Shopping around
Plaza Centers, the Netherlands-based leading shopping-mall developer with projects mainly in the CEE region, announced that it will debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by the end of the year. When it does, Plaza Centers is expected to be the first firm listed simultaneously on the WSE and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), where the company had its debut in November 2006 with an IPO worth almost zł.897 million.
"We are planning to introduce Plaza Centers stock into trading on the Warsaw market soon, in a dual-listing alongside London," said Ran Shtarkman, president and CEO of Plaza Centers NV. "Poland is one of our key business markets. We are also a leading developer of shopping and entertainment centers throughout the entire CEE region. That is why we want to give investors from this part of Europe easier access to our company's stock," he added.
Earlier this year Plaza Centers issued bonds worth E53 (zł.200) million on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Due to the A+ credit rating granted to the firm by Standard & Poor's, Plaza Centers will be able to issue bonds for an additional E250 (zł.945) million.
Plaza Centers has been present on the CEE market since 1996 and has a portfolio of seven malls in Poland. It is currently working on projects in Łód, Toruń, Suwalki and Zgorzelec. Apart from these, the company has 21 other retail centers, as well as hotel and office projects outside Poland.
The firm will soon strengthen its presence in India as well. In 2008, the developer will begin construction on a shopping mall, an office building and a luxury apartment building in the Indian city of Kharadi.
