The Italian government appears to have its sights set on an unidentified Swiss investment fund as a possible receiver of the chlorine vinyl chain of Vinyls Italia spa (Porto Marghera / Italy) – for most recent coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 29.10.2010. Italian media report of a first meeting with representatives of Eni and Syndial. The latter’s CEO, Leonardo Bellodi, is quoted as having said that the negotiations are expected to be wrapped up by mid-January.

The talks also focused on the future of the Porto Marghera, Ravenna and Porto Torres sites, whose workforces are supposed to remain in place. Media reports indicate that the negotiations also touched on possible investments in Porto Maghera. After all parties involved reportedly reached a basic agreement, future meetings reportedly already have been fixed.

Italian media criticise the fact that little is known about the Swiss fund to date. Most recent reports indicate a connection with former interested party Ramco Trading & Contracting (Doha / Qatar; www.ramcoeng.com).

If these latest reports are true, fellow bidders Dioki (Zagreb / Croatia; www.dioki.hr) and Industrie Generali spa (IDS, Samarate / Italy; www.industriegenerali.it) probably are out of the picture.