In addition to its macro-economic aspect, the purpose of the Balcerowicz Plan was to allow to the firms the new commercial, technical and financial environment. With this intention, the Balcerowicz plan introduced the laws on the privatization of the firms of State in July 13, 1990.

In order to answer the various types of needs, in particular according to the sectors of industry, the process of privatization borrowed several forms: small privatization, indirect privatization or capital and direct privatization by liquidation.

The small privatization, which was a great success, related to the microphone-firms, the small and average trades or the grounds . Some 20 000 unities were sold or yielded to their former owners or to the workmen who exploited them.

The direct privatization, called " liquidation" was used for the small and medium-sized firms. The firms or the part of their assets were sold to purchasers interested by their recovery. The purchasing power of Poles not make possible to practise this mode of privatization for the large companies, those were privatized according to the model of the indirect privatization or capital.

The majority of the large companies were transformed into societies by shares within the system of the procedure of indirect privatization. 60 % of the shares were allotted to funds created for this purpose, 25 % to the public treasury and 15 % to employees. All the investors, of the small saver to the great foreign multinational could then acquire the shares of these societies, but into
practical, many of them were liquidated or did not find purchasers.

In 2003, privatizations were regarded as finished and the Poland Agency of Privatization officially ceased existing. The last large building sites in progress relate to the operator of telecommunications TPSA, bank PKO and the railroad company PKP. The public firms continue to contribute with approximately 20 % of the national GDP. Ultimately, privatizations were marked by the strong presence of the foreign investors, even if the government tended rather to support the Polish investors, as in the case of insurances PZU.

The new face of the Polish firms > >