Global Trade Centre (GTC), the property developer and manager listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, yesterday became the first Polish inward listed firm to join the main board of the JSE.

As at end-December, GTC’s property portfolio comprised 25 prime commercial properties, including 20 office and five retail properties with a combined rentable area of about 524 000m², two office projects and a retail project under construction, and four further projects in the planning stage.

The company operates in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, holds land in the Ukraine and Russia and operates in the Czech Republic through associates and joint ventures.

Thomas Kurzmann, the chief executive of GTC, said yesterday that the JSE listing was an exciting step in enabling the company to achieve its strategy to significantly increase the value of the portfolio to more than e2bn within 36 months through value-enhancing acquisitions, development activities and asset value improvements.

“Although we are not raising capital from South African investors on this occasion, we believe this inward listing will increase the liquidity and tradability of our shares while increasing awareness of our current activities and future strategic initiatives among a new group of institutional investors,” he said.