Open Charm Enhancement in Pb+Pb Collisions at SPS

The statistical coalescence model for the production of open and hidden charm is considered within the canonical ensemble formulation. The data for the J/\psi multiplicity in Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A GeV are used for the model prediction of the open charm yield. We find a strong enhancement of the open charm production, by a factor of about 2--4, over the standard hard-collision model extrapolation from nucleon-nucleon to nucleus-nucleus collisions. A possible mechanism of the open charm enhancement in A+A collisions at the SPS energies is proposed.