Treasury Ministry could name LOT buyer by Monday

The Treasury Ministry will name a new investor interested in a 25.1% stake in Polish flagship carrier LOT Polish Airlines as early as Monday. According to unofficial information cited in Puls Biznesu, the new investor could be named following a meeting of the Treasury Minister with the head of the Swissair Group early next week. Swissair Group expressed last Tuesday its intentions to sell the package and is expected to confirm this officially during Monday's meeting. Although there is no official information regarding any new potential investors, the world's two largest airline alliances, OneWorld and Star Alliance, have expressed their interest in LOT. Jan Szczesny, Director of the Privatization Department at the Treasury Ministry and Chairman of LOT's supervisory board, denies any contact with foreign ind ustry investors. Puls Biznesu speculates that eventually LOT may be aided by financial institutions. (Puls Biznesu, p. 4) M.T.K.