Polish Business Survey
PKP to install telephone link
State railway operator PKP has signed a letter of intention with ZWUT, a company belonging to the German Siemens, for the installation of an experimental digital GSMR (Global System Mobile Railways).
This mobile system will be installed on the international E-20 rail line linking Berlin with Poznań.
GSMR is currently in use in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and the UK. The PKP claims that it will improve the speed, punctuality and passenger comfort as well as assuring mobile phone links for travellers and staff alike.
The fact that the Siemens system is being tested does not assume that the German company will be chosen by PKP. PKP claims that it will have a standard tender for supplying the equipment which will be paid from its own funds and EU aid.
Manufacturer buys own shares
Door and window manufacturer Stolarka Wołomin has decided to buy 400,000 of its shares currently in the hands of small shareholders and employees and against a planned emission to be arranged by the French Paribas. A sum of PLN12m has been allotted for this purpose.
Currently over 75 percent of the company belongs to three people plus Paribas. There are around 320 small shareholders who own the remaining quarter of the company. If the planned share purchase is successful this would put more than half of the shares back in the hands of the three original owners.
Thanks to the aid of Parisbas, Stolarka Wołomin was able to realise investment projects such as flooring production and an aluminium-timber shutter production line.
Danisco withdraws from Poland
Danish food manufacturers Danisco have announced that they wish to sell their share of their three Polish sugar refineries and British Sugar Overseas has shown an interest in acquiring them.
BSO is the largest shareholder in the Glinojeck refinery. Since last year Danisco has held nearly all the shares in the Pelplin refinery and stated sometime ago that they were interested in acquiring at least three more refineries in Toruń and Gdańsk although recently the German Nordzucker has been making moves in this direction.
Danisco is now the second foreign sugar concern to withdraw from Poland following Tate and Lyle s departure last year when it sold the German Suedzucker the Garbów refinery.
Russia - our trading partner...
Export guarantors KUKE are seeking new products which will help rebuild Polish exports to the east. At the beginning of next month they will launch a new programme called Russia - our trading partner. Their guarantors are to be a group of selected Russian banks which they consider to be in good financial condition.
The nine banks involved in this programme are Alfa-Bank, Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs-Vnesheconombank, Bank Zenit, Conversbank, Gazprombank, Guta Bank, International Industrial Bank, Joint Stock Bank Sobinbank and Moscow Business World Commercial Bank.
KUKE claims that a simplified procedure has been introduced for exports worth less than USD10m.
Van sales drop in May by 13 percent
Sales of vans fell by 13 percent in the first five months of this year when compared to the same period in 1999. The worst results were felt by Skoda.
Analysts feel that this is not a result of a lagging economy but the direct consequence of government interference in the leasing market.
According to analysts Samar, 14,400 vans were bought to the end of May, even worse results than for cars which dropped by eleven percent.
Reasons for the drop in sales are given as fuel, credit and insurance price increases as well as a clear indication from the government that taxation is not to be changed. New laws furthermore state that a vehicle obtained by leasing must be able to carry at least 500kg not including passengers. This effectively excludes estate cars and all but the largest vans.