PZU offering to go ahead despite underwriters' doubts

The State Treasury and Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (PZU) president Zygmunt Kostkiewicz insist that the initial public offering of Poland's leading insurer will take place this year, despite growing doubts of potential investors, analysts and even underwriters of the IPO. The latter, namely Merril Lynch, ABN Amro and Chase Manhattan, met on Friday with Treasury Minister Aldona Kamela-Sowińska to suggest a postponement of the deal due to low demand and controversies associated with the company. However, it was decided that the IPO would go ahead according to schedule. Kostkiewicz says that the unfavorable macroeconomic situation could improve by October, when book-building begins. As for the scandal involving former president of PZU's life-insurance subsidiary, Grzegorz Wieczerzak, the PZU boss says that the company has made appropriate reserves for Wieczerzak's bad investments and they should no longer bear on its finances. He also said that as far as he knows, the company's auditor, Arthur Andersen, will approve its books for the first half of this year without any reservations. (Puls Biznesu, p.4) T.J.