Michael Harrold sifts through the week's events
Chemicals giant Ciech withdrew from a planned merger with Chemia Polska. "Some problems have occurred," said Ciech president Ludwik Klinkosz, describing the revelation by a consortium that it had an outstanding demand for €99 million (zł. 400 million) from Chemia Polska.
Tesco Polska deputy president Czesław Grzesiak commented that the consolidation of the retail trade, which he predicted would soon begin, would leave just five major players on the market. In order to make sure it was one of the elite, he said that Tesco planned to open six new hypermarkets this year at a cost of €138.6 million (zł. 600 million).
The management of the ailing Daewoo-FSO plant in Zerań announced a new business plan that excludes erstwhile suitor MG Rover. "We want to start negotiations ... concerning extension of our rights to produce the Matiz and Lanos models," said Daewoo-FSO director for planning Michał Relewicz.
It was revealed that HSBC has been hunting for an acquisition that would give it a foothold on the market. Possible targets include Millennium and BZ WBK, although some analysts suggest that PKO BP might suit its purposes perfectly.
There were more resignations at Kredyt Bank as tensions apparently mounted between the management board and major shareholder KBC of Belgium. Three deputy presidents followed the example of Stanisław Pacuk, who resigned as Kredyt Bank president in January.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed to offer a seven-year loan worth O30 million to low-income housing developer Dom Development. The money will be spent on the company's general development as well as on expansion.
A British shareholder in leading Internet-based auction house Allegro.pl began legal proceedings against the company's other shareholders, accusing them of doing a deal behind its back that effectively reduced its stake. However, the other shareholders insisted that QXL Ricardo was fully aware of the Allegro.pl takeover by Poznań-based NIAA.
There was another twist to the Rafineria Gdańska tale when Italian financial intermediary Cross Finanz revealed it was in talks with Nafta Polska on a possible investment in the refinery. Cross Finanz said it was aware of four potential investors interested in taking part in the privatisation of the oil sector.
Lufthansa announced that its European Airline Accounting Centre in Kraków would begin operations on April 1. The centre will be responsible for 45% of financial accounting and 90% of sales accounting for all Lufthansa representative offices in Europe, with the exception of Germany.
LOT Polish Airlines backed down from its plan to cut commission payments to agents from 7% to 4%. Instead LOT promised the International Air Transport Association that a team of experts would be set up to decide on commission structure.
French sugar processor Saint Louis Sucre agreed to pay €62.1 million (zł. 269 million) for 95% of Śląska Spółka Cukrowa. The sale could go ahead after a court ruled that the state treasury was obliged to make the sale.
The Swiss Business Hub officially opened its Warsaw office. The Hub will promote co-operation between Swiss and Polish companies, particularly SMEs.
The finance ministry came clean about the prospects for achieving the €2.1 billion (zł. 9.1 billion) privatisation target for this year, with deputy finance minister Halina Wasilewska-Trenkner saying income would probably be lower than planned. After the first two months of 2003, privatisation revenues stood at less than 3% of the annual target.
The ministry was more upbeat about a plan for a 20 billion-25 billion yen Samurai bond issue in Japan. "We will show that Poland is a stable issuer with prospects of an imminent EU and euro-zone entry," said Edward Basiński, deputy head of the ministry's foreign policy department.
Despite concerns about domestic politics and the war in Iraq, the Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a record low of 6%. Analysts had speculated that the złoty's weakness and the political uncertainty might have persuaded the Monetary Policy Council to leave rates as they were.
The Polish Confederation of Private Employers, having concluded that no significant economic recovery is probable in the first quarter of 2003, said it saw the likelihood of the situation improving in the second half of the year. "The most significant factor keeping economic growth at its current level is foreign trade. We are worried though by a fall in the profitability of enterprises," said PKPP expert Stanisław Kubielas.
Controversy surrounded a vote of no confidence in infrastructure minister Marek Pol, when it was revealed that two SLD deputies had voted on behalf of two absent colleagues. The four were subsequently expelled from the party. As it turned out their sacrifice had been unnecessary, since the SLD comfortably defeated the two opposition motions to oust Pol.
Reports surfaced that treasury minister Sławomir Cytrycki offered his resignation on March 20 after discovering that Zdzisław Montkiewicz, president of insurer PZU, had drawn up alternative plans for the company's privatisation, blocking the treasury's commitment to selling a controlling stake to two minority investors. Cytrycki apparently submitted his resignation after the prime minister rejected his demand that Montkiewicz be fired.
Civic Platform proposed forming a broad coalition with other centre and right-of-centre parties to run together in elections to the European Parliament. Maciej Plażyński said he envisaged the coming together of PO, Law and Justice, the Polish Peasants' Party, the National Conservative Alliance (SKL) and the Social Movement (RS).
Newspaper photographs of Polish soldiers in the port of Umm Qasr forced the government to admit that GROM special forces had been fighting behind enemy lines in Iraq.
The actions of the GROM special forces received a word of praise and thanks from none other than US president George W. Bush. However, the Polish authorities were unhappy with the president's gratitude, with officials urging Bush to be more discreet in describing the activities of the Polish soldiers in Iraq, and defence minister Jerzy Szmajdziński saying he did not want such information to be used as propaganda.
Far less supportive of the country's involvement in the war was Samoobrona leader Andrzej Lepper. He accused the US of going to war in Iraq as a way out of its own crisis, and he criticised his own government and the president for deciding to send Polish servicemen to Iraq without consulting parliament.
Roman Polański won the best director Oscar, at the third time of asking, for his film The Pianist. "The fact that this movie depicts the extermination of Poles and Jews, and addresses this in our current reality, definitely had an influence on the great recognition it won," said prize-winning director Krzysztof Zanussi.
