News Parkiet

Equity market

Brokers must use safety features,

Rozłucki says

WSE president Wiesław Rozłucki says equity brokers must do more to monitor and prevent unusual trading activity in the aftermath of an apparent attempt to manipulate futures prices two weeks ago. Warsaw Stock Exchange has already imposed order size limits, demanding that all Polish brokers activate custom-made software application that will eliminate most bad orders. Commenting on a joint bid with Euronext to buy Lithuania?s National Stock Exchange, Rozłucki said the purchase would strengthen WSE?s position during the integration of European bourses.

Monetary policy

Kwaśniewski selects three new MPC members

Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski has appointed three representatives tot he nine-member Monetary Policy Council yesterday. The president selected Dariusz Filar, chief economist at Bank Pekao S.A., Andrzej Sławiński, a professor at the Warsaw School of Economics and Andrzej Wojtyna, Kwaśniewski?s own economic adviser. Both houses of the Polish parliament have already picked their own MPC appointees.

Pharmaceuticals

Poland to change refundable drug list

Polish Health Ministry lowered prices of an estimated 130 drugs. Sources at the Health Ministry say new drug refund policy, in effect since March 1st will help save patients some 200 million zloty.

Equity markets

Inter Cars to file for IPO next week

Inter Cars auto parts distributor says it will file its issuing prospectus with the Polish SEC sometime next week. Two privatization funds want to sell their 32 percent stake in the company in an IPO scheduled later this year. Inter Cars itself won?t be selling new stock for now, board member Krzysztof Soszyński told PARKIET yesterday. Inter Cars is Poland?s largest supplier of new auto parts. According to preliminary figures released by NFI Fortuna, one of its shareholders, sales at Warsaw-based company rose over 40 percent to PLN 453 million because of stronger euro. Earnings were virtually flat at 11 million zloty.

Real estate

Hungarian TriGranit to invest in Poland

Hungarian property developer TriGranit plans to invest as much as 200 million euro to build new shopping and entertainment center in Katowice, the capital of southern Silesia province. The project, to be called Silesia City Center is located at the site of former ?Gottwald? coal mine.

Subsequent extension of Silesia City Center by 2009 could cost as much as 600 million euro.

Machine tools

Jakubas to buy ZA Polna

Polish businessman Zbigniew Jakubas announced plans to take over publicly traded ZA Polna. Jakubas has already secured regulatory approvals to buy at least 50 percent of company?s outstanding stock.