Steel holdings planned for new metallurgy restructuring

Deputy Economy Minister Edward Nowak announced on Friday the government’s new restructuring proposal for the metallurgy sector, envisaging the creation of five steel-mill holdings. Under the plan, which should be approved sometime after Feb. 2, five holdings would be launched, with each steel mill acting as a separate legal entity, but managed at the level of the holding, said Nowak. The holdings' management boards would decide on matters such as overall strategy and sales. The Sendzimir, Katowice, Florian and Cedler mills would be transformed into one holding, controlling about 70% of domestic output of flat products. Meanwhile, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has given assurances that it is still interested in participating in the privatization of the metallurgy sector, but only on condition that a strong sector investor takes part as well. President of the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) Arkadiusz Krezel said that the EBRD has declared its desire to cooperate with his agency in order to support the metallurgy sector restructuring program and Huta Katowice in particular. (Rzeczpospolita, Jan. 27-28, p. B2; Puls Biznesu, p. 1, 5) M.M.