EBRD to Poland – more privatization

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s President Suma Chakrabarti said that Poland should speed up privatization, particularly in the banking and energy sectors. “It’s quite surprising, given Poland’s leadership in the whole transition race, that so much of the economy is still in state hands,” he said. Since Poland overthrew communism in 1989 and started its transition to a market economy, the number of companies controlled by the state has shrunk to several hundred from over 8,000. “There is at least one state-owned enterprise in 39 out of 43 sectors in Poland, and 12 of the 20 biggest listed companies are controlled by the state, representing 77 percent of the blue chip WIG20 index. That’s quite high,” Chakrabarti said. Since Law and Justice (PiS) came to power, several state-owned companies acquired stakes in other, mostly foreign companies, including lender Pekao from Italy’s Unicredit. ”Poland has pockets of poverty and it’s important for the state to act. But, what I‘m not in general a supporter of is when states become the prime economic actor in major sectors,” EBRD chief said. Since the early 1990s, the bank invested some €8.6 billion in Poland and plans to spend €600-650 million this year. Down from €776 million from 2016. It plans to shift its focus from renewables to private companies which seek foreign expansion.