PKN shareholders defy Chalupec, leave rules unchanged

"The changes in the statutes of the company would have secured the company against the emergence of an unwanted investor. They would also have been beneficial in terms of the country's energy security," claimed Igor Chalupec, president of Orlen. This means that all shareholders except for the State Treasury, Nafta Polska and the Bank of New York are allowed to execute votes only up to the equivalent of a 10% share, rather than 20% as Chalupec had favored. The rule does not apply to the State Treasury, Nafta Polska and Bank of New York. "This is a purely theoretical problem, as other remaining shareholders do not exceed the level of 10%," claims a representative of one of Orlen's large shareholders. The dividend payout was increased from zł.684.3 million to zł.911 million, which according to Chalupec will result in higher loans designated for investments and will signal the company is spending less than regional competitors. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 8) M.M.