FINANCE: Draft Act on Slovenian State Holding

The Government approved the draft Act on Slovenian State Holding, which seeks to increase the value of investments held by the Republic of Slovenia with active management and the consistent establishment of a corporate governance system, which will be achieved by delegating all the assets of the country to a single manager.

The assets of the Republic of Slovenia are currently owned by several legal entities with different business goals. Assets are often not managed in the best way, which consequently means that profitability is not what it could be, but subject to the different goals pursued by the companies.  The new act envisages the transformation of Slovenska odškodninska družba, d.d. (SOD) into a new company – Slovenian State Holding (Slovenski državni holding – SDH), where all investments of the Republic of Slovenia will be concentrated and managed from a single point. The Act seeks to simplify management structure, define the purpose and criteria of managing government investments and create a single asset pool for the country.

The main solutions put forward by the Act include:

• Restructuring SOD into a new company, SDH, in which all investments of the Republic of Slovenia will be concentrated and thus managed from a single location,
• merging KAD and DSU into SDH,
• defining an investment management strategy in accordance with which SDH will manage and acquire investments,
• defining a management code that lays down the principles and rules of operation of SDH and companies in which SDH owns a share of the capital,
• defining an annual investment management plan,
• defining investment management procedures,
• defining the legal and organisational form of SDH, SDH bodies and their competences,
• the possibility to establish affiliated companies of SDH,
• closing down the Capital Assets Management Agency of the Republic of Slovenia.

More information: Ministry of Finance, Public Relations (Ms Irena Ferkulj, phone: +386 1 369 6624, email: irena.ferkulj[@]mf-rs.si ).

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Dr France Arhar appointed Slovenia’s financial consultant to resolve issues between Slovenia and Croatia regarding the former Ljubljanska banka

The Government has appointed Dr France Arhar, director of the Bank Association of Slovenia and the former governor of the Central Bank, as Slovenia’s consultant responsible for reviewing and proposing a solution to the legal claims brought by Zagrebačka banka and Privredna banka Zagreb against Ljubljanska banka and Nova Ljubljanska banka regarding Croatian savers’ foreign currency deposits, with the term of office to expire on 31st  December 2012.

The decision is the realisation of the agreement between the Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Karl Erjavec and the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić, reached on 7 July 2012 in Dubrovnik. The ministers agreed that Slovenia and Croatia would each appoint a financial consultant to analyse the pending issues and propose a solution. The consultants are expected to present the proposed solution to their governments as quickly as possible, which should be no later than September 2012.

The consultant will act under direct government authorisation and report his findings and possible solutions to the government.

More information: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Public Relations, Ms Tadeja Miklič (phone: +386 1 478 66 11, e-mail: tadeja.miklic[@]gov.si ).