Privatization

The government approved a tie-up of ailing state-owned chemical firms, seeking to boost sector capacity and efficiency ahead of the European Union accession. The previous government was embarrassed last year when it tried to float its most lucrative chemical firm, Zakłady Azotowe Puławy but failed to attract sufficient interest. Treasury Minister Wiesław Kaczmarek said shares in four large - mostly southern - chemical firms would be transferred to state agency Nafta Polska, which would then seek to boost efficiency and lower costs by bringing together parts of the firms with the same type of products. The government approved a privatization plan for the banking sector aimed at keeping control over the last four state-owned lenders despite criticism from foreign investors and the European Union. The seven-month-old leftist administration wants to float small stakes in savings giant Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski (PKO BP) and cooperative bank Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej (BGŻ), possibly in 2003.