Austrian Voeste Alpine Stahl committed to Polish steel

Austrian steel maker Voeste Alpine Stahl will take part in the privatization of the Polish steel industry according to an announcement yesterday.The company is going to create a consortium together with three other steelworks, possibly French Usinor, German ThyssenKrup and Luxembourg’s Arbed. An Arbed spokesman admitted that “Arbed is interested” in the privatization process. Usinor’s spokeswoman in Paris said,”Usinor is ready to help in the restructuring of the steel sector in Poland but has no purchase plans whatsoever given the current state of Polish companies.” The Treasury Ministry announced on Tuesday that six foreign investors were interested in privatizing four steelworks: Sendzimir, Katowice, Florian and Cedler. In the past the Austrian Stahl and Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus withdrew from entering into the privatization of Huta Katowice steel mill.(Gazeta Wyborcza p.25; Reuters) M.T.