Hotels, restaurants, and EU advisory services top new company registrations

In the first half of 2003, the number of newly registered companies amounted to 129,100, which is 7.3% less than over the same period last year. However, the number of new firms is still growing in larger cities and these entities are usually hotels, restaurants and transportation companies. There were ov er 6,000 new restaurants and hotels registered in the first half of 2003, w hich is 9.5% more than a year ago. Moreover, in the first half of 2003, the re was 25% less newly registered medical companies, which is simply due to catastrophic situation of public healthcare. There is also a growing number of companies in advisory sectors both for individuals and companies applying for the EU funds. By the end of June, there were 3.51 million companies reg istered, which is 1.4% more than at the end of 2002. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A 1, B1) M.M.