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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
DID YOU KNOW...?
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, This week we inform about new foreign investments: an R&D centre to be built by DisplayLink in Katowice and a factory to be constructed by Ball Packaging Europe in Lublin. We also present the project of a Congress Centre in Cracow and the Warsaw City Council’s idea to promote the Polish capital in Beijing. Should you have no idea where to spend the long weekend in August, we put forward offers from the newly launched Polish Press Agency’s tourist news information website. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS PAIiIZ presents finalists of the III edition of the “The Golden Sites 2008” The third edition of the PAIiIZ’s contest enjoys a considerable popularity among self-governments. 91 plots were qualified for the second and final stage of the contest.
The final phase of the competition aims at selecting the best 16 lots, one from each vivodship. The results will be revealed in November 2008. The idea behind the competition is to identify and promote attractive investment locations. Another important aspect of the competition is the encouragement of the communes to invest in infrastructure. Properly prepared investment sites are one of the basic prerequisites of success in the battle for the investor. The laureates are to be given a unique chance to promote their commune as the best investment destination. Moreover, the winning plots that deserve to be singled out are to be recommended to foreign investors by PAIiIZ. All laureates are to be awarded the right to use the contest’s logo in all their promotional materials. The event comes under the honorary patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy, Mr Waldemar Pawlak, whereas it will be sponsored in the media by the daily paper: “Puls Biznesu”. This year’s edition is the third in the contest’s history, the previous ones took place in 2005 and 2007. (PAIiIZ) Go to top...
Warsaw Stock Exchange the best in Central Europe By the value of listed companies, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest exchange in the region. The capitalisation of the WSE is now greater than that of Wiener Boerse by almost 9 billion EUR.
In July the value of companies listed in the Warsaw Stock Exchange reached 117.3 billion EUR and exceeded the capitalisation of the Wiener Boerse by almost 9 billion EUR. In his comment on the news for the “Rzeczpospolita” daily Marek Jura¶, analyst from DM BZ WBK, said that the appreciation of the Polish złoty, the rise in quotations in July and pace of economic growth in Poland were decisive for the WSE performance. According to the newspaper, the difference in capitalisation between Vienna and Warsaw will continue increasing to the benefit of the Warsaw-based exchange. “Emphasis should be put on the fact that the Warsaw Stock Exchange is a leader in the region as this may result in attracting a growing number of foreign issuers” ,Michał Marczak, head of the Analyses Department at DI BRE told „Rzeczpospolita”. (Rzeczpospolita) Go to top...
Slashing red tape in the EU funds related services. The Ministry and entrepreneurs join the efforts An overall sum of 67.3 million EUR was made available for Poland in the years 2007-2013. Subsidies form the EU structural funds are available within a wide range of over 500 various actions and priorities in the frame of operational programmers. 150 offices and institutions are involved in the distribution and allocation of the funds.
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND DisplayLink to open an R&D centre in Katowice DisplayLink, a British IT company, decided set up its R&D centre in Katowice (¦l±sk). The decision was determined by both the accessibility to well-educated and experienced cadre and the vicinity of dynamically developing academic centres. It is envisaged that the first stage of the centre’s development entails hiring round 70 Polish specialists.
The company is famous for the invention of an internet camera and the T9 dictionary (i.e. the predictive text technology for mobile phones) and recently for devising an algorithm enabling the projection of images from one computer on several screens. Since 2006 the company has been developing and enjoying an increasing popularity of its offer for business clients. DisplayLink is a privately held concern with four investment trusts constituting the core of the company. While the company’s headquarter is located in California, its offices are dispersed and situated in Seattle, Taiwan or the GB and its sales offices may be found in Japan and in the USA. The company’s R&D centres operate in Cambridge and now also in Katowice. Work on software for the company’s products operating on various operational systems is planned to start off in the Katowice-based centre in September 2009. Mariusz Tomaka has been assigned the task of organising the new DisplayLink office in Poland. The Katowice City Council considers the undertaking to be a valuable acquisition in that the investment will not only beef up the attractiveness of the city itself but will also prop up the competitiveness of the future technology park which is to be constructed in the city and help attract new foreign investors.
DisplayLink admits that it was the excellent reputation of Polish engineers, the accessibility to well-qualified graduate pool and renowned Polish universities that worked as an attracting element and helped Katowice outflank other possible investment destinations. In fact, Polish specialists do stand out from among the company’s employees in the Cambridge-based R&D centre and other offices as well. This fact seems to have a lot to do with choosing Poland as the location for the R&D centre. The abovementioned accessibility to well-educated and experienced cadre together with the vicinity of dynamically developing academic centres makes the South of Poland a perfect place for investment. (DisplayLink, Katowice City Council) 2 million cans a day from Ball Packaging Europe The American Ball Packaging Europe (BPE) invests in the Lublin sub-zone of the Euro-Park Mielec SEZ. A factory worth 200 million PLN destined to aluminium cans production is to be one of the biggest in Europe and will offer employment to round 100 persons.
The new plant is the concern’s second investment in Poland. The first Polish initiative of the company took form in Radomsko where the BPE’s factory has been producing 1.5 billion cans annually for the last 14 years. Due the fact that the current output has not been satisfying the growing demand of the Polish beverage market and the company’s export orders, the concern is about to invest 200 million PLN and hire round 100 people in its second aluminium cans producing factory. In fact, the recruitment process has already been started and there have been signals of a possible employment increase as the company plans to install another production line. The construction of the premises is planned to be finished by the end of the year and production should start off in May 2009. The estimated output capability of the factory is said to reach 2 million of 0.5l cans a day. Among the major clients of the plant are Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian breweries. The BPE’s initiative results to be the first investment in the new sub-zone established in Lublin. The foundation stone ceremony to celebrate the construction start of the factory was held on August 7th , 2008 in the presence of the BPE’s president Gerrit Haske; the president of the city of Lublin, Adam Wasilewski; the Lublin voivod, Genowefa Tokarska and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Treasury, Krzysztof Żuk. Also the representatives of Skanska, the general contractor for the construction works, were present at the ceremony. Both the President of Lublin and the region’s Voivod emphasised the significance of the investment for the whole region as the initiative is a clear forecast of new workplaces, a thing the regions undoubtedly needs at the moment. Needless to say the new initiative constitutes also an attracting element for other investors interested in the sub-zone and creates cooperative opportunities for other Lublin-based production and service-oriented institutions and factories. According to Elżbieta Kołodziej-Wnuk, deputy president of the Lublin city and a person responsible for the sub-zone development, the first results of the sub-zone-based activities can already be felt in the region. There are hopes that the BRE investment will beef up the interest in the region among other prospective investors. “I am very glad that we have been fulfilling our dreams of economic revival of the city. We consider the sub-zone to be a great chance for the Lublin economy and, above all, an opportunity to create new jobs for the region’s residents. To date, the co-operation with Ball Packaging Europe has been developing perfectly. I am impressed by the company’s quick action and also by the cadre’s involvement in the investment realisation. I do hope this may be a stimulus for other entrepreneurs toying with the idea of investing in Lublin.”, Elżbieta Kołodziej-Wnuk told the PAIiIZ Newsletter. BPE is one of the biggest providers of beverage containers in Europe. The concern may boast about nearly 30% share in the European market and ranks 2nd among metal package manufacturers in Poland. BPE is a part of an American Ball Corporation managing 12 production plants in Europe which have an annual 13 bln container output. (Euro-Park Mielec SEZ, Lublin City Council) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS A modern Congress Centre to be built in Cracow Cracow applies for EU funds to help in the construction of a modern Congress Centre.
Recently two investment projects from Cracow entered the list of investments of key significance for Poland published by the Ministry of Regional Development. The projects concerned the development of the underground area of the Main Market Square and the construction of a tram connection to the Jagiellonian University Campus on the outskirts of the city. Now Cracow witnesses a birth of another key investment aiming at building a new Congress Centre. A pre-agreement on allocating subsidies from the Regional Operational Programme for the Małopolska region to the project has been signed by the city authorities, represented by the Cracow’s president Jacek Majchroswski and the Małopolskie voivodship’s marshal, Marek Nawara. In May the city authorities selected the best project for the centre. The winning project comes form the Architectural Office Ingarden&Ewý Ltd. Both the project’s authors and investors hope to obtain the planning permission by mid 2009 and select the general contractor for the construction by the second half of 2010 what should make it possible to complete the construction process by 2012. Jan Machowski, from the Cracow City Council’s Press Office told the PAIiIZ Newsletter that the year 2012 does start to shed a specific light on many investment initiatives across Poland. Although the congress centre bears no direct link to the EURO 2012, the initiative’s progress has been monitored by many foreign partners. “We receive many commercial inquires concerning the possibility of congress organisation in Cracow. A modern congress facility stands a good chance of helping develop the so-called congress tourism in the city”, Jan Machowski said.
The marshal of the Małopolska voivodship emphasised also that the centre ranks among the three most vital projects in the regional development strategy of the voivodship. City Council’s representatives convince that the project is one of the first initiatives to be approached so bravely and without constraints. The final effect will allow to organise a whole range of congresses, concerts, performances and exhibitions. The edifice which is thought to be a kind of architectural showcase of the city will be situated near the Grunwald roundabout with a view on the Royal Castle and the Kazimierz district. The edifice will have a corrugated, sloping roof and a foyer made of glass that will offer a view on the Wawel caste. The outer wall of the building will comprise partly of a see-through materials and partly of an abstract ceramic-stone mosaic. Warsaw promoted in Beijing During this year’s Summer Olympic Games Warsaw opened its own promotional stand.
The Polish capital installed its stand and displays promotional materials in a Conference Centre at the Polish embassy in Beijing. Prospective tourists interested in visiting Poland may count on a chat with a Chinese native speaker who studied in Poland and is a fluent speaker of Polish and English. The initiative is a result of a successful co-operation between the city of Warsaw and the Polish Olympic Committee. Warsaw prepared promotional materials in Chinese, among others, pocket city plans encouraging the Chinese auditorium to visit the city and a CD entitled “Chopin’s Warsaw’. The advertising campaign of the Polish capital is supported by the campaign Ready Set Go Warsaw in CNN Traveller Asia Pacific magazine. (Warsaw City Council) DID YOU KNOW...? Results of “Your best long weekend destination” contest Żnin, Wołomin and Suwałki are the laureates of the “Your best long weekend destination”. The contest was organised by the Polish Press Agency to help promote the newly launched tourist information news website.
The contest participants were assigned a task of preparing a perfect offer for a long-weekend that falls every August in Poland. The competition was organised by the Polish Press Agency to promote the recently launched website devoted to tourist information news. The best offers were selected by a board of experts form the Polish Tourist Organisation, the Polish Tourism Development Agency and the Polish Press Agency. In their assessment the jury focused not only on the overall attractiveness of a given location and the form of the advertisement but also on the general message of the submitted offers. The idea behind the competition consisted in promoting regions that, to date, have not been enjoying a considerable popularity among tourist despite the fact that the locations do have much to offer. The event intended also to inform about destinations where much is planned to happen during the August long weekend. 29 counties from all over Poland took part in the 2 week-long contest. Żnin, Wołomin and Suwałki ranked highest in the ranking and were awarded statuettes and certificates. Szczecinek, Lidzbark, Z±bkowice and again Żnin were distinguished for the ways and methods used for promotion of the locations. The winners had a chance to present a complex tourist offer of the regions on a press conference and could publish the region’s presentation on the PAP’s tourist information website - www.serwisturystyczny.pap.pl (PAP)  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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The contest organised for the third time by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency in co-operation with the marshals of the Polish voivodships entered its second stage. 220 communes from all over Poland took part in this year’s edition. The first phase ended on July 31st with the overall number of 332 offers submitted by the communes. Among the regions that sent most offers were the Wielkopolska, Opole, ¦l±sk, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Mazowsze voivodships. For a detailed list of lots that qualified for the second stage please go to: 
Due to the fact that the application process for UE funds tends to be of a rather complex nature, the Ministry of Regional Development invited entrepreneurs into a co-operation aiming at shoring up the EU funds distribution system. The idea behind the initiative “Simple Funds” consists in streamlining the procedures of allocating the funds in the coming years. One of the ways that is expected to effectively improve the system consists in giving the entrepreneurs a possibility to have their say. The Ministry is open and eager to learn about new ideas and possible solutions. „Simple Funds” is thought as a long-standing programme which is to be monitored by a group of experts and practitioners set up at the Ministry of Regional Development. The experts are to focus on studying individual and systemic cases of excessively complex procedures. Particular attention is to be paid to the issues of the access to the subsidies and their subsequent settlement as well as to suggestions concerning the streamlining of the Ministry’s or other involved in the distribution process institutions’ guidelines and instructions. On August 13th , the group’s meeting coincided with the introduction of a special e-mail address facilitating a steady and easy contact between the EU funds pundits and the entrepreneurs. All kinds of examples and cases of unnecessary procedure complexity witnessed or experienced in institutions providing EU funds related services may be reported together with ideas and suggestions on how to make the system more effective and more beneficiary- and office-workers-friendly. All the suggestions may be sent to: 
