The growing hopes

Shares in the largest construction group in Poland, Budimex, posted sharp gains on Thursday due to growing hopes the company might win future contracts to rebuild war-damaged Iraq. "Budimex is probably one of the few Polish c ompanies that has a chance to rebuild Iraq," said Rafał Jankowski, analyst at Bank Pekao brokerage house. Budimex has a long history of working on infrastructure projects in Iraq dating back to the 1970s. Company annual revenues currently amount to zł. 2.5 billion and it has a particularly strong position in the road, bridge and flat construction sectors.