Nafta Polska gets green light to acquire smaller refineries

The process of gathering the smaller Polish refineries under one the umbrella of Nafta Polska took a step forward at the end of last week. The Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has allowed the transfer of Jasło, Czechowice, Glimar and Petrobaltic's stock to Nafta Polska. Transferring stocks of these four companies is one of the stages of Grupa Lotos' consolidation. The next step will see Grupa Lotos giving its shares in the refineries to Nafta Polska. The final outcome of the process is Grupa Lotos' debut on the Stock Exchange, which is scheduled for April 2005. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) D.W.