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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
ANALYSES AND REPORTS
DID YOU KNOW...?
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, In this week’s Newsletter we inform about the amendment to the Act on SEZs, recently signed by the President, that will make SEZ enlargement in Poland possible - in total by some 8 thousand ha. We also present a report by the Supreme Chamber of Control which positively evaluates PAIiIZ’s performance between the years 2005-2007. Moreover, latest news on new investment plans in the Ujazd commune and information about the Belgian Soudal first ever plant in Poland. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS President signed an amendment to the Act on SEZ On June 19, President signed an amendment to the Act on Special Economic Zone (SSE) - PAP informs. New regulations come into force 30 days after the Act has been announced.
Thanks to the amendment the space limit of the SEZs in Poland will expand from 12 to 20 thousand ha. Many communes perceive the Act as a long-awaited-chance because grounds at the majority of SEZs have already been distributed. A Special Economic Zone may be set up by the Council of Ministers, provided a motion issued by a minister of a given economic field has been proposed. According to the new version of the Act such a motion is no longer to be assessed by the Voivodes but by the Voivodeship Board. According to the Chancellery’s Information Centre, as of the end of May 2008, there were 36 thousand workplaces created in SEZs and 10 bln PLN invested there. (PAP) Go to top...
The WSE opened its representative office in Kiev On June 25, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) opened its representative office in Kiev. This is the first office of the WSE opened abroad and, at the same time, WSE became the first foreign exchange to open its representative office in Ukraine.
The entry into the Ukrainian market was not in the least accidental. The WSE representatives recognise the market’s potential that is yet to be fully discovered in the future. More and more Polish companies start or increase their economic activity in the Ukrainian market every year what, in turn, testifies to the growing demand on capital for development. The Polish-Ukrainian cooperation is bound to tighten substantially due to the oncoming EURO 2012 European Football Championships to be organized by the two countries. According to Ludwik Sobolewski, WSE President, the Warsaw Exchange is to prove useful and beneficial for Ukrainian companies looking for capital for development as the WSE provides access to foreign capital at a considerably lower rate than other exchanges in Europe. According to Radio Information Agency (IAR) the representative office is to focus on reporting, promoting and encouraging investment on the WSE and is also to concentrate on beefing up the cooperation with local market regulators and bourses. Today the WSE lists two Ukrainian partnerships - Astarta Holding and Kernel Holding, and there are two more which are about to be listed possibly this year. At the moment the overall number of companies listed at the WSE reaches 400. In 2007 WSE ranked 2nd in Europe in terms of the number of new listings on its regulated market. The NewConnect market, founded less than a year ago, has almost 60 companies listed and classifies 5th among alternative European markets. Foreign investors make up over 30% of the overall number of investing companies. (WSE/IAR) Competition for the best Master thesis, regarding the promotion of the Polish economy The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency together with the Foundation for the Polish Promotional Emblem invite for a press conference opening the 2nd edition of the “Competition for the best Master thesis, regarding the promotion of the Polish economy”. The conference will take place on July 2, starting at 11:00 a.m. at the PAIiIZ Press Centre, Bagatela Street 12 in Warsaw.
The idea behind the competition is to popularize the theme of promoting the Polish economy and thus to beef up the young cadre recruitment process for the needs of Polish national marketing. The competition’s objective is to familiarize citizens with the development of the Polish economy, the problems of national marketing, the topic of a brand for Poland and the basis-creation for the Poland’s systematic and dynamic development. The organisers highlight the fact that the contest is a unique opportunity to form young people who may in the future manage regional promotion and development projects. That is why the organisers would welcome any form of cooperation on the part of voivodship capitals as well as Special Economic Zones. The competition is organised under the honorary patronage of the Minister of Economy. The contest partners include: the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw; the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw; the Institute for Economic Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences; the Warsaw School of Economics; the Warsaw Stock Exchange and Deutsche Bank PBC. Applications should be sent to the following address: agnieszka.schutte@paiz.gov.pl On behalf of the organisers and partners we kindly invite you to the conference. INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
Over 2200 new workplaces may be created in Ujazd French concern FM Logistic is to build a logistic base in the Ujazd Business Activity Zone (SAG). The foundation stone lying ceremony, in the presence of the concern’s and local self-government representatives, took place on June 19.
The building works began in February and are scheduled to be finished by November. The 100 ha construction lot is located by the A4 motorway. The first phase of the plant construction is to cost 30 million EUR. Around 60 staff members are planed to be hired, in the long run, however, the number may reach 500. The base is planed to focus mainly on the so called co-manufacturing i.e. packaging, storing and distribution of ready products. It has been revealed that Cadbury Polska is to be the main concern’s contractor as it intends to build a chewing gum factory in Skarbierz, nearby Brzeg.
According to Peter Kapusta, from the management board of FM Logistic, the French chose Ujazd because they believe the place stands a chance of becoming an important economic centre in southern Poland. Undoubtedly the lot’s location - nearby the A4 motorway - also played a role In the near future the Ujazd commune is about to see other investment constructions. Among others German Haba Beton, producing concrete elements, and Kaufland Polska. The companies intend to hire 120 and around 300 persons, respectively. Also the American ProLogis is about to invest in the logistics sector and create even 1300 new workplaces. Given the new investments, the overall number of active companies in Ujazd will reach nine. The Ujazd mayor, Tadeusz Kauch, seems not to be excessively worried after the Daimler’s withdrawal. There are five other investors interested in the co-operation with the Ujazd commune that have been considering operating within the Business Activity Zone. In fact, the commune has yet around 200 ha, from that 100 ha within the Katowice Special Economic Zone, at its disposal. The lots have all the necessary agreements, permits and spatial development plans arranged and are fully prepared for a big investors’ entry. (Nowa Trybuna Opolska/COI Opole) Soudal to invest in Pionki
It is estimated that the construction of the plant will cost over 35 million PLN and 100 workplaces are to be created. The investment is located in the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone and is to produce polyurethane foams and sealing compounds. The Chemical Building Plant is scheduled to start production in the first Q 2009. The foams and silicones manufactured in Pionki are planed to be distributed in the Polish market and Eastern markets as well. The estimated area of the production premises accounts for 8 thousand square metres and the total area of the lot reaches 43 thousand square metres. The plant will be equipped with modern assembly lines that fulfil European standards. All solutions applied in the factory aim at limiting to the minimum the wastes produced in the course of production process and not to discharge industrial sewage. Moreover, due to an adequate production premises construction, noise pollution will be substantially reduced. (Soudal)
MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS Tomaszów Lubelski has its sub-zone
The creation of Tomaszów Lubelski sub-zone in the frame of the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) has officially been announced. Tomaszów has been striving for the zone for three months.
Andrzej Talarek, the Tarnobrzeg SEZ representative, does not hide the complacency with the fact that generally the interest in eastern Poland is on the rise and consequently also the interest in the sub-zones creation in the Lublin region grows. In fact, further investment lots ready to host sub-zones are already available in Janów Lubelski and in the Łuków commune. The odds are that Zamość, another town in the region, may soon follow suit and create a sub-zone in cooperation with the Mielec Special Economic Zone. Initially, the area of the Tomaszów Lubelski sub-zone is to be limited to 10 ha and there may be around 300 new workplaces created. Jan Kowalczyk, starosta (the head of the poviat local authority) of Tomaszów Lubelski, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that in the course of time and with growing investor inflow the sub-zone may gradually be expanded to include other communes e.g. Lubycza Królewska and Wożuczyn - where a biomass producing factory is planed to be located. (roztocze.net)
50 million EUR for bike paths A 2 thousand km long bike path is to be created in Eastern Poland. The route is to pass through five voivodships: the warmińsko-mazurskie, the podlaskie, the lubelskie, the podkarpackie and the świętokrzyskie voivodship. 50 million EUR has been earmarked for the project in the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland (EPD OP).
It is estimated that construction of 1 km of the route may cost from 300 to 700 thousand PLN. New parking and stopping places are planed to be created within the project. Building works are about to start in spring next year and are scheduled to be completed by 2012. „Eastern Poland Bike Paths” aims at creating a net of regional tourist attractions including thematic routs and nature monuments. Moreover, an appropriate catering infrastructure allowing long distance bike trips is planed to be created alongside the route. The planed infrastructure allows for equipment repair services, rental companies and an easy access to accommodation and communication centres that would enable easy tourist transfer to and from other parts of the country. Piotr Franaszek, in charge of the project in the voivodship of Lublin, told “Kurier Lubelski” that there is a big interest in the venture across the region. Communes seem to be well aware of the chance such a bike route may offer for promotion not only among local bikers but also among foreigners who very often decide to bike across Poland. ANALYSES AND REPORTS PAIiIZ highly evaluated by the Supreme Chamber of Control (NIK) On June 18, the results of the Supreme Chamber of Control (NIK) report on the initiatives supporting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow were revealed. The report assessed the self-government and government administration as well as the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) performance. The PAIiIZ’s performance was evaluated positively.
The audit focused on the Ministry of Economy, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, local-government entities and selected regional investor service centres performance within the years 2005-2007. PAIiIZ’s initiatives supporting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow were highly evaluated in the NIK report. It is worth emphasising the FDI reached 11.9 bln EUR in 2006 and 12.8 bln in 2007. The NIK Vice President, Stanisław Jarosz, emphasised that it was possible to attract the investment, among others, thanks to financial support from the national budget and a comprehensive investor service on the part of PAIiIZ. NIK recognised also the Agency’s foreign promotional activity and trainings organised by PAIiIZ for employees of local and regional investor service centres. The Agency’s investment promotional and marketing activities encompassed, among others, 314 foreign investors trade missions, 122 study tours for foreign journalists, 36 conferences with local self-government involvement, 26 conferences on investment projects, 17 trainings for commune representatives and 2 editions of “The Golden Site” competition. The Agency’s publications and conferences on common foreign investment process bottlenecks and ways of overcoming the defects also gained recognition. The Agency’s tendency to focus on technologically advanced investment attraction in sectors enabling Poland to gain competitive advantage in the future was positively stressed in the report. To sum up, 2006 and 2007 marked a remarkably high FDI inflow and the PAIiIZ’s FDI - connected actions were highly appreciated by the Supreme Chamber of Control. DID YOU KNOW...? Polish and American scientists to work together on clean coal technology Poland's Chief Mining Institute (GIG), Coal Chemical Processing Institute (IChPW) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. signed a cooperation agreement in Katowice. The document is the very first and only agreement signed in Poland by the U.S.-based institute so far.
According to Józef Dubiński, the GIG director, the beginning of Polish-American cooperation in this field is a no mean feat given the fact that American partners have been conducting research in the area for the last 20 years. The two Silesian institutes are among leading Polish research centres in the field. Efforts have already been made to help the region become clean coal technologies research and implementation centre in Europe. The plan for future cooperation is to be devised in October. The major objective of the agreement consists in undertaking bilateral initiatives aiming at improving technological, environmental and economic aspects of the fossil fuels connected technologies. The scientific spotlight of the partnership will be on coal gasification methods (also underground gasification), modern carbon dioxide management and storage technologies as well as carbon liquid fuel production. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of DOE’s national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NETL supports DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States. NETL implements a vide range of research and development projects with the purpose of fossil fuel “clean energy” production. Despite the fact that the United States did not ratify the Kyoto protocol the reduction of carbon dioxide emission remains one of the NETL’s top priorities. (PAP/NETL)  Editorial office: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, 00-585 Warsaw, Bagatela Street 12 Economic Promotion Department, tel: (+48 22) 334 98 15, fax: (+48 22) 334 99 98, e-mail: redakcja@paiz.gov.pl | |||||||||||||||
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