Belgian authorities are closing in on agreeing a loan to support production and the activities of the Liberty Liege rolling lines, Kallanish learns from a statement issued by Willy Borsus, the vice-president of the Liege region.
The loan should be granted through public investment company Sogepa. The Liberty Liege-Dudelange unit has been under judicial reorganisation since the beginning of March and is at risk of being forced to stop production due to a lack of funds, mainly to procure raw materials.
The loan would be granted to support the activities under the condition that the sale process of the unit is accelerated and that Sogepa will be involved in the final decision over the new owner. At the same time, contact between Belgian authorities and their Luxembourg counterparts is ongoing to make sure that support for the unit comes also from the Luxembourg government.
Liberty Steel coil rolling mills in Belgium-Luxembourg and Italy are struggling due to difficulties in financing raw materials supply. At present, the sole solution seems to be finding a new owner for the Italian unit of La Magona and the Benelux mills of Liege-Dudelange.
Emanuele Norsa Italy
