Published: July 13, 2009
Two historic Polish shipyards sold in June went to Qatari fund Qinvest, Poland’s treasury minister, Aleksander Grad, told reporters on June 30 in Warsaw.
“Qinvest, a Qatari investment fund, is the investor. The deal is guaranteed by the Qatar Islamic Bank. The payment is expected by July 21, which will allow the procedure to be completed,” Grad stated.
The Gdynia and Szczecin yards on Poland’s northern Baltic coast were sold for €82mn (US$115mn). They hold particular significance for many Poles as the cradle of protests against the communist old order.
The European Commission had ordered Poland to sell its shipyards, after ruling that Warsaw had doled out illegal state aid to keep them in business.
The issue of a third shipyard in Gdynia’s neighbouring port of Gdansk is being handled separately by Brussels, which has yet to give its verdict on a restructuring plan.