News Parkiet

Telecommunications

Poland may convert 3G license fees

into investments

URTiP telecom regulator will ask government officials to convert the remaining portion of 3G license payments into investment guarantees to build fixed-wireless telecommunications network across the country.

Three Polish GSM mobile phone companies, Vodafone?s Polkomtel, France Telecom?s Centertel and Deutsche Telekom?s PTC, still owe about 390 million euros each. They initially offered to pay as much as 650 million euros for their 3G licenses.

URTiP says the operators could use existing infrastructure to install special receivers, similar to Wi-Fi hot-spots, only much faster, spurring competition in broadband Internet access. Poland has already agreed to a similar conversion of fixed-line license fees paid by Competitive Local-Exchange Carriers back in 2002. The government lost 432 million euros by foregoing license payments in return for investments in local phone infrastructure. However, URTiP spokesman Jacek Strzałkowski says, without the decision many CLECs probably wouldn?t survive under the double burden of license payments and investments in local networks.

Banking

EBRD, Rabobank to buy a stake in BGŻ

A consortium of Rabobank and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development plans to invest as much as 500 million zloty to buy a large stake in BGŻ, a Polish agricultural bank that is now controlled by the government and by local cooperative banks. BGŻ shareholders have already approved plans to sell up to 10.6 million new shares at 43 to 63 zloty each.

The deal will be closed at the turn of September and October of this year, sources close to the situation told PARKIET on Friday.

Chemicals

Boryszew raises earnings forecast

Specialty chemicals maker Boryszew S.A. has raised its 2004 earnings forecast by 5 percent to 74 million zloty after stronger than expected results in the eight months to September. Sales of the company, which is controlled by Polish businessman Roman Karkosik, are set to rise to as much as 1.27 billion zloty.

Shares of Boryszew, which has market value of 2.25 billion zloty ($620) closed at 189 on Friday, up 3.6 percent.

Home furnishings

WFM closer to settlement with creditors

Some 460 creditors of WFM Oborniki, a publicly traded furniture-maker from the Wielkopolska region, are set to meet on October 19 to vote on the company?s debt reduction proposal. WFM, which has unpaid debts of about 9.5 million zloty, asked its creditors for a one-year grace period and subsequent reduction of all debts over 4500 zloty.

Food industry

Dr Witt says IPO possible in 2005

Premium fruit juice maker Dr Witt could go public on the WSE sometime next year, CEO Jan Rynkiewicz said on Friday. Dr Witt, which has 3 percent market share, says it needs over 100 million zloty to pay for upgrades and possible acquisitions.