Airing private opinions in public

Paweł Szałamacha, Deputy Treasury Minister

On state control of key industries: Public ownership will be kept in certain key areas: the energy and gas networks, the rail infrastructure, the port infrastructure, and in the leading energy and fuel companies. As long as we have no major Polish capital that is able to bear the burden of investments in such companies, we will not allow companies such as Orlen to be taken over by capital from a country with different geopolitical objectives than Poland.

On PGNiG's privatization: Our aim is to finalize the process of separating the transmission assets from the rest of the company's assets. We want to achieve a situation where PGNiG is a publicly listed company without the transmission assets. 

Dr Volker Berresheim,head of the commercial and economic services of the German Embassy

The experiences of German investors with regards to [Polish] privatization are not the best. Many of them claimed they felt like a persona non grata; they face obstacles from authorities, which make him feel like an intruder. They don't get the assistance that they need [and] that they expect to receive. We at the German Embassy get the impression that Poland is not interested in creating prospects, building a future for companies, but rather in preserving the unprosperous past of the companies.

Harry Schur,president of Stoen SA

On the main goals of privatization: Privatization has shown that it leads to greater efficiency and the reconstruction of the market structure. The public-utility sector's liberalization, which leads to greater efficiency and orientation on the client, cannot be achieved without flexibility, which cannot be achieved without privatization.

Unemployment in Poland is between 17-19 percent and six percent of this is people with higher education. This is a chance for private investors. They are interested in young, educated, ambitious people. In Hungary, where the public-utility sector was privatized in 1995, unemployment is seven percent and only 0.6 percent for people with higher education.

Jacek Socha,vice-president of PricewaterhouseCoopers Polska

I think that privatization should take place through the stock exchange in Warsaw. It gives a superior value in Poland, which is the capital market. The development of a Polish capital market is a state priority.

On the WSE's privatization: I think that the privatization of the WSE should be continued. Will the Polish stock exchange have any chances to exist in the wider world if 98 percent of ownership belongs to the state? The answer is no.

On observers in state-owned companies: There are between 10-20 such companies. The rights of the observers are in a closed catalogue, they have a limited range of choices and may not interfere with other areas. The observer can use the 'golden veto' to veto liquidation of the company, to sell assets, to move the headquarters abroad, or to withdraw the shares from the stock exchange. It ensures that the interest of the state is secured. There are companies that should not be privatized, but there should be 10 of them, not 80.

Compiled by

Michał Pakulniewicz