WBJ #8 2013

Presidential comeback

Louis Vuitton-ski

Former President Aleksander KwaÊniewski is back in politics. Will he resuscitate the left?

The famous brand plans to open its first store in Poland this year 5

WWW.WBJ.PL

3, 10

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 8 • MARCH 4-10, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

Tech Poland

COURTESY OF BBI

REAL ESTATE

• Nowy Sezam • Rondo 1 Run Up • Angel Wawel interview 15-17

In this issue

¸UKASZ MAZUREK/WBJ/SHUTTERSTOCK

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Tech Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .15-17 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Poland’s hi-tech sector is moving from strength to strength. WBJ presents a special report.

11-13

New conservative party?

Slowdown over?

WBJ talks to Pawe∏ Poncyljusz, deputy leader of the conservative Poland Comes First party, about plans to create a new and moderate center-right party in Poland

Poland’s economy grew by 1.1 percent in Q4, 2012. Is that a cause for optimism regarding 2013?

4

8-9

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

was Poland’s year-on-year GDP growth rate in Q4 of 2012, somewhat better than the market had expected.

5% is the virtually unchanged level of support for the socially liberal Palikot’s Movement party after its leader, Janusz Palikot, and former President Aleksander KwaÊniewski announced they were joining forces for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

124 is the number of countries that received Polish exports in 2012.

14.2% is Poland’s registered unemployment rate for January, compared with 13.4 percent in December 2012.

Quote of the Week

As WBJ was going to press, Prime Minister Donald Tusk was set to announce the fate of Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin, the presumed leader of a conservative faction in the ruling Civic Platform party that has scuppered a number of the prime minister’s plans.

Last week, Pawe∏ GraÊ, the government’s spokesperson, wrote on his Twitter account that on Monday, March 4, Mr Tusk would decide on Mr Gowin’s future in the government. To this, Mr Gowin tweeted: “I don’t like Mondays.”

Speculation has been rife regarding Mr Gowin’s fate in the government ever since a January parliamentary debate on civil unions, during which the justice minister openly

defied the prime minister, calling Civic Platform’s legislative proposal on the issue “unconstitutional.”

Mr Tusk promptly rebuked Mr Gowin, saying the justice minister was simply expressing his personal opinion and not that of the government.

But that was not the first time Mr Gowin had stepped on the PM’s toes. The justice minister is often described as the leader of a strongly conservative faction in Civic Platform made up of anything from 40 to 50 MPs. This group becomes vocal any time a social issue such as abortion, in vitro fertilization or LGBT rights comes up on the parliamentary agenda.

The conservatives have, in the past, acted to torpedo any

attempt to liberalize Poland’s laws governing social issues.

This is a problem for Mr Tusk, who has always presented his party as a moderate, centerright, modernist party open to politicians of different views.

Along with the staunchly conservative Mr Gowin and his followers, Civic Platform also includes left-leaning Health Minister Bartosz Ar∏ukowicz and those who share his views.

Now some Civic Platform supporters are openly accusing the prime minister of having allowed the conservatives to set the tone in his party to the detriment of its more liberal electorate. Until now Mr Tusk had tolerated his recalcitrant minister, but his patience may have finally run out.

Remi Adekoya

“The slowdown we have today is the result of policy errors in the euro zone between the middle of 2010 to the middle of 2012. ... Now that those fundamental policy errors have been corrected, recovery should be natural.”

Jacek Rostowski, Poland’s finance minister in an interview with the Financial Times regarding prospects for the Polish economy.

Figures in focus Looking for work?

Unemployment rates†, seasonally adjusted, selected EU countries (in %, as of January 2013) 30 25 * Highest in the EU ** Lowest in the EU

20 15 10 5

Un an ite d dK ing do Cz m ec hR ep ub lic Ge rm an y Au str ia* *

ly Ita

† According to Eurostat methodology

Po l

On WBJ.pl

kia

0

EC withholds €34.4 million in funding for Poland The European Commission will not make agricultural policy fund payments to Poland after irregularities were found in the auditing of expenditures. Poland will not be able to get a refund of €34.4 million from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which equals to 5% of the spending on farmers' pensions in 2007-2010. The EC said that Polish supervisory procedures were not strict enough in checking whether people applying for early pensions were indeed commercialscale farmers. ●

1.1%

Slo va

Scandinavian banking group Nordea is said to be looking for a buyer for its Polish subsidiary, Nordea Bank Polska.

The owner has hired Bank of America/Merrill Lynch as an adviser on the sale, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported quoting unnamed sources. Nordea's spokesman Erik Durhan declined to comment on the report. Nordea Bank Polska had assets of z∏.33.3 billion at the end of 2012.

Jaros∏aw Gowin

ain

Nordea Bank to sell Polish unit?

Numbers in the News

Sp

Poland's Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) has eased its recommendation for banks. The KNF issued an amendment to the T Recommendation on loans to retail customers. The new rules give banks more flexibility in calculating a customer's credit standing. A simplified procedure will be sufficient if the loan is lower or equal to four times the average wage (about z∏.18,000, according to current Central Statistical Office data). The amendments are more liberal than changes previously discussed by KNF officials.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gr ee ce *

Banking regulator liberalizes loan regulations

MARCH 4-10, 2013

COURTESY OF THE JUSTICE MINISTRY

2

Au revoir, euro zone?

Brigitte Granville, a professor of international economics and economic policy at Queen Mary, University of London, makes the case that France should leave the single currency. To read her view, log on to WBJ.pl this week.

Calendar

March 5-9 CEBIT

Web:

The flagship show for IT industry. This year, Poland is the fair’s Partner Country.

Hannover, Germany CeBIT.de

7

ART AUCTION

Event:

7 pm: First auction in Poland exclusively presenting works by the late Jerzy Nowosielski – one of Poland’s best-known contemporary artists.

DESA Unicum auction house, Warsaw, ul.

Marsza∏kowska 34-50 Desa.pl

Event:

Location:

Location:

Web:

12-15 MIPIM Event:

The world’s leading real estate event for property professionals.

Web:

Palais des festivals, Cannes, France MIPIM.com

18

PRCH RETAIL TRENDS SEMINAR

Event:

During the seminar experts will discuss the latest trends in the field of research, development and investment in shopping centres and retail chains Warsaw Mariott Hotel, Aleje Jerozolimskie 65/79, Warsaw PRCH.org.pl

Location:

Location:

Web:

21-22 EUROPEAN EXECUTIVE FORUM Event:

Location: Web:

This conference, entitled “Leadership in Changing Europe,” will examine various leadership issues.

Hotel Sheraton, ul. Boles∏awa Prus 2, Warsaw Executive-club.com.pl

Source: Eurostat

Company index 11 bit studios ............................................13 Acanthus Advisers ......................................6 Acer............................................................12 Allegro........................................................12 Allianz Real Estate ....................................16 Alpine Construction Polska ......................17 Amazon ......................................................12 Angel Poland Group ..................................16 Apple ..............................................12, 17, 27 Asus ....................................................12, 27 Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ..................2 BBI Development NFI ..............................15 BRE Bank ..................................................16 BZ WBK ..................................................4, 6 Calobra Investments ................................16 CBRE..........................................................13 CD Projekt RED ..................................11, 13 City Interactive ..........................................11 City Security ................................................6 Deloitte ......................................................12 Epic ............................................................11 ERA Holding ..............................................15 Facebook....................................................10 Future Reality Games ..............................13 Gamelion Studios ......................................13 Gazprom ......................................................6 Globe Trade Centre ..................................16 GoClever ....................................................12 Google ..................................................10, 13 HSBC ..........................................................6 IKEA ............................................................3 Infinite Dreams..........................................13 IVG Immobilien ..........................................15 K2 ..............................................................11 KGHM ........................................................20 KPMG ..........................................................5

Layar ..........................................................11 Legimi ........................................................12 Lemonsky ............................................11, 13 Louis Vuitton................................................5 Markit Economics ......................................6 Nordea Bank ..........................................2, 4 Nvidia ........................................................13 Opel..............................................................5 Patpol ........................................................14 People Can Fly ..........................................11 PGE ............................................................20 Planet Soft ................................................13 PMR ..........................................................12 Samsung..............................................12, 27 SDA SzczeÊniak Denier Architekci ..........15 Smyk ............................................................6 Sony ..........................................................11 Tauron ........................................................20 Techland ....................................................11 TriGranit ....................................................15 TVN ............................................................12 Vivid Games ..............................................13 Warimpex ..................................................15 Warsaw Chopin Airport ............................17 Warsaw Stock Exchange ....................16, 20 X-Trade Brokers DM ................................20 Yareal Polska ............................................15 ZTE ............................................................27

NEWS

MARCH 4-10, 2013

www.wbj.pl

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Politics

KwaÊniewski’s move riles SLD Former President Aleksander KwaÊniewski has come under fire from leaders of the party he co-created in the 1990s – the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) – for teaming up with their rival, the controversial Janusz Palikot who heads the socially liberal Palikot’s Movement party.

Two weeks ago Mr Palikot and Mr KwaÊniewski announced the creation of a new political entity called Europe Plus (Europa Plus), a centerleft political movement which plans to draw up a voting list for the 2014 European Parliament elections.

At the press conference where the initiative was announced, Mr KwaÊniewski said that the list would be open to all center-left politicians and women’s rights advocates. This

drew the ire of SLD officials, who feel the former leader of their party is now working against its interests by openly supporting their biggest rival and inviting their party’s members to join his faction.

‘Embarrassed’ And although SLD’s leaders were also invited to join Europe Plus, they seemed less than enthusiastic.

“I am embarrassed [by KwaÊniewski’s actions],” commented Leszek Miller, leader of SLD. “SLD cannot lower itself to the level of politics practiced by Janusz Palikot.

Unfortunately, Mr KwaÊniewski has lowered himself [to that level],” he added.

Mr Miller also responded strongly to Mr KwaÊniewski’s statement that Ryszard Kalisz, currently an SLD MP, but a close ally of the former president, would serve as a “liaison officer” between SLD and Europe Plus. “If Ryszard Kalisz confirms what Aleksander KwaÊniewski said about him, then he will be expelled from

WITOLD ROZBICKI/REPORTER

The former president’s decision to cooperate with Janusz Palikot has annoyed leaders of the party he once helped create

Former President Aleksander KwaÊniewski (left) and Janusz Palikot announce that they are forming a new election list SLD. We don’t need any liaison officers,” said Mr Miller.

‘He failed before, he’ll fail again’ Grzegorz Napieralski, an SLD MP and former leader of the party, was equally firm.

“Ryszard Kalisz has to understand that we play as a team.

Food

Horse meat found in Polish suppliers, Swedish meatballs Meat contaminated with horse DNA is becoming a global phenomenon

Plus revealed that, for now at least, Mr Palikot is not benefiting politically from his alliance with the former president.

The Homo Homini survey showed Palikot’s Movement with 5 percent support, behind SLD which had 14 percent.

The survey also showed senior coalition partner Civic Platform had 30 percent support, the biggest opposition party Law and Justice had 28 percent, while junior coalition

partner, the Polish People’s Party, had 6 percent.

Some of the high-profile names being mentioned as possible candidates on the Europe Plus list are Andrzej Olechowski, a former leader of Civic Platform, Robert Biedroƒ, Poland’s first openly gay MP, Anna Grodzka, Poland’s first transsexual MP, as well as Mr KwaÊniewski and Mr Palikot themselves.

Remi Adekoya

126 applications were qualified to the second stage of Zacznij.biz competition!

Zacznij.biz – idea – business – success, is a business plan competition organized by Confederation Lewiatan and Lewiatan Business Angels. On December 1, 2012, the third edition of the Zacznij.biz competition was launched. The deadline for submitting the projects wass January Ja 31, 2013. The purpose of the contests is to promote entrepreneurship, as well as to to assist asssist entrepreneurs in preparing plans for their business and to help them attract act investors inve estorrs – e business angels. A good idea is a necessary but not sufficient condition to receive ceii funding ceive funding – the me m en ), and a properly ent pro p operly ability to execute, experience, commitment (including a financial commitment), business model are of key importance.

SHUTTERSTOCK

After weeks of denying that Poland could be the source of the horse meat that was found to have contaminated beef products throughout Europe, Polish officials last week had to eat their words.

Polish veterinary authorities confirmed that they had found horse DNA in three out of the 121 samples they tested from Polish meat-processing facilities. As of press time, an additional 80 samples were still being tested. Two of the contaminated samples came from Polish meat suppliers and one from a Dutch company, officials said.

The scandal first broke in January, when British and Irish officials found horse DNA in various meat products. The food producers involved pointed the finger squarely at suppliers in Poland. But until last week, tests at Polish facilities had found no traces of horse DNA, leading Polish politicians to vehemently deny those claims.

However, Poland’s General Veterinary Inspectorate confirmed that the Polish facilities

And if he doesn’t like the team, well, no one is forcing him to be in SLD.” Mr Napieralski also said that he did not think Mr KwaÊniewski’s latest initiative would work as the former president had, since leaving office, supported several political entities that turned out to be failures.

The first opinion poll conducted after the announcement of the creation of Europe

Horse meat has been found in products across Europe, including in Swedish meatballs in the Czech Republic in whose products horse DNA was found were involved in the export of products to Germany, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

But there is still plenty of doubt as to whether Poland is the source of the horse meat or just a link in a complex global chain. With each passing week, the list of countries involved in the scandal grows.

Russian officials now say they have found traces of horse DNA in hot dogs imported from Austria.

Indeed, the scandal has spread well beyond Europe.

As a result of the uproar, South African health authori-

ties have stepped up random tests on meat sold in supermarkets. The results? Traces of donkey, goat and water buffalo have been found in meat products there.

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has also been bucked by the scandal. After Czech authorities found horse DNA in frozen meatballs produced by a Swedish company that supplies many IKEA stores, the furniture maker withdrew them from its restaurants in several European countries, as well as in Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Dominican Republic.

Jacek Ciesnowski

sentati tivves selecte ipa ipants tha an 150 Lewiatan Business Angels representatives selected 126 participants out of more than a, an an investment invest stment expert experrt rt from Lewiatan Lewiatan ew Business Angels (LBA) applications. Szymon Kurzyca, Zaccznij.bizz captured c th he entrepreneur's entrepr epreneur's attention. He noted note ed that e said that this year's edition off Zacznij.biz the ding d for th he purp urpose of business angels, as w well as the participants showed great understanding the purpose specific aspects of private investment. Business siness si projects pro roject ects taking part in the competition have h a real potential for entering the market and for an attractive return an give e opportunity o returrrn on investment for the business angels. rt r in n the t Innovatorium I (February, 14-15, 2013).

20 2 Selected contestants were invited to take part The purpose of this workshop was to deliver the knowledge expectations e know nowledge of business angels expect cttati compet competitors or financial projections projectio on ns and a regarding business models, marketing aspects,, competitors ymon ymon K Kurzyca and Maciej Strz St rzębic valuations. The workshops were conducted by Szymon Strzębicki, m I participants pa p parti rtic ticipa p nts had time to t improve impro marketing expert cooperating with LBA. After Innovatorium Mem mbers off the Za Zac ccznijij.biz jury ju their business plans, which are now being voted on by the jury. Membe Members Zacznij.biz Ja Jac Alek ksan ndrowic include: Szymon Kurzyca, Krzysztof Gawrysiak, dr Karol Lityński,, Jacek Aleksandrowicz, pres pre resen es nted to attract attra Aniela Hejnowska and Maciej Strzębicki. Finally the best ideas will be presented interest of potential investors from LBA. ńska a-Kasprzak Members of Jury of Honour of the Zacznij.biz competition are: Bożena Lublińska-Kasprzak, arzz, President Presiden President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development; dr Henryka Bochniarz, ctor of the of the Confederation Lewiatan and Professor Krzysztof Jan Kurzydłowski, Director National Centre for Research and Development. www.zacznij.biz.pl

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

Religion

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Economy

New pope faces big Nearing the bottom? challenges Poland’s GDP growth continued to slow, but was better than expected, offering hopes for a rebound

KW, JC

Ready to bounce back?

Poland’s GDP growth (annualized, %), Q1 2009-Q4 2012 5 4 3 2 1

20

12

12 Q4

12 20

12 20

20 Q3

Q2

Q1

20

11

11 Q4

11 20

20 Q3

11 Q2

10

20 Q1

20

20

10 Q4

10 20

20

09

10 Q2

Q1

09

Q4

20 Q3

20

09

09

0 20

Latin America, where the number of Catholics is growing.

The choice of a pope from a different part of the world could send a powerful message, similar to when Polishborn John Paul II was elected in 1978. John Paul II was the first non-Italian pontiff in centuries and came from behind the Iron Curtain, offering hope to Catholics in Sovietdominated Eastern Europe at Jacek Ciesnowski the time.

Q2

rights, in vitro fertilization and the use of contraceptives, especially in AIDS-ridden regions of the world.

It is still too early to say who will be chosen as Benedict XVI’s successor, but media reports put Italian Angelo Scola as the front-runner. Still, many suggest that the next pontiff should be from outside Europe (which would be the first instance in modern history), especially from Africa or

20

The cardinals should choose the next pope before Easter

Q1

SHUTTERSTOCK

Now that Pope Benedict XVI has officially left office, the search for the new head of the Roman Catholic Church has begun in earnest.

The papal conclave that will elect the new pope is set to begin sometime in the first half of this month, reportedly on March 10. But the next pontiff will have a number of difficult issues on his hands immediately. Among them is yet another set of sex scandals that have beset the church.

A few days after Pope Benedict announced his resignation, Archbishop Keith O’Brien, the only cardinal elector from Britain, resigned himself, amid allegations that he had behaved inappropriately with priests over a period of 30 years.

The new head of this ancient institution will also have to face complex modernworld issues, such as LGBT

Poland’s economy grew by 1.1 percent in the last quarter of 2012, slightly higher than market expectations, but still slower than the previous three months, continuing a trend that had begun in the first quarter of the year.

Quarter-on-quarter growth was 0.2 percent, while GDP growth for the whole of 2012 was 2.0 percent y/y, statistics office GUS announced last week.

The market had expected

Q3

As Roman Catholic cardinals prepare to hold their conclave, huge issues face the next pope

an exceptional fall in individual consumption, GUS said.

Domestic demand decreased by 0.7 percent y/y. Net exports had a positive influence on economic growth, as export growth accelerated and imports fell at a slower pace.

The data “did not bring any major surprises,” BZ WBK economists wrote in a statement. They added that the decline in consumption did not necessarily indicate a further slowdown.

“We do not expect consumption to be the main driver of economic growth this year ... but we expect it to grow by 1 percent on average,” they wrote.

the annualized Q4 GDP growth figure to come in at 0.9 percent, and economists said the slightly-higher-than-expected figures could mean that Poland’s economic slowdown could be coming to an end.

“GDP growth in Q4 slowed, but less than expected,” Piotr Bujak, chief economist for Poland at Nordea Bank, wrote in an e-mailed comment. “Together with the recent high frequency domestic data and promising activity indicators from Germany (Poland’s key export market), this supports our view that the Polish economy is nearing the bottom.”

The slowdown in GDP growth was mostly caused by

Source: Central Statistical Office (GUS)

BUSINESS

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Automobiles

COURTESY OF THE GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY

Opel starts production of Cascada in Gliwice

Opel plans to produce up to 10,000 Cascadas annually at the Gliwice plant

The news was greeted with cheer in an industry that was hit hard last year Opel kicked off production on its Cascada model in its plant in the southern city of Gliwice, Silesia, on February 28. Preparations for production of the convertible cost €55 million and expanded the space in the Gliwice factory by about 5,600 square meters.

The German automobile firm plans to produce up to 10,000 units of the Cascada model annually.

“Most of the cars will be destined for export as Poland is not a huge market for con-

vertibles,” said Piotr ¸ozicki, a specialist with Opel in Warsaw. “The main markets for these types of cars are in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.”

One of the best Asked why Opel had selected Gliwice for the production of the new model, Mr ¸ozicki said it was because the Gliwice factory “is one of the best Opel factories in Europe. The price of production in Poland is lower than in say, Germany.”

The Gliwice plant currently makes the Astra IV hatchback, the Astra GTC and OPC, the Astra sedan and the Astra Classic. It employs

roughly 3,000 people and 98 percent of the cars it produces are sent off for export.

Currently the plant is capable of producing 207,000 cars a year.

Last year it worked well below capacity though, churning out just 125,300 cars compared to the 174,000 it rolled out in 2011.

The factory began producing cars for Opel in 1998.

In 2012, two Opel models, the Astra and the Corsa, made it into the list of the top 10 most popular cars in Poland.

The Astra was the third bestselling car while the Corsa came in sixth.

Remi Adekoya

Luxury brands

Louis Vuitton coming to Poland – report The cult brand will likely open its first Polish shop in Warsaw this June The famous clothes and apparel brand Louis Vuitton will open its first shop in Poland in the Vitkac shopping mall in Warsaw “before the end of June” according to daily Rzeczpospolita. Robert Eggs, president of Louis Vuitton in northern Europe, confirmed the plan to the newspaper.

This comes after several years of speculation over whether the luxury brand would open shop in Poland and the eventual time frame for such a move.

A recent KPMG report found that 68 percent of the world’s luxury brands are

already present in the Polish market. However, not all of those brands have their own shops in Poland. Rather, their products are sometimes sold alongside those of brands in multi-label fashion stores.

A breakthrough?

So how big a deal is the Louis Vuitton move for Poland?

“The fact that they chose Poland is significant and shows that they see potential here,” said Antoine de Riedmatten, an industry expert at Deloitte. “Other top brands will take notice but it’s important to remember that when choosing a country to set up in, such brands also take into consideration the number of foreigners who transit through that country.”

“A lot of wealthy Germans

and Russians pass through Poland and thus Louis Vuitton no doubt has its eye on them,” he added.

Mr de Riedmatten went on to say that luxury brands tend not to look at whether to move into a particular country, but rather whether to set up shop in a particular city. The choice of Warsaw, Poland’s capital and largest city, is thus not accidental.

“The average salary in Poland is quite low, but then when you look at the top 10 percent of earners, which such brands usually look to, then there is potential for good business for them in Poland,” he said.

According to the latest Interbrand ranking, the Louis Vuitton brand is worth $23.6 Remi Adekoya billion.

www.wbj.pl

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BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Private equity

Emerging on top

More cash flowing into CEE region

SHUTTERSTOCK

A new report shows that 2012 was a record year for fundraising in Central and Eastern Europe

Billions of private equity euros are flooding into the region

Last year, a total of €3.7 billion was raised for mid-market private equity in the CEE region – up from €700 million the previous year, making it the bestperforming European region for private equity, according to a survey carried out by Acanthus Advisers.

In total, €13.2 billion was raised in the European midmarket by 48 funds last year,

close to the 2011 figure of €14.7 billion but significantly below the 2007 peak value of €24 billion.

The equity market has been affected strongly by the drawnout financial crisis, evidence of which is the fact that volumes raised in European private equity from 2009 to 2012 are only 40 percent of what was raised in the previous four years.

Fierce competition The report also states that competition for capital from the world’s emerging markets remains strong, with many investors reducing the alloca-

tion for Europe in favor of increased allocation to Asia and other emerging regions.

“Fundraising in Europe is likely to remain challenging as we progress into 2013, with the levels of cash returned to investors continuing to be low.

Until more of this capital is returned to investors, many will remain over-exposed to the asset class and constrained in making new LP commitments,” Armando D’Amico, managing partner at Acanthus Advisers wrote in the report.

“The fundraising road looks set to be very crowded in cer-

Selected 2012 private equity performances (in € billions) Emerging Europe region

3.7

UK

2.7

France

2.2

Italy

1.4

Germany

1.3

Scandinavia

1.0

Benelux region

0.9

Switzerland

0.1

Spain & Portugal

0.0

Source: Acanthus Advisers

tain regions over the next couple of years, as many firms that have delayed returning to the market will need to seek fresh capital for survival,” he added.

Remi Adekoya

Macroeconomics

City Security to Economic data give mixed signals expand its Russian Retail sales rose, but so did unemployment, presence while manufacturing announced that unemployment reached 14.2 percent in January, compared to 13.4 percent in December.

BZ WBK economists said in an e-mailed comment that they expect unemployment to increase further during next few months and then begin a gradual decline. But at the end of the year, unemployment may still remain close to 14 perKW, JC cent, they wrote.

Sky high Poland’s unemployment rate (%), January 2011-January 2012 14.5 13.9 13.3 12.7 12.1 11.5

Source: Central Statistical Office (GUS)

Retail sales in Poland grew in January, contrary to analysts’ expectations. Statistics office GUS announced that Poles had spent 3.1 percent more in January than they had in the same month of 2012. Economists surveyed by press agency PAP had expected the figure to drop by 0.7 percent.

Marek Belka, president of the National Bank of Poland, was pleasantly surprised by the data. “It looks as though the slowdown in the Polish economy has hit bottom and is rebounding,” he said.

The PMI figure compiled every month by HSBC and Markit Economics rose slightly

the coming months, that would be a very important sign for a turnaround in growth outlook in H2 2013.”

Poland’s manufacturing PMI figure has been below 50 for 11 months now, but it has slowly but steadily been increasing since October of last year.

Nevertheless, Poland’s unemployment rate continues to rise, giving cause for concern.

Last week statistics office GUS

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continues to deteriorate – but at a slower pace

to 48.9 points in February (compared to 48.6 in January).

Nevertheless, the figure was below 50, indicating conditions in the market are still deteriorating, albeit at a slower pace.

Commenting on the PMI figure, Agata Urbaƒska, an economist for CEE at HSBC wrote, “The PMI survey shows that employment contraction might be bottoming out. If this improvement is sustained in

City Security, one of the biggest companies in Poland’s security services sector, posted an z∏.85.7 million profit for 2012, compared to z∏.72 million in 2011, a rise of some 19 percent.

The security services provider plans further expansion on the Russian market this year.

Currently the firm guards the Gazprom pumping station in Saint Petersburg, and provides security for children’s toys and clothes stores Smyk throughout Russia. The company is currently in talks with other potential clients. Over the last three years City Security has increased its revenue from activities in the eastern markets (Russia and Ukraine) threefold.

“The Russian security market is similar to the Polish market 10 years ago. It’s full of red tape, lacks clear-cut and trans-

parent regulations and is very fragmented,” Beniamin Krasicki, the company’s CEO, told daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

“But for ambitious companies from Poland it’s a good time to take strategic positions there.”

In Poland, besides security for shopping malls and housing estates, City Security offers services to airports, logistics centers and military facilities. The firm also provided security for the Croatian, German, Greek, Polish and Spanish national soccer teams during the European soccer championships in Poland and Ukraine last summer.

While 78 percent of the company’s revenue comes from security services, it also provides catering and cleaning solutions, and installs security systems as well.

JC

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Politics

Pawe∏ Poncyljusz, vice chairman of the party Poland Comes First (PJN), sits down with WBJ to talk about returning to politics, the current situation in PJN, and whether it could join others to form a new political grouping Ewa Boniecka: PJN is outside parliament, the party has weak support in opinion polls and you are now working in business. How do you see the future of your party and the prospects for your return to national politics?

Pawe∏ Poncyljusz: I am successfully working in business, but the fact is that I am the vice chairman of PJN and I remain involved in its activities and problems. That’s why I feel responsible for the future of my party and I am interested in returning to national politics.

But today I am setting a high bar for such a return.

When I observe my colleagues, who wander through parliamentary corridors with their heads lowered, I see that those who are in opposition can do very little, while those from the governing coalition have to ask their leaders for permission to do anything – and usually to no avail. I don’t

want to return to that kind of politics. Members of parliament have little influence on political events, and perhaps only when one of them shouts at another in front of a camera, does he get his 15 minutes of fame.

For me politics means having a say on how things are run in the country. I could return to politics but only if I knew that my experience, qualifications and my professional approach towards politics would be valued and I could contribute to dealing with the important problems of Poles.

However, if it meant wandering through the corridors of parliament without any opportunity to act, I am not interested. Besides, the world outside the Sejm looks quite interesting from my present perspective.

While you feel responsible for the future of your party and the obligation towards people

who voted for PJN, what could you do to gain more political influence and more followers for PJN? However critical I am of the present performance of the parliament, politics is done in the Sejm, so I want PJN to be there, because it would give us a mandate to act on the national political scene. Our party has experienced serious difficulties, but we managed to keep our human capital and political identity, so I think that the worst is behind us.

Since establishing PJN in December 2010, we were very much engaged in organizing our structures and promoting our program and a few months later, in the 2011 parliamentary elections, voters gave us 2.19 percent support.

Then we went through a phase of internal splits. In a party outside parliament the only members who remain are those who really want to be there and who identify with our moderately conservative program.

We realized that in the process of building our party we underestimated one thing: the financial aspect, which is of predominant importance in

the functioning of parties in Poland. Parties that get subsidies from the budget can spend money on billboards and advertisements spreading their slogans around and using them to hide the real problems in the country and society.

We didn’t have subsidies or financial assets, but it seemed to us that by hard organizational work, through a close relationship with the voters, and by talking about the serious problems in our country, we would convince people that there is an alternative to [ruling party] Civic Platform and [largest opposition party] Law and Justice, and to vote for us.

But we became squeezed somewhere between those two parties and the emotions they spread around the Smolensk plane crash were dominating political life.

But now the situation is changing. People are disillusioned towards both of these parties. They’ve had enough of their battles and are now looking for some fresh air on the political scene. I believe this gives PJN a new political opportunity and I wish that most of those people, who in 2011 supported Civic Platform

COURTESY OF PAWE¸ PONCYLIUSZ

Putting PJN on the path to parliament

Pawe∏ Poncyljusz and Law and Justice, and now no longer trust them, are willing to support PJN. How does PJN want to reach voters?

First of all, we are a party of regular people, not populists

trying to distort reality. We communicate with voters in an honest way in a language free of aggression and personal abuses towards opponents. As a moderate right-wing party we support the free market economy while having a con-

Media patronage

Businesswomen of the Year awards

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S i g n u p f o r a 2 - w e e k f r e e - t r i a l ! w w w. p o l a n d a m . p l G e r m a n v e r s i o n : w w w. p o l e n a m m o r g e n . p l

The four winners, from left: Sister Ma∏gorzata Chmielewska, Katarzyna Rutkowska, Zuzanna Kuczbajska and Iwona Âwi´tochowska Four women – including a nun – were awarded the title of “Businesswoman of the Year” at last week’s Sukces Pisany Szminkà (“Success Written in Lipstick”) awards held by the Radio PiN radio station in the Warsaw Stock Exchange building.

Sister Ma∏gorzata Chmielewska, a nun and the founder of the Polish chapter of the Bread of Life organization for the homeless, was named Businesswoman of the Year for her work in aiding disadvantaged women.

She established a business called Manufaktury Prababuni (“Great-grandma’s manufactures”) which hires unemployed women who make and sell home-made clothes, food and jewelery.

“I work in a business that is just as challenging as any – the poverty business.

Believe me that it requires a high level of managerial skill,” Ms Chmielewska said. “But my business could not exist without the real business world and the more fortunate peo-

ple who are willing to share with the less fortunate ones. Thank you for your helping hand,” she added.

Iwona Âwi´tochowska, owner and founder of two businesses – Investment Fund Accounting Services and Dwór Kaliszki, a hospitality facility built in the old-Polish style, was named Businesswoman of the Year in the “My Company” category.

In the “Corporation” category the jury (which included successful businesswomen Henryka Bochniarz and Irena Eris) awarded Katarzyna Rutkowska, president of the board of AC SA – STAG Autogaz Systems from Bia∏ystok.

Voters on the internet selected Zuzanna Kuczbajska, a co-owner of Animatio ZAK Entertainment, who was given the Audience Choice Business of the Year award.

This was the fourth year that Radio PiN has held its Businesswoman of the Year Karolina Kowalska awards.

INTERVIEW

MARCH 4-10, 2013

servative approach to such ethical matters as civil unions and in vitro fertilization, and to relations between the church and state.

We are in favor of a meaningful role of the state in social and education policy. We stress the importance of a profamily policy and of granting financial aid to parents for raising children, which is the most efficient way to use the funds at hand and increase Poland's alarmingly low birth rate.

We point to the fact that the present political debate in Poland is avoiding serious economic problems: the government isn’t trying to reduce bureaucratic barriers for business, simplify the tax structure or make it more transparent and predictable for companies and citizens.

PJN wants to reach middleclass voters not only in big cities but also the growing number of entrepreneurs and professionals living and working in smaller cities. Our offer is addressed to active people, with reasonable, conservative, yet open minds, who care for serious politics, the future of their families and the future of the country.

Janusz Piechociƒski, the new leader of junior coalition partner the Polish People’s Party (PSL), proposed building a centrist conservative party, based on a remodeled PSL and he invited PJN and Solidarity Poland to cooperate.

How do you see it?

The leader of Solidarity Poland, Zbigniew Ziobro, rejected that invitation, so there is no issue now. Besides, I don’t think that his party fits the idea of a conservative centrist party we wanted to build.

I accept Janusz Piechociƒski’s invitation to talk about that project and I think that in many domains PJN could find common ground with PSL. For instance, when I look at the work of labor and social policy minister from PSL, W∏adys∏aw Kosiniak-Kamysz, I think that he is the one person in the government who understands the problems of family policy. PJN was talking about the need for family policy long ago, when Donald Tusk and Jaros∏aw Kaczynski weren’t even interested in it.

Now politicians can’t stop talking about it.

As far as economic policy is concerned, PJN was talking about VAT accounting on fiscal principles during the 2011 electoral campaign. At the time our proposal was laughed at and dismissed with comments like “we cannot afford it.” Only when the previous PSL leader and former Minister of Economy Waldemar Pawlak put the matter on the edge of a knife, did Jacek Rostowski, current minister of economy, agree to the VAT reform which has been in force

since January 1 of this year.

PJN and PSL have common views on many economic and social problems, on energy policy, including the development of renewable energy sources and providing tax facilities for small private investors in that sector. We share the same conservative attitudes towards ethical issues.

I am telling you about these matters to show that PJN’s cooperation with PSL in building a centrist conservative party is doable. We differ in such issues as agricultural policy, but a healthy debate about such problems is possible. The most important thing is that we are on board with building a new centrist conservative forum for cooperation.

But PJN is an opposition party, while PSL is a member of the governing coalition.

Aren’t these circumstances unusual for building a new party?

For now we are talking about opening a discussion about important problems in the country and I don’t see any-

“The present political debate in Poland is avoiding serious economic problems” thing unusual about it. In the present political situation in Poland, where the ruling party and the main opposition party are constantly criticizing each other and can’t communicate about the problems, I think that building a new political platform it is not only possible but necessary.

The leader of PSL wants to remodel his party, open it to voters living in cities and build a strong conservative centrist forum for cooperation. PJN and some other conservative centrist political groups are willing to break the current deadlock on our political scene. The present dilemma in our political life is that if you disapprove of [Prime Minister] Donald Tusk, then you have to vote for [Law and Justice leader] Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski or the other way around. The whole debate surrounds these two leaders.

PJN doesn’t want to be on either side, but to carry out a policy of healthy dialogue about important matters in Poland with those parties that are open to discussion. And that is what Janusz Piechociƒski is proposing and what I am accepting. The opening of our dialogue doesn’t change the fact that PSL is in government and PJN is in opposition – we are not entering into a political marriage.

Let’s talk about details. Do you believe that PSL will agree to form a new centrist Christian social party and if PJN joins in, what would it mean in practice?

It is a matter of future development and it is something our parties have to talk about.

I believe in remodeling PSL. I think that Janusz Piechociƒski realizes that support for PSL has continuously been falling over the past few years as is the number of people living in the countryside. Since the whole agricultural sector in Poland is undergoing changes, the political expectations and preferences of people living in rural areas are much more complex than they used to be.

These people are now concerned with economic policy for the whole country.

Mr Piechociƒski has been examining the transformation of agrarian parties in Western Europe.

Those parties reestablished themselves as national Christian social conservative parties and are now big political players. However, I think the road that PSL and PJN will have to travel before forming a centrist conservative party with a Christian social character is quite long indeed.

What steps do you think are necessary to get there?

The first step will be a series of direct discussions about our programs and positions on central national issues and on our role in the European Union. If we find some common ground we can take the next step – cooperation in the elections to the European Parliament. Where this cooperation will lead, I do not know now. It could lead to, for instance, establishing a common list [of candidates] while keeping our parties separate.

The final step would be the formation of a new party.

In Mr Piechociƒski’s proposal it is clear that the core of such a party would be the remodeled PSL, with that party’s green four-leaf clover as a logo and only a slightly modified name. Is PJN as such willing to disappear and become part of this new party?

The new party will rest on two pillars: peasant roots and middle-class aspirations, with Christian values and centrist conservative views, so PJN will contribute its values to the party. The matter of the logo will be a matter of discussion.

In my opinion, it could be the green four-leaf clover.

But in my view the logo is really not a central issue. We have to see the formation of the new centrist party as an important step in our policy, as creating a strong alternative to existing parties. It is not a revolutionary move, rather opening a door to better politics and the chance for Poles to choose a party which responds to their needs. ●

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OPINION & ANALYSIS

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MARCH 4-10, 2013

KwaÊniewski’s comeback – will it work?

Remi Adekoya

L

ast month, former President Aleksander KwaÊniewski announced that he would be creating a list of leftist candidates whom he would support in the 2014 European Parliamentary elections. Mr KwaÊniewski did not rule out running for an MEP seat himself.

The former president made the announcement in the company of Janusz Palikot, the leader of Palikot’s Movement and Marek Siwiec, a longtime KwaÊniewski ally who quit the party the former president co-created, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), a few weeks ago in order to join this initiative.

Unsurprisingly, SLD was unhappy with Mr KwaÊniewski’s decision, since it feels he is betraying them in favor of their rival on the left, Palikot’s Movement. In recent years, Mr KwaÊniewski has distanced himself from the party he helped create and the former president’s relationship with current SLD leader, Leszek Miller, has famously been described as “rough.”

A dress rehearsal

Poles are conservative by nature

Naturally, the EP elections in 2014 are merely a dress rehearsal for the all-important parliamentary elections in Poland scheduled for 2015.

If Mr KwaÊniewski’s new leftist coalition gets a positive result in 2014 then it could use that momentum to set itself up for a good performance on the domestic scene the next year, possibly paving the way for a return to power of Mr KwaÊniewski.

Personally, I think this scenario is unlikely.

Granted, Aleksander KwaÊniewski was a very popular two-term president who left office with a 60 percent approval rating. But that is by no means a guarantee that he will be equally successful this time around.

Politics has changed since Mr KwaÊniewski left office in 2005. One of the reasons the former president was so popular was because he was always careful to use guarded diplomatic language and avoided public conflict. “No drama KwaÊniewski” adequately sums up his decade-long presidency.

Also, the ideological battle currently capturing voters’ imagination is the one between the euroskeptic, ultraconservative Law and Justice and the pro-European, moderately conservative ruling Civic Platform.

This divide is a natural one in Poland as only some 30 percent of Poles describe themselves as having leftist views. The overwhelming majority of Poles are slightly, moderately or very conservative, which doesn’t bode well for a new leftist formation.

The reason Mr KwaÊniewski was successful as a president was because he always positioned himself as a centrist and thus won the support of many voters who would never describe themselves as leftist.

Today however, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Civic Platform party are firmly in the center of the political scene themselves and hardly appear willing to cede ground to the former president and his new allies.

And let’s not forget that the expresident has backed a leftist coalition before, with little success. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, Left and Democrats, a center-left political alliance backed by Aleksander KwaÊniewski, won 13 percent of the vote. Hardly impressive.

Limited potential Of the leftist voters who do exist, at least a third will likely stay with the Democratic Left Alliance, a wellestablished party with strong national structures. And so that leaves Mr KwaÊniewski and his list with a potential maximum pool of some 20 percent of the electorate. That is not enough to govern Poland. It could be enough to become part of a governing coalition, maybe, but not as the senior member. And so talk of a “Prime Minister KwaÊniewski” are more signs of wishful thinking amongst his supporters than realistic political assumptions.

Then there is Mr Palikot. Teaming up with him is a big risk for the for-

mer president. While Mr KwaÊniewski has usually maintained a high standard of decorum in his public appearances, Janusz Palikot is a loose cannon, not immune to bouts of coarse, primitive and off-putting behavior.

Right now both politicians obviously think they can be beneficial to each other, but while Mr Palikot has doubtless gotten some good PR with the mere mention of his name alongside Mr KwaÊniewski’s, the former president might end up damaging his own image thanks to association with the erratic Mr Palikot.

Aleksander KwaÊniewski obviously misses politics and wants to get back in the game. But he might be in for a rude shock. The game has changed since 2005 and the former president might not be so willing to play once he learns the new rules. ● Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Business Journal’s politics editor. Read his blog, “The business of politics” on WBJ.pl

Transatlantic trade-offs Robin Niblett

A

lmost two decades after the idea was first mooted, the United States and the European Union agreed last month to begin negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The partnership’s launch – which should occur at the beginning of 2015 – has been presented as a much-needed “deficit-free stimulus” that would boost US and EU GDP by 0.5 percent annually, while helping to increase employment on both sides of the Atlantic.

While both parties aim to eliminate remaining tariffs on bilateral trade, they are particularly eager to reduce the thicket of non-tariff barriers – mainly competing technical and sanitary standards and regulations – that have stifled development of the bilateral economic relationship. Closer regulatory cooperation may also help the US and the EU to confront what business leaders view as increasingly unfair competition from China, both at home and abroad.

A cautious approach But can the TTIP live up to the hype?

Tellingly, the High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth, which was tasked with identifying the policies and measures that should define the negotiations, has recommended a

more conservative approach.

Indeed, the Group’s final report, released in February, states that the agreement “should be designed to evolve over time,” moving “progressively toward a more integrated transatlantic marketplace.” Specifically, the group recommends establishing “an ongoing mechanism for improved dialog and cooperation” on regulatory issues and non-tariff barriers, as well as a “framework for identifying opportunities for ... future regulatory cooperation.”

Such caution is warranted, given that some of the main principles that drive the two parties’ regulatory approaches are vastly different – and sometimes at odds with one another.

For example, the EU has long been committed to the “precautionary principle,” which prevents products that may harm human health from entering the EU market – even if the scientific evidence is not yet conclusive.

This principle underpins the EU’s refusal to import genetically modified (GM) foods from the US, where they are widely consumed. But senior members of the US Congress have stressed that a successful agreement must include opening the EU market to all US agricultural products.

Another potential area of con-

tention – conflicting notions of personal privacy – could inhibit the two sides’ ability to accomplish their shared goal of opening up the digital market. In recent weeks, major US technology companies, including Google and Facebook, have been accused of aggressively lobbying the European Parliament to suspend plans to intensify privacy rules in the EU. A third challenge is rooted in Europe’s deeply held skepticism of financial markets. The day after US President Barack Obama announced the launch of the TTIP negotiations, the European Commission released its blueprint for a Eurozone Financial Transaction Tax that would impose new costs on US banks operating in EU markets.

Structural obstacles Other cases in which barriers to transatlantic trade and investment conceal conflicting objectives and deep-rooted attitudes include France’s protection of its cherished audiovisual sector and America’s desire to continue to block European penetration of its iconic airline industry.

Negotiators will also have to overcome significant structural obstacles.

As the European Commission strug-

gles to secure a clear negotiating mandate from all 27 member states, the US will face its own internal coordination problems.

European countries succeeded in creating the Single Market in 1992 not by harmonizing all of their standards and regulations, but by agreeing to recognize one another’s. If a product is approved for sale in one EU member state, it is considered safe enough to be sold in another. A similar policy of “mutual recognition” could be the key to successful US-EU trade negotiations, but only if both parties can overcome the biases that are built into their regulatory and political systems.

Such barriers are particularly pronounced in the US, where Congress oversees the legal framework within which federal regulatory agencies – such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration – operate. Not only do the US administration and its federal agencies have to accept that a safety standard established and tested in Frankfurt or Athens is equivalent to its US counterpart; congressional committees must agree. For its part, the EU would have to reconsider, for example, its policy on GM foods.

The EU overcame national bias-

es to establish the Single Market by instituting a process of legally binding qualified majority voting, whereby individual member states could be outvoted on specific regulations.

But such an approach cannot be replicated to break the inevitable logjams of transatlantic regulatory negotiations.

Worth the trouble Although transatlantic tariffs average only 3-5 percent (with higher peaks for some sensitive products), tariff elimination would have a significant impact, given that bilateral trade totals $650 billion annually. Simplifying customs procedures and opening up markets for public procurement could bring further benefits. And establishing a formal mechanism for transatlantic regulatory consultation will eventually pay off, one sector at a time.

The TTIP that is signed in 2015 may not be the revolutionary and comprehensive agreement for which many observers are hoping. But it remains a crucial step toward a more integrated transatlantic marketplace.

● Robin Niblett is director of Chatham House.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013 Project-syndicate.org

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Video games

Augmented reality

E-book market

Polish titles are worldwide hits

Hi-tech solutions for business and science

Polish publishers face legal conundrums

11,13

11,13

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TECH POLAND

W a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’ s s p e c i a l r e p o r t o n P o l a n d ’s h i - t e c h s e c t o r

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Video games

Smugglers, zombies and snipers When Sony announced its newest video game system, the PlayStation 4, in February, not much was known about the console itself. It wasn’t even shown to public. Nevertheless, a list of studios that are already working on games for the latest console was revealed. One of these was Poland’s CD Projekt RED, which has already started working on the latest installment of its “Witcher” franchise for the PS4.

The first two parts of the “Witcher” series together have sold 5 million units total worldwide (including PC and Xbox 360 sales), however the best-selling single Polish game is Techland’s “Dead Island” which sold 5 million copies worldwide.

The zombie apocalypse game, released in 2011 for the

COURTESY OF TECHLAND

Poland’s video game producers are pressing all the right buttons

Small games make big bucks

Techland hopes that “Dead Island: Riptide” will sell more copies than its predecessor Techland even managed to sell movie rights for the game. Its sequel, “Dead Island: Riptide” will be released in April worldwide.

Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, garnered strong reviews (it received an average score of 70 percent according to GameRankings.com), and

A month earlier, another long-awaited sequel will hit the shelves. The latest entry in the “Gears of War” franchise (19 millions copies sold as of

oper Epic. PCF is not a newcomer when it comes to video games – they produced their first title back in 2004 (“Painkiller” for PC), and in 2011 they released “Bulletstorm” for all the major gaming systems.

In March “Sniper 2: Ghost Warrior” for PS3 and Xbox 360 will be released by City Interactive, another Polish developer. The first installment of the game sold 3 million copies worldwide, and the company plans to sell even more copies of its sequel.

Another much-talkedabout Polish video game is CD Projekt RED’s “Cyberpunk 2077,” which was announced early this year, and will hit the shelves in 2015.

November 2012), subtitled “Judgment” was developed by the Polish game design studio People Can Fly (PCF), owned

by American video game devel-

Poland has also had many successes in the smartphone and tablet gaming sector. Polish developers have already conContinued on p. 13 ➡

Augmented reality

Adding a layer of technology onto real life

COURTESY OF LEMONSKY

Polish businesses are embracing augmented and virtual reality, developing cuttingedge applications

Lemonsky’s app uses geolocation and image recognition

The Polish IT industry is expanding at an impressive rate despite the recent crisis, as companies in various sectors look to use technology to increase revenue and cut costs.

One of the latest market opportunities for businesses is the development of augmented reality (AR), which so far has

been successfully applied in advertising, research, training, physical therapy and other areas.

The industry which was the first to see augmented reality as a valuable tool was PR and advertising. The K2 interactive agency from Warsaw has been implementing AR in its promotional campaigns since 2009. One of its most successful projects was a 3D interactive application for tourists visiting Kraków’s famous Renaissance Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) building.

Another digital advertising agency, Lemonsky, prepared an interactive virtual guide for tourists visiting the Warsaw Uprising museum using software by Dutch company Layar. All you need is a smartphone or a tablet equipped with the right software and you can take photos of buildings you pass by on your tour around the Polish capital.

Based on geolocation and image recognition, the program will provide pre-war photos of the landmarks you visit with information about

their historic significance.

The Wroc∏aw-based Lemonsky has also created a Continued on p. 13 ➡

In this report Video games . . . . . . . .11, 13 Augmented reality . . .11, 13 E-books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Tablet sales . . . . . . . . . . . .12

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TECH POLAND

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MARCH 4-10, 2013

E-books

Digital-book vendors need to overcome legal obstacles before the market can take off The e-book market in Poland is expanding by leaps and bounds, with sales growing at some 100200 percent annually. Still, it is a fledgling business compared to that of paper books, with sales of electronic publications amounting to some 4 percent of the figure for traditional books.

There is obviously a lot of room for growth, especially when it comes to the breadth of titles on offer. Currently, the number of titles available on the Polish market is estimated at several thousand, the vast majority of which are fiction,

drama, and poetry.

Unlimited reading One of the biggest obstacles for digital publishing is the lack of clear-cut regulations. Polish book publishers are far from united in their view of how the legal framework for e-book subscriptions sales should look.

Last November, Poznaƒbased e-book store Legimi tried to open a no-limit reading service. Readers would pay a nominal fee and then have access to some 5,000 titles, while the company would still pay copyright holders for each book that was read. The unlimited access policy didn’t sit well with publishers, though, who immediately objected to the service,

and threatened legal action.

After only one day of operation the service was discontinued. “We could have kept the service going as we had the law on our side, but we didn’t want to go to war with publishers over this,” explained Miko∏aj Ma∏aczyƒski, Legimi’s CEO.

Second-hand e-books?

But vending is not the only area in which legal issues must be resolved for the e-book market to continue to flourish. Another area that lacks a proper legal framework is the reselling of electronic publications.

After a period of heated debate and strong opposition from e-book publishers, the European Union ruled in 2012

that vendors can’t prevent people from reselling e-books.

Amazon is currently implementing a new platform which would enable readers to sell their legally purchased publications just as they can sell traditional paperbacks on internet auctioning sites.

It is like a “cloud-based digital locker except that the customer can resell previous purchases by passing the access rights to another person,” is how New Scientist described the technology used for Amazon’s upcoming service.

There are obviously still legal gray areas and contentious views on how the business should operate which need to be clarified and

SHUTTERSTOCK

A legal minefield

Poland’s e-book market is growing, but many legal issues remain to be resolved resolved before e-book publishers can start offering them in large numbers without look-

ing over their shoulder in fear of litigation.

Beata Socha

Poland’s tablet sales rocket in 2012 Tablet sales in Poland surged by 615 percent in 2012 over the previous year, to 461,600 units, according to research firm PMR. The value of the market increased by 423 percent, and sales of low-cost brands grew the most.

PMR estimates that about

1.3 million tablets will be sold in 2013. However, according to research done by Deloitte, only a third of tablet owners in Poland use mobile internet on the devices.

In 2011 the most popular tablets were Apple’s iPad and tablets from electronics firm

Samsung. However, last year cheap tablets flooded discount supermarkets, claiming a big chunk of the market.

Nearly half of all tablets were sold in the final quarter, indicating that many were bought as Christmas presents. As many as 42.3 percent

of the total sales were made up by “other tablets,” as PMR refers to no-name equipment, and another 14.2 percent were tablets from Asus, Acer and GoClever, also considered cheaper brands, usually costing less than z∏.1,000.

Experts estimate that this year another 1.3 million tablets will be sold, which together with increased sales of smart phones, means there is an ever-growing demand for mobile applications.

Every fourth Pole has a smartphone, according to

data from pollster TNS Polska. Several Polish apps have already been downloaded over a million times, including streaming video player Ipla, auction site Allegro, television station TVN and instant messenger GG. KW, BS

POLSERVICE is one of the biggest patent and trademark attorneys firms in Poland.

The firm has been operating on the market since 1964.

POLSERVICE currently employs 43 patent and trademark attorneys (including 33 European patent attorneys) specialised in various areas of technology, law and economy, and teams of experienced lawyers and professional translators.

POLSERVICE PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS OFFICE 73 Bluszczańska Street, 00-712 Warsaw, Poland Phone: (+48) 22 44 74 600, Fax: (+48) 22 44 74 646 Postal Address: P.O. Box 335, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland e-mail: ip@polservice.com.pl www.polservice.com.pl

POLAND

AREAS OF PRACTICE

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

POLSERVICE provides a variety of services in all fields of industrial and intellectual property protection for companies and individual clients from all over the world. The main fields of activity include:

POLSERVICE is proud of representing more than 2650 clients from more than 70 countries, being both worldwide corporations and local SMEs. Additionally, POLSERVICE has been cooperating with the most renowned patent and trademark firms in all European countries, the United States of America, Canada, South and Central America, Asia, Australia and Africa, which enables the firm to provide efficient legal protection for its clients all over the world.

• patents, utility models and industrial designs • trademarks, trade names, geographical indications • Internet domain names • patent and trademark searches • new plant varieties • copyrights and combating unfair competition • licence agreements and exclusive rights transfer • litigation, enforcement and dispute resolution • anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy actions • monitoring and payment of renewal fees.

POLSERVICE attorneys represent clients before the Polish Patent Office, the European Patent Office (EPO), the Office for Harmonization in the Internal market (OHIM), as well as before civil, administrative and arbitration courts. They also cooperate with Customs and prosecution authorities.

In each case the firm looks for the best solution to satisfy its clients. An individual and creative approach to all tasks, supported by profound legal and technical knowledge, has earned POLSERVICE the trust of the clients.

POLSERVICE and its attorneys are members of many international organizations gathering companies and individuals dealing with intellectual property protection: AIPPI, INTA, ECTA, LESI, UNION, MARQUES and EPI. The firm’s attorneys, apart from fulfilling their everyday duties, attend numerous meetings, conferences and trainings held in Poland and abroad, also as lecturers or moderators.

As a result of their continuous involvement, many of the firm’s attorneys serve as leaders of these organizations or their respective committees.

Both Polish and international IP magazines ranked POLSERVICE as one of the top trademark and patent firms in Poland.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

MARCH 4-10, 2013

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Bright future: growth ahead for Poland’s IT sector

The value of the Polish ICT market, estimated at some €20 billion, is still relatively small, when compared to, for example, the German market, valued at €150 billion. It is, however, growing more rapidly than in any other EU economy – at 12 percent annually. Your agency, PARP, also has some say in its development by granting subsidies for projects in this sector. How do you see the future of the industry?

Bo˝ena Lubliƒska-Kasprzak: Today some 75 percent of Polish households have access to the internet. Deloitte prepared three scenarios for internet development in Poland: the baseline, dynamic and the most optimistic one – the digital leap. All three scenarios project an increase in the number of internet users leading to faster GDP growth. The first scenario projects the number of users to go up to 18 million in 2020, the second one to 20 million, while the third one sees the number as high as 28 million. Moreover, the number of mobile internet users will rise most dynamically – by some 3.5-7 times.

How does this number translate to higher GDP in Poland?

If in 2010 the internet accounted for some 4.8 percent of GDP, which translates to z∏.68 billion, in 2020 it is projected at 9.5 percent, 10.2 percent or even 13.1 percent of GDP, depending on the scenario. That equals z∏.247, z∏.267 or z∏.345 billion respectively. The most optimistic scenario presupposes the growth of internet-related investment at a level that will result in some 5.3 percent GDP growth in 2014. These indicators make PARP particularly interested in nurturing the IT sector.

Could supporting IT projects carried out in Poland prevent further “brain drain” among IT specialists who leave for Germany or the US? The Polish IT market is doing quite well. IT people are one of the best-earning groups. The funds that PARP distributes within the framework of the Innovative Economy program (action 8.1) also contribute to keeping talented programmers from leaving the country. They are given an opportunity to set up their own, competitive business which in turn will create more workplaces for IT people.

Projects that qualify for the subsidy program should have some “economic value.” How can you evaluate the market success of eservices which were created through programs supported by PARP? Application forms for the Innovative Economy program put a great emphasis on business aspects of the planned e-service. An entrepreneur filling out the application for funding presents his or her business’ competition analysis, substitutes for the e-service in question, a SWOT analysis, marketing strategy outline, and demand analysis. The innovative properties of the e-service, assessed at the stage of substantive optional criteria, requires the entrepreneur to show his competitive advantage. Naturally, you cannot guarantee that the projects which are awarded funds will achieve success. In fact, all innovative actions bear certain risk and you can’t determine their market potential with absolute certainty.

Still, the results of the implementation of the program are satisfactory. The share of start-ups supported by EU funds that survive in the market greatly exceeds that of businesses that go it on their own. The best of the projects receiving funds from the Innovative Economy program often get top positions in various contests and rankings for fledgling IT businesses, but most importantly they generate real income for their creators and investors, which is the most tangible measure of market success. We hope that the final cost-effectiveness analysis of implementing this program, which we will be able to see in a few years, will show real and apparent benefits for the Polish economy from promoting e-economy. In any case, the results we see now make us quite optimistic.

The applications you get very often involve ideas for e-business. What conclusions can you draw from them as to the condition of the Polish IT sector? Are advanced technologies becoming more widespread?

The experience PARP has in implementing subsidy programs for business development shows that Polish entrepreneurs are very much aware of the latest technological and social trends both in domestic and worldwide markets.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that the projects receiving funding mirror the trends we can observe in western economies. We are aware of mental, financial and technological barriers that Polish e-service providers face. For instance, both market saturation in mobile devices such as tablets and modern smart phones, and the coverage of

“E-business Academy” also created a vast knowledge base.

Over two weeks the transmissions from the conferences were viewed over 15,000 times. The whole series hosted 75 experts who delivered nearly 100 hours of talks and seminars. Audiovisual materials from all the meetings can be retrieved from Youtube.com/webgovpl. These figures show that such meetings are necessary. We will continue with such events also this year.

COURTESY OF PARP

Bo˝ena LubliƒskaKasprzak, president of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), discusses Poland’s IT sector and her agency’s various initiatives to support and promote it

Bo˝ena Lubliƒska-Kasprzak, president of PARP broadband internet, particularly wireless, are much lower.

The financial situation of users of Polish e-services also sets us apart from the most developed economies and limit the adoption capacity for the latest technological innovations. The applicants for subsidies in the Innovative Economy program don’t try to become the pioneers in innovative technologies. Their projects are wellresearched, particularly in terms of the business they can generate.

The assessment criteria emphasize the competitive advantage these innovations must create in order to receive funding. They need to find end-users for their e-services. That’s why the ideas comprise mostly product innovations, cloud computing and automation solutions for business as well as for ordinary people. These include some very simple, typically Polish ideas as well as novel e-services already present in the western markets, particularly in the US, which are adopted to the local market needs.

PARP supports the IT industry and its development by providing not only subsidies but also training. One such successful initiative

was the “E-business Academy.”

What are its results and should we expect similar initiatives this year?

We have been carrying out the “We support e-business” program for several years now. We have created the internet portal web.gov.pl as part of the program, which currently has some 12,000 registered users, thus making up the biggest community within Polish administration. The portal has been visited five million times so far, it contains over 14,000 articles and the same number of entries promoting eservices. It has Poland’s largest ebusiness events database. It is an enormous knowledge base: it has over 60 e-books and e-manuals on e-business, which have been downloaded over 100,000 times.

This framework allowed us to launch our “E-business Academy,” which attracted a lot of attention and participants. We organized a series of conferences under the “E-business Academy” headline held in various locations across Poland. Some 700 people took part in the “E-business Forum” in Warsaw which was the conclusion of the “Academy” series and about 10,000 internet users saw the transmissions of the event.

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E-service providers who achieved commercial success in the Polish market often try to venture into international markets as well.

What kind of help, apart from the financial support in patent procedures, will PARP grant them?

The e-business forum I mentioned earlier promotes international expansion of e-services and B2B technologies. We gathered Polish and international experts and business leaders to talk about all aspects of such expansion. The most innovative e-services and B2B technologies were awarded, and the winners will have the opportunity to take part in the CeBIT fair and present their novel products as part of the PARP exhibition. We also promote the best eservices in our “best practice” catalogs. We provide knowledge to the beneficiaries of our programs.

Every year we publish reports presenting the development of the eservice sector in Poland and in the world. We also provide access to many specialist e-books.

What are PARP’s plans for the CeBIT fair?

The CeBIT fair is one of the biggest meeting places for the people from the IT and digital economy sectors. Since 1986 they have inspired their participants to make new business contacts, create incentives for business growth and facilitate their market success.

Every year, the fair attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. Last year it was visited by over 311,000 people (both exhibitors and visitors) from over 50 countries. This year’s fair has special significance – Poland is a Strategic Partner of the 2013 CeBIT Fair.

Poland’s partnership in the event is one the elements of the three-year program for promoting the Polish IT industry called “Do IT with Poland” as part of the “Polska Power” campaign. This is a tremendous opportunity for Poland to promote the successes and possibilities for the IT sector.

We will be present there, we will have a chance of presenting our accomplishments and a chance to be inspired with the knowledge and experience of others. ●

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PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

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MARCH 4-10, 2013

Poland a strategic partner for 2013 CeBIT fair

The CeBIT fair is one of the most important events for the IT sector and digital economy firms. Since 1986 it has inspired people to make new business contacts, and provided stimuli for development and market success of IT companies.

Every spring the fair attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to Hannover, Germany. The event is organized by Deutsche Messe AG. In 2012, as many as 312,000 people from 70 countries visited the stalls of some 4,200 exhibitors.

Poland’s Ministry of Economy has played a crucial part in granting Poland the status of Partner Country at the 2013 CeBIT fair. Apart from the general exhibition stand, Poland has four additional stalls at the fair, one for each of the four main areas covered at the fair: lab, gov, life and pro.

ment and health care institutions, CeBIT life will present solutions for mass users while CeBIT lab is a platform for groundbreaking innovations.

CeBIT’s unique formula comprises a fair, conferences, lectures from IT gurus, and corporate events with plenty of opportunities to mingle with businesspeople from all over the world. As Partner Country, Poland has the unique opportunity to present not only the achievements of the IT industry but also the country’s culture.

Shareconomy – share your knowledge Innovations in the IT sector, such as cloud computing and managing trust, which were the main themes of the 2011 and 2012 CeBIT fairs, are becoming increasingly widely applied in digital economies.

Shareconomy is the new challenge. It comprises global sharing of

knowledge, intellectual resources and experience exchange with the use of modern technologies. The CeBIT fair is a great opportunity to start the discussion on the role of Shareconomy in today’s world, organizers say.

Shareconomy, the theme for this year’s fair, also reflects the changes society is undergoing: from the need to have to the need to share. Shareconomy also influences the way business is done – companies rely on social media and see global economy function as a network of connections.

Shareconomy also means that instead of owning a thing, we use it together with other people. We have carsharing – making your car available to other users via internet platforms, or carpooling – driving together with other people. Internet portals where you purchase the right to listen to a piece of music for a specified time instead of downloading it, are becoming increasingly popular, too.

The term Shareconomy was chosen for CeBIT 2013 based on opinions from world leaders in IT technologies, and suggestions from those Frank Pörschmann, member of Deutsche Messe’s management who follow the market. ● board (left) and Polish Deputy Minister of Economy Dariusz COURTESY OF CEBIT

Poland is the strategic Science for people partner of the international and institutions CeBIT pro will showcase efficient IT fair CeBIT, being held from March 5 to 9, 2013 in and secure solutions for commercial companies. CeBIT gov will display Hannover products and services for govern-

Bogdan

Companies awarded in the second edition of the Innovative E-service and B2B Technology competition B2B Category:

more efficient and error-free.

1. Company Name: EuroFlorist Sp. z o.o. – winner in B2B category Website: www.bring.euroflorist.pl Project description: EuroFlorist is a company which allows you to send flowers anywhere in Poland and in the world. All business processes between the company and its 700 partnerflorists are done online, including: order exchange, money transfer, as well as preparing innovative tools for marketing and sales. The optimization of the key business aspects made it possible to cut order delivery times as well as service costs.

CeBIT representation: Tomasz Rams e-mail: trams@inventorysolutions.pl phone no.: +48 504-317-569 Contact in Poland: Micha∏ Mat∏oka, Weronika ¸àczna e-mail: wlaczna@agnus-network.pl phone no.: +48 61 662-3400 address: ul. Sielska 8, 60-129 Poznaƒ Project name: Implementing a B2B system facilitating stock-taking and computing using mobile devices Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.02.00-30-033/09-06

CeBIT representation: Andrzej Âwiderski e-mail: andrzej@euroflorist.pl phone no.: +48 601-576-055 address: ul. Bystra 7, 61-366 Poznaƒ Project name: Stimulating business undertakings conducted electronically achieved with the purchase of system and fixed assets Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.02.00-30-004/08-04

3. Company Name: STAYPOLAND Sp. z o.o. – second runner-up in B2B Category Website: www.staypoland.com Project description: Fully innovative virtual “marketplace” for business travel in Poland.

The portal is used by hotels (providing prices and availability of rooms), companies (placing orders for services tailored to their needs) and agencies (travel agencies and “affiliates” offering the services of StayPoland.com).

2. Company Name: Inventory Solutions – runner-up in B2B category Website: www.inventorysolutions.pl Project description: Inventory Solutions Polska is the market leader in outsourcing of stocktaking services. It offers a wide range of services to major retailers, manufacturers, warehouses and logistics centers. Its client base includes: Carrefour Polska, Real, Tesco Polska, Piotr i Pawe∏, Ericsson, Cyfrowy Polsat, Nokia Siemens Networks, Dell Polska, Kakadu, Greenpoint and Cross Jeanswear Co. The project involved implementing an IT system for stock-taking with the use of mobile data collectors which makes the process faster,

CeBIT representation: Tomas Zukal e-mail: t.zukal@staypoland.com phone no.: +48 501-405-892 address: ul. Mi∏a 2, 00-180 Warszawa Project name: Making sales and services for hotel reservation and event planning for corporate clients of Staypoland easier and more automatic Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.02.00-14-109/09-03

E-business category: 1. Company Name: KONRAD Sp. z o.o. –

winner in e-business category Website: www.ktotomowi.pl Project description: Ktotomowi.pl is the first internet portal with physical therapy exercises for children with hearing problems, particularly with cochlear implants. Children with cochlear implants need to get used to new stimuli and learn to interpret them. Instead of using only flashcards, blocks and jigsaw puzzles, they now have an entire e-service at their disposal with special games and animations with thousands of natural sounds. The portal is a perfect complement to traditional therapy.

CeBIT representation: Monika Kuliƒska-Tosiek e-mail: monika.kulinska@ktotomowi.pl phone no.: +48 518-977-890 address: ul. Samorzàdowa 5A, 05-410 Józefów Project name: Creation and promotion of internet portal with physical therapy exercises for hard-of-hearing children Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-438/09-00 2. Company Name: MDPL – runner-up in the e-business category Website: www.audioteka.pl Project description: The company provides an online service for sharing audio books at audioteka.pl, offering files for direct download as well as the only platform allowing for the purchase, download and playing of audio books directly on smartphones thanks to a novel mobile technology. It offers a wide range of audio books secured with very innovative watermark technology which after being purchased is placed on the buyer’s “e-bookshelf” from where it can be retrieved at any time an unlimited number of times. Audioteka is the market leader in Poland and has successfully

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expanded to international markets.

Contact in Poland: Marcin Beme e-mail: marcin.beme@audioteka.pl phone no.: +48 601-559-990 address: ul. Pu∏awska 182, 02-670 Warszawa Project name: Implementing software for innovative 21st century services – the age of information society Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-107/08-01 3. Company Name: Filmaster – second runner-up in the e-business category Website: www.filmaster.tv Project description: Filmaster.TV provides a service for media companies (cable TV providers, VOD services, movie theater chains, web portals) which allows for immediate customization of video content prepared for individual customers based on their tastes and moods as well as current trends. Filmaster operates in the cloud and doesn’t require the installation of any software. The customization that Filmaster allows makes video delivery services more competitive.

CeBIT representation: Borys Musielak e-mail: borys@filamster.com phone no.: +48 795-158-581 address: ul. Stryjeƒskich 19/50, 02-719 Warszawa Project name: Filmaster.TV Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-B17/09-01

Other companies awarded in the competition: 1. Company Name: S-Arts Stanisz

Website: www.mintia.com Project description: Mintia is a new social network bringing together graphic designers from all over the world. The company’s clients are people or companies in need of a graphic design, such as a logo, an ad or business cards.

They set up a contest with an award and then view and assess designs sent by Mintia’s community. Finally a winner is chosen who receives the prize while the client gets the design. Mintia’s community offers a wide range of designs, from t-shirts, applications, games, websites to animations with soundtracks.

CeBIT representation: Przemys∏aw Stanisz e-mail: p.stanisz@mintia.com phone no.: +48 694-685-905 Ludmi∏a Maruszewska e-mail: meewca@mintia.com address: Al. Jana Paw∏a II 41 L, 31-864 Kraków Project name: Mintia.com (Creating a comprehensive forum of e-services for the advertising sector) Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-12-199/10-02 2. Company Name: Digital Republic Website: www.digitalrepublic.com.pl Project description: Digital Republic offers a monitoring system of internet activity in social media. The tool is used by marketing people, employees of R&D centers and public relations agencies to analyze the position of a brand and how social media may be used to promote it more effectively. The service is provided in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. It uses semantic algorithms which recognize what kind of opinions about a brand are published on internet forums, social sites, blogs, video portals and websites and may, for example, send a crisis alert if negative opinions appear.

CeBIT representation: Tomasz Kaszuba e-mail: t.w.kaszuba@gmail.com phone no.: +48 790-636-411 Contact in Poland: Marcin Krzosek e-mail: krzosek.marcin@gmail.com phone no.: +48 501-132-550 address: ul. Mazowiecka 38, 02-613 Warszawa Project name: BuzzTracker – creating a semantic analysis system of internet content for marketing purposes Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-A38/09-02 3. Company Name: Treco Website: www.treco.pl Project description: Treco.pl is an internet portal for trainers, coaches, HR employees as well as coaching companies and individuals provid-

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE ing competence development training or preparing for such work. Its purpose is to deliver professional know-how, tools and market information to such professionals allowing them to better manage their time and thus to increase income.

CeBIT representation: Dominika Matczak e-mail: d.matczak@treco.pl phone no.: +48 504-934-414 address: ul. Dàbrowskiego 38, 41-500 Chorzów Project name: e-trener – internet portal for professionals in the training business Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-24-174/09-05 4. Company Name: BugFree Software Website: www.getautoma.com Project description: The purpose of the project is to create two GUI scripting and testing tools.

The first tool, Automa, allows users to make certain repetitive and tedious tasks, such as clicking buttons or entering values, done automatically. The other tool, Automatest, is used in software development for creating tests checking the assumptions for graphic user interfaces.

CeBIT representation: Tytus Dobrzyƒski e-mail: tytus.dobrzynski@gmail.com phone no.: +48 502-666-663 address: ul. Polaƒska 11, 61-614 Poznaƒ Project name: GuiUnit – a tool for creating automatic user interface graphic tests Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-30-140/11-01 5. Company Name: LangMedia Website: www.etutor.pl Project description: Etutor.pl is an online language school. It offers all levels of English courses based on multimedia materials prepared by a team of English teachers, education specialists and native speakers from the UK, the US and Australia. The courses are offered in the form of an e-service for self-study using recordings and high-resolution photos as well as an English dictionary comprising 160,000 entries.

CeBIT representation: Marcin Kowalczyk e-mail: marcin.kowalczyk@etutor.pl phone no.: +48 506-756-717 Contact in Poland: Pawe∏ Kowalczyk e-mail: biuro@etutor.pl phone no.: +48 505-310-799 address: ul. Skwierzyƒska 25/3, 53-521 Wroc∏aw Project name: English e-learning platform with a multimedia internet application

Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-113/08-04 6. Company Name: INSIGO G. Róg Website: www.eduweb.pl Project description: This e-learning platform offers IT courses such as computer graphics, web design and programming. The main form of delivery are video courses on DVD or available online. It also launched a Virtual Academy with live courses allowing a fully interactive learning experience. The trainer presents via a camera and microphone while participants can ask questions and communicate with one another. The platform also has a system of awarding its users with badges and prizes.

CeBIT representation: Grzegorz Róg e-mail: grzegorz@insigo.pl phone no.: +48 601-555-216 address: ul. Hlonda 4K/1, 02-032 Warszawa Project name: Multimedia courses on software and computer technologies Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-154/08-01 7. Company Name: uczestnicy.pl Website: www.uczestnicy.pl Project description: The project allows event organizers to manage participants’ registrations using a mobile application. The service is integrated with Facebook, which allows for the registration of participants directly from the event organizer’s FanPage. It is also integrated with an online payment service called przelewy24, thus saving time for both the participants and organizers of an event.

CeBIT representation: Tomasz Grochowski e-mail: tomasz.grochowski@uczestnicy.pl phone no.: +48 601-170-649 Contact in Poland: Jakub Tab´dzki e-mail: Jakub.tabedzki@uczestnicy.pl phone no.: +48 501-444-487 address: ul. Rzepiƒska 21, 60-176 Poznaƒ Project name: UCZESTNICY – creating an internet portal offering organizational support for events and participant registration Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-30-231/09-04

SHUTTERSTOCK

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SHUTTERSTOCK

MARCH 4-10, 2013

8. Company Name: Artefakt Website: www.projektoskop.pl Project description: “Projektoskop” is a portal for internet users interested in building their BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE POLISH AGENCY FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (PARP)

own house. It creates a user-friendly interface for viewing house blueprints offered by more than a dozen architectural and design studios and allows users to search the database according to very specific criteria. The portal also comprises several thousand publications on design, construction, DIY, gardening, interior design and furniture.

Contact in Poland: B∏a˝ej Miernikiewicz e-mail: biuro@artefakt.pl phone no.: +48 71 769-4500 address: ul. Powstaƒców Âlàskich 5, 53-332 Wroc∏aw Project name: Projektoskop – advanced search engine for house blueprints Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-02-117/08-05 9. Company Name: YouArtMe Website: www.youartme.com Project description: YouArtMe is a platform for bringing together artists and art lovers. It promotes art in the form of digital reproductions. It enables users to find interesting pieces of art and to order their reproductions online.

These are then made in one of the platform’s partner studios. It suggests certain pieces of art to users based on their previous tastes, prepares a visualization of the work in the client’s surroundings, informs users of important cultural events and even evaluates pieces of art.

CeBIT representation: Marek Kaliƒski e-mail: marek_kalinski@youartme.com phone no.: +48 606-645-590 address: Szosa Okr´˝na 10B/23, 87-100 Toruƒ Project name: Creating an internet portal providing an e-service of commercializing art Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-04-126/11-00 10. Company Name: Petra Website: www.petra24.pl Project description: Petra24.pl is an online accounting software package allowing users to complete financial documents step-by-step, without any knowledge of accounting principles required. The software has built-in modules for issuing invoices, submitting declarations and forms, stock-taking and CRM. It is an e-service with a monthly subscription fee, with all the data stored in the cloud and available online 24/7.

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CeBIT representation: Dariusz ˚urek e-mail: d.zurek@petrait.pl phone no.: +48 662-146-875 address: Pl. Matejki 20/2, 65-056 Zielona Góra Project name: Creating an e-service for accounting and income tax and VAT declarations Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-08-162/09-00 11. Company Name: Stopango Website: www.stopango.pl Project description: Stopango is a platform enabling users to plan routes using public transport, check timetables or navigate through a city. Its main market is currently the US, Canada and Australia. It makes cooperation with other applications easy and works well on mobile devices. The platform uses geolocation, the internet and advanced algorithms.

CeBIT representation: Micha∏ Górski e-mail: m.gorski@stopango.pl phone no.: +48 662-080-700 address: ul. Potulicka 28/28, 70-234 Szczecin Project name: Creating a mobile platform for travelers using geolocation with instant publishing of user-generated content Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-32-147/09-01 12. Company Name: City-nav Website: www.jakdojade.pl Project description: Jakdojade.pl is an electronic travel planner using public transport in major Polish cities. It contains comprehensive information for passengers made available in a clear and user-friendly way. It calculates optimal routes between any two locations in the city area, showing bus and tram stops, subway and train stations. It provides users with information such as how many times and where to change modes of transport, how far to go on foot, or the start and end of the journey. The portal updates data on a daily basis. It’s avail-

able online as well as for smart phones and other mobile devices.

protects phones and laptops from being stolen. It is mainly dedicated to companies and institutions. The service allows for the geolocation of devices, data protection in case of theft (it enables all data to be copied and then remotely deleted from the stolen device), and monitors if the software used on them is legal. Additionally, the system allows for easy stock-taking of IT equipment.

CeBIT representation: Bartosz Burek e-mail: bartosz.burek@city-nav.com phone no.: +48 790-890-617 address: ul. Dmowskiego 85, 60-204 Poznaƒ Project name: Jakdojade.pl – developing an innovative journey planner using public transport Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-30-108/09-01

CeBIT representation: Micha∏ Olan

MARCH 4-10, 2013

e-mail: molan@btc.com.pl phone no.: +48 500-114-606 Contact in Poland: Maciej Kaczyƒski e-mail: info@btc.com.pl phone no.: +48 91 433-1896 address: ul. Po∏udniowa 25B, 71-001 Szczecin Project name: Creating an electronic security service for monitoring, stock taking and mobile devices management Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-32-104/09-10 ●

13. Company Name: Sonbou Website: www.fiszkoteka.pl Project description: Fiszkoteka is an online language-learning platform using visual, auditory and tactile stimuli. It incorporates findings from research studies on human memory. It offers several professional language courses prepared in cooperation with the University of Warsaw and lets users make their own flashcards or use those made by other users (several hundred flashcards in over 20 languages) which Fiszkoteka supplies with recordings and pictures. A flashcard can be easily converted into an mp3 file. The platform offers games and quizzes, as well as a foreign-language version (memoteque.com) and is currently implementing a mobile app for Android and iOS. Contact in Poland: Marcin M∏odzki e-mail: marcin.mlodzki@gmail.com phone no.: +48 790-884-801 address: ul. Mielczarskiego 8/58, 02-798 Warszawa Project name: Creating an internet educational portal facilitating memory-based learning Subsidy agreement no.: POIG.08.01.00-14-217/09-05 14. Company Name: BTC Connect Website: www.oxeris.com Project description: Oxeris is an e-service using cloud computing technology which

SHUTTERSTOCK

4

Promoting Poland’s IT potential Poland is the Partner Country for this year’s edition of the CeBIT fair.

Does the ministry view this as an important distinction for Poland?

Dariusz Bogdan: Yes, indeed.

CeBIT is considered one of the most prestigious events in the digital world. Poland’s status as Partner Country is the result of the Ministry of Economy’s efforts over last three years. Obviously, it was worth it. We are really looking forward to presenting the achievements of the Polish IT industry. We consider our presence in Hannover as both a commendation and a challenge for the future.

How should Poland and Polish entrepreneurs make use of this opportunity?

Our aim is to present Poland as a land of opportunities for investments. We would like to put special emphasis on our assets: a stable economy, a receptive market of almost 40 million people, and – last but not least – human capital.

Taking into account the entrepreneurs’ perspective, finding new con-

tacts and potential for new business deals, the B2B formula of the trade fair seems most attractive. Moreover, with hundreds of thousands of visitors, CeBIT is a great promotional tool. It is worth coming to Hannover to present one’s achievements, check out the latest products, see competitive solutions or find inspiration.

How important is Poland’s IT sector within the country’s economy?

We estimate that the ICT sector accounts for 4 percent of Polish GDP. What is more, the value of the Polish ICT market is estimated at nearly €20 billion. Companies representing this branch are the most innovative, and innovation translates into an increase of competitiveness of the Polish economy. The hitech sector also significantly contributes to the creation of new jobs – over the last two years alone the IT sector offered 4,000 new work places.

Can Poland’s economy be described as innovative?

Yes, definitely. Polish entrepreneurs are increasingly willing to implement innovative technological and organizational solutions. I am very pleased to note that many of them know how to exploit the potential related to such solutions and turn them into commercial success. This all corresponds with an increase in the efficiency of the entire economy.

Can we expect further activity from the ministry when it comes to promoting Polish innovative technology?

The CeBIT trade fair can be considered the high point of a strategic partnership which will last for the whole year. As part of that, international seminars, conferences and missions are being held to present the assets of the IT sector in Poland.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Economy has initiated a three-year program for the promotion of Polish IT/ICT companies abroad. The aim of the program is to create new, powerful Polish brands that will be recognized throughout the world and associated with Poland.

These are two – but not the only – crucial actions we have taken aimed at promoting the Polish IT sector. There is still more to come. ●

COURTESY OF THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMY

Deputy Minister of Economy Dariusz Bogdan speaks about the importance of Poland’s presence at CeBIT, the ministry’s undertakings to promote the Polish IT sector and the industry’s importance to the country’s economy

Deputy Minister of Economy Dariusz Bogdan

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE POLISH AGENCY FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (PARP)

TECH POLAND

MARCH 4-10, 2013

www.wbj.pl

13

Adding a layer of technology onto real life ➡ Continued from p. 11

Let’s have some fun An obvious commercial application for augmented reality is in computer games. Last year Kraków-based game company Future Reality Games released a game called Urban Troops. It is a first-person shooter which combines elements of a video game with real life experience.

Players walk around equipped with their smartphones, which use a digital recorder with an AR overlay. They try to target the opposing team members and shoot them with their AR guns.

trackers, and is asked to navigate a virtual fish through a virtual pond, thereby exercising his or her wrist.

Sky is the limit

COURTESY OF FUTURE REALITY GAMES

number of products using AR to promote brands and boost their sales, such as a virtual fitting room for sunglasses where you can “try on” different glasses on a photo of your face to see how they look, all the while sitting on your couch with your laptop.

Another Wroc∏aw-based company dabbling in novel uses of advanced technologies, Planet Soft, is developing a product called Oopsly which will enable shoppers to get more information on a product they see on a regular billboard. All you need to do is take a photo of the ad and the program will supply information on the manufacturer, its price, available promotions and the nearest locations where you can buy it. The software, which is to be released in the fall, won the audience choice award at the Startup Weekend Warsaw event last summer.

In Urban Troops, players use their smartphones to target opposing team members and shoot them with their augmented-reality “guns” “It’s a game like paintball, but you play it with your smartphone which works as a simulated gun,” said Dariusz ˚o∏na from Future Reality Games. “There are various

ed reality technologies, in the best AR application category.

Safety first Augmented reality is not only the stuff of games and ads,

“Placing research subjects in virtual environment can in many ways make the study more reliable.” types of guns, each with a different range and firepower.

It’s a game for tech-friendly boys similar to Counterstrike or Quake,” he added.

The game is unique among computer games as it uses players’ real-life agility and endurance and can be played outdoors. It won the 2012 Augmented Planet Readers Choice, where internet users vote on their favorite augment-

though. It has some very real and practical applications and can be used to improve health and safety. The Lemonsky agency, in cooperation with the National Road Safety Council, organized a campaign to raise awareness for safe driving, showing people what their faces would look like after a car accident.

Both virtual and augmented reality has been applied

successfully by government institutions as well. The Central Institute for Labour Protection (CIOP PIB), which specializes in research on occupational safety and ergonomics, organizes training for miners in high-risk jobs such as in the coalface area, where the use of explosives is commonplace, or in areas with high concentration levels of methane. The training is conducted in a virtual reality environment using immersive goggles and teaches miners how to better perform complicated tasks and keep their cool in high-risk situations.

The institute is also working on a highly advanced tool for physical therapy after wrist and forearm injuries. A patient is placed in virtual reality and puts on gloves equipped with gyroscopes and

Another cutting-edge application of the technology is the forensic reconstruction of accidents. A team of experts from CIOP PIB uses highly advanced VR simulations to determine whether an accident could have taken place the way the parties involved claim it did and if so, what injuries they would have suffered. The institute cooperates with the police on difficult cases where witnesses are scarce and the parties involved can’t agree on the chain of events.

The institute has been awarded several EU grants in the Innovative Economy program. It is currently working, in cooperation with the advanced technologies research unit of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the VRlab, on a number of projects in cognitive psychology studying

the psychological and social aspects of human behavior.

“Placing research subjects in virtual environment can in many ways make the study more reliable and yield more measurable results, which allow for better prediction of real-life behaviors,” said Maciej Skorko from the VRlab.

Mr Skorko added that the most common and successful application of AR and VR in psychology is treatment of phobias and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. “AR is also used by social psychologists in consumer studies, where participants describe their attitudes and intentions towards virtual models of product prototypes allowing for end-user input on early product design stages,” he said.

AR and VR have yet to become commonplace tools in research and business. But with the great strides being made by Polish scientists and entrepreneurs, the wealth of possibilities appears limitless.

Beata Socha

What is the difference between AR and VR? High-end virtual reality technology is capable of surrounding a person with a completely simulated environment using a special helmet and set of trackers to translate real-life movements into their virtual representations.

Augmented reality is a way of putting another layer on the surrounding environment using a special tool or computer program. Such tools could be state-of-the-art pieces of equipment dedicated specifically for this purpose, such as Google Glass. They can also be regular everyday devices, such as smartphones or tablets. ●

Smugglers, zombies and snipers quered the Windows Phone system. With 4,000 apps and games released on this operating system, Poland is the thirdbiggest developer in the world.

Now they’ve moved on to

more popular and lucrative markets – Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. The biggest Polish player in this sector is a company called 11 bit studios, whose hits include the “Anomaly War-

Best-selling Polish video games Game

Developer

Number of copies sold (in millions)

Dead Island

Techland

3.98

City of Juarez series

Techland

1.99

CD Projekt RED

1.7

The Witcher series Sniper: Ghost Warrior

City Interactive

1.7

Bulletstorm

People Can Fly

1.46

Source: VG Chartz (only physical copies; does not include digital sales)

zone” series and “Funky smugglers.” In 2011 they recorded a z∏.2.8 million profit which makes them the secondbiggest game developer in the country (behind CD Projekt RED). Another successful developer is Infinite Dreams, whose games have been downloaded some 30 million times.

The mobile market is profitable, and it provides easy access to worldwide markets through Apple’s App Store and the Google Play online application store. That’s why even small studios can develop quality products and sell them

globally. For example, Gamelion Studios’ biggest hit, “Monster Shooter,” has been downloaded by 4 million users – only 3 percent of whom were from Poland.

Not all the mobile games from Poland are “budget” titles. Vivid Games’ “Real Boxing” for iOS (the Android version is coming soon), uses the state-of-theart Unreal Engine, used in developing games for the “big” consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360. It supports motion controls similar to the way the Xbox’s Kinect

and the PlayStation Move do. It has been announced as a launch title for Nvidia’s

COURTESY OF VIVID GAMES

➡ Continued from p. 11

Vivid Games’ “Real Boxing”

upcoming handheld console, Project Shield.

Jacek Ciesnowski

14

MARCH 4-10, 2013

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Expert opinion

Patenting computer-aided solutions – case study Lech Bury, Polish Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney at Patpol Kancelaria Patentowa, examines some of the procedures and pitfalls of applying for a patent in Poland

Signs of trouble The first letter you get after dealing with the formalities will be about the “Search Report .”

The Polish Patent Office is required to present, in the form of a report, the results of its search for solutions similar to the one you submitted.

You won’t get the report itself, though.

You will learn from the letter that the Patent Office was unable to prepare the report as your solution “is not technical in its nature.”

This is no coincidence, nor a result of some expert’s negligence. You have received a signal that there will be trouble.

The reason for this is simple. Every patent office has some “technical nature” requirement to protect the offices from having to examine fortune-telling devices and the like. However, in Poland this provision is notoriously abused to justify the rejection to patent novel technologies. We can therefore expect that the “non-technical in nature” accusation will appear

Lech Bury, Polish Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney at Patpol Kancelaria Patentowa throughout the entire patent process in Poland.

COURTESY OF PATPOL KANCELARIA PATENTOWA

You have a good idea for a new product using advanced technologies. There is a vague possibility you could make money on it. But to put it into practice you need funds – you have to find an investor.

A patent seems to be some form of guarantee for you and for your investor. A patent application itself can be sold, so once you have a stamp of the Patent Office, with the filing date of your application, you can start talking to potential partners without waiting for the patent procedure to finish.

Your next step is the choice of the right patent office. According to Polish law, a Polish citizen must file his or her application with the Polish Patent Office. You can also file a European patent application with the Polish Patent Office. A Polish application is significantly cheaper than the European one, therefore we will concentrate on the procedure for obtaining a Polish patent.

Without severe cost cuts, such an application, assuming it is submitted according to the standard procedure, will cost several thousand z∏oty. This money will also buy you time (12 months) for getting new funds and extending the application to other countries.

In order not to disclose any details of real patent cases, I will refer to a fictional case combining typical features of CII (Computer Implemented Invention) solutions that are usually submitted for patenting in Poland.

Let’s assume then that you’ve discovered a way to control signal transmission in a cell phone, thus allowing for a 20 percent increase of battery lifetime. You file for the national patent (the cheap one), get the filing date and then look for money for further activity. The procedure has begun.

specific phone with an explanation of how it functions and not how the signal-control mechanism works.

Buying time You use the 12-month period after the date of filing to search for funding for future endeavors. If you manage to find the resources for a European patent application, it’s worth doing that.

At least 18 months after the date of filing, you will receive another letter from the Patent Office. This time it’ll be a “notice.”

The Office will notify you that “evidence and materials collected may indicate there are obstacles for granting the patent.” These obstacles consist of “significant features, as enumerated in the list of claims, are nontechnical in their nature.”

The Office determines a time frame for you to submit explanations. You prepare a new patent application using modified terminology, you argue that without technical modifications and devices the phone’s battery lifetime can’t be extended and … you get a new notice.

The content of the new notice will be strikingly similar to the first one. You’ll learn from it that “a device cannot be defined as: a procedure for translating a signal into a sequence of bits, procedures for translating code words into a sequence of information words, bit values, their positions and a number of their position,” etc.

Naturally, you have time to submit more explanations. This time, however, you are less optimistic when filing your response.

Even though not a single line of code was included in your patent application, the Patent Office knows that “even the word ‘connected’ doesn’t apply to a physical joining of components but it is a programmingrelated term.”

Both letters clearly indicate that the expert would like to see a description of a

Non-technical solution Your nagging suspicion will be confirmed by the “Patent Rejection Decision” you’ll receive shortly after filing your second explanation letter. You will find a repetition of the arguments used in both notifications, plus some explanation.

The position the Polish Patent Office takes can be aptly summarized with the quote from one such decision: “The translation of binary signals … using abstract procedures, state machines, block diagrams, configurations without specifying electronic circuits used proves that the solution is non-technical in its nature.” The letter you receive will include such explanation or some rendition thereof.

Is this the end? Not necessarily. You have 12 months to file a European application.

Once you obtain the European patent, you file its Polish translation with the Polish Patent Office. You are now in possession of a valid patent just as if it were issued in Poland. This is no mistake – the same office which failed to see the technical nature of your invention will now accept it as having a European patent.

The procedures are independent of one another and the European Patent Office sees all solutions as technical in nature if their result is technical. Extending battery lifetime by 20 percent is very much a technical result, good enough for experts in the European office.

It all takes time You can of course fight for the Polish application too. You have the right to appeal against such a decision, but the outcome will be the same. However, after you obtain

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PATENT OFFICE PATPOL KANCELARIA PATENTOWA SP. Z O.O.

another rejection you can file a complaint with the Provincial Administration Court.

The decision of the provincial court is not so easy to predict. However, the Supreme Administration Court (the court of second instance) has proven, by annulling several of the provincial court’s decisions, that the Polish Patent Office doesn’t have free reign in interpreting provisions of the Polish law and that Polish law should be harmonized with the European law, not only formally, but also in real terms. It will take some time though, before the Polish Patent Office takes notice of these decisions and what they mean for its practices.

This begs the question: Is it worth filing a Polish application in cases such as the one described above? In my opinion, yes, if you need time to raise funds for proper patent protection. The time the Office takes to review your application is long and some things are slowly changing for the better.

The Polish patent procedure also gives you an additional 12 months to decide if you want to file for a European one.

Patpol Sp. z o.o. ul. Nowoursynowska 162J 02-776 Warszawa Poland P.O. Box 168 00-950 Warszawa Poland phone: +48 22 644-9657 fax: +48 22 644-9600 e-mail: patpol@patpol.com.pl www.patpol.pl

The men behind Angel Wawel want to combine luxury with soul

The Renaissance hotel at Chopin Airport is on track for completion this year

16

17

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

TriGranit expands to Macedonia TriGranit Group has signed agreement with its partner Slovenian ERA Holding on largescale cooperation in Skopje, Macedonia. The agreement covers real estate development, property management and leasing services.

ERA Group’s real estate development plans include a busines and entertainment center, ERA City, which is being built near Skopje’s city center and includes a shopping center, office buildings and a hotel.

With the expansion to Macedonia, the Hungary-based TriGranit Group is now present in 10 countries. ●

In this issue Nowy Sezam to move ahead .15 Yareal in Wola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Angel Wawel interview . . . . . .16 GTC sells Platinium V . . . . . . . .16 Rondo 1 Run Up . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Renaissance hotel . . . . . . . . . . .17

Court allows demolition of Sezam retail center The construction of the Nowy Sezam office building finally has got the green light A court dismissed a complaint by a home-owners’ association aimed at stopping the demolition of Warsaw’s Sezam retail facility last Thursday, clearing the way for the building to be destroyed and a new office scheme to be built in its place.

Warsaw Stock Exchangelisted developer BBI Development NFI can now launch construction on its Nowy Sezam mixed-use project at the intersection of ul. Marsza∏kowska and ul. Âwi´tokrzyska in the center of Warsaw. The glass-layered building, with an S-shaped facade, was designed

by BBI’s Juvenes architectural studio. The investment will deliver 13,500 sqm of office and retail space.

Controversy has surrounded the Nowy Sezam project

The Nowy Sezam office building will deliver 13,500 sqm of office and retail space since its planning stage. The tenants of the neighboring building on ul. Moniuszki 10

have been opposed the the project from the start. Before filing the complaint with the

Voivodship Administrative Court, the association tried their luck with the local gov-

ernment appeal council last summer, where the motion also received an unfavorable ruling.

The project, which BBI Development NFI will complete in cooperation with the “Spo∏em” ÂródmieÊcie cooperative, will be the first building in Warsaw with direct access to a subway station, as one of the scheme’s exits will lead straight to the Âwi´tokrzyska station. Tenants will have a direct connection with both subway lines that intersect there.

The demolition of the Sezam retail facility, built in 1969 and commonly referred to as Warsaw’s luxury shopping center of the communist era, is set to commence in the third quarter of this year.

BBI Development NFI is currently also involved in projects in Warsaw including the construction of the Plac Unii mixed-use highrise building.

Karolina Kowalska

Residential

Yareal to build residential estate in Wola The Brylowska 2 development will comprise 74 apartments, as well as retail and service facilities Developer Yareal Polska is to commence construction of a development called Brylowska 2 in Warsaw’s Wola district.

The company has also begun selling apartments in the project. The construction of the scheme is expected to take less than two years.

The six-storey building, situated at the intersection of ul.

Brylowska and ul. Pràdzyƒ-

skiego, will offer 74 apartments ranging from 29 to 87 sqm. The ground floor facing the street will be available for retail and service facilities.

The company’s latest investment in the Polish capital will be located several hundred meters from the Warsaw West railway station and a 10minute train ride from the city center. The company claims Brylowska 2 will also provide easy access to the Rondo ONZ station of the second Warsaw subway line, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2014.

The building was designed by the SDA SzczeÊniak Denier

Architekci architecture studio.

The investor is touting the scheme as more of a living environment than a mere apartment building. The estate will comprise a garden and a children’s playground.

A subsidiary of Yareal International, Yareal Polska is present in the office and residential sectors of the Polish property market and is arguably best-known for its Renaissance office building in Warsaw’s central district. The company’s ongoing projects include the Rezydencja Bia∏a and Ho˝a 55 housing schemes in the Polish capital.

Karolina Kowalska

COURTESY OF YAREAL

Real estate investment firm Warimpex sold its Le Palais office building in Warsaw to IVG Immobilien for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction is to be completed this summer, Warimpex said. The Le Palais building is located on ul. Pró˝na in Warsaw. It comprises about 6,800 sqm of office space, 75 percent of which is already leased out. Le Palais was redeveloped from two historic tenement houses. Its refurbishment was completed in January.

Office

COURTESY OF BBI DEVELOPMENT NFI

Le Palais sold to IVG Immobilien

MARCH 4-10, 2013, LI 18/08

Brylowska 2 will offer 74 apartments ranging from 29 to 87 sqm

Warsaw Business Journal presents Real Estate weekly newsletter • Know about the newest projects before they’re on the market • Keep up to date on the latest tenders and auctions • Learn the latest trends in Poland’s dynamic office, residential and retail sectors • Find out who’s who in Polish real estate To subscribe: e-mail subscribe@wbj.pl or call +48 22 639 85 68, ext. 201 and sign up for free two-week no-obligation trial subscription

16

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LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Residential

Luxury apartments, with soul

You decided to transform the 16th-century Koletki Sisters convent, located within walking distance from Wawel Castle, into luxury apartments. You knew this could be controversial for the locals, didn’t you?

Shachar Samuel: At the end of the day choosing the plot is all about location and in order to get the best location in a city like Kraków, you have to go to historical places, because its center is made up of historic buildings.

The convent is indeed located in

the heart of the city. As it was formerly a sacred place, located opposite the Wawel Castle, where Polish kings used to be buried, we obviously expected some reaction from the locals.

But when we bought it, it hadn’t been used for ages and it was in ruins. We knew that by restoring it, we would do something that the community would see as positive.

Did you take into account the possibility of demonstrations?

RBS: Demonstrations – no, but we knew there would be people who would oppose our project.

You will always find some criticism as it is impossible to make everyone happy. But the objections we faced were not religious in nature but rather demands for space or benefits.

We had a similar experience with our previous investment in Kraków – Angel Plaza on ul.

Zwierzyniecka. The legal system in Poland allows the tenants of the neighboring plots to stop the investment for a year simply by sending a letter of objection. Sometimes it is aimed simply at obtaining something in exchange for

Ron Ben Shahar (left) and Shachar Samuel

COURTESY OF ANGEL GROUP

Karolina Kowalska: Your Angel Wawel estate is located within an old convent in the heart of Kraków, near the city’s historic Wawel Castle. Why did you choose this place?

Ron Ben Shahar: The building spoke to us, as it was instantly clear to us that the place had a soul. When Shachar and I came to Poland we were looking for some interesting places that we could change into unique products. We hired an international architect and had him take a look at the concepts for the investment we chose and tell us what could be done to make the projects more special.

COURTESY OF ANGEL GROUP

Lokale Immobilia sits down with Shachar Samuel and Ron Ben Shahar, the main shareholders of Angel Poland Group, to talk about their Angel Wawel development in a former Kraków convent and investing in historic buildings, as well as the luxury housing market in Poland

The interior of the Angel Wawel penthouse dropping the objection. Some people would drop their objections for a free parking space.

We never give in to such demands because once you start doing that, there is no end to them.

Why did it take you so long – almost 10 years – to start construction on Angel Wawel?

About the Angel Wawel scheme Angel Wawel is located between ul. Koletek and ul. Dietla in Kraków, and is scheduled for completion in Q4 2015. It is being touted as one of the most luxurious estates in the city.

The average price per sqm is z∏.15,000, although the apartments in the historical buildings will likely sell at a higher price.

The most prestigious unit, in the former chapel of the convent, could go for as much as z∏.20 million after the refurbishing is completed.

The chapel comprises 600 sqm and is built in the shape of an equilateral octagon. Its walls and wooden dome are covered with

polychrome decorations. The paintings, by Jan Bukowski, the famous creator of the St. Mary’s Basilica polychromes, date to before World War II. The images in the upper parts of the walls depict a heart with a crown of thorns and symbols of the seven deadly sins.

The chapel penthouse is to be furnished and maintained in accordance with requirements set by the city’s historical curator.

The renovation of the Angel Wawel residential estate, estimated at approximately z∏.200 million, will be financed by BRE Bank.●

SS: When we bought the property from the city in 2003, it was in the middle of five plots that belonged to different people that we had to buy out.

Nearby, there were 40 neighbors, each of whom had different requests. Before we got the planning decision, we had to deal with these requests. We took into account that getting a planning decision would take us two to three years. It lasted longer and when we finally obtained it, in 2009, the situation on the market wasn’t good, so we decided to wait another four years for better times.

The construction will launch shortly. Does this mean you see improvement in the market?

It seems the market is now hitting the bottom. Such a situation should persist in 2013 but we expect it to start improving in 2014.

Do you expect to find buyers for the 700-sqm luxury apartment in a former chapel soon?

RBS: The royal penthouse is a one-of-a-kind apartment in Poland, so we knew we would easily find buyers for it. We’ve already had three serious offers.

The Royal Apartment and the biggest of 39 apartments located in the convent part of the investment are for people who are in the money, for whom a price difference of one or two million z∏oty is not an issue. These properties are for people who are more interested in the apartment’s prestigious location and uniqueness than its price.

Real estate market analysts estimate that the chapel penthouse could be bought for as much as z∏.18 million. Is that true?

SS: We cannot disclose the numbers but it is more than that. We can say that we have been offered more than z∏.20 million and the final price will depend a lot on the standard that the buyer wants the apartment to be built in. The finishing can be as low as z∏.3 million but it can go up to as much as z∏.8 or even z∏.9 million.

Is a penthouse like the ones you are building in Kraków a good investment?

RBS: Prices of prime locations in most of the cities around the world are stable because it is a safe haven. Rich people prefer to invest their money in prime real estate rather that keep it in

a low-interest bank account.

Prices of prime-market apartments in Poland are still quite low compared to other European cities and to prices from before the crisis.

How many apartments have you sold to date?

SS: We have more than 60 apartments sold out of the 235 total. And we are prepared to continue sales for the next two or three years. Our strategy is to increase the prices as we progress with the project. We are not in a hurry.

Have you thought of investing in historic buildings in Warsaw or in other Polish cities?

SS: When we first came to Poland, just before Poland joined the EU, we were looking for plots in ul. Chmielna in the capital but there was nothing that caught our eye. We liked Katowice as a commercial place and Kraków with its plots in ul.

Zwierzyniecka and ul. Koletek.

In Warsaw we built a large-scale residential estate, Wilanów One. RBS: The estate was nothing like our usual targets, as it was not a special place with a soul.

But we were offered a plot on very favorable terms. Even though it was not exactly the concept that we had in mind, as it was a mass construction, there was a huge demand for that kind of estate at the time and we thought we could create something nice and bring a better product to the market. ●

Offices

The sale accounts for 30 percent of the company’s three-year sales plan

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Globe Trade Centre (GTC), has sold its Platinium Business Park V building in Warsaw for €33.9 million to Calobra Investments from the Allianz Real Estate group.

GTC is one of the largest Polish companies in the sector and Allianz Real Estate is the owner of the other four build-

ings in the scheme. The office complex is situated at the intersection of ul. Domaniewska and ul. Wo∏oska in Warsaw’s Mokotów district.

The 11-storey Platinium Business Park V comprises approximately 11,000 sqm of leasable space. It is the last of the five buildings within Platinium Business Park to be sold.

The entire complex offers a total of 56,000 sqm of GLA. GTC still has the option of constructing a sixth building within the scheme. If it does

so, the total leasable space of the complex will come to approximately 66,000 sqm.

GTC has now earned some €173 million total from its sale of all five buildings in the scheme, reflecting an investment yield of 6.7 percent. The sale of all five buildings generated GTC approximately €60 million in free cash, of which approximately €16 million came from the sale of the fifth building. GTC had earlier announced it would sell the development in Q1 2013 and

thus carry out 30 percent of its three-year sales plan.

The architectural design of Platinium Business Park V was provided by Grupa 5 Architekci. Warbud was the general contractor of the building, for which GTC plans to obtain LEED Gold certification.

Founded in 1994 in Warsaw, GTC is active in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Southeastern Europe. The company has so far delivered a total of some 647,000 sqm of KK, KW leasable space.

COURTESY OF GTC

GTC sells Platinium Business Park V for €34 million

The sale of buildings in Platinium Business Park has earned GTC €173 million

MARCH 4-10, 2013

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

www.wbj.pl

Hospitality

After installation and fitting-out work, the five-star hotel will welcome its first guests this fall The roof structure for the ballroom of the Renaissance hotel at Chopin Airport was completed last week.

The topping-out ceremony, marking the end of the shell

Rondo 1 Run Up event to be held on March 9 The Rondo 1 Run Up, one of the most important tower running races in the world, will be held in Warsaw’s Rondo 1 skyscraper on March 9.

The race is classified as a Master Race in the Towerrunning World Cup calendar, which includes 19 races around the world where participants run up the stairs of tall buildings. Every year it attracts amateurs and professionals from around Europe.

Several top runners have competed in the race in the past, including the runner-up of the 2012 Towerrunning World Cup and the 2012 European Championship bronze medalist.

This year’s elite group comprises last year’s winners, Italian Fabio Ruga and Pole Anna Ficner, who completed the race in 3:39.53 and 5:08.59 respectively. The runner-up, in the women’s race, Cristina Bonacina from Italy, and the second runner-up in the men’s race, Victor Novotny from the Czech Republic, will also participate in the race. Polish runner Piotr ¸obodziƒski, who came in fourth in the 2012 race, wants to improve his result this year.

As usual, there will also be a team of 24 Warsaw firefighters who will run up the stairs fully equipped with fire uniforms, heavy helmets, masks and air tanks.

All proceeds from the Rondo 1 Run Up entry fees will go to SOS Children’s Villages, a charity which provides homes and family-based care for orphans and abandoned children. The race will be sponsored by CBRE, the building’s exclusive leasing agent.

Karolina Kowalska

construction, was held already in mid-November. Installation and fitting-out work is currently underway.

The Renaissance at Chopin Airport, with one of the biggest ballrooms in Warsaw, will be the first hotel of the brand to open in Central and Eastern Europe.

The 11-storey building will have a three-storey parking lot and 225 suites, providing accommo-

dation for 400 guests. It will also offer five conference rooms with a total area of 650 sqm, a swimming pool, wellness center, fitness club and a restaurant.

“All the construction work is on schedule despite the severe winter weather,” said Karolina Szyde∏kowska, the spokesperson for Alpine Construction Polska, the general contractor of the scheme.

The hotel is the property of Chopin Airport’s operator Polish Airports, which also financed its construction. It will be operated by Port-Hotel, which signed an international Renaissance Hotel franchise agreement for Renaissance Hotel with Global Hospitality Licensing. The building is due to be completed in the third quarter of 2013.

Karolina Kowalska

COURTESY OF PPL

Renaissance hotel at Warsaw Chopin Airport taking shape

The Renaissance hotel should open by Q3 this year

17

18

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

MARCH 4-10, 2013

IT & Telecoms

Systems Integrators Ranked by revenue from system integration in 2011 A guide to Polish business and industry

www.bookoflists.pl

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Services provided for

Network types Number of integrators / Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Top local executive / Title

Rank

Integration Government Large Ethernet Platforms: Revenue methods: companies / 10/100 Mb / Fiber optic Windows / Total Average Hardware / administrafrom systems revenue Medium and Ethernet network / tion / Novell / employment Software / Healthcare / integration small Frame Relay / 1 Gb / Linux / (z∏. mln) (z∏. mln) Network / Banking / companies / Wireless ATM Other Mixed Other Telecom 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Company name Address Tel./Fax E-mail Website

1

Asseco Poland SA ul. Olchowa 14, 35-322 Rzeszów 17 888-5555/17 888-5550 info@assecco.pl www.asseco.pl

844.2 813.2 643.0

1,327.4 1,168.4 946.4

3,083 3,056 2,222

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Data security systems; network security systems; highavailability solutions; TP; Grupa Tauron; Grupa Lotos; virtualization of resources; ZUS; Agency for Restructuring and terminal systems; consolidation Modernisation of Agriculture of IT resources; backup and archiving systems

562 3,156 1991

Adam Góral President

2

Comarch SA Al. Jana Paw∏a II 39A, 31-864 Kraków 12 646-1000/12 646-1100 info@comarch.com www.comarch.com

336.0 310.0 231.0

785.7 761.4 729.0

3,446 3,462 3,260

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Own IT systems integration; consultancy; training; IT solutions for all market segments; JaaS; PaaS; SaaS; cloud computing

E-PLUS; KPN; National Bank of Poland; ZUS; Prudential; MTS Russia; KRUS; Ministry of Administration and Digitization; PKP; Agricultural Market Agency; Ministry of Interior and Administration

WND 3,446 1991

Janusz Filipiak President

3

Accenture Sp. z o.o. ul. Sienna 39, 00-121 Warsaw 22 464-0000/22 464-0001 pl.office@accenture.com www.accenture.pl

321.4 244.1 303.2

323.5 245.9 308.9

WND 395 467

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND

WND

600 1,760 1993

Jaros∏aw Kroc President

4

ATM Systemy Informatyczne SA ul. Grochowska 21A, 04-186 Warsaw 22 295-7300/22 295-7447 kontakt@atm-si.com.pl www.atm-si.com.pl

✓ ✓ ✓

Integration of IT systems (networks, computing systems, security); integration of IT infrastructure (data center equipment, backup power, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa; Energasmart buildings); cloud Operator; Centrum Projektów computing and IT outsourcing Informatycznych; Grupa Tauron; P4 services; management system for operator networks; smart metering system in energy sector

WND 179 1988

Roman Szwed President

WND 578 1984

Pawe∏ JaguÊ President

239.0 257.8 145.1

239.0 257.8 145.1

190 195 194

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Integration services

Selected clients

5

Qumak SA(1) Al. Jerozolimskie 94, 00-807 Warsaw 22 519-0800/22 519-0833 qumak@qumak.pl www.qumak.pl

214.6 183.4 163.4

388.4 334.6 293.4

479 442 400

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ yes ✓

Net, system and application integration (implementation, consulting, IT systems auditing; LAN and WAN network installation design and implementation; voice and video over IP infrastructure design and Orange Polska; Polkomtel; Zak∏ady implementation; authentication; Azotowe Pu∏awy; Grupa PZU; BNP design and deployment of IT Paribas infrastructure (consolidation and virtualization of IT infrastructure); IT outsourcing; design and deployment of equipment for data centers; comprehensive IT security services

6

UNIT4 TETA SA Al. WiÊniowa 1, 53-137 Wroc∏aw 71 323-4000/71 323-4001 kontakt@teta.com.pl www.teta.com.pl

119.1 98.4 85.4

143.7 120.9 104.1

255 280 324

✓ ✓ WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

ATM Grupa; Konsalnet Holding; IT solutions optimizing business International Plastik Polska; Medical process University of Gdaƒsk

WND 260 1987

Jerzy Krawczyk President

7

Biuro Informatyczno-Wdro˝eniowe Koncept Sp. z o.o. ul. Rac∏awicka 56, 30-017 Kraków 12 633-0076/22 633-8518 biuro@koncept.pl www.koncept.pl

92.8 108.1 20.4

265.1 257.4 50.9

58 58 57

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Weapons Inspectorate; Polish Systems integration services on Police Headquarters; Marshall’s Windows, Novell and Linux Office of Ma∏opolskie Voivodship; platforms Ministry of Finance; Marshall’s Office of Podkarpackie Voivodship

WND 58 1987

Andrzej Wójtowicz President

8

Outbox Sp. z o.o. ul. Grójecka 5, 02-019 Warsaw 22 463-4111/22 463-4110 office@outbox.pl www.outbox.pl

66.1 40.4 30.0

67.9 44.2 30.5

154 102 83

WND ✓ WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

-

-

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND

Orange Polska; Inmarsat; O2; Vodafone; euNetworks

WND 300 2005

Marcin Ciesielski Board Member

9

CUBE.ITG SA(2) ul.Wo∏owska 6, 51-116 Wroc∏aw 71 797-2666/71 797-2606 info@cubeitg.pl www.cubeitg.pl

63.0 WND WND

146.0 WND WND

523 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

-

-

✓ -

Implementation of systems; consulting; analysis, banking systems; enterprise management systems; maintenance services; training

WND

WND 455 1990

Adam Leda President

SII Sp. z o.o.

Al. Niepodleg∏oÊci 69, 01-214 Warsaw 10 22 486-3737/22 486-3734 informacja@pl.sii.eu www.pl.sii.eu

62.0 41.0 21.4

94.8 51.4 30.2

800 450 220

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND WND ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

CRM; BI; integrated environment; portals; ECM; service desk; monitoring; BPO

Citibank; Roche; T-Mobile; Pekao; PKN Orlen

800 1,200 2006

Gregoire Nitot President

Andra Sp. z o.o. ul. Pryzmaty 6/8, 02-226 Warsaw 11 22 533-6300/22 533-6310 office@andra.com.pl www.andra.com.pl

59.0 57.2 35.0

84.8 81.7 44.9

77 73 73

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

IT&T systems integration (network, telecom and building infrastructure) - design, implementation, deliveries, consulting, after-sales support

KGHM Polska Miedê; Biuro Informacji Kredytowej BIK; Wirtualna Polska; Grupa Onet; Pekao Financial Services

45 81 1988

Andrzej Sikorski President

Sygnity SA Al. Jerozolimskie 180, 02-486 Warsaw 12 22 571-1000/22 571-1001 info@sygnity.pl www.sygnity.pl

28.0 42.8 109.9

570.1 524.0 361.5

1,421 1,751 2,137

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Systems integration

WND

WND WND 1991

Janusz R. Guy President

THE LIST

Rank

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Company name Address Tel./Fax E-mail Website

www.wbj.pl

Network types Services provided for Integration Government Large Ethernet Platforms: Revenue methods: companies / 10/100 Mb / Fiber optic Windows Total / from systems revenue Average Hardware / administraMedium and network / tion / Ethernet Frame Relay / Novell / integration employment Software / Healthcare small (z∏. mln) / 1 Gb / Linux / (z∏. mln) Network / Banking / companies / Wireless ATM Other Mixed Other Telecom 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Integration services

Selected clients

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

19

Top local executive / Title

Betacom SA ul. Po∏czyƒska 31A, 01-377 Warsaw 13 22 533-9888/22 533-9899 betacom@betacom.com.pl ww.betacom.com.pl

24.9 29.2 23.6

81.3 94.8 69.4

125 130 156

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Systems integration; WAN, LAN, MAN networks integration; data storage, archiving and integration systems integration; custom made software

Polkomtel; Warsaw City Hall; Financial Supervision Authority; Orange Polska; Bank Handlowy

45 125 1995

Miros∏aw Za∏´ski President

S&T Services Polska Sp. z o.o.

14 ul. Post´pu 21D, 02-676 Warsaw 22 535-9500/22 535-9597

21.5 15.3 24.4

90.5 111.0 111.0

201 250 350

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Requirement analysis; system design, construction and management; outsourcing; system consolidation; mass memory; network services; help desk; system implementation; consulting; data center

Gaz System; Ministry of Justice; Auchan; Polish Security Printing Works; Polskie LNG

130 280 1963

Piotr Staszczak President

WND

200 388 1991

Konrad Âwirski CEO

Transition Technologies SA ul. Pawia 55, 01-030 Warsaw 15 22 331-8020/22 331-8030 tt@tt.com.pl www.tt.com.pl

20.5 WND WND

61.7 WND WND

354 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Application integration (implementation of solutions for the utilities); data integration (data acquisition, creation of wholesale class Oracle technology repositories, integration of services using SOA architecture); system integration (installation of operating systems, databases, software for offices, communication, structured cabling, active network devices, storage devices, internet connections, access control, power supply, alarm systems)

MCX Telecom, MCX Systems ul. Gotarda 9, 02-683 Warsaw 16 22 382-4600/22 382-4732 handlowy@mcx.pl www.mcx.pl

13.2 12.6 12.1

38.5 29.3 30.3

WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

-

-

✓

Telecom, IT infrastructure and Lublin Voivodship Police software integration; information Headquarters; Institute for Ecology flow and knowledge of Industrial Areas; University of management consulting and Technology in Bia∏ystok; PKP; PKO software implementation BP

10 62 1988

Robert Juszczyk President

Veganet Sp z o.o. ul. Czeska 12, 51-112 Wroc∏aw 17 71 349-0250/71 349-0251 biuro@veganet.pl www.veganet.pl

11.0 WND WND

18.4 WND WND

18 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

The standardization of the IT infrastructure; safety standards; automation of deployments; centralized management; virtualization of servers; workstations; storage arrays; applications

WND

6 19 2000

Ryszard Ko∏acz President

Heuthes Sp. z o.o. ul. Koƒski Jar 8/30, 02-785 Warsaw 18 91 460-8974/91 460-8974 marketing@heuthes.pl www.heuthes.pl

9.7 10.5 9.6

9.7 10.5 9.6

50 50 49

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND

WND

30 51 1989

Wojciech Grzybek President

WND 30 2007

Leszek Tomica President

9 171 1988

Andrzej Pelczar President

Integration of systems and applications; systems integration based on Oracle, IBM, Microsoft technologies; consulting services; integration of data storage systems based Energa Operator; PGE Dystrybucja; on IBM, HP, Oracle Exadata Paccor Polska Technologies; enterprise performance management (EPM); design and implementation of SOA systems; consolidation of Oracle databases

Proximus SA ul. Ligocka 103, 40-568 Katowice 19 32 200-0134/32 255-2519 biuro@proximus-it.pl www.proximus-it.pl

9.3 5.4 WND

27.0 22.6 WND

26 25 WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

OPTeam SA Taj´cina 113, 36-002 Jasionka 20 17 867-2100/17 852-0138 opteam@opteam.pl www.opteam.pl

7.8 11.8 11.9

79.4 60.1 60.2

167 91 96

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ WND

Software Mind SA ul. Bociana 22A, 31-231 Kraków 21 12 252-3400/12 252-3401 office@softwaremind.pl www.softwaremind.pl

5.6 WND WND

26.4 WND WND

175 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Creating and maintenance of a consistent set of IT services and business processes; cooperation T-Mobile; P4; Grupa Raiffeisen; BNP with integration platforms Paribas Bank; BRE Bank suppliers; implementation of integration; advisory on integration; help desk

85 235 1999

Janusz Homa President

Astek Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. WiÊniowa 40B/13, 02-520 Warsaw 22 22 290-5785 biuro@astek.pl www.astek.pl

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Business process management; integration of applications with Bank Pekao; Orange Polska; Roche; currently-used software; Raiffeisen Polbank; DnB Nord production of specialized software

WND WND 2007

Marcin Kaczmarek Managing Director

Bonair SA ul. Rzymowskiego 34, 02-697 Warsaw 23 22 549-6550/22 549-6551 info@bonair.com.pl www.bonair.com.pl

WND WND WND

31.0 29.3 27.0

121 116 114

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ -

WND ✓

✓ -

Design and development of dedicated applications; Coffee Heaven; TVN; Chancellery of implementation of ERP class the Prime Minister of Poland; integrated IT systems, MES Agency for Restructuring and class monitoring and production Modernization of Agriculture; optimization systems, Business Polska Ceramika Ogniotrwa∏a Intelligence solutions; IT projects ˚arów management

WND 125 1991

Andrzej Wach President

Capgemini Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Pi´kna 18, 00-541 Warsaw 24 22 464-7000/22 464-7100 office.pl@capgemini.com www.pl.capgemini.com

WND 150.0 105.0

657.0 471.5 392.3

5100 4075 3785

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

ERP, BPM, CRM, CSD systems; Custom Software Development; Business Intelligence; BSS

WND 5,100 1996

Frank Wagenbauer CEO

Hogart Sp. z o.o. ul. Kolejowa 5/7, 01-217 Warsaw 25 22 434-7200/22 434-7205 biuro@hogart.com.pl www.hogart.com.pl

WND WND WND

23.0 22.0 22.0

75 WND WND

✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ ✓

WND ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

International class ERP and BI TU Inter; Husqvarna Polska; Solaris systems sale and Vistula Group; BRE implementation; BPMS; SCM; Bus & Coach; Bank CRM; EPM

30 75 1992

Marcin Penczek President

✓ ✓ -

Data center construction; WAN / LAN network infrastructure; cloud computing; network monitoring systems and pro- UPM Raflatac; the Philharmonic of active service; data Wroc∏aw; Wroc∏awski Park Wodny; consolidation, storage and Gmina Wroc∏aw; Marshall’s Office protection; system and of DolnoÊlàskie Voivodship hardware infrastructure virtualization; consolidation of server infrastructure

4 27 1987

Dariusz Kucharski President

SSK SA(3) ul. Braniborska 44-52, 53-680 Wroc∏aw 26 71 780-2900/71 780-2888 ssk@ssk.com.pl www.ssk.com.pl

WND 6.8 8.2

11.8 13.7 13.0

25 25 24

✓ ✓ -

Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in February 2013.

All information pertains to the companies activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

Footnotes:(1) Previously: Qumak-Sekom; (2) Previously: Microtech International SA; (3) Previously: Surfland Systemy Komputerowe SA

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

WND

PGE Dystrybucja SA o/Rzeszów; Gliwickie Przedsi´biorstwo Budownictwa Przemys∏owego; AGH University of Science and Technology; WSK PZL Rzeszów; Praktiker Polska

WND

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) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2012, 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. Subscriptions available at: www.bookoflists.pl

20

MARKETS

www.wbj.pl

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

14,054.49 (Feb 28 close)

S&P500

3,160.19 (Feb 28 close)

1.25% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,514.68 (Feb 28 close)

0.92% (for the week)

DAX

6,360.80 (Feb 28 close)

0.82% (for the week)

1.10% (for the week)

An uninspiring week

NIKKEI 7,741.70 (Feb 28 close)

11,559.36 (Feb 28 close)

2.09% (for the week)

2.21% (for the week)

CHANGE: 4.79% (year to Feb 28)

CHANGE: 1.54% (year to Feb 28)

CHANGE: 3.57% (year to Feb 28)

CHANGE: 5.53% (year to Feb 28)

CHANGE: -0.48% (year to Feb 28)

CHANGE: 8.15% (year to Feb 28)

52-week high: 14,149.15

52-week high: 3,213.60

52-week high: 1,530.94

52-week high: 6,412.40

52-week high: 7,871.79

52-week high: 11,662.52

52-week low: 12,035.09

52-week low: 2,726.68

52-week low: 1,266.74

52-week low: 5,229.80

52-week low: 5,914.43

52-week low: 8,238.96

Last week kicked off with investors panicky about reports of a strong showing by Silvio Berlusconi’s party in Italy’s parliamentary vote. Mr Berlusconi had stated his opposition to further reforms in the crisis-ridden country, which worried investors. But moods improved later in the day as the final election results came in and the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s main WIG index and the blue-chip WIG20 index both ended the day 0.7 percent up.

On Tuesday, news of the post-election political stalemate in Italy dominated the markets. For most of the day European indices were in the red. Still, the WIG20 finished the session 1.1 percent up.

Wednesday saw an upwards corrective movement on the WSE, with the WIG ending the day 0.9 percent up. The best performers were energy companies Tau-

Major indices WIG

46,280.36 (Feb 28 close)

WIG20

2,452.01 (Feb 28 close)

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

12.02

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

2,400

15.02

45,000

14.02

2,420

13.02

45,400

12.02

2,440

11.02

45,800

08.02

2,460

07.02

46,200

06.02

2,480

05.02

46,600

04.02

2,500

01.02

47,000

11.02

52-week low: 2,035.80

08.02

Change year to Feb 28: -6.63%

07.02

52-week low: 36,653.28

06.02

52-week high: 2,628.36

Change year to Feb 28: -3.80%

05.02

Change for the week: 0.64%

04.02

52-week high: 48,222.72

01.02

Change for the week: 0.87%

Top 5 MONNARI ECARD PLAZACNTR DRAGOWSKI ERBUD

Closing 2.05 0.36 1.56 0.51 18.97

% change (week) 52-week high 72.27 2.37 38.46 0.47 32.20 2.82 27.50 0.80 26.05 22.30

52-week low 0.71 0.15 1.13 0.36 11.06

Top 5 TVN GTC LOTOS PKOBP TAURONPE

Closing 9.70 8.15 41.77 35.60 4.40

% change (week) 5.32 4.49 4.42 3.22 3.04

52-week high 11.09 10.25 43.78 38.50 5.11

52-week low 5.90 5.13 22.66 28.93 3.84

Bottom 5 CEDC GANT POLJADLO KBDOM AGROWILL

Closing 2.31 2.60 0.08 0.08 0.50

% change (week) -52.17 -24.20 -20.00 -20.00 -19.35

52-week low 2.00 2.58 0.07 0.08 0.48

Bottom 5 KERNEL BORYSZEW SYNTHOS PGE PZU

Closing 65.10 0.46 5.53 16.23 402.90

% change (week) -4.75 -4.17 -1.78 -1.64 -1.23

52-week high 76.00 0.83 6.40 19.54 442.00

52-week low 51.00 0.42 4.66 15.11 272.07

52-week high 17.35 9.98 0.72 0.20 0.97

sWIG80

Italian elections move markets

11,052.03 (Feb 28 close)

NewConnect

33.07 (Feb 28 close)

52-week high: 11,245.80

WIG-Banki

6,505.71 (Feb 28 close)

SOURCE: WSE

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

12.02

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

15.02

6,300

14.02

32.0

13.02

6,360

12.02

32.4

11.02

6,420

08.02

32.8

07.02

6,480

06.02

33.2

05.02

6,540

04.02

33.6

01.02

6,600

11.02

52-week low: 5,163.30

08.02

Change year to Feb 28: -3.23%

07.02

52-week low: 32.13

06.02

52-week high: 6,723.16

Change year to Feb 28: -0.45%

05.02

Change for the week: 1.93%

04.02

52-week high: 43.47

01.02

Change for the week: 1.63%

34.0

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

15.02

14.02

52-week low: 8,984.43

13.02

11.02

08.02

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

21.02

20.02

19.02

18.02

15.02

10,800

14.02

2,500

13.02

10,900

12.02

2,540

11.02

11,000

08.02

11,100

2,580

07.02

2,620

06.02

11,200

05.02

2,660

04.02

11,300

01.02

2,700

07.02

Change year to Feb 28: 4.94%

06.02

52-week low: 2,147.52

05.02

Change year to Feb 28: 1.54%

04.02

Change for the week: 0.94%

01.02

52-week high: 2,646.20

12.02

2,608.20 (Feb 28 close)

Change for the week: 1.64%

Remi Adekoya

Currency report

Other indices mWIG40

ron and PGE, who saw their share prices rise 3.1 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.

On Thursday, the WSE was one of the worst performers in Europe. The bourse was dragged down by copper miner KGHM, despite better moods globally after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that the bank’s program of quantitative easing would continue. The WIG20 and the WIG ended the day just 0.1 percent up.

On Friday, most European stock exchanges spent the day in the red, shaken by news that US politicians were unable to keep the sequester, a series of automatic cuts in the US budget, from coming into force. In the end, the WIG ended the session 0.13 percent up while the WIG20 gained a mere 0.03 percent.

The Italian election results, which we learned on Monday, brought volatility back to the currency markets. In effect, Italians voted against further reforms. It seems it will be impossible for Italian politicians to form a majority government.

If that wasn’t enough, traders also reacted nervously to Ben Bernanke’s testimony before the US Congress, even though Mr Bernanke defended the quantitative easing program and stated that the Fed had all the necessary tools to fight any possible crisis. The US economy (especially the labor market) is far from being on the rise, although this past week brought some positive and surprising macroeconomic news.

This has not stopped the dive of the EUR/USD,

which broke a crucial support level of $1.32 and finished the week below $1.30.

The EUR/USD decline had a stronger effect on the z∏oty than the published macroeconomic data: the unemployment rate climbed to 14.2 percent in January while the GDP for Q4 2012 noted a 1.1 percent increase (against the 0.9 percent forecast).

The z∏oty gained against the euro, which was trading close to z∏.4.17 during the first half of the week and declined to z∏.4.14 by the end of the week. The USD/PLN on the other hand made a run from z∏.3.12 all the way to z∏.3.17.

The CHF/PLN pair exhibited more volatility, and first increased all the way to z∏.3.43 (from z∏.3.36), but finished the week at z∏.3.38. ●

currency rates 3.4265 01.03

SOURCE: NBP

3.4411 28.02

3.4734

27.02

3.4395 26.02

3.3704

3.3458 25.02

01.03

28.02

27.02

26.02

25.02

22.02

0.1035

0.1038

0.1041

0.1038

0.1036

PLN-100JPY

3.5

3.0

22.02

3.4072

3.3846 01.03

0.103

0.1035

PLN-RUB

0.105

28.02

3.4203 27.02

3.4145 26.02

25.02

3.3797 22.02

4.8058

4.7705 01.03

3.3

3.3878

PLN-CHF

3.5

28.02

4.8123 27.02

4.7574

4.8169 26.02

22.02

01.03

28.02

27.02

26.02

4.7

25.02

4.8037

3.1769

3.1679

3.1733

PLN-GBP

5.0

3.1412 25.02

3.1443 22.02

4.1570

4.1432 01.03

3.1

3.1841

PLN-USD

3.2

28.02

4.1658 27.02

4.1613 26.02

25.02

4.1574 22.02

4.1

4.1580

PLN-EUR

4.2

SPORTS

MARCH 4-10, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Ski jumping

Cross-country skiing

Stoch wins gold

Kowalczyk pulls out of World Championship event

SHUTTERSTOCK

Polish ski jumper Kamil Stoch won the men’s large-hill gold at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, last week. The 25-year-old had failed to win an event in this year’s World Cup campaign but he came out of the blocks with guns blazing in the Italian ski resort, with a first round jump of 131.5m, to give him a fivepoint lead before his second attempt.

In the second round Mr Stoch once again produced the best jump, with a distance of 130m, enabling him to finish with 295.8 points, 6.1 points ahead of Slovenian’s Peter Prevc, with Norway’s Anders Jacobsen in third.

The victory was Mr Stoch’s first-ever world championship medal and should hopefully go some way to allowing him to step out of the shadow of his fellow Pole and former world champion Adam Ma∏ysz. Mr Ma∏ysz won a total of four world championships

The Polish skier decided not to compete in the 10km race

Kamil Stoch in an outstanding ski-jumping career, but since his retirement Mr Stoch has seen his every move compared with the ski-jumping great.

Having now finally stepped away from the imposing shadow of his compatriot, Mr Stoch was understandably ecstatic after his first gold.

“I felt good, but I also knew that ski jumping is such an unpredictable sport that the slightest error can decide whether you win or you drop out of the top 10 completely,”

he told reporters.

Speaking to Onet.pl, the Zakopane-born skier said he wasn’t seeking to overtake Poland’s greatest-ever ski jumper; he was just happy to have achieved some success.

“It’s too late for me to achieve what Adam achieved,” he said. “He was an exceptional jumper and is an exceptional man. There will be no such second [Ma∏ysz]. I am glad that I was able to get a small part of what he achieved.”

David Ingham

Poland’s leading cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk withdrew from the 10km freestyle race at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy last week. Ms Kowalczyk watched the race on television instead, after deciding that the effort it would take to make the podium would have had a detrimental effect on her preparations for the most important race for her – the Women’s 30km Classic – which was due to take place on Saturday.

“She skipped [the race], because if she had raced, she would have wanted to compete for the highest score. She wants to fight for a medal, because other places would be considered a failure, but it would have been a very big effort, which before Saturday’s course was unnecessary,” her Finnish-born coach Aleksander Wierietielny explained.

In Ms Kowalczyk’s absence Norway’s Therese Johaug took gold, coming in 10 seconds ahead of Ms

Kowalczyk’s long-time rival Marit Bjoergen, who is also Norwegian. Ms Bjoergen led for the first half of the race before her younger compatriot stepped up a gear to overtake her, finishing in a time of 25:23.4 minutes.

After the race Ms Bjoergen said, “I’m not surprised by [Justyna’s] decision, we spoke just before the World

Cup. She now puts all her gold hopes on the 30km race.”

In her other starts in current World Championships, Ms Kowalczyk finished fifth in the 15km combined race and sixth in the sprint competition. She also placed ninth in a relay race, along with her teammates.

David Ingham

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Pole took home the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championship title in ski jumping on the large hill

21

Justyna Kowalczyk

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22

LIFESTYLE

www.wbj.pl

MARCH 4-10, 2013

Concert

Glam rockers return

COURTESY OF THE DARKNESS/SCARLETT PAGE COURTESY OF TEATR STUDIO BUFFO

The Darkness

Balkans Night

Musical

The Darkness March 16 Palladium, ul. Z∏ota 9 Warsaw When The Darkness first burst on to the scene back in 2003, they fast became one of the hottest rock bands on the planet courtesy of their classic rock riffs, throwback style and tongue-in-cheek persona. The group’s debut album “Permission to Land” went multi-platinum, propelled by the hit singles “I Believe in a Thing

Called Love,” “Growing on Me,” and “Get Your Hands off My Woman,” and the band looked set to rub shoulders with the cream of the rock scene for many years to come.

But that was before they went into meltdown. First, bass player Frankie Poullain left in 2004 due to flamboyant lead singer Justin Hawkins’ cocaine and alcohol addictions. Then the band’s second album “One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back” failed to hit the heights of its predecessor

and Hawkins subsequently quit the band after a spell in rehab.

It took four and half years for the group to get back together, but following the release of their third album “Hot Cakes” the boys are back in form and are currently following a successful supporting slot for Lady Gaga to come to Poland as part of their own European tour.

David Ingham

For more information, log on to palladium.art.pl

Culture and tradition

Balkans Night March 9, 10 Teatr Studio Buffo ul. Konopnickiej 6 Warsaw This night of musical entertainment will take the audience on a journey through the Balkan Peninsula. Filled with the passion and emotion for which the area is well-known, the performers will attempt to bring to life the pulsating mixture of cultures and traditions that exist within a region which

contains Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Aiming to show the true side of the cultures away from stigmatization that came from the wars of the 1990s, director Janusz Józefowicz seeks to fill the audience with fear and delight at the same time with music that highlights both the subtlety and brutality of the unique countries within the region.

Janusz Stok∏osa provides musical direction, with Marek Chowaniec and Anna Zeman in charge of the scenery and costumes respectively. Music for the event is provided by a live band which will comprise a brass section, drummer, guitars and synthesizers.

Tickets are priced from z∏.90.

David Ingham

For more information, log on to studiobuffo.com.pl

LAST WORD

MARCH 4-10, 2013

www.wbj.pl

23

Tech Eye

The Galaxy Note 8.0 The world’s top phone-makers gathered last week in Barcelona, at Mobile World Congress 2013, to show off their latest hardware.

Well, most of the world’s top phone-makers, anyway. The iFalutin’ folks from Apple Inc didn’t deign to mix with the riff-raff, but pretty much everyone else turned up, if only to let attendees gawk at the size of their units.

MWC 2013 was a tawdry, sizeobsessed affair event, you see.

Everyone was gushing about fiveinch this, eight-inch that. Indeed, we overheard things like: “Deary

The PadFone Infinity

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2 www.csw.art.pl Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4 www.czarnagaleria.art.pl

Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Gallery ul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul. Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 42/44 and Old Town Square 19/21 www.napiorkowska.pl

Fibak Gallery ul. Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 5 www.galeriafibak.pl

Królikarnia National Gallery ul. Pu∏awska 113a www.krolikarnia.mnw.art.

Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik pl ul. Mazowiecka 11a www.owzpap.pl Le Guern Gallery ul. Widok 8 Galeria 65 www.leguern.pl ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com Museum of Galeria Appendix 2 Independence ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 Aleja SolidarnoÊci 62 www.appendix2.com www.muzeumniepodleglo sci.art.pl Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18a National Museum in www.asymetria.eu Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3 Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.mnw.art.pl www.galeriafoksal.pl Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36 www.galeriaxx1.pl Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8 www.zoya.art.pl Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4 www.greengallery.pl

Polish National Opera at Teatr Wielki Pl. Teatralny 1 www.teatrwielki.pl

Simonis Gallery ul. Burakowska 9 www.simonisgallery.com State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw ul. D∏uga 52 www.pma.pl State Ethnographic Museum ul. Kredytowa 1 www.ethnomuseum.pl Historical Museum of Warsaw Old Town Square 28-42 www.mhw.pl History Meeting House of Warsaw ul. Karowa 20 www.dsh.waw.pl Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5 www.filharmonia.pl Warsaw Rising Museum ul. Grzybowska 79 www.1944.pl

Wilanów Palace Pracownia Galeria ul. Emilii Plater 14 Museum and Wilanów www.pracowniagaleria.pl Poster Museum ul. St. Kostki Potockiego Rempex Art and 10/16 Auction House www.wilanow-palac.pl ul. Karowa 31 www.postermuseum.pl www.rempex.com.pl Royal Castle Pl. Zamkowy 4 www.zamekkrolewski.com.pl

quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and a five-megapixel rear camera. Samsung is also touting “efficient multitasking,” via a dual-view feature.

Techeye isn’t convinced by the Galaxy Note 8.0 – it’s hard to look anything but dumb with a tablet pressed against your face. But Samsung likes ‘em big and clearly isn’t worried about its bottom line these days. Indeed, the firm plans to reveal a fourth iteration of its cashminting Galaxy S smartphone on March 14.

Asus also embraced the bigger-isexciting-er philosophy at MWC 2013, but it seemed equally determined to confuse consumers with its product nomenclature. The firm showed off two new gadgets at the event, the PadFone Infinity (pictured) and the Fonepad.

The latter is described as a seven-inch, competitively priced “handheld” that combines smartphone and tablet features. We beg to differ. Sorry, Asus,

Zachęta National Art Gallery Pl. Ma∏achowskiego 3 www.zacheta.art.pl

but seven inches is more of a “handsheld” (unless your target demographic suffers from overactive pituitary glands).

The PadFone Infinity is more interesting, or at least our inner eightyear-old thinks so. This is a hybrid device: a five-inch smartphone that becomes a 10.1-inch tablet when docked in its frame. It has a Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, runs Android 4.2 and has 64GB of storage.

The phone unit has a 13-MP camera.

On the upside, the dual aspect of the PadFone Infinity is a clever way to reduce gadget clutter. It also avoids awkward data-syncing between devices; the docking station can charge the phone unit if needed.

Downsides include the €999 price tag and the worry of dock malfunction.

As well as swollen smartphones, MWC 2013 also saw a proliferation of operating systems. Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Symbian and Windows Phone all have chunks of the market, but apparently we need more – Linux-based operating systems Ubuntu and Sailfish are on the way.

And then there’s Firefox OS, which will debut on ZTE’s Open handset.

The Open is a humble, mid-market piece of kit. It has a 3.5-inch

COURTESY OF ZTE

me, isn’t that an enormous piece of hardware!”, “Whoa, it dwarfs my face!” and “It’s, like, so girthy!”

Big, in other words, was the biggest trend at the show this year.

Samsung, for whom “Make the Gadget Bigger” has become a design mantra, took the wraps off its Galaxy Note 8.0. This is either a mid-sized tablet or a big-honkin’ smartphone, depending on how you look at it.

As its name suggests, the Galaxy Note 8.0 is kin to the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II. Both devices run Android OS and come equipped with a stylus for extra-precise pointing and jabbing, a feature the sausage-fingered will appreciate. The Note 8.0 boasts a 1,280 x 800 TFT display, a 1.6GHz A9

COURTESY OF ASUS

COURTESY OF SAMSUNG

The next big things in mobile technology

The Open screen, a Cortex A5 Qualcomm processor, 512MB of storage (expandable) and a 3.2-MP camera.

Nuthin’ fancy, in other words.

Expect the as-yet-unannounced price point to be equally unpretentious.

As for Firefox OS, Mozilla is selling the open-source operating system as a “fully-adaptable, unconstrained mobile platform” with native support for HTML5. This will give developers flexibility and cost control, but also a woefully unpopulated app market.

That’s a major handicap, to be honest. Because when it comes to an app ecosystem, size matters. ●

Ever hefted new hardware and marveled at its girth? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com