PAP accused of monopolistic practices with KPWiG info

The Polish Press Agency (PAP) has requested publicly traded companies pay a commission if their communiques are featured in PAP bulletins. Some members of the Association of Publicly Traded Companies (SEG) have accused PAP of monopolistic practices and filed with the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) to investigate whether PAP was breaching antitrust legislation. The Securities and Stock Exchange Commission (KPWiG) recently appointed PAP to be the exclusive reporter of press release information from publicly traded companies in Poland. PAP in turn refused to publish trading reports of those firms that refused to sign deals under PAP's terms. The saga has prompted analysts to propose that a new tender for exclusive publisher of trading data, and the conditions of its reporting, be called. (Rzeczpospolita, page B4) S.M.