The Croatian state and Orco Group will work together on the present and the future of the Suncani Hvar hotel company, talks are under way, and they have also reached agreement on how to deal with past developments, Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Croatian Privatisation Fund's Steering Board, Petar Cobankovic, told reporters after meeting representatives of Orco Group in Zagreb on Monday.
Cobankovic said the two sides were very close to a solution regarding the current situation in Suncani Hvar, which is based on the island of Hvar.
He added that the meeting was very constructive, that progress was significant, but that more time was needed to finish the process in the interests of Orco Group, the Croatian state, units of local self-government and Suncani Hvar employees.
Orco Group Deputy CEO Nicolas Tommasini agreed with Cobankovic's statement, adding that they were close to agreement and that steps would be taken soon to find a solution to the current situation in Suncani Hvar.
One had waited for today's meeting between Cobankovic and representatives of Orco Group, the majority owner of Suncani Hvar, since the beginning of this year. The meeting lasted an hour and a half, and apart from the said statements, neither side would give any details regarding concrete solutions.
Reporters were not allowed to ask additional questions. Asked why Orco CEO Jean Francois Ott did not attend, Orco project manager for Croatia Marija Hrebac only said that he had previous engagements and was very busy.
Hrebec would not answer questions regarding a police investigation into Ott, adding that solutions for Suncani Hvar would very soon be made public because today's meeting had created conditions for it.
The Luxembourg-based Orco Group has a 55.5 percent stake in Suncani Hvar, and the Croatian Privatisation Fund holds a 31.7 percent interest.
The hotel company is faced with an accumulated loss of some HRK 400 million, and in the last days of 2010 both its management and 356 employees called for saving the company.
Earlier this month, a general shareholders' meeting was held but it did not result in an agreement between the two biggest shareholders on a plan for the restructuring of Suncani Hvar.
Ott was interviewed by police in Zagreb on January 4, and several days later he said in an interview with EuroBusinessMedia that he had sent a letter to Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor saying that unless a solution was agreed with the Croatian government in three months, he would have the case dealt with by an international court.
After that, Deputy PM Cobankovic said he would hold a meeting with Orco executives, and the meeting was held today.
