Private concerns
By : Jeffrey Sparshott
Treasury Minister Aldona Kamela-Sowinska is preparing to hand the privatization of state-controlled companies over to her successor following this fall's parliamentary elections with the expectation that the process will move forward, she told a private business meeting last week.
"I am absolutely sure that my successor will not stop privatization," she said. "I am sure that for privatization the election means nothing."
The privatization of state-owned assets is entering a crucial phase, with some of the biggest companies and largest employers in the country to be sold to private investors. Kamela-Sowinska has received high marks for her efforts to get sidetracked projects back on the main line, but during the meeting she acknowledged that while she will set up guidelines for her successor, that person will have to make the final decisions on projects, including major deals in energy, banking, telecommunications, oil and gas.
"There is an incentive for the new team to set up its own relationships," said Krzysztof Rybinski, chief economist with ING Barings. "Some projects may be delayed or reversed. But the overall pace should remain because the government will still see pressure from the budget. They have to go ahead with restructuring."
"I don't expect any significant problems because of the change of government," said Iwona Pugacewicz-Kowalska, chief macroeconomist with CDM Pekao Securities.
During the meeting with business officials last week, Kamela-Sowinska sought to encourage investors as she outlined ongoing privatizations. She described the process as a balance between social and economic expectations, noting, for example, that her decision-making process is influenced by the desire to preserve jobs.
The privatization of the sugar industry with its political interference is currently the main concern, but steel industry sell-offs are one of the most personally troubling, she said.
She likened selling government assets not just to selling shares, but to selling the future of certain Polish industries.
