Telecom operators support moves to swop concession fees for shares

The Infrastructure Ministry will probably again postpone the deadline for independent telecom operators to pay their concession fees' installments, which amount to zl. 1.5 billion. The previous date expired at the end of June. "This is the only solution that makes sense. We are presently working on a bill that would solve the problem of these payments," said Infrastructure Minister Krzysztof Heller. According to Puls Biznesu, the Finance Ministry has expressed a negative opinion about the proposal to accept the shares or bonds of telecom operators in lieu of concession fees. If the bill is accepted, the government would cease receiving such revenues in cash. The Infrastructure Ministry and operators' representatives claim that the chances of clearing operators' debts and liabilities with the government are virtually nil, as the financial condition of these companies remains very weak. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 5) M.M.