Municipal bond issue to free up funds for road investment in Poznan area

PKO BP Bank will today sign a contract for the issue of Wielkopolskie voivodship bonds worth zl. 54 million by the end of 2001. The money earned on the bonds will be spent on much-needed road repair and reconstruction. The total cost of the necessary investment is estimated at zl. 74 million. Henryka Pieronkiewicz, president of PKO BP's Management Board, and Stefan Mikolajczak, Wielkopolskie voivodship mayor, will sign the contract. The voivodship will issue 540,000 bearer bonds for a nominal value of zl.100 each. The bonds will be issued in 8 tranches, through a non-public offering. The Wielkopolskie voivodship was the first municipal voivodship to issue municipal bonds. The municipal bonds market is constantly growing, with the nationwide total for June estimated at zl. 1000 million. The debt of municipal governments resulting from bonds'issues has increased by 20% since the beginning of 2001. According to CERA (Central European Rating and Analysis Agency), the Malopolskie voivodship is also expected to issue bonds by the end of the year. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) K.K.