News Parkiet

Privatization

Financial investors make a bid for Mennica Państwowa

Financial investors, including several pension and investment funds, are reported to have made a bid to buy government-owned stake in Mennica Państwowa, Poland?s state mint. The group may include Multico, an investment company controlled by Polish businessman Zbigniew Jakubas, who already owns 24.9 percent of Mennica and has just received SEC approval to raise his stake to 33 percent. Government stake in the company is worth approximately 165 million zloty ($44 million).

Polish Treasury Ministry has rejected a previous bid for Mennica by Mr. Jakubas. It said the offer was ?too low?.

Sources speculate sale of Mennica may depend on the success of upcoming IPO of PKO BP. At 5 to 6 billion zloty, the IPO will account for the majority of this year?s privatization target of PLN 8.8 billion.

By late August Poland raised just 2 billion zloty selling state-owned assets.

In addition to minting coins, Mennica, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, produces specialty chemicals and sells electronic public transit tickets used in Warsaw. It also has a money-losing property development subsidiary called Mennica Invest. The group reported earnings of 20.8 million zloty in the six months to July. Its revenue totaled PLN 216 million, up 12.5 percent from last year.

Personal savings

PZU targets a major IKE market share

Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeniowy, Poland?s largest insurance group, is expecting to gain 20 percent of the market for tax-exempt individual retirement accounts launched on September 1st. It will unit-linked life insurance products, as well as regular investment portfolios based on the three mutual funds managed by PZU TFI.

Front-end fees on IKE savings will range between2 and 3.4 percent.

Banking industry

Kredyt Bank to boost ROE

Kredyt Bank wants to raise its Return On Equity to around 17 percent, the target figure for KBC group?s Central European operations, chief executive Małgorzata Kroker-Jachiewicz told PARKIET recently. The bank reported 11.9 percent ROE at the end of June after suffering massive losses due to bad loans over the last two years.

Warsaw-based Kredyt Bank, which is 85-percent owned by KBC, also says it will try to reduce its efficiency ratio, now at 85.3 percent, among the highest for large Polish banks.

E-commerce

Bankier.pl buys smaller rival

Wrocław-based financial services website Bankier.pl bought a company that runs ww.Twoja-Firma.pl, an Internet site for small business for an undisclosed amount yesterday. It said however, that Twoja-Firma has about 80.000 unique users each month. Bankier.pl itself has about 250.000 unique users.

Bankier.pl, which is part owned by MCI Management and bmp AG, two venture capital funds from Poland and Germany respectively, also said it expect an 80 percent increase in sales this year to around 3 million zloty.

Telecommunications

Polkomtel launches 3G services

Polkomtel SA, the smallest of Poland?s three mobile phone companies, launched first commercial 3G services yesterday. For now, the service is only available in Warsaw.

Financial services

Eurofaktor IPO to follow PKO BP

Eurofaktor SA, Poland?s biggest independent factoring company, plans to raise at least 50 million zloty in an IPO tentatively scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004, right after privatization sale of PKO BP, this year?s biggest.

Detailed terms and timing of the IPO have yet to be announced, but Eurofaktor has already filed for IPO with Polish SEC, the KPWiG.

The company, which is engaged in purchasing and collecting consumer loans from utilities and other large corporations in southern Poland, wants to double its receivables portfolio from the existing 300 million zloty. It will also try to refinance its balance sheet, reducing the dependence on bank loans in favor of commercial paper. Eurofaktor says WSE listing would raise market confidence among potential lenders. Eurofaktor now has 4.5 percent share of the Polish market.

Real estate

Skarbiec to launch a real estate fund

TFI Skarbiec mutual fund group has announced plans to launch a ten-year, closed-end real estate fund investing in residential housing for lower-income buyers. The fund wants to raise at least 50 million zloty to build apartments for sale in Warsaw and other Polish cities. Skarbiec is expecting returns of at least 12 percent annually.

TFI Skarbiec has already tried and failed to sell its first REIT fund back in early 2002.