PZU representatives were part of a business delegation accompanying Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski on a two-day visit to Croatia.
PZU management board chairman Andrzej Klesyk told reporters PZU was interested in CO because of the similar insurance markets in Croatia and Poland, the two companies' similar history as former state-owned monopoly holders, and because PZU had chosen the Croatian market as ideal for expansion in this region.
Both companies are like the headquarters of their countries' financial systems, so PZU understands how important it would be to cooperate with the Croatian government in preserving the stability of the financial sector and wants the state to remain a "strong but friendly" shareholder in CO, Klesyk said.
He said CO would benefit from PZU also because Poland joined the European Union eight years ago, so PZU could share its experience in what lay in store for insurance companies.
All this makes PZU a perfect partner for CO, Klesyk said, adding that PZU was willing to honour all commitments and conditions which the Croatian government would set in the privatisation process.
Asked if PZU was interested in CO even if the Croatian government decided against selling a majority stake, Klesyk said PZU would be interested in a minority stake for the moment but that its long term goal was a majority stake.
He said that apart from Poland, PZU also operated in Ukraine and the Baltic countries and that it had set Central and Eastern Europe, "east of Berlin and west of Moscow", as the focus of its expansion.
Klesyk said none of the "players" on those markets, however, wanted to give up their stakes and that privatisation in most had been completed.
Asked if PZU was interested in privatisation in Slovenia, Klesyk said PZU was interested in a major stake in any insurance company in this region. The buyer of CO should also be interested in the privatisation of Slovenia's Triglav and then "look to the south," he added.
Klesyk said that if PZU failed to invest in CO, it was not interested in buying another company in Croatia because "there's nothing to buy here, since most other companies are controlled by Western companies."
He said that in deciding whether to privatise CO, the Croatian government should consider whether it saw the future of the largest insurance company in local development or in its inclusion in a big system, with a changed name and logo.
Although the Polish state is the biggest shareholder in PZU, with a 35 per cent stake, supervisory board chairman Waldemar Maj said the company's development and expansion strategy was not a political decision, although they hope that President Komorowski's visit to Croatia will help them in their intention to enter the Croatian market.
PZU is the biggest Polish insurance company, with a 32 per cent share in the general insurance market and a 43 per cent share in life insurance. The average annual gross premium written is about EUR 4.5 billion. Last year, the company netted EUR 778 million in profit.