| POLSKA POLAND POLSKA POLAND POLSKA POLAND POLSKA POLAND POLSKA POLAND POLSKA | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
DID YOU KNOW...?
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers! In this week’s Newsletter we inform about new foreign investments in Poland i.e. the project of the Korean concern SKC in Dzierżoniów, the Franklin Templeton Investments plans to invest in Poznań and about Michelin’s investment in Olsztyn. We also present the idea of the Pomeranian Voivodship’s promotional strategy and the project of Metropolitan Railway for the Tri-city region - the biggest transport investment in the region over the last decades. You can also read about this year’s edition of the Export Leader ranking. Moreover, there are photos and information on the new Ford Ka model to be produced in Tychy and the project of the underground museum to be constructed under the Main Market Square in Cracow. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS New Act on SEZ takes effect The new Act on Special Economic Zones came into effect on August 4th. The Act, among others things, enables the enlargement of the Polish SEZs up to 20 thousand ha or create new sub-zones.
Until recently the majority of the Polish SEZs’ land has been developed and almost entirely distributed. At the same time investors continued presenting an unflagging interest in the SEZ-connected opportunities. Similarly, local authorities expected new regulations which would make it possible either to enlarge existing zones or create new ones. The persistent interest on the part of both, the local self-governments and prospective investors made the inclusion of new land in the existing Polish SEZ indispensable. On August 4th the new Act on SEZ took effect. At the moment the amendment makes it possible to enlarge the Polish SEZ jointly form the current 12 thousand ha up to 20 thousand ha or create new zones. The possibility of the SEZs expansion contributes to the country’s capability of attracting foreign direct investment. An unceasing interest can be observed due to an array of business incentives and well-prepared investment land offered by the zones. Among other attracting enticements for investors there are exemptions from the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), real estate tax (selected communes) and free of charge assistance in completing investment related formalities. It is also possible to make the Agricultural Property Agency’s (APA) reserves and private land, available to use in the enlargement process. New regulations make new investments conditional on fulfilling one of the major criteria e.g. the creation of a certain number of workplaces, the innovative elements of the undertaking or, a thing that has been a standard issue thus far, on the investment value i.e. a minimum one hundred thousand EUR. (PAIiIZ) Go to top...
The 2008 edition of the Export Leaders ranking began The event is organised under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.
In the first stage of the contest entrepreneurs are to be assessed at regional level and only then, the best of them are to enter the nationwide competition. An official ceremony summing up the contest is to take place in the Warsaw Galeria Porczyńskich on November 20th 2008 in the presence of all participants. The fact that export has a direct influence on the country’s development rate and does support Poland’s compositeness adds up to the significance of the competition. For detailed rules and application form for the contest please go to: www.liderzyeksportu.pl In case of questions please contact: liderzyeksportu@cpa.pl or + 48 (052) 321 35 29 or + 48 (052) 321 35 14. (PAIiIZ) Ford’s Tychy-based factory reveals a new model of Ford Ka Ford presented photos of its new model Ka. Ford Ka is to be produced in the Fiat Auto Poland’s Tychy-based factory and is to take the central position in the brand’s stand on the Paris Motor Show next October.
The new Ford Ka is to keep the compact structure characteristic of the older version of the model and, the producer hopes, is likewise going to become as popular among users as the previous version. In the course of 12-year production of the older Ford Ka 1.4 billion cars were produced. The model is expected to be officially launched into the market in November, yet it is already known that the new Ka does share many elements with Fiat 500. (Ford Polska) The Industrial Development Agency to offer consulting services in Ukraine The Industrial Development Agency (ARP) will help the Ukrainians in the creation of technology parks.
Due to a visible interest in technology parks among Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the Polish Industrial Development Agency is to offer counselling services concerning construction and management of such facilities to Lviv Airlines. “Puls Biznesu” informs that a meeting of representatives of the two institutions has already taken place. The Lviv Airlines intend to construct a technology park on attractive land owned by the airlines and the Polish ARP is to play an advisory role in the creation process as well as offer assistance to companies interested in investing in Ukraine. The ARP’s strategy will consist in sharing experiences concerning creation and management of special investment zones with the Eastern neighbour. Wojciech Dabrowski, the ARP’s president, told “Puls Biznesu” that the agency counts on establishing co-operation between the Lviv technology park and the Polish special economic zones in the future. Not only could Polish companies work with the Ukrainian engineers but also companies operating in the neighbouring technology park could take advantage of the possibility to become partners for the Rzeszów airport. The new project does open up considerable vistas of economic co-operation which in turn may contribute significantly to attract further foreign investment to the region. (Puls Biznesu) INVESTMENTS IN POLAND Michelin to invest further 100 million PLN in the Warmia-Mazury Special Economic Zone The world’s leader in tire production obtained a permit to expand its investment in the Warmia-Mazury SEZ. The French company declared to invest 100 million PLN.
“The investor signals intention of further development in the SEZ.”, Wojciech Goliat, president of the SEZ’s management board told the PAIiIZ newsletter. The Michelin Group is second largest, after the Japanese Bridgestone, tire manufacturer which manages 68 production plants in 19 countries, runs 3 technology centres in 3 continents, i.e. in Europe, Asia and North America, and owns 2 rubber plantations in Brazil. The company sells its products in 170 countries all over the world and hires over 115 thousand people. (WMSSE, www.michelin.pl) Franklin Templeton Investments to build its service centre in Poznań A service centre of an international financial company Franklin Templeton Investments (FTI) is to be created in Poznań. The centre is to be the biggest European division of Franklin Templeton Investments, world’s largest asset management group.
Due to the investment’s character the Council of Ministers decided to devise a special long-term programme for the FTI project. The FTI representation in Poland is to offer consulting services in the field of finance, management and public opinion polling for its controlling company and its subsidiaries. The Poznań-based investment is to become part of the global network of FTI’s representations localised in the USA, the UK, Luksembourg, Germany, Singapore and India. The undertaking is to be carried out by a specially formed partnership - Franklin Templeton Investments Poland. In connection to the investment the partnership may expect a subsidy of 4.96 million PLN from the Polish budget in the years 2008-2011. The overall cost of the investment is estimated to reach 17.3 million PLN and 500 workplaces are expected to be created. Franklin Templeton Investments is an international organisation offering alternative investment solutions. FTI is a company with over 400 billion USD in assets under management and offering employment to over 6 thousand people. The company operates in 29 countries and has a distribution network in 128 countries. The controlling company is registered in the USA. (Ministry of Economy) Korean SKC invests in Dzierżoniów Third-biggest Korean company invested 53 million PLN in constructing a factory to produce foil for liquid crystal displays. The factory was built in Dzierżoniów, within the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone.
SKC has already invested 53 million PLN and hired 40 persons. The company does not rule out expanding its production. In May 2007 the concern acquired 18 ha of investment land and since that time the first production premise was built, taking up 2 ha out of the 18 ha of the whole lot. The Asian concern has been preparing for the construction of two further production facilities. In around two years time this project is expected to allow a considerable expansion both in terms of production and staff volume. The official opening ceremony of the first SKC factory in Dzierżoniów took place in the presence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Poland, Mr Si Hyung Lee and the SKC chairman, Shin Won Choi. The event was hosted by the town’s mayor - Marek Piorun.
The Light Diffusion Film (LDF) produced by SKC-HAAS Polska is used in all kinds of liquid crystal displays, in LCD TV screens and LCD Notebooks. SKC-HAAS Polska manufactures the foil in rolls and then cuts the foil into sheets which are directly used in montage. Dzierżoniów is the first European town to host a SKC’s factory, a town which won the investment against other destinations in Hungary, Slovakia and several other Polish towns. In the Polish communes’ ranking for 2008 organised by the “Rzeczpospolita” daily Dzierżoniów classified 4th. In fact, the town has been actively developing and has also been making efforts aiming at acquiring foreign investors. Until now the Dzierżoniów-based sub-zone of the Wałbrzych SEZ hosted investments worth 250 million PLN. At the moment the sub-zone measures 80 ha. According to data for the second Q 2008, there are 16 companies operating in the sub-zone which offer employment to 2116 people. (Dzierżoniów City Council) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS Metropolitan Railway for the Tri-city region The Pomeranian self-government prepared a project of Metropolitan Railway for the Tri-city region. The project belongs to the biggest undertakings planned to be realised in the region over the last several decades. The railway, which is intended to considerably shore up transport system in the region, is planned to be completed by 2011.
The Voivodship has been applying for EU funds for the project. In fact the Ministry of Regional Development has already placed the project of the Railway on the list of initiatives financed and realised in the frame of the Operational Programme - Infrastructure and Environment (IaE OP). Investment costs of the first stage of the project are to reach 612 million PLN, 50% of the costs are to come from EU funds and the rest is to be jointly provided by the Voivodship, the city of Gdańsk and Gdynia and by the Polish National Railways PKP. The new Railway will be a real milestone in the development of the Tri-city agglomeration. The railroad is expected to improve transport connections of the region’s capital cities, the Lech Wałęsa Airport and all the places located near the trains’ route. The project is not only likely to help develop the land situated in the direct vicinity of the railroad but may also influence the region’s opening to the Kaszuby region resulting in creation of new connections with Kościerzyna and Kartuzy. The Railway will significantly shorten the time commuters are now forced to spend on the way to work and also improve the situation on the access roads to the Tri-city bypass resulting in better safety conditions on roads and in decline in noise and pollution emissions. The Office of the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodship concerns the project to be of the utmost importance and an initiative to the benefit not only for the Tri-city but also for the whole region. (The Office of the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodship) Promotional strategy for the Pomeranian Voivodship The Pomerania Development Agency (ARP) has been preparing a project “The Pomeranian Voivodship’s Promotional and Economic Information System” (SPiIG).
“We want to specify what sectors are to play an important role in the region’s development in the future and reach out to the sector’s representatives with our promotional offer. We will detect sectors that stand a good chance for developing dynamic activity in our region in, say, five years’ time. Undoubtedly world tendencies concerning investment destinations’ attractiveness are very important here.”, Marcin Piątkowski from the Pomeranian Investor Assistance Centre told the PAIiIZ’s Newsletter. ARP has been striving for subsidies form the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomeranian Voividship for the years 2007-2013 within the priority 1.6.1. - economic promotion of the region. The Pomeranian Investor Assistance Centre (COI) was created in 2004 and from 2006 has been receiving ever greater number of business-activity-connected inquiries. The Centre focuses on offering assistance to prospective investors, takes part in trade missions, collects and distributes economic information and devises reports e.g. property market reports. The SPiIG project is to be completed in 2011. That is why the Pomerania Development Agency wants to start the investment attractiveness analysis this year. In fact, the Pomeranian voivodship is one of the regions which may boast about the best development rates. “We do have excellent economic results and according to prestigious rankings e.g. by “Forbes” or “Rzeczposplita” we classify high in terms of regional development capabilities.“, said Marcin Faleńczyk presenting the SPiIG system. (PAIiIZ, ARP) DID YOU KNOW...? Underground museum below the Main Market Square in Cracow In June 2010 an exhibition "An underground market" is to be opened in Cracow. The museum is expected to take up 6 thousand sq m and will exhibit items connected with the history of the city.
The project assumes construction of the largest underground museum in Europe, and possibly even in the world, where tourists will be able to walk in underground corridors, on rock ramps and bridges. Tourists will visit a historical cemetery, medieval routs and crossroads, a medieval settlement and many other sites. All the sites were discovered thanks to archeological research which has been carried out for some years now and refer to the medieval past of the city. Researchers successfully managed to discover and protect numerous medieval monuments: fragments of medieval cobbled streets, walls attributed to form part of the oldest parts of Sukiennice, rests of the old market’s stalls, elements of wooden structures, medieval sewage systems as well as numerous everyday articles, among others, coins, combs and ornaments.
The exhibits will be complemented with wax figures, models presenting the architectural development of the city, holograms and it will be accompanied by acoustic effects. The museum will be fitted with huge screens and multimedia stations. Interestingly, the museum is also planned to be equipped with “time machines” allowing the visitors to have ago at a time travel. The museum under the surface of the Main Market Square will cover an area of 6 thousand sq m. According to preliminary evaluations, it will be visited by 100 to 300 thousand people annually. The cost of the venture is estimated at 30 million PLN. (PAP, Cracow City Council)  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 | ||||||||||||
|
The event aims at promoting companies effectively operating in the field of export. The ranking comprises of ten categories: efficiency, profitability, sales behaviour, innovation, certifications, amount of capital invested abroad, debut in export, development, share in export and achievements. The best entrepreneurs are to be awarded a statuette and the title of the Export Leader. 
Michelin plans to develop its production premise and an adjacent logistics centre in Olsztyn. Thanks to the new permit, the company’s facilities are now to take up 177.7 ha of the SEZ’s area. The Olsztyn-based factory cost Michelin round 1 million PLN and offered jobs to almost one thousand people. Tires for all brands of the Group - Michelin, Kleber, BFGoodrich, Taurus and Kormoran - and for all types of cars have been produced here. The company has already built a production line for tires, a plant destined to production of blends and a logistics centre. The Warmia-Mazury SEZ management board welcomes the interest in the zone’s offer and declarations of further development on the part of one of the world’s biggest tire manufacturer. 
The project aims at creating a system of promoting and effective economic information distribution for the region. The project will consist in two parts. The first part will be based on launching an informative website - „madeinpomorskie.pl” and the second, promotional phase will consist in analysing the voivodship’s investment potential. The analysis is thought to result in selecting sectors that are prone to play a key role in the region’s future development. Data collected in the course of the project is to serve as a basis for a long-term promotional strategy for the region, the so called sector-oriented marketing. 