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NEWSLETTER November 27th 2008, Number 99 | |||||||||||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
DID YOU KNOW...?
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, This week PAIiIZ got engaged in initiatives concerning economic promotion of Polish regions. The Agency concluded an agreement on co-operation with another regional capital city of Eastern Poland i.e. with the city of Rzeszów. This week PAIiIZ acted also as a host of a conference on “Investment attractiveness of the Opole voivodship”. You may find accounts of both events in the News section. Moreover, we inform about a new foreign investment in the Łódź SEZ and about the 2008 UN Climate Change Conference which is to start in Poznań on December 1st. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS Conference “Outsourcing in Poland - the present condition and development perspectives” The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency invites to a conference “Outsourcing in Poland- the present condition and development perspectives” which is to be held on December 4th at the Radisson Hotel SAS, 24 Grzybowska Str. in Warsaw, from 11 a.m to 2p.m.
The aim of the conference consists in promoting Poland as a modern European centre for BPO services as well as in presenting the latest trends in the outsourcing market in Poland. During the meeting reports concerning regulatory barriers for outsourcing and offshoring processes in Poland will be presented and the labour market in the BPO sector in the country will be discussed. Participation in the conference is free of charge. The conference is to be held in Polish. Simultaneous translation into English will be available. To register contact: Ms Katarzyna Rosińska, Economic Promotion Departament; e-mail: katarzyna.rosinska@paiz.gov.pl. PAIiIZ signs an agreement on co-operation with Rzeszów The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency signed another agreement in order to effectively boost the promotional potential of the Eastern part of Poland and thus enhance investment attractiveness of this part of the country.
On November 21st an agreement on co-operation was concluded with the city of Rzeszów. The contract was signed by the Rzeszów President, Mr Tadeusz Ferenc and the Member of the PAIiIZ Management Board, Mr Robert Kwiatkowski. The first cities which signed similar agreements were Lublin, on July 30th, and Białystok on September 12th. This year the Agency plans to conclude an agreement of the kind also with the city of Olsztyn. Co-operation with the city of Kielce was settled in 2005 in an unfixed term contract regarding promotional co-operation. Activities planned to be undertaken in the frame of the contract aim at improving the process of acquiring and handling of new foreign investors, by supporting the skills required for effective investment offer preparation, propping up the ways of collecting and distributing of information, making more efficient the creation and management processing of data bases relating to the economic situation of a given city. PAIiIZ plans to expand the collaboration with regional capital cities in the frame of the Programme for Economic Promotion of Eastern Poland which has been realised in co-operation with the local self-governments and financed by the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland (EPD OP). The co-operation, which is to supplement wider plans of the Operational Programme (EPD OP), aims at supporting the region’s competitiveness and investment attractiveness. Fore more information contact the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. Joanna Wolff, Deputy Director of the Regional Cooperation Department, e-mail: Joanna.Wolff@paiz.gov.pl, tel: 022 334 98 22 Press Centre of the Rzeszow’s City Department: Maciej Chłodnicki - the President of Rzeszów spokesman, e-mail: mchlodnicki@erzeszow.pl Tel: 0 695 840 844, tel: 017 875 41 30, Fax: 017 875 41 13 Conference “Investment attractiveness of the Opole voivodship” On November 26th a conference dedicated to the issues of the Opole voivodship investment attractiveness took place at the PAIiIZ Press Centre. The event enjoyed the honorary patronage of the Minister of Economy.
During the opening of the conference President of PAIiIZ, Paweł Wojciechowski PhD, emphasised that the idea of the meeting originated in the Bureau of the Opole Voivodship in Warsaw as one of numerous promotional initiatives of the region. - The Opole region has been exceptionally effective in the field of economic promotion. Results of such activities may be seen, among other things, in the form of over 80 investment lots listed in the PAIiIZ databases and prepared for investors interested in the region. - the President said. Minister Rafał Baniak paid special attention to the efficiency of the co-operation with the Ministry and the PAIiIZ which does result in effective promotion of the region among foreign investors. It is thanks to the activities that the region ranks high in the lists of investor-friendly provinces in the country. - The co-operation is exemplary largely due to the efforts made by the local authorities. - said Minister Rafał Baniak.
Marzena Szewczuk-Stępień PhD, Head of the Academic Enterprise Incubator at the Opole University of Technology discussed aspects of co-operation between private sector and R&D centres as well as presented opportunities of starting up business activity by young people. A promotional film of the voivodship, presented by the Vice Marshal, Mr Józef Kotyś forms part of the promotional campaign and was presented during the conference. The film highlights the region’s multicultural dimension and the openness of the region’s residents, their entrepreneurial spirit and the features of the voivodship that determine the region’s investment attractiveness. Thanks to the film participants could listen to experiences and opinions expressed by the representatives of Cadbury and Nutricia, two out of many investors who opted for Opole in the last years. The region’s Marshal, Józef Kotyś, presented the region, its economic and social potential and the advantages of its geographic location. The region, being one of the two smallest provinces in the country and in Europe, successfully manages to remain competitive in terms of economic indicators and living standards. Positive image of the region is confirmed by a substantial growth in start-ups, the region’s 4th position in the PAIiIZ investment database in terms of a number of investment offers and the fact that one fourth of the region’s youth continues education at local universities. The aim of the conference consisted in highlighting the attractive aspects of the region and its economic potential together with the presentation of investment offers for selected sectors as well as in spreading experiences of the largest investing players on the Opole market. Among the most important aspects attracting foreign investments there is the convenient location, the vicinity of Poland’s two neighbours i.e. Germany and the Czech Republic, localisation of three special economic zones, two technology parks, big potential and easy access to highly-qualified workers and well-developed transport infrastructure, particularly the A4 motorway crossing the region. Investors’ interest in the voivodship is confirmed by the substantial number of investment project realised in the region in the last couple of years. In fact, 128 companies invested over a billion USD in the region. It is also worth emphasising that thanks to the region’s authorities, who perceive economic promotion to be of utmost importance for any kind of development, a Bureau of the Opole Voivodship has been operating in Warsaw for the last four years. Also since the year 2001 the region’s Information Point has been opened in Brussels and a special Bureau for Economic Co-operation in Frankfurt has been responsible for Polish-German contacts. (PAIiIZ) INVESTMENTS IN POLAND Prowell builds a factory in the Łódź SEZ The project is estimated to cost 162 million PLN. The German concern has already began construction in Stryków.
On November 20th in Stryków, in the Łódź SEZ, the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of a new Prowell plant took place. The investing German company declared to invest at least 162 million PLN by the end of June next year. The factory is planned to produce round 140 thousand tons of corrugated board a year. The plant will be equipped with, among others, automated warehouse, making it possible to load up to 100 vehicles a day. 50 people will find employment in the factory. (Łódź SEZ) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań Between December 1-12 Poznań is to host the 2008 UN Climate Change Conference.
The conference is organised by the United Nations Convention Secretariat for Climate Change and the Polish Government represented by the Ministry of the Environment. Debates and discussions held in the frame of the conference will be organised within the premises of the Poznań International Fairs. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol form an international organisational framework for actions aimed at strengthening international action on climate change. The convention aims at making all participating parties enhance further their commitment to the implementation of the harmful gas reduction programmes and to agree on regular reporting on the issues. The convention’s parties meet every year to discuss progress made and further actions planned to be taken in the field. For more information go to the conference website: www.cop14.gov.pl (the Poznań Municipality) DID YOU KNOW...? The most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world at the University of Warsaw The Warsaw University ranks 1st in this year’s ranking of the prestigious “Green500”. A list of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world is created simultaneously with the “Top500” list of the 500 most powerful computer systems.
According to the Green500 ranking it is the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM) at the University of Warsaw that results to have the most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world. The Nautilius computer is a prototype of a hybrid machine. The construction is based on the IBM processors. The main research fields planned for the supercomputer include: computer visualisations, image diagnostics, astrophysics, bio IT, liquid flow simulations and weather forecasts. The computer classified 221st in the Top500 ranking, a project of gathering statistics on high-performance computers. According to IBM Polska, hybrid machines, like Nautilius, tend to achieve better performance results and at the same time keep very good energy-efficiency levels. Profesor Marek Niezgódka, director of ICM, said - Together with IBM we initiated a new trend in Poland. I mean a tendency which I would describe as a green revolution in the high-end technology. Also David Turek, Vice President of the IBM emphasises the new tendency- Modern computers may no longer focus solely on pure efficiency. In order to be economically competitive, new systems should also be more energy-efficient. (Green500.org, WNP.pl) Libraries modernisation programme The government programme and the financial aid from the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are expected to change the Polish libraries into 21st century culture centres. 200 million PLN is said to have been earmarked for the purpose.
Mr Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage want the libraries, especially those located in small towns and villages, to become the centres of local cultural life. Such facilities may serve many purposes and, among other, help the older generation learn how to use the Internet and assist various NGOs in organising meetings and cultural events. The programme for libraries’ modernisation is thought to be organised in a similar way to the government program "Orlik" for football fields development and the program for local roads construction i.e. part of the money should come from the government and the other part from the local self-governments. Communes may start applying for financial grants next year. The government is thought to cover 80% of the costs and local governments should meet the rest of the expenses. Subsidies will be granted by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage which has 100 million PLN at its disposal to be used for the purpose within the next three years. Further funds, to the tune of 90 million PLN, are expected to be provided by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. There are over 8 thousand small libraries operating at communal level. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Culture it may take as long as five years to modernise all the libraries in the country. (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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