Modest start to Orlen's German gas station network

On Friday, oil concern PKN Orlen opened its first foreign gas station in Berlin, which belongs to the network of 494 outlets acquired by the company in March this year from BP and Aral. By the end of the year, Orlen will have opened 150 gas stations under its own brand name in northern and eastern Germany, while the rest will operate under a different, yet to be revealed brand name. PKN paid EUR 140 million for the network, while before the investment, the total value of Polish firm involvement on that market, amounted to EUR 250 million. German Economy and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement told journalists that Orlen took over almost 3% of the market, which proves that capital transfers is a two way street. However, the German media are skeptical as to whether Orlen will succeed with such a small market share. President of Orlen Deutschland, Jean-Jacques Verschueren, announced that the company would designate EUR 30 million for further investments, and plans to increase its market share by the end of 2010 to 10%. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) M.M.