BIG Bank Gdanski shareholders approve finance plan

Shareholders of BIG Bank Gdanski decided yesterday to increase the company's share capital by zl.764 million and create a special fund for development an d risk. To this end, the bank is planning one of the biggest offerings seen in the Warsaw banking sector, with an issue of nearly 425 million shares pri ced at zl.1.8 each. "The consequence of this price will be a request not to pay out dividends for the years 2001 and 2002," BIG Bank Gdanski chief execu tive Boguslaw Kott explained. The bank's share price reached zl.3 during ye sterday's trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The sale will allow th e bank's strategic investor, Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP), to increase it s stake to as much as 50%. BIG Bank Gdanski is also planning to raise betwee n zl.200 million and zl.300 million through a bond issue. The funds will all ow the bank to expand its activities on the local market and finance its ong oing restructuring program. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B5; Reuters) A.K.