Private equity investors have expectations of improvement in the economic climate in Central Europe.

Some of the key findings:

• Continuing expectations of economic climate improvement
• An expectation of increased fund raising activity and portfolio management versus a decrease in focus on new investment
• A shift from buying towards selling

We also include for the first time a section on key deals to watch.

The survey results are based on questionnaires sent to professionals in private equity firms covering the following Central European countries: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia & Montenegro, and Albania during September and October 2004.

The next survey will be conducted in February/March 2005.