Polish shipyards sold to Qatari fund
(WARSAW) - Two historic Polish shipyards sold off last month went to Qatari fund Qinvest, Poland's Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad revealed Tuesday after an official silence on the buyer.
"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 told reporters in Warsaw.
The Gdynia and Szczecin yards on Poland's northern Baltic coast were sold for around 82 million euros (115 million dollars). They hold particular significance for many Poles as the cradle of protests against the communist old order.
The European Commission, which polices competition rules in the 27-nation European Union, 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 there.
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