News Parkiet

Corporate governance

Treasury to tighten requirements for board members

Polish government will impose new, tighter rules for its representatives who sit on boards of directors at state-owned firms, senior Treasury official told PARKIET this week. Under new policy, all board members appointed by the state will have to show they have at least seven-years? business experience.

Treasury Ministry already has a list of 75 companies with government stake, including large corporations like PZU insurer, PKO BP and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos refineries that will be subject to new regulations.

Treasury Ministry appoints about 2500 board members at various state-owned firms.

Venture capital

NFI Jupiter dumps money-losing Internet fund

NFI Jupiter privatization fund sold its 66 percent stake in e-Katalyst back to Warsaw-based ?Internet incubator? in a deal worth just 500 000 zloty earlier this week. The fund posted a small gain on the sale because it wrote off most of its investment in e-Katalyst a long time ago. Jupiter originally said it would invest approximately 30 million zloty in the firm that bought stakes in half a dozen unsuccessful Internet start-ups since it was founded five years ago.

Sources at the publicly traded Jupiter wouldn?t comment on Thursday?s sale of e-Katalyst.