WBJ #41 2013

Indian summer

New amber road

WBJ sits down with India’s ambassador to Poland to discuss bilateral relations and the role emerging economies play on the global stage

Poland may receive €4.3 billion for developing two EU transport corridors

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WWW.WBJ.PL

8-9

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 41 • OCTOBER 21-27, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

Growth guaranteed “Poland’s economy will definitely pick up in the coming months,” says Jan Bielecki, economic advisor to the prime minister, in an exclusive interview with WBJ 12-13

Investments awarded Warsaw Business Journal’s Investment of the Year awards will be handed out at a gala event this week 14

Plus: • PKP Cargo lay-offs • Inflation underwhelms • Another MP to leave PO • PGE eyes German plants • Ministry of Economy hacked

Recall rejected

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . .10 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13 Investing in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .16-18 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sports & Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

ADAM GUZ/REPORTER

In this issue

Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz keeps her post, and the opposition starts playing the blame game 3

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

Who will lead Poland’s national team?

words, the new man in charge of the national team should be Polish (but not necessarily), experienced but also hungry for success, respected by his players, and have good communications skills. All combined, it’s nearly impossible to find anyone who meets all the criteria.

Pundits and experts have their own favorites, but all of the Polish coaches out there have their own drawbacks. One name surfaces the most howev-

Jacek Ciesnowski

Econ Ministry adopts nuclear program

Odessa-Brody pipeline extension The European Commission has included the Adamowo-Brody pipeline, an extension of the existing Odessa-Brody crude-oil pipeline, on its list of projects of common energy interests. The OdessaBrody pipeline could be used to transport Caspian Sea crude oil to Central and Eastern Europe. ●

z∏.500 million is the approximate value of the Treasury's stake in chemical group Ciech that may be sold this year.

1.0% was the CPI inflation rate in Poland in September, meaning prices grew at a slightly slower rate than had been expected.

Quote of the Week “My daughter generally does not listen to me, especially in financial matters. But I will advise her ... to choose ZUS.” Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski in a radio interview with RMF FM when asked what advice he would give to his daughter in view of the future choice between private pension funds and state-managed ZUS.

Figures in focus Going green?

Share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy in selected EU member states (in %) 50 40

On WBJ.pl

Poland’s Economy Ministry has adopted the Polish Nuclear Energy Program. The document will now be sent to other ministries for their opinion. According to the schedule included in the program, the government should approve it by the end of this year. The site for the nuclear plant is expected to be chosen by the end of 2016, while the technical design and all permits should be ready in 2018. The first nuclear power unit is set to be built and launched between 2019 and 2024.

3.6% was the y/y growth of salaries in Poland in September, higher than analysts had forecast.

Toxic avengers

20

Richard Weitz, director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute, takes an indepth look at this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – its past, present and future. Log on to WBJ.pl to read Mr Weitz’s analysis.

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Calendar

October/November

Location: Web:

Since 2005, interesting lectures, exciting case studies, recognized experts and worldrenowned speakers have been attracting the attendance of many CEOs, executive board members, directors and HR specialists. The HR Congress is undoubtedly the biggest event for the sector in Poland.

Warsaw Marriott Hotel hrcongress.eu

OCT 22 – NOV 15

Web:

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INVESTING IN POLAND GALA

Event:

The Investing in Poland 2014 competition, organized by WBJ together with the leading chambers of commerce and industry, will award the Investments of the Year. This year the competition is divided into three categories: small, medium-sized and large invest-

Location:

Source: Eurostat

Company index APA Hubka ..............................................................16

MWM Architekci ......................................................16

AstraZeneca Pharma Poland..................................14

Location: Web:

ments. The winners have been selected by a jury comprised of well-known representatives of the Polish business and investment scene.

Amber Room Restaurant, Warsaw WBJ.pl

23-24 OFFICE BUILDINGS IN POLAND CONFERENCE Event:

BELGIAN DAYS

The Belgian Days are organized by the Belgian Business Chamber together with the Embassy of Belgium in Warsaw and the Economic Representations of Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia. They will feature both cultural and business events in two Polish cities.

Warsaw and Poznaƒ belgium.pl

Event:

0

Allianz Real Estate ..................................................17 Metro Properties......................................................18

21-22 HR CONGRESS & EXPO Event:

*highest in EU **lowest in EU

30

**

A disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign (see story p.23) has ended with the Polish national team in search of a new manager. Waldemar Fornalik has been fired and Polish FA president Zbigniew Boniek will need to fill his post. Mr Boniek announced last week that he has already made a decision, and will reveal the name of the new manager within the next couple of weeks.

Judging by Mr Boniek’s

was the official turnout at the recall vote for Warsaw mayor, which took place on October 13.

lta

Zbigniew Boniek

er: Adam Nawa∏ka, the coach of Górnik Zabrze.

Mr Nawa∏ka is respected by his peers for pushing his team, which comprises mostly mediocre players and is marred by financial problems, to the limit. While he has yet to win any trophy with Górnik Zabrze, the team usually finishes the season in a far better position than had been expected.

But what works for the provincial side might not work for the national team.

Mr Nawa∏ka’s biggest shortcoming would be his personality and communication skills.

He rarely gives interviews, and he doesn’t like his players giving them either. He’s known for his short temper and peremptory personality. His training sessions are meticulously detailed; even the water breaks are planned down to the second.

However, what may work in a club with young players who don’t know any better likely will not work for big-star celebrities playing for top European teams. It’s hard to imagine Mr Nawa∏ka screaming at the top of his lungs at Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski for missing a shot. It would be more likely to result in ridicule than respect.

25.66%

Ma

PL.2012+, the operator of the National Stadium in Warsaw, officially began searching for a namingrights sponsor for the stadium last week, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported. The company expects some z∏.13 million annual revenue from such a sponsor. The naming rights contract will be signed for at least five years.

Numbers in the News

n* Au str ia Ro ma nia Sp ain Ge rm an y Po la nd Hu ng ar y Ne the r lan Un ds ite dK ing do m

National Stadium naming rights

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ed e

The Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Environment want to implement new regulations imposing fines on companies deemed to be carrying out their shale gas extraction projects too slowly. Deputy Minister of Environment Piotr Woêniak told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, “Out of the three extraction sites I visited recently, not one had extracted the core yet.” Core extraction is necessary for determining the presence of shale gas and the potential size of the deposit.

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Sw

Fines for sluggish shale exploration?

COURTESY OF FLICKR/DRABIKPANY

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Location: Web:

The largest and most prestigious meeting for office-space market representatives in Poland. Speakers, debate moderators, and panelists include journalists, industry experts and representatives of key players in the Polish office space market.

Warsaw Marriott Hotel konferencje.nowyadres.pl/en/office-buildings-in-poland

24-25 BUSINESS SECURITY CONFERENCE Event:

Location: Web:

This year’s conference will address illegal business practices such as money laundering, smuggling and counterfeit products.

Experts from all over Europe will meet and share their experiences. This year’s special guest will be a representative from Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.

Lord Hotel, Warsaw sas-ma.org/eng/

Atrium European Real Estate ................................18

Noble Securities ......................................................19

Auchan ....................................................................18 Nordea ....................................................................10 Bank of America ......................................................19 Open Finance ..........................................................16 Bank Pekao..............................................................12 Orange Polska ........................................................21 BBI Development ....................................................18 BGK ......................................................................6, 16 Pekao Bank Hipoteczny ............................................7 Bimbo ......................................................................11 PGE ............................................................................6 BNP Paribas ............................................................18 PKN Orlen ................................................................21 Bohemia Motors ......................................................14 Boxelder ..................................................................16 PKO BP ..................................................................6, 7 BRE Hipoteczny ........................................................7 PKP Cargo ................................................................7 Budimex ..................................................................16 PL.2012+ ....................................................................2 BZ WBK ..............................................................10, 16 Capital Park ............................................................17 Polimex-Mostostal ..................................................16 Cemex ......................................................................11 Polish Airports ........................................................17 Ciech ......................................................................2, 6 Polskie Inwestycje Rozwojowe..................................6 CMS Cameron McKenna ........................................16 Coyote Polska ..........................................................14 PwC ....................................................................14, 16 Cream Caelum Real Estate Asset Management ..18 PZU ......................................................................6, 21 DB Schenker Rail Polska ........................................14 REAS ........................................................................16 Echo Investment ......................................................17 Elektrobudowa ........................................................16 SENER......................................................................14 Erbud........................................................................16 Skanska....................................................................17 GDF Suez Energia Polska ......................................14 Starwood Hotels & Resorts ....................................13 Getin Noble Bank ......................................................7 Ghelamco ..........................................................14, 17 Tata Group................................................................11 Grem Gemini Real Estate Management ................18 Tauron ........................................................................6 Hewlett-Packard......................................................11 Tchibo Warszawa ....................................................18 Home Broker ..........................................................16 Huawei Poland ........................................................14 Tristan Capital Partners ....................................17, 18 Inter IKEA ................................................................18 UBM ........................................................................16 Invesco ....................................................................18

Unibep ......................................................................16

IVG Warschau Fonds................................................16 Jones Lang LaSalle ..........................................17, 18 Vattenfall ....................................................................6 JP Morgan................................................................19 Veolia Us∏ugi dla Ârodowiska..................................14 Lenovo ......................................................................11

Warimpex ................................................................16

Liebrecht & Wood ....................................................18 LOT ............................................................................6

Warsaw Stock Exchange ........................................19

Merrill Lynch............................................................19 X-Trade Brokers ......................................................19

NEWS

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

www.wbj.pl

3

Warsaw

Some 95 percent of voters in the election to recall Warsaw’s mayor voted against her, but turnout was too low to make the referendum valid What many had called “the battle for Warsaw” ended anticlimactically when the vote to recall Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz was rendered invalid because of low turnout. In order for the result to be binding, more than 29 percent of eligible voters would have had to go to the polls. In the end, turnout was only 25.6 percent, meaning the election was some 45,500 votes shy of the mark.

The result was good news for Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz and her party, the ruling Civic Platform (PO), of which she is deputy leader.

For months her grouping has been trailing the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party in the polls, with recent losses in a number of local elections where PiS candidates had defeated their PO coun-

terparts. A loss in Warsaw would have been a PR disaster for PO and would have provided more fuel for the party’s opponents.

On a roll?

With a “win” in the Warsaw recall election, Civic Platform hopes that the snowball effect that could have led to a PO loss in parliamentary elections in 2015 has finally hit a brick wall.

Civic Platform’s tactic of encouraging people not to go to the polls, while controversial, seems to have worked.

However, some think that it will backfire in the long run.

“The same politicians who told people not to cast their ballots will have to convince them to do the opposite in the next elections. I predict they will have difficulty doing so,” said Wojciech Jab∏oƒski, a political analyst from the University of Warsaw.

He said that Law and Justice supporters will vote without hesitation in the next elections, while Civic Platform proponents are “simply tired of the current situation and

don’t think they can change anything.”

Warsaw’s mayor.

“Every statement made by Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski caused a two percent drop in turnout,” left-wing politician Ryszard Kalisz claimed. Mr Kalisz was rumored to be considering a run for mayor of Warsaw if Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz were recalled.

Mr Kalisz also made reference to a campaign poster created by PiS which bore a huge letter W, prompting a comparison with one of the symbols of the Warsaw Uprising (a failed bid to defeat the Nazi German occupiers). The tactic led many veterans to accuse PiS of using the symbol to further divide the country.

‘Unconstitutional’ After the official results were announced, Law and Justice leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski said that the vote was held under “unconstitutional conditions,” claiming that the prime minis-

“The same politicians who told people not to cast their ballots will have to convince them to do the opposite in the next elections.”

The angriest ones win

ter shouldn’t have told people not to vote. He is threatening to file a report on Mr Tusk’s statements to the Council of Europe.

Nevertheless, some say it might be Mr Kaczyƒski himself who should take a long look in the mirror before he starts blaming others for the unsuccessful campaign to oust

A question mark now hangs over the fate of Adam Hofman, the PiS spokesperson who orchestrated the party’s advertising campaign. The debacle has put him in hot water and, according to Polish media, he will soon have a “long discussion” with his boss, Mr Kaczyƒski.

Even the Catholic daily Nasz Dziennik, usually one of Law

COURTESY OF PLATFORMARP/FLICKR

One more Waltz

Not enough Varsovians voted to recall Ms GronkiewiczWaltz from her post and Justice’s staunchest supporters, has taken shots at the party’s leaders. The daily accuses Mr Kaczyƒski of using his “patronizing tone” to scare off potential voters, and blames Mr Hofman for grabbing the spotlight.

Mr Jab∏oƒski said that the failure of the recall to attract enough votes can be blamed on both sides of the political spectrum.

“What started as a civic

movement turned into a heated political battle between two parties, who forgot that one city, even as big and important as Warsaw, does not represent the whole country,” he said. “Its problems are completely different than those on the national level.”

Mr Jab∏oƒski added that the next election could be won by the grouping whose supporters are essentially “the angriest.”

Jacek Ciesnowski

Politics

Another MP to leave Civic Platform

KRYSTIAN DOBUSZYNSKI/REPORTER

Will the coalition’s threadbare majority finally snap?

Janusz Dzi´cio∏ wants to run for mayor of Grudziàdz

Civic Platform (PO) MP Janusz Dzi´cio∏ has announced that he will leave his party to run for the post of mayor in the northern Polish city of Grudziàdz.

As there is already a Civic Platform candidate for the post (current mayor Robert Malinowski), he has to leave the party to pursue the position.

“I don’t agree with what is happening in Grudziàdz, and if Civic Platform can’t help me change the city, I will have to find others willing to do so,” said Mr Dzi´cio∏, who announced that he will run on the local committee ticket.

As of press time, Mr Dzi´cio∏ hadn’t officially left PO,

but his decision could have significant repercussions for the ruling coalition. After three conservative MPs left Civic Platform a few weeks ago, the coalition, which also includes the Polish People’s Party, now has only 232 out of 460 seats in the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament. Losing another MP would leave them with a majority of just one vote. If anyone else were to decide to leave Civic Platform, the coalition would have three choices: find another partner, call snap elections, or attempt to govern as a minority grouping.

“Mr Dzi´cio∏ is still a member of PO and its caucus,” the head of the Civic Platform parliamentary caucus, Rafa∏ Grupiƒski, told Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, blaming his colleague’s words on “local political structure.”

There is a precedent for leaving a party but remaining in its parliamentary caucus.

Back in May, Adam ˚yliƒski relinquished membership in PO to run for mayor in I∏awa, in northeastern Poland, yet he still remains a member of the party’s parliamentary caucus.

Ironically, the best-case scenario for Civic Platform would see Mr Dzi´cio∏ winning next year’s local elections, beating out the party’s candidate. As a result he would have to leave parliament and his seat would be given to the next person on the Civic Platform ticket.

The three MPs to have already left Civic Platform in recent weeks are Jacek ˚alek, Poland’s first black MP John Godson and former Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Logistics

EU’s revised TEN-T plan puts two corridors through Poland Two transport corridors forming part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) are to pass through Poland, the European Commission announced last week.

Poland can expect to receive at least €4.3 billion as part of the EU’s new plans, which envisage nine transport corridors at a cost of some €26 billion over the next budget period for the 28-nation bloc in 2014-2020. The fund triples the financing currently available.

The EC promises that a new so-called “core network” comprising nine corridors will “transform East-West connections, remove bottlenecks, upgrade infrastructure and streamline cross-border transport opera-

tions for passengers and businesses throughout the EU.” The nine corridors are set to be completed by 2030, with some 15,000 km of railway tracks expected to be upgraded to high-speed lines, as well as connect 35 cross-border projects and other railway links between European cities and major airports.

The European Commission announced that it is prioritizing the much-needed modernization of East-West corridors, with €11.3 billion earmarked for EU countries which make use of the bloc’s cohesion fund, including its largest beneficiary, Poland.

Poland will have two priority TEN-T corridors running through the country: the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor running through industrialized areas between Poland through to Northern Italy, as well as

the North Sea-Baltic Corridor, which includes the flagship “Rail Baltic” project, a standard-gauge railway connecting northeastern Poland with the Baltic cities of Kaunas, Riga, and Tallinn.

Other railways ripe for modernization include the Warsaw-Poznaƒ-Berlin line up to the German border, as well as a line running from Katowice to Brno in the Czech Republic. The line from Gdynia to Katowice may also get a much-needed upgrade.

“Without good connections Europe will not grow or prosper,” Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement. “It will connect East with West and replace today’s transport patchwork with a network that is genuinely European.”

John Beauchamp, Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Poland to benefit from EU transport networks

The Trans-European Transport Network establishes nine corridors connecting all 28 EU member states

Cybersecurity

Hackers claim Poland is conducting “industrial espionage” from its embassy network Poland’s Ministry of Economy has become the most recent target of cyber attacks by the “Anonymous” hacker group using the moniker Operation Golden Dawn.

Hackers published documents, scans of passports belonging to foreign citizens invited to Poland by one of the ministry’s departments, e-mails swiped from the inboxes of employees as well as the log-in and password data for a number of government websites.

The move comes after Anonymous managed to scour

data from the website servers of the Trade and Investment sections of Polish Embassies – trade.gov.pl.

The group claims that the Polish Economy Ministry conducts “industrial espionage” via its trade missions abroad, initially pointing to the mission at the Polish Embassy in Belarus as an “office … stashed with internal reports.”

An Anonymous hacker release also lambasts the head of the trade section at the Polish Embassy in Minsk, Wies∏aw Pok∏adek, “and his puppies from the CBA,” a reference to Poland’s central anti-corruption bureau.

Picking up the pieces “The Economy Ministry in-

forms that due to reports concerning a possible leak of information from its Trade and Investment Departments, protective measures have been taken,” the ministry announced soon after it realized what had happened.

“The Economy Ministry is now analyzing the scope and credibility of the published material.”

Meanwhile, “from the published screenshots of the mailboxes it can be discerned that the attackers had access to the servers on October 6, 2013,” wrote Piotr Konieczny from Niebezpiecznik.pl, a company testing network security, adding that it hasn’t been discerned how the servers were breached.

The leak of information from Poland’s Economy Ministry comes on the back of an attack merely days earlier on Greece’s Foreign Affairs Ministry as well as the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), with sources saying the same “hacktivist” is responsible for the attack on trade.gov.pl.

Earlier this year, Anonymous attacked and blocked the website of the Greek Justice Ministry as a protest against the Greek government’s decision to go ahead with severe belt-tightening measures after pressure from the EU and the IMF over a proposed bailout.

John Beauchamp, Kamila Wajszczuk

PEDRO RUFO / SHUTTERSTOCK

Anonymous hacks Polish Economy Ministry website

The hack was apparently part of Anonymous’ Operation Golden Dawn

6

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Airlines

The state-controlled airline’s financial results are better than expected, but it will need more funds from the Treasury soon Poland’s national airline LOT has decided to put off asking for further state financial aid, Deputy Treasury Minister Rafa∏ Baniak told the Polish Press Agency. Following the airline’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held last week, Mr Baniak said that LOT’s

restructuring is going well and as such can postpone its request for financial support.

“The company’s financial results are better than expected, although still in negative territory,” Minister Baniak said. A decision on applying for state aid, “depending on current financial liquidity,” may be made at the airline’s next EGM, probably in November, Mr Baniak added.

“It’s in our best interest to ask for as little financial help as possible. The less money we get from the Treasury, the

smaller the cuts that we’ll have to make, for instance in our route network,” said LOT CEO Sebastian Mikosz.

As LOT is state-controlled, the European Commission will demand that LOT make cuts in return for approving any financial aid. Mr Mikosz said that originally LOT was supposed to ask for another tranche of state aid back in August, but thanks to “huge determination from the employees in implementing the rescue plan” the airline did not have to do so.

LOT received a government

Privatization

bailout of some z∏.400 million in December last year. In June a restructuring plan was approved by the Treasury Ministry for the company and sent to the European Commission for further approval. The document stated that the airline may need another z∏.381 million in public aid to avoid insolvency. The company’s rescue plan envisages that for 2013, LOT will suffer z∏.142 million in losses, while the airline now plans to cut that figure to z∏.132 million.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF LOT

LOT postpones request for more state aid

The company may ask for more money in November

Energy

Treasury to raise z∏.500 million PGE interested in buying Vattenfall’s German power plants through Ciech sale – report

SHUTTERSTOCK

Poland’s State Treasury may sell its 38.72 percent stake in chemical group Ciech this year in order to raise funds for infrastructure projects which are to be carried out within the Polish Investments program, Reuters reported, citing market sources. The stake in the chemical firm is valued at about z∏.500 million.

Earlier this year the government approved the transfer of stakes in Ciech, utility PGE, insurer PZU and lender PKO BP to Polskie Inwestycje Rozwojowe (PIR), one of the operators of the Polish Investments program. The holdings, together valued at z∏.11 billion, are to be privatized with the proceeds earmarked for the infrastructure program.

The Ciech stake is likely to be sold next, sources say, since the Treasury is still awaiting a sizable dividend from PZU, and it already sold a part of its PKO holding earlier this year

The chemicals producer is worth some z∏.1.46 billion for z∏.5 billion.

“Ciech is the most probable from the group,” a fund manager was quoted as saying.

“The company underwent restructuring, improved results, and its share price is relatively high.” The company’s market value currently stands at z∏.1.46 billion, the highest since 2008.

Currently there is no strategic investor that could be interested in purchasing the Ciech stake. Sources said the

Treasury has decided to sell the chemicals producer through accelerated book building and that the sale would take place by the end of this year.

Poland plans to spend up to z∏.500 billion by 2020 on infrastructure investments. They will be co-financed by PIR and by state lender BGK, the other operator of the Polish Investments program.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Beata Socha

Poland’s largest utility PGE may be interested in buying assets in Germany from Swedish energy group Vattenfall, Polish media reported last week. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the Swedish firm plans to divide its business into two segments – in the Nordic countries and in continental Europe plus the UK, welcoming investors to the latter.

Vattenfall has been looking to jettison some of its European assets for some time. Its investments in the Netherlands have been losing money for years now, hampering its foreign expansion and eventually nudging the Swedish giant into offloading some of its assets.

Back in 2011 it sold its Polish electricity grid in Silesia, which was purchased by Tauron, while PGE acquired its heat and power plants in Warsaw.

Not so fast According to sources quoted by the daily, PGE could be interested in Vattenfall’s lignite power plants close to the Polish border, in Jänschwalde (3,000 MW), Schwarze Pumpe (1,600 MW) and in Boxberg (1,900 MW). Poland has its own lignite resources close to the German power plants which would be useful and make such transactions profitable.

That scenario is questionable however, since the local community is vehemently

against building any lignite mines there.

PGE’s management would also have a tough time explaining such investments. It resisted building a power plant in Opole, claiming it was unprofitable. This decision was later overturned by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. If PGE decides to acquire some of Vattenfall’s German assets, its critics will certainly question such a move, accusing the company of spending money abroad rather investing in the domesKW, BKS, JC tic market.

SHUTTERSTOCK

The Polish energy giant is mulling investments abroad, but some question whether it’s a good idea

The state is mulling the sale of its nearly 40 percent stake in the chemicals giant

PGE is interested in lignite-fueled power plants

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

Banking

Banks spin off mortgage units By issuing mortgagebacked securities, banks are looking to improve their longterm liquidity and reduce risk

Risk management One of the reasons why PKO BP is looking to establish a mortgage unit is to be able to issue mortgage-backed securi-

Plan ahead COURTESY OF PKO BP

Poland’s largest lender PKO BP is working on launching a mortgage bank in late 2014 or early 2015. The bank will apply for a license to the Financial Supervision Authority by the end of this year. At least 30 percent of the group’s new loans could be granted by the mortgage unit, the bank said.

PKO BP is not the only Polish lender preparing to establish a mortgage unit. Getin Noble Bank is also considering a similar move. Currently there are two mortgage banks in the Polish market: BRE Hipoteczny and Pekao Bank Hipoteczny. Experts from the Polish Bank Association say that four or five mortgage banks could be operating in the Polish market in a year’s time.

tem,” the KNF wrote. In a few years the EU will implement stricter rules on long-term liquidity which will require banks to greatly improve their longterm financing. “Mortgagebacked securities are a great way of financing. However, the market for them would have to develop,” the KNF added.

PKO BP could soon open a mortgage bank ties (MBSs), an instrument reserved exclusively for mortgage banks. Such securities usually mature after no more than five to seven years.

Issuing them could reduce the bank’s risk rising from the mismatch between the maturity dates of mortgage loans, usually granted for a 30-year period, and deposits, which on average mature after several months. Financing such longterm debt with short-term deposits carries significant risk, which is even greater for PKO BP as it does not have a foreign investor to rely on in case of decreased liquidity.

Improving liquidity would also allow the bank to increase its credit activity.

Favored solution Poland’s financial watchdog, the KNF, is very much in favor of banks following this route.

It even issued a recommendation for banks a few months ago urging them to improve their long-term liquidity by developing long-term instruments, particularly mortgagebacked securities.

“The market of mortgagebacked securities is virtually non-existent in Poland, which hinders the safety of the sys-

Currently the value of all Polish MBSs is some z∏.3.5 billion, which is very little compared to other EU countries. The major buyers of MBSs are investment funds, pension funds, banks and insurers.

Furthermore, the role of mortgage banks is likely to increase because of new, stricter rules imposed on universal banks. Starting in 2014, banks will no longer be able to grant loans for 100 percent of the value of a property. The loan-to-value ratio is to decrease to 80 percent in 2017.

Analysts estimate that Polish mortgage banks could issue z∏.50 billion worth of MBSs in three years’ time, provided appropriate legal regulations for transferring credit portfolios from universal banks to mortgage banks are in place.

Beata Socha

7

Redundancies ahead for PKP Cargo

COURTESY OF PKP CARGO

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

No figures have yet been revealed for how many workers could be laid off PKP Cargo is to lay off a number of employees after company restructuring may reduce the number of depots from 10 to six.

The move has caused an uproar with trade unions, with a hunger strike planned in Nowy Sàcz, in southern Poland, the location of one of the four depots expected to be shut down.

However, PKP deputy chairman Piotr Ci˝kowicz has underlined that regular workers will not be affected.

In September a deal was signed which guaranteed employment for the vast majority of PKP Cargo workers. However, the pact “does not emcompass managerial

and executive staff,” Mr Ci˝kowicz told Polskie Radio, Wednesday, adding that there may be redundancies for higher earners.

Although Mr Ci˝kowicz maintained that the ongoing dispute with the trade unions was not due to the managerial reshuffle, he underlined that any mass redundancies were “out of the question.”

However, even with the reduction in work plants, the deputy chairman could not state how many many people would eventually be laid off, and how the reductions were to take place, citing future talks with trade unions before any concrete figures were given.

Honorary patronage

The fourth edition of Zacznij.biz competition – idea – business – success has started!

To participate in the competition, register at www.zacznij.biz.pl and fill in the proper form.

Applications are being accepted to November 12, 2013.

Who should apply to Zacznij.biz: • micro- and small enterprises with big growth potential, operating in the hi-tech sector • academics: researchers, graduate students and students of technical universities, who want to commercialize their innovative ideas • entrepreneurs with the projects operating in the ICT sector with global growth potential The idea behind the contest is to promote entrepreneurship, assist in preparing business model and attract investors – business angels – to work with the best ideas.

Contestants will get: • free trainings and workshops • business model generation • pitching • opportunity to pitch in front of the investors The most promising ideas will be presented at the Final Gala in February 2014.

Material co-funded by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund

John Beauchamp

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Polish-Indian relations

India, Poland foster growing cooperation

Ewa Boniecka: India’s economy is growing very fast. Has the global economic slowdown affected your country?

Monika Kapil Mohta: Poland has admirably weathered recessionary trends in Europe.

While the Indian economy is not insulated from the global downturn, we continue to register vibrant and robust growth. India’s economic boom is largely dependent on its domestic market and is not propelled by external factors.

How do you see the overall mutual relations between India and Poland?

India and Poland have traditionally enjoyed warm and friendly relations. Our ties have strengthened and have become multifaceted over the last two decades. President Patil came to Poland in 2009 and Prime Minister Tusk visited India in 2010. Visits by our foreign ministers also

took place in 2011 and 2012.

In addition to high-level political contacts, our two countries have put a framework for dialogue in place, which includes annual foreign office consultations, a joint commission on economic cooperation and a joint working group on defense. Our bilateral trade is growing steadily and stands at $2 billion, while Indian investments in Poland are reaching $3 billion.

Poland also has a rich tradition of Indology and we have established several India Chairs (where experts are brought in to hold discussions and cultural exchanges) as well as study centers at various Polish universities. Given our shared values relating to democracy and human rights, India and Poland are natural partners, both in substantive bilateral cooperation as well as in collaboration on global issues.

How do you see the possibilities for further development of Indian-Polish economic cooperation?

There is tremendous potential in strengthening our economic cooperation in areas such as IT, agriculture and food processing, coal, minerals and mining, pharmaceuticals and the transport sector.

Indian corporations are increasingly looking at Poland as a safe and attractive investment destination.

There are reports in the Polish press about an Indian consortium that is currently engaged in talks to purchase a Polish coal mine. What do you think about Polish-Indian cooperation in the coal industry?

There are moves towards tangible cooperation in the coal sector. Preparatory work needs to be done leading up to high-level contact for meaningful talks on coal exports as well as the acquisition of coal assets. We are setting up a joint working group to explore such opportunities which will benefit both countries.

Indian IT industry has seen

SHUTTERSTOCK

WBJ sits down with Monika Kapil Mohta, India’s ambassador to Poland, to talk about bilateral relations between the two countries, the opportunities in Polish-Indian economic cooperation and the international impact of India’s emergence as the one of world’s economic and political powers

Rising stock: India’s status as a growing power makes it an important ally for Poland on the global stage some remarkable successes, Indian programmers work in top positions at international IT giants. What is the basis for such success?

India’s IT prowess and its knowledge-based industries need to be seen in a broader, cultural context. Indian society has, over centuries, laid tremendous emphasis on knowledge, scholarship and

in-depth research in science.

Several Indian IT companies have invested in Poland and we have also set up a joint working group for closer cooperation in the IT sector.

India and Poland have a longstanding relationship in the field of defense. How do the countries collaborate in this sector?

Our defense cooperation was hitherto military equipmentcentric. Now we are also looking at other areas of cooperation including sharing technologies and greater interaction among our defense personnel through training programs.

How are India’s relations developing with the Euro-

INTERVIEW

pean Union?

India and the EU share a strategic partnership. We adopted a joint action plan in 2005 (which was reviewed in 2008) that provided for strengthening dialogue and consultation mechanisms in the political and economic spheres, enhancing trade and investment, and bringing peoples and cultures together.

We also hold annual India-EU summits, and are currently negotiating a bilateral trade and investment agreement which will significantly enhance our commercial relationship. At present, our bilateral trade with the EU stands at €76 billion.

While India’s global economic and political role is rising, you still hold the status of a non-aligned country, why?

The idea of the Non-Aligned Movement was born while the world was divided into two blocs led by the US and the Soviet Union. We think that even in an entirely different, multipolar world, the Non-Alignment Movement continues to be relevant.

The movement represents a large majority of the world’s population and it has been a powerful tool for the promotion of global peace, security and development.

The movement should take the lead in building global governance structures that are representative, credible and effective. It can agree on action to reform institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Existing problems cannot be solved effectively without a stronger voice of developing countries on issues such as global trade, finance and investment.

India is a nuclear power at a time when the issue of developing nuclear programs by many countries is the subject of international debate. What is India’s doctrine in developing its nuclear program?

India has always advocated universal and complete disarmament. We consider nuclear weapons to be at best a necessary evil. India has maintained and demonstrated an exemplary non-proliferation record since the inception of its nuclear program in the 1950s.

Our program is entirely indigenous and our nuclear doctrine is based on the principle of no-first use but assured retaliation. India did not sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, because we feel it creates a discriminatory regime.

The recent agreement between India and the US on a civilian nuclear program is aimed at gaining access to international nuclear commerce in order to secure the energy requirements of our

SHUTTERSTOCK

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

India’s geographical location means it must navigate a difficult geopolitical neighborhood country.

India belongs to the BRICS group, which also includes Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa: all very different countries in political terms, but how do you see the role of this group on the international stage?

BRICS is a unique grouping of countries with the capacity and political will to engage with the global community and contribute in a meaningful manner to global wellbeing, stability and prosperity.

We believe that emerging economies have some unique elements to share with one another, they have some common problems to discuss and that the BRICS group will be able to contribute to the world’s economic recovery.

Since its establishment in 2006 (South Africa joined in 2011), BRICS has come a long way and has evolved mechanisms of consultation and cooperation in a variety of sectors. Our agenda has widened to encompass issues of global governance, reform of international financial institutions, climate change and energy security, sustainable development and international terrorism.

And how you would describe your bilateral relations with Russia and China?

Our bilateral relations with Russia are based on mutual trust, a time-tested and steadfast friendship. It is a unique and strategic partnership. We have annual political summits and regular dialogue through established mechanisms.

Apart from vibrant economic ties, our countries work closely in the areas of civil nuclear energy, defense, space, oil and natural gas, as well as science and technology. Our relations have a global significance and we consult closely in international fora including the UN Security

Council and BRICS. Meanwhile, as the two largest developing countries in the world, India’s relations with China transcend bilateral scope and have acquired regional and also global and strategic significance. Both countries view each other as partners and not as rivals or competitors.

India’s engagement with China is built on a foundation of peace. Our bilateral trade stands at $70 billion and we hope to increase this to $100 billion by 2015.

In a recent speech, President Bronis∏aw Komorowski stressed the need for some reforms in the UN. India is trying to obtain permanent membership in the Security Council. What is your position on this issue?

The UN must evolve and adapt itself to a rapidly changing global reality to better serve the core needs of the world community. As a country which places great confidence in the UN’s capacity to contribute to international peace and security, India has a vital interest in making the UN more responsive to the needs of its member states.

As early as 1994, India announced that it was prepared to accept the responsibility of permanent membership in the UN Security Council. We think that its present form does not reflect international reality and that its membership should be expanded.

Our membership may be seen in the context of India being the largest democracy in the world, representing 1.25 billion people, one of the largest emerging economies in the world, a country with a history of ancient civilization and with a universal world view and respect for diversity and pluralism. We hope that longdelayed reforms of the United Nations will be undertaken as soon as possible. ●

www.wbj.pl

9

10

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Prices

Salaries grow Inflation inches down faster than expected The result may be a one-off and doesn’t necessarily indicate Poland’s rebound is slowing down Poland’s CPI inflation amounted to 1.0 percent year-on-year in September, Poland’s statistics office GUS announced Tuesday. The number is a slight drop on the August figure, which put inflation at 1.1 percent y/y. In month-on-month terms CPI came in at 0.1 percent.

The figures came in below expectations. Economists surveyed by the Polish Press Agency had expected CPI

inflation to be 1.2 percent y/y and 0.2 percent m/m.

Nordea Markets economists wrote in a comment that inflation in September was influenced by an administrative decision which brought down prices in education. Kindergarten fees fell by as much as 17.7 percent m/m. “Changes of other consumer prices were broadly in line with expectations,” the economists stated.

“Given the surprising drop in the headline inflation rate in September, we have lowered [the] forecasted inflation path,” Nordea analysts wrote.

“We now predict that at the end of this year CPI inflation will not reach 1.5%, i.e. the

lower end target range (2.5% +/- 1%-point). [The] inflation target of 2.5% could only be reached towards the end of Q2 2014 while earlier we have seen it at the turn of Q1 and Q2 next year,” they added.

Meanwhile, in a macroeconomic survey Poland’s central bank forecast CPI at 1.1 percent in 2013, and at 2.1 percent in 2014, growing to 2.5 percent in 2015.

The forecast puts the average interest rate for 2013 at 2.9 percent, and predicts a decrease in 2014 to 2.6 percent.

However, interest rates will likely grow in 2015 to an average of 3.5 percent, the NBP Kamila Wajszczuk wrote.

Holding steady Poland’s CPI inflation rate, September 2011 – September 2013 5 4 3 2 1

11 v. ’ 11 De c. ’11 Jan . ’1 2 Feb . ’1 2 Ma r. ’ 12 Ap r. ’ 12 Ma y ’1 2 Jun . ’1 2 Jul . ’1 2 Au g. ’12 Se p. ’12 Oc t. ’ 12 No v. ’ 12 De c. ’12 Jan . ’1 3 Feb . ’1 3 Ma r. ’ 13 Ap r. ’ 13 Ma y ’1 3 Jun . ’1 3 Jul . ’1 3 Au g. ’13 Se p. ’13 No

t. ’

p.

Se

Oc

’11

0

Source: Central Statistical Office

The average monthly salary in the enterprise sector in Poland grew by 3.6 percent year-on-year and amounted to z∏.3,770.91 in September, statistics office GUS revealed.

Month-on-month salaries grew by 0.3 percent.

Economists surveyed by the Polish Press Agency had expected the average salary to grow by 3.1 percent y/y and to drop by 0.1 percent m/m.

The higher-than-expected growth “supports our expec-

tations that consumption growth should be accelerating, and also allows to expect some rebound in investment growth,” BZ WBK economists wrote in an e-mailed comment.

“Overall, the pace of growth of wages remains moderate (average for JuneSeptember period at ca.

2.6%YoY), but is higher than inflation. This means that real wages at [the] disposal of households has been rising

and this supports our forecast of strengthening of private consumption in H2,” the economists said.

GUS also said that 5,495,100 people were employed in Polish enterprises in September, which means that employment fell by 0.3 percent y/y and remained unchanged m/m. Analysts had expected it to drop by 0.3 percent y/y and inch up by 0.1 percent m/m.

Kamila Wajszczuk

Belka upholds neutral stance Poland will maintain a neutral monetary policy in the near future, the head of the National Bank of Poland Marek Belka said during an interview on a visit to Mexico. “(Inflation) is subdued.

Expectations are also well anchored. I think we should probably expect a period of ... a rather neutral stance in monetary policy,” Mr Belka told the Reuters news agency.

The NBP’s Monetary Policy Council has kept interest rates unchanged since July, when it cut the benchmark rate to an historic low of 2.5

COURTESY OF THE IMF

in September

Marek Belka, president of the National Bank of Poland percent. Since then central bankers have vowed to make

no rate changes at least until KW the end of 2013.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

www.wbj.pl

11

America’s debt-ceiling debacle Katharina Pistor

W

hen Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis threatened the euro’s survival, US officials called their European counterparts to express bewilderment at their inability to resolve the issue. Now, the tables have turned, with American leaders on the receiving end of such calls. The most recent threat of a US debt default has been avoided, but only temporarily. Another battle looms early next year, when the US government’s debt ceiling will have to be raised again.

In Europe, the absence of a political union – considered a necessary precondition for sharing debt obligations and, thus, putting the euro on a sound footing – is widely held to lie at the root of the continent’s crisis. But the US crisis suggests that political union is no panacea for managing sovereign debt. For weeks, Republicans in the House of Representatives threatened to keep the government shuttered – thereby preventing it from extending its borrowing authority beyond the October 17 deadline – in order to challenge laws that were enacted by Congress as a whole and upheld by the Supreme Court.

In the euro zone, the main source of disagreement has been how debts in need of refinancing were incurred –

that is, whether they contravened agreed debt limits. In the United States, the bone of contention has been the purpose that the funds will serve. The difference is ultimately minor, and should not be allowed to overshadow what is really at stake: democratic self-governance in an age of high public debt.

Where does it all go?

In 1773, the so-called Sons of Liberty staged the Boston Tea Party under the slogan, “No taxation without representation.” And America’s founders clearly regarded legislative control over the budget as a key pillar of democratic governance.

Taxation remains the dominant source of government revenue in most developed countries. But the role of debt finance has been growing – and, with it, the need to refinance old debt when total expenditure, including debt service, exceeds total revenue.

Broad access to deep and liquid international debt markets has enabled policymakers to bypass some of the most challenging aspects of democratic governance. Rather than tackle thorny questions about how to allocate limited resources, democratic governments seem to believe that they can have it all: low taxes and ample

debt finance to fund wars or electorate-pleasing programs. Growing debt burdens suggest that this form of cheap politics has run its course.

A true democratic deficit?

But the problem runs deeper than that. Excessive reliance on debt finance has undermined basic tenets of democracy, with government finance increasingly determined not by electoral cycles and political delib-

“The recent impasse in the US demonstrates that political minorities with effective veto power can abuse statutory ceilings.” eration, but by repayment schedules.

In times of economic growth, debt finance provides an easy escape from difficult choices. When the economy falters, however, creditors – and those who are willing to entertain the prospect of default – can impose their will on everyone else.

This power follows from the nature of debt. A tax is a quasi-equity claim of the government on its citizens’ financial expectations. Gaining the consent of the majority of citizens to raise taxes can be a tall order politically, and has become more difficult as capital mobility has narrowed the tax base and triggered a race to the bottom on rates.

Debt, by contrast, is a contractual commitment to repay creditors who are largely oblivious to how the money is spent. By incurring debt, states trade an element of sovereignty – the flexibility to alter course over time in response to the electorate’s demands – for the ability to fund expenditures without being compelled to navigate the political minefield of raising taxes.

A tough solution Creating viable institutions for managing public debt in a democracy is difficult. The mechanisms currently on offer are treaty-based, constitutional, and statutory debt ceilings, pegged as a ratio of GDP, or, as in the US, established in nominal terms.

Treaty-based debt ceilings are largely toothless, as Europe’s experience suggests. Constitutional debt limits have yet to be tested in times

of emergency, when new funding is needed quickly. And, as the recent impasse in the US demonstrates, political minorities with effective veto power can abuse statutory ceilings in an economic downturn, when dependence on external debt finance increases.

Indeed, to the extent that reliance on debt finance undermines self-governance, debt-ceiling abuse for partisan gain becomes more likely. The problem is that democracies have yet to learn how to manage debt effectively. While political union may stabilize the euro, it will not sustain or strengthen democracy unless Europe’s leaders address this critical failing.

Even the world’s oldest continuous democracy is not immune to the erosion of self-governance. Commitments never to raise taxes have left the US dependent on debt finance – and, more frightening, on those who are ready to veto refinancing it. ● Katharina Pistor, professor of law and director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation at Columbia University, is the 2012 Max Planck Research Award co-winner.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

The still-emerging markets Richard Cooper & Jaana Remes

T

oday’s turbulence in emergingmarket equity markets has triggered a wave of obituaries for their growth miracles of recent decades. But confusing short-term wobbles with terminal decline is a gross misreading of what is happening. The wave of industrialization and urbanization that is boosting the incomes of millions of people in emerging economies has not run its course.

Indeed, emerging-market bears are missing an important new driver of continued growth in these countries: their increasingly powerful and dynamic companies. Emerging economies today are much more than a collection of new consumer markets and plentiful (and increasingly skilled) labor. They are also home to thousands of new companies, many of which are quickly becoming large, global leaders in their fields.

Branching out Twenty years ago, who would have guessed that Mumbai’s Tata Group would be the largest private-sector

industrial employer in the United Kingdom; or that Mexican companies Cemex and Bimbo would become the United States’ market leaders in cement production and bread-making, respectively; or that Beijing-based Lenovo would be on a par with Hewlett-Packard as the world’s largest seller of personal computers? Moreover, the transformation in the world’s business landscape is in its early stages and should bolster growth in emerging markets for years to come.

The MGI CompanyScope, a new database of all companies with revenues of $1 billion or more, reveals that there are about 8,000 large companies worldwide. Three-quarters of them are still based in developed regions. By 2025, however, there are likely to be an additional 7,000 large companies, with seven out of 10 based in emerging regions. The share of global consolidated revenue generated by these emerging-market corporate giants is set to increase from 24 percent today to 46 percent in 2025.

The composition of the Fortune Global 500 is a case in point. From

1980 to 2000, the share of companies on the list that were based in the emerging world remained relatively flat, at 5 percent. By 2013, this share had soared to 26 percent, and, even on the most pessimistic assumptions for emerging-market growth, we expect it to rise to 39 percent by 2025 and to as high as 50 percent on more bullish assumptions.

Into the unknown In fact, the shift in the business landscape thus far has lagged behind the shift in the weight of global GDP toward emerging markets. Between now and 2025, the GDP of emerging markets could increase by a factor of 2.5 – but the number of large companies based in these regions could more than triple. By 2025, some of the leading global names in many industries could be companies we have not yet heard of – and some will likely be based in cities that few today could point to on a map.

The number of large-company headquarters in Sao Paolo, for example, is expected to rise more than

three-fold by 2025, while Beijing and Istanbul could have 2.5 times as many head offices as they do today. We estimate that about 280 cities – among the candidates are Campinas (Brazil), Daqing (China), and Izmir (Turkey) – could host large companies for the first time. More than 150 of these upand-coming business cities are likely to be in China. If we look at telecoms companies, for example, Bandung (Indonesia) and Hanoi (Vietnam) already host large firms’ headquarters – despite the fact that their GDP is relatively small, at $6 billion and $12 billion, respectively.

Crouching tiger ...

Fast-growing home markets have been the launchpad for globally competitive emerging-market companies partly because these firms have learned to compete at very different income levels. Moreover, they know how to work around inadequate infrastructure. Research suggests that these companies are growing more than twice as quickly as their counterparts in developed economies.

Emerging-market large companies’ growing global clout is reflected in flows of foreign direct investment.

As recently as 2001, only 5 percent of outward FDI came from non-OECD countries; by 2011, that share had soared to 21 percent. China’s outward FDI rose by almost 50 percent per year from 2004 to 2010; Brazil, Singapore, and Hong Kong have been major investors in Europe.

Those who have been writing obituaries for the emerging-market boom should give serious consideration to these trends. The new breed of emerging-market multinational is diversifying its revenue around the world. If growth in these companies’ home markets slows, they will diversify even more aggressively. The global economy is now their platform. ● Richard Cooper is professor of international economics at Harvard University. Jaana Remes is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, based in San Francisco.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

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COVER STORY

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OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Economic policy

Bielecki: ‘no doubt’ economic growth will speed up Remi Adekoya: Which macroeconomic figures do you pay particular attention to and what do they tell you about the state of the Polish economy today?

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki: I try to observe as much data as possible, especially those which refer to the shape of our economic environment. The main data I observe show how our GDP growth is shaping up and give clues as to whether there is a chance for improvement.

I believe Poland’s economic development depends on striking the right balance between savings and austerity measures on the one hand, and maintaining the speed of our economic growth on the other. When GDP growth started slowing down last year, we were worried because at the time, the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) was involved in a discussion on the threat of inflation to the Polish economy.

Meanwhile, I was of the opinion that the threat we were facing was rather one of economic stagnation, not of inflation. So during this period, I followed signals from the RPP closely. When it came to fiscal policy, the government couldn’t do much to improve the situation at the time, we rather had to save money.

Additionally, I usually follow what goes on in the logistics sector. I believe that it provides information on what will happen in the real economy roughly six weeks in the future.

This mini-indicator has never failed me and I hope that this time as well it is correctly predicting the future, so to speak.

And what is the logistics indicator telling you now?

That there will be an improvement in Poland’s economic conditions. I have also noticed that when German logistics indicators show improvement, within one month, Polish logistics indicators start getting better as well.

In the past decade, I have observed that the Polish econ-

Poland. I would be worried if a huge slice of these exports relied on just one economic sector.

I think the automobile sector is one which needs to be watched carefully, especially when it comes to production.

The fact that it pays to produce cars in Poland today does not mean it won’t pay to manufacture them in Ukraine in five years’ time. Therefore one must ensure that other sectors are developing as well, so there is no cause for alarm.

Speaking of various sectors of the economy, what do you think will be Poland’s growth engines in the coming years?

First and foremost, it is interesting to note how much things can change. At the beginning of Poland’s eco-

“I have observed that the Polish economy is able to grow on average 1-1.5 percentage points faster than the German economy.” omy is able to grow on average 1-1.5 percentage points faster than the German economy. As long as the German economy is not in recession, Poland’s won’t be either, even if all the economists predict that it will.

A quarter of Poland’s exports go to Germany and in general, the share of exports in Poland’s GDP continues to increase. It now stands at roughly 46 percent. Do you see any danger in the Polish economy becoming too reliant on exports?

Countries in our region have a much higher share of exports in GDP [than in Western Europe]. I am not worried about this in the case of

nomic transformation, our GDP growth was driven by light industry. Today that industry is virtually non-existent. We still have a strong automobile industry which employs some 200,000 people, but in recent years and somewhat under the radar, we have been witnessing the growth of a BPO sector that already employs roughly 100,000 people.

This shows that we have not only blue-collar but also white-collar workers who can perform various tasks efficiently. The most important thing is to make businesses feel good in Poland and maintain conditions suitable for expansion.

In my opinion, one sector which has huge potential but is not developing as fast as I would like is the extraction sector, starting from copper, coal and then leading up to shale gas. There is huge potential here for a big extraction sector around which hundreds of other businesses could emerge.

But recently energy firms like Chevron and Talisman have given up searching for shale gas in Poland due to the regulatory environment. What is the government doing about this?

The Economic Council believes that there is currently insufficient understanding of the fact that business must first invest and only after that can there be benefits for both investors and the host country.

We need to do more so that investors see that Poland is not only a country where you can invest a lot of money, but also one where you can make decent profits on the money you’ve invested.

Are there any other sectors you see as potential growth engines in the next few years?

There are other sectors which are also doing well, but there should be more focus on the energy industry. Poland should take strides to aim for energy independence.

Europe has been going through an economic slowdown in recent years. What is the government doing to protect Poland from external shocks in such an uncertain environment?

First and foremost, Poland is not in the euro zone and one such shock absorber in an economic crisis is your currency’s

COURTESY OF KPRM

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki is a former prime minister of Poland, ex-president of Bank Pekao and currently heads the Economic Council, which advises Prime Minister Donald Tusk. WBJ sat down with him to discuss the present and future of Poland’s economy

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki exchange rate and the ability for it to adjust to a changing situation. This helped us get through the crisis.

Additionally, our fiscal policy has been very flexible and helped us tackle the crisis as well. Another element was rendering our labor laws and regulations concerning employment more flexible. This has given entrepreneurs the chance to adjust to the changing economic realities.

Do you believe the euro zone can survive in its present form?

It would appear that not so long ago, a political decision was

made that the euro zone is to survive. It was only on this basis that Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, was able to announce last summer that the ECB would do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro.” And so this is no longer an issue of bank business but rather one of political will.

But will this political resolve be able to survive a collision with economic reality?

Yes, but the political resolve would need to be long-lasting, as the internal devaluation operation which is ongoing is being conducted on a living patient, and it is very painful.

COVER STORY

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

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13

COURTESY OF KPRM

“The logistics sector provides information on what will happen in the real economy roughly six weeks in the future.”

Jan Krzysztof Bielecki on his appointment as head of the Economic Council, which advises PM Donald Tusk What exactly do you mean by internal devaluation?

Internal devaluation is being applied to countries which have been living above their means in recent years. It is necessary to bring down their labor costs to competitive levels. That is why we have witnessed a 20 percent reduction in unit labor costs in Greece for example.

The operation also involves limiting social spending, something which Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently labeled “the end of the welfare state,” an extraordinary statement that shocked many in the Netherlands.

Apart from spending cuts, how else can the euro zone’s condition be improved?

One must mention that there is no single magic trick and that improving competitiveness will take years and involve a lot more pain. This process will involve a general slimming down of the state, in other words limiting the responsibilities which the state took upon itself in the golden era of the 1980s and 1990s.

What about Poland and the euro zone? Do you see Poland accessing the currency union in the next five to seven years?

In general, Poland is obliged

to join the euro zone due to the EU accession treaty it signed, so there is no option of us not joining at all. However, the path to accession will take many years of effort.

What about Poland’s rising public debt, currently at roughly 57 percent of GDP? Do you consider that a problem?

To some extent, the recent reform of Poland’s pension system, whereby private pension funds will hand over some 51.5 percent of their assets to the state-run Social Insurance Institution, will improve the situation as it will lead to a reduction of the debt-to-GDP

Media patronage

Helping tastefully

On Saturday, October 5, the 5th annual charity auction “The Taste of Good 2013” was held at the Sheraton hotel in Warsaw. It was organized by the ORIMARI Foundation and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

The central part of the event was, as always, an auction of culinary gems prepared by the chefs of Sheraton hotels in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznaƒ, and Sopot, as well as from the Bristol hotel and the Westin Warsaw hotel. The auction also included other items, like a plate autographed by Felix Baumgartner and a T-shirt autographed by Robert Lewandowski.

The foundation raised z∏.662,000 in the auction, z∏.22,000 of which has been ear-

marked for educational projects in Cameroon and Nigeria, and the remainder for medical equipment for the W∏adys∏aw Buszkowski Children’s Hospital of Kielce, including two EKG monitors worth z∏.100,000.

The event was hosted by Dorota Wellman, Maciej Miecznikowski and Piotr Gàsowski, and featured a performance by Pawe∏ Kowalczyk.

Over the course of five years, the foundation has managed to raise z∏.2.378 million for medical equipment for hospitals all over Poland.

The event was organized in cooperation with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Pandora and Piwnica Wybornych Win. ●

ratio by some 8 percentage points.

But the debt problem is a significant one and needs to be tackled. Until the debt issue in the currency union is resolved, we cannot declare an end to the crisis.

Does that mean you disagree with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who announced last month that the economic crisis is over?

First of all, the prime minister announced that the crisis had been knocking on our doors.

I believe “banging” was the term he used ...

Yes, that’s right. He said the crisis had been banging on our doors but we didn’t let it in.

That is absolutely true. Poland’s economy will definitely pick up in the coming months, of that I have no doubt.

What I am saying is that the crisis in the euro zone will remain impossible to resolve as long as we have a situation whereby some countries, even if their GDP were to grow by 100 percent, would still be unable to service their debt.

Staying with the euro zone issue, what do you think would be the ideal exchange rate of the z∏oty to the euro for exporters and what would it be for importers upon eventual accession?

Views change very much on this question. I remember discussions where economists pronounced z∏.3.70 to the euro as the ideal exchange rate. On the other hand, rumors emerged that the European Commission felt the EUR/PLN rate of z∏.3.30 would be ideal.

As it happens, the z∏oty now stands at z∏.4.20 to the euro and the economy is coping with such an exchange rate. And so I would be careful

with setting a rigid exchange rate as long as the euro zone and indeed the global economy are in turbulence.

The government recently announced its decision to extend the lifespan of Poland’s Special Economic Zones until 2026. Do you support such incentives for investors and what else could be done to attract them to Poland?

If it isn’t necessary, then it is always better not to have such SEZs. But if that is the price for attracting investment to Poland, then so be it. However, what is more important is creating an environment where entrepreneurs can have the peace of mind to make investments, because the effects of these investments take years.

Many investments require not five but 10 or more years before they begin to bear fruit.

And so we need not only Special Economic Zones, but also patience.

And business-friendly regulations ...

Of course. That patience must be reflected in our regulations. ●

14

INVESTING IN POLAND

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Investment of the Year As part of its mission to support foreign investment in Poland, Warsaw Business Journal aims to recognize companies that have made a large, positive contribution with their investments in Poland. To accomplish this goal, WBJ organized a competition for “Investment of the Year” awards, to be presented at the Investing in Poland Gala ceremony on October 23, 2013.

Investment of the Year Awards

The shortlist

The big night arrives

Small Investment of the Year Nominees COYOTE POLSKA INNOVATIVE ROAD INFORMATION SERVICE Jobs directly created by the investment: 10 Amount directly invested: €1 million Innovative factors: creating a new category in the field of information systems for drivers

Three companies will be honored by WBJ for their investments in Poland at a gala in Warsaw on October 23

SENER WARSAW AEROSPACE UNIT Jobs directly created by the investment: Currently 5, targeted 25 Amount directly invested: €500,000 so far Innovative factors: Cutting edge technologies in mechanics, optics and navigation

Medium-Sized Investment of the Year Nominees BOHEMIA MOTORS HIGH-TECH CAR SHOWROOM Jobs directly created by the investment: 31 Amount directly invested: z∏.7.1 million Innovative factors: The largest and most modern Skoda Dealership in Poland GHELAMCO POLAND T-MOBILE OFFICE PARK Jobs directly created by the investment: 23 Amount directly invested: WND Innovative factors: Sustainability, efficiency, comfort for users, technology WBJ

This week three firms will receive the honor of having their investments declared “Investment of the Year” by Warsaw Business Journal. The awards will be handed out at a gala ceremony on October 23, at the Amber Room restaurant in Warsaw.

The awards are an annual initiative created to shine a spotlight on foreign investments that are innovative and have a positive local impact.

The gala is one of three elements of Warsaw Business Journal Group’s Investing in Poland project, which aims to promote Poland as an attractive destination for foreign investment. The other two parts of the project are the Investing in Poland publication – the fifth edition of which was published in September – and a conference at which key issues affecting investment in Poland are discussed. This year the conference was also held in September.

The three winners will come in the categories of “Small Investment,” “Medium-Sized Investment” and “Large Investment,” as measured by jobs created. The criteria was agreed upon by the partners of the project: various bilateral chambers of commerce, PwC and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ).

The chambers of commerce partners nominated up to three investments, one per category, carried out by companies from their countries. To qualify for consideration, a nominated

DB SCHENKER RAIL POLSKA HIGH-TECH LOCOMOTIVES Jobs directly created by the investment: 1-10 Amount directly invested: €50 million Innovative factors: Ecological investment, technological improvement

investment project must have been completed between September 2012 and August 2013. Investments in the “Small Investment” category must not have created more than 10 jobs, those in the “MediumSized Investment” category must have created between 1199 workplaces, while investments in the “Large Investment” category must have created 100 jobs or more.

The investments must also have been innovative in some way, and had a positive impact on the local community.

A jury composed of the leaders of our chambers of commerce partners and deci-

sion makers in the business community, along with WBJ editor-in-chief Andrew Kureth, met in early October to decide on the winners.

Bigger than last year This year marks the second time WBJ has held a gala award ceremony to honor investments. Last year, only one investment was chosen to take home the Investment of the Year award.

In November of 2012, AstraZeneca Pharma Poland took home the award for its Research & Development Head unit (HUB). The center is one of five run by

AstraZeneca worldwide, and is the only one in Central & Eastern Europe. It runs clinical trials of pharmaceuticals in Poland and also coordinates such trials for AstraZeneca globally.

“We are surprised and honored,” said Patryk Mikucki, director of the HUB center, upon receiving the award.

“Investments like ours show that Poles are capable of doing anything that’s asked of them. We hope this award helps send that message to others.”

This year, WBJ and its partners hope to send that message yet again. ●

VEOLIA US¸UGI DLA ÂRODOWISKA INNOVATIVE WASTE-MANAGEMENT PLANT Jobs directly created by the investment: 15 Amount directly invested: z∏.28 million Innovative factors: The best available technologies in waste management

Large Investment of the Year Nominees GDF SUEZ ENERGIA POLSKA PO¸ANIEC POWER PLANT MODERNIZATION Jobs directly created by the investment: 100 Amount directly invested: €250 million Innovative factors: Scale, lowered environmental footprint, low ATEX risk HUAWEI POLAND CEE OPERATIONAL CENTER Jobs directly created by the investment: 100 Amount directly invested: WND Innovative factors: Modern technologies, IT

Investing in Poland Project Partners Organizers:

Strategic Partners:

Industry Partners:

Media Partners:

Event Partners:

Chambers of Commerce Publication Partners:

Warsaw’s office market faces significant oversupply, prompting investors to look for opportunities outside the capital’s CBD 17

Poland’s retail market will see some major completions in the last quarter of 2013 18

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

W a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s w e e k ly s u p p l e m e n t o n re a l e s t a t e , c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t

Construction

Boxelder to invest in Rzeszów

Construction sector on the rebound Although some companies in the construction sector are still teetering on the edge, the overall situation on the market is improving.

“The worst is behind the construction sector,” Adrian Kyrcz, an analyst at DM BZ WBK, told business daily Parkiet. “The market is stabilizing. Bankruptcies will still happen just like in any sector, but they won’t be as prevalent as they have been.”

Experts warn that the competition in the construction industry is still quite stiff, bringing price margins down.

However, the new EU financial period – during which Poland is scheduled to receive some €73 billion in EU largesse – brings hope to the sector in form of several major

Warimpex looking to sell properties

Apartment prices up 8% In September transaction prices in the apartment market in Poland’s largest cities dropped on average by 0.96% monthon-month and increased by over 8% year-on-year, according to an index calculated on the basis of transactions made by clients of Open Finance and Home Broker. Over the past 12 months, transaction prices for apartments increased the most in Kraków (over 14%), Warsaw (12%) and Bia∏ystok (10%), with the largest declines recorded in Gdynia (11.8%). ●

infrastructure projects on the way. “Many companies drew lessons from the last couple of years and will be more cautious when competing for contracts,” Mr Kyrcz added.

One of the major sector companies, Polimex-Mostostal, has been on the verge of bankruptcy for some time now. Last week, the company announced that after months of negotiating payment schedules, it had reached an agreement with its creditors and was preparing for a new project – the expansion of the Opole power plant.

Only a few days later, however, its subsidiary Modu∏owe Systemy Specjalistyczne filed a petition to have the company declared bankrupt.

Polimex-Mostostal is one of the key players in Poland’s construction business, with revenue at z∏.4.1 billion in 2012. The company’s share price has been on a steady decline for years, and has already lost over 70 percent

Developer UBM has received a building permit for a new office-service complex, called Times II, set to be constructed in downtown Wroc∏aw. The project will be made up of two buildings, together totaling 18,000 sqm of office and 2,500 sqm of retail space, situated between ul.

Kazimierza Wielkiego and ul. Ruska. The complex will feature 370 parking spaces in a multi-storey underground parking lot.

The building was designed by architectural studio APA Hubka to fit the historic tenement houses surrounding the complex. The investor purchased the land for the devel-

opment, covering a total area of 0.53 ha, in 2012 from the city of Wroc∏aw.

Construction on the scheme will be launched in late 2013 or early 2014 and should take 20 months, the developer said. UBM has already filed an application for LEED pre-certification and is hoping to receive the highest rating of Platinum.

UBM is active in the commercial market, as well as hospitality and residential segments. It is currently working on Poleczki Business Park in Warsaw and the Alma Tower office scheme in Kraków.

Beata Socha

Apartments for Rent Fund . . .16 Warsaw office market . . . . . . .17 Retail market in Q3 2013 . . . . .18

COURTESY OF UBM

Times II office scheme . . . . . . .16

of its activity, including road construction. Mr Kiszycki also said that the company expects to repeat its 2012 net profit in 2013.

Last week Unibep issued bonds worth z∏.22 million on the Catalyst market. They

Regaining losses There are, however, many companies which have managed to get by and some have even seen their stock prices rise on the WSE recently. For example, shares of Elektrobudowa, Budimex and Erbud have all gained since the beginning of the year, by over 28, 80 and 95 percent, respectively.

Unibep, whose stock price fell by over 50 percent throughout the course of 2011 and 2012, has already regained most of that loss.

The firm also announced it is “nearing about z∏.1 billion in revenue in 2013, compared to z∏.838 million in 2012,” Unibep’s CFO S∏awomir Kiszycki said at a press conference last Tuesday.

He added that the company has already signed contracts for 2014 worth some z∏.800 million and expects to be profitable in all segments

will mature in 2015 and 2016.

“The bonds will allow us to increase our working capital and improve our financial liquidity,” Mr Kiszycki added.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Beata Socha

Unibep’s CFO S∏awomir Kiszycki says the company expects z∏.1 billion in revenue in 2013

New office scheme in State-run BGK preparing Wroc∏aw’s old town apartments for rent in investment

In this issue Construction sector rebound .16

this year alone, from z∏.0.62 to z∏.0.18 on October 18.

COURTESY OF UNIBEP

Even though some key players are still on the ropes, the majority of the industry is seeing improvement

Irish company Boxelder may invest up to z∏.80 million in the construction of three office buildings near the court building at ul.

Kustronia in Rzeszów.

The company bought close to 0.7 ha six years ago. The design, prepared by Rzeszówbased architects from the MWM Architekci studio, consists of three modern, class-A office buildings, each six storeys high, with an underground parking lot. The buildings are expected to have a total of 17,000 sqm GLA.

Warsaw Stock Exchangelisted property investment firm Warimpex is working on the sale of Le Palais Hotel Prague and the Jupiter buildings in the Airportcity St. Petersburg project, the company said in a statement. In early 2013 it agreed to sell the Le Palais office building in Warsaw to IVG Warschau Fonds.

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013, LI 18/41

The new complex will deliver 18,000 sqm to Wroc∏aw’s office stock

The “Apartments for Rent Fund” established by stateowned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) should have a number of apartments ready to be rented out in the first half of 2014, the bank’s CEO Dariusz Kacprzyk said last week.

The fund will have z∏.5 billion at its disposal. It will invest in apartments for rent, no larger than 50-60 sqm each. At first it will buy properties in Warsaw, Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Poznaƒ, Tri-City and ¸ódê.

BGK aims to purchase a total of 20,000 apartments with the help of the fund.

“We are now mulling investments that could secure the first 10-15 percent of what we need,” Mr Kacprzyk said.

The rent levels will be set to allow the fund to make a profit, which currently corresponds to some 4 percent yields on invested capital.

But the Polish state-run bank is not the only one interested in buying real estate for rent. According to a report by residential real estate consultancy REAS, there is a number of large

foreign investment funds, mostly German ones, planing to buy up apartments for rent in Poland.

The REAS report, prepared with CMS Cameron McKenna and PwC, states that investing in residential properties with apartments for rent has become popular again in Western Europe.

In Western Europe apartments for rent under com-

mercial rules account for some 49 percent of all residential real estate. Meanwhile in Poland, they account for only 3 percent. The report also shows that young Poles are becoming less focused on owning their homes, but instead increasingly choose options that allow for more mobility.

Aleksandra S∏abisz, Beata Socha

Foreign company is looking for business opportunities or companies for sale with total investment of 1-5 Million US$.

Zagraniczna firma poszukuje ciekawego projektu inwestycyjnego lub możliwości zakupu firmy. Przewidziany poziom inwestycji w przedziale od 1 do 5 mln USD. Prosimy o kontakt mailowy:

pablo@koortade.com jerzy@koortrade.com

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

Office

Warsaw overheating?

In Q3 2013 the office stock in Warsaw reached 4.071 million sqm, while 246,400 sqm was completed in the first nine months of the year, according to data from the Warsaw Research Forum, a panel of experts representing all of the major real estate advisories in Poland. The biggest buildings completed in 2013 so far are: Konstruktorska Business Center (48,300 sqm), Miasteczko Orange (43,700 sqm) and Marynarska 12 (40,000 sqm).

Even though only two out of 15 projects delivered in Q1-Q3 2013 are located in the central part of Warsaw (Plac Bankowy – 3,700 sqm and Chmielna 25 – 4,300 sqm), Warsaw’s Central Business District has several large schemes in the pipeline, including Ghelamco’s 100,000sqm Warsaw Spire, set to be fully completed in 2015 and Echo Investment’s 55,000-sqm Q22 scheme, which is scheduled to be delivered in early 2016.

Vacancies are already much higher than in 2012. In the city center the vacancy rate currently stands at 10.5 percent and at 11.1 percent in the capital’s non-central locations.

Some 270,000 sqm of office space will be delivered in 2014 to the capital’s market, with 23 percent of that volume located in the city center, according to data compiled by Jones Lang LaSalle. With all the space set to come online soon, investors are increasingly worried about the rent levels that a building in central Warsaw could fetch. “Surely, there will be downward pressure on rent levels,” Waldemar Olbryk, managing director at Skanska Property Poland said.

Pre-leasing dilemma

Searching for opportunity Given the increasingly tight market in central Warsaw, developers are more often interested in opportunities outside of the capital’s CBD. Mr Harris of Tristan Capital Partners said he believes that office complexes outside of city centers have one significant advantage over office towers – they can be phased, which makes financing and looking for tenants much easier.

One such office complex, called Chopin Airport City, located in the southwestern part of Warsaw next to Chopin Airport, is expected to deliver 170,000 sqm of GLA within 17 buildings. Its main investor, state-controlled airport opera-

Chopin Airport City is set to deliver 170,000 sqm within 17 schemes tor Polish Airports (PPL), sees it as a way to diversify its income sources and minimize risks from its primary activity, airport management.

“Developing an office complex, equipped with retail, service and recreational facilities, is part of a global trend,” explained Aleksandra Matuszewska, strategy and development bureau director at PPL. “Office complexes close to airports in major cities are ideal for companies with subsidiaries or affiliates all over the world,” she added.

The company is still looking for business partners for the project. “We are talking to developers, looking to get their know-how and some feedback,” Ms Matuszwska said. “At this time we are working on the zoning plan and utilities for the 22.5 ha plot. I think that 2015 is a realistic time frame for launching construction work.”

Park said.

Capital Park is also interested in opportunities that historic, albeit slightly dilapidated, pieces of real estate can offer.

Its mixed-use ArtNorblin project is located within a former factory at the intersection of ul.

Prosta and ul. ˚elazna in the capital’s Wola district.

“We try not to compete with prices. Obviously, we function on a market and we are bound by its rules. But we try to build unique and high-quality projects, which make price considerations secondary,” Ms Nowakowska said.

Tenant-driven market Experts from outside of Poland seem to share the view that tenants are becoming increasingly focused on the quality of their working space. “There is a certain dichotomy growing in the office market when it comes to expectations of the investors and the tenants,” James A. Stolpestad, CEO of Allianz Real Estate America, said.

“Investors want to have all the boxes checked on their lists, but tech users, they come in and they say the building is cool, or they say that it’s boring.”

Polish developers are also aware of the changes in tenant attitudes. “Employees are becoming more demanding, offices are becoming a vital part of the job offer these days in the tenant-driven market.

We are still learning the tenant market.” Waldemar Olbryk from Skanska said.

Quality vs price Another Polish company, investor and developer Capital Park, also focuses mainly on non-central districts. The developer is currently involved in the Royal Wilanów office complex in Warsaw’s southern district of Wilanów, which is set to deliver 29,800 sqm of office space and 7,000 sqm of retailservice space in H2 2015.

“It is a typically residential district, with a significant shortage of office and retail space, which Wilanów desperately needs,” Kinga Nowakowska, head of asset management, sales and marketing at Capital

CEE hub

COURTESY OF CAPITAL PARK GROUP

Pre-leasing of at least some of the planned space is one option for developers. It is even a prerequisite for getting proper financing. However, in order to pre-lease a building, rent levels need to be lowered

considerably.

“Given that a tower [in Warsaw’s CBD] has to average some €24-25 [per sqm per month] to make it sustainable, and you give away the first 40 percent at €21, what is your remaining 60 percent is going to be at? €28?,” Daniel Harris from Tristan Capital Partners explained.

Some believe, however, that the market will regulate itself not by pushing rents down but by pushing projects back, particularly those which have not yet reached the desired level of occupancy. Mr Harris believes that Warsaw could probably absorb one office tower every five years.

“The winners will be people who secure pre-leases. The losers will be the people who don’t,” Mr Harris said and added, “It doesn’t mean they won’t build their towers, they just might do it a little later.”

Marcin Juszczyk from Capital Park said that banks will also play their part as regulators.

“Banks are a lot stricter these days considering the enormous supply pipeline and limited demand,” he said.

COURTESY OF PRZEDSI¢BIORSTWO PA¡STWOWE “PORTY LOTNICZE”

With 270,000 sqm scheduled to be delivered in 2014, Warsaw’s office market is coming dangerously close to oversupply. Developers are increasingly interested in areas outside the capital’s CBD

Capital Park’s Royal Wilanów office project will feature nearly 30,000 sqm of office space

Whether central or non-central, Warsaw’s office schemes are on the top of the list for international companies looking to move into the Polish market.

“Warsaw is becoming the central hub for international businesses in Central and Eastern Europe,” Mr Harris said. “People want to be in Warsaw. It is the capital city, it is where all the business is done. If Apple is going to come and set up a head office in Central Europe, it’s going to choose Warsaw,” Mr Harris added.

Beata Socha

www.wbj.pl

17

18

www.wbj.pl

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Retail

Nearly 300,000 sqm of retail space about to come out of the pipeline

A total of 300,000 sqm of retail space will become available in Poland in Q4, in seven new complexes and five expanded ones, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle.

Over half of the new retail space supply will be available within three large complexes in major cities: Riviera in Gdynia, Poznaƒ City Centre in Poznaƒ and Auchan Bronowice in Kraków.

Only two retail centers in which new space will open up – Trzy Korony in Nowy Sàcz and Brama Pomorza in Chojnice – are medium in size. The rest are smaller retail centers, including Stara Kablownia in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Dekada in Grójec and Galeria Olimp in Lublin.

One of the projects scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013, Warsaw’s mixed-use complex Plac Unii, developed

by BBI Development and Liebrecht & Wood, was launched in early October and offers 15,500 sqm of retail space and 41,300 sqm of office space.

In Q3, 2013, the market of retail space increased by barely 53,000 sqm, increasing the total supply of modern retail space in Poland at the end of September to 11.4 million sqm. Some 8.2 million sqm, or close to 72 percent of the total, can be found in shopping centers. The rest is in retail parks, individual stores and outlet centers.

According to the report, at the end of 2013, developers will have added a total of 485,000 sqm of new retail space. There are still some 800,000 sqm of retail space under construction, set to be delivered within the next two years, half of which will come in medium-sized projects. The new space will be evenly distributed between major cities, as well as small and mediumsized ones.

Retailers’ choice At the end of H1 2013 the vacancy rate stood at 4 percent

in cities with populations above 200,000. The highest vacancy rates were recorded in Poznaƒ, Wroc∏aw, Radom and Toruƒ, with the lowest in Warsaw, Szczecin and Katowice.

“Unsurprisingly, prime assets located in the main metropolitan areas attract most retailer demand. Landlords of centers perceived as secondary by market stakeholders, or those located in very competitive markets, are facing downward pressures on rents and high expectations from occupiers with regard to fit-out contributions,” said Agnieszka Tarajko-Bàk, a senior research analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Deals closed and closing The volume of retail transactions in the first three quarters closed at €773 million, with the biggest ones being Silesia City Center shopping mall in Katowice, Silesia, acquired by Allianz for some €412 million and Galeria Dominikaƒska, in Wroc∏aw, purchased by Atrium European Real Estate for €151.7 million.

JLL estimates the total value of transactions in the retail sector will exceed z∏.1.5

COURTESY OF BBI DEVELOPMENT

In the whole of 2013 developers will deliver 485,000 sqm of retail space, bringing the total retail stock in Poland close to 12 million sqm

The recently completed Plac Unii mixed-used project delivered 15,000 sqm billion by the end of 2013, a level similar to than recorded in 2011 and higher than the volumes seen in 2010 and 2012. Major deals still at preliminary stages include the

acquisition of Galeria Kazimierz in Kraków by Invesco for €180 million, the Purchase of a portfolio of retail properties in Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Szczecin and several cities in

Silesia by Tristan Capital Partners for €174.5 million, and the acquisition of the Wola Park shopping center in Warsaw by Inter IKEA. Beata Socha

Media patronage

As many as 13 PRCH Retail Awards were given to the best shopping centers and retail chains in Poland On October 17, The Polish Council of Shopping Centers (PRCH) announced the winners of the PRCH Retail Awards 2013, marking the fourth annual edition of the honors. The statuettes were awarded in four main categories: Shopping Centers, Shopping Center Marketing, Retail Chain and Retail Chain Marketing.

Two shopping malls were awarded distinctions as the best-performing shopping centers in 2013: Neinver’s Galeria Malta in Poznaƒ and ECE Projektmanagement’s Galeria Ba∏tycka in Gdaƒsk.

Meanwhile, mobile network operator Play was named the winner in the best-performing retail chain category, while footwear retailer

Deichmann and children’s toys and clothing firm Smyk were awarded distinctions.

The PRCH jury awarded shopping centers for their marketing campaigns in six subcategories. Metro Properties was awarded a distinction for the best sales campaign of the year 2013, called “Auction” and carried out in the Centrum Handlowe Ster shopping mall in Szczecin.

Cream Caelum Real Estate Asset Management received two awards: one for its B2B campaign dubbed “NoVa Park, an idea for an ideal business” conducted in Cantrum Handlowe Nova Park in Gorzów Wilkopolski, as well as for its CSR campaign “Askana’s 5th birthday,” carried out in Galeria Askana, also in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

Grem Gemini Real Estate Management was given an award and a distinction for its two public relations campaigns. Its

“Here comes Podbeskidzie... with Gemini Park BielskoBia∏a” campaign garnered an award for the best PR campaign of 2013, while project “Gemini TV” performed in Gemini Park Tarnów was given a distinction in the same category.

BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory and Property Management received a distinction for the refurbishing of the interior and facade of its Dom Mody Klif in Warsaw, a project called “Modomorfoza.” Inter IKEA won an award for its “Gok Wan in Port ¸ódê” event, which included a visit from British fashion consultant Gok Wan in the Port ¸ódê mall.

Finally, the only distinction awarded to a retail chain for its marketing campaign was given to Tchibo Warszawa for obtaining the “Green Shop Certificate.”

The centers and retail networks nominated for the award were required to submit applications detailing

COURTESY OF PRCH

Best malls and retailers awarded

The winners of PRCH Retail Awards 2013 their endeavors. Retail centers were assessed for their marketing, management and commercialization strategy, architectural design, their cooperation with local community, as well as their results, including revenue and footfall. Tenants were judged by their brand creation strategy, the number

and location of their retail points, store design and window display, marketing strategy and customer service quality.

Both the centers and the tenants participating in the marketing campaign category were required to submit their campaign goals and strategy, a detailed descrip-

tion of marketing tactics and tools and the campaigns budgets as well as its results.

PRCH is a non-profit association of over 200 investors, developers and tenants of shopping centers.

Its Retail Awards serve the purpose of promoting best practices in Poland’s retail market. ●

MARKETS

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

15,371.65 (Oct 17 close)

S&P500

3,863.15 (Oct 17 close)

1.62% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,733.15 (Oct 17 close)

2.72% (for the week)

DAX

6,622.58 (Oct 18 close)

2.40% (for the week)

2.09% (for the week)

Another seesaw week

NIKKEI 8,865.10 (Oct 18 close)

14,561.54 (Oct 18 close)

1.61% (for the week)

1.09% (for the week)

CHANGE: 14.61% (year to Oct 17)

CHANGE: 24.13% (year to Oct 17)

CHANGE: 18.51% (year to Oct 17)

CHANGE: 9.87% (year to Oct 18)

CHANGE: 13.97% (year to Oct 18)

CHANGE: 36.24% (year to Oct 18)

52-week high: 15,709.58

52-week high: 3,863.40

52-week high: 1,733.45

52-week high: 6,875.60

52-week high: 8,865.10

52-week high: 15,942.60

52-week low: 12,471.49

52-week low: 2,810.80

52-week low: 1,343.35

52-week low: 5,605.60

52-week low: 6,950.53

52-week low: 8,619.45

Omar Arnaout Noble Securities SA It was another week of sharp ups and downs on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, with lots of uncertainty yet again in the market. Investors’ attention was mainly focused on the United States Congress, which decided to allow the Treasury to continue borrowing until February 2014 in order to pay the country’s debts and thus avert a default.

While stock markets rose on the news, it is interesting to note that the decision did not fuel a strong increase on global markets. Investors simply refused to believe that the US Congress would not finally allow the debt limit to be raised. If the US Congress hadn’t reached a decision, then a big drop in stock markets around the world could have been expected.

As to the Warsaw Stock Exchange, after an increase on the market at the beginning of

Major indices WIG

52,587.24 (October 18 close)

WIG30

2,645.30 (October 18 close)

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

07.10

04.10

03.10

02.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

2,400

07.10

48,000

04.10

2,460

03.10

49,000

02.10

2,520

01.10

50,000

30.09

2,580

27.09

51,000

26.09

2,640

25.09

52,000

24.09

2,700

23.09

53,000

01.10

52-week low: 2,286.99

30.09

Change year to October 18: 0.80%

27.09

52-week low: 43,145.55

26.09

52-week high: 2,679.62

Change year to October 18: 9.31%

25.09

Change for the week: -0.25%

24.09

52-week high: 52,861.41

23.09

Change for the week: 0.68%

Top 5 BIOTON MOSTALWAR GREENECO ORZBIALY ALTERCO

Closing 0.03 4.90 0.90 17.89 1.00

% change (week) 52-week high 50.00 0.10 29.29 16.85 26.76 3.29 22.45 18.80 20.48 4.10

52-week low 0.02 2.60 0.60 10.41 0.61

Top 5 INGBSK CYFRPLSAT CCC HANDLOWY SYNTHOS

Closing 118.70 23.80 133.90 124.15 5.32

% change (week) 7.91 7.45 5.93 5.21 4.72

52-week high 121.50 24.70 141.60 128.95 6.00

52-week low 82.30 13.95 56.19 80.70 4.12

Bottom 5 REINHOLD PLAZACNTR ALIOR MEWA CIGAMES

Closing 0.71 0.76 73.30 0.18 9.00

% change (week) -26.04 -25.49 -22.80 -21.74 -18.18

52-week low 0.22 0.76 59.50 0.13 8.90

Bottom 5 ALIOR JSW KERNEL PGNIG PKNORLEN

Closing 73.30 68.55 50.70 5.74 44.70

% change (week) -22.80 -7.79 -5.09 -4.01 -1.54

52-week high 100.50 94.15 72.35 6.76 55.56

52-week low 59.50 57.70 45.10 3.78 39.52

52-week high 1.19 2.25 100.50 0.42 28.90

2,485.13 (October 18 close)

mWIG40

Change for the week: -0.18%

52-week high: 2,628.36

Change for the week: 1.46%

52-week high: 3,514.54

52-week low: 2,177.02

Change year to October 18: 34.40%

52-week low: 2,383.61

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

07.10

04.10

03.10

02.10

01.10

30.09

26.09

27.09

SOURCE: WSE

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

07.10

04.10

03.10

02.10

01.10

30.09

27.09

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

310 08.10

13,000

07.10

316

04.10

13,300

03.10

322

02.10

13,600

01.10

328

30.09

13,900

27.09

334

26.09

14,200

25.09

340

24.09

25.09

52-week low: 296.29

14,500

23.09

24.09

52-week high: 353.00

Change year to October 18: -1.04%

26.09

52-week low: 9,660.90

328.75 (October 18 close)

25.09

Change year to October 18: 35.35%

NewConnect Change for the week: 1.35%

24.09

52-week high: 14,253.72

23.09

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

14,253.72 (October 18 close)

Change for the week: 4.51%

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

23.09

sWIG80

08.10

3,100 07.10

2,300

04.10

3,200

03.10

2,360

02.10

3,300

01.10

2,420

30.09

3,400

27.09

2,480

26.09

3,500

25.09

2,540

24.09

3,600

23.09

2,600

US not going bankrupt – yet

3,452.12 (October 18 close)

Change year to October 18: -5.37%

the week, Tuesday brought uncertainty, with the WIG20 Futures index closing lower and technical factors indicating more decreases.

However, the market remained mostly flat with some increases on Wednesday and Thursday, but this was halted on Friday due to news that new regulatory standards would be introduced whereby banks would have to increase their equity value from the beginning of 2014. The market reacted negatively.

The decline on the market was additionally fueled by sell recommendations on Polish banks from JP Morgan, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. The market bounced back and reached just above the opening price for the week, showing investors how uncertain the economy currently is. ●

Currency report

Other indices WIG20

19

As expected, the Democrats and Republicans agreed on the US budget as well as on the extension of the debt limit at the last minute. As a result, the country will not go into technical bankruptcy and can borrow more from investors. The markets reacted positively to the news, with stock markets rising and the dollar depreciating (investors moved capital to more risky assets). The EUR/USD, which tested the support level of $1.35 by midweek, advanced all the way to almost $1.37. This week I expect a slight corrective movement, but afterward higher levels should be seen.

As risk aversion declined, the z∏oty continued its slow appreciation.

Macroeconomic news from the local economy has

not supported the z∏oty, as CPI inflation slowed in September to 1.0 percent year-on-year, while industrial production increased by 6.2 percent on a yearly basis (lower than expectations).

Despite the news, the z∏oty appreciated, mainly due to information from the US. The EUR/PLN, which was close to z∏.4.20 at the beginning of last week, reached a weekly low of z∏.4.16, then rebounded to z∏.4.18.

The USD/PLN on the other hand tumbled from z∏.3.10 to z∏.3.05 throughout the course of last week. As the z∏oty has gained two consecutive weeks in a row, it now needs a breather. I expect corrective movements this week that could lift the EUR/PLN back to z∏.4.20 and the USD/PLN to z∏.3.08. ●

currency rates 3.1172 18.10

SOURCE: NBP

3.1274

3.1364 16.10

17.10

3.1360 15.10

14.10

3.1385 11.10

0.0954

0.0957 18.10

3.1

3.1467

100JPY/PLN

3.2

17.10

0.0957 16.10

0.0958 15.10

14.10

0.0957 11.10

3.3858

3.3824 18.10

0.095

0.0958

RUB/PLN

0.1

17.10

3.3814 16.10

3.3889 15.10

14.10

3.3977 11.10

4.9286

4.9375 18.10

3.35

3.3927

CHF/PLN

3.45

17.10

4.9461 16.10

4.9375 15.10

4.9422 14.10

4.9289 4.9

11.10

3.0625

3.0506 18.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

GBP/PLN

5

17.10

3.0854

3.0893

3.0850 3.0

11.10

4.1769 18.10

4.1738

3.0936

USD/PLN

3.1

17.10

4.1755 16.10

4.1855 15.10

14.10

4.1861 11.10

4.10

4.1925

EUR/PLN

4.25

20

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Corporate Services

HR Companies - Selection & Recruitment Ranked by total number of personnel recruited in 2012

www.bookoflists.pl

Job valuation / Training / Market monitoring

Number of offices: Worldwide / In Poland

Number of recruiters / Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

3,160 3,009 2,893

1,769 1,674 1,697

1,289 1,246 1,105

102 89 91

3,327 3,204 3,112

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Try&hire; master vendoring; development center; on-site management; international recruitment; personnel consulting

5,400 43

44 211 1994

None Adecco - 100%

2

Hays Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. Z∏ota 59, 00-120 Warsaw 22 584-5650/22 584-5651 info@hays.pl www.hays.pl

1,894 WND 1,230

270 WND 130

914 WND 610

710 WND 490

1,894 WND 1,230

10 80 10 -

✓ ✓ -

✓

✓

Outplacement; IT contracting; RPO; interim management; employer branding; outsourcing

245 8

WND 190 2002

None Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited - 100%

3

Antal International Sp. z o.o. ul. Ks. Skorupki 5, 00-546 Warsaw 22 483-5000/22 483-5001 info@antal.com www.antal.pl

1,066 638 321

-

1,039 602 282

27 34 39

1,306 903 557

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Potential assesment; system of periodic assessment

110 3

74 110 1996

None Antal International Limited - 100%

4

Grafton Recruitment Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Sienna 39, 00-121 Warsaw 22 654-4646/22 654-4333 grafton@grafton.pl www.grafton.pl

1,046 794 594

135 119 89

517 500 374

259 175 131

1,138 2,020 1,485

12 60 28 -

✓ -

✓ ✓

✓

Investment advice; development center; HR and payroll; international recruitment; outsourcing

70 6

40 67 1997

WND

5

Grupa Randstad Al. Jerozolimskie 56C, 00-803 Warsaw 22 462-2500/22 462-2600 firma@pl.randstad.com www.randstad.pl

940 1,108 1,116

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND 1,116

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

-

HR and payroll outsourcing; staff leasing; interim management; motivation systems; competence models

4,496 60

60 433 1994

None Randstad Holding 100%

Kajetan S∏onina

6

Michael Page International (Poland) Sp. z o.o.(1) ul. Z∏ota 59, 00-120 Warsaw 22 319-3000/22 319-3055 contact@michaelpage.pl www.michaelpage.pl

789 640 503

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

30 60 10 -

✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Taylor-made search tools; behavioral/numerical/verbal tests

164 2

WND WND 2005

None Michael Page International - 100%

Yannick Coulange

7

ManpowerGroup Sp. z o.o. ul. Nowogrodzka 68, 02-014 Warsaw 22 504-0715/22 504-0717 manpowergroup@pl.manpowergroup.com www.manpowergroup.pl

727 738 892

WND WND 215

WND WND 557

WND WND 120

727 738 892

0.1 1.5 94.7 3.7

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Business process outsourcing; external employment; talent management

3,600 38

60 225 2001

None Manpower France Holding - 100%

8

WADWICZ Sp. z o.o. ul. Karczewska 18, 04-112 Warsaw 22 345-6601/22 345-6630 biuro@wadwicz.pl www.wadwicz.pl

423 399 320

380 360 300

30 25 20

13 14 -

31 29 20

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND

WND WND

WND WND 1992

Jaros∏aw Adamkiewicz - 90%; S∏awomir Adamkiewicz - 10% None

9

Reed Employment Limited Oddzia∏ w Polsce Al. Jerozolimskie 123A, 02-217 Warsaw 22 397-3100/22 397-3101 info.poland@reedglobal.com www.reedglobal.pl

333 305 305

-

232 210 210

101 95 95

350 330 330

40 60 -

✓ ✓ -

✓

✓ ✓

WND

400 1

9 18 2005

None Reed Employment Limited - 100%

10

Sanpro Job Service Sp. z o.o. ul. Antoniego S∏onimskiego 6, 50-304 Wroc∏aw 800-190-911/71 711-0001 cc.info@impel.pl www.sanpro.impel.pl

270 202 195

180 130 125

60 45 40

30 27 30

122 192 195

3 6 91 -

✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND

12 12

27 147 2003

WND

11

Recfood Consulting Sp. z o.o. ul. Leszno 8/1, 01-192 Warsaw 22 436-2070/22 862-4019 office@recfood.pl www.recfood.pl

215 190 36

30 45 15

115 85 11

70 60 10

215 190 36

80 20 -

✓ ✓ -

✓

✓ ✓

Salary comparison

7 1

8 9 1997

Recfood Consulting 100% None

Waldemar Paturej

12

HRK SA Pl. Bankowy 2, 00-095 Warsaw 22 420-2000/22 420-2019 hrk@hrk.pl www.hrk.eu

195 220 250

14 11 14

156 164 205

25 45 31

195 220 250

35 25 40

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Employer branding; payroll consulting; recruitment software talent finder; Media Service; 360 degrees valuation

6 6

40 180 2000

Zbigniew Woêniakowski; Tomasz Soko∏owski None

Zbigniew Woêniakowski

13

Progres Sp. z o.o., Sp.k. ul. Kossaka 4, 83-000 Pruszcz Gdaƒski 58 692-0413/58 692-0414 sylwia.glowczynska@progreshr.pl www.progreshr.pl

148 WND WND

72 WND WND

66 WND WND

10 WND WND

WND WND WND

7.8 92.2 -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND

12 12

WND 78 2008

Piotr Zajàc - 100% None

Piotr Zajàc

14

Devonshire Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jerozolimskie 56C, 00-803 Warsaw 22 820-9360/22 820-9328 biuro@devonshire.pl www.devonshire.pl

122 132 152

-

120 130 150

2 2 2

200 230 250

57 20 20 3

✓ ✓ -

-

✓

Temporary work agency

5 3

13 30 2006

None Devonshire Recruitment Holdings - 100%

15

RI Consultancy Services Sp. z o.o. ul. Âwi´tokrzyska 18, 00-052 Warsaw 22 829-9230/22 829-9226 info@recruitment.pl www.recruitment.pl

110 107 87

40 53 54

55 43 31

15 11 2

112 111 87

30 70 -

✓ -

-

✓ -

WND

6 1

70 89 2001

WND

Company name Address Tel./Fax E-mail Web page

Number of personnel recruited overall

Number of low-ranking personnel recruited

Number of Number of medium- high-ranking Total ranking management number of personnel personnel orders recruited recruided

2012 / 2011 / 2010

Notes: WND = Would Not Disclosed. Research for The List was conducted in April 2013. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of April 2013. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Only the top 15 companies are listed here - for the full list subscribe at BookofLists.pl.

Footnotes: (1) Consolidated data of Michael Page and Page Personnel.

Income berakdown (%): Executive Search / S&R / Temporary Work Agencies / Other

1

Adecco Poland Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19, 00-854 Warsaw 22 376-0900/22 376-0901 biuro.hq@adecco.com www.adecco.pl

Rank

HR dept. management / Satisfaction surveys / Outplacement

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Headhunting / Assessment center / Management audit

A guide to Polish business and industry

Services offered

Other

Top local executive / Title

Anna Wicha General Director

Micha∏ M∏ynarczyk Managing Director CEE

Artur Skiba Managing Director

Aleksandra Iwicka Country Manager

Managing Director

Executive Director

Iwona Janas

Jaros∏aw Adamkiewicz President

Tomasz Borowiecki Country Manager

Grzegorz Tyszka President

President

President

President

Daniel ¸upiƒski General Director

John Smith; Paulina ¸àczek Regional Director; Country Manager

To the best of WBJ ’s knowledge, the information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, omissions and typographical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Monika Brysiak, ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to +48 22 257-7500, or via e-mail to online@bookoflists.pl. Copyright 2013, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

www.wbj.pl

21

Media patronage

Wake up, Europe. Business is awaiting a decision During the III European Forum for New Ideas in Sopot, over 1,000 people from over a dozen countries, including distinguished economists, business leaders and scientists, considered how to heal the Old Continent and what to do to overcome the crisis.

“Europe and the whole world face great challenges. We, Europeans, will not be relieved from the necessity of establishing the vision of Europe of XXI century.” So begins the Sopot Declaration adopted by the participants of EFNI at its conclusion.

Henryka Bochniarz, president of the Lewiatan Confederation, the forum’s organ-

forum’s title questions: ‘Where to now, Europe? How to renew the Old Continent?’

Certainly not in the sense of a simple, clear prescription. For in the current crisis, one must apply both radical and subtle methods.

And, without ceasing discussion, one must get down to work. As quickly as possible,” Ms Bochniarz added.

Jacek Krawiec, president of the board of PKN Orlen, also called for bold action.

“Excessive regulations have hampered European business and reduced the competitiveness of firms in the Old Continent. The prescription for stagnation must be above all a search for innovation and a release of poten-

Andrzej Klesyk, president of the board of PZU, pointed to the major role of the internet and new technologies. He said it is very difficult to describe the maturing organism which is the internet, especially because it is changing rapidly, often in an unpredictable manner.

The message of this year’s EFNI was also included in the Sopot Declaration – “Reviving European solidarity, reconstructing the European economic and social model, meeting the demographic challenges and re-embarking along the path of a growing competitiveness and innovation of the European economy require arduous work. We must be together in this. The future of successive generations of Europeans is our joint responsibility. It must be based on the values that create European identity – openness, tolerance, respect, work, solidarity, cooperation and dialogue.”

To harness this phenomenon and its consequences, it is necessary to take a broader look not only at social media, but also at human relations in general. “That is why at the plenary session entitled ‘New technologies and democracy, society and the market’ we succeeded, together with our illustrious guests, in examining many problems whose consequences we shall feel in future not just as individuals, but as the whole of society,” he said.

The European Forum for New Ideas is one of the most prestigious international congresses of business communities. Since 2011, it has gathered distinguished economists and representatives of the world of science, culture, politics and business in Sopot. The forum is organized by the Lewiatan Confederation in cooperation with BUSINESSEUROPE, the City of Sopot, and Polish and international companies and institutions. ●

tries that make up the united Europe. The ideal would be to combine the innumerable diversities into a single common idea. However, when planning new solutions, one must firmly think about the future. After all, good ideas cannot have a ‘use by’ date.

They must be timeless,” he added.

izer, said that this year the forum was closer to the shape participants had dreamed of.

tial, especially among the young generation,” he said.

“Creative debates, diverse in form, between people with different views, from various communities and continents – that is what we had in mind,” she said. “There were inspiring speakers, there were fresh ideas, and there were also ideas that are already known but were presented in new contexts. Did we find an answer to the

“To be together, Europe needs fresh enthusiasm, the energy to act, and unity,” said Andrzej Kozminski, vice chairman of Orange Polska’s supervisory board. “History has taught us that problems can be solved more easily in a larger group that is united by a common goal. Therefore it is worth exploiting the strength of diversity of all the coun-

SPORTS & LIFESTYLE

OCTOBER 21-27, 2013

Soccer

www.wbj.pl

23

Concert

Poland ends qualifying Thin Lizzy redux campaign with a loss Poland’s games against England are always met with a great deal of excitement on both sides. Ever since the legendary game in 1973 at Wembley which ended in a 1-1 draw and promoted Poland to the 1974 World Cup and knocked out the English, Poland has hoped to repeat its past success, while English fans scare their children with the tale of the “Polish clown,” goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski, who destroyed the Three Lions’ dreams by cutting short almost every attempt on goal that came his way in that fateful game 40 years ago.

Last Tuesday’s game against England was a completely different story, however. After losing to Ukraine four days earlier, Poland had no chance whatsoever to qualify for next year’s World Cup. England, on the other hand, had to win to secure a spot and avoid a play-off.

Poland started strong with two great chances by Robert Lewandowski and Waldemar Sobota. Unfortunately, in both

SHUTTERSTOCK

England secured a World Cup berth after beating Poland 2-0

England’s Steven Gerrerd scored the second goal of the game cases the Poles were unable to put the ball past England’s goalkeeper. After that it was England who dominated the game.

After several minutes of continuous attack, four minutes shy of the halftime whistle, Wayne Rooney put the ball in the back of Poland’s net, sending the English fans wild.

Steven Gerrard sealed the deal in the 88th minute, making

sure that his team would win their qualifying group. Poland finished fourth in the group behind England, Ukraine and Montenegro, overtaking only Moldova and San Marino.

The game was the last one for Polish coach Waldemar Fornalik, who was fired the next day. The name of the new coach should be known within the next two weeks.

Jacek Ciesnowski

The story of legendary Irish band Thin Lizzy didn’t end with the passing of its leader Phil Lynott back in 1986. The rest of the band, after a long hiatus, got back together in 1996 to perform again as a tribute to Mr Lynott’s life and work. It was, however, only a touring act and the band never released any new material out of respect for its leader.

Now, with Thin Lizzy still playing live shows from time to time, the members of the band have decided it’s time to write something new. They formed the Black Star Riders as a vehicle to release new material.

Although there is only one original member of Thin Lizzy still in the band – former lead guitarist Scott Gorham – fans and experts alike say the Black Star Riders’ music is the next step in the evolution of the Thin Lizzy story.

“As a lifelong Thin Lizzy fan, I was floored by this lineup’s new material. Not only do the new songs sound like Thin Lizzy but they sound like classic Thin Lizzy,” said Monte

COURTESY OF NUCLEAR BLAST

Black Star Riders October 31 Klub Studio Kraków

Black Star Riders

Conner, a record executive who signed the band.

The band will visit Poland fresh off the release of its first album, “All Hell Breaks Loose.” It will be one of the band’s first shows after having debuted on stage in May. After a minor delay earlier this month, the Kraków gig comes in sixth on the band’s inaugural tour schedule of its European circuit, which lasts until mid-December.

Fans can expect tracks

from the Black Star Riders album as well as Thin Lizzy’s classic numbers, as the band knows it can’t escape the shadow of the original legends. Nevertheless, it’s honorable that they’re not using the name of one of the most renowned bands in rock history to promote their new material, and that they’re trying to make it on their own.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Tickets start at z∏.90

To advertise in WBJ’s classifieds section, contact Agnieszka Brejwo, at (+48) 222-577-526 or abrejwo@wbj.pl