ARP plans reduced bond issue to support Katowice, Sendzimira steel mills

The bond issue by the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) to support the financial restructuring of the Katowice and Sendzimira steel mills will be less than expected. The issue will be worth between zl.350 million and zl.400 million, and not the zl.600 million the ARP has been given permission to raise. The funds will be used to support the two mills' involvement in the Polskie Huty Stali (PHS) giant steel concern, which they will form together with two other mills, Cedler and Florian. "We estimate that the ARP will spend as much as zl.160 million raised from the bond issue on buying back Huta Katowice's bank credits. It is possible that a similar amount will have to be spent on supporting Huta Sendzimira," chairman of the ARP, Arkadiusz Krezel, said. He went on, "As for the four steel mills in PHS, restructuring and privatizing them, or merging them with an international concern, will have to be completed within five years." The ARP will become one of the shareholders in PHS, which will own fixed assets valued at $1 billion. There are two potential investors interested in PHS. However, both have set the prior clearing of the mills' debts as a condition for their investment. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) M.T.