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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 report on several significant foreign investments to be realised in Polish special economic zones i.e. in Łódź, Wałbrzych and in Starachowice. Furthermore, we invite to a seminar devoted to European funds available to investors in Poland. You will also find information about the new governmental program for foreign investment support and optimistic data on Polish GDP. Finally, we present a short account of this year’s international amber fairs which have recently taken place in Gdańsk. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS Economic seminar “Business Meeting Poland-Portugal”  On September 2nd an economic seminar “Business Meeting Poland-Portugal” organised by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and by the Embassy of Portugal in Poland took place in Warsaw. In the presence of presidents of both countries a contract concerning co-operation between PAIiIZ and AICEP Portugal Global - Business Development Agency was signed.During professor Anibal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s president, and the accompanying him Portuguese entrepreneurs’ visit to Poland, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency together with Portugal’s Embassy in Poland organised an economic seminar devoted to bilateral co-operation. The meeting was opened by Dr Paweł Wojciechowski - PAIiIZ President and Dr Basilio Horta, the President of a Portugese Agency AICEP Portugal Globar, Marcin Korolec, the Under-secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy, professor Antonio Castro Guerra, Secretary of State in the Portuguese Ministry of Economy and Innovation delivered speeches. “I am glad that the Portuguese Trade and Investment Promotion Agency placed Poland among the ten top countries as far as economic co-operation of the Republic of Portugal is concerned. For Portugal Poland remains the biggest investment market in the Central- Eastern Europe.”, said Dr Paweł Wojciechowski while opening the meeting.
During the seminar presidents in charge of institutions responsible for promotion and foreign investment development as well as people shaping commercial relations between the countries e.g. Dr Basilio Horta and Dr Paweł Wojciechowski as well as the President of the Polish - Portuguese Commercial Chamber, Dr Pedro Silva had a chance to address the seminar’s participants. “Poland is the most important economic partner for Portugal in the CEE region. All entrepreneurs who decided to invest in Poland are satisfied and we hope the interest in the region will continue growing.”, said Dr Brasilio Horta.
The speeches were followed by a debate of the Polish and Portuguese entrepreneurs on the bilateral co-operation. The event, above all, served as an opportunity to establish contacts and as a possibility to exchange opinions and experiences. Concerns from Portugal represented the financial, banking, construction, furniture, IT, tourism, health, foodstuff and automotive sectors. The meeting aimed at boosting the interest of the Portuguese entrepreneurs in the Polish investment offer. Participants of the seminar could also visit an exhibition "e.Portugal, Global Technology" opened in the Museum of Engineering. The exposition presented the latest products of 22 Portuguese companies active in the information and communication technologies sector. All the exhibitors are among the top ranking entities in the sector and are highly appreciated in the country and abroad mainly thanks to devising innovative software solutions which find application in a variety of economic sectors. (PAIiIZ) Go to top...
The government to allocate 220 million PLN to a new system to boost investment The Ministry of Economy devised a new system to boost foreign investment in the frame of long-standing programmes. On August 28th the project allocating 220 million PLN to the purpose was passed by the Council of Ministers.
The system is thought to create and develop a financial support instrument able to encourage entrepreneurs planning to invest in Central and Eastern Europe that Poland is the best destination to develop their projects. Financial support is to be granted in form of subsidies regulated through contracts concluded between an investor and the Minister of Economy. The beneficiary receives the grant throughout a period of one to five years in annual installments depending on the progress of a given project and in accordance with the previous commitments. The subsidy may account for 15% of the investment costs in case of a project realized in a special economic zone or may cover up to 30% if an investment is realized outside SEZs. Among those who are entitled to apply for the financial support are companies planning to realize projects in one of key sectors, in the methodology used by the OECD the sectors tend to be defined as high tech i.e. IT, BPO and R&D sectors as theses sectors generate the highest value added for the economy. Yet the automotive, electronic, aviation, biotechnology and telecommunication industries are also perceived as top priority sectors. The financial support is to be of a twofold character, first the support may be to compensate the initial investment costs, secondly it may be allocated to boost job creation strategies.In order to be able to apply for the initial investment costs rebates a company should be operating in one of the key sectors, declare to invest at least 160 million PLN and create a minimum number of 50 workplaces. In turn, to be entitled to obtain support to improve the job creation capacity a company should fall into one of three possible categories: it should either declare to create 250 jobs with 40 million PLN invested in the project, or create 500 workplaces and incur 1 billion investment costs or, the third option, generate 250 workplaces but in the modern services sector. Interestingly, an investor who plans to hire only 35 people with university degrees but wants to invest as much as 3 million PLN in an R&D investment may also feel free to apply for the government’s subsidies. “European Funds for Investors” - MRD and PAIiIZ invite for a seminar The seminar, organized by the Ministry of Regional Development and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency will take place in Warsaw on September 29th .
The meeting aims at presenting existing possibilities of obtaining EU funds for projects planned for the years 2007-2013. Latest issue of the EU-funds guide prepared by PAIiIZ in co-operation with the Ministry of Regional Development will be distributed among all the seminar’s participants. The meeting is to take place on September 29th in Warsaw (Hotel Novotel Centrum, 94/98 Marszałkowska Str., 10:00 a.m.- 2:45 p.m) Please send your confirmation of participation to anna.flak@paiz.gov.pl or karolina.fratczak@paiz.gov.pl INVESTMENTS IN POLAND ABB to construct an engine manufacturing plant in the Łódź SEZ ABB, a company specializing in technologies for power engineering and automotive industry, is to invest 63 million in an engine manufacturing plant in the Łódź Special Economic Zone.
On September 2nd a foundation stone for the ABB plant was laid in Aleksandrów Łódzki. The factory will to be equipped with three production lines and plans to produce 45 thousand engines a year. It is estimated that by mid 2009 round 160 people will find employment in the factory. Mr Gryszka, ABB President emphasises that it is the first ABB’s plant constructed from scratch: “Thanks to the investment Poland becomes one of the more significant centres of electric engine production”, ABB President said.
The company has an ambitious plan to finish the plant by March 31st 2009 and start production by the end of the first half of 2009. ABB wants to recruit employees form the local labour market . Morover, the company has plans to enter into co-operation with an Aleksandrów-based vocational school. The co-operation would include internships and possible employment in the positions vital for the successful management of the factory. The ABB Group gives employment to 115 thousand people in over 100 countries all over the world. In Poland 2300 people work in four factories and one research centre managed by the group. (ABB) Over 300 million PLN and new workplaces in the Wałbrzych SEZ The Wałbrzych SEZ is to host new companies. Investors declared to create 550 jobs and to spend 300 million PLN in, among others, car seats and roof tiles manufacturing factories.
The Zone aims at improving its last year’s performance and as of the end of August it issued 31 business activity permits i.e. more than in the course of the whole previous year. It is also estimated that this year’s investment outlay is to exceed the 2007 investment spending. While the 2007 investments in the SEZ accounted for 580 million PLN, the contracts concluded in 2008 have already reached 2.5 billion PLN. Three out of four most recently issued permits concern foreign projects and one of the foreign investors continues expanding its current activity in the SEZ. From among the new investors, the Belgian Creaton Polska Plus results to be the biggest. The roof tiles producer will invest 240 million PLN and will produce tiles in Kościan where 100 people may find employment starting from 2010. At the moment the Wałbrzych SEZ belongs to the fastest developing special economic zones in Poland. The zone is located in the South-East of Poland, near the border with the Czech Republic and Germany and has at its disposal investment sites with good inter-zone infrastructure. Among the most prominent Wałbrzych SEZ’s investors are Toyota Motor Poland, Cersanit, Faurecia, Whirlpool, General Electric, Henkel-Ceresit, Electrolux, Bridgestone. (WSSE). AIR Liquide invests in the Starachowice SEZ The Starachowice SEZ management issued a permit for AIR Liquide and the company may now invest 36 million EUR to produce technical gas in the Puławy sub-zone.
The company will be operating in the Puławy sub-zone on a site measuring near 10 thousand sq m and leased from the Treasury. AIR Liquide declared its investment spending to reach at least 36 million EUR by the end of September 2010 and to hire 20 people by the end of 2012. The majority of AIR Liquide’s consumers will be comprised of enterprises and not individual customers. The Starachowice SEZ was set up in 1997. Now the zone has 580 ha in 13 sub-zones. By the end of March 2008 the zone issued 71 permits entailing future investment spending accounting for nearly 240 million EUR with possible 5 thousand new jobs. (Starachowice SEZ) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS Gdańsk - projects to revive parts of the city Gdańsk authorities launch several projects aiming at reviving the city. Plac Wałowy is to turn into the “Gdańsk Montmartre” and post shipyard sites are to be changed into a new residential zone.
Plac Wałowy (Wałowy Square) used to be an important part of the municipal defence system in the past. That is why now a 19th century barracks and one of the most interesting examples of military monuments, the so called New Arsenal currently owned by the Gdańsk Acadmy of Fine Arts may be found in the square. The old building is to be refurbished and host an art gallery together with artistic workrooms. The make-over aims not only at improving the state of the buildings as such. The ultimate purpose of the initiative is to culturally and economically revive the whole fragment of the city.
The city’s plans of revival include also 30 ha brownfield sites, formerly belonging to the Gdańsk shipyard. Now the land belongs to a Danish Trust B, one of the biggest property investors in Pomerania. Both the city and the land owner want to organise a residential zone Młode Miasto (Young City) taking up as much as possible of the post shipyard brownfield. The project entails construction of a New Wałowa street, a shopping mall, cultural facilities and a quay. It is expected that round 15 thousand new jobs may be created in the institutions and companies established for the new zone. The overall costs of the new street construction are estimated at 130 million PLN and the Danish investor declared to partially cover the construction-connected spending. The City Council has already earmarked funds for the purpose and the construction should set off in spring 2009. Thanks to bringing in the private investor the city effectively minimised its own outlay for the project and additionally secured a new source of income for the city in the long run. According to the city’s estimates by 2020 the new zone may generate round 90 million PLN annually in form of property tax. (Gdańsk City Hall) DID YOU KNOW...? The Gdańsk Ambermart hosted 132 exhibitors
During the three-day long event over 130 exhibitors presented their products to over 400 buyers form34 countries,among others, from Italy, Germany, the UK, France, the USA, Lithuania, Russia, Austria and Hong Kong. The fairs are a perfect trade meeting providing the jewellery and amber objects d’art manufacturers with an opportunity to establish contacts with traders, commercial chains and wholesales stores representatives. The event is also thought as an attraction for tourists and amber admirers. Not only form the amber jewellery sector. This year over 3 thousnad fairs’ visitors could also enjoy a violin concert by Joanna Mądroszkiewicz and had a chance to attend a fashion and jewellery show in the Amber Museum. In the second day of the event a seminar devoted to safety rules in high risk jobs and a most beautiful amber jewellery set contest were on the event’s agenda. A premiere of a photo album dedicated to amber art and a meeting with a famous Pomeranian illustrator Zbigniew Jujka were organised in the frame of the fairs. (The Gdańsk International Fair Co.)  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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