The due diligence process in Bosnia's only aluminium smelter, Aluminij Mostar, is nearing the end after which potential investors will have their say whether they are interested in buying the company and restarting production, the company management said on Wednesday.

“Considering the great public interest for the situation in Aluminij Mostar, the management can confirm that the due diligence process implemented by an international consortium, is in its final stage,” Aluminij management said.

According to them, the due diligence is the only realistic analysis based on which all potential investors can decide on their future steps.

“We can also confirm that there are several interested parties for investing in Aluminij, but no concrete steps have been made so far regarding future talks. The company's management will continue to regularly inform the public of all important news concerning the company,” the management said.

They noted that their main priority remains to restart production and to revive the entire chain of business interests which would mean the improvement of Herzegovina's economic prosperity.

For years, the company experienced financial difficulties due to increasing production costs and low aluminium prices, and at the end of September, its debt was worth nearly 350 million marks (around €170 million).

The company stopped all production in July after their energy was cut due to huge debts.

Of the 900 original employees, 500 of them received severance pay and terminations of contracts at the beginning of September. The remaining workers have signed new employment contracts and are now awaiting investors to resume production.

In 2017, the company was Bosnia's third-largest exporter with €171 million worth of exports. They are 44 percent owned by small shareholders, 44 percent by the FBiH government and 12 percent by the government of the Republic of Croatia.