BOC Gazy threatens to withdraw if steel mills renege on oxygen payments

BOC Gazy company, a part of British Oxygen Corporation, has encountered problems obtaining payment for oxygen supplies to steel mills Huta Czestochowa and Huta Ostrowiec. BOC Gazy financial director Regina Englicht informed Treasury Minister Andrzej Chronowski last week that the company would consider withdrawing from the Polish market if payments are not made. Yesterday she presented a softer line, announcing BOC Gazy has decided to suspend further investment in providing industrial gases in Poland and will also stop providing oxygen to those mills which fail to meet their financial obligations. The British concern has already invested about $180 million in Poland. The company has not disclosed its investment plans, but according to Englicht the suspended investments could total tens of millions of dollars. (Puls Biznesu, p.5)