Montenegro: KAP to get government aid

Montenegro will provide financial aid to ailing aluminium producer KAP, under several conditions, the government said. Early in January, KAP had said it would suspend production by February without government’s support, due to severe losses from high production costs and falling metal prices on the international crisis.

Local media later reported that the state would draw a rescue plan for KAP, given that the company continued to operate for a long-term period. 

The country’s leading aluminium producer, controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, recorded a USD 38 million operating loss in last year’s ten-month period.

KAP accounts for 15% of Montenegro’s gross domestic product (GDP) and analysts have said the country’s economy would suffer in case it shut down.