NIS to pay salaries in advance tomorrow, banks to stop doing business with company on February 28 – Is the Russian side ready to sell Serbia a 6% stake in the company?

The management of the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) has announced to employees that they will receive their February salaries in advance on Wednesday, reports Kompas-info. The reason for the early payment of salaries is the fear that there will not be enough money to pay regular salaries due to the banks’ announcement that, as part of the American sanctions imposed on NIS, they will suspend all international payments on February 28.

NIS employees were notified that their February salaries will be paid in advance. Unofficially, it is being considered for the salary for March to be paid in advance by the end of this month.

– Given that we are actively working on finding a final solution regarding the U.S. sanctions on our company, it was decided for the advance payment of February wages to be realized by February 19. Our company made this decision in order to ensure safety and protection and maintain the financial and social stability of employees – it is stated, among other things, in the email informing the employees, which Kompas-info has had access to.

According to Kompas, NIS and the Government of Serbia are unofficially considering several solutions, all of which boil down to finding an intermediary for the purchase of oil and equipment on the international market. One solution is for one of the foreign oil companies to buy oil for NIS on the world market, which they will resell to this company in Serbia, and in return receive a more favorable price when the raw material is processed into oil derivatives in the refineries of NIS. Another solution is for the Government of Serbia to form an Agency for Oil Derivatives that would deal with the purchase and import of oil, and then resell it in Serbia to all interested parties, including NIS. The third solution is to form a private company that would buy and import crude oil, and then resell it to NIS in Serbia.

According to Kompas’ unofficial information, the Russian side is willing to sell six percent of its share in NIS to Serbia, which would reduce the Russian share to 49%. The Kremlin allegedly informed the Government of Serbia through official channels that this is the only concession to which the Russian side can agree and that they are not interested in the sale of NIS at the moment, Kompas writes.

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

Naftna industrija Srbije ad Novi Sad

introduction of sanctions on NIS

payment of salaries to employees in NIS