Inflow of foreign investment into Poland in the 1st half of the year 201028.07.2010According to the data published by NBP, the total inflow of foreign direct invenstment (FDI) into Poland from January till June 2010 reached over EUR 5 billion, which is 75% more than in the corresponding period of 2009. In the first half of 2010, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) successfully accomplished 29 new investments of a total value of EUR 377 million. The new investments will create over 6.000 job positions throughout Poland.On July 28th, 2010, a press conference concerning the inflow of foreign investment into Poland in the first half of the year 2010 was held at the PAIiIZ Information Centre. Mr. Rafał Baniak, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economy, described the condition of the Polish economy and its influence upon the inflow of FDI into Poland. According to Mr. Baniak, development in Polish economy depends on multiple factors, including increase of GDP, decrease of inflation and unemployment and a system of investment benefits. The anticipated inflow of FDI will be worth €10 billion. Mr. Sławomir Majman, the President of PAIiIZ, emphasized that the increased interest in Poland showed by foreign investors attests a good condition of Polish economy confirmed by the Agency’s result in the first half of 2010.
From the left: Maciej Mierzwiński - Director Gdańsk Shipyard Group, Marek Łyżwa - Vice President of PAIiIZ, Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik - Director of Foreign Investment Department of PAIiIZ, Rafał Baniak - Undersecretary of State in Ministry of Economy and Sławomir Majman - President of PAIiIZ |
Mr. Marek Łyżwa, Vice-President of PAIiIZ, and Mrs. Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik, director of the Department of Foreign Investment of PAIiIZ, presented detailed information about foreign investment in Poland in the first half of the year 2010. The value of foreign investment increased by 75% as compared to the corresponding period of 2009. The number of projects supported by PAIiIZ increased by 73% and their value by 89%: from EUR 2.8 billion to over EUR 5 billion. The number of investment projects accomplished by the end of June increased from 10 to 29 and their value increased by 39%: from EUR 271.6 million to over EUR 377.29 million. The number of new job positions created within these projects increased over three times: from 1,988 to 6,046. An increase in the share of specialised job positions for highly qualified employees in R&D branch caused by the inflow of high technology investment projects was also observed. The share of manufacturing investments has visibly diminished in favour of the sectors of highly specialised services and research and development; nevertheless they still retain the dominant position (70% share). PAIiIZ also observed a decline of the average value of a single investment: investors less frequently decide to undertake greenfield projects, seeking a short-term investment opportunity instead.
The distribution of investors’ home countries did not change significantly. Most of the projects come from the European Union and from USA but the share of Far East investment increases, especially from South Korea and from Japan; an increase of the share of investment coming from China and India is expected as well.
Samsung, SONY Pictures Entertainment, NUCTECH, Nokia–Siemens and Hewlett-Packard were among the investors who accomplished their projects in the first half of 2010.
At present, PAIiIZ supports over 140 investment projects worth EUR 5.3 billion in total with declared employment of 34,600 persons within several following years. Every fourth project originates from the USA. Other projects are planned by companies from Great Britain and from Germany. Investors from South Korea also exhibit a rising interest in Poland (8 projects at present). The ranking of the most important branches has not changed since the latest year although the shares of the automotive branch (from 16 to 25 projects) and the electronic branch (from 1 to 13 projects) have grown significantly. So-called “intellectual businesses” projects, i.e. those requiring high skills, take up the fourth part of all investments supported by PAIiIZ. Mr. Sławomir Majman expects this tendency to persist.
Mr. Maciej Mierzwiński, director of Gdańsk Shipyard Group, as a representative of the investor supported by PAIiIZ, presented an investment involving a factory of wind towers in the area of Gdańsk Shipyard. The company manufactures up to 100 towers per year; they plan to have another plant opened by 2010 which will allow to increase the processing power by another 200 towers. The new factory is planned to employ about 200 persons. The capacity of the Polish market is estimated to 600 wind towers per year. The company plans to launch production of heavier base elements for sea turbines as well.
The investor emphasised the advantages of Gdańsk that played a decisive role in the process of locating the new investment: a strategic location, the infrastructure, the availability of educated and experienced staff, labour costs lower than in Western Europe and easy access to materials and suppliers.
At the moment, the Gdańsk Shipyard manufactures rigged hulls for specialist ships (fish processing trawlers, seabed explorers), steel constructions (for drilling platforms, bridges), wind towers and propellers. The Shipyard earned over PLN 30 million in profits in 2009 and its order portfolio is worth about PLN 350 million.
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