Gulf capital buys Polish shipyards

Gulf capital is behind the consortium which bought two of Poland’s three historic shipyards this week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk indicated Saturday. “There is a specific fund which represents the interests and financial potential of that region. It would not have been possible without my many visits to Qatar and Kuwait, without my telephone conversations and the exchange of mail.”

The ARP, a government agency responsible for handling privatisations, said that United International Trust had paid a total of 364 million zlotys (82 million euros, $115 million) for the yards at Gdynia and Szczecin. It said that the buyer was planning “other forms of economic activity” in parallel to shipbuilding.

Warsaw has revealed little about the buyer, only saying that it had acted through an intermediary, Stichting Particulier Fonds Greenrights which, like United International Trust, is based in Curacao. “Why are Arab investors interested?” Tusk said. “Because they are interested in cooperating with us in the field of gas, and to participate in the Polish gas market.” Polish gas firm PGNiG announced on 15 April that it had signed a deal with Qatargas for the supply of one million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. PGNiG said that the deal provided for a 20-year supply contract with Qatargas, with shipments set to begin in 2014.

The gas will be shipped by tankers to a terminal currently being built at Swinoujscie on Poland’s northwest Baltic coast, near the border with Germany. Poland, which meets 30 percent of its gas needs from its own resources, 40 percent from Russian imports and the remainder from a variety of sources, has been looking for ways to further diversify its suppliers.

The issue of the third yard in Gdansk is being handled separately by Brussels, which has yet to give its verdict on a restructuring plan there.