News Parkiet

Insurance

Warta may pay more for Agropolisa

Poland's second life insurer, KBC subsidiary Warta SA may end up paying an additional 40 to 50 million zloty for Agropolisa, a small firm specializing in agricultural insurance it bought for PLN 20 million late last year. Auditors examining the sale say Agropolisa, which was also part of KBC group, went too far writing off losses on its portfolio just before the transaction took place. Agropolisa's minority shareholders are threatening to go to court because of the sale.

Equity markets

DM Polonia Net becomes Poland's 1st WSE agent

Poland's smallest stockbroker, Kraków-based DM Polonia Net is testing new regulations that allow equity brokers to work as agents using larger brokerage houses. DM Polonia, which has just 6000 brokerage accounts and a negligible, 0.1 percent market share has made an arrangement to execute customer orders through ING Groep's ING Securities, skipping WSE membership fees.

Equity market

IPO delays not our fault - SEC says

Sloppy paperwork and incomplete data are the main reasons for delayed IPO approvals, senior official at the Polish Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) said in an interview with PARKIET. Deputy chairman Zbigniew Mrowiec claims that last month's departure of his former boss, long-time SEC chairman Jacek Socha and several other key staff members had no impact on the IPO approval process responding to public charges by several brokers and IPO candidates. The SEC said none of the half a dozen IPO prospectuses examined at the meeting in mid-June met its standards and told future stock market candidates their filing documents need more work.

Telecommunications

Czyżewski named new CEO of Tel-Energo

Witold Czyżewski became the new chief executive of two Polish telecommunications companies - the country's second largest data carrier Tel-Energo and a small DLD operator named NOM. Mr. Czyżewski, a brother of former Treasury Minister, used to work as Chief Information Officer at Polkomtel, Poland's third-largest mobile phone company.

Other staff changes at Tel-Energo and NOM may signal closer ties and a possible merger between the two firms.

Tel-Energo is the telecommunications arm of Poland's power grid operator, state-owned Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne.

Equity markets

PBG up 10 pct. on IPO

Shares of PBG pipeline builder rose 13.75 percent on their first day of trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Wielkopolska-based PBG added 4.4 zlotys to its IPO price of 32 zloty, outperforming the WIG20 blue-chip index, which ended the day down 1 percent. Based on Friday's closing price PBG, which expects sales of at least 300 million zloty next year is worth as much as PLN 383 million ($103 million).

PBG specializes in pipeline construction and building underground fuel tanks for POGC natural gas distributor and other petrochemical industry clients.