The papers were issued in a bid to diversify the group's financing sources and refinance short-term loans.

The Ljubljana-based group said that the broad interest from institutional and private investors, which has significantly exceeded expectations, showed that the investors had great confidence in SIJ.

It also shows that the group has been able to successfully implement its development strategy and will continue to do so in the future, SIJ said.

The group generated a net profit of EUR 28.5m in January-September, a rise of 78% year-on-year. Sales revenue rose by a fifth to EUR 637.9m.