Polish Business Survey
Another useless week for stocks
Whatever positive signals may have been sent from ThursdayŐs increases on NASDAQ, they certainly did not impress anyone in Warsaw. Yet again it was down and predictions made following ThursdayŐs increases proved correct. One thing is certain: this week we can expect more of the same.
Dodgy investment
The privatisation agency is hoping to sell 80 percent of its shares in auto-part producer Polmo from Brodnica near Toruń. Any possible investor will have to aid a company which is probably about to lose orders from its best clients: Fiat and Daewoo.
Assuring with the Post Office
The French insurer Cardif Polska has opened a company with the Polish post office which aims to sell individual life policies. Cardif received its operating licence for life assurance three years ago and its is only now that it is putting it to use. Cardif also recently received a licence for property insurance.
Spas to be privatised
This month privatisation advisors Doradca Consultants will present their plans to the treasury for the sell off of 24 health spas. It would appear that some of these spas which are close to bankruptcy could be liquidated and have their assets sold off.
Wandalex hopes for PLN20m
Warsaw based Wandalex is expecting to raise PLN20m from a share issue last week. Some of these funds will be used to buy the Zgierz ZUT factory.
Lead is attractive
Bytom based battery producer Orzeł Biały has begun the construction of a lead manufacturing facility. This would add to the company s attractiveness before privatisation.
No money for rape
For the past few months Kama Foods from Brzeg in Lower Silesia has not been paying its suppliers. Farmers who supplied rape last year have only just received payment, a difficult situation for them as Kama is one of the most important suppliers of this cereal in the region.
Emma Budzisz from the marketing department of Kama Foods admits that there is some money outstanding but this is because the company has invested USD60m in modernisation. Furthermore, in the case of rape, the company is paying PLN850 per ton as per contracts when the market price is nearer PLN600. The company is trying to sell its best known brand, Kama margarine and is currently negotiating with Unilever Polska.
Kama Foods has a 13 percent share of the margarine market and also wants to enter the edible oils market. In 1998 it lost PLN21m. It is owned 75 percent by White Eagle Industries whilst the state still holds nine percent.
Alstom to invest more in Poland
The French Alstom has announced plans to invest EUR14.5m in its Polish subsidiaries, seven of which will be spending PLN60m on modernisation this year.
The company, which is above all known for its activity in energy and transport is now looking to expand into the marine sector.
Alstom employs over 3,500 people in Poland and has a turnover (including that of its subsidiaries) of EUR500m.
Leasing: mixed signals
Three of the largest five leasing companies experienced notable increases in the first half of this year. The best results were noted by the Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy who had a 37 percent increase although both BRE Leasing and BEL Leasing were not far behind. It was not such good news for last yearŐs market leader LHI Leasing Polen who operate in the real estate sector and who noted a fall in contract value from PLN769.6m in the first half of last year to PLN366.7m in the same period in 2000. Fellow Germans DaimlerChrysler Leasing also noted poorer results.
Clarification — Rybnik power station
In Friday s edition some confusion may have been caused as to the intentions of the consortium made up of NRG, Marubeni and GE Capital to take a share of the Rybnik power station. Whereas this consortium did not invest in the Rybnik power station within the deadlines set by the treasury, it is not completely withdrawing from the purchase as may have been interpreted from the article.