In late April the Polish government passed a Privatisation Programme 2008-2011 prepared by the Treasury Ministry. The scheme assumes the privatization of most of the 740 companies still controlled by the Ministry, two currently under the Economy Ministry, 2 under the Infrastructure Ministry and 16 under the Defense Ministry. One of the programme’s fundaments are transparence and honesty, with a part of the proceeds to be channeled to a demographic reserve fund and the stock market and the total withdrawal of the state from most sectors of the economy.
Planned among others is the privatization of all 13 treasury-controlled financial institutions including PKO BP SA, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej SA (Food Economy Bank) and the National Securities Deposit. The privatization of PZU SA will continue following the resolution of a conflict with Eureko BV. In some cases, (e.g. PKO BP SA) share sales will require government consent.
In the energy branch privatization will cover energy groups like PGE SA, Tauron Polska Energia SA, Energa SA and Enea SA. The degree to which they will be privatized will be specified in a privatisation programme for energy industry currently prepared by the Economy Ministry.
Plans for chemical industry foresee the privatisation of the so-called Great Chemical Synthesis companies and following closedown of Nafta Polska SA. Similarly in the pharma branch the privatization of companies belonging to the Polish Pharma Holding Capital Group (Grupy Kapitałowej Polski Holding Farmaceutyczny SA) will be followed by the Group’s closedown.
Also up for privatization are companies from other sectors of the economyD, among others Ruch SA, PLL LOT SA, Bank Gospodarki Żywnościowej SA, PKP Intercity SA, PKP Cargo SA and the publishers Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnicze “Rzeczpospolita” SA.
Excluded from privatisation will be 25 enterprises, including PGNiG SA (Polish Oil & Gas), the pipeline operator Operator Gazociągów Przesyłowych Gaz-System SA, PERN “Przyjaźń” (pipeline operator), PSE-Operator SA (electricity operator), Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (National Economy Bank), Totalizator Sportowy Sp. z o.o (football pool operator), Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka (historic salt mine), Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych SA (security printing works), Polska Agencja Informacji i Inwestycji Zagranicznych SA (information & foreign investment agency), Polska Agencja Prasowa SA (Polish Press Agency) and PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA (national rail operator). In the case of the petroleum concerns PKN ORLEN SA and Grupa LOTOS SA, the copper combine KGHM Polska Miedź SA and the Bumar Sp. z o.o engineering company. Also exempt from the privatisation scheme will be 19 public media companies.
The programme also foresees the possibility of postponing 23 privatisations (among others spas), four of which will conclude with closedowns.
Carrying the programme through will require amendments to current commercialization and privatization laws which have already been prepared by the Treasury Ministry. Under the new legislation privatisation procedures are to be more transparent and less covert, also foreseen is the possibility of share sales by private auction, shorter and simpler procedures, and the extension of charge-free privatisation options for local governments to include all state-owned industry. Also planned are market-forced salary adjustments for executive board members in state-run companies.
(source: http://www.msp.gov.pl/index_msp.php)

Outlining the government’s Privatisation Programme 2008-2011 at the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Prime Minister DONALD TUSK said:
● that the programme was an extremely ambitious privatisation scheme and an important growth, competitiveness and innovation impulse for Polish economy;
● that honesty should be the key principle in privatization. “We want privatization to stop evoking unnecessary emotions and fears in Poles. In presenting the present privatization scheme we want to assure Polish public opinion that privatization under my government will be fully transparent”, the PM said.
● that the privatization goal will not only be to raise the effectiveness, competitiveness and condition of Polish companies, but also to help people as privatized industry will offer new jobs. The privatization proceeds will also be put to public use. Almost half will go into the Demographic Reserve Fund which will guarantee safe retirement in future years. The Treasury Ministry estimates that the present 4-year privatisation scheme will bring in PLN 27 billion.
● another effect of privatization will be to free Poland’s economy from red tape. “Especially human energy and creativity should be liberated from its present bureaucratic corset, this unnerving and almost always loss-bringing mixture of “public” and “private”, Tusk said.
The privatization of 740 companies is envisaged under the government’s Privatization Programme 2008-2011.

Commenting on the government’s recently-adopted Privatisation Programme 2008-2011, Treasury Minister ALEKSANDER GRAD said:
“The most important thing about the new privatisation laws is openness. We believe nothing will help rebuild public confidence in privatization better than making the procedures open to all. The new laws and accompanying acts regulate this. We want each privatisation to have its own Privatisation Chart from which the public will be able to find out who was responsible for the project, when and what decisions were made, whether the applied procedures were the best choice, and what the details of the privatization agreement are. Openness in such matters is an absolute must”.