All offers are being analyzed for EMPiK and Galeria Centrum by ECI

According to information in Rzeczpospolita, ECI Group, owner of the EMPiK network and the nationwide network of Galeria Centrum department stores, will decide by the middle 2003 whether to float the shares of these companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. "We have been considering an IPO either for the group as a whole, or for each of the enterprises separately. Nothing has been decided yet. If we decide to go ahead, then things would not move earlier than 2004," said Maciej Dyjas, the deputy president of Eastbridge, which controls the ECI Group. Other scenarios are also being considered. Investors could be introduced to the separate ventures, or some or all of the shares in Galerie Centrum could be sold. "We are not looking for a partner, but are analyzing all the offers we receive. Many of them are coming from foreign entities which are interested in entering the Polish market. However, they are fearful of the declining state of the retail market," said Dyjas. ECI had sales of zl. 1.44 billion in 2001, which are expected to rise to zl. 1.55 billion in 2002. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B5) M.M.