Fin Min uses EIB loan to begin forex operations to lower national debt

The Finance Ministry is preparing to become a player on the forex market and it intends to sell about EUR 250 million, which were obtained from a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). "This operation will mark our first step on this market," said Jacek Tomorowicz, from the Finance Ministry's Foreign Policy Department. He added that the Ministry had announced these plans earlier. A few weeks ago, Finance Minister Andrzej Raczko, declared that his Ministry will carry out financial operation on the forex market in order to lower the cost of servicing the public debt. It is still unspecified who will distribute the currencies on behalf of the Ministry, as, "These are technical details, which we do not intend to reveal to the market," said Tomorowicz. According to Parkiet, it is very likely that the central bank and PKO BP will not play a role in these operations. The złoty, which will be obtained after selling Euro, will be transferred on an account in the National Bank of Poland and used in 2004. (Parkiet, p. 1) M.M.