News Parkiet

Mutual funds

Funds rush to secure SEC permits

More than 100 Polish mutual funds have sought expensive SEC permits to deposit their spare cash with banks, some of whom own mutual fund companies themselves. So far, the SEC has received some 806.000 zloty from permit fees.

Telecommunications

ATM plans small acquisitions

Warsaw-based fiber optics network operator ATM SA plans to buy two small IT firms later this year, deputy chief executive Tadeusz Czichon told PARKIET this week. Mr. Czichon has just received SEC clearance to raise his stake in the firm to more than 25 percent. He now owns 20.5 percent of ATM. His stake is worth approximately 20 million zloty ($7 million).

Venture capital

MCI sells Process4E

Publicly traded technology venture capital firm MCI Management sold its 66.6 percent stake in Process4E, an IT consulting firm, to Austria's Customer Relationship Management provider Update Software AG, posting a net gain of some 2.8 million zloty. MCI received a total of 4.5 million zloty in cash for its stake in Process4E, a part of its portfolio since the year 2000. Shares of the fund rose 7.1 percent to 2.41 zloty on news of the sale.

Personal savings

Retail bonds more popular

Sales of retail savings bonds more than doubled in February from the month before, Finance Ministry said yesterday. Investors snapped up 829 million zloty worth of government debt despite lower yields on popular two-year bonds. BDM PKO BP, a local brokerage that handles bond sales, says demand was boosted by expectations of lower interest rates and the roll-over of older bond series.

Metals

Śrubex falls below IPO price

Shares of Śrubex SA, Poland's biggest maker of metal fasteners, fell 4.3 percent to close at 45 zloty yesterday, well below their February IPO price of 50 zloty. Company officials claim the stock, which begun trading 10 percent above the selling price is undervalued at these levels.