Record first half leasing boom likely to cool in H2

Leasing companies have noted record growth in the first half of the year with the value of assets leased reaching zł.6.1 billion which marks a 40% growth in comparison with the same period of 2003. "It was a record six months in the history of the sector. I think that the second half of 2004 will not be that good, but nevertheless we will achieve significant growth this year," said Krzysztof Bielecki, the president of the Leasing Companies Association. The leasing of cars accounted for almost 72% of the market growth. This was mainly due to changes in VAT regulations which entered into force on May 1 and made car leasing regulations for entrepreneurs less favorable. "I suppose that those changes inclined many clients to speed up their decisions about investing in cars," stated Mieczysław Groszek, the president of BRE Leasing. The company that increased its assets the most was Volkswagen Leasing with a growth of 103.8%. while BRE Leasing and BA CA Leasing following closely behind having almost doubled their assets. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7; Parkiet, p. 4) E.B.