Huta Katowice pays banks zl.30 mln interest on loan

Thanks to support from the Industrial Development Agency (ARP), the ailing Huta Katowice (HK) steel mill paid zl.30 million in overdue interest on a bank loan, meaning that the creditors will not terminate the loan agreement as they have threatened. HK obtained the money from Towarzystwo Finansowe Silesia, owned by ARP, which in turn borrowed the zl.30 million from state-owned bank PKO BP. Last week the consortium of six banks - BPH, BSK, PBK, Pekao SA, Bank Handlowy and Kredyt Bank - demanded that HK immediately pay interest on the zl.400 million loan the consortium granted it two years ago. Having paid the overdue interest, HK management is hoping the banks will be willing to acquire a 20% stake in the mill's subsidiary, HK Long, until a strategic investor is found for it. However, according to unofficial sources, it is unlikely the banks will be interested in such an arrangement. (Prawo i Gospodarka, Dec. 30, 2000 - Jan. 1, 2001, p.2) T.J.