Polkomtel president floats idea of WSE debut this year

In what was the first statement of Polkomtel's board on the matter, Pachowski said that the issue is very delicate and is at the stage of discussion between shareholders. "We would be blazing a trail in this sector," he pointed out, as Polkomtel would become the first mobile operator listed in Warsaw. The problem is that the discussions between the three large Polish shareholders, each with significant state ownership, KGHM Polska Miedź, PKN Orlen and PSE and the two foreign investors from the telecom sector, Vodafone and TDC, have been dragging on for months. While PKN Orlen president Igor Chalupec is very keen to get rid of his company's stake in Pokomtel, KGHM does not appear to be in a hurry. The resolve of the Polish companies to sell the shares has evidently subsided since politicians of Civic Platform (PO) and Law and Justice (PiS) - readying to assume power after elections - made it clear that no transaction in Polkomtel shares should take place before this fall's elections. (Parkiet, p.5, Puls Biznesu, p.10) T.J.