News Parkiet

Power industry

EBRD to refinance Pątnów expansion

European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has agreed to co-finance construction of a new power block at Pątnów power plant, one of Poland?s largest energy producers. The project at Pątnów, part of PAK power plant controlled by the publicly traded Elektrim group was suspended earlier this year after Polish banks refused to lend money to Elektrim subsidiary. Completion of PAK by SNC Lavalin will cost approximately 400-million euro. EBRD is expected to provide 75-million euro loan, while state-owned NFOŚiGW ecological fund will lend approximately 226 million zloty.

Rafako, Remak and Elektrobudowa, three publicly traded contractors at PAK now say work on the project will be restarted sometime in late 1Q 2004. Prime contractor, Elektrim subsidiary Elektrim-Megadex will be replaced by the Canadian company in order to diversify credit risk after Elektrim defaulted on its bond payments.

Internet

Telekomunikacja Polska raises stake in WP

Poland?s national phone company Telekomunikacja Polska has increased its stake in Wirtualna Polska, the country?s second most popular Internet portal to 80 percent, buying out Prokom Software and other minority shareholders.

TP paid 54 million zloty for 21 percent of Wirtualna formerly held by Prokom subsidiary Prokom Internet. Telekomunikacja Polska also purchased smaller stakes from Prokom?s founder Ryszard Krauze and Transcontinental Fund Ltd., a US investment fund. Prokom took minority stake in Wirtualna Polska in the fall of 1999.

?Prokom?s decision to sell its stake is based on its plans to dispose of Internet assets, which are not connected with software activities of Prokom group of companies?, the firm said in a public statement to shareholders released on Christmas Eve. Separately, Prokom said it has signed a letter of intent with TP on various IT-related projects.

Shares of Prokom Software, Poland?s largest IT firm, fell 1.4 percent on the news in very light, post-holiday trading.

Mutual funds

Mutual fund inflows slowing down

Polish mutual fund companies are still growing, but this year?s inflows will be much less than in 2002, when the industry doubled funds under management, says Marek Łukaszewski, the head of STFI mutual fund association told PARKIET.

Domestic mutual funds had a total of 33.8 billion zloty in assets under management at the end of November, representing 50 percent growth rate compared with 2002. Experts say the amount may be somewhat lower, since several tax-sheltered funds with assets of some 2 billion zloty were liquidated earlier this month.

Equity markets

Śnieżka IPO up 21.8 percent

Rights to shares of Śnieżka paint-maker rose 21.8 percent to close at 26.8 zloty on their first day of trading on Warsaw Stock Exchange. The issue, sold just days before Christmas raised 46 million zloty ($13.5 million) to finance Śnieżka?s expansion eastward, into Russia as well as domestic acquisitions.

The firm sold 2.1 million new shares priced at 22 zloty each. Its founders, a group of private businessmen from southeastern Poland sold another 2.1 million shares.

Śnieżka?s shares will be converted into ?real? shares once the issue is registered by Polish courts, which usually takes several weeks or more.

Banking & finances

PKO BP may still go public next year,

Treasury says

Initial Public Offering of Poland?s largest retail bank, state-owned PKO BP may still go ahead as planned despite new delays in the selection of privatization advisor, Treasury official said on Monday. ?We?ll try to sell 30 percent stake in PKO BP next year?, Urszula Palaszek, the head of Financial Institutions Department said.

Polish authorities have once again called off selection of privatization advisor for PKO BP, rejecting bids by three groups led by HSBC, Citigroup and DM Penetrator brokera