"Commercial paper is intended for the short-term balancing of operations, giving us more funding for working capital and reducing our dependence on banks," he said about the forthcoming issue of 8-month paper.

A meeting with potential investors was held on 10 April, with Bobinac describing investor interest as "in accordance with expectations".

"In any case, this first issue of commercial paper represents only the start of the strategy of increasing non-bank funding," according to Bobinac.

Gorenje is also planning a EUR 40m capital increase, though not out of necessity. "We are acting proactively to not come into a situation where we have to rely too much on banks."