Gorenje to invest 20 mln euros in new Serbia plant

LJUBLJANA, April 26 (Reuters) - Gorenje, Slovenia's largest household appliances maker and exporter, is to spend 20 million euros ($26 million) expanding its production facilities in Serbia.

A new factory in the Serbian town Valjevo will be completed in 16 months, Gorenje said on Thursday, adding the project would not result in job losses in Slovenia.

Serbia will give Gorenje subsidies of 10,000 euros for each of the 400 jobs the company expects to bring to Valjevo. The Valjevo factory, which produces refrigerators and freezers, now employs 450 people and 85 percent of its production is exported.

Gorenje shares closed flat at 5.6 euros before its statement, while the blue-chip SBI index fell 2.15 percent. ($1 = 0.7585 euro) (Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic and Dan Lalor)