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NEWSLETTER September 3rd, 2009, Number 138 | |||||||||||||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
DID YOU KNOW...?
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, Last week saw a number of events connected with new undertakings realised by foreign investors in Poland. The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency helped in the realisation of four such projects realised by Cargotec, Lafarge, Procter&Gamble and Cadbury. This week we invite all companies, both Polish and foreign, to take part in the third edition of the investment climate survey in Poland, conducted by PAIiIZ. More information in the News section. This week we also inform about figures concerning the Polish gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2009, the opening of a new logistic centre in Radomsko and new EU funds available to small and medium-sized enterprises from Eastern Poland. At the end we invite to visit Zakopane. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS Cargotec and a chocolate factory This September will be intensive for investors in Poland as it will see four new projects developed or completed: Lafarge and Cargotec start the construction of new production facilities and Cadbury and Procter & Gamble inaugurate new factories in Poland.
An official foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the Cargotec factory will take place on September 8th. The company will construct a facility where transhipment equipment will be assembled. Cargotec investment ranks among the biggest projects that PAIiIZ closed this year. Cadbury, chocolate and chewing gum producer, has also finished its new factory. The investment is located in Bielany Wrocławskie and will officially be opened on September 10th. Besides the Bielany Wrocławskie-based factory, the company runs another chocolate plant in Warsaw and a chewing gum factory in Skarbimierz where the investor will soon open another chocolate producing facility. Cadbury was appreciated by PAIiIZ and awarded the title of the investor of the year 2008. Lafarge Cement owned by the Lafarge Group, the biggest cement producer in the world, has been expanding its Bielawy-based factory. The official ceremony inaugurating the second stage of the project will take place on September 15th. The company has already been running production activity in two factories located in Poland i.e in the Kujawy cement mill located within the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone and in the Małogoszcz cement mill. September 23rd will see a new Procter & Gamble Cosmetics Factory opened in Aleksandrów Łódzki. This is the third investor’s project realised in Poland and at the same time it will be the biggest P&G plant in Europe. In 1994 the concern opened its factory in Warsaw's Targówek and since 2006 Łódź has been hosting the biggest Gilette razor and shaving blades plant in the world. The factory has currently been employing 3200 people and its capital investment in Poland reached USD 500 mln. The new Aleksandrów Łódzki facility, which already manufactures Olay, Hugo Boss, Lacoste and Valentino cosmetics, is estimated to have cost USD 50 mln and is expected to offer employment to over 300 workers. The products will appear on shopfloor in Poland and other 20 countries of Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. (PAIiIZ) Polish economy the best in the EU: second quarter Polish GDP rose by 1.4% The Central Statistical Office published figures concerning the Polish gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2009. This is the second time the Polish economy records the best growth rate from among the EU countries. i.e. a 1.4% GDP growth y-o-y without seasonal changes and a 1.1% GDP growth with the consideration of seasonal changes.
According to the Central Statistical Office it was the level of export and the general consumption that determined the growth. The figures exceeded expectations put forward by analysts who tended to forecast a 0.5% increase. After the Central Statistical Office’s publication, the Polish zloty strengthened by 0.4% against euro. Latest data shows that the Polish economy has been growing also in quarterly terms: the second quarter of 2009 in comparison to the first quarter of the year recorded a 0.5% growth while the former period (i.e. the 1st quarter of 2009 against the 4th quarter 2008) faced an increase of 0.3%.The figures do testify to the fact that the stability of the Polish economy was effectively maintained in the quarter which by economists was deemed to be the time of economic crisis intensification. (GUS, PAIiIZ) Co-operation agreement between the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and the China Council for The Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) of the city of Canton A meeting with the representatives of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Guangzhou Council - Li Sanjian and Dong Ping took place at the PAIiIZ seat on August 27th, 2009. At the end of the meeting representatives of the institutions signed a co-operation agreement.
The meeting was chaired by PAIiIZ President, Mr Sławomir Majman and was attended by Agency's representatives: Ms Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik - head of the Foreign Investment Department and Mr Jakub Głuchowski - specialist at the Far East Division of the PAIiIZ Foreign Investment Department. CCPIT has been running extensive promotion on foreign trade exchange of the region, searching for commercial partners for local producers and exporters, organising exhibitions, fairs and foreign visits. In order to reach all the goals the Council set up 24 divisions, formed an association of over 4,700 companies and established contacts with economic promotion organisations from 40 countries. The Council has been effectively promoting the city in numerous countries all over the world and plays an important role linking Canton with foreign countries. Among the issues addressed during the meeting in PAIiIZ there were perspectives of trade revival and investment development in both countries which could effectively be supported through new investors’ contacts. These are normally best developed by means of direct investor talks, exhibitions and investment seminars. President Sławomir Majman emphasised that China is one of the priority markets where Poland tends to acquire foreign investments. The fact that Poland is a stable and credible EU member country effectively boosts co-operation and attracts investment. For China the country constitutes a kind of gateway to Europe. Investors who opt to invest in Poland may take advantage of all the privileges of the one single EU market and at the same time enjoy lower production and service costs than in the west of Europe. PAIiIZ President said that paradoxically Poland benefited from the crisis in a number of different fields. In terms of investment the benefits translate into production facility transfers from Western Europe to Poland because exactly in the times of crisis the positive economic figures do confirm the good condition of the Polish economy and emphasise its stable foundations.
CCPIT representatives confirmed the interest of Chinese companies in investment fairs, exhibitions and other economic events organised in Poland. It was settled that both organisations will from now on inform entrepreneurs about investment seminars organised by PAIiIZ which are to take place between October 20th - 29th in China. The seminars constitute part of a Polish investment mission which will be attended by Special Economic Zones, delegates from Polish ministers, cities and regions. The meetings are expected to encourage Chinese investors and exporters to establish closer co-operation with Polish entrepreneurs and also provide them with information on conditions concerning business activity in Poland and available investment incentives. (PAIiIZ) Go to top... 
PAIiIZ launches the third edition of the investment climate survey in Poland The third edition of the investment climate survey in Poland, conducted by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, has begun. This year an inauguration meeting took place in the PAIiIZ Information Centre and was attended by representatives of 14 bilateral chambers.
It is the third time PAIiIZ invites investors to take part in the survey, the outcome of which will be useful in preparation of an assessment concerning present investment climate in Poland. This year’s survey is particularly interesting and crucial because of the lasting financial crisis. The idea behind the meeting, prepared by PAIiIZ for representatives of bilateral chambers and employer’s organizations, was to encourage the participants to share the survey findings with their member companies.
PAIiIZ wants to encourage as many survey participants as possible from among Polish and foreign investors. The inquiry form is available at http://www.paiz.gov.pl/climate/ and ready for filling in on-line till September 13th, 2009. The poll results will be gathered, analyzed and made public by PAIiIZ on a special press conference. (PAIiIZ) INVESTMENTS IN POLAND Frigo Logistic opens a logistic centre in Poznań On Friday August 28th the new Frigo Logistics centre was officially opened. The investment was worth over PLN 60 mln and was realised within 10 months.
The new warehouse-freezer has the capacity to contain almost 30,000 crates for ice cream, fruit, vegetables, ready dish and fish which may then be sorted and distributed from the centre. The fact that the investment was realised in Radomsko, within the Łódź Special Economic Zone, was to a large extent determined by the vicinity of the planned A1 motorway. In fact, Frigo Logistics is the seventh company which opted for the Radomsko sub zone. The company’s project ranks among the most modern investment of the type realised in Poland. Technology solutions implemented in the factory were developed by Dutch and Japanese engineers who belong to world-class specialists in low temperature product storage. The facility is equipped with modern, computer controlled apparatus which are safe for workers and environment friendly. An estimated number of 70 workers is expected to find job there. Frigo Logistics forms part of Nichirei Logistics Group - a leading operator in logistic solutions for products which require controllable temperatures. The company has already been managing a logistic centre in Żnin.
The symbolic opening of the company’s second centre in Poland was conducted in accordance with an old Japanese Kagamibiraki ceremonial which consists in breaking a lid of a wooden barrel full of alcohol with little wooden hammers. The ceremony was attended by, among others, the Representative Director and President of Nichirei Corporation Management Board - Mr Toshiaki Murai, the President of Frigo Logistics Management Board - Mr Wojciech Kluck, the President of the city of Radomsko - Ms Anna Milczanowska and the President of the Łódź Special Economic Zone - Mr Marek Cieślak. (Łódź SEZ) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS PLN 282 mln for the University of Warsaw Science Centre University of Warsaw is to receive PLN 282 mln from EU funds for the construction of Biology-Chemistry Science Centre. The idea behind the centre is to run research in the fields of medicine, environment protection and biochemistry that would effectively revive business-science co-operation.
An agreement concerning the subsidy was signed by Ms Barbara Kudrycka, Minister of Science and Higher Education and Ms Katarzyna Chałasińska-Macukow, Rector of the University of Warsaw. The Centre is planned to be constructed by 2013. Minister Kudrycka emphasised the importance of the agreement which opens a new opportunities for the University research infrastructure to reach high quality levels. She emphasised that the PLN 282 mln subsidy comes from PLN 9 bn which the Ministry of Science managed to attain and will allocate to, among other projects, the development of research infrastructure and a scholarly and didactic projects. The future Biology-Chemistry Science Centre is to form part of the New Technology Centre (CeNT) which has been constructed in the frame of the university campus “Ochota”. In July this year the centre received PLN 270 mln which was allocated to the construction of the first two CeNT buildings. The buildings are to host the Faculty of Physics i.e. research infrastructure together with lecture rooms which will also be at the disposal of students of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, environment protection and informatics. Moreover, the centre will have round 130 laboratories which will be adjusted to interdisciplinary research run by scientists from the Faculty of Biology and Chemistry. The research will concern, among other things, environment protection, new energy resources, radiopharmacology, functional materials and biology substances active in medicine. According to the university’s Rector, the centre stands a good chance of attracting a number of young Polish scientists who went abroad on a scholarship. - The centre has a chance to become one of Europe's leading research institutions and its infrastructure should attract the best scientists - Ms Chałasińska-Macukow told the Polish Press Agency. The Biology-Chemistry Science Centre has been constructed since August last year and is situated in the university’s campus Ochota. (PAP) PLN 98 mln for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises from the operational programme - Development of Eastern Poland The funds come from the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland - Measure I.2 Supporting the establishment and co-financing of financial engineering instruments and will be transferred to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The funds will be used to increase SMEs access to external financing sources.
The Project was devised by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and was approved by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). It is planned to be realised between 2009-2015. In September this year the Bank will create a special fund and will start devising an offer contest to distribute funds in the five regions covered by the programme. Results of the contest will be published by the end of the year. Thanks to the PLN 98 mln Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will be able to make attractive financial instruments available to SMEs what in turn will effectively boost SME's credibility in contacts with banks. That, in consequence, should increase access to external financing sources for micro, small and medium-sized companies from the regions of Eastern Poland. The agreement concluded between the Polish Agency of Enterprise Development and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego forms part of a strategy which has as its major aim economic stimulation of the five least developed Polish regions. (Ministry of Regional Development) DID YOU KNOW...? All-time high number of turists in Zakopane This summer the Polish capital of the Tatra mountains has been visited by a far higher number of people than ever before.
Zakopane hosted 10 times more tourists than it has got regular inhabitants. Mid-August saw the greatest influx of visitors. According to the mayor of Zakopane Janusz Majcher, Zakopane became so popular because of several factors e.g. wonderful weather, the rate exchange of zloty and euro, as well as a rich tourist offer.
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 99, e-mail: redakcja@paiz.gov.pl | |||||||||||||
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