Tender for PKE privatization adviser to be announced soon

Following several announcements by the State Treasury, the privatization process of the Southern Energy Concern (PKE) is gaining pace. The tender for selecting the privatization adviser is to be announced in the next few days. "We hope to choose the right company in December or in January," said Deputy Treasury Minister Tadeusz Soroka. PKE and the State Treasury are also in talks over a planned IPO. "I hope that PKE shares will be floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by the end of the second quarter 2004, or early in the third quarter," added Soroka. The shareholders plan to publicly offer a stake of 30% in PKE, out of the shares currently controlled by the State Treasury. This means that the government has altered its plans, as initially it was working on the assumption that before privatization the concern would be strengthened by additional assets, such as the state-owned Bogdanka coal mine. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) A.K.