Serbia has officially started talks for the sale of petrochemicals producer HIP-Petrohemija a.d. Pancevo to oil and gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije a.d. (BELEX:NIIS), a government official said. "The government made appropriate decisions last week, and yesterday we officially started negotiations with NIS as a potential strategic partner," Dragan Stevanovic, state secretary at the economy ministry, said as seen in a video file posted on the website of Tanjug news agency on October 20, 2021. NIS placed the sole bid in a tender for a strategic partner in HIP Petrohemija earlier in Otober 2021. The strategic partner intends to inject ?150 million ($177 million) in the capital of HIP Petrohemija, acquiring a stake of up to 90% in the company's capital. "NIS has already accepted the commitments in its offer, which is that in the next six years it will invest ?150 million in HIP Petrohemija's plant, will build a polypropylene production plant with a capacity of at least 140,000 tonnes per year and will keep the optimal number of workers," Stevanovic said. The Serbian government owns a 75.27% stake in the capital of HIP Petrohemija, NIS owns 20.86%, Russia's Lukoil controls 3.09%, while the remainder is in the hands of smaller shareholders. HIP Petrohemija owns petrochemical complexes in Pancevo, Elemir and Crepaja. It specialises in producing high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and other petrochemical products with an annual production capacity of 700,000 tonnes.