POLISH INFOMATION AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT AGENCY
NEWSLETTER
July 7th, 2011,
Issue 234

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

NEWS

Chinese delegations in PAIiIZ

Due to the growing interest of Chinese businessmen on July 5th and 6th PAIiIZ hosted two big delegations of Chinese business representatives who consider developing business activity in Poland.

On July 5th, 2011 PAIiIZ organized an investment seminar for 45 entrepreneurs from China - representatives of the Chinese chamber of commerce International Business Association Alliance , which is interested in opening their representative offices in Poland. - It is a very good decision,- said the PAIiIZ Board Member Marek Łyżwa. - China is a priority country for PAIiIZ. In fact, the only foreign representation office of PAIiIZ was established in Shanghai.

The delegation comprised of entrepreneurs representing various sectors. Some of them were interested in starting production in Poland while other in exports to Russia and Belarus. On the delegation’s agenda there is also a visit to the “Ptak” Commercial Center in Rzgów near Łódź. - The Centre is the largest facility of its kind in Europe. Numerous Chinese entrepreneurs run business in the centre, said the honorary guest of the seminar, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Mr Sun Yuxi.


From the left: Interpreter, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Mr Sun Yuxi, Member of the PAIiIZ Managing Borad Mr Marek Łyżwa and the Deputy Director of the PAIiIZ Foreign Investment Department, Mr Piotr Grudzień

On July 6th, 2011 PAIiIZ hosted yet another delegation of 25 Chinese entrepreneurs. The Agency presented the economic potential of Poland, discussed investment incentives and projects of Chinese companies in Poland. - Today's seminar confirms the hospitality of the Poles to Chinese entrepreneurs, said Zhang Choomei, Director at the Ministry of Commerce in China. Guests evinced great interest in the conditions f doing business in Poland. In the question and answer session investors asked numerous questions concerning Polish law, the need for new investments in various sectors and business development opportunities. Traders were informed that the Polish regulations are unified with the law of the European Union. The meeting is expected to result in concrete business meetings at PAIiIZ.

Last year PAIiIZ was visited by 24 Chinese delegations of investors. This year the Agency hosted already 16 missions from China. The Agency is also approaching Chinese business in China, in the PAIiIZ Representation Office which was recently set up in Shanghai. - A few days ago I returned from an investment mission to China. As always, I am really impressed by the achievements of our Chinese business partners and friends, said PAIiIZ President Sławomir Majman.


From the left: Director at the Ministry of Commerce in China, Zhang Chaomei, PAIiIZ President Sławomir Majman and Director of the PAIiIZ Foreign Investment Departament
Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik

From September 8th to September 11th, 2011 Warsaw will host China Expo - trade fairs which will be accompanied by panels and lectures on Polish economic cooperation and China.

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PLN 727 million from the budget for the support of hi-tech investment projects

On July 5th, 2011 the Council of Ministers adopted the "Programme to support investments of high importance to the Polish economy for 2011-2020" prepared by the Ministry of Economy. PAIiIZ is the only institution which processes applications for grants under the Programme.

The aim of the programme is to increase innovation and competitiveness of the Polish economy by promoting foreign direct investment in sectors of high technology (hi-tech), because they contribute most to economic growth and strengthen the country’s competitive advantages. The programme will attempt to increase the share of innovative investments and the number of jobs in the sectors.

Support provided under the programme cannot be combined with other regional aid granted in the form of: direct grants from the state budget, EU funds or tax exemptions in special economic zones. If an investor wants to take advantage of other sources of aid, in addition to the programme, they will have to get approval from the government. The aid will be granted by the Council of Ministers at the request of the Minister of the Economy. The idea is that the support will not be granted to projects in counties where the unemployment rate is below 75% of the national average, unless the entrepreneur obtains the government’s consent. At the same, time low unemployment rate will not be an obstacle to apply for support for investment in the sector of modern services and R&D.

Support under the programme is available only to entrepreneurs who:

  1. plan investment projects in the priority sectors: automotive, electronic, aviation, biotechnology, modern services and R&D;
  2. plan production investments in other sectors and envisage that the minimum of qualified costs will reach PLN 1billion and the project will create at least 500 jobs.

It is estimated that projects supported under the Programme will directly create 32,000 jobs and will result in the creation of 8,000 jobs at companies which will cooperate with the new facilities and centres. The total budget of the Programme for the years 2011-2020 is PLN 727 million of which 56% will be allocated to projects which create jobs and 44% will cover qualified costs of investments which will be granted the aid.

The programme is based on the "Scheme to support the inflow of foreign investment of considerable importance to the Polish economy", adopted by the Government on September 23rd, 2008. (the Office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers)

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Charity concert for the victims of the Japan earthquake

The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and Shokokai - the Japan Association of Employers in Poland invite to a concer. The total income from tickets and all contributions from sponsors will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

On March 11th, 2011 eastern Japan was hit by the strongest earthquake in the history. The earthquake caused a tsunami of an unprecedented burst strength. Over 20 thousand people were killed or declared missing. The tsunami wiped cities, made hundreds of thousands of people homeless and stripped them of everything. The Japanese Red Cross continues to collect funds which may help respond rapidly and effectively to the needs of all the needy in Japan.


Aga Zaryan will perform on our charity concert for the victims of the Japan earthquake

On July 9th, 2011 the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and Shokokai the Japan Employers' Association in Poland will organize a Charity Concert for the Japanese Earthquake Disaster at Tanabata Night in Warsaw. The event is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, the Embassy of Japan in Poland and the auspices of JICA Alumni Association in Poland (JAAP). The concert is co-organized by the Royal Baths Museum in Warsaw, which provides the vanue i.e. the Theatre on Water. The concert will take place on July 9th, that is the day when Japan celebrates the Tanabata festival - a day when dreams come true.

The concert will present Polish and Japanese artists: Polish jazz singer Aga Zaryan with her band, violinist Mayuko Katsumura who was born in Tokyo, pianist Noriko Kawai and Japanese composer and pianist Tempei Nakamura. The total income from tickets (the price min. PLN 100 per person) and all contributions from sponsors will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. (Jaap / PAIiIZ)

Concert organizers encourage everybody to come to the concert and thus to participate in the collection and transfer of money to the account No: 08 2210 0009 0000 0000 0010 4014 Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Poland) SA with a note SHOKOKAI - CHARITY CONCERT. The minimum donation is PLN 100 per person. Please confirm your participation by July 8th, 2011 by email jaappolska@gmail.com.

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INVESTMENTS IN POLAND

New investors in the Łódź SEZ

PRT Radomsko and INTERPRINT Polska obtained business activity permits to conduct business in the Łódź Special Economic Zone.

PRT Radomsko wants to build a PET recycling plant in the Radomsko sub zone of the Łódź SEZ. Thanks to a special technology process the plant will produce a high-quality product called r-PET i.e. a thermoplastic material which may be used in the production process of new bottles. Investment costs were estimated at PLN 36 million. The company plans to hire at least 30 people. PRT Radomsko forms part of the ALPLA group which is the European leader in the production of PET packaging.

In the Ozorków sub zone of the SEZ INTERPRINT Polska plans to expand its production hall and launch a new innovative production line for painting decorative paper, mainly for the furniture industry. The investment cost is PLN 25 mln and the investment project is expected to generate at least 10 new jobs. Moreover, the company declared to maintain the 131 jobs it created earlier. This is INTERPRINT‘s third permit to operate in the Łódź SEZ. To date the company’ invested the total of PLN 129 million.

Since the beginning of 2011 six new companies have received permits to conduct business activity in the Łódź SEZ. The declared level of investment is over PLN 315 million. The projects will generate 220 new jobs and help maintain 1481 of the existing ones. (ŁSEZ)

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The Kraków Technology Park grants a new business activity permit

The Krakow Technology Park issued its third permit this year. The permit was granted to Polskie Zakłady Zbożowe.

The company committed to invest PLN 51 million and to hire at least 2 people. Polskie Zakłady Zbożowe will try to implement their investment project in properties located in the Niepołomice subzone where such companies as MAN Trucks Ltd., Niff Rubber Industry Co. Ltd., Elettrostandard Poland Ltd. Nidec Motors & Actuators Polish have already been operating.

Polskie Zakłady Zbożowe besides the production of grain mill products intend also to provide services and develop research activity.

In total, since the beginning of 2011, the Park issued business activity permits to implement projects jointly worth PLN 52.8 million which generated 154 new jobs. (KTP)

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MACROECONOMIC POLAND

  • Exchange rates (as of 07.07.2011):

Buy

Sell

USD

2.7329

2.7881

EUR

3.9148

3.9938


Source: www.nbp.pl

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EASTERN POLAND

PAIiIZ invites Eastern Poland to AIRTEC 2011

The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency announces a competition for business aviation and astronautics industries from Eastern Poland. Entrepreneurs may participate in the International Trade Fair for the Aviation Industries’ Subcontractors AIRTEC 2011 which will be held from 1-5 November 2011 in Frankfurt am Main.

The mission can be attended by the maximum of 20 entrepreneurs, one representative from each of the qualified companies. Funding covers 100% of the cost (not including traveling allowance, boarding, insurance and travel expenses to and from Warsaw) and is granted as the de minimis aid. Organisers will only process applications sent by 5 p.m., July 19th, 2011.

Applications, together with the required attachments must be submitted in person, by mail, email, fax or courier to the following address: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency ul. Bagatela 12, 00-585 Warsaw, Fax: +48 22 334 99 12, paulina.wilamowska@paiz.gov.pl along with a note BPW - FAIR AIRTEC

All required documents are available here:

www.paiz.gov.pl/o_agencji/przetargi_ogloszenia/polska_wschodnia/targi_wystawy

The mission is organized by the Polish Agency for Information and Foreign Investment Project within the framework of the programme "Economic Promotion of Eastern Poland" financed by the European Union under the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland 2007-2013, Action I.4 Promotion and Cooperation, Promotion component, under an agreement concluded between the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. The project is financed from POPW.01.04.01-00-001/09 no. (PAIiIZ)

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ANALYSES AND REPORTS

Poles the happiest in Europe

Survey of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development shows that Poles are the most contented people in Europe.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development published the results of survey Life in transition. After the crisis. The authors conducted a survey in 39 thousand households in 29 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in five Western European countries. Respondents answered questions concerning the level of life satisfaction, market economy and democracy. The purpose of the survey was to examine how the crisis affected the mood of the inhabitants of Europe.

The survey shows that in Poland the crisis was felt by less than one-third of respondents. Poles are also the most satisfied with their lives. More than half of Poland’s population is optimistic about the future of their children. The positive mood increased by 5 percentage points compared to the previous survey conducted in 2006.

The report was published on June 29th, 2011. (EBRD)

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DID YOU KNOW...?

Hack4Europe!: Art4Europe among the winners

Art4Europe, an application created by Polish programmers awarded in Brussels.

The Art4Europe Application was among the four best European applications in the Hack4Europe contest. Creators of the project received the award at the Digital Agenda Assembly in Brussels.

The Art4Europe application allows museum and gallery visitors to gather information on a given artwork in a very simple way. It is enough to take a photo, use the application and get information on the work from the Europeana - the multi-lingual online collection of millions of digitized items.

If the description of a painting or a sculpture is in a language not spoken by a user, the application can translate the description. It also provides audio files. Additionally, users can receive links to online stores with reproductions or publications concerning a given work. The prototype was developed by Jakub Jurkiewicz, Marcin Szajek, Jakub Porzuczek and Tomasz Grzywalskia, a team from the iTraff Technology.

Hack4Europe! is a series of international meetings of programmers, which take place simultaneously in four European cities - Poznań, London, Barcelona and Stockholm.

The application of iTraff Technology won in the category “the greatest potential for business”. In Brussels Poles took part in the second round of the competition and entered the group of the four best projects in this year’s edition of Hack4Europe. (www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl)

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Editorial office: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, 00-585 Warsaw, Bagatela Street 12
Economic Promotion Department, tel: +48 22 334 99 49, fax: +48 22 334 99 99,
e-mail: redakcja@paiz.gov.pl
Polish Infomation and Foreign Investment Agency www.paiz.gov.pl