Austrian Bank to premier on WSE at the end of the year?

Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) is likely to be the first foreign bank listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Shares in the largest Austrian bank are likely to debut on the bourse at the end of the year. Karl Samstag, BA-CA president, recently said the bank is negotiating with WSE management over the debut. "We are putting final touches to the aspects of the share issue and the prospectus," Ildiko Fueredi responsible for investor relations told Gazeta Wyborcza. He also added that due to the planned debut, BA-CA does not intend to withdraw BPH PBK shares from the bourse. Initially, 2.5% of shares with a market value of EUR 100 million are to be offered. "Possibly it will be larger than 2.5%" added Fueredi. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Aug. 16-17; p. 24) A.Z