Serbian finance minister announces contract for NIS Russian stake sale to Mol

In an interview, finance minister Sinisa Mali disclosed that the Russian owners of Serbia's oil company NIS have signed a contract to transfer their stake to the Hungarian group Mol. The sale must still obtain clearance from the competition authorities in Serbia and, according to the minister, also from the regulator in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the transaction, the Serbian government expects to increase its share in NIS.

Mol, which already controls the petrochemical subsidiary HIP-Petrohemija, views the acquisition as a way to strengthen its regional refining capacity and improve its bargaining position against Croatia's Janaffa. NIS operates the country's main refinery in Pancevo, which supplies the majority of domestic fuel demand, and holds assets in Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United Kingdom and a network of over 400 service stations across the region.