News Parkiet

Equity markets

Brokers go to court

to stop capital gains tax

IDM brokers? association and the Polish Association of Individual Investors (SII) announced they will go before Poland?s Constitutional Tribunal to argue against capital gains tax in effect since January of this year. The two associations say the new law is ?unenforceable? and ?unconstitutional? because of conflicting regulations and missing investor data. Opponents of capital gains tax have asked Polish ombudsman to support their attempts to block capital gains tax.

Poland started levying 19 percent tax on stock market gains in January.

Equity markets

BDM suspends two brokers

over trading losses

PKO Bank Państwowy?s brokerage house has suspended two equity brokers allegedly involved in suspicious trading activity on the futures? market. ?Two brokers were suspended. We are still looking at the situation, BDM PKO?s Jan Kuźma said on Friday.

The broker is reported to have lost between three and four million zloty after WIG20 futures contracts fell 100 points within seconds of a huge sell order, bouncing back over 250 points.

Equity markets

Futures session delayed by new rules

Friday?s futures session begun 20 minutes late because WSE officials decided to restart Warset trading system after imposing new restrictions on the derivatives market. Warsaw Stock Exchange narrowed trading limits after Wednesday?s session, when several large orders with no price limits wiped out dozens of futures traders.

Banking

ML?s Dominet Bank sees strong

earnings in 2004

Privately held Dominet Bank posted 13.8 percent ROE last year, deputy CEO Piotr Urbańczyk said last week. Its earnings rose eleven times compared with 2002 to more than 6 million zloty ($1.6 million) after the bank increased both personal loans and deposits. Assets were up 40 percent to 855 million zloty.

Dominet Bank expects even better earnings in 2004 after expanding nation-wide from its home base in Lower Silesia. It recently begun selling home loans offered by Denmark?s Nykredit mortgage bank.

Formerly known as Cuprum Bank, a company bank owned by KGHM Polish Copper, Dominet Bank is controlled by Dominet personal finance group and by Merrill Lynch Global Emerging Markets Partners private equity fund.

Electrical components

Ampli to double sales after buying

out local competitors

Publicly traded light bulb and wiring wholesaler Ampli S.A. said it would double its sales this year after buying two smaller, local competitors, Ampli, which has market capitalization of less than 4 million zloty said it is negotiating purchase of Energo-Hurt, a subsidiary of regional power company and at least one unnamed local firm. If the acquisitions go through, sales at Tarnów-based company will more than double to over 100 million zloty this year.

Equity market

JC Auto announces IPO details

Poland?s third largest auto parts supplier JC Auto wants to raise as much as 70 million zloty selling minority stake in the company on the Warsaw bourse, founder and CEO Jerzy Grabowiecki told PARKIET on Friday. Warsaw-based company has already filed for IPO with KPWiG, Polish stock market regulatory agency.

IPO proceeds would be used to launch distribution of European car parts, Grabowiecki said. JC Auto, which has annual sales of 100 million zloty now offers parts for Japanese and Korean vehicles.

Airlines

LOT unfazed by low-cost carriers

Polish national airline PLL Lot doesn?t expect dramatic changes after the launch of new, low-cost airlines competing on key international routes. The carrier, part of Lufthansa?s Star Alliance, responded by cutting its own ticket prices on routes to London.

Power industry

Poland announces new energy

restructuring strategyPolish government will push for a vertical integration between state-owned power plants and energy distributors, deputy Treasury Minister said on Friday. ?Energy distributors typically have very high credit ratings. We could use that to finance investments in power production?, Tadeusz Soroka said in an interview with Polish News Agency PAP.