PKN Orlen borrows $200 million to restructure debt

Oil producer and distributor Polski Koncern Naftowy (PKN) Orlen has clinched an agreement to borrow $200 million from a consortium of Polish and foreign banks organized by ABN Amro Bank NV. The loant can be used both in dollars and euros and is scheduled to be paid back by PKN Orlen in three years. According to PKN Orlen's financial director, Marek Mroczkowski, the credit agreement was signed with the foreign banks since PKN Orlen is too large for its financial needs to be satisfied by the Polish financial market alone. "First of all we intend to use the money for debt restructuring; we want to reduce the level of short-term liabilities" said Mroczkowski. He added that PKN's debts had increased on account of the company's investments in recent quarters as well as higher oil prices last year. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p.14)