hannibal
/ 2007-01-18 22:27
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portfel
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Pan Forumowicz (ponad 500 wypowiedzi)
Polish Stocks Gain, Led by Lenders, KGHM: World's Biggest Mover
By Tunde Kaposi
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Polish shares climbed the most in more than four months, making the biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks. PKO Bank Polski SA, the nation's largest bank, and Bank Pekao SA, its second biggest, paced gains.
KGHM Polska Miedz SA jumped on speculation the company may pay higher dividends than planned.
The benchmark WIG20 Index rallied 3.5 percent to a record of 3437.89. That is the measure's biggest gain since Sept. 4. The Warsaw bourse also had its highest turnover ever at 3.7 billion zloty ($1.2 billion), it said in a statement.
Lenders in Poland are expected to post record profit for last year, according to estimates from the Polish Banks Association. The country's $300 billion economy grew at least 5.7 percent in 2006, the government has estimated, prompting more people to borrow and invest in mutual funds.
``Investors believe that growing disposable incomes and economic growth provide a framework for a positive earnings outlook, especially in the financial sector,'' said Matthias Siller, who oversees $3 billion in eastern European stocks at Baring Investment Services in London. ``I wouldn't be surprised to see upgrades.''
PKO Bank Polski climbed 4.3 percent to 48.29 zloty. The company said it will interview nine candidates for chief executive officer next week following a seven-month period without a permanent head. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, a former prime minister and unsuccessful candidate for Warsaw mayor, is among those accepted for further talks, said spokesman Marek Klucinski.
The list may also include former PKO heads Andrzej Topinski and Henryka Pieronkiewicz, the Dziennik newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Klucinski declined to comment.
More Dividends
Bank BPH, a unit of Italy's UniCredit SpA that is merging with Pekao, rose 4.3 percent to 980 zloty. UniCredit may get as much as 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) for the part of BPH it is selling, the Parkiet newspaper reported today, citing a report by Reuters.
Pekao shares increased 5.2 percent to 245 zloty.
KGHM Polska Miedz, which mines more copper in Europe than any competitor, surged 4.7 percent to 87.45 zloty. The company may pay out 80 percent of its profit in dividends, or twice the amount planned by management, the Treasury Ministry said.
The company should pay from 40 percent to 80 percent of net income, Deputy Treasury Minister Ireneusz Dabrowski said in an interview on the sidelines of an investor conference in Warsaw today. Management had said it planned to distribute 40 percent.
Regional Markets
The NTX Index of 30 companies in central Europe gained 1.2 percent to 1781.35. Hungary's BUX Index added 0.5 percent, while the Czech PX Index climbed 0.9 percent and Austria's ATX Index declined 0.2 percent.
Mol Nyrt. added 1.3 percent to 20,200 forint. Erste Bank AG raised its recommendation on the shares of Hungary's largest oil company to ``accumulate'' from ``hold.''
Shares of PKN Orlen SA, Poland's largest refiner, extended gains after a suspension of trading in the stock was lifted at 3:15 p.m. in Warsaw. They rose 2.6 percent to 48.02 zloty following a change in leadership.
PKN fired Chief Executive Officer Igor Chalupec, the latest top manager to be dismissed as the government installs its own people at the country's largest companies. The company appointed Piotr Kownacki as the new CEO, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange today. Kownacki is a former colleague of President Lech Kaczynski, twin bother to the prime minister.
Wienerberger AG gained 1.9 percent to 45 euros. Citibank Inc. boosted its recommendation on the shares of the world's biggest brickmaker to ``buy'' from ``hold.''
Budimex SA jumped 7.5 percent to 100.5 zloty. The unit of the Polish building company owned by Grupo Ferrovial SA won an 11.7 million-euro contract to build a sewage system in Rybnik, southwestern Poland