Discussing the topic at a debate on the economic situation in the northern Koroška region organised by publisher Večer, TAB's director Bogomir Auprih said that the company's Asian partner wanted to produce lithium-ion batteries in Europe.

"The idea is to do this together, as a joint venture and this is supposed to be here in Slovenia," Auprih elaborated on the plan that has been in the making for a while.

"We closed the commercial talks a while ago, we are solving the legal questions now. The negotiations are still ongoing," he said, adding he was an optimist and mentioning the end of the year as a deadline for a deal.

Auprih also confirmed that the recently-built production facility of Novartis-owned Lek, which unexpectedly announced in October it would phase out the production of antibiotics in Prevalje, was a prime candidate for the location of the plant.

He assessed the investment at around EUR 50 million. It has already been reported that a letter of intent had been signed.

Also on hand was Economy Minister Počivalšek, who said the state would back TAB, while adding the state had been informed about Novartis's decision on the Prevalje location too late. Počivalšek is however confident a solution will be found for this facility at state level.