News Parkiet

Chemicals

Chemical firms hit by EU regulations

Polish chemical firms will have to re-register their products after the proposed ?REACH? chemicals registration policy of the European Union takes effect sometime in 2006. Only a few large firms are actually aware of the new regulation, which could force weaker players out of the market. ?REACH? Never heard of it. We?re already in the EU and we have no problems selling our products?, says Andrzej Łatka, CEO of publicly traded specialty chemicals maker Huta Oława.

REACH, which stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, could provide extra income to Polish chemical testing labs

Metals

Grupa Kęty may buy Impexmetal?s aluminum plant

Grupa Kęty packaging maker says it will make a bid for the 88 percent stake in Aluminium Konin-Impexmetal aluminum plant after the company was put on sale by its owner, Impexmetal metals trading group. Equity analysts say Impexmetal could receive up to 300 million zloty ($77 million) for these assets.

Pharmaceuticals

Ivax buys 25 pct. of Polfa Kutno

Ivax Corporation said it has acquired almost 25 percent of Polish drug-maker Polfa Kutno from Italy?s Recordati after a six-week bidding war for the company. In return Recordati, which accumulated a large stake in Polfa in an attempt to take over the company, received about 0.9 percent of Ivax. The Italians will post a paper gain of approximately 3.6 million dollars on the sale.

Most Polish investment funds that control Polfa Kutno have already agreed to convert their holdings into new shares of Ivax. Conversion price has been set at 340 zloty per share, about 5.6 percent below Polfa?s closing price on Wednesday. Local sources close to Miami-based company say Ivax will file to have its stock listed on the Warsaw bourse by mid-June.

Food industry

Zbigniew Grycan to reopen ice-cream

business

Polish businessman Zbigniew Grycan has announced plans to open yet another ice-cream chain after selling his original business, ?Zielona Budka? to US investment fund Enterprise Investors. Mr. Grycan has already invested 2 million dollars to build a new premium ice-cream plant. Production is set to start in early July.

Privatization funds

KP Konsorcjum?s funds clean up their

portfolios

Two publicly traded privatization funds, NFI Piast and NFI Octava sold their stakes in five bankrupt companies to a private investor from Warsaw.

Mr. Paweł Czeredyn, who pledged to share any future profits from the sale of former state-owned companies with Piast and Octava, paid a total of 25.000 for these assets.

NFI Octava and NFI Piast are controlled by KP Konsorcjum investment group. Combined assets of the two funds at the end of March totaled 250 million zloty ($64.1 million).

Information Technology

One-2-One completes first sale in Germany

Leading Polish provider of SMS technology, Poznań-based software house One-2-One has completed its first-ever German contract for Berlin?s R.S.2 radio station. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

?It took us over a year to prepare for the German market?, One-2-One?s Piotr Długiewicz told PARKIET.

The firm, part of investment portfolio of the publicly traded MCI Management venture capital fund said it plans to set up a joint venture in Germany together with Ceratek, a local consulting firm.

Auto industry

Most Polish car sale contracts illegal,

government agency says

About 85 percent of all sale contracts offered by Polish auto makers and car dealers contain provisions that are illegal, UOKiK consumer protection agency said in a report published yesterday. Half of all contracts examined by UOKiK last year tried to shift responsibility for warranty services and factory defects on individual buyers, agency?s Ewa Kubis said.

Equity markets

Urząd Skarbowy admits tax mistake

Polish tax authorities have cleared up their interpretation of new rules on capital gains taxes, making it safe for investors to switch their stockbrokers. In April, former Pekao employee who received company stock back in 1997 received summons to pay capital gains taxes after transferring his shares to a new brokerage account.

Starting January, Polish government begun levying 19 percent tax on all stock market gains.