ZAGREB, February 23, 2018 – Representatives of the association of Agrokor’s suppliers called on Friday for appointing as soon as possible a new emergency administrator for the indebted conglomerate, saying there was no alternative to a settlement and that the new administrator would have a good foundation for the continuation of the settlement process.
Speaking to the press after a meeting of the association’s steering board, association president Marin Pucar said the suppliers urged the government and Zagreb’s Commercial Court to choose and appoint a new administrator as soon as possible, adding that the new administrator should be an expert, educated and with a respectable career.
The suppliers will ask that a settlement be reached by July and, when a new administrator is chosen, will insist that the process continue and not start again, Pucar said. “All those wishing to destabilise the process are not working in the interest of Croatia’s economy,” he said, adding that the suppliers were interested in protecting their positions.
Temporary Creditors’ Council member Marica Vidaković said she had been saying from the start that the restructuring of Agrokor was actually about the restructuring of Croatia’s economy. She said the process was at an extremely delicate stage and that one should keep in mind that Croatia’s economy was perhaps more exposed than before. We expect all stakeholders to be serious and focus on reaching a settlement, to which there is no alternative, Vidaković said.
She said it remained to be seen if the new emergency administrator would continue on the same track or start some things anew, but added that the suppliers would defend their positions. The suppliers are worried about the uncertainty but they are preparing for what will happen after the new administrator is appointed, Vidaković said.
Our interest is for the process to continue because we have kept the market shares and collected some claims and we have the right to ask that the process continue, she said, adding that the Temporary Creditors’ Council would meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday.
Plenković, who was in Brussels on Friday, confirmed that the talks were being conducted, away from the public eye, with a few candidates for the position of the emergency administrator of the debt-laden private Agrokor group after Ante Ramljak resigned a few days ago.
