Next stop - stock market

Newag, the former state-owned rail rolling-stock production, repair and maintenance firm based in Nowy Sącz, will soon conclude an agreement with a brokerage house on the preparation for its IPO. The company is owned by well-known Polish market investor Zbigniew Jakubas, whose other high-profile investments include valve producer Polna, and computer hardware producer Optimus.

"The flotation could be carried out in April 2008. Depending on our needs, we might raise up to zł.100 million,"Jakubas told daily Parkiet.

Newag is involved in several major projects at the moment, and has recently completed a major overhaul of locomotives for a British leasing company, in partnership with GE Transportation, part of the US conglomerate, General Electric.

The company is also engaged in a project to produce what is being termed the "Polish Pendolino," after the well-known high-speed tilting trains produced by Alstom. The first prototype of this train, which is due to have a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour (even across Polish rails), is due in the first half of 2008. Its development is expected to cost hundreds of millions of złoty. The company also wants to acquire a couple of firms operating on the rolling-stock market.

Newag hopes to compete in the rolling-stock market, which is booming at the moment, not only in Poland, but in the CEE region as a whole. Its major-league competitors, Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom, are also looking to make the most of this boom. The IPO, and perhaps further collaboration with GE, could help Newag compete with them.

Brendan Melck