Saturday August 8, 07:38 PM
Poland moots sell-down of KGHM stake
WARSAW (AFP) - Poland is considering selling 10 percent of its stake in KGHM group, Europe's biggest copper producer, in the coming year, an economic adviser to Prime Minster Donald Tusk said Saturday.
Speaking on TVN24 television, Michal Boni said the government -- which now owns 41.79 percent of KGHM, which is listed on the Warsaw stock exchange -- would remain the biggest shareholder with just over 30 percent of shares.
In the face of recession, the treasury ministry unveiled on July 22 an amended privatisation plan for 2008-2011 -- worth 36.7 billion zlotys (8.9 billion euros, 12.7 billion dollars) -- that envisioned selling between 10 and 41 percent of KGHM.
Boni said: "This document, which will be put to the cabinet after a full analysis and recommendations, includes the proposal of privatising KGHM by an appropriate level, that is, up to 10 percent."
Labour unions are threatening to call a strike if KGHM is privatised, but Tusk's government hopes that selling down public stakes in various industries will help raise money in hard economic times -- and thus avoid raising taxes.
In the first quarter of this year, KGHM -- one of Poland's biggest exporters -- racked up net profits of 705 millions zlotys on sales of 2.6 billion zlotys.
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