Brokerage industry
Foreign brokers entering Poland
since EU accession
Since May 1 entry into the European Union at least nine foreign brokerage firms and one international bank sent notices to the Polish Securities Exchanges Commission about their intentions to start operations in Poland, SEC sources told PARKIET on Tuesday. The SEC refused to disclose names of the applicants, but said none of the ten firms plans to open local offices here.
Polish brokers say they are not worried about losing their clients. Nonetheless, Marek Słomski from ING Securities admits that local brokerage houses will monitor their new competitors.
Eleven insurance groups, including Lloyd?s have also filed notices about their plans to set up business in Poland with KNUiFE regulatory agency in the last few weeks.
Jyske Bank from Denmark is the only international firm to publicize its plans to enter Poland based on EU regulations. Jyske said it plans to start offering investment services to wealthy private clients.
Publishing
Agora and Advent shortlisted
to buy Polish textbook publisher
Polish Treasury Ministry picked Agora newspaper publisher and a consortium of Advent International and CA IB to negotiate privatization sale of WSiP textbook publisher, ministry officials said in a statement to the press yesterday. Polish government has agreed to sell up to 60 percent of WSiP in early March. It now gave Agora, which publishes Poland?s second largest paper ?Gazeta Wyborcza?, Advent International venture capital fund and CA IB pre-IPO Investment fund five days to complete due diligence before making a final bid for WSiP. Polish authorities said earlier at least 25 percent of the company will be sold in an IPO on the Warsaw bourse.
State-owned WSiP is Poland?s oldest textbook publisher, wholly owned by the government. Its annual sales total 280 million zloty.
Sources close to the situation say the entire company may be worth between 370 and 425 million zloty ($95-109 million).
Pharmaceuticals
Drug sales to Russia rising
Export sales of Polish pharmaceutical products rose 12.5 percent to 214 million dollars, industry association said yesterday. Sales to Russia totaled 47.5 million dollars, recovering after the collapse in late 1990?s, Polish Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Employers said in a report. Total drug sales rose 10.4 percent to PLN 7.9 billion.
Pension funds
OFE ?churn rate? higher
Over 85.000 members of OFE private pension system decided to switch their funds in May, bringing the total to over 1.15 million since the funds were launched in late 1999, Analizy Online, an industry consulting group reported yesterday. BRE Bank?s OFE Skarbiec and Kredyt Bank subsidiary OFE Kredyt Banku were the biggest losers because of poor investment returns.
Mandatory OFE pension funds have over 10 million members.
On average, each OFE member had savings of just over 4200 zloty ($1100) at the end of May.
Information Technology
Jakubas raises stake
in Optimus PC-maker
Polish businessman Zbigniew Jakubas has increased his stake in the publicly traded computer maker Optimus SA, strengthening his position in the company.
Jakubas, who has interests in various construction, railway and publishing firms said in a statement to Warsaw Stock Exchange he now owns 22.8 percent of Optimus after buying 3 percent of the firm in after-hours trading last week.
Shares of Optimus rose 1.4 percent to close at 10.85 zloty on Tuesday, valuing Mr. Jakubas? stake at 23 million zloty ($5.9 million).
Separately, Mr. Jakubas said Optimus may try to sell new stock to raise up to 20 million zloty to finance acquisitions in the former Soviet Union. ?Our board is meeting next week to look at the acquisition plans?, Mr. Jakubas told PARKIET in a telephone interview.
Pulp & paper
PflePfleiderer AG?s Polish subsidiary Grajewo has announced the pricing range for up to 1.6 million new shares it plans to sell to the public by June 9. The company, Poland?s largest maker of wood panels said it will offer new stock at 167 to 185 zloty, depending on the demand from institutional investors.
The company, which now has a market value of approximately 900 million zloty, could raise PLN 296 million to finance expansion in Russia and the buyout of Prospan, another local subsidiary of Pfleiderer.
