PKN Orlen approves zl. 60 million dividend payout

Oil giant PKN Orlen approved a dividend payment for its shareholders on Friday and gave management more time to complete a $600 million petroc hemical deal. PKN Orlen will pay out slightly over zl.60 million, more than a fifth of its net profit, in dividends with one third of this amount going to the state budget. Shareholders agreed to give management three more months to finalize details of the planned petrochemical joint venture with Dutch-based Basell Europe Holdings NV. Interestingly PKN shareholders, including the State Treasury and government agency for oil sector priv atization Nafta Polska, approved the former management board headed by Andrzej Modrzejewski, who was dismissed by the Treasury Minister in February this year, one day after being arrested by the State Protection Office (UOP). (Gazeta Wyborcza, June 29-30, p.28) T.J.