PKO privatization is to be put off until next year

According to a statement made yesterday by treasury minister Potr Czyżewski, 20-25% of PKO BP's shares will not be available for public offer until 2004. The delay comes by virtue of the fact that at the beginning of June, the ministry had to cancel the tender for a privatization adviser for PKO BP, as only one offer turned out to be eligible for the tender. "We are at the beginning of the whole procedure once again. The tender for the selection of the adviser must be repeated, which means that the privatization date has to be postponed by 3 months. However, it also means that the offer will be ready next year," stated the treasury minister on TVN24. PKO BP, the largest domestic retail bank, recorded a net profit of zł. 722.5 million in the first half of 2003, which is zł. 1.5 million more than was recorded during the same period last year. (www.onet.pl) K.Ż.