PZU prospectus comes to light, revealing serious restructuring concerns

An issue prospectus for leading insurer PZU, prepared in 2001 but concealed until now, reveals serious concerns about the group's restructuring plans. Work on the prospectus began in April 2001 when then Treasury Minister Aldona Kamela-Sowinska was preparing for the sale of a 21% stake in PZU to Dutch firm Eureko. However, the prospectus fails even to mention the possibility of the shares being traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), an option supported by current Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek. The authors of the prospectus listed 39 weaknesses in PZU which, they suggested, threatened to undermine its market value. Among them was the "inappropriate" restructuring. This, they claimed, "may affect the operations and results of the PZU group". The authors were particularly concerned about the restructuring of its assets management and information systems, a course of action that they believed might make the group incapable of providing its customers with valid information. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6, 7) M.K.