, whereby the Company initiated the official negotiations regarding infringement of the rights of the Company, as an investor, and invited to resolve the existing dispute by way of amicable negotiations regarding the remuneration of losses sustained by the Company. The Company informs that by the 12 November 2010 e-mail it received the answer from the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development of the Republic of Serbia to the above mentioned official notice sent by the Company. In the abovementioned response the Company is informed that Serbia disagrees with the request of the Company to compensate the damages incurred by the Company and, as they state, the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Serbia did not violate the standards stipulated in the above agreement on mutual promotion and protection of investments. Therefore, in their opinion, there are no grounds for negotiations proposed by the Company in its official notice. Since 12 November 2010 to date, the Company has tried to find a possibility to negotiate with the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Serbia by trying to recover part of the funds invested and lent to the Serbian public company Beogradska industrija piva (BIP), however, today such possibility has failed. On 7 December 2010, the Company, as the respondent, received a notice from the Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (the Serbian Arbitration) to the effect that the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Serbia, as the claimant, submitted an application to the Serbian Arbitration regarding awarding of the fine in the amount of EUR 68 347 168 from AB ALT investicijos and United Nordic Beverages AB due to the violation of the 24 July 2007 the agreement on purchase and sale of the shares in the public company Beogradska industrija piva (BIP) signed by the Share Fund of the Republic of Serbia and the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Serbia, of the one part, and the public company ALITA (currently AB ALT investicijos) and United Nordic Beverages AB, acting as a consortium, of the other part. On receipt of such claim which the Company will be unable to satisfy and in view of the entire existing situation, the Company informs that there is a real threat that the Company will be unable further to meet its obligations to the creditors. In consideration of this fact, the Company in the near future intends to analyse the current situation in the Company, including the necessity to apply to the court for institution of bankruptcy proceedings against the Company. For any further information please contact General Director Vytautas Junevičius, tel. (+370 315) 57243. Vytautas Junevičius, General Director +370 315 57243
Re received answer by the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Serbia
| Quelle: ALT investicijos AB