News Parkiet

Banking & finances

Multinationals bring stock option plans

into Poland

Selected employees of Citigroup?s Polish subsidiary Bank Handlowy will now be eligible to participate in the stock option plan offered by its parent company. Western multinationals doing business in Poland are increasingly using stock options to reward and motivate their local executives and other top employees. The practice is still rare among domestic firms, including those listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

US companies which grant stock options to their Polish employees include IBM and Oracle. Both decided to implement stock options plans that reward all local staff, not just senior executives.

Utilities

MPEC to invest in green energy

MPEC Wrocław heating utility is planning the construction of alternative energy sources, reducing its dependence on government regulations that keep down margins of its main business. Publicly traded MPEC is hoping it will obtain EU funding to pay for local heat and power plants that use wood chips and straw as fuel, its CEO Marek Rakowicz said in an interview with PARKIET. Wrocław-based regional utility also says Poland will have to repeal local rate-setting laws that regulate the industry, since they are incompatible with EU standards. The firm estimates its earnings in 2004 would be higher by as much as 10 million zloty ($2.7 million) if it weren?t for the ?non-profit? rule approved by the parliament several years ago.

Equity markets

Kross bike-maker may list on WSE

Poland?s largest bicycle maker Kross S.A. may list its stock on the Warsaw bourse, deputy CEO said yesterday. The firm, which makes about 840.000 bikes per year would like to raise approximately 50 million zloty in an IPO tentatively scheduled for 2005, Zbigniew Szabłowski told PARKIET.

Founded by private businessman Zbigniew Sosnowski, Kross posted sales of 143 million zloty between January and November of last year. Export sales account for almost a third of Kross? revenues.

Its earnings totaled 8.2 million zloty and are set to nearly double this year.

Power industry

Rafako wins key contract at Bełchatów

power plant

Rafako power plant supplier has won a large new contract at Elektrownia Bełchatów power plant. The firm will receive 300-million zloty (62.9 million euro) for new sulfur-removal system at two of Bełchatów?s power blocks. Rafako?s main competitor, Italian Lurgi group offered 68.5 million euros for the job.

Rafako has annual sales of approximately 560 million zloty.

Sources close to the company say it has already made another bid to build a new, 750 million euro power block at Bełchatów together with Alstom Power.

Car manufacturing

Poland woos Hyundai?s new factory

with state grants

Polish government has offered as much as 340 million zloty in grants to Hyundai after the South Korean carmaker said it is seeking a new location for its Central European car factory. Deputy Minister of the Economy Andrzej Szejna says he expects the grants will be offset by higher tax revenue.

Local government in Wrocław said it would open a South Korean cultural center and a Korean school if the project goes ahead.

?Our law allows us to provide that kind of assistance?, claims Szejna.

Hyundai said it would build a 600 million-dollar factory designed to produce up to 300.000 new cars per year. The plant will employ about 3000 workers.

Hyundai?s plans follow similar investments by Toyota and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, which are building new car factories in the neighboring Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

Insurance

More changes at KNUiFE

KNUiFE regulatory agency, which oversees Polish insurance industry and private pension funds has just completed another administrative reshuffle. Starting January 1, the agency has closed down its Supervision and Monitoring Departme