Poland - Factors to Watch on August 2 | Bonds News | Reuters.com

Poland - Factors to Watch on August 2 | Bonds News | Reuters.com

INFLATION SEEN EASING

Polish inflation is likely to ease in July and August, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, and will mainly be driven by oil and food prices in upcoming months.

PGNIG SEEKS TARIFF EXTENSION

Polish gas distributor PGNiG has applied to the energy watchdog URE for permission to extend a current gas tariff through the fourth quarter, its spokesman said on Wednesday.

Polish economy minister said Russian gas coming to Poland through Belarus was so far uneffected by Gazprom threats to halve delivery to Belarus as soon as Friday over unpaid bills.

PBG'S PROFIT SURGES

Polish builder PBG reported on Thursday a net profit of 31.8 million zlotys ($11.41 million) in the second quarter and upheld its full year forecast thanks to a booming construction sector.

Source: Reuters

Poland sells 1.4 bln zlotys of 2-yr bond vs 2 bln offered - ministry - Forbes.com

Poland sells 1.4 bln zlotys of 2-yr bond vs 2 bln offered - ministry - Forbes.com

Poland sold 1.4 bln zlotys of its 2-yr bonds at a primary tender today, short of the 2 bln zlotys on offer, the finance ministry said.

The ministry said sale attracted bids of 2.09 bln zlotys, the minimum price accepted at the tender was 904.2 zlotys and the average yield reached 5.185 pct.

The ministry also opted not to hold a non-competitive supplementary auction.

Source: AFX

Poland's BZ WBK Q2 net profit rises 20 pct, beats forecast - Forbes.com

Poland's BZ WBK Q2 net profit rises 20 pct, beats forecast - Forbes.com

Polish mid-sized lender BZ WBK, controlled by Allied Irish Banks, beat expectations with an almost 20 pct year-on-year jump in second-quarter net profit to 298 mln zlotys as an economic upswing spurred demand for loans and increased inflows into mutual funds.

The median forecast in a Thomson Financial News survey of 10 analysts expected the bank, Poland's seventh-largest by assets, to earn 293 mln zlotys in the April-June period.

Source: AFX

Poland-Lithuania power bridge feasible only if EU covers 75% of costs - Finanse - Giełda - Wirtualna Polska

Poland-Lithuania power bridge feasible only if EU covers 75% of costs

Representatives from Polish national grid PSE and its Lithuanian counterpart Lietuvos Energija confirmed that a project to build a power bridge between the two countries is technically, economically and legally feasible, but only if 75% of the investment is financed using European Union funds, PSE stated Tuesday evening.

"Representatives of PSE and Lietuvos Energija signed a final document concerning feasibility studies to link the Polish and Lithuanian power systems," reads the statement. "[The document] confirms that the project is technically, economically and legally feasible if at least 75% of the costs of its realization are covered from European Union funds."

PSE CEO Pawel Urbanski said that realization of the project will allow Poland and Lithuania to integrate their power systems, thus increasing energy security.
"It will contribute to a strengthening of the energy security of our country," Urbanski said as quoted in the statement. "This is the way through which the energy from [nuclear power plant] Ignalina will flow [to Poland]. From the beginning we have been considering these two projects, the power bridge and nuclear power plant in Ingnalina, jointly."

Realization of the power link between the towns of Elk in Poland and Alitus in Lithuania includes construction of a 400kV transmission line of over 150 km.

According to preliminary estimates, the project will be completed in 2012 and will cost EUR 237 mln, of which Poland will pay EUR 71 mln and Lithuania EUR 166 mln.

The Elk-Alitus line is a missing part of the so-called Baltic ring linking the power systems of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The project is one of the priority projects of the European Union.


Source:
Agencja Informacyjna Interfax

"Poland will not accept reduction in Russian gas supplies over Gazprom row with Belarus" - Finanse - Giełda - Wirtualna Polska

"Poland will not accept reduction in Russian gas supplies over Gazprom row with Belarus"

Poland is demanding that gas supply contracts with Russia's Gazprom are met in full and will not tolerate any reduction in deliveries that might result from a dispute between the gas company and transit country Belarus, Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak told a briefing Wednesday.

"We demand fulfillment of the [gas] contracts," Wozniak said. "We do not accept the possibility of a reduction or a cut off of gas supplies. We are ignoring arguments about the dispute between the two sides, which we have no influence on."

Wozniak confirmed Poland's gas monopolist PGNiG received official information from Gazprom about potential problems with gas supplies around 13.00 local time. Earlier, Poland had been notified about potential problems by the European Commission coordination group for natural gas issues.

REKLAMA

Czytaj dalej

Gazprom told Belarus that it will reduce gas supplies to the country by 45% as of August 3 because of Minsk's growing debts for shipment so far this year, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday. A source in the Belarusian Energy Ministry confirmed the move to Interfax.

The WSJ wrote that, according to a Gazprom spokesman, the company hopes that cuts to Belarus will not negatively impact gas supplies to western Europe, as they get Russian gas through the Ukrainian pipeline system. However, Poland and Lithuania may be affected as part of the gas they receive is shipped through gas pipelines in Belarus that are not under Gazprom's control.

Currently Belarus owes some USD 456 mln to Gazprom for gas deliveries after the Russians increased gas prices for Belarus to USD 100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas in 2007.

Source:
Agencja Informacyjna Interfax

Euronet subsidiary expands network in Poland

Ria Envia Inc., a global money-transfer company and subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc., has expanded its payout network in Poland by signing a correspondent-agent deal with Bank Pocztowy, also known as Post Bank.

According to a news release, the deal expands Ria’s network with the addition of Post Bank’s nearly 8,000 payout locations.

Post Bank now expects to offer consumers the option to receive Ria money transfers from its payout locations. Those locations include a combination of bank branches and post offices. Post Bank expects to begin distributing money transfers for Ria by August.

Euronet says the opening of Western-European labor markets to Polish workers has fueled growth in money transfers, with financial inflows to Poland reaching approximately $8 billion a year in remittances.

Source: ATMmarketplace.com

Boeing gets missile shield contract in Poland

Americans are not waiting for the official approval and let some US companies make money on the missile shield project. Boeing will get USD 80 million to launch works connected with the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. It makes one ask if president Bush learned something at his meeting with Lech Kaczynski that Polish politicians are yet unaware of.

On July 5th, at the Parliament, Witold Waszczykowski, the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said that if Poland and the USA agree to build the missile shield, Boeing will build a base in Poland worth USD 600m. On July 16th, minister Waszczykowski told a Russian daily “Noviye Izviestia” that construction works could start in February 2008.

Source:

Visa waiver Program may exclude Romania and Poland

The American Congress is about to approve the law draft on the Visa Waiver Program, which will alow citizens of other countries to enter the US without needing a pre-obtained visa.
Still, Romania and Poland may excluded from the list of countries for which the program applies, because the average rate of rejected visa demands is ovre the allowed limit of 10%, reaching, in fact, some 25%, International Herald Tribune informs in its online edition.

"According to State Department statistics for the first six months of this year provided by the office of independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, who chaired the negotiations on the final bill, countries including Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Hungary would not qualify.
Most of those countries come in close to the 10 percent requirement, but Poland and Romania had more than 25 percent of their applicants rejected", IHT reads.

On Thursday, Poland expressed disappointment that the legislation would not allow its immediate entry into the program
"We will continue our campaign to convince members of the U.S.

Congress that including Poland into the visa waiver program would strengthen security of the United States, would enhance the security of travelers and would strengthen political and cultural ties between the US and Central European countries," said the press attache in the Polish Embassy in Washington, Pawel Maciag, according to IHT.

Source: HotNews.ro

Alcan International Network opens an office in Poland

Alcan announced that it has opened a new Alcan International Network office in Krakow, Poland. The new office
will support the Company's expanding presence in Eastern European markets.
    "The opening of the new Alcan International Network office in Poland
demonstrates our commitment to our customers and to developing a long-term
business relationship with industry in Poland, one of the fastest growing
economies in Eastern Europe," said James Neuling, Managing Director of Alcan
International Network. "With Alcan's new office in Poland, we will increase
our already extensive network in Eastern Europe: Alcan International Network
has offices in Russia, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic."
    At the moment the new office is staffed by a commercial team with a high
level of product expertise in metals (aluminum, steel, ferro alloys) and
minerals but it will soon also include a team of experts in Chemicals. This
expertise combined with local market knowledge will provide Alcan's customers
in Poland and throughout Eastern Europe with technical and material solutions.
In addition, customers can access and utilize Alcan International Network's
coverage on a global basis providing extensive geographic reach.
    Alcan's fast growing International Network creates highly profitable
business links between manufacturers and their customers worldwide in metals
and specialty materials. Alcan International Network operates 35 offices
covering 65 countries and regularly expands its global footprint. Alcan
International Network's expert teams deliver a complete range of business
services including sales services, business development, local market
intelligence, and international supply chain management for Alcan Business and
third-party customers. 
    Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) is a leading global materials company,
delivering high quality products and services worldwide. With world-class
technology and operations in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal
smelting, power generation, aluminum fabrication, engineered solutions as well
as flexible and specialty packaging today's Alcan is well positioned to meet
and exceed its customers' needs. Alcan is represented by 68,000 employees,
including its joint-ventures, in 61 countries and regions, and posted revenues
of US$23.6 billion in 2006. The Company has featured on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index consecutively since 2003. 

Source: Alcan press release

Lithuania backs Poland on contested highway plan

Lithuanian Transport Minister Algirdas Butkevicius pressed Brussels not to punish Warsaw over the planned roadworks, which have raised hackles on environmental grounds but which governments in the region say are crucial to smooth trade between eastern and western EU members.

"The minister today had a telephone conversation with European Commission vice-president Jacques Barrot and asked him to support Poland's position on construction of the road near the town of Augustow, which will be a part of international Via Baltica highway," transport ministry spokeswoman Irina Sklepovic told AFP.

To ease traffic in Augustow, which is near Poland's northeastern border with Lithuania, Polish transport authorities want to build a bypass through the Rospuda Valley.

The area is considered by the EU to be "a unique wetland system". The region around the Rospuda marshlands is the world's most important breeding ground for the endangered aquatic warbler bird, and is home to rare greater spotted eagles, lynx and wolves.

The European Commission has turned to the European Court of Justice, charging that Warsaw is in breach of EU environmental rules.

It has also warned that Poland risks losing EU financial aid if it sticks to the Rospuda route.

Environmental groups such as Greenpeace earlier this year set up camp at the construction site to protest against plans to build a bridge across the valley as part of a 40-kilometre (25-mile) stretch of highway, saying that it would shatter the area's fragile ecosystem.

Work was suspended in March because of the bird-nesting season, but Polish authorities have announced that they plan to resume construction on August 1.

Source AFP/EUBusiness.com