PZU to become a holding and save at least zł.500 million

"The process should be concluded at latest by mid-2006," envisages the firm's management board. It will be a lengthy and difficult process, but according to analysts it is a reasonable move. "This is what investors have been awaiting for a long time. Thanks to the transformation it will be easier to manage the separate companies and they will become more transparent. Up to now PZU was not fully in control of all of its subsidiaries, particularly PZU Życie," commented Andrzej Klesyk, deputy president of the Boston Consulting Group. The change should allow substantial cost cutting, thanks to securing synergy effects. "We do not have detailed figures yet, but at the administrative level alone we should be able to save zł.500 million annually," said PZU president Cezary Stypułkowski. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) M.M.