In Brief: Gdansk rating; Sharp office; PKN is no leader; SKOK capital boost

The city of Gdansk received a BBB rating from Standard & Poor's agency, with the municipality looking to borrow zl. 260 million in the near future to finance road construction and public transport modernization. (Reuters) .. Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp Corporation opened its office in Poland yesterday, with plans to develop its sales network in order to boost sales from last year's level of zl. 50 million to zl. 120 million in 2001. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 5) ... According to analysts, it is unlikely Polish oil company Polski Koncern Naftowy (PKN) Orlen will become a leader of consolidation of oil firms in the region. It is possible the company announced such plans in order to prevent a hostile takeover from other Eastern European companies, which are more suited to play the role of a leader, such as MOL of Hungary. (Puls Biznesu, page 7, Prawo i Gospodarka, page 14) ... TUW SKOK, one of six mutual insurance companies in Poland raised its capital from zl. 5.1 million to zl. 16 million and plans to collect some zl. 13 million in premiums this year, double last year's premiums. (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 13)