ESL snubbed by gov't in restructuring Gdynia Shipyard

"The shipbuilder committed itself to gather $100 million to finance current orders and for immediate repayment of all liabilities owed to employees. The government would have to grant a guarantee from the Export Credit Insurance Corporation worth $250 million. The project was presented during a meeting with Economy Minister Jerzy Hausner in late September 2003," said Dariusz Adamski, a member of supervisory board at GS and the head of the company's Solidarity union. Although the talks were in progress, they suddenly were cut short. According to unofficial information, this was because the Industrial Development Agency begun its own negotiations to purchase a stake in the shipyard from Kredyt Bank. Although ESL is still interested in long-term cooperation with GS and to finance its restructuring process without taking full control over the company, state officials decided to carry out the restructuring process using taxpayers money. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 3) A.K.