BizPoland Magazine, November 2014

November 2014 vol. 7 no. 8(46) Price: 20 zł

Ukraine’s War Dividend* * for Poland

Equities:

Advisory:

Cities:

Dead-end deal

Matraszek on Kopacz’s future

Brainly pulls in $9 million investment

AUSTRIA FRANCJA NIEMCY

POLSKA RUMUNIA SŁOWACJA SZWAJCARIA TURCJA

CONTACT CENTER WORLD AWARDS 2013 „BEST CONTACT CENTER“

LIVEPERSON EUROPEAN CUSTOMER AWARDS 2013 „OUTSOURCED CHAT TEAM MANAGER OF THE YEAR“

THE BIZZ AWARD EUROPE 2013 „BUSINESS EXCELLENCE“

STEVIE AWARDS 2013 „FRONT-LINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM OF THE YEAR“

PEOPLE‘S CHOICE STEVIE AWARDS 2013 „FAVORITE CUSTOMER SERVICE“

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Table of Contents November 2014

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Ukraine’s War Dividend*… (* for Poland) BPO/Shared Services

Work Service may become the first Polish company to debut on the London Stock Exchange’s main market; Zawiercie with new business support centre; Regenersis wins GBP 15 million in contracts Poland

vol. 7 no. 8(46)

Published by: BiznesPolska sp.z o.o. ul. Długa 44/50, bud. D, lok 704, 00-241 Warszawa tel.: 022 831 7062 General Manager and Editor: Thom Barnhardt (tb@bizpoland.pl) Editorial staff and writers: Leon Paczyński, Monika Tutak Research team coordinator: Magda Adamczyk Advertising Sales: Wiktor Gliński (wglinski@biznespolska.pl) Barbara Kwiatkowska (bkwiatkowska@biznespolska.pl) tel.: 022 831 7062 Project Manager of EEC - Łódź Report and Luxury Brands Poland: Wiktor Gliński Graphic Design: Sławek Parfianowicz (sparfianowicz.wordpress.com)

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Advisory (8) Leases in Poland – Devil in the details (9) Lookout for the sole-proprietorship silverback (10) Missed opportunities (11) Mrs. Kopacz shifts the stage

Anniversary (12) This year we’re all Onlineprinters!

Energy News

(14) Offshore wind to dominate Poland’s renewable energy sector

FDI Awards

(16) FDI Poland Investor Awards distinguishes top companies in 17 categories

Equities News

(20) Dead-end with Vienna, so Warsaw Stock Exchange doubles dividends (21) KDPW brings new offers in post-transaction infrastructure

Special Economical Zones

(23) SEZ zones celebrate 20 years

FDI News

(24) InPay finances expansion with Bitcoin Crowdfunding

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City News

(28) Kraków (29) Wrocław (30) Poznań (31) Tricity (32) Katowice (33) Eastern Poland (34) Szczecin

36 Chamber of Commerce News 41 Events

(41) Łódź Economic Forum breaks attendance record (42) 11th edition of Fashion Philosophy Fashion Week Poland (43) BPCC Ball bounces for the 22nd time

www.bizpoland.pl

Cover Story

Ukraine’s War Dividend*… (* for Poland) Global firms operating in the Ukraine have

Unexpectedly, several Polish cities are getting new investors in the IT and outsourcing sector from the Ukraine. The unlikely source of new investors – from the East, not the West – is far from a deluge, but a subtle and strong indication that the war-torn east of Ukraine is

software development centers in Krakow and Wrocław, according to Nataliya Diomova, a Lviv-based PR and Content Manager at Softserve.

Ms. Diomova said that the centers will augment various software development engagements to support the company’s vertical strategy and will be fully functional by year’s end.

The new development centers are a strategic component of the SoftServe plan to establish a strong Eastern European presence around intelligent, specialized

Ukraine and Poland have similar cultures and market opportunities, said Ms. Diomova, along with a world-class engineering pool, bred through an excellent science and math-based university system.

“In spite of the changing conditions in Eastern Ukraine with small areas of political and physical conflict, we are doing everything in the company’s control to support our employees and Ukraine. For SoftServe, the business and personal lives, all freedoms of speech, religious free-

wracking nerves in western board rooms.

Poland’s southern swathe of cities, ranging from western Wroclaw to the eastern city of Rzeszow, are benefiting from the moves of global firms based in the Ukraine, usually IT firms, to the safer location of Poland, girded by its EU and NATO membership.

Wrocław can point to several Ukrainian firms that have set up operations in the city.

SoftServe, Inc, , a Ukrainian software application development and consulting company founded in 1993 in Lviv, has experienced double-digit growth during the last five years, and expects similar results this year, despite the current political unrest in the Ukraine. In August, Softserve announced the opening of two

software engineering services.

SoftServe provides software development solutions in SaaS/ Cloud, mobility. and predictive analytics, as well as the full spectrum of consulting and engineering services. The firms serves markets such as healthcare, retail and technology, with offices located in North America, Eastern and Western Europe.

According to Alan Harlan, CEO, SoftServe Inc.: “We continue to open additional development centers to meet requests for increased speed, value and quality, as well as to provide all of our employees with growth and challenging opportunities. We are bullish that the delivery center expansion will fortify the strong growth of the organization in the second half of 2014 and in 2015.”

doms, all modes of transportation, all modes of communication, the entire infrastructure and all logistics are virtually the same today as prior to the onset of this activity.”

Diomova said that the events earlier this year in Ukraine garnered a fair amount of publicity, but the reality of Ukrainian day-to-day lives and business operations did not and still has not changed. SoftServe has not experienced downtime due to any political issues; however, the company continuously monitors all events to ensure the company’s Business Continuity Plan mitigates client risks and creates safe havens for employees as well as maintains business operations.

According to Ewa Kaucz, of Wroclaw’s development agency ARAW, Ukraine-based firms

found that Poland offers a safe-haven and “risk mitigation” option.

4

November 2014

www.bizpoland.pl Cognience and Gorilla Group have recently set up operations, or are in advanced planning stages to do so. Both firms are operating in the sector of IT/software development. Cognience, led by Pavel Tsekhotsky, will employ nearly 400 people in Wroclaw. Gorilla, led by Yevgeniy Shevchenko, has plans to hire 50 software developers in Wroclaw.

In Katowice, according to a major office developer, the city expects to announce soon a major investment from a large US-based IT firm with operations in the Ukraine. The western HQ, according to BizPoland’s anonymous source, is nervous about its operations in Ukraine, and while it does not plan to close operations, will shift most of the work – and many of the workers - west to Poland.

Krakow will pick up some new business from the Ukraine, but investor services director Rafal Kulczycki did not want to reveal any names at this stage.

Likewise both the cities of Rzeszow and Lublin see the instability of Ukraine as a modest

Cover Story source of new business. Rzeszow, for example, is actively touting its advantages to Ukrainian firms.

Dorota Lasocka, investor services director in Kielce, believes that purely Ukrainian firms are not leaving the Ukraine; instead only western European or American firms that can easily relocate operations to Poland.

Infectious instability ? Poland next ?

While the “nervousness” is mostly contained to the Ukraine, some fear that the hesitation in western board rooms could spill over into Poland.

Could Poland’s economic and political strength, infected

by Russia’s power games, create an instability that frightens away international investors to Poland? Or does Poland have good reason to remain so bullish?

“The Polish economy is constantly growing and that trend will continue into the foreseeable future”, insists Maciej Gawronski, head of the Warsaw office of international firm Bird & Bird.

“Poland is undergoing continuous transformation. It has moved away from a socialist to a capitalist system and has undergone its first wave of infrastructure investments. Now it is focusing on moving towards becoming a knowledge and innovation economy and an information society.”

‘Some people fear that the Ukraine crisis and Russian sanctions could stall growth,’ he says, ‘but this is not the first time that the Polish economy has had to react to outside influences. Also, it is not smart to put all your interests in one market. Perhaps it will encourage the agricultural sector, in particular, to look for markets apart from Russia.”

Hackathonbridge to connect IT teams in Poland and Ukraine Hackathonbridge: Poland to Ukraine is a project aimed at supporting young creative people from Poland and Ukraine. The only condition to apply for a subsidy of EUR 10,000 is creation of a Polish-Ukrainian company, whose founders do not exceed

5 2014 November

www.bizpoland.pl

Cover Story

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28 years of age. On 1 June, the first edition of the Polish-Ukrainian contest Hackathonbridge: Poland to Ukraine started and the projects could be submitted until 31 October.

Projects could be submitted in one of three categories: business, culture and society. In each team at least one member has to come from Poland and one from Ukraine.

The MEP Michal Boni is the project’s initiator and patron of the Hackathonbridg contest. UPC Poland is one of the sponsors of awards in the category business. The project is implemented by the Foundation Open Dialog, the Foundation of Kazimierz Pulaski, the Foundation Swichado and the Foundation Ukrainian Philanthropic Marketplace. Partners of the contest and members of the jury include Wlodzimierz Schmidt (IAB Polska), Oksana Zabuzko (Ukrainian writer, poet and essayist), Waldemar Dziki (film director, director of TRK-Ukraina), Beata Chmiel (Polish Film Institute) and Wadim Rogowsky (CLICKKY).

Poland says it will bolster its eastern military capacity amid Russia tensions Poland plans to increase its number of troops in the country’s east amid tension with Russia over the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said.

“We’d like to reinforce our units in Poland’s east,” which borders Ukraine, he told Polish public radio.

He added that it was “too early” to go into detail about exact numbers.

“It’s a plan to be implemented across many years. We expect the first effects to be seen in 2017,” he said, explaining that the beefed-up security was in reaction to the crisis next door.

With a population of 38 million, Central Europe’s largest country had already said last year it would spend €33 billion over a decade to upgrade its army.

But Warsaw sped up the plan after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in March and gave backing to pro-Moscow separatist rebels fighting in Ukraine’s east.

In late October, Siemoniak began a tour of garrisons in eastern Poland with a visit to the city of Siedlce, whose troops he said were neglected and required additional investment.

“So this will be a whole series of measures concerning the units in Poland’s east,” he said.

Poland has an army numbering 80,000 troops and 20,000 reservists.

“It’s a plan that will be spread out over a number of years. The first effects will be seen in 2017.

There will be a whole series of initiatives connected to units in the east. There will also be investments in infrastructure.”

He declined to say how many additional troops or units would be involved. Poland has eastern borders with Ukraine, with Moscow-allied Belarus, and also with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, home to the Russian navy’s Baltic fleet.

“Obviously this has a link with what is happening in Ukraine,” said Siemoniak. “This is a part of the process of drawing conclusions from that crisis.”

After the crisis in Ukraine broke out, Poland’s government asked its NATO allies to establish a permanent military presence on Polish soil to act as a deterrent to Russia.

The alliance has stopped short of meeting that demand, because some members were wary of the cost and of the risk of antagonising Russia.

NATO has though intensified training exercises in Poland and plans to create a new rapid reaction force with its headquarters in Szczecin.

Kyiv plans to raise Euro 150 million from EU for development of transport and IT Kyiv City State Administration, with the assistance of Poland’s ZDG TOR consulting group, plans to raise EUR 150 million of investment from the European Union.

According to the press service of the administration, the parties signed a corresponding agreement in Warsaw on October 29. The program is aimed at improving the system of public transport under the “smart and safe city” principle.

It is planned to use the funds raised for the modernization of public transport, transport infrastructure, IT systems, and consulting services. It is planned to upgrade 98% of tram infrastructure, rolling stock, as well as management systems and those for informing passengers.

The program will last five years and could be extended until 2030.

The heads of the transport departments of the Ukrainian and Polish capitals have also signed an agreement on cooperation and exchange of experience.

Western consultants will develop the concept of introducing an integrated ticketing system, as well as the concept of organizing and financing public transport in Kyiv. n

November 2014

www.bizpoland.pl

BPO/Shared Services

Work Service may become the first Polish company to debut on the London Stock Exchange’s main market Polish outsourcing company, Work Service, may become the first Polish company to debut on the London Stock Exchange’s main market.

Company CEO Tomasz Hanczarek revealed that a dual listing is being considered, as the company does not want to withdraw from the Warsaw bourse, but is looking to establish a presence on a more stable stock market. Work on preparations for the move should be completed in the first quarter of 2015.

The company is gearing up for a PLN 110 million private placement to raise capital for further acquisitions. In October 2013, Work Service announced that they have signed a deal to acquire the Polish business of recruitment consultancy Antal International. During the same month Work Service also acquired Work Express. In December 2013, the company also acquired Hungarian recruitment company ProHuman.

Work Service, which aims to become the leading recruitment firm

in the Berlin-Moscow-Istanbul triangle, is reportedly eyeing IT and engineering staffing firms in Romania and Austria. While the company has not yet named any specific acquisition targets, the first acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year. n

Zawiercie with new business support centre A business support centre has just been opened in Zawiercie. This is the next, after Bytom and Częstochowa, investment of Sales Concept in Śląsk province. The company is owned by

Loyd Capital Group. About 200 new jobs will be created in the centre.

The company is focusing on hiring unemployed or disabled people and those who are over 50 years old. Last

year PAIiIZ signed the cooperation agreement with the city of Zawiercie to support the city in acquiring new foreign investors and supporting the projects. n

Regenersis wins GBP 15 million in contracts Poland Outsourcing company Regenersis PLC announced new business wins for its Depot arm in Mexico, Poland and the US worth a total of GBP15 million per year.

The company said it has won a repair and refurbishment contract in Mexico with Sony Mobile, an arm of Sony Corp.

It said the contract has already started operational ramp up in its facility in Mexico City.

The group also said its Regenersis Poland arm has secured an extension to its existing

partnership with HTC Corp, the Taiwanese mobile company.

Under the deal, additional device volumes from Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be processed by the Regenersis Poland business. The deal materially increases the number of HTC units handled by the Polish business, starting in the second half.

Regenersis also said it has won an aftermarket and repair service solution contract for an unnamed US-based business-tobusiness company. The deal will

involve three Regenersis facilities in Europe and will include the handling of component level repair and returns management.

It said it also has won several new contracts from its Poland and Romania businesses from insurance companies, including screen refurbishment and advanced motherboard repairs.

Regenersis said the total value of the contracts is expected to be in excess of GBP15 million per year when they reach their anticipated run rate. n

CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards Forum & Gala 2015 5 February 2015, Warsaw, Hotel Intercontinetal 2014 November

7

www.bizpoland.pl

Tenant Rep #2

Leases in Poland – Devil in the details Though each and every transaction for office space, retail premises or for warehouse space will have its own peculiarities, most lease documents in Poland are becoming more and more regular and recognisable to anyone that

ADVISORY

has worked in real estate in western Europe or America.

8

Sadly their length is also growing in size, so for a typical office space lease contract, you should be prepared to wade through anything from 40 pages upwards, with the largest I’ve worked on recently in excess of 80 pages. Gone are the good old days of an eight-page agreement, where a lot of things were left to common sense, good faith or failing that, the Civil Code.

There is no standard lease document in Poland, though most offered now by developers or institutional landlords would be recognised as close to the standard found in western Europe. Leases offered by Polish authorities as landlords are generally shorter and leave any areas not explicitly governed to be ruled by the Civil Code.

Space is often offered fully fitted-out with standard costs for this ranging from EUR 250 per sq.m. up to as much as EUR 600-700 per sq.m. for the very highest standard. This would enable you to have high quality wooden elements, glazed or double-glazed dividing walls, fancy lighting and other nice, shiny bits and pieces. At the moment, it is a real tenants’ market and landlords are quite flexible in covering the entire cost of arranging an office. Rent is payable monthly, and the market standard lease length is 5 years, though as mentioned, landlords are increasingly flexible and may accept 3 year agreements, or 5 year agreements with a break option after the 3rd year, due to market conditions favouring tenants.

There is no statutory right to renew a lease agreement and rent reviews are incredibly rare. This is because rents are indexed on an annual basis in accordance with the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). The longest legal lease term is 30 years and it is typical that only financial or consular institutions and law offices that will sign for longer than 5 years, with 7 or occasionally 10 year leases observed. Rent-free periods of 1-3 months per year of lease agreement are common at the moment and other incentives include contribution to, or completely covering fit-out costs, or additional budget for higher-than-standard fit-out and cash contributions.

Removal of tenants’ fixtures and fittings is dependent upon the landlord though often leaving the

by Hamish Potts Knight Frank

premises “brush-clean” and subject to normal wear and tear is sufficient.

Gross rentable, or leasable area (GLA) is measured, comprised of the net office area (measured to a number of different standards; RICS, TEGOVA, BOMA, Polish Norms etc.) plus an “add-on” factor. This addon factor is a percentage share of all the common spaces within a building, which are unleasable to individual tenants, such as lift-lobbies, reception areas, shared toilets/kitchens. The percentage is calculated by the net premises as a proportion of all leasable areas within the building. Rent is payable in either EUR or PLN per sq.m. per month on top of which service charges and utilities must be paid for. Service charge is normally invoiced in PLN or EUR and is reconciled at year end with any under or over payment either being settled, or offset against the following year’s charges.

Agents’ fees are usually paid by the landlord.

In Poland the levels of collateral required to secure an agreement are not governed tightly by law, though a guarantee or cash deposit of 3 months’ rent is typical, with newly-established companies, or those perceived to be higher-risk having to provide 6 months’. Tenants will also need to be insured up to a level of around €1 million.

Sub-letting or assignment is only possible with the explicit permission of the landlord and early termination normally only possible with the performance of a break clause. In some cases landlords will allow tenants to buy out their remaining liability, though this is typically very expensive with landlords unwilling to risk a disruption to their income flow.

In Poland the levels of collateral required to secure an agreement are not governed tightly by law” The Landlord is usually responsible for structural repairs though it is becoming more common for even these costs to be channeled back to the tenants, along with any internal repairs and maintenance of the tenants’ premises, though small repairs and simple things like changing light bulbs are done by the tenants themselves.

In the next column we will look in more depth at what the service charge covers, and how it is calculated and paid.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at hamish.potts@pl.knightfrank.com n

November 2014

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Corporate Risk

Stereotypes. You abhor them. You hate them.

But you’ve got to love them.

In our sector—this being risk consulting if you have not caught on by now—we often caution not to fall into stereotyping. This is akin to chasing the red herring, which can cause wasted money, false accusations and personal harm.

True. All of the above. So don’t do that. Don’t. Never, ever, ever.

Only in this region does it pay to keep one stereo- By Preston Smith type in mind: a creature I call - for no better description CEE Consulting Group; comes to mind - the “sole-proprietorship silverback.” preston.smith@ceecg.com This creature (and by using the word “creature” I am being kind) tends to fit the following parameters.

1) He is all-too-willing to function independent of the full work contract.

2) He typically is in his mid- to late-fifties.

3) He has a wide distribution network, which comes in more than handy in the pharmaceutical or medical equipment sector.

4) He likes to party.

Now if this stereotype sets off any red flags… well, maybe it should. The above features quite regularly in regional investigations, whether local kickback scams are involved or when Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) infringements are in danger of being triggered. Let’s examine a particularly intriguing case, of the late-Nenad B., a doctor in Serbia who triggered a wide-ranging pharmaceutical investigation involving a number of big names – names that I’d better leave unnamed here.

The story goes like this: 1) Police received information in 2007 on a certain Katarina R., a celebrity facing charges of embezzling funds at a breast cancer charity.

2) Nenad B., a well-known doctor, was called to witness against her.

3) In June 2010 police also arrested Nenad B. with charges filed against him and four colleagues included running a criminal conspiracy in cancer drugs from 2007 to 2009. Using his position at a state-run institute Nenad B. was pushing drugs for a fee. And in case there is no doubt, the possible fines, triggered by FCPA, against such companies could still range in the tens of millions of dollars.

4) At 6:25 pm on Jan. 10, 2014, Nenad B. left his apartment to go jogging. He was wearing an electronic tag, which was one of the conditions that had allowed him to go free on EUR 500,000 bail.

5) Nenad B. was found dead the next day hanging from a tree. Police found a suicide note in the mailbox of his wife.

In short, this silverback met a very untimely demise.

But just to make things clear, he was one of a group of

2014 November

10 Serbia-based doctors and drug company officials charged with taking, or offering, more than EUR 500,00 in bribes to persuade the clinics to use specific drugs.

To make things a bit more clear: Nenad B.’s “suicide” limits, if not derails, Serbia’s “Operation Crab,” which had nailed the corrupt group of doctors to begin with.

Now what does this mean for you?

Hopefully, very little, but the above-mentioned tale is so often-repeated in the region (without the suicide or murder issues, of course), that the stereotype is worth noticing. In this case, a doctor used his network and influence to peddle the drugs of key pharma players. He was not directly employed by such players, but he was quite well-compensated. He was known for the high life, but when the party came crashing down, so did the reputation of major, international companies.

More specifically, what we tend to find tallies as such: 1) A legitimate company hires an elder-statesman sales type with a distribution network that is both profitable and wide-ranging.

2) While he has an official position, he actually runs his business out of a sole proprietorship or other entity. This is translated (and the victim typically quite willingly accepts this) as smart tax avoidance.

3) He typically has at least a “semi-Communist” past, is more than charming and soon has great influence over local operations.

4) Any digging—and maybe not much digging is necessary—reveals rumors of kickback and bribes and worse.

By this point, some of you may indeed recognize the type. The company has become dependent upon the silverback simply because he does bring in sales.

Likewise, there is the danger that he could simply up and move his network to a competitor. Finally, an investigation could very well reveal that not only is he increasing the risk of a local investigation or FCPA investigation - or both; he is experienced, tough and could put up quite an ugly fight should the company decide to “set him free.”

So what now? Ah yes, you can see it coming, can’t you? By now we are quite low down on the page, and once again I will quite shamefully leave you hanging.

But I won’t let that stop me from offering the following, albeit pre-emptive solution: Never get into this situation to begin with. Do your due-diligence. The above red-flags and more are quite often quite easy to discern at the outset. Real due diligence will tell whether the stereotype is seriously a danger, and you can make your decision from there.

But as for strategies for dealing with the CEE soleproprietorship silverback once you have him on your books? The answers are legion, my friend—which means we’ll address them in depth next month. n

ADVISORY

Lookout for the soleproprietorship silverback

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www.bizpoland.pl

Taxes

Missed opportunities The end of the year is always a time for changes to tax law and this year as usual the general theme is to give us more headaches. It is always a shame when another year goes by and the legislators miss the opportunity to fix existing rules that are broken.

ADVISORY

There are a lot of issues that deserve attention, but there is only space to pick out a couple of the worst offenders, so I have chosen one issue on VAT and one on CIT.

10

Simplified invoices Simplified invoices were quietly introduced from January 2013, with the intention of allowing simplified invoicing for small amounts (up to PLN 400 or €100).

Being a helpful development, they were of course the result of EU law rather than a Polish government initiative. In fact the Polish implementation has ensured that nobody is capable of using them.

A simplified invoice is in fact nothing more than a till receipt. If the law were to allow businesses to deduct trivial amounts of VAT based on till receipts, as they do in the UK, it would save countless hours of queuing at the VAT invoice counter for documents confirming VAT amounts that are so small that probably most of us simply can’t be bothered. In shops and petrol stations where the VAT invoices are issued at the checkout, we spend half our life waiting for the people in front to patiently repeat their name and address 3 times before the cashier gets it right.

The simplified invoicing rules should have got rid of this stupidity. Sadly, however, the authorities have visions of hordes of local businesses scouring the streets harvesting any rain-soaked till receipt that others may have discarded, because obviously when there are potential free PLN 20 VAT deductions to be found in the streets and litter bins, that’s the way that our businesses will be focussed.

So what do the rules actually say? Well, the VAT shown in a typical till receipt for up to PLN 450 is now deductible – provided that the receipt includes the customers NIP (tax ID) number. The NIP number must be included on demand of the customer. To enable this to happen, the law on cash registers was amended during 2013 such that they are now required to be able to print receipts with customers’ NIP numbers. This is potentially a massive reprogramming or replacement cost, all for the sake of keeping unreasonable control over trivial amounts of VAT. Whilst we are all still waiting for retailers across the country to enthusiastically embrace their new rules, here’s what you can do to avoid queueing for VAT invoices in the meantime: carry a pen with you and ask the cashier to write your NIP number on the receipt.

You will then have a valid simplified invoice.

By Steven Foster Process Solutions www.ps-bpo.com Steven.Foster@ps-bpo. com

Representation One of the most disappointing aspects of the corporate income tax (CIT) rules is the unreasonable prohibition or restriction on deduction of legitimate and sometimes unavoidable business expenses. An example is the cost of bad debts, for which the rules basically require that a business that has already been hit hard by bad debts should have as little chance as possible of surviving the experience.

Amongst the long list of unreasonable CIT restrictions, perhaps the worst example is “representation”.

This has been an absolute mess for years.

If the tax disallowance were to apply strictly to entertaining, it would not be so bad. After all, plenty of countries disallow entertaining costs and it’s the authorities’ prerogative to be jealous that they don’t get enough “wining-and-dining” - and to discourage the rest of us from doing it. However, the problem with representation is that nobody seems to know what it means and the tax authorities have usually decided that it includes whatever costs it wants to disallow. Historical practice has basically been to allow tea and biscuits, but disallowing anything that the tax inspectors don’t get in their own offices. We were never quite sure whether chocolate biscuits would be frowned upon, or whether doughnuts were acceptable on Shrove Tuesday instead of Fat Thursday.

In a remarkable turn of events, a June 2013 judgement of the NSA held that business meetings over lunch were not necessarily representation and the cost could be deducted. Furthermore, because there were 7 judges involved, the tax authorities had no option but to accept the decision. However, instead of opening their eyes to the possibility that not everything a company does is representation, this seems to have spurred them into a new offensive. There were two particular instances late last year that really should not be allowed to stand.

The first attack was against staff training and integration outings and unfortunately the courts have not helped with this. The regional court in Rzeszów had the odd notion that it was more qualified than the taxpayer to decide whether there was an economic purpose to the cost.

The next attack concerned conferences and seminars provided free of charge by advisory firms. In a worrying interpretation given by the Łódź tax chamber, they decided that this activity is representation and the cost is therefore not deductible. This is of particular concern because it relates to commercial activities intended to promote a firm to a wider audience. In other words, the tax authorities have now decided that representation potentially includes even advertising, marketing, public relations, and sponsorship.

Tax office practice on representation will become ever more absurd unless the law is changed to rein them in. In the meantime, make sure that your lunches are about business issues rather than entertaining and deduct them while you can. n

November 2014

www.bizpoland.pl

Politics

There is no greater truth than the political adage of “a week is a long time in politics”, and in Poland, a month has been sufficient to change the political landscape in a way that few had been able to predict.

by Marek Matraszek

By Marek Matraszek CEC Government Relations

At the end of the summer, it seemed that the coalition government of Civic Platform (PO) and the Polish Peasant Party (PSL) was heading for lame duck status, as its poll ratings plummeted and the Law and Justice (PiS) opposition seemed to be gearing up for election victories in the local races this November and next year in parliament. Now it is PO that is basking in renewed confidence and PiS facing the possibility of yet more electoral humiliation.

Despite the low poll numbers of the PO over the summer, it remained an article of faith in the party that whatever chance there was of electoral success rested with Donald Tusk, regarded as a talisman in tight political contests. His departure to Brussels to become President of the European Council was greeted with pride, but laced with terror that his absence would result in endless party infighting and certain electoral defeat.

The truth is that the precise opposite has occurred.

Although Tusk retained a reputation as an election winner, the fact was that over the last couple of years

Tusk, either consciously or unconsciously, had cultivated the image of an aloof, sharp-suit wearing, cigar-smoking and fine-wine drinking yuppy aspirant.

Kopacz on the other hand has been keen to play on her provincial roots and past life as a family doctor, and present herself as “a woman of the people”

Marek Matraszek is the Founding Partner of CEC Government Relations.

He can be contacted at mm@cecgr.com

his negative ratings had increased relentlessly, as the electorate became more and more disillusioned with a man they perceived as permanently breaking electoral promises. His presence as a bogey figure also helped mobilise the opposition PiS party, allowing them to establish a lead over the PO in the opinion polls. As Tusk left, almost magically the electoral fortunes of the PO

2014 November

improved: Mrs Kopacz immediately benefited from the aura of freshness, whilst PiS led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski no longer had an enemy to attack.

The key question is the extent to which the new-found political vigour of the PO will last. Much depends on Mrs Ewa Kopacz, who on her appointment was largely derided by the media and opposition on the back of her relative political inexperience and some clumsy initial media appearances. However recent weeks have suggested that Mrs Kopacz may be stronger than many suspected. Her first tactic has been to dramatically distance herself from Donald Tusk, publicly underlining his lack of influence over her policies and political appointments. Secondly, she has signaled a clear shift to the left in terms of social policy, using her parliamentary expose to focus on welfare and social benefits. Thirdly, she limited the opportunity for factional infighting in the PO after Tusk’s departure by bringing into the Cabinet the key leaders of the party’s warring groups, ensuring that loyalty to the government will trump political ambition.

Perhaps most significantly, she has completely changed the Prime Ministerial image. , unconcerned about personal wealth and in tune with the concerns of the vast bulk of the Polish population.

The result has been to eat into the electorate that had until now been either demobilized, or had drifted to the opposition PiS and the post-communist SLD party, voters in the lower social categories feeling themselves to be losing out in reform changes. In many ways, this electorate may be PO’s permanent replacement for the young, entrepreneurial and successful middle class voters that PM Tusk had succeeded in alienating over the last few years.

Mrs Kopacz’s manoeuvre has been helped by the helplessness with which PiS have watched this unfold before them, and as their political strategy for fighting the next elections disintegrates. That strategy was based almost entirely on a focus on the hated Tusk and his out-of-touch government. Mrs Kopacz has neutered that narrative, leaving Mr Kaczynski with few thoughtout alternatives. Other opposition parties are going further and deliberately self-destructing, such as the Your Movement party of the maverick Janusz Palikot, half of whose parliamentary club deserted him overnight.

The post-communist SLD continues to plod on under its leader Leszek Miller, whilst the star of the libertarian Janusz Korwin-Mikke and his New Right Congress party has faded almost as quickly as it burst on the scene in this year’s European elections.

The key test of whether or not this revival of the PO, achieved as much by accident as by design, has the prospect of being a lasting shift will be seen in the results of November’s local elections. If PO manages a credible result and pushes PiS into second place, it will give the PO new confidence. That self-belief, combined with an unexpectedly determined leader, may be enough to carry the party to electoral success in the parliamentary elections of 2015, and an unprecedented third term in office. n

ADVISORY

Mrs. Kopacz shifts the stage

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Anniversary

This year we’re all Onlineprinters!

2014 is a special year for Onlineprinters.

The company is not only celebrating 30 years of high-quality production, but also the 10th anniverary of the company's huge e-commerce success in Europe.

Anniversary

Their product mix ranges from business cards, stationery, flyers, postcards, posters, catalogues, brochures and calendars all the way to large format advertising systems.

What was the key to the international sucess of the company? The idea is as simple as the company's claim: Printings simply ordered online.

The road to success The history of the company starts in Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany in 1984. The typesetter Erwin Meyer founded a traditional

print shop, targeting local clients.

The starting capital was 100,000 Deutsche Mark, and the family car was provided as security. His son Walter Meyer revolutionised the classic business model in 2004 by going online with the launch of the first webshop. Now Onlineprinters serves 340,000 customers with sites like Onlineprinters.pl. During

the last 3 decades, a small, familyowned business has developed into an international leader in modern printing providing high-quality

services in 30 European countries and a portfolio of more than 1,400 print products. Today over two billion printings are produced annually in the in-house production.

Naturally, this is only possible with a well-synchronised team of 550 employees and state-of-the-art production technology. Currently, the entire production, processing and storage spans an area of 40,000 m².

Competitive market While many small printers were no match for the extreme drop in prices and competitive pressures in the recent years, Onlineprinters was able to not only maintain its stance in the market thanks to its innovative, international and sustainable growth and production strategy, but to benefit from the change process. Reasons for this are investments in new machines

CEE Shared Services and Outsourcing Awards

5 February 2015 Awards Gala and Forum recognizing excellence and leaderships in Central & East Europe's Shared Services, BPO and Outsourcing sectors 12

www.ceeOutsourcingAwards.com November 2014

www.bizpoland.pl with the latest technology and a strong IT-based automated production and the efficient combined printing process.

Business customers benefit from the possibility of ordering 24 hours a day, fixed prices and quick production and delivery.

The order process is simple: Customers choose the product they need, configure it as required, order online and upload their print files. This allows not only for cost-cutting thanks to the simple and user-friendly price calculation, but also makes the whole process easily manageable for the customer as well as the company itself.

Service is key Onlineprinters is developing constantly to meet the needs of the clients. "The dynamics of the Two generations of printing: Erwin and Walter Meyer (back) market require that we develop our processes constantly, taking new customer requirements into account and not neglecting trends," said CEO Walter Meyer.

Because of this, in July this year

a new International Team in the Customer Service Centre was created. The main goal of this investment is to provide excellent service via E-Mail and Phone. That is why members of the international team are native speakers of Polish, English, German, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish.

What are the future plans of Onlineprinters? The company is genuinely interested in development and satisfying client needs in Europe, especially in the Polish printing market. Poland in particular is being perceived as a natural direction for development, as Polish people are known for their love of innovation and new technologies. "We’ve noticed that our Polish customers have very high standards – and so do we”, says Meyer proudly. Of course, the competition in the online business will continue to increase. "We want to continue to compete in the European printing market as a market leader and to grow profitably," said the CEO, expressing his optimism for the future. n

Anniversary

Anniversary

I’M An OnlIneprInter. p r I n t I n g s s I M p ly O r d e r e d O n l I n e

2014 November

.pl

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Energy News

Offshore wind to dominate Poland’s renewable energy sector The 2nd annual conference “Offshore Conference – Development of coastal regions” highlighted the very bright future and role of offshore wind in Poland’s future energy mix.

Within the next 10 years, offshore wind is likely to dominate the agenda of Poland’s wind developers. While onshore is currently the only source of wind energy in Poland, the optimism of delegates at the conference, organized by PSEW Wind Energy Association, demonstrated that the long-run future lies at sea. More than 200 delegates attended, including 45 speakers. The two days of discussions included a broad range of policy-makers, local politicians, wind developers, offshore equipment

and service providers, as well as the local fishing industry.

Among the conference’s conclusions: • The European Commission expects that until 2020 the

Offshore wind energy is a very important sector which can provide valuable support to our power industry.

Wind energy evokes both curiosity and controversies. It is necessary to take into account the interests of various groups, including all those who are exploring or want to explore the Baltic Sea: fishermen, exploration companies, and the tourism sector. Regardless of the fact that these interests differ and discussions are underway, offshore wind energy in Poland is indisputably an area that is worth a lot of attention.”

Bogdan Borusewicz, Marshal of the Senate

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total capacity of offshore wind farms will reach 43 GW, which accounts for roughly 3% of the total energy consumption in the EU. Until 2030, the figure might rise to 150 GW. • Marshal of the Senate (Bogdan Borusewicz) and representatives of the government (Maciej Grabowski, Minister of Environment, and Tomasz Tomczykiewicz, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy) consider offshore wind energy an important segment which stands a chance of contributing to the development of the maritime industry and coastal regions.

• According to investors, the first two offshore wind farm projects may generate profits of EUR 700-1,100m until 2026. EUR 90m is about to be spent each year for operational and maintenance purposes, including EUR 32m in salaries and wages.

• In order for offshore wind farms to grow, it is necessary to reduce the costs and minimize the energy price rises resulting from the adoption of new technologies.

November 2014

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Energy News

As a minister responsible for Poland’s energy policy, I have to assess offshore wind energy through the perspective of the country’s energy security and economic competitiveness. It is worth noting that offshore wind energy is stable, makes use of domestic renewable energy sources and allows the technology sector to grow. Offshore wind energy should be supported by the new renewable energy support system which is being developed.”

Tomasz Tomczykiewicz, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy

farms, pipelines and hydrocarbon exploration, results in spatial conflicts which are stronger than ever. It is particularly important to ensure long-term protection of mineral deposits, without discriminating other ways of using marine areas. It is necessary to work out new solutions that allow co-existence of different on-sea operations. Experience of some investors has shown that it is possible to do that.

The following speakers were on this environmental panel: Foundation for Sustainable Energy – Maciej Stryjecki, President Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk – Hanna Dzikowska, Director Maritime Office in Gdynia –

Danish, German and British experts have indicated that until 2020 costs of this technology are likely to drop by over 30% and in 2030 it may compete against conventional energy sources.

• Long-term development of offshore wind farms requires efficient cooperation of investors and the operator of the transmission network in order to build offshore transmission infrastructure, the so-called “Baltic Grid,” to which farms may be linked and which will allow connection with foreign systems. Experts have said that technological solutions are The following politicians joined the conference as speakers or participants: Bogdan Borusewicz – Marshal of the Senate Maciej Grabowski – Minister of Environment Kazimierz Kleina – Senator Cezary Olejniczak – Member of Parliament Janusz Pilitowski – Director of the Renewable Energy Department at the Ministry of Economy Wojciech Drożdż – Deputy Marshal of Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship Czesław Elzanowski – Member of the Board of Pomorskie Voivodeship Arkadiusz Klimowicz – Mayor of Darłowo Michał Kiełsznia – General Director for Environmental Protection Hanna Dzikowska – Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk Tomasz Bobin – Director of the Maritime Office in Słupsk

2014 November

available already but there is a need for properly set objectives, accurate political decisions and successful cooperation.

Environmental issues panel An increasing number of investments at sea, including wind

Andrzej Cieślak, Main Specialist ABB Sp. z o.o. – Grzegorz Okrasa, Director PSE S.A. – Włodzimierz Mucha, Director of the System Development Department Królak i Wspólnicy – dr Liwiusz Laska LL.M., Lawyer n

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FDI Awards

FDI Poland Investor Awards distinguishes top companies in 17 categories

At the FDI Awards Gala on 16 October in Warsaw, 17 companies were distinguished for their leadership and direct investment in Poland. A Jury of 26 Chamber of Commerce chairmen and Commercial Counselors from Embassies voted to award the following companies.

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Their decisions were based not only on the amount of investment and number of employees in Poland, yet also on the firm’s innovation, strategic importance to the Polish economy and leadership within their industry.

Nearly 200 guests attended from a wide range of sectors including Aviation, Manufacturing, Food, IT, BPO/Outsourcing,Transportation, Retail, Consumer Goods, Real Estate development, and Pharmaceuticals.

The FDI Poland Investor Awards is the only such Awards Gala in Poland that brings together multiple industries and a multitude of countries. Guests came from more 23 countries this year, including a particularly strong turn-out from China and India. The largest number of Nominations came from American firms, underlining their leadership role in FDI investment in Poland.

Brief comments from PAIZ emphasized the important role of foreign direct investment in making the Polish economy world-class competitive.

Other VIP guests came from Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a tough competition (67 firms were Short-Listed) among world-class firms, the following firms took first place:

November 2014

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FDI Awards

Final Winners: Top Technology Park of the Year: Lodz Regional Science and Technology Park

Top German or Austrian Investor: Volkswagen Poznan

Top Special Economic Zone of the Year Lodz Special Economic Zone

Top Swiss Investor: Lek S.A. (Sandoz)

Top CEE (Central East Europe) Investor: HB Reavis

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2014 November

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FDI Awards Top French Investor: Atos IT Services

Top UK/Irish Investor: Polski Bus (Souter Holdings)

Top Benelux Investor: Raben Group

Top Indian Investor: Flex Films Europa

Top Iberian Investor Jer贸nimo Martins Polska

Top Japanese Investor: NGK Ceramics Polska

Top Scandinavian Investor StoraEnso

Top Korean Investor: LG Electronics Mlawa

18 November 2014

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FDI Awards

Top Chinese Investor: LiuGong Dressta Machinery

Top Canadian Investor: Redknee Solutions

Top Investor of the Year – Rest of World: Infosys BPO Poland

Top U.S. Investor: Amazon

This 2nd annual event, MC’ed by Thom Barnhardt of BiznesPolska and BizPoland Magazine, and Ewa Bonecka, a top actress on TV programs such as TVN’s “Na Wspolnej”, attracted a multitude of international guests, including from the United States, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Korea, India, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Firms attending included DCT Gdańsk, European Investment Bank (EIB), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Economic Division), Jeppesen (Boeing), Immofinanz, Epam Systems, Flextronics International Poland, Motorola Solutions Systems Polska, Amazon, MiedziCopper Corporation, Redknee Solutions, Bombardier Transportation, Grafton, Souter Holdings Poland/ PolskiBus, GKN Driveline, AirFrance, CBRE, Sii, ASIME (GEE Group), CPL Jobs, Kinnarps,

2014 November

Alteams Poland, Schibsted Tech Polska, IMMOFINANZ Group, Volkswagen Poznan, Rule Financial (GFT Group), Fiege, Nexteer Automotive Poland, LiuGong Dressta Machinery, LG Electronics Mlawa, Lodz Special Economic Zone, Essel Propack Polska, Farmtrac Tractors Europe, QBurst Technologies, Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park, Lodz Regional Science and Technology Park, Kinnarps, Citibank, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Grafton Recruitment, Netherlands-Poland Chamber, and many more.

Audit Partner: TPA Horwath Jury members included: Steve Rank, Senior Trade Commissioner, Australian Trade Commission; Karl Schmidt, Commercial Counselor, Austrian Embassy in Warsaw; Nicolas Lepage, Counsellor Commercial, Embassy of Canada; Edward Zhu, PolskoChinska Rada Biznesu; Marek Matraszek, CEC Government Relations; Jean-Marc Fenet,

Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of France; Kari Vähäkangas, Commercial Counsellor, Finpro; Amit Lath, Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Yoshito Okada, Shokokai (Japanese Chamber of Commerce); Kwon Dong-seok, Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea; Inese Sulzanoka, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia; Slawomir Majman, President, PAIiIZ; Stefan Bekir Assanowicz, Chairman, PolishSpanish Chamber of Commerce; Rocio Frutos Ibor, Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Spain; Vladislav Chlipala, Commercial Counsellor, Slovak Republic; Chi-young Chen, Director, Economic Division of Taipei Economic Office; Koray Akguloglu, Commercial Counsellor, Turkish Embassy; Martin Oxley, Director, UKTI Poland; Nguyen Duc Thanh, Commercial Counselor, Vietnam Embassy.

For more details and full Gallery of pictures from the event: www.FDIPolandAwards.pl n

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Equities News

Dead-end with Vienna, so Warsaw Stock Exchange doubles dividends The Warsaw Stock Exchange, central Europe’s biggest equity market, proposed to double its dividend next year as earnings improve on growing gas trading. The WSE also formally announced that it has dropped plans to merge with the Vienna exchange.

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The dividend will rise to 2.4 zloty a share in 2015 and 2.6 zloty in 2016 as the state-controlled exchange changed its policy to pay out at least 60 percent of annual profit, compared with an earlier plan of 30-50 percent, it said in a regulatory filing. Third-quarter profit rose 15 percent to 30 million zloty from a year earlier.

“The dividend may reach even 100 percent if it turns out we have no investment needs,” Chief Executive Officer Pawel Tamborski told reporters. “Vienna was one of

the reasons for raising dividends and we are currently seeing no acquisition targets that could help us expand as a financial hub.”

The Warsaw exchange ended merger talks with the Vienna operator in September, two months after Tamborski, a former deputy treasury minister, took the CEO post. The Polish operator decided to focus on expanding its trading in debt, derivatives and commodi-

over the next two years should be clearly appealing to investors.”

Gas trading soared to 58.9 terawatt-hours from 0.3 terawatthours a year ago as new regulation forced Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA, Poland’s dominant gas company, to sell some of the fuel via exchange and the exchange started intraday trading.

The exchange’s expansion

ties to solidify its position as the largest market in the region.

envisages doubling 2013 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at 144 million zloty by 2020 and the company expects its average annual revenue growth at 7 percent in the period, Tamborski said.

The number of companies listed on the main market is to increase to more than 550 by 2020 from the current 466 and the exchange expects to list debt of about 1,000 companies on its Catalyst market by the end of the decade, he said. n

Gas Trading Third-quarter sales rose 13 percent to 77.9 million zloty from a year earlier, boosted by rising revenue from natural-gas trading, it said in the statement.

“The exchange reported a very strong set of numbers and attractive upgrade to the dividend policy,” Pawel Kozub, a Warsawbased analyst at UniCredit SpA, said in a note. “The yield of 6%-7%

November 2014

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Equities News

KDPW brings new offers in posttransaction infrastructure The Polish capital market is focused on modern depository settlement and clearing infrastructure, managed by the Central Securities Depository of Poland (KDPW) and the KDPW_CCP Clearing House.

“After joining the European Union and after implementing all the regulations on the level of the Polish capital market we want to be a hub for the regional capital markets,” said Iwona Sroka, President and CEO of KDPW and KDPW_CCP. “That is why stock exchange as a capital market attracts foreign investors and issuers. We would like to be very friendly and attract new investment firms as market participants. I mean the members in the clearing house and also market

Q&A

participants for our services as the security depository,” she added.

Today, KDPW Group plays a leading role as far as changes in the region are concerned, offering services which are not available on the other CEE markets, according to Sroka.

“We have new offers for the region which is a trade repository. We have another new offer as a numbering agency, which are the LEI (legal entity identifier) numbers which in the near future will be the most

Q. WSE is open to countries which are not EU members. How do you help the companies from non-EU member countries to pass the strict stages necessary to getting listed at WSE? A. If you want to be authorized you have to implement those strict and very tough regulations and parameters. We help such countries to avoid those barriers, for example how to register a company in another country and other legal issues. There is still a possible way to be a market participant when you are abroad.

We also want to attract companies from the region, because if you would like to do business in Poland and you are from other countries from the region this is the best means of promotion, to be listed on the local stock exchange.”

Q. Could you please discuss how Poland and especially Warsaw are seen as an attractive destination for other countries in the region and how the

2014 November

popular numbers. All those steps are because of the last European and global crisis from 2008 and the regulators as well as markets, they put great attention on the safety, on the safe clearing, because it is a part of the stability of the financial system. We can now offer a unique catalogue of post trading services as a post trading infrastructure in Poland having that trade repository, having that LEI numbering agency and authorize on the level of the European Union clearing house. It means that we can easily offer our services across the countries in the European Union. Thinking about the countries in the region which are not a part of the European Union, we can still be a kind of window to international issuers, or investors or financial firms,” said Sroka.

Polish market leads over other European and global markets?

A. In regard to the transportation, the possibility of accommodation, or setting up an investment firm in Poland - all of this is good and safe here. Poland is a real “safe haven” in the region for many reasons. There is virtually no corruption here and GDP growth is at a pretty nice level, I would say. Gross domestic product exceeded EUR 382 bln and became the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe and the eighth largest measured by GDP in the European Union.

Poland can develop organically. When you build a kind of economy of scale this is also interesting for foreign investors and foreign issuers. They made their choice for markets which are dynamic.

They do not only have international investors because when you have two higher level of international investors in comparison to local ones - pension funds, investment funds and individuals - it is dangerous because in times of crisis this is the first group of investors to take their money and leave. That is why a pretty good proportion of local and foreign investors are also a positive for the market.

Poland has become a leader in the region. For several years the Stock Exchange in Warsaw has been responsible for about 60 percent of equity trading in the region. So, the majority of the trading on equities in the region belongs to Warsaw. Warsaw is named fifth market in identifying the markets of the future.

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Equities News

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The region is small, we have different currencies, different national banks, and still different regulations concerning securities. There is a harmonization because of the European Union, but there are some barriers at the same time. Poland is the biggest country in this part of Europe and we do not have any big failings or problems. So if you are interested in the region Poland is the best place to come to.

We also want to attract companies from the region, because if you would like to do business in Poland and you are from other countries from the region this is the best means of promotion, to be listed on the local stock exchange. Your clients, your customers then have better visibility of the company.

For example there is a very famous company from Bulgaria called Sopharma, a pharmaceutical company; we have some banks from the region and companies from the production sector, which is good!

Q. As far as I know, WSE is going to increase competition with the EU stock exchanges. What is your aim and how are you going to compete with other markets?

A. We will have to compete! Because of that harmonization, because on the regulatory level every country will have almost the same conditions.

There are some initiatives that the future will bring the responsibilities of the local infrastructure to the one Pan-European platform. The European Central Bank has an initiative to move the settlement in Europe to a common platform by 20172018. Now we are just monitoring this initiative, because mostly our settlement is trades in Polish Zloties. That is why it is not worth that money to connect in a platform that we have just 2 percent transactions settled in Euros. But of course we would like to be ready for the date when our government will announce that we will go with Euro as a currency to be ready to easily join the system. So there are some problems we will face in the future.

But being prepared and thinking about our own solutions will be maybe a little bit cheaper than from Pan-European or global institutions and also having the capital loyalty of our local participants is very important for having a safer future.

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Q. The WSE is going to be developed as a modern capital market. What does it mean to be “modern�?

A. To have a modern capital market means to have modern infrastructure and technologies. The full range of services that WSE offers should be modern in comparison to other countries. Having a pretty good country and offering complementary services in the field of trading and post trading as well is a simple way to become a modern market. This is modern - to have everything on the local market and offer all range of services.

But when thinking about being a hub of the region there is another issue. We have to develop a friendly environment for foreign investors; to develop new offices to rent and to let; we have to invest in infrastructure - not only trading and post trading infrastructure but I am talking about highways,

railways, hotels, the places where people work and spend their time.

Q. What are the achievements of Poland that other markets including Georgia can pattern themselves on and draw inspiration from?

A. Good regulations on the market are the strongest base. The second thing is to educate the population. When you earn money, put some amount aside for investment - so that you can create something for your country and for you as well as get a profit. And the third thing is to create very safe and reliable infrastructure - if you invest your money it is your choice where you invest, but the infrastructure must be absolutely safe. n

November 2014

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Special Economic Zones

SEZ zones celebrate 20 years This year, Poland celebrates the 20th anniversary of the introduction of Special Economic Zone Programme to the country. On this occasion, on 20 November, Teatr Narodowy in Warsaw will hosts a “20 Years of SEZ in Poland” Gala.

During the Gala, companies and the most important achievements provided under Polish SEZs will be awarded.

There are 14 Special Economic Zones in Poland. Since the establishment of zone programme

about PLN 95 billion have been invested and 270,000 new jobs where created there.

More information: www.kpmg.com/pl/20latSSE.

Industrial Investment of the Year “Tereny Inwestycyjne” magazine will host the first edition of “Industrial Investment of the Year” competition. The event will take place on 16 December.

The aim of the competition is to promote industrial investment, which contributed to the modernization and development of the Polish economy. The project promotes entrepreneurship, innovation,

pro-investment and pro-environmental attitudes. The competition is also an opportunity for companies to emphasize their strong position in the market. More information: www.terenyinwestycyjne.info n

Euroledlighting to open new Polish plant LED lighting systems maker Eurolighting is aiming to launch a new production facility in Redzikowo, in northern Poland.

To implement the project, the Polish producer has secured co-funding from the European Union’s Cohesion Funds for the 2007-2013 period. In total, the EU is to provide PLN 1.63 million to support the manufacturing project, which represents about 41% of the PLN 3.99 million investment.

Under the plan, the facility will be located in the Redzikowo subzone of the Słupska special economic zone (SSE), according to the information provided by local foreign investment agency Invest in Pomerania. This will ensure preferential tax treatment for the firm’s facility.

As part of the project, Euroledlighting is to create about 25 new jobs in Redzikowo. The plant is expected to be opened by the

end of this year, and the company aims to launch production of new products in cooperation with the Lublin University of Technology.

Redzikowo is located about 118km from the city of Gdańsk.

The company’s product range includes various LED lighting systems made with the use of aluminium and plastics, including PVC and PC, according to data released by Euroledlighting. Based in Słupsk, Poland, the firm was set up in 2006. n

Łódzkie SEZ with 21 new business permits 21 companies have recently received business permits in the Łódź Special Economic Zone.

One of the Polish leading producers of pediatric medicines and vitamin supplements Medana Pharma will invest in the zone for the third time and create at least 15 new jobs. The value of investment will reach PLN 222 million.

Another permit went to Superdrób - Zakłady Drobiarsko - Mięsne. The investor plans to spend PLN 140m and employment 650 new people. Union Industries, which produces materials for manufacturers of hygiene medical

2014 November

products, will invest PLN 132m in Radomsk and create 40 new jobs.

Newcold will invest in a fulfilment centre of frozen foods by spending PLN 120m and creating 30 new jobs. More than PLN 100m will be invested by Pini Polonia. Under the project the construction of a meat processing facility will be started.

200 people will be employed there.

Other business permits went to: SFB Poland (PLN 5m; 10 new jobs), MGL Sp. z o.o. (PLN 5.5m, 106 new jobs), Delia Cosmetics Distribution (PLN 12.5m, 15 new jobs), Waran Sp. z o.o (PLN 3 m; 15 new jobs), De Heus Sp. z o.o (PLN

25 m; 30 new jobs), Interprint Poland (PLN 33.5 m; 15 new jobs), Sirmax (PLN 12m; 10 new jobs), Drahtzug Stein (PLN 828,000; 14 new jobs ), Sisa Polska (PLN 4m; 15 new jobs), HTL Zone (3 permits; PLN 26m; 32 new jobs), Ima Solutions (PLN 45m; 250 new jobs), Nordkalk (PLN 20m; 30 new jobs), Press-Glass (PLN 50m; 200 new jobs), Berg (PLN 30m;30 new jobs).

In the first half of 2014, Łódź SEZ issued 36 business permits.

The total value of all new investments reached PLN 1.5 billion.

All investors declared together the creation of 2,378 new jobs.

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FDI News

InPay finances expansion with Bitcoin Crowdfunding As bitcoin continues to move from a niche market into a widespread understanding of how it operates on a conceptual level, certain milestones are being reached which when viewed independent of one another seem far less significant than when one views them collectively.

reached 30-40 million dollars.

The subject of bitcoin in both the USA and UK is taken more seriously than in Poland.” Arkadiusz Osiak, chairman of the board of InPay told Inside Bitcoins.

His company, which has developed a bitcoin payment integration system, is one of a raft of enterprises with ambition to capture the European market. Similar solutions have sprung up across the continent in the UK, Sweden, Holland and Denmark, the most well-known of which is BitPay.

One such milestone was reached last week in Poland, when InPay SA announced that shares in its company were on sale to the public for bitcoin, something of a global first. The company is crowdfunding itself through Beesfund.com, through November 16th.

Poland: A surprising springboard to European bitcoin success With European Federalism more of a dream than a reality, Europe’s lack of political homogeneity has to a certain extent acted as a barrier to a more widespread adoption of the currency. Inroads though, have been made. Whilst bitcoin has become concentrated within the national borders of certain countries, Poland, despite being home to two of Europe’s largest bitcoin exchanges, does not immediately spring to mind when one considers bitcoin’s place in Europe.

“In the world as a whole, mainly in the U.S., around 60 venture capital investments have been made in companies linked to bitcoin. The most recent examples, in Blockchain or Bitfury, have

Thanks in part to the investment of billionaire Richard Branson, BitPay recently opened a European headquarters in Amsterdam.

Bitcoin and crowdfunding: a successful marriage But whilst the Netherlands reigns supreme in terms of public perception and the UK is preparing itself for what looks set to be unprecedented political backing, there is reason to believe that Poland too

might emerge as a centre of bitcoin activity as it begins to stand out in comparison to the rest of Europe and the world. The country is in the global Top 10 in terms of regional interest of Google searches and last month was one of ten countries in the world with the highest number of bitcoin wallet downloads.

And the reason for this sudden interest in bitcoin across Poland is not hard to figure out, as Lech Wilczyński, CEO, cofounder of In Pay S.A. explained.

“Most people perceive bitcoin only through the lens of its dynamically changing price, but it is a specific need, not a problem. Bitcoin protocol allows the quick and free flow of payment funds for company owners from buyer to seller, regardless of their location,” he said.

Beesfund’s CEO, Arkadiusz Regiec, believes bitcoin and crowdfunding seems like an obvious marriage between two industries.

“For crowdfunding platforms like Beesfund, bitcoin seems to be the ideal engine for growth,” Regiec said. “It doesn’t limit buyers to specific acceptance areas like VISA or PayPal; it makes the whole purchase procedure much quicker and it lowers transaction costs.”

With 600,000 Poles living in the UK alone, one oft-cited but rarely considered factor driving its popularity in certain countries remains remittance. Bitcoin offers many advantages over fiat but for the Europe-wide Polish Diaspora, the ability to send money home without hefty charges remains chief amongst them. n

FDI Poland Investor Awards Gala 2015 15 October 2015, Warsaw, Hotel Intercontinetal 24 November 2014

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FDI News

Polish foreign trade: Exports exceed Euro 100 billion Polish Central Statistic Office (GUS) has published data on Polish Foreign trade in first eight months of 2014.

Exports from Poland increased by 4.4% y-o-y, reaching €105.8 billion.

Imports amounted to €106.8 bn, higher by 4.2% from a year ago. As a result, the trade deficit has been reduced to €1bn from €1.2bn.

After eight months of 2014, exports grew faster to the developed markets. It increased by 6.6% to €88.5bn, imports were up by 2.3% to

€69.4bn. Polish exports of goods to EU countries rose by 6.7% to €81.1bn.

In addition, it was two-fold faster to the eurozone than to the other EU countries (improvement by 4%). In January and August, sales to developed markets outside EU increased dynamically by 5.3% (total value €7.4bln), while imports fell down by 11.1% to €7bn. Among this group of countries export increased significantly to Canada by 26.3% and South Africa by 14.2%. Exports to Norway

and Japan decreased by 10% and 1,5% respectively. At the same time, the exports to developing countries decreased by 5.6% (to €17.3 bn), while import increased by 7.8% (to €37.4bn). There is visible growth of exports in the dominant Polish trade sectors such as light engineering industry (by 12.6%), agri-food products (by 5.2%) and electromechanical products (by 5%). On the other hand, a decline was recorded in mineral products (by 5.5%). (MG/GUS) n

GM returns to three-shift system One of the biggest investors supported by PAIiIZ - General Motors Manufacturing Poland - has just started recruiting new staff for its Gliwice factory. From 2015, 300 new employees will be involved in the production of Opel Astra next-generation.

The implementation of the new Astra in GM’s factory in Gliwice coincides with the decision to increase the production and return to the three-shift system of working. “As a result of introducing a new product and looking forward to increase the production volume, we focus on employing highly qualified and motivated staff,” explains Andrzej Korpak, MD in General Motors Manufacturing Poland.

Although the start of production is scheduled for the end of 2015, new members of crew will start working at the beginning of next year.

Currently, General Motors factory in Gliwice employs 3,000 people where Opel’s best seller in Poland Astra - and Cascade are produced.

The implementation of Astra’s 5th generation has been supported

by PAIiIZ. The total value of the

investment reached €95 million. In terms of the value of investment, it was one of the biggest projects supported by the Agency in 2013. Due to that GM has been awarded by PAIiIZ as “The Biggest Investment of The Year”. n

Poland goes up in Doing Business Ranking Poland gained the 32nd place in the world’s “Doing Business” survey conducted by the World Bank.

This year Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong were listed as the world’s best in doing business. The survey assessed 189 countries.

2014 November

Poland not only made a huge progress in the survey.

During recent years the country has gone up by 40 positions.

Such a good result is the effect of improvement in three categories: the ease of getting

electricity, registering property and trading across borders.

More information: www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/poland.

(Doing Business 2015)

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FDI News

Heinz to expand Polish factory?

Global food processing giant Heinz is said to be planning to carry out major investments in one of its Polish production plants.

Heinz, now controlled by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, is going through a restructuring process. Some reports had earlier suggested that, as part of the scheme, Heinz could be withdrawing from Poland.

However, sources quoted by

Polish business daily Puls Biznesu claim that the company will invest into its Pudliszki factory in western Poland.

“The company has applied for a government grant for an almost 200 million zloty investment,” a source was quoted as saying. The source claims that the government’s committee on foreign investments will soon announce a positive decision

about the grant. The Polish unit of Heinz declined to confirm the news. Heinz acquired Pudliszki, a well-known Polish brand of tomato sauces and canned vegetables, in 1997. Currently the group employs some 700 people in Poland, most of them in the Pudliszki branch. It has two production plants, in Pudliszki and Międzychód, and a head office in Warsaw. n

Cakes production – first European factory for American firm This autumn, the next American company has opened its plant in Wałbrzych SEZ. In Oława the production of cakes will be established. US-based „Bama Companies” specialising in the production of frozen cakes, pastries, muffins, biscuits and rolls has chosen Stanowice near Oława to build the company’s first plant in Europe where deepfrozen cookies with fruit filling will be produced. The investment is worth nearly PLN 58m.

The company employs 70 people.

Other three plants of „Bama Companies” are located in the US and China.

Moreover, this autumn two other America - based companies started to develop their business in the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone. Polaris Polska recently celebrated an opening ceremony of quad and ATV vehicles plant in Opole area while Tru Flex has started to build an exhaust systems factory there. n

Drutex - new chapter of development Polish company Drutex, operating since 20 years, has opened the European Woodwork Centre.

A newly opened production facility allows the company to double the production capacity and as result to strengthen the competitive position in the key export markets as Germany and Italy.

Also due to new investments, a

new range of production will be implemented. The company also plans to improve the existing offer. The new production hall offers a modern, robotic machinery systems and for production of PVC profiles, windows and doors.

The company’s success in foreign markets is based on its combination of high quality,

high-efficiency and advanced logistics services. The company is able to offer one of the shortest deliveries of its product – just 7 days - across Europe. In 1H 2014 the company recorded a 19% volume increase in sales. Due to the European Woodwork Centre, Drutex is expected to increase production to 2 million windows this year. n

VOSS Automotive in Legnickie Pole

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On 16 October, new manufacturing facility of VOSS Automotive was opened in Legnickie Pole in Dolny Śląsk province. This is the new investment of the company.

VOSS Automotive has been present in Poland since 2005. The total value of the newest investment provided by the German company in Legnickie Pole will

reached between € 18 million. 344 new jobs will be created. VOSS Automotive is one of the leading producers of highly engineered car components. n

November 2014

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FDI News

Amazon opens massive centres

Exactly one year ago, Ministry of Economy together with PAIiIZ announced Amazon’s massive investment in Poland. In late October, the American giant opened its fulfilment centres near Wrocław and Poznań where 6,000 people will be hired.

The new centres will serve to handle orders from Amazon. de, and ultimately will serve customers from all over Europe.

Poland’s central location in Europe and a close connection to key markets as well as the access to a great employment base were key reasons behind this decision, said Tim Collins, director of operations for Europe.

Amazon plans to create up to 2,000 long term jobs in each logistics centre. In addition, during the holiday season total employment of the company in

Poland is expected to grow to 9,000 people. Never before has PAIiIZ been involved with such a large recruitment campaign.

New employees have already started work in two distribution centres located in Bielany Wrocławskie that were opened 28 October 2014. The third centre in Sady near Poznań was open on the following day, on 29 October 2014. n

27 2014 November

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City News

Kraków Brainly expands to U.S. with $9M venture funding led by General Catalyst The world’s largest social learning network will open an office in New York to accelerate growth.

Krakow-based Brainly, the world’s largest social learning network designed to allow students to help each other with schoolwork, today announced that it has raised a $9 million Series A funding round led by General Catalyst Partners.

Previous and new investors, including Point Nine Capital, Learn Capital, and Runa Capital, also participated in the round. With the funding, Brainly will expand its U.S. operations and is opening an office in New York City. CEO Michal Borkowski will continue to lead the company and is hiring a U.S.-based executive team.

Adam Valkin and Nitesh Banta from General Catalyst Partners will join Brainly’s board of directors.

Founded in 2009, the investment follows Brainly’s tremendous success in its home country of Poland, which led to its expansion into 35 additional countries throughout Europe, South America, and Asia, including Russia, Indonesia, and Brazil. Each month, more than 30 million people around the globe visit Brainly’s websites to seek homework help. The company has more than doubled its user base during the past year, and today more than 8,000 questions are asked on Brainly sites each hour.

“Every student in the world eventually becomes stuck on a homework problem, causing frustration and loss of confidence,” said Michal

Borkowski, CEO of Brainly. “Our vision is to help students become unstuck by turning homework into an opportunity to inspire learning and collaboration. With this funding, we will be able to accelerate this vision by bringing new expertise to our team, reinventing the next generation of our product, and expanding Brainly to new geographies.”

“With its large and fast-growing user base, global relevance, and vision to inspire a generation of students, Brainly is building a standout community and brand in the ed-tech space,” said Nitesh Banta of General Catalyst. “They are taking a common offline behavior

– homework help and collaboration – and moving it online, achieving all the efficiencies and benefits we see in other industries and democratizing access to after-school learning.”

To use Brainly, registered users post homework questions and problems to the site, and in return, other users post answers to the questions. By helping other students answer questions, users earn points, which then allow them to ask their own questions, creating a natural cycle of help and engagement. A global volunteer team of teachers, students and education experts serve as moderators on the platform to screen questions and check answer quality on an ongoing basis.

With the new funding, Brainly will continue to focus on executing against its product roadmap to improve the features. It will also design new features that support its long-term vision to empower students to help each other learn in the most efficient way.

In addition, Brainly is growing its marketing, operations, and product teams in New York to create awareness and increase its user base.

Brainly is actively hiring for senior level positions, including VP of marketing, VP of product, and VP of user experience, as well as support roles in community and content.

Based in Krakow, with its US headquarters in New York City, Brainly receives more than 30 million visitors each month, and is currently available in 35 countries, representing 12 languages. n

Netia wins tender for VoIP services for Krakow Municipality 28

Polish operator Netia has won a tender organised by the Krakow Municipality Office for the provision of telecommunications services. The IP HD Voice service

was selected during the tender dialogue. The value of the threeyear contract is PLN 3 million.

Netia will provide services based on SIP Trunk technology and IP

HD Voice telephones. The tender participants also included Orange Poland and GTS Poland. Orange Polska had previously supplied these servies. n

November 2014

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City News

Wrocław ITQ Data Centre opened in Wroclaw The new ITQ Data Centre opened in Wroclaw on 17 September. The data centre was set up in response to a new law regarding the implementation of electronic medical records, set to go into effect in August 2017.

The ITQ Data Centre will allow hospitals and clinics to not invest

in the purchase, maintenance and preservation of their own IT systems. The centre will collect, process, archive and share patient data from all over the country. ITQ Data Centre is equipped with 512 server racks, each able to hold up to 42 servers. The centre has two

independent power lines and its own gas-powered generator, to ensure operations in case of the failure of basic systems. The total value of the investment amounted to PLN 230 million of which 85 percent was financed by the EU Operational Program Innovative Economy. n

SMT Software steps up expansion, will employ another 200 people SMT Software, one of the fastest growing IT companies in Wroclaw, has just announced its plans to employ another 200 people in its offices in Wrocław.

Testers, graduates and developers with knowledge of technologies such as Java, .NET and PHP will be employed.

“SMT Software develops at an enormous pace, not only in Poland, but also in Germany and the United Kingdom. The employment of another 200 specialists by the end of this year will enable us to meet our immediate staffing needs, but I do not rule out that this

number may be increased”, says Sebastian Łękawa, President of SMT Software.

With the increase in employment, the needs of the Wrocław company grow too; hence the move to new premises. “A few weeks ago we changed office and moved into an old renovated printing house. Now, having this very unique building entirely to ourselves, we equipped it with, among other things, a number of devices for relaxation, such as table tennis or table football, and we can provide our employees not only work on interesting projects, but also a

comfortable and modern environment” notes Łękawa.

The SMT Software team works for top brands in sectors such as banking, insurance, leasing, transport, industry, telecommunications and entertainment.

SMT Software specializes in creating custom software and systems. It also offers outsourcing of IT professionals and conducting tests and audits.

Currently, the company has a team of over 700 people deployed in 8 offices in Poland and representation in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. n

Japanese company will create a European logistics center in Wrocław The new European logistics center of the Japanese company SATO will open in Wroclaw. “All current contracts for barcode printers will be moved to Wrocław,” said representatives of the group, explaining that the new dedicated center will allow the company to optimize performance, customer service and back-office in order to ensure effective delivery across Europe.

The future logistics center, which will be the European production and service

2014 November

center for SATO in Nowa Wieś Wrocławska, will enable the company to service products and spare parts more effectively.

“The decision to open a new logistics center is connected with our commitment to offer customers the highest level of service. In contrast to the previous logistics center in Rotterdam, the location of the new center, in the heart of Europe, near the German border, will be ideal to provide European customers

with a wide range of barcode printers” highlights Makoto Hayama, Managing Director of SATO International Europe.

All current orders for barcode printers will be moved to Wrocław.

The new European logistics center will also play a key role in ensuring sale performance and improvements of its results. Among SATO’s many products that will be sent from the new logistics center is the new series of industrial printers CL4NX. n

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City News

Poznań Fitch Affirms Polish City of Poznan at ‘A-’; Outlook Stable

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Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Polish City of Poznan’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘A-’. The Outlook is Stable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS: Fitch expects the city will maintain its strong performance over the medium term and post operating margins above 13% in 2014-2016.

Fitch believes that Poznan will maintain its policy to utilise its fiscal leeway and continue with

of current revenue in 2016, from 75% at end-2013. The decrease will be driven by the completion of the city’s major investments, the lack of new investments requiring debt financing and scheduled debt repayment. In nominal terms, debt is expected to decline to PLN 1.6 billion at end-2016 (versus 2013: PLN 1.8bn). Pressure on debt may arise if the city decides to significantly increase its investment programme above

in 2014 from PLN 1.1 bn in 2013, a level of indirect risk deemed manageable due to the strong selffinancing ability of the companies.

Poznan’s diversified and wealthy economy has resulted in gross domestic product per capita at 2x the national average. Services dominate the local economy. The sector produces 73% of gross value added and employs about 77% of the local workforce. At end-July 2014, the unemployment rate was 3.5% and

efforts to expand the local tax base. Additionally, high spending flexibility should allow the city to mitigate continuing pressure on operating costs. Poznan’s capital expenditure may amount to PLN1.6bn in 2014-2016 as the city continues with its infrastructure investments, mainly in roads and public transport. The city’s self-funding capacity of investments is high with capital revenue (mainly EU grants) and the current balance covering most of the capital expenditure.

Fitch expects Poznan’s direct debt to decline to a moderate 60%

our expectations once new EU grants, under the 2014-2020 framework, become available.

Fitch forecasts that annual debt service will not exceed PLN220m in 2014-2016. The city’s operating balance should cover the principal and interest payments during this period by at least 1.8x. Poznan’s debt-to-current balance ratio (debt payback ratio) should improve to five years by end-2016 from seven years at end-2013. Fitch expects indirect risk (debt of and guarantees on companies related to Poznan) to grow to PLN 1.3 bn

the lowest among Polish cities.

RATING SENSITIVITIES: The rating could be upgraded if the city maintains its solid operating performance over the medium term with the operating margin close to 2013 levels, accompanied by contained direct debt growth and an upgrade of the sovereign rating (A-/Stable). A rating downgrade could result from sustained deterioration of the operating margin to below 9%, accompanied by continued debt growth approaching 100% of current revenue, leading to weak debt coverage ratios. n

November 2014

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City News

Tricity Making Gdańsk into the Baltic Hub A new report investigating the Port of Gdańsk’s increasing role as the container hub of the Baltic says that it must implement best practices from port giants Gothenburg and Hamburg to address its hinterland connection issues.

The Maritime Institute in Gdańsk’s (MIG) new report, Hub development perspective in the

despite Gdańsk’s success there are shortcomings it needs to address.

Top of the pile is the poor quality of its hinterland connections, particularly rail, which needs to be addressed if the port is to become a true multimodal hub for central eastern European shipments.

Urszula Kowalczyk, head of the economics and law department at

public and market strategies, produced in partnership with the EU co-financed TransBaltic Extension initiative, says that

MIG, said: “Further development of Gdańsk requires proper actions to meet economic, social and environmental goals. To make this

come true, a long-term cooperation between local, national and regional authorities is needed.”

She pointed out that many lessons can be learned from Gothenburg’s Railport Scandinavia shuttle system and from Hamburg, which places emphasis on its combined sea-rail long haul transport.

But this isn’t the only issue Gdańsk needs to address. MIG has said that logistics need to be strengthened and when it comes to port investments, the red tape needs to be reduced making it easier to attract private investment.

Since the 2007 development of Deepwater Container Terminal Gdańsk (DCT), container turnover has risen to 1.15m teu, making it the largest box terminal in the Baltic Sea so it’s important that it gets its act together.

Gdańsk has made the shortlist as one of the TEN-T core ports and it will be looking to this funding as well as support from relevant stakeholders to strengthen its offering to the market. n

Polish grain Terminal planned for Gdańsk Polish grain surplus has inspired Polish grain producers to build a grain terminal in the port of Gdansk to export grain to Arab and African countries. Poland’s annual grain production is sitting at a surplus of 4 to 8 million tonnes.

Rafal Malankiewicz, the president of the National Federation of Grain Producers, told local press that building a deepwater terminal would modernize the industry and strengthen competition between grain producers.

Malankiewicz said the federation wanted to lease warehouses and a battery of silos in the Gdansk Northern Port, which have been left unfinished since

2014 November

the 1990s. He explained that the facilities could serve as terminal for grain exports, and in low periods could handle imports of soybean meal or whole soybeans which would be processed into oil or soybean meal in Poland.

After completion, the terminal would be able to handle between 500,000 to 1 million tonnes of grain per year with prospects for further expansion.

Malankiewicz is counting on exports mainly to Arab and African countries stressing that Arab countries are currently implementing large investment projects linked with biofuel production and are interested in importing large quantities of grain from Europe.

According to the Central Statistical Office, this year’s record-high grain crop in Poland is to reach some 31.8 million tonnes (including corn, buckwheat and millet), and will be about 3.3 million tonnes (11.8 percent) higher than in 2013.

The wheat harvest is estimated to be 11.5 million tonnes (up 21 percent), triticale is to reach 5.2 million tonnes (up 21.6 percent), barley 3.3 million tons (up 11.5 percent) and rye 2.8 million tonnes (down 17.4 percent).

The export of grain and cereal products may reach 4.5 million tonnes in the 2014-2015 season, down from 5.9 million tonnes the previous season.

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City News

Katowice Katowice hosts Chinese investors from New York and Beijing On the occasion of the visit of the London Symphony Orchestra to Katowice’s new Symphony Hall, a large delegation of Chinese investors, from Beijing. Led by NewYork based entrepreneur James Lee, the wealthy, private business owners came from multiple sectors to explore investments in Poland and Katowice, ranging from real estate development to hotel development and direct portfolio investment. For most of these Chinese, who spoke only Chinese, it was their first visit to Europe.

Their tour later included visits to Vienna and Budapest, as well as one day in Warsaw.

The following companies visited, and many plan to return to Katowice for the large May European Economic Congress:

• • • • •

Lee World Group (led by James Lee) Blue Horizon Group Universal Lift Co., Ltd. Qianneng Jewelry Co., Ltd. Zhongji Asset & Wealth Management Company • World Union Fortune Club

• • • •

Huitong Accounting Firm Sichuan Sitai Energy Group Huayi Runhua Technology Co., Ltd. Beijing Tiantong Security System Co., Ltd. • Blue Horizon Group • King Brand Group n

Teleperformance to open in Katowice

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Nearly 250 people will be employed in Katowice by a new German investor from the business services sector, Teleperformance Germany.

Its subsidiary TPG will start in Katowice, providing technical and information support services.

In late October, TPG will move into offices in the building Adler located in the Katowice office complex of GPP Business Park.

The project is located in the northern part of Katowice, ul.

Konduktorska, the area included in the Katowice Special Economic Zone. Katowice become an increasingly attractive location for investment in modern business services. With the resources of modern space of over 337,000 square meters it is the largest office market of the Silesian Agglomeration, and the fifth largest in comparison to other major Polish cities, such as Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Tri-City.

It is anticipated that 2014 will be a record in terms of demand and activity of developers. “In the first half of 2014, leases were signed for 34500 sm, demonstrating that the Katowice office market is very popular among tenants”, says Anna Podolak with Jones Lang LaSalle. Til the end of 2014, the Katowice office market is expected to grow by more than 67,000 sm.

Among service centers in Katowice are the leading global brands, such as Capgemini, IBM, PwC, ING, Unilever, Ericsson and Oracle. Service centers are now one of the largest groups of tenants of offices in the cities. According to the report of Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL), thanks to an influx of new and existing companies in the sector, the demand for office space in recent years has doubled.

By comparison, in Krakow, the BPO/outsourcing industry

accounts for 50 per cent of the total number of tenants in the city. On the other hand, in Gdansk the BPO/SSC sector leases about 250,000 square meters. Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that all modern services centers operating in Poland occupy an area of over 1.1 million square meters, which is comparable to the total supply of modern offices in the Mokotów district.

According to the Managing Director of Infosys BPO Europe, Krystian Bestry, the current trend of rapid growth in the modern sector of business services is set to continue in the coming years. “Contracts signed by the service centers are long-term, and it provides a stable level of employment in the long term”, says Bestry. It is expected that at the end of this year, employment in the industry will exceed 140,000 people. n

November 2014

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City News

Eastern Poland A4 motorway Rzeszow – Polish western border ready The 35 km highway Debica - Tarnow is the last stretch to be completed, which now connects Rzeszow “to the world”. With the new connection, the travel time from Rzeszow to Krakow is just 1.5 hours.

The first driver sped away from Rzeszow to Krakow in late October. The connection of A4 Tarnów- Debica runs through the Malopolskie and the Subcarpathian Province. “By comparison, the entire length of the A4 from Korczowa to the border with Germany is currently 612 kilometers. To be completely happy, we need to complete the section from Rzeszow east to Yaroslavl. It is 41 km. Contractors Budimex and Heilit Woerner, which won the tender, are working on its completion. Unofficially, the contractor suggested completion date of this section at the end of 2015, according to Bartosz Wyscoki from Rzeszow GDDKiA. Then the A4 will run through the entire southern Poland from the east to the western boundary and will be 653 km.

Rynasiewicz said: “Congratulations to all who were involved in the construction of this, you have managed to do what we expected and ahead of schedule. Carpathian is now available to all motorways and highways in Poland.”

Asked about the planned tolls for the motorway: “Discussion on toll collection systems continuess. Fees will come only when the collection system will be adopted. And it is one that will be accepted by everyone, because we’re talking about electronics. Definitely, we will place the heaviest levy on trucks. For now, I can not define terms.”

Today, while driving from Rzeszow to Zgorzelec, toll charges total 34 zł.

5 bridges, 20 viaducts…

The construction of this dedicated section of the A4 Debica

– Tarnow, supervised by GDDKiA Krakow, and built by a consortium of companies Heilit - Woerner Construction and Budimex, was completed eight days before the scheduled date. It was, however, the second due date.

Originally the highway between Dębica and Tarnow was due to open in August, 2012. However, the previous contractor consortium of Hydrobudowa Poland, SIAC Construction Ltd, PBG and APRIVIA failed to complete the task. The new contractor took 18 months to complete the task. And it was not easy because of the need to fix the mistakes made by their predecessors.

Budimex and Heilit have built here two motorway junctions, 5 bridges, viaducts over 9 highways, 11 overpasses over the highway, 3 animal crossings, and overpasses and pedestrian crossings. This is needed because one of the cities was divided by the highway into two parts.

Construction of the nearly 1 billion pln An Airport Road section, designed for military aircraft, was built in the middle of the A4 between Tarnów and Dębica. The belt is over 3 km in length. It is not divided, like all fixed highway barriers.

All lanes are combined into one with a width of 36 meters. Drivers can now use the highway, but the contractor still has some work to complete. n

Tolls and payments The official opening of the A4 from Tarnow to Debica was held at the node Tarnow North.

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Development Zbigniew

Greeks interested in Polish food Will Greece open for Polish products, including food from Poland?

The promotion of food and looking for new markets by exporters from Lubuskie province is the main goal of the study visit of a Polish delegation to Greece.

2014 November

So far, Western European countries have been main trade partners of Greece. However, now Polish exporters mostly represented by the food industry are intensifying researching new markets for their products. Also Greeks who suffer due to economic crisis are looking for new suppliers offering

competitive prices. There are other opportunities to develop bilateral trade, especially for the Polish furniture sector which can equipm hotels in Greece.

The visit study was arranged by the Marshal Office in Lubuskie in cooperation with the Investment Promotion Section in Athens. n

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City News

Szczecin Translucent spires form Barozzi Veiga’s Szczecin philharmonic The new Philharmonic House has its location in the city center at the crossroad of Malopolska and Matejki Streets.

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The building was designed

by Barozzi Veiga Studio from Barcelona and it was awarded the first prize at the international architectural competition. Its shape connects to Szczecin city landscape and the very near scenery with many buildings of dropping roofs, church towers and other public constructions. The elevation style emphasizes its vertical lines and slender mass. The building will be an architectural icon of the city and its significant promotion part. The main assignment of the new House is to perform symphonic music. There are two concert halls: the symphonic hall

for 951 and chamber hall for 192 visitors. The main entrance is located at Malopolska Street and leads to the representative foyer with a height of three storeys. In the space of the entrance foyer

The building contains two concert halls conceived of as two suspended boxes forming in between them a large open lobby lit by skylights. The 951seat symphonic hall and 195-seat

beneath the chamber hall there is located a café too.

Barcelona-based estudio barozzi veiga celebrates the recent opening of the city’s new philharmonic, with the following description: “The massive building responds to traditional local architecture with vertical proportions and steep pitches as well as the nearby industrial influence with its sheer scale. The entire exterior is wrapped in translucent glass and sits as an obvious contrast to the immediate surroundings in order to become a reference point in the area and a symbol of the city’s transitional nature.

chamber hall are built entirely of concrete for optimum acoustic isolation and light control. A central staircase forms an experiential promenade connecting all the functions and terminating into a large multifunctional space. The iconic double-skin system of the shell also serves several important purposes.

The two layers create a uniform look across all facades, providing a constant glow of diffused natural light.

The air space between the membranes is naturally ventilated to filter out heat and control interior temperatures.” n

November 2014

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City News

AIP Business Link Szczecin officially opens AIP Business Link has chosen for its headquarters the building Lastadia Office. Ultimately, the Szczecin branch of the company has plans to support the development of 120 innovative startups.

October’s regional conference is the official inauguration of the AIP Business Link Szczecin, which is one of the 8 locations of innovative business development accelerator.

AIP Business Link will be opened also in Warsaw, Kraków, Tricity, Poznan, Wroclaw, Torun, and Katowice.

Konrad Gawel, Manager at Business Link Szczecin, said Business Link also provides something unique.

According to Gawel: “Here in one area people will meet with ideas for business startups, working on innovative projects and investors, and all thanks to the business community that is working together to create unique value. Add to this the biggest brands in support of startups, and we believe we will create the best program for “acceleration” in our region. I believe that Business Link will become a real reservoir

of talent and business for Szczecin startups, working on global success.”

Business Link aims to accomplish its mission using different types of tools. One of the fundamental and at the same time the most interesting is a cycle of Business Mixers, which provides startups with networking capabilities.

The conference was officially opened by PARP President Dariusz Zuk. The special guest was Maciej “Business Guru” Kawalski, of the KSW Federation, Europe’s largest Mixed Martial Arts Federation.

Special guests talked about their business experience and practical aspects of the operation of businesses within the AIP Business Link and also answered questions from the audience guests.

The regional conference opening the AIP Business Link Szczecin “Business Mixer” is part of the project OP IE 5.2 “Road to Entrepreneurial Polish” co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund. n

FDI Poland Investor Awards Gala 2015

A Black-tie Awards Gala and Forum recognizing top Foreign Direct Investors in Poland.

15 October 2015, Warsaw, Hotel Intercontinetal

www.fdipolandawards.pl/ 2014 November

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Austria Austrian business delegation to visit Southern Poland – 1012 December 2014 A business delegation from Austria will explore the growth markets of Southern Poland at the beginning of December. The trade mission will bring Austrian companies

to the cities of Krakow, Katowice and Zabrze, where meetings will be held with representatives from regional authorities and chambers of commerce as well as Polish companies and Austrian subsidiaries. Austria not only shares close cultural and historical ties with

Southern Poland, but the region also attracts most of its bilateral trade and investment. For more information please contact: Mr. Stefan Stantejsky, Commercial Attaché at the Austrian Embassy – Commercial Section; www. advantageaustria.org/pl n

Belgium Belgian Days begin in mid-November 15.11.2014 til 03.12.2014 Location: Warsaw and Wroclaw The Belgian Business Chamber has a pleasure to invite you to 16th edition of the annual Belgian Days. This year the events will be held in Warsaw and Wroclaw. As the programme of events includes many different meetings

with both a cultural and business dimension, the Belgian Days serve a unique opportunity to strengthen Polish-Belgian relations. Among many events which will be organised during Belgian Days 2014 are Mussels & Fries with a Belgian Chef, PolishBelgian Mural - Unveiling, Francis Alys Exhibition - Curator’s Tour, Belgian Beer Workshops, Belgian

Chocolate Workshops, Belgian Beer and Chocolate Evening, CEO Forum, Polish -Belgian Concert, Belgian - Polish Walk with a guide, Announcement of the result of the “Belgian Comic Book Heroes” art contest, Belgian Brunch, and Belgian Film Festival.

For more information visit http://belgium.pl

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France

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Warsaw Debates: Is Europe going to join the digital revolution ?

The second edition of the Warsaw Debates will be organized on November 15th by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland (CCIFP). The purpose of the Warsaw Debates is to create a space for free dialogue between Polish and French representatives of the world of business, politics, science and culture.

On November 15th, invited guests will be discussing at the Royal Castle in Warsaw the impact of digital technologies on the economy. Among them, François Fillon, former Prime Minister of France, Jacques Attali, economist, former advisor to President Mitterrand, Janusz Piechociński, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, and Andrzej Halicki, Minister of Administration and Digitization.

Finding the answer to the above-question seems to be a necessity today. We stand at the threshold of a new era. Digital

technology is omnipresent in our lives and continually affects all aspects of our everyday life.

Business and the classic company model are also subject to significant changes, becoming a serious challenge for the whole society. Digitization occupies a very important place in the public debate in France. We decided, therefore, that it would be good idea to create a similar dialogue in Poland, to be able to compare the points of view of both countries - says Monika Constant, General Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland.

Development of new technologies is a major challenge for European countries. Coser cooperation in order to compete with the American and Asian giants lies in their interest. Will Europe be able to join the digital revolution and become a leader in innovation?

Should large companies with a long tradition be the driving force of change, or should this role be taken rather by start-ups, which in

a short period of time could take the place of the current leaders?

Guests and digitization experts invited by the CCIFP will try to find the answers to these questions.

VIP speakers include: François Fillon, Prime Minister of France between 2007 and 2012, Jacques Attali, economist, writer, former President of the EBRD and advisor to President Mitterand, as well as Gervais Pelissier, Deputy General Director of the Orange Group, in charge of European operations, will arrive in Poland. Among those invited to discuss, Janusz Piechociński, Minister of Economy, Andrzej Halicki, Minister of Digitization and Administration, Grzegorz Schetyna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michał Boni, former Minister of Digitization, professor Witold Orłowski, professor Andrzej Krzysztof Koźmiński.

The Warsaw Debates will also be a place for sharing experience between Polish and French start-ups which will be largely represented at the event. The

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Chamber of Commerce News

Warsaw Debates are inspired by the French “Entretiens de Royaumont,” since 10 years one of the most important intellectual and political events in France. Their goal is to enable an open dialogue at the highest level between representatives of different circles. Last September,

the “Entretiens de Royaumont” took also place in Madrid.

The first edition of the Warsaw Debates took place on November 16th, 2013 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, its topic was “Redefining Europe”. The event was attended by over 200 participants and almost 30 speakers. Five discussion

panels dealt with the European economy, social issues and the future of the Old Continent.

The full program of the 2014 Warsaw Debates and information on this year’s speakers at the website http://spotkaniawarszawskie. pl/. n

Germany Chances for Polish companies in North RhinelandWestphalia (B2B workshop) Date: Thursday, 13th November 2014 Location: Business Conference Centre VITKAC, Bracka street 9 (5-th floor), Warsaw.

NRW conference has been organized

by North Rhineland-Westphalia representatives and it is going to be a platform of experiences exchange between Polish and German companies and institutions related to innovation solutions (branches: machine, automation, advanced materials and IT systems) . The conference

presents excellent opportunity to establish cooperation with North Rhineland-Westphalia and to get to know its demanding market. It will also provide information on financing of R&D activities and support offered by German clusters. Time for B2B talks with companies from NRW region. n

Gulf States RCCI to discuss investment scope with Poland mission The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) will host a meeting bringing together a visiting Polish trade mission representing a group of companies working in the field of furniture products with their Saudi counterparts in early November.

They will discuss the investment opportunity in the field of the furniture industry and ways to find outlets for Polish products in Saudi markets. The Polish companies are primarily engaged in the field of tables and modern chairs industry, wood flooring, bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, children’s rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, shops, office furniture,

solid wood furniture, hotel furniture, cloth cabinets and shelves.

The delegation’s visit comes in the framework of the RCCI’s efforts to promote commercial and industrial ties between Saudi businessmen and their counterparts in Poland taking advantage of investment opportunities and strengthening trade relations to serve common interests. n

Italy New Council of the Italian Chamber with the major Italian companies in Poland The most important Italian companies in Poland such as Brembo, Ferrero, Salini-Impregilo, Intesa San Paolo, Partnerspol, Indesit, Frubella, Arix and Bitron have become members of the Council of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland (CCIIP) and they will have a significant impact on internal affairs of the Chamber.

The Council of the Chamber was introduced to the Statute of the Italian Chamber of Commerce

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and Industry in Poland - on the proposal of the current Board - in order to create a consultative body which can consist of 13 members. The Council’s members are selected from the most important Italian companies associated at the Chamber that have excelled in Poland. The Council of the Chamber is elected for two years, as well as the Board.

At the Board meeting and the General Meeting of Members of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland that took place on October 9th 2014 in Katowice,

the following candidates were nominated for the first term of the Council of the Chamber: Enrico Bologna â Brembo Poland Sp. z o. o.; Enrico Bottero - Commercial Ferrero Poland Sp. z o. o.; Silvio Brignone - Bitron Poland Sp. z o. o.; Umberto Magrini - Partnerspol Group Sp. z o. o.; Michele Melegari - Arix Poland Sp. z o. o.; Paweł Piłatkowski - Intesa San Paolo SpA in Poland; Fabio Pommella Indesit Company Poland Sp. z o. o.; Giorgio Provvidenza - Salini Polska Sp. z o. o.; Alessandro Sappa - Frubella Processing Sp. z

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Chamber of Commerce News o. o. All candidates for the Council of the Chamber accepted positions and they will choose the chairman on the next meeting.

The representativeness of the Council of the Chamber and an extraordinary personality of its members will be a crucial support to the Board in achieving the

objectives of the program and the consolidation of the Association.

In the past nine months 34 new companies joined the Chamber and the total number of members increased to 101. It is a tangible sign of the renewed interest of the Community of Italian companies in the activities and services of the

Italian Chamber. Mr. Piero Cannas, president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland, participated at the annual World Convention of Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad organised

by Assocamerestero and held in Ancona from 18th to 21st October 2014. n

Ireland New Management Board of Irish Chamber of Commerce In October, a new Management Board of the Irish Chamber of Commerce was appointed:

Mark Lowry – Chairman; Kenny Morgan – Treasurer; Beata Janota - Board Member; Matthew O’Shaughnessy – Board Member. n

Japan Poland jumps to the front as destination for Japanese manufacturing in Europe “First of all, the Japanese investors we interviewed rate Poland highly, with the Polish labour force typically mentioned as a key advantage. A second key consideration of many Japanese investors is the promising business climate and special economic zones”, according to the authors of KPMG’s report “Poland’s Position as a Business Partner for Japan”.

Japan is the world’s secondlargest economy among developed nations. According to the OECD, between 2000 and 2012, Japanese investment stock in Poland increased nine-fold to approximately USD 1.4bn in 2012.

Poland has jumped to the forefront as one of the prime destinations for Japanese manufacturing firms in Europe. Whereas the number of affiliates in Western Europe was stagnant or decreased between 2005 and 2010, this number rose

by 48% in Poland in that period to reach fifth place in Europe. In terms of growth potential, the most attractive sectors for the Japanese investor include energy and mining, agriculture, food, chemicals, healthcare and financial services.

The report “Poland’s Position as a Business Partner for Japan” has been prepared among senior management (senior execs) of Japanese companies doing business in Poland.

n (Source: KPMG)

Korea

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Poland and Korea - two decades of investment cooperation “We are ready to help and support our Korean partners”, said PAIiIZ president, Sławomir Majman during Polish-Korean Business Forum that took place in Warsaw on the last day of September. The meeting was officially opened by deputy prime minister Janusz Piechociński.

“Poland needs a more advanced partnership with South Korea”, argued deputy prime minister Janusz Piechociński.

The discussion during the Forum focused on cooperation in the environmental protection sector. “Korean capital has played a very significant role in Poland.

In 2014, both countries celebrate 25th anniversary of establishing Polish-Korean economic and diplomatic relations. “Currently, about 120 Korean companies operate in the Polish market”, said deputy president of the Korean investment agency, KOTRA Kim, Seong Soo. Now, Korean companies employ 20,000 people in Poland and our country is the seventh Korean investment direction in

the European Union. Poland is crucial for Korea due to its location in the centre of Europe. “We see great opportunities for Korean business: diversification, extension of scale of business sectors in such areas as: R&D, pharmacy, infrastructure or centres of modern business services. We are ready to assist and support our Korean partners”, argued PAIiIZ president Sławomir Majman.

Currently PAIiIZ is supporting 6 Korean investment projects with total value of Euro 112 million, which in future will create 1382 new jobs n

November 2014

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Chamber of Commerce News

Portugal Portuguese business mission to Poland For Portuguese companies operating in food, water management and IT sectors, Poland is an attractive business partner, argued director of PAIiIZ Foreign Investment Department, Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik, during the meeting on 13 October.

Delegation from Portugal came to Poland to look for new business partners. The meeting on investment opportunities

in Poland was attended by 14 companies from Portugal – and jointly arranged by PAIiIZ and the International Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIEP) and Polish - Portuguese Chamber of Commerce. The programme of visit also included meetings with the representatives of such companies as Biedronka, Eurocash, Żabka, Alma S.A., Orlen S.A., and Konsalnet.

Currently, economy of Portugal is entering the path of growth due

to the increase of both - domestic and foreign demand. The experts of the Bank of Portugal and the European Commission expect that in 2014, due to the stronger impact of foreign demand, Portuguese GDP will grow by 1,2%. According to Polish Central Statistical Office, the estimation of trade turnover between Poland and Portugal in 2013, is expected to improve by 6% y/y. The value of exports from Poland in 2013 went up by 6% comparing to 2012. n

Scandinavia Oslo Innovation Week with Polish participants Eight Pomeranian companies participated in the ITC sector mission to Norway. On 15 October Oslo held a seminar and networking meeting entitled: Poland-NorwayLet’s create the innovative bridge!

The aim of the mission was to present Polish and Norwegian potential in the ICT industry as well as establish cooperation regarding R&D. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Oslo Innovation Week - the biggest annual seminar of innovation in Europe.

The participants of the Polish mission to Norway paid a visit to local technology parks and R&D centres located in Akershus region. Since many years, Pomorskie province has been cooperating with Akershus in terms of economic cooperation and exchange of experience in new technologies, R&D as well in environmental protection.

The meeting was arranged by the Pomeranian Regional Development Agency in cooperation Norwegian-Polish Chamber of Commerce.

Investor from Norway in Słupsk SEZ Nowary-based Tritec Polska will open an office in Rędzikowo subzone of Słupsk SEZ. Tritec is a producer of metal construction for maritime and offshore sector. This is the next investment of the company as Tritec Polska is operating in the zone since 2002. Such companies as AJ Fabryka Mebli from Sweden and TG-Dnalop from Canada has already invested in Rędziokwo subzone. In the nearest future Euroledlighting - a producer of led lightening and BranQ company will open business there. n

Slovakia Slovak Export Forum – 13 November The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) welcomes all to take part in Export Forum 2014 that will be arrange on 13 November in Bratislava. This year the Partners of the Export

Forum 2014 are the Visegrad region (V4) and Austria. On July 1, 2014 the Slovak Republic took over the one-year presidency of the V4.

The Export Forum 2014 is the largest event organized by SARIO. It gives SMEs a unique opportunity to find business opportunities

abroad and penetrate the global market. The event focuses on B2B talks especially in automotive, engineering, energy and ICT sectors.

More information: www.sario.sk/ en/events-projects/export-forum2014-v4-countries-austria. n

United States Polish-American Innovation Week in California Polish-American Innovation Week (PAIW) will take place in Los

2014 November

Angeles, San Francisco and Palo Alto November 16 -21, 2014. The week-long series of events is an excellent opportunity to get to

know products, ideas and achievements in technologically-advanced economic sectors of the largest partner of the US in Central and

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Chamber of Commerce News Eastern Europe. There are plenty of ready-made solutions in Poland waiting for commercialization.

Approximately 200 representatives of Polish companies and institutions from innovative sectors, together with the Polish government delegation, will participate in Polish-American Innovation Week. A number of meetings, events and discussions devoted to the Polish-American co-operation in the innovation and R&D sectors will be held in all three locations.

Registration for the events is now open www.paiw.pl/en/zglos 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the Polish-American economic co-operation. Poland has enjoyed a quarter-of-acentury of freedom and Polish American Innovation Week coincides with the 25th anniversary of social and economic transformations in Poland.

Over that time Poland has become the largest beneficiary of American investments in the region. Among others, the R&D sector is an important element of this bilateral co-operation.

One in every three businesses and R&D centers with foreign capital in Poland is American.

There are many reasons American capital and investors are attracted to this part of the world: • The Polish economy has continued to develop.

• Poland is the only EU member state that has avoided recession in recent years.

• Poland has regularly topped the list of the most rapidly growing European states, consistently building its strong position in

the EU. Its leading role in the EU can be evidenced by the appointment of Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, as the President of the European Council.

• Poland has a large and dynamically growing internal market with significant growth potential that guarantees a fast ROI rate.

• As the largest country in the Central and Eastern Europe, Poland provides an excellent point of entry into the markets of the entire region.

The availability of funds for the development of innovation in Poland is also a factor. Poland is the largest beneficiary of EU funds. In 2014-2020 approximately EUR 10 billion will be spent on the Smart Growth Operating Program alone - the purpose of this program is to support innovative and R&D projects.

In the 2007-2013 programing period Poland proved that it is capable of absorbing effectively EU funds and became a European leader in that area. Among other things, the establishment of 17 scientific and technological parks was financed with EU funds.

Public expenditure on R&D is increasing year-over-year – from 11,69 bln PLN in 2001 to 14,35 bln PLN in 2012 (23% increase) – which represents 0,9% of Polish GDP. Although this level can be seen as insufficient, investment in R&D in Poland is growing rapidly.

Poland currently ranks 4th in the EU in terms of growth rate.

US companies have been investing in Poland for many years.

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About Polish –American Innovation Week: In June 2014 in Warsaw the Secretary of State John Kerry and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed “The innovation program framework between the United States of America and the Republic of Poland”. As part of PolishAmerican Innovation Week the first meeting of the Polish-American Innovation Council is scheduled to be held in California.

The PAIW agenda includes, among other things, the Polish-American Forum of Innovativeness, political and business meetings dedicated to innovations, a conference on opportunities for co-operation between Poland and the US as well as the presentation of products and services of Polish companies and B2B meetings.

Detailed information about the Polish-American Innovation Week can be found at www.paiw.pl/en/.

We also encourage you to follow the event’s profile on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com and to register using the form: www.paiw.pl/en/zglos.

However, there is considerable potential for bilateral potential in the areas of, inter alia, innovations and the R&D sector.

Poland can boast of its attractive and innovative business offerings in industries such as ICT, clean tech, life sciences, creative industries, modern financial services and many more.

During the coming PolishAmerican Innovation Week Polish companies operating in those industries intend to present convincing opportunities to potential American partners. It will be a unique chance for American companies to get to know interesting solutions and innovative ideas straight from Poland and to establish valuable business relationships. n

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Events

Łódź Economic Forum breaks attendance record The two-day European Economic Forum - Lodz (EGF-Lodz) featured dozens of meetings and discussions, plenary sessions, panel discussions, many B2B business meetings, and nearly 2,500 registered participants.

The theme of this year's edition of the Forum was energy and renewable energy sources, featuring innovative energy solutions and legislative issues around renewable energy. Discussions were also held about energy security and electric mobility (Smart City). The dialogue was attended by many authorities in the energy industry, not only in Poland but across Europe. EGF attraced VIP guests such as Olgierd Dziekoński, Secretary of State in

2014 November

the Chancellery of the President and the Ruta Baltause, Member of the General Directorate of the European Commission.

The European Economic Forum -Lodz has traditionally been an opportunity to meet many eminent personalities from the business world. EGF was officially inaugurated by the Marshal of Lodz, Witold Stepien. His lecture

was delivered by Prof. too. Witold Orlowski, who spoke on a very current topic today - "Does the situation in Ukraine affects the prospects of the Polish and European economy?". Dariusz Rosati focused on presenting a summary on the Polish and European economy.

The organizer of EFD, the Marshal's Office of the Lodzkie Region, focused on the sectors that are a priority for the Lodz Region including innovative

textiles and fashion industry; innovative agriculture and food processing; medicine; pharmacy; cosmetics; and BPO and IT / ICT. A very important element of EGF were also meetings with foreign delegations, representatives of business and institutions from Bulgaria, Belarus, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia and the UAE. During the Forum, a new topic, "Lodz promotes Start ups", was the subject of debate among entrepreneurs, and the issues of raising capital and launch of international expansion. Marek Borzestowski, founder of the first Polish Internet portal WP, spoke of his experiences.

The Gala also honored a very important anniversary for the Lodz Region – the 95th anniversary of its existence.

The closing event of the first day of the Forum was the Gala, traditionally connected with the awarding of prizes for the Lodz region. This year's winners of the XI edition of NGWŁ were: • Master Pharm Polska Sp. z o. o. – Łódź - MicroEnterprise category • BRITISH CENTRE B. Ziemniewicz, M. Mikuś – Small Enterprise category • Constantia Teich Poland Sp. z o. o. – Rogowiec and Pabianicka Fabryka Narzędzi PAFANA S.A. – Pabianice - Medium-size Enterprise category • PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna S.A. – Bełchatów - Large Enterprise category.

• Gospodarstwo Rolne Państwa Jadwigi i Grzegorza Kurp położone w miejscowości Ciołki, gm. - Family Agricultural Enterprise category • Ośrodek Hodowli Zarodowej DĘBOŁĘKA Sp. z o. o. – Dębołęka – Agricultural Enterprise • Izodom 2000 Polska Sp. z o. o.

– Zduńska Wola – Innovation category. n

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Events

11th edition of Fashion Philosophy Fashion Week Poland Born back in 2009, FashionPhilosophy Fashion Week Poland, held from October 22nd – 26th in Lodz, is the biggest fashion event in Poland. It takes place twice a year introducing fall/winter trends during the spring edition and those for spring/summer during the fall one.

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Twice a year Lodz becomes the Polish capital of fashion. The main events during the 11th edition took place in Expo Lodz, Monopolis and the Lodz’s Centre of Promotion.

Fashion Week is not only the series of shows on the highest level but also a platform combining young creators with those well-known.

During FashionPhilosophy’s previous editions visitors had the opportunity to admire new creations from established Polish designers like Dawid Tomaszewski, MMC, Joanna Klimas, Lukasz Jemiol, Michal Szulc, Kesia Lecka and Natalia Jaroszweska, not to mention international guests such as Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Gaspard Yurkievich, Custo Barcelona, George Charka, On Aura Vu Tout, Nuno Gama and Miguel Vieira. In addition to all that, this year’s edition featured new spaces dedicated to the most avant-garde collection (OFF Out Of Schedule), upcoming talents (Studio) and talented young photographers (Young Fashion Photographers Now).

Fashion Week Poland also offers a wide choice of collateral events forming a platform able to facilitate new contacts and the exchange of experiences among designers, reporters, buyers, critics, stylists and photographers representing companies and fashion addicts from all over the world. Uniting Polish

designers and important international guests, Designer Avenue represents the cornerstone of the project. Approximately 30 collections were introduced during the 5 days of the show, each one appearing on the catwalk in front of 1500 excited spectators.

During this fall edition, the designers presented trends for spring/summer 2015, bound by contracts with foreign Fashion Weeks, the guests have the opportunity to see the collections of creators from Moda Lisboa – Lisboa Fashion Week,

Serbia Fashion Week, Showfloor Berlin and Fashion Clash. The schedule based on three main segments: Designer Avenue, OFF Out of Schedule and STUDIO. Designer Avenue are the premiere shows of the exclusive prêt-à-porter collections of the best polish creators and special foreign guests.

On the fall OFF Out Of Schedule collections were shown

by Paulina Ptashnik, Acephala, The Puppies, Baiba Ladiga, Romana, ZWYRD, Monika Gromadzińska and Kas Kryst. n

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Events

BPCC Ball bounces for the 22nd time The BPCC’s Annual Ball, held this year for the 22nd time, was a swinging event at which over 200 guests enjoyed an evening of fun.

Guests included the British Ambassador to Poland, Robin Barnett, and the Polish Ambassador to the UK, Witold Sobków. Chairman of the BPCC, Antoni Reczek, and CEO, Paweł Siwecki took care

of the introductions, while a kilted Martyn O’Reilly MC’d the event, as well as running the whisky-tasting.

The highlight of the event was a live performance by Polish jazz legend, Urszula Dudziak, in amazing physical and vocal form that had the audience gasping with surprise when she revealed her age - 71. For many guests, the chance to see and hear Ms Dudziak on stage was the memorable highlight of the evening. Her charity activity, which promotes opportunities for talented female students from

Kenya and Tanzania in partnership with the International Labour Organisation, was enriched to the tune of nearly 10,000 złotys from the night’s charity auction and prize lottery.

A high-quality dinner menu delighted the guests, while live band 36i6 had the dance floor packed till the wee hours.

The BPCC would like to thank the Partners, HSBC Bank Polska S.A., Provident Polska S.A. and JLR Centrum as well as the generous donors of auction and lottery items. n

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