| POLISH INFOMATION AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT AGENCY | ||||||||||||
NEWSLETTER November 19th, 2009, Number 149 | ||||||||||||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
FROM THE REGIONS
DID YOU KNOW...?
NEWS Conference “Wind energy in Poland” 
Due to the fact that natural resources have been running out, petrol prices have constantly been rising and people’s environment awareness has been spreading, the alternative energy sources have become more popular. Undoubtedly, the wind energy sector ranks among the most popular. Participation in the conference is free of charge. The meeting will be held in Polish. Translation into English will be provided. To register contact Katarzyna Antosik at katarzyna.antosik@paiz.gov.pl. (PAIiIZ) Good Practices in PPP The Investment Forum Good Practices in PPP took place at the PAIiIZ seat on November 18th. The forum was organised by a consulting firm Investment Support. The aim of the meeting was to present legal aspects which play a vital role in projects which are realised in the frame of public-private partnership in Poland, to present projects to potential investors and to discuss co-operation opportunities and the best project realisation methods which work in the PPP frame.
At the beginning of the year two new Acts shaping the public-private co-operation entered into force i.e. the Act on PPP and the Act on services and construction works licence. Both acts make it possible to realise public projects with the use of private means and the engagement of private investors. During the forum Agata Kozłowska, Director of Investment Support paid attention to a number of vital differences between the two acts. The essence of the idea of PPP framework consists in that both partners share the investment risk without a clear indication which partner shoulders a given risk. In the case of a licence it is the private partner that is shouldering bigger economic risk. Another vital difference between the acts concerns the possibility of property rights assignment to the private partner in the frame of PPP while in the case of a licence public properties may only be made accessible for the private partner in order to accomplish a given project. The Forum offered the possibility to present investment projects which are to be realised in the PPP framework and which were selected in the 3rd edition of the contest for the Best PPP Project. The awarded projects concern the renovation of the Sopot station premises, extension of the Sport and Recreation Centre Kolna, construction of a multi storey car park in Płock and a Yatenga Museum in Żory. The contest is a unique initiative which focuses on the promotion of public-private projects at the initial stage of realisation. The three former editions saw jointly 93 projects. Projects which were awarded in the contest managed to receive support in the preparatory stage and during the phase of preliminary analysis. This year one of the main awards in the contest is the project’s promotion activities during an international investment forum and a study tour to France. (PAIiIZ) New tools for R&D centre support The Ministry of Economy prepared an amendment draft to the Income Tax Act. Thanks to the changes R&D centres will be able to deduct research-connected expenses two times from their tax base.
The changes prepared by the Ministry leave the current R&D centres' privileges untouched and additionally offer a new possibility to deduct money from the centres’ tax base. i.e. money which comes from the innovativeness funds. The centres will now be able to deduct the same costs twice. The projects is yet to be examined by the Council of Ministers. Tax relieves for research projects realised by R&D centres are guaranteed by the Ministry’s regulations concerning innovativeness funds. The regulations entered into force on September 18th, 2009. The document make sit possible for the R&D centres to make monthly deductions for the innovativeness funds - to a special bank account which was created for every such centre. The current accounting regulations make it impossible for R&D centres to deduct the same costs two times.The situation will be changed by the amendments concerning the income tax for natural persons and legal entities. (Ministry of Economy) Go to top... 
Investment seminar: Rzeszów - the capital of innovation The first investment seminar in Rzeszów will be held in the Rzeszów Grand Hotel on December 2nd, 2009. The meeting, devoted to innovation-connected issues, will gather representatives of business and experts from the field of innovation.
During the seminar participants will have the possibility to learn about the latest projects in the field of innovation realised by the city of Rzeszów. The seminar's schedule includes expert speeches and a discussion on the sectors prospects and potential development barriers in Rzeszów. Investments in the field of innovation and new technologies i.e. projects based on human capital are among the most valuable foreign investment projects - says Tadeusz Ferenc president of Rzeszów. - Innovative projects do influence the level of economic competitiveness of a given region - adds the president. Innovative projects realised in a given place may become an easily recognisable showcase of the regions economic potential and technological progress. It goes without saying that companies active in the innovation sector create numerous advantages for their investment destinations: workplaces for young and well-educated people, transfer of technologies and advanced business models and general improvement of staff competitiveness. Among the seminar panellists there are representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency and experts from the Aviation Valley. The meeting is organised by the Rzeszów City Council in co-operation with a consulting company Bluevine Consulting. (Bluevine) INVESTMENTS IN POLAND New companies in the Kamienna Góra SEZ The Kamienna Góra Special Economic Zone for Medium Business will host a new factory. Luvena, a wood fertilizer and impregnate producer, will invest PLN 30mln and give employment to 30 people.
Luvena will overhaul buildings formerly owned by the Phosphorus Fertilizer Factory and will construct new production shop floors which will be equipped with modern machines to manufacture granulated fertilizers. The new factory will jointly measure 7.83 ha. In its new plant the company will implement modern technology solutions which should improve the competitiveness of the Polish economy. - The investment is to be realised according to the innovation criteria which were confirmed by two independent science institutions. Besides a modern assembly line, the factory will be the first Poland-based facility to use dolomite in the fertiliser production process. The dolomite will be provided by the Jelenia Góra Mineral Resources Mines - said Iwona Krawczyk, president of the Kamienna Góra SEZ. The facility’s construction will start in April next year and production is expected to start in December 2012. Luvena is the first factory to be built in the new Gryfów Śląski sub zone of the Kamienna Góra SEZ. The Zone's management has been conducting talks with other investors interested in lots located, among others, in Kamienna Góra, Jelenia Góra and Lubań. At the moment the zone has been hosting 40 companies. Investment outlays in the zone exceeded the declared sums and reached PLN 1 407 mln. Investment projects run in the zone created around 4,100 jobs. (Kamienna Góra Special Econoamic Zone for Medium Business) New investors in the Starachowice SEZ The Starachowce SEZ issued two new business activity permissions enabling companies to operate within the SEZ.
One of the new investing companies is an anti burglar door producer, Gerda which will invest PLN 830 000 by the end of 2010. The second investor, Loxley from Liechtenstein will invest PLN 1 200 000. 2009 saw five business activity permissions issued in the Starachowice SEZ which are expected to attract investment of around PLN 41 mln and create at least 59 new workplaces within the SEZ. Since its establishment, the SEZ realised investments jointly worth PLN 2.985 mln which created 3, 229 jobs. At the moment 63% of the zone’s area have been developed. (Starachowice SEZ)
Investments in Lublin Seven new investors were granted business activity permissions to operate in the Lublin sub zone of the Mielec Euro-Park SEZ. The investing companies jointly declared to invest over PLN 234 mln and create 272 new jobs.
The biggest investment outlays were declared by MW Lublin, a company owned by Italian Magnetto Wheels and manufacturing steel wheel rims. By the year 2020 the company will invest over PLN 152 mln and will increase the number of employed people by 127. The investor wants to step up its annual production to 4 mln wheels which are to be provided to world-class car concerns. Among the company’s customers there are: Fiat, Toyota, Kia and Suzuki. Currently the company has been hiring 180 people. Permissions were issued also to Wikana, a company which will invest over PLN 66 mln in a logistics and IT- accounting centre and thus create 70 workplaces; to Apex, which is to construct a PLN 4 mln facility where it plans to manufacture heaters and create 27 new jobs and to Biomaxima which is expected to invest near PLN 3.5 mln and construct a plant generating laboratory reagents hiring 20 people. The Lublin-based sub zone of the Mielec Special Economic Zone is soon to be expanded by further 30 ha. To date, the sub zone issued 10 permits to companies which are to jointly invest almost half a billion PLN and create over 660 workplaces. (Lublin City Council) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl FROM THE REGIONS First electric charge station The first electric charge station was opened in Warsaw. There are plans to create 130 such stations in the capital city by the year 2010.
The first station was opened by RWE Polska. It is situated in the company's seat at 41 Wybrzeże Kościuszkoweskie in Warsaw. This is the first, out of 130 planned stations, which are to be created in the capital within a research project financed from EU funds. The stations are to be created by RWE Polska in co-operation with Green Stream Polska and the Warsaw City Council. The stations should be opened in Warsaw by June 2010. REW Polska draws heavily from its experiences gained in a similar project which was realised in Berlin. Last year RWE in co-operation with Daimler and the German Federal government prepared an exploitation system “e-mobility” for electric cars in Berlin. In the frame of the pilot project in Poland the Warsaw City Council will receive five electric cars which will be used to gather data and consequently estimate development plans of the electric car network. Electric cars have been performing equally well as cars with combustion engines but are environment friendly. Such cars are not only very silent but generate no pollution and are much cheaper in exploitation. i.e. 100 km in an electric car costs around PLN 3 while such a distance in a normal car requires PLN 30-40. (RWE) Świętokrzyskie - to co-produce a film The region of Świętokrzyskie and TVN, one of the biggest Polish commercial television networks, will jointly produce a comedy which will take place in Sandomierz, Kurozwęki and Kielce.
The comedy will be a production kept in the atmosphere of the coming Christmas. The film will be the first production co-financed by the region's self government. According to Gaztea Wyborcza ”Kielce”, negotiations between the two partners are almost finished. In order to run the project the region’s authorities will establish a film fund financed mainly from the EU regional Operational Programme for the region. (PAP) DID YOU KNOW...? Contest: Przymierz się. The contest for the most popular project realised in the frame of the Development of Eastern Poland Programme came to an end. The contest's award, media promotion campaign, went to Targi Kielce which gathered the greatest number of votes. The Eastern Poland Promotion Programme realised by PAIiIZ ranked among the first 30 best assessed projects.
The internet contest PRZYMIERZ SIĘ was organised by the Ministry of Regional Development - the institution which manages the Operational Programme - Development of Eastern Poland (OP-DEP). The aim of the contest was to select the most popular project from among the initiatives realised in the frame of the Development of Eastern Poland Programme and to help Poles learn more about all the projects. The best-assessed project which is to be realised by Targi Kielce received 49,917 votes and won the nationwide media promotion campaign which will cover the biggest and most influential paper titles in Poland. The Eastern Poland Promotion Programme which is to be realised by PAIiIZ ranked 26th (among 112 projects which entered the contest).
The competition covers 112 projects from 5 Polish regions located in the Eastern part of the country which were put on the individual project list within the Operational Programme - East Poland Development (OP-EPD) and were selected in finance contest from September 27th, 2009. Thanks to European funds Targi Kielce, an exhibition and event centre, will be extended and modernised what will effectively improve the company’s attractiveness both for the exhibitors and event guests. The project will also boost the company’s position on the international exhibition market. The Development of Eastern Poland Programme (OP-DEP) allocates over EUR 2.27 mln to the five Polish regions situated in the Eastern part of the country i.e. the regions of Lubuskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie and Warmińsko-Mazurksie. The Programme assumes construction of new roads, environment-friendly public transport, technology parks and creation of a broadband Internet network in the coming years. Moreover, the Programme investments money in the development of future generations in that over 30 higher education establishment will receive funds to realise their projects in the field of science or technology. Besides the projects which will be individually realised in all the five regions, the Ministry of Regional Development has also been managing initiatives which cover the whole micro region e.g. creation of broadband Internet network, bike across all the five regions and the economic promotion of the whole region. (www.przymierzsie.pl) 
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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