A billion dollars plus in privatization revenue to go to foreign currency account

The government will allocate at least $1 billion - $1.5 billion in privatization revenues to the specially created foreign currency account, said Monetary Policy Council (RPP) member Dariusz Rosati. The account had been set up so that the government does not exchange privatization revenues into zlotys and then back into foreign currencies when it is repaying foreign debt, as this causes unnecessary fluctuations in the zloty exchange rate. This year could be a record one in terms of privatization revenues, as the government hopes to net $5 billion, including some $4 billion from the sale of a 35% stake in Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. If all this money were to be converted into zlotys, the dollar could well drop to zl. 4 from yesterday 's price of zl. 4.29. The amount of foreign debt the government must repay this year is about $1 billion - $1.5 billion. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 19) T.J.