Bill passed on forming conglomerate should steel mills' privatization fail

The Sejm on Friday passed a bill on the restructuring of the steel sector under which, should the privatization of the country's four largest steel mills fail, they will be grouped together. The four mills, Katowice, Sendzimira, Cedler and Florian, will be consolidated into one company called Polskie Huty Stali (PHS) if the Treasury Ministry fails to find a foreign investor willing to buy them. PHS would employ around 12,000 people and account for some 60% of domestic steel production. Poland's steel sector is currently in dire financial straits, with liabilities exceeding zl.10 billion. Some steel mills are even facing bankruptcy. Ispat of India has submitted a bid to buy the four steel mills, and a European consortium has also expressed an interest. The Treasury Ministry has admitted that currently it is not known what will be the future of the negotiations. (Gazeta Wyborcza, July 21-22, p. 25) A.Z.