1/21/2006

Poland to spend $30 bln on new roads

Poland will spend over 100 billion zlotys(more than 30 billion U.S.dollars) on the construction of new highways and motorways by 2013, announced Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz on Thursday.

Marcinkiewicz noted that of the European Union's 91 billion euros earmarked for Poland in the 2007-2013 period, some 20 billion will be destined for new roads, which will be constructed mostly by the General Board of Roads and Motorways, an administrative body using state budget funds.

The Polish Minister of Transport and Construction, Jerzy Polaczek, said that this system had proved to be cheaper and more efficient.

The funds will enable the construction of three motorways (A1, A2 and A4), and three expressways (S3,S8 and S19) stretching throughout the country.

According to project plans, by the end of 2009, the northern and southern sections of the A1 motorway will be ready, and most of the A4 motorway will have been completed.

Source: Xinhua



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Warsaw shares close at new record high

Polish shares closed at a record high for the second consecutive day, rebounding from earlier declines led by the suspension of Bank BPH shares.

The WIG20 index ended up 0.8 pct at 2,909.77.

UCI announced a tender offer to buy Bank BPH, Poland's third-largest bank, for 11 pct below the market price. The Italians want to buy 8.32 mln shares or 28.9 pct of the bank.

Copper producer KGHM and insulin producer Bioton both ended up over 3 pct higher.

While Telecom TP was weak, as was fuel giant PKN Orlen.

Among the biggest banks, Peako was the only one not to end in the red. Shares in Grupa Kety were suspend after a fire at its building in Bielsko-Biala. Preliminary estimates say the losses will amount to 30-50 mln zloty and the destruction of part of the machines will reduce operating income will by 20 mln zloty.

Source: Forbes.com/AFX News



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Poland promises timely reply on UniCredito

The Polish government will reply to an EC enquiry about delays in the merger of Poland's Pekao SA and BPH banks within the demanded 7-day deadline, the Polish treasury ministry informed on Friday.

On Monday the EC gave the Polish authorities a week to explain their obstruction of a merger between the banks, both property of the Italian UniCredito.

On Thursday the government informed that PM Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz would probably meet UniCredito president Alessandro Profumo.

The APA news agency today quoted Italian media reports that Marcinkiewicz and Profumo could meet on Monday.

UniCredito spokesmen refused to discuss the meeting.

UniCredito owns 52.9 percent of Pekao and all of the German HVB bank, main shareholder in Poland's BPH. For the past several months the Italian group has been waiting for the Polish Banking Supervisory Commission's permission to merge Pekao and BPH.

Source: EuroPAP



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