Kredyt Bank gives boost to Solaris Bus & Coach

Solaris Bus & Coach, the leading Polish producer of buses, increased its share capital from zl. 2.5 million to zl. 42.5 million. Kredyt Bank took over the new shares, while Solaris retained the right to buy them back in 2007. The increase in capital was necessary as the costs of constructing the production line for new buses, such as Solaris Urbino and Solaris Vacanza, were high. According to Solaris president, Krzysztof Olszewski, the in vestments negatively influenced the financial liquidity of the plant. He said "Thanks to the takeover of part of the shares by Kredyt Bank, Solaris Bus & Coach has secured financial stability. This will allow the company to safely expand. We want to produce 1,600 buses a year by 2006, of which 70% will be exported. Currently we export almost half of the buses we make". According to Kredyt Bank, the five years that the bank will hold the shares represents a strong chance to make good returns on their investment. In 2001 Solaris sold almost 300 buses. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10) P.W.