POLISH INFOMATION AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT AGENCY
NEWSLETTER
June 9th, 2011,
Issue 230

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

NEWS

Polish-Azerbaijani economic seminar

During the seminar Polish and Azerbaijani representatives of administration, diplomacy and business discussed ways of reviving the Polish-Azerbaijani economic and investment relationships.

The seminar was attended by: Gummammad Javadov, Deputy Minister for Industry and Energy in the Republic of Azerbaijan; Hasan Aziz ogly Hasano, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Poland and Elżbieta Bodio, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of the Economy. The meeting was chaired by Marek Łyżwa, Member of the PAIiIZ Board.

Minister Gummammad Javadov presented the current economic situation in Azerbaijan. The Minister emphasised the importance of foreign investments for the Azerbaijani economy which due to the demise of the USSR and the reduction of contacts with former economic partners tries to diversify the limited set of sectors which play key role in the Azerbaijan economy. Minister Javadov added that the latest Azerbaijan economic development programme focuses, among other sectors, on the food and machine sectors as well as on the production of construction martials.


From the left: Gummammad Javadov Deputy Minister for Industry and Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and his interprenetr, Marek Łyżwa Member of the PAIiIZ Board, Janusz Buliński, Senior Specialist at the PAIiIZ Economic Information Department

The Azerbaijan Ambassador to Poland Hasan Aziz ogly Hasanov emphasized that his country is ready to intensify cooperation and was encouraging Polish entrepreneurs to contact the Embassy personally in case they had any problems with visas or any other formal requirements connected with visits to Azerbaijan. - I encourage Polish businessmen to contact us whenever they encounter any barriers. We will try to help with invitations and visa problems. We are here to help you - said Ambassador Hasanov.

Director Elżbieta Bodio from the Polish Ministry of Economy said that she hoped the PAIiIZ meeting would be a perfect introduction and a preparation for the Azerbaijani visit of the President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski which will take place in July this year. - The visit of the Polish President will be accompanied by a Business Forum in Baku which will be a chance to intensify business contacts established during this visit to Poland - stressed Director Bodio.

The most important aspects of the Polish economy and the country’s investment attractiveness were presented by Janusz Buliński from the PAIiIZ Economic Information Department. Janusz Buliń¶ki attracted attention to Poland’s stable and good economic condition in which the country was both during the times of the global crisis and has been enjoying now. He cited the February 2011 Interim Forecast of the European Commission which expects the Polish GDP growth in 2011 to reach 4.1%.


Elżbieta Bodio, Deputy Director of the International Co-operation Department at Ministry of Economy

Hasan Aziz ogly Hasano, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Poland

At the end of the meeting the PAIiIZ Deputy President Marek Łyżwa was encouraging Polish and Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to make the most of the meeting. - People form the ministries, the Embassy and we from PAIiIZ, all gathered here to help you develop your business for the benefit of our countries. There still is a lot to be done to make our business contacts thrive and bring benefits to everybody, we are here to support you and provide you with all the help you need - said the Deputy President in his closing speech.

After the seminar part of the meeting companies from Poland and Azerbaijan held individual business talks. The Azerbaijani companies represented the automotive, metallurgy, textile and insurance sectors. The Polish companies which attended the meeting presented a number of sectors and came mainly from Białystok, Zgierz, Radom and Gniezno. (PAIiIZ)

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PAIiIZ, the Bocconi University and SHG: Challenges ahead of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland

During the conference the two leading economic schools in Europe discussed issues connected with the development of SME in Europe.

Poland managed to perform well during the global economic slowdown. This is not to say, however, that the crisis had no effect on the whole of the Polish economy and especially on the small and medium-sized companies. Profits are always an incentive for development yet the growing competence and constant need of growth and search for new markets make entrepreneurs answer the following questions: “Do we need to develop? What is the direction of our development? and Who should help us develop? Answers to these and other questions were delivered by the conference panelists: representatives of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, PKPP Lewiatan, the Polish Association of Capital Investors (PSIK), the Wardyński i Wspólnicy Law Company and from the BGP&Global Strategy.

Panelists discussed also issues concerning macroeconomic trends in the Polish economy and indexes which will be of key importance for the SME sector in Poland in the coming years.

The conference took place on June 7th, 2011 at the Warsaw School of Economics The conference was organised by the Warsaw School of Economics and the Bocconi University under the patronage of PAIiIZ.(SGH/PAIiIZ)

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PAIiIZ and Randstad on employers’ plans in Poland

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 13th 2011 at 10:30 at the PAIiIZ Information Centre, 12 Bagatela Str. in Wrasaw.

PAIiIZ and Randstad would like to invite you to a press conference Employers’ plans and employment forecast for the second half of 2011 During the meeting we will present results of the latest survey conducted among Polish employers in May 2011 by the Randstad Research Institute and TNS OBOP. The survey asked employers about: The first effects of the opening of the German labour market for Polish people? o Measures which the employers take to prevent their workers frorm going abroad? o Forecasts of employment level this summer? o An who already got their pay rise and who may expect it?

The debate which will be organized during the conference will be attended by people from TNS OBOP, PAIiIZ and Randstad.

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 13th 2011 at 10:30 at the PAIiIZ Information Centre, 12 Bagatela Str. in Wrasaw. The conference will be held in Polish. RSVP: Katarzyna Gurszyńska, tel. 695-155-355 mail: katarzyna.gurszynska@pl.randstad.com.

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The biggest outsourcing conference in June in Warsaw

The joint Roadshow and ABSL conference will take place on June 17th, 2011. The aim is to discuss current trends and directions of the BPO sector’s development in Poland. This is going to be the biggest outsourcing event in Poland with representatives of business, government and media.

The event will be combined with II Conference of the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland (ABSL). The patronage over the joint Roadshow and ABSL project will be provided by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and the Polish Chamber of Commerce. This is the first outsourcing project of this size carried out by two leading organizations acting for the benefit of the modern business service sector development in Poland and improving the investment attractiveness of Poland.

The central issue discussed on the conference will be the position of Poland on the global map of business services. During the conference ABSL will make public its most recent report concerning the modern business service market in Poland and in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The report includes the scale of employment and types of processes in the sector as well as analyses major service centres locations in the region. This year, for the first time, the analysis covered not only Poland but also other countries in the region. For more information please contact: Roadshow Polska, info@roadshowpolska.pl, +48 22 357 09 77, +48 22 498 92 77. (Roadshow and ABSL)

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Get to know our base of cooperation projects

The new PAIiIZ Base of Cooperation Projects gathers information on projects run by Polish communes, towns, regions and enterprises.

The Base is a kind of Internet platform which enables entrepreneurs, representatives of local administration, foreign investors and other interested parties to transfer and get information on possibilities of buying or selling properties, joining in a project, and provides information about projects run in the framework of public-private partnership. All the interested parties are invited to register and publish their offers on www.paiz.gov.pl/investment_offers. (PAIiIZ)

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Organise your company’s conference with PAIiIZ

The Centre specialises in the organisation of press conferences and briefings with Polish and foreign journalists.

PAIiIZ has been promoting the economic potential of Poland for years now. That is why we have a considerable experience in the organisation of marketing campaigns, events and promotional actions. The Centre is also a perfect place for the organisation of exhibition openings and cultural events.

The PAIiIZ Centre is located close to the city centre and in the vicinity of places attractive to tourists e.g. the Royal Baths Park and the Belvedere palace. The conference halls are equipped with air conditioning and fully adjusted to the needs of the disabled.

PAIiIZ offers a complex set of conference services including transport, translation, catering and wi-fi.

Moreover, the Agency offers office space for rent in a building situated at the 53 Stanów Zjednoczonych Str.

For more information please contact: malgorzata.wojcik@paiz.gov.pl, +48 22 334 99 40.

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INVESTMENTS IN POLAND

Nordea Operations Centre in ŁódĽ

PAIiIZ took an active part in Noredea activities connected with the new project.

While the new Nordea Operations Centre was officially opened in November 2010, it was last month when the Polish government passed a resolution concerning the creation of a long-term program for the project. Nordea Operations Centre will provide back office services to the Bank’s activities that are implemented in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Within the framework of the company’s centralization policy the Centre will run services concerning general accounts, the NOSTRO account, internal payments in Nordic markets and international checks. In the Centre Noredea will also establish the quality and control department. Nordea declares to invest PLN 7.8 mln and to create 250 new jobs. (PAIiIZ)

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MACROECONOMIC POLAND

  • Industrial production

    The Central Statistical Office informs that the sold industrial production (in companies hiring more than 9 people) was in April 2011 by 6.6% higher than in April last year but by 9.4% lower when compared to March this year. At the same time elimination of factors of seasonal character shows that the level of sold industrial production was by 8.7% higher than in the same period of 2010 and by 1.4% higher than in March 2011.

    Comparison of the April data of 2010 and 2011 shows that there was an increase of sold production in 25 put of 34 sectors of industry e.g. the furniture sector (by 26.5%), production of metal goods (by 16.9%), production of cars, trailers and semi trailers (by 16.2%).

    Falls in sales were recorded in 9 sectors of industry e.g. production of electric devices (by 11.9%), of machines (by 6%) and pharmaceutics products (by 5.5%). Between January and April 2011 the sold industrial production was higher by 8.1% than in 2010. (Central Statistical Office)

  • Exchange rates (as of 09.06.2011):

Buy

Sell

USD

2.6678

2.7318

EUR

3.9120

3.9910


Source: www.nbp.pl

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FROM THE REGIONS

Potential and tourist attractiveness of Brok over Bug

The conference “Tourism in the municipality of Brok over Bug” will take place on June, 16th, 2011.

The Mazovia Development Agency Plc in cooperation with the Mayor of the Brok municipality and Masovia Marshall Office invite you to take part in the conference in Brok.

The aim of the conference is to show investment opportunities available in the municipality, its development potential as well as regional tourist atractions. The event enjoys the patronage of the Marshall of the Masovia Voivodeship and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. Participation is free of charge.

To register please send e-mail at: t.wolff@armsa.pl.

The meeting's Agenda is available at:
www.paiz.gov.pl/20110531/konferencja_potencjal_turystyczny_broku_nad_bugiem

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DID YOU KNOW...?

Polish Mars exploration rover the best in the world

The Polish Robot Magma2, built by a team from the Białystok University of Technology, won the University Rover Challenge (URC), a US prestigious international competition. Two other Polish robots ranked fourth and sixth.

Magma 2’s creators beat Canadians from the York University and Americans from the Oregon State University who had received the support of NASA.

- We proved that Polish constructors are perfectly able to compete with international partners in the field of mobile robotics and we clearly marked our aspirations to join the group of countries which have been exploring the universe. This is especially important in the context of Poland's efforts to join the European Space Agency (ESA)(…) - said Mateusz Józefowicz from the Mars Society Polska.


Magma 2 robot (PAP-Scienec in Poland)

The URC were held at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah. For three days the teams had to perform difficult tasks e.g. reconnaissance, medical package delivery to a wounded astronaut, remote equipment servicing and the search for traces of life. Extreme conditions were an additional difficulty - the rovers had to operate in very high temperature and in dust which was supposed to create conditions similar to the conditions on Mars.

The winners of the challenge, apart from financial awards, will have the chance to present their machine at Mars Society Convention where they will have the chance to meet NASA representatives and people from companies which produce equipment for space research.

Magma 2 has a relatively simple construction and is made of light materials. The robot with basic equipment weights 30kg. Constructors inform on their website that they had to design a separate set of equipment for every task which the robot had to carry out during the contest.

- This was the first time in the contest history that a flying robot was used. Łazik Magma2 introduced a completely new quality when it comes observation tasks - not only on the URC contest but generally in the mobile robotics. We were used to such technologies in science-fiction productions. Now they stars to be used in reality - the constructors explain on their website.

Last year the prototype of Magma 2, Magma created by a team from the Białystok University of Technology and the Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń ranked third in the contest.

The two other robots from Poland were constructed by teams of students from the Wroclaw University of Technology (robot Scorpio ranked 4th) and by students and graduates of the University in Toruń (Copernicus robot was classified as 6th). (PAP - Science in poland)

The prototype of Magma 2 will be presented at the Eastern Poland stand during the international aviation and space industry fairs - Paris Air Show Le Bourget which will take place from 20th to 26th June 2011. The Fairs will be attended by 17 entepreneurs from the macroregion of Eastern Poland.

Participants’ visit to the fairs will be organised by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency within the framework of the Programme of Economic Promotion of Eastern Poland financed from the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland, Measure I.4 Promotion and Cooperation. (PAIiIZ)

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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