LOT to be floated on Warsaw bourse prior to Star Alliance membership

Shares of LOT Polish Airlines are likely to be floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in the second half of 2003, said Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek. However, this is dependent on finding an investor who would buy the 25.1% of LOT shares to be offered by Swissair later this year. According to Minister Kaczmarek, Swissair's shares in LOT might first be bought by financial investors and then by sector investors. One company interested in taking over the shares is SAS. At the same time, non-public trading of LOT shares has already begun. Polish Airlines has signed an agreement with the brokerage house of Bank Handlowy to start trading them on May 27. It is LOT employees, who hold 6.94% of shares, that might be interested in such non-public trading. The State Treasury currently owns the remaining 67.96% of shares. LOT is scheduled to join the Luftahansa Star Alliance at the beginning of 2003. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9; Rzeczpospolita, p. B1), M.T.