Early November for PHS capital injection say government

Following the governments consent to allow LNM Group to take over Polish Steel Mills (PHS), the company has currently two months to execute the decision for a debt to equity swap. The government is to decide next week or at the beginning of November at the latest to follow through with its capital injection into PHS and convert zł. 1.6 billion of debts into shares. PHS's current capital stands at zł. 900 million. "The process of debt to equity swap will take about a month," said Andrzej Szarawarski, Deputy State Treasury Minister. The EU set a period of two months within which the government can financially help the ailing company. If it fails to do so, LNM might regard it as less beneficial to enter PHS, as the company would be much closer to bankruptcy than at present. "In order not to go into any conflicts with the EU, we want to register the capital injection in the courts by the end of 2003", says Jerzy Podsiadło, PHS President. (Puls Biznesu, p. 5) A.K.