The National Bank of Poland informed that it plans to launch a new cash clearing system, SORBNET-EURO, on February 7th, 2005. The new system will allow for real-time gross settlement of transactions executed in EURO, analogously to the existing SORBNET system assigned for payments in Polish Zloty (PLN).
Furthermore, the National Depository for Securities (NDS) and the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) claim that a substantial number of foreign issuers expressed their interest in listing their securities in Poland and have them quoted and settled in a foreign currency. At the moment there are no legal obstacles to such a concept, however NDS is expected to adjust details of its regulations to facilitate settlement in foreign currency, according to a BA-CA news release.
It is expected that the first securities quoted in foreign currency will debut on the Warsaw bourse in the first quarter of 2005. According to WSE regulations, each stock may be quoted either in PLN or in any exchangeable currency. However, trading and settlement must be in the same currency and securities can only be quoted in one or the other currency.