News Parkiet

Monetary policy

New MPC members keep mum

over future interest rates

Future members of the Monetary Policy Council say it?s too early to discuss their views on Polish interest rates later in the year. Just one out of nine MPC candidates polled by PARKIET says he will push for more liberal monetary policy, cutting prime interest rates in order to stimulate the economy. ?More cuts are necessary given the existing level of capital investments?, says former Treasury Minister Mirosław Pietrewicz. Other MPC candidates are more cautious, highlighting more pressing issues, including better relations between the central bank and the government, central banks? foreign currency reserves and MPC?s macroeconomic policy mix.

Telecommunications

BRE Bank to buy El-Net from Vivendi

subsidiary

Commerzbank?s BRE Bank is negotiating acquisition of El-Net fixed line telecommunications firm from a joint venture of France?s Vivendi and Polish conglomerate Elektrim S.A. Vivendi?s subsidiary Elektrim-Telekomunikacja tried to sell El-Net to Raiffeisen Investment Polska, but the deal fell through in mid-November. Sources close to the company say the sale to BRE may be completed by the end of this week.

Four years ago BRE together with six other banks gave El-Net 300 million zloty loan to finance its expansion across Poland. The project never really took off and in addition to 200 million zloty in overdue bank loans, El-Net now owes 750 million zloty to its shareholders. It also had unpaid state licenses of some 500 million zloty.

El-Net has approximately 60.000 subscribers in its home region of Bydgoszcz in central Poland and in Warsaw area.

Equity markets

No charges filed over 4Media scam

Polish prosecutors still haven?t filed any charges after a yearlong investigation into the bankruptcy of 4Media S.A., a maverick new media company that went bankrupt early last year leaving behind piles of unpaid bills. The SEC has asked District Prosecutor in Warsaw to investigate alleged violation of insider trading regulations.

Former 4Media CEOs Wojciech Krefft and Dariusz Kaszubski were reportedly interrogated in connection with official press releases published by the firm during its two-year stint on the Warsaw bourse. A spokesman for the prosecutor responsible for the case says publicly traded holding company has repeatedly published falsified financial data of its numerous regional subsidiaries.

4Media was delisted from the WSE in February of last year.

Chemical industry

Śnieżka meets 2003 sales target

Śnieżka paint-maker announced on Tuesday it has met its revenue target for 2003 just a few days after its IPO on Warsaw Stock Exchange. Last year?s sales rose 20 percent to 318 million zloty, company representatives said at a news conference in Warsaw. Earnings are said to be ?close? to Śnieżka?s official forecast of 20 million zloty ($5.5 million). Co-founder and CEO Kazimierz Mikrut added, the firm expects its earnings to increase by another 50 percent this year thanks to rising sales by Ukrainian subsidiaries.

Commodities market

WGT may quit Poland over new

regulations

Poland?s largest commodities exchange, WGT, says it will continue its futures market trading platform despite new, highly restrictive government regulations. Under new rules, Warsaw based exchange would have to obtain official license issued by the Polish SEC, set up its own clearing house and restrict trading in bond and currency futures.

WGT, whose full name is Warszawska Giełda Towarowa (Warsaw Commodities Exchange) said it will either apply for a domestic license or register its business outside Poland.