News Parkiet

Mutual funds

Foreign mutual funds

to enter Polish market

OECD-registered mutual funds will start selling their products in Poland by mid-2004, sources told PARKIET on Friday. Several funds have already made preliminary arrangements to distribute their products through Polish banking network. mBank, the first Polish virtual bank will start by offering mutual banks sold by its parent company, Commerzbank group, its head Sławomir Lachowski says. ?We would also like to sell investment products by other asset management groups?, Lachowski adds.

Aleksander Chłopecki from the Securities and Exchanges Commission says US private equity and property investment funds are talking with the SEC to gain access to Poland.

Private equity

NFI Magna Polonia buys mystery fund

from BOŚ Bank

NFI Magna Polonia privatization fund spent 8.5 million zloty on 69.4 percent stake in TI Epoka investment fund from BOŚ Bank in a transaction announced earlier this week. Magna Polonia, one of fifteen privatization funds created in mid-1990?s, refused to provide any details of its most recent acquisition. However, BOŚ reports indicate Epoka generates most of its income from its portfolio of government bonds and T-bills.

Packaging industry

Kęty projects net income of 86.8 million zloty in 2004

Grupa Kęty S.A., Poland?s top aluminum maker said it expects profits to climb by a third next year thanks to higher sales. Net income will total 86.8 million zloty ($23 million), up from 65 million zloty forecasted for this year, the company said at a press conference on Friday. Sales are set to rise to 700 million zloty from 640 million this year.

Grupa Kęty also said it plans to increase its capex by as much as 400 percent next year, spending an estimated 130 million zloty on upgrades and expansion of its production capacity.