Rescue of troubled Croatian yard continues

The Croatian government has continued its efforts to save Croatia's troubled 3. Maj shipyard. The yard has received payment of the first US$6.4 million section of a US$22.4 million loan from the state-owned Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR). On September 11, 3. Maj started paying the overdue salaries to its employees from the first tranche of the HBOR loan, the yard said in a statement to the Zagreb stock exchange. The remainder of the loan will be extended gradually in line with the loan terms and 3. Maj will inform the public about the payment of the next tranches, the yard said. The HBOR loan, supported by a government guarantee, aims to help the company restart production and complete vessels already under construction. A condition for the loan approval was that all 3. Maj creditors, including the Croatian government, should agree to postpone the repayment of debt owed to them by the shipyard until September 1, 2021. Under the new debt repayment model, the shipyard will repay 15% of its outstanding debt to creditors within 30 days after withdrawing the HBOR loan, while the for the repayment of the remaining 85 percent will be additionally determined by August 31, 2021 at the latest.