At the end of the first quarter of 2015 PAIiIZ worked on - not much less than this year - 170 investment projects, but the number of new jobs that could be created thanks to them was 25% lower. Since many years the investments of American companies dominate on the list of projects completed by PAIiIZ. The interest of the German companies is notable as well. There is also more and more Polish investors and their outlays are increasingly greater; both in terms of invested capital and number of workplaces created.

In the course of the first three months of 2016 PAIiIZ completed 15 investments worth EUR 76.5m, which will create over 3,300 new jobs. What is remarkable, is the increase of re-investment projects.

© djvstock-Fotolia.com

Six completed investments represent American capital, and two represent French. Interestingly, the first Egyptian investment has appeared on the Polish market. Investments in modern business services dominated among those completed in the first quarter (7 projects BSS, IT and BPO and 3 investments B+R). Investments were located mainly in Mazovian and Lower-Silesian voivodships.

Recently, the role of voivodships in encouraging foreign investments has notably reinforced. On one hand, this is the result of the decentralisation of disposal of financial aid from the European Union; currently, as much as 36% of European funds are in the hands of local governments. On the other hand voivodships are better and better in identifying sectors in which investing is both realistic and profitable.

When the journalists asked about the change of attitude of the foreign investors in the past few months, the PAIiIZ experts said that the production capacity of certain companies has notably increased, especially in the automotive and aviation industries. This is because most Western companies investing in Poland have recently caught breath. What is noticeable is the change of perception of Poland among foreign investors: as an attractive location for investments with an increasingly rich society, Poland becomes an increasingly attractive market for sales of goods and services. (PAIiIZ)

Since more than two decades, South Korea has been interested in doing business in Poland. Korea was one of the first foreign investors that entered Poland in 90s. Now, this Asian tiger is the third biggest player regarding the number of ongoing FDI projects supported by PAIiIZ. The Agency is currently working under implementation of 10 projects with a total value reaching €373m. If completed, they can lead to the creation of 2,200 new jobs in Poland.

Discussions of heads of PAIiIZ and KOTRA

The majority of Korean investment activity is focusing on automotive and electronic sectors. However, the Korean companies have started to interest in Polish business service sector and research and development industry. Therefore, PAIiIZ is encouraging KOTRA to increase its activity in the highly advanced areas of Polish economy. Mr Majman and Mr HyunSoo CHOI who since recently holds the position of KOTRA deputy director, also talked about the incoming Polish - Korean business forum in Warsaw. One of the highlights of this event that has been scheduled for 20 April, is bilateral investment cooperation. (PAIiIZ)

The signing of a partnership agreement between PAIiIZ and Ratibórz

Situated in the Silesian Voivodship, Racibórz is the town of long industrial traditions. The city has already attracted some significant investors. Among them there are for example Polish sweets company Mieszko and German detergents manufacturer Henkel.

The areas where investors are welcome to invest their capital are situated around Katowicka SEZ. Additionally, as the first town in Europe, Racibórz gained the ISO 14001 certificate, given for introducing the system of environmental management.

Investment forum Racibórz - Invest here

More information: www.paiz.gov.pl/20160406/raciborz_paiiiz_partner

Poland received 4.8 points out of 6, Czech Republic got 4.4, Slovakia 4.3 and Estonia 4.2. Such a good assessment of Poland is - among others - the result of the Polish membership in the European Union, qualified people, the quality of the high education and the motivation and efficiency of employees. According to this year’s survey, the facilities of subcontractors and the infrastructure improved as well, and the latter became the sixth best assessed factor of economic attractiveness. The financial morality of the Polish companies progressed in parallel; in this category Poland advanced from (last year’s) 12th position to the 7th.

Poland is still the leader in CCE - the survey of AHK shows

"Poland is no longer a country of cheap workforce", commented Michael Kern from AHK Polska. "We enjoy deeply rooted optimism of investors", added PAIiIZ's president Sławomir Majman. He emphasised that PAIiIZ currently works on 179 investment projects what is 20% more than last year. If all these projects were realised, 40 000 new workplaces would be created.

More: www.paiz.gov.pl/20160406/poland_evaluated_by_foreign_investors

3rd International Retail Business Summit is one of the biggest business and trade events in the region and a chance for companies operated in Poland to enter Kazakhstan market. The mission will last between: 22-23 April 2016.

The organisers do not cover costs of accommodation and flight. The cost of participation in the Forum depends on the final number of applications. During the mission, all business meetings will be held in English and/or Russian.

The registration is open until 11 April 2016.

More information available from:
PAIiIZ - Agnieszka Schütte, e-mail: agnieszka.schutte@paiz.gov.pl, Polish - Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce - Piotr Guzowski, e-mail: prezes@pkihp.pl, pkihp@pkihp.pl.

More information: www.paiz.gov.pl/20160422/mission_to_kazakhstan

The meeting is organised by the Ministry of Development and PAIiIZ at the occasion of the meeting of the Polish - Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission. The event will be devoted to the presentation on pro-investment policies of the government of Kazakhstan - including support mechanisms and the priority sectors and the government's privatisation programme in Kazakhstan. Also new policy guidelines to support Polish investment abroad and the offer for Polish companies active on the Kazakh market will be presented. The conference will be attended by co-Commissioner: Mr. Radosław Domagalski-Łabędzki, undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Development and Mr. Roman Wasilienko, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Participation in the conference is free upon registration at: monika.horodecka@paiz.gov.pl. We provide simultaneous translation.

The conference will be held in the building of the Ministry of Development, Plac Trzech Krzyży 3/5, ABC room (ground floor). Registration of participants will begin at. 9.00 am.

We invite you to participate in this event. (PAIiIZ)

Poland’s exporters had a record year in terms of sales to the UK; the value of Polish goods exported in 2015 to Britain - Poland’s second-largest market - was over £8.3 billion. BPCC members will explained to Polish exporters in very specific seminar sessions how to go about selling to the UK in practical terms. With presentations about logistics, translation, trade finance, certification and contractual issues, Polish exporters could learn directly from experienced practitioners all they need to know to successfully enter the UK market.

The Forum will be held on 19 May in Novotel Novotel Kraków Centrum, ul. Kościuszki 5.

Programme and information regarding registration costs are available on: http://bpcc.org.pl/en/events/2nd-export-forum-in-krakow. (BPCC)

China YIWU Imported Commodities Fair is a fair dedicated to imported products: consumer goods of daily use, luxury goods (glass, crystal, etc.) mother & baby products, household items, health products, food, children's clothing, artwork, jewellery, gifts and cosmetics.

China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo 2016 is a fair dedicated to goods exported from the CEEC countries. The event is a perfect occasion to enter the Chinese market by meeting brokers, importers and representatives of the Chinese distribution channels. Apart for this, the event also enables the participants to take part in the B2B meetings. (PAIiIZ)

More information:

• www.gochina.gov.pl/China_YIWU_Imported_Commodites_Fair_2016
• www.gochina.gov.pl/China-CEEC_Investment_and_Trade_Expo_NINGBO_2016

The goal of the event is to establish cooperation between car manufacturers’ purchasing departments, tier 1 suppliers and potential suppliers. In the last year’s edition of Automotive CEE Day participants held over 500 direct meetings.

In this year such companies as Volkswagen Poznań, PSA Slovakia, Polaris, Plastic Omnium (Slovakia), Gestamp (Spain), Gedia and Sanden already confirmed their presence.

The organizer of the event is the analysis company AutomotiveSuppliers.pl.

More information: www.automotiveceeday.eu

The meeting promotes the economic cooperation between the three parties and aim to encourage Polish companies to invest and do business in the Persian Gulf countries.

The meeting is organized by CASE Centre for Social and Economic Research, PAIiIZ, Lewiatan Confederation, Centre for International Initiatives and Polish Institution of International Affairs.

Access to the meeting is free of charge. To register, please contact: katarzyna.czupa@case-research.eu by 15 April. (PAIiIZ)

The meeting will be held on 26 April 2016, 12:00 (registration from 11.30 am) in the Information Centre of PAIiIZ, ul. Bagatela 12, Warsaw.

Interested in participating, please register through the registration form on the website: www3.paiz.gov.pl/konferencje/?Poland-Algeria up to 20 April 2016. Due to the limited places, the registration can be completed at an earlier date. (PAIiIZ)

Members of the jury of the Red Dot 2016, Gordon Bruce, Hideshi Hamaguchi and Prof. Ken Nah PhD during the session (Source: Red-dot.org)

In the latest edition of the Red Dot, Polish designers won 15 prizes. This is the record, when it comes to the number of awards won by Poles in one edition of the contest. Poles also managed to beat last year's record of 12 Red Dot statuettes. It is worth noting that among the 15 awards two major awards, namely Best of the Best will go to the Polish designer Mac Stopa and his studio called Massive Design. Among the winners there are also: Tomek Rygalik, Marta Gębska, Zbigniew Piasecki, Joanna Leciejewska or studios: Ergo Design and UMC Poland. Red Dots went also to Polish brands such as: Noti, Ceramika Paradyż, Koło, Nowy Styl Group and Fakro.

Exhibition of winning projects 2016 in Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany (source: Red-dot.org)

Red Dot Awards are the most important design awards in the world, given for 60 years. This year, 5,200 projects from 57 countries fought for the title of the best designers and products. (Red-dot.org)