Polish debt trader Kruk to enter Russian, Turkish markets
Major Polish debt trading company Kruk announced plans to expand onto the Russian and Turkish markets.
“We are interested in building business in countries with different economic cycles,” Marcin Krupa, KRUK CEO told Polish daily Puls Biznesu. “Russia and Turkey are currently experiencing significant growth in their financial sectors, they are therefore potentially attractive for companies operating in debt management.”
Kruk bought debts worth PLN 180 mln in Q3 2012. It aims to invest approximately PLN 300-400 mln in the whole of 2012. The company currently operates in Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.
“Our competitors usually demand an immediate repayment of the loan they acquire,” Krupa told Puls Biznesu. “The case is quickly directed to a bailiff, even though the debtor cannot cover the debt. Kruk’s strategy is different. We divide the debt into installments. Debt restructuring means less short-term cash flow, but regular and stable payments in the long term.”
The debt management sector in Poland has flourished in recent years, including the development of an online bourse for debt trading, the internet portal Dlugi.info.
“We already have thousands of customers receiving automatic updates on new bids, but we want to reach as many companies as possible,” Dlugi.info representative Piotr Wajszczak told Puls Biznesu. “We are currently establishing cooperation with the largest software producers including [Polish IT firm] Sygnity.”
Dlugi.info is the first Polish debt trading portal. It was established with the aim of increasing transparency and efficiency in debt repayment. Companies can sell their overdue receivables on the portal. Information on trading can be accessed without registering and is therefore widely available.
The portal was created to help deal with payment backlogs that plague the sector. The website’s popularity grew rapidly and now includes traders from a variety of sectors including food products, furniture and transport.
