News Parkiet

Privatization

Poland considering PKO BP, PZU merger

Poland may merge PKO BP, the country?s largest bank and PZU, its top insurer to create a national financial group as a counterbalance to foreign banks, Treasury Minister Zbigniew Kaniewski said in a speech at the Polish parliament on Friday.

?Our goal is to create a strong financial institution that will be able to take on big foreign companies?, Kaniewski said. Kaniewski, a long-time union activist with no business background, who previously worked as geography teacher added that ?foreign capital has taken over Polish financial industry?.

Currency market

Forex brokers may be forced to apply for SEC licenses

Polish forex brokers may be forced to apply for KPWiG (SEC) brokerage licenses after the new securities law comes into force on May 1st. Legal experts are still unsure about the effect of new changes, but say the law may apply to all forex brokers offering access to currency-based derivatives including futures contracts, currency options and currency swaps or interest rate swaps.

Equity markets

March futures

WIG20 index futures contracts fell as much as 66 points at the open on Friday after an apparent mistake by futures daytrader. Polish SEC is invstigating unusual price movement of FW20H2004 futures, but says low liquidity rather than

Postal services

Post Office competition unlikely before 2009

State-owned Post Office doesn?t have to worry about competition at least until 2009 after Polish parliament completed work on draft law that?s supposed to liberalize the market. Under the proposed law, the Post Office (?Poczta Polska?) would retain its monopoly on letters under 50 grams even after 2006. Private messenger services expect real competition only after URTiP, government regulator defines clear market rules on postal services.

Retailing

Intermarche to spend PLN 220 million on new grocery stores

Grupa Muszkieterów, an association of independent store owners announced plans to spend as much as 220 million zloty to open 48 Intermarche grocery supermarkets this year. Sales of Western Poland-based grocery chain are set to rise to 2.1 billion zloty ($500 million).

Media

Clear Channel sees 15 pct EBITDA growth in Poland

Clear Channel Poland, a local unit of US outdoor advertising group expects 10 percent revenue growth this year after posting sales of 44 million zloty ($11.5 million) in 2003. EBITDA (Earnings Before Income Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) forecasts call for 15 percent increase to approximately 1.5 million zloty.

Equity markets

DGA stock sale oversubscribed, sources say

Initial public offering of shares in DGA Doradztwo Gospodarcze consulting firm is oversubscribed ten times or more even before the company completed sale of new stock to retail investors. Poznań-based DGA said it has received orders for 2.7 million shares from institutional investors. The company offered just 450.000 shares, priced at 27.5 zloty each.

Demand from retail investors is even stronger, sources close to the underwriter, BDM PKO BP told PARKIET on Friday.

DGA said it wants to raise approximately 15 million zloty in this year?s smallest IPO to pay for the development of new products.

Equity market

Poland tallies costs and benefits of the Iraqi war

Polish participation in last year?s liberation of Iraq and military presence in the Middle East cost an estimated 270 million zloty, Defense Ministry said on Friday. Diplomatic efforts directly related to the war cost another three million zloty last year alone. Since then, Polish construction and telecommunications companies won several contracts worth at least 58 million US dollars to rebuild the country?s infrastructure.