London analysts look forward to Polish privatization

The State Treasury plans to carry out over a dozen public offerings totaling roughly zł.20 billion in 2004. "At present Poland is very attractive to foreign investors, both in terms of direct and portfolio investments. This is mainly due to the fact that it is the largest country accessing to the EU," said Merrill Lynch's Mohammed Abdel-Hadi. He added that Poland's other advantages were its strong economic growth, which should exceed 5% in 2004, and the fact that the złoty is undervalued by at least 20%. However, the main problem named by analysts was the unclear macroeconomic situation. (Parkiet, p. 1) M.M.