WBJ #45 2013

Rhetorical runaround 11

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Leszek Balcerowicz, the architect of Poland’s post-communist economic reforms, sounds off on Brussels-speak about “more Europe”

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 45 • NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

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Light at the end of the tunnel

COURTESY OF REED MIDEM

REAL ESTATE

• MAPIC 2013 • Capital Park IPO • HB Reavis office scheme 15-18

2013 has been a rough year for the Polish economy, but new data indicate a rebound is up ahead

Long-term strategy Ma∏gorzata KidawaB∏oƒska, deputy leader of Civic Platform’s parliamentary caucus, sits down with WBJ to discuss politics and her party’s policies 8-9

12-13, 14

Plus: • TV-mobile merger • Gazprom vs PGNiG • Mastercook toasted • Results season highlights • Deutsche Telekom buys GTS

In this issue

SHUTTERSTOCK

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . .10-11 Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . .14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .15-18 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Extreme embarrassment

Next train out

President Komorowski has apologized to Russia after nationalist hooligans attacked its embassy 3

S∏awomir Nowak has resigned from the post of transport minister as prosecutors look to press charges 4

NEWS

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Numbers in the News

The 2014-2020 EU budget

1.9% y/y was Poland’s GDP growth in Q3 2013, according to a flash estimate published by statistics office GUS.

Railway-carriage producer Newag has announced an initial public offering. The company’s majority shareholder, Zbigniew Jakubas, his firm Multico and Newag’s management board members are selling up to 21.8 million shares, amounting to 48.4% in Newag. The maximum price of the shares was set at z∏.19 apiece, putting the IPO’s value at up to z∏.414 million.

Poland’s state Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) could go bankrupt within five to eight years, according to a report prepared by employer association ZPP and the Republican Foundation think tank. According to the report, unrealistic forecasts made by the government, such as stable economic growth and a stable decline in the unemployment rate, mean that in reality the pension system may soon become imbalanced. This would in turn make ZUS insolvent within several years.

Skandia sells Polish life insurance assets to VIG Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has agreed to acquire 100% in Polish life insurer unit Skandia ˚ycie from Skandia Retail Europe Holding, a company from the Old Mutual Group holding. VIG recorded about €610 million in premiums in the first half of this year, putting the company in third place in the Polish market. ●

is the value set on Polkomtel for the purposes of its takeover by Cyfrowy Polsat.

74 is how many people have been arrested so far after a series of violent incidents during the Independence Day march in Warsaw.

The European Parliament will vote on the European Union’s financial framework for the next seven years during this week’s parliamentary session, ending a nine-month saga.

After being approved by the leaders of EU member states back in February, the long negotiation process between MEPs and member states got under way, which prevented the European Parliament from ratifying the Multiannual Financial Framework, commonly dubbed the “big budget” by Brussels watchers.

MEPs opposed the €960 billion budget as they claimed that in times of economic crisis, budget cuts should not be made. “The budget is not cen-

tered on the common interest of Europe as a whole,” said European Parliament President Martin Schulz back in February. The proposed framework is lower than the €984 billion set out in the current seven-year old framework, which ends this year.

The first step to end the standoff was made last week, when the budget for 2014 was approved by the European Parliament. The EP had previously been pushing for a figure of €136.4 billion, while member states wanted to cap it at €135 billion. The approved budget finally came to €135.5 billion.

“The deal ... provides muchneeded investment opportunities to Europe’s businesses, sci-

entists, towns, regions and students,” EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski said. He called the compromise “decent,” and didn’t rule out that more funds may be required down the road.

According to German TV station ARD, four governments that wanted the EU to make deeper cuts voted against the compromise deal: the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Nevertheless, next year’s budget will be some 6 percent smaller than the current one.

Since the EU Budget Commission has approved the 2014-2020 framework, this week’s vote looks set to be a mere formality.

Quote of the Week “We saw yet another Independence Day spoiled by criminals.”

Interior Minister Bart∏omiej Sienkiewicz, commenting on the violence in Warsaw on November 11.

Figures in focus Up in the air The number of air passengers in selected EU countries (in millions, 2012) 250 203.067

200

178.591

*Highest in the EU **Lowest in the EU

159.771

150 100 50

31.576

23.594 21.791 11.742 8.430

7.328

1.168

0

Jacek Ciesnowski

gd om * Ge rm an y Sp ain Gr ee ce Ire lan d Po la Cz n ec hR d ep ub lic Hu ng ar y Cy pr us Slo ve nia **

Report: ZUS to go bankrupt

z∏.6.15 billion

Kin

Poland’s copper and silver mining giant KGHM will concentrate on its Sierra Gorda project in Chile and will not carry out any new acquisitions until the mine there is complete, the company’s CEO Herbert Wirth said at a press conference on Thursday.

KGHM is currently building a mine and processing plant in Sierra Gorda which is scheduled to start production in the second quarter of 2014.

is how many countries have sent their delegates to the UN’s COP 19 climate summit in Warsaw.

SHUTTERSTOCK

KGHM to focus on Chile project

196

On WBJ.pl

ed

Newag sets its IPO for December

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Un it

2

Source: Eurostat

Putting education first Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown looks at the problems that global education faces. With 750 million illiterate adults in the world, Mr Brown says it is finally time to put education first. Log on to WBJ.pl to read his arguments

Company index Amazon ......................................................15 KGHM ................................................2, 6, 19 Apple ..........................................................10 KIA..............................................................22 Asseco..................................................19, 22 LG ................................................................7 BRE ............................................................15 Lotos ..........................................................22 Capital Park ..............................................15 Marvipol Group ..........................................15 CBRE..........................................................17 Metelem ......................................................7 CEEQA........................................................18 Multi Development CEE ............................17

Calendar

November/December NOVEMBER TO NOV 22 WARSAW CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

Web:

The 19th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 9th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

National Stadium, Warsaw unfccc.int

20

THE SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION FORUM

Event:

Location:

Event:

Location: Web:

For the fourth year running the forum brings together leaders from business, government, finance and NGOs to discuss innovation, accelerating green growth and sustainable development.

InterContinental Hotel Warsaw climateactionprogramme.org

Location: Web:

Cyfrowy Polsat ........................................2, 7 Neinver ......................................................17 Deutsche Telekom ......................................5 Newag..........................................................2 Echo Investment........................................16 Noble Securities........................................19

28-29 ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTORS FORUM Event:

Citi Handlowy ............................................14 Multico ........................................................2

This conference will address many administrative issues, including efficient car-fleet management, purchases and logistics, document management systems, innovative IT solutions and cost-optimization.

Novotel Warsaw Airport wydarzenia.nf.pl

Electrolux ....................................................7 Nomura......................................................14 Enea ............................................................5 Old Mutual Group ........................................2 Energa ........................................................5 Pekao ........................................................19 Espirito Santo Investment Bank ..............15 PGE ..............................................................5 EuRoPol Gaz................................................6 PGNiG ..........................................................6 FagorMastercook ........................................7 PKO BP ........................................................6 Ferrari........................................................22 Polkomtel ................................................2, 7 Forum Gliwice ..........................................16 PZU ..............................................................6

DECEMBER 3-4 NEW EUROPE GRI 2013 Event:

Location: Web:

The 9th annual New Europe GRI will bring together board- and C-level real estate investors, developers and lenders active in CEE. They will discuss the region’s challenges and opportunities in the sector.

Hyatt Regency hotel, Warsaw globalrealestate.org/NewEuropeGRI

Gas-Trading ................................................6 Samsung......................................................7 Gaz-System ................................................4 Skandia ........................................................2 Gazprom ......................................................6 Société Générale ......................................13 Goodman ..................................................15 Stelmet ......................................................22 GTS Central Europe ....................................5 Tauron ....................................................5, 19 Haier ............................................................7 Vienna Insurance Group ............................2 HB Reavis ..................................................18 Warsaw Stock Exchange ....................15, 19 Immochan..................................................16 Whirlpool ....................................................7 Jones Lang LaSalle ............................17, 18 X-Trade Brokers ..................................12, 19

NEWS

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

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3

Polish-Russia relations

Independence Day outrage Polish president Bronis∏aw Komorowski has apologized to Russia for what he called the “absolutely scandalous” events on November 11 – Poland’s Independence Day – when far-right extremists threw firecrackers and rocks into the Russian embassy compound in Warsaw, and also burned down a police booth in front of the building.

“I must apologize on behalf of the Polish state, while at the same time being conscious of the fact that Poland has suffered a gigantic blow to its image,” said Mr Komorowski in an interview with Radio Zet. During a march organized in Warsaw by nationalist activists on November 11, ostensibly to celebrate Poland’s Independence Day, violence erupted when some of the extremists attempted to breach the Russian embassy by climbing over its walls.

FRANEK MAZUR/REPORTER

Poland has had to apologize to Russia for a nationalist attack on its embassy in Warsaw as far-left Russian activists retaliate in Moscow

Polish nationalists in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw Although their attempts were thwarted, they did succeed in hurling firecrackers and stones through the fence of the embassy and burning a police security booth in front of the building.

The next day Alexander Alexeev, Russia’s ambassador to Poland, blamed Polish authorities for not protecting the embassy sufficiently, describing the events as a breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“In the last few years, as far as

I remember, there was only one attack on a Russian diplomatic office – that was in Libya,” Mr Alexeev said.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also summoned Wojciech Zajàczkowski, Poland’s ambassador to Moscow, to demand an apology for the attack and compensation for damage inflicted.

“The attention of the ambassador has been drawn to the passivity and lateness of the police, which resulted in a rampage by hooligans,” the

Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

PiS whipping up antiRussian sentiment?

Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the events and Poland’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing “deep regret” over the incident.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bart∏omiej Sienkiewicz said that “In the 24 years of post-communist Poland we have had a number of protests

in front of embassies and this is the first instance in which a diplomatic post has come under attack.”

Mr Sienkiewicz described the actions of the Polish hooligans as “barbaric.”

The interior minister has however been criticized for what some perceive as the police’s poor handling of security on November 11. But the prime minister defended the police as well as his minister.

“The police acted in a professional manner and I have every confidence in Minister Sienkiewicz,” said Mr Tusk.

“The events compromise the opposition, which has helped to whip up these kind of [anti-Russian] emotions,” said the PM, referring to the nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), whose leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski has in the past described Poland as a “Russian-German condominium.”

Mr Kaczyƒski has also accused Moscow of complicity in the death of his twin brother, the late president Lech Kaczyƒski, who perished along with 95 others in a 2010 plane crash in Smolensk, Russia.

The PiS leader has publicly

suggested his brother was murdered on the Kremlin’s orders.

Russian revenge In apparent retaliation for the events in Warsaw, Russian extremists from a far-left group called Other Russia attempted to fling flares into Poland’s embassy in Moscow.

Three of the attackers were promptly arrested by Russian police and detained for 15 days for hooliganism, although Marcin Wojciechowski, spokesperson for Poland’s Foreign Ministry, said the flares had not landed in the embassy itself but in the surrounding areas.

November 11 this year marked the 95th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence after 123 years during which its territory was partitioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia.

Warsaw city authorities have estimated the damage to property caused by the Independence Day violence at z∏.120,000. Twelve police officers were wounded and 74 people were arrested in connection with the riots.

Remi Adekoya

Region

With the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius less than two weeks away, Ukraine still needs to take a concrete stand on the EU’s Association Agreement In a last-ditch attempt to try and win over Kiev, the EU has given Ukraine until the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, scheduled for November 28-29, to give its final decision after a parliamentary session last week failed to agree on legislation that would have allowed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko to leave jail and undergo medical treatment in Germany.

The decision for the extension was given on November 13 by EU envoys Pat Cox and Aleksander KwaÊniewski, former presidents of the European Parliament and Poland respectively, who were in Kiev for the extraordinary parliamentary session.

The two are expected to return to Kiev this week to try and flesh out a deal before the summit. “We have to return to Kiev … to spend as long as is

necessary with as many people as is necessary to do whatever is necessary to secure success,” Pat Cox told reporters at a press conference in Brussels.

The EU’s foreign ministers are now to deliberate the issue in Brussels on Monday.

Will it be Moscow or Brussels?

The move by Kiev to postpone its decision has turned heads.

Some pundits claim that Kiev is playing cat and mouse with Brussels, while others say that the EU wants to sign the deal at any cost.

Extending Ukraine’s deadline may be a risky move, but Wojciech Konoƒczuk, an analyst from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), nevertheless believes that it will be up to Brussels to make a decision on whether it will agree to sign the deal.

“I think there is still a chance that the agreement will be signed, and despite the difficult situation in Kiev, Brussels will say ‘yes,’ ” he told Polish Radio last week.

However, that decision may be even harder for Brussels, as it emerged that on November 9 Ukrainian presi-

dent Viktor Yanukovych visited Moscow for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

While details of the meeting remain unknown, Yanukovych may still be trying to play Moscow off against Brussels by trying to win as many concessions as possible before he decides whether or not to sign the agreement in Vilnius later this month. Is this “a reversal or a final bluff?” asked one Ukrainian daily.

Exerting pressure There are many reasons why Moscow doesn’t want Ukraine to become closer to the EU. It is trying to win over Kiev with its customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, and last week introduced tougher customs controls on its borders with Ukraine, threatening that the move could become the norm if Kiev succumbs to Brussels’ influence.

However, after the bilateral meeting between Mr Yanukovych and Mr Putin, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that “normalizing” trade ties with Russia was a priority, a move which has prompted concerns

COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Kiev in test of nerves with Brussels

Exhausted but determined: EU envoys Pat Cox (left) and Aleksander KwaÊniewski (right) give Kiev yet another chance among members of the proEU camp.

The Tymoshenko test The EU has firmly said that the release of Yulia Tymoshenko is the main prerequisite for Ukraine to sign the the agreement with Brussels.

Ms Tymoshenko was put behind bars in 2011 on abuse of power charges, a move which was slammed as politi-

cal by the EU. Brussels accuses Kiev of imposing “selective justice” on the former prime minister, a bitter rival of Mr Yanukovych, who beat Ms Tymoshenko during the 2010 presidential ballot in Ukraine.

“There must be a decisive move” in the Tymoshenko issue, Peter Stano, spokesperson for Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule told journalists in Brussels last week.

All eyes are now on Kiev, with the parliament set to debate new legislation on November 19, although Mr KwaÊniewski sees the chances of Ukraine passing the necessary laws as “50-50.”

“Our patience has been greatly tested. We are physically very exhausted but our good will remains undiminished,” said Mr Cox. John Beauchamp

4

NEWS

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Government

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

International

Transport minister resigns Nothing but hot air at S∏awomir Nowak quit his post after prosecutors announced they plan to press charges against him for failing to fully disclose his assets

Mr Nowak became transport minister in 2011 the z∏.17,000 watch in his annual financial statement.

Polish law stipulates that objects worth over z∏.10,000 should be included in the statement, which all MPs are obliged to fill out. Mr Nowak could now face up to three years in jail if convicted of the offense.

Meanwhile, Barbara Kudrycka, who heads the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, suggested – also on Friday – that she too would likely resign from her post this month.

“We have discussed the planned cabinet reshuffle in

government and I fully support it. Poles deserve to get new ministers who will present new ideas and who will take on their tasks with new energy,” said Ms Kudrycka.

“From my point of view, we need new people or at least a new Minister of Science and Higher Education,” Ms Kudrycka added. The minister said she intended to “take a rest.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced that his much-awaited cabinet reshuffle would take place before December 1 this year.

COURTESY OF UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

COURTESY OF SLAWOMIRNOWAK.PL

Last Friday, S∏awomir Nowak resigned from his position as Poland’s transport minister after prosecutors stated they intended to press charges against him for failing to fully disclose assets in his financial statement, specifically a watch worth z∏.17,000.

“The minister informed me that he is resigning and I accepted his resignation with regret because I had high regard for his work and his morals. Mr Nowak has acted with honor,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a statement issued to the press.

Earlier that day, it was announced that Warsaw prosecutors had petitioned Poland’s Prosecutor General Andrzej Seremet to lift Mr Nowak’s parliamentary immunity. The events are the result of an investigation that has lasted since May this year after media reports revealed Mr Nowak had failed to disclose

UN climate summit

Environment Minister Marcin Korolec (right) welcomes delegates at COP19

As expected, Warsaw is under fire for its continued use of coal, while little else is being accomplished at COP19

Remi Adekoya

Global representatives descended on Warsaw to take part in COP19 last week, with the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines providing ample fodder for discussion about the world’s changing climate.

One of the major bones of contention during the first few days of the summit were directed at Warsaw for its continuing use of coal.

Poland uses coal to produce some 90 percent of its electricity, and when pressed on this issue by environmental activists last week, Environ-

ment Minister Marcin Korolec underlined that while the Poland supports clean energy, “this can not come at the cost of the competitiveness of the country’s economy.”

In Brussels, Warsaw has received negative press over its organization of the summit, with pundits saying that Poland wants to hamper efforts by the EU to reduce CO2 emissions.

Speaking to the Brussels press corps last week, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard suggested that Poland would want to be good hosts rather than overtly force through its own agenda. “The Polish COP is not an easy one,” Ms Hedegaard said.

Indeed, even the British daily The Guardian called the country “Coaland” in one of its

blogs. To add insult, perhaps, Poland is also hosting the world Coal and Climate Summit at the same time as COP. Moreover, negative press has come from anti-lobby campaigners the Corporate European Observatory, which published a guide with the Transnational Institute that “exposes the eleven official corporate partners of the conference,” as well as lambasts Polish lobbies and uncovers “false solutions” to combating climate change.

The game is not over yet, however. Warsaw still has time to impress, having until November 22 to play its cards right to get the ball moving in the right direction. Which way that may be, however, is up to the participants of COP19 to decide.

John Beauchamp

Gas explosion kills two in western Poland Two people have been killed as the result of an explosion in a gas pipeline in Janków Przygodzki, a village near Ostrów Wielkopolski in western Poland.

The explosion occurred last Thursday afternoon, releasing a blaze that swept through a nearby neighborhood. Ten houses and two non-residential buildings were burned to the ground.

It was confirmed that 14 people were taken to hospital, including three children. As of last Friday, seven people were still receiving treatment in hospital, including one person who remained in intensive care.

Gas distribution system operator Gaz-System said that so far no information about the cause of the explosion was available. There was construction work going on nearby however, as a contractor was working on a new segment of the pipeline. The two people who were killed were workers present at the site when the explosion occurred.

“It appears that the explosion and fire were the result of construction work. But we have to be careful here and leave this to the prosecutors,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who visited the site.

“Both the fire service and paramedics were up to the task,” he added.

The families affected by the explosion will receive special compensation that will be paid out by Gaz-System. A company spokesperson confirmed that the company will hand over z∏.240,000 in compensation.

Additionally, the Ministry of Administration and Digitization has asked the Finance Ministry to pay out z∏.60,000 to the 10 families whose houses were damaged in the explosion.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

BUSINESS

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

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5

Financial results

Telecoms

Energy utilities report profits above expectations

Deutsche Telekom buys GTS

Deutsche Telekom wants to offer land lines along with its mobile services COURTESY OF PGE

Three of the largest energy producers in Poland – PGE, Enea and Tauron – have all reported profits above previous expectations for the third quarter in 2013.

Poland’s largest utility PGE saw its consolidated net profit grow by 17.2 percent year-onyear to z∏.1.25 billion in Q3 2013.

PGE produced 14.54 TWh of energy in the Q3 2013, 6 percent more than a year earlier.

Additionally, the energy giant may be set to grow even further. PGE is reported to be interested in buying a minority stake in peer Energa when the latter holds its IPO, which should take place by the end of the year. The Treasury is expected to sell its 34.18 percent stake in the company at the debut.

PGE chief executive Krzysztof Kilian said at a press conference last week that the company was “seriously considering” buying the stake, adding that such a deal could help PGE market some of its unsold energy capacity.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Electricity producers are faring well

PGE, which runs the Opole power plant in southern Poland, saw its consolidated net profit grow by 17.2 percent Enea and Tauron holding their own Enea had a consolidated net profit of z∏.215.1 million in the third quarter of 2013 compared to z∏.188.7 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected profit to come in at z∏.178.2 million.

Enea’s sales revenue stood at z∏.2.19 billion compared to z∏.2.41 billion a year ago and slightly lower than the consensus of z∏.2.23 billion.

Meanwhile, Tauron saw net consolidated profit amounting to z∏.364.9 million in Q3, a better result than expected but down from z∏.412.2 million on the same period in 2012.

Analysts had expected profits to come in at z∏.308.3 million, although estimates varied between z∏.275-358 million.

Kamila Wajszczuk, John Beauchamp

To expand its portfolio, Deutsche Telekom acquired the fixed-line operator Germany’s telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom has agreed to acquire Polish land-line operator GTS Central Europe for €546 million.

The sellers are private equity firms Columbia Capital, HarbourVest Partners, Innova Capital and M/C Partners.

The German company wants to expand its offer in the countries where it mostly pushes mobile services.

“We are investing against the trend,” Timotheus Hoettges, chief financial offi-

cer at Deutsche Telekom, said in a statement. “GTS is a further element for developing our integrated market position comprising mobile and fixed-line network services.”

Besides the fixed-line network, GTS owns a 26,000-km fiber optic network in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, and has a customer base reaching some 38,000 clients.

The selling companies will retain the Slovak assets of GTS, while Deutsche Telekom will take over the firm’s infrastructure in Poland, the Czech Republic,

Hungary, and Romania.

The sale was reportedly close to being called off, however. Back in October, Reuters reported that the initial offer, valued at €500 million, was rejected.

Analysts say the acquisition makes sense within Deutsche Telekom’s repositioning strategy in eastern Europe in anticipation of the region’s economic recovery.

It also allows the firm to grow its integrated offerings where it only has mobile phone services.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

6

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Energy

Third quarter results highlights

Gazprom blocking EuRoPol Gaz management changes

PGNiG has dismissed EuRoPol Gaz CEO Mieczys∏aw Dobrut and his deputy Zdzis∏aw Jamka from their posts, but as WBJ was going to press, the Polish gas giant had not been able to hire their replacements as Russian gas giant Gazprom had successfully blocked the appointments.

EuRoPol Gaz is the operator of the Polish section of the Yamal pipeline, which transports Russian gas to Germany.

Both Polish state-owned PGNiG and Gazprom each have a 48 percent stake in the company, with the remaining 4 percent belonging to Gas-Trading, a company controlled by PGNiG. EuRoPol’s charter states that the CEO and second deputy are nominated by PGNiG, while the other two members of the board are pro-

COURTESY OF GAZPROM

Another conflict has erupted in the company co-owned by Russian Gazprom and Polish state-controlled PGNiG

EuRoPol Gaz is responsible for the Polish section of the Yamal pipeline posed by Gazprom. PGNiG has put forward its candidates, but has found it impossible to appoint them since Gazprom representatives blocked attempts to do so during two extraordinary general meetings at which the decision was to be made. Both PGNiG and Gazprom have to agree on the appointments, according to the charter.

At one EGM, the Gazprom representatives left before the

decision could be made. At the other, they simply did not show up.

Tying up loose ends “PGNiG is tying up loose ends before the company’s new strategy and new CEO are announced,” said Wojciech Jakóbik, an analyst at Instytut Jagielloƒski, adding that it was Mr Dobrut who signed a memorandum of understanding with Gazprom on a possible

extension of the Yamal pipeline through Poland without the government’s knowledge.

The flap that ensued led to the dismissal of the then-Treasury Minister Miko∏aj Budzanowski and PGNiG’s CEO Gra˝yna Piotrowska-Oliwa.

“Apparently the factors that protected Mr Dobrut from dismissal no longer exist,” Mr Jakóbik concluded, adding that Gazprom’s current actions are only a “demonstration of force,” as the EuRoPol Gaz charter clearly states that the CEO and second deputy have to be nominated by the Polish side.

Still, the stalemate in the company continues. A PGNiG spokesperson told the Polish Press Agency that the company does not know why Gazprom representatives did not show at the second EGM. “[PGNiG’s] lawyers are deciding on the next steps that we could take,” the spokesperson said. Because the company doesn’t currently have a full management board, it cannot make any business decisions.

PKO BP Sector: Banking Net profit: z∏.754.5 million, down 18% y/y Net interest income: z∏.1.58 billion, down 20% y/y Net fee and commission income: z∏.808.5 million, up 6% y/y “We have stopped the decline of our interest income. ... Our net assets surpassed z∏.200 billion, this is the first such case in the Polish banking sector,” said CEO Zbigniew Jagie∏∏o.

PZU Sector: Insurance Net profit: z∏.1.09 billion, down 3% y/y Gross premiums: z∏.3.9 billion, stable Net insurance claims: z∏.2.75 billion, down 6% y/y CEO Andrzej Klesyk, asked about repeating last year’s net profit: “I do not expect this to happen. That’s the way it is, fourth quarters are much worse than the previous ones.”

KGHM Polska Miedê Sector: Metals and mining Net profit: z∏.518 million, down 57% y/y Operating profit: z∏.794 million, down 52% y/y Revenue: z∏.5.47 billion, down 19.5% y/y “We expect the company’s end-year result in terms of production to be higher than last year’s. We plan to maintain high production and sales rates in Q4 this year, we also want to keep costs at bay,” said deputy CEO Jaros∏aw Romanowski.

PGNiG Sector: Natural gas Net profit: z∏.654 million, up 728% y/y Operating profit: z∏.881 million compared to z∏.1 million loss a year earlier Revenue: z∏.6.21 billion, up 17% y/y “There were always growing expenses in Q4 and it will be that way this year too. We expect this year’s capital expenditures to amount to z∏.4 billion, in line with earlier statements,” said deputy CEO Jacek Murawski.

Jacek Ciesnowski

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BUSINESS

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

www.wbj.pl

7

White goods

Mergers & acquisitions

FagorMastercook factories likely to be sold off

Cyfrowy Polsat to take over Polkomtel

ment to co-finance a new refrigerator factory in Wroc∏aw for €56 million. With the Spaniards out of the picture, Haier could look to buy their Polish assets and start production there on its own.

Other investors are unlikely to be interested in buying all of the facilities together, however.

For example, US-based Whirlpool could be interested in adding a washing machine factory in Poland, and while Swedish Electrolux has four factories in the country, none of them make refrigerators.

The Polish household-appliance sector is worth some z∏.5.3 billion. FagorMastercook is the second-largest company in the market, producing some 1.4 million pieces of equipment per year.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

FagorMastercook makes some 1.4 million household appliances in Poland

The deal will create one of Poland’s largest companies Mobile telephone operator Polkomtel and digital TV provider Cyfrowy Polsat, which both belong to one of Poland’s richest men, billionaire Zygmunt Solorz-˚ak, will be merged in a deal worth z∏.6.15 billion, the companies announced last week.

Cyfrowy Polsat has signed agreements to buy 83.8 percent in Metelem Holding, which owns 100 percent of Polkomtel, in exchange for a new share issue. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds the remaining 16.2 percent in Metelem and may also consider selling that stake to Cyfrowy Polsat.

Cyfrowy Polsat’s new share issue is subject to shareholder approval, and the deal also depends on the refinancing of the company’s debt.

The deal will bring together two of Mr Solorz-˚ak’s most profitable businesses and will mean that Cyfrowy Polsat takes on z∏.10.2 billion of Polkomtel debt left over from the billion-

COURTESY OF CYFROWY POLSAT, POLKOMTEL

With debts of over $800 million piled up, Fagor, Europe’s fifthlargest appliance manufacturer, has decided to close up shop and file for bankruptcy. Its European subsidiaries, including its Polish arm, FagorMastercook, are also facing tough times and have started looking for new owners.

FagorMastercook has four factories in Wroc∏aw, where it makes refrigerators, washing machines, stoves and ovens.

Some 1,300 people are employed at the facilities, but production has been on hold since late October with all workers sent on mandatory leave.

With its facilities shut down, the company released a statement claiming that it isn’t able to provide servicing for its products and that it won’t honor its warranties until further notice, leaving millions of clients hoping that their equipment won’t break down until the situation is resolved.

All the company’s production plants are up for sale.

According to sources quoted by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, some companies have already expressed interest in buying them.

Analysts point out that Asian sector giants such as LG and Samsung are likely buyers, as they may want to acquire more than one factory and have plans to enter the European white-goods sector, but don’t have plants here yet.

FagorMastercook’s factories offer a good location, experienced employees and are equipped with top-of-the-line machinery.

One of the investors could be China-based Haier, which wanted to partner up with Fagor to produce and sell its equipment in the EU. The two firms even signed an agree-

SHUTTERSTOCK

Spanish appliance producer Fagor has filed for bankruptcy and its Polish unit has shut down production

The deal values Polkomtel, operator of the Plus network, at z∏.6.15 billion aire’s buyout of the mobile operator in 2011.

Furthermore, the acquisition of Polkomtel will raise Cyfrowy Polsat’s ratio of net debt-to-core profit to 310 percent from 178 percent. The group aims to pare this back to 250 percent by the end of 2016, when it plans to consider resuming dividend payouts.

A media-telecoms behemoth Besides Poland’s top pay-TV platform and one of the country’s top two private broadcasters (Polsat), the Cyfrowy Polsat

group will now include the market’s number-three mobile player, Polkomtel, which operates the Plus network.

Cyfrowy Polsat was launched in 1999 and is the fourth-largest digital platform in Europe as well as the largest in Central and Eastern Europe.

Polkomtel began operations in Poland in 1996.

The deal will forge a group generating z∏.10 billion in revenue, a core profit of z∏.3.9 billion, and operating cash-flows of z∏.3.6 billion, making it one of Poland’s top 10 listed firms.

Remi Adekoya

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Politics

Civic Platform thinking long-term Ma∏gorzata Kidawa-B∏oƒska, vice chair of Civic Platform’s parliamentary caucus, sits down with WBJ to discuss the party’s political standing, its priorities, and its strategy for regaining voters’ confidence

What will be the next step in clearing up the present situation in Civic Platform?

Civic Platform’s convention will take place in Warsaw on November 23, and will shape the national board of PO, of which Donald Tusk will remain chairman. Those who were chosen as the leaders of PO’s regional structures will now automatically become members of the national board, while at the convention we will chose a new vice chairman of the party, secretary

general, as well as discuss and approve new statutes.

I think that there is a deep awareness among members of our party that there are three consecutive elections ahead of us: for European Parliament, for local governments, and for the Polish parliament. This will require us to mobilize and work hard to rebuild support among voters.

There is expected to be a cabinet reshuffle before the end of this month. What do you expect to happen?

As Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated, he will asses the government’s performance and set new tasks for the coming two years. The new priorities that he sets will determine how the government is restructured.

We will have to look at domestic issues in an even longer-term perspective – let’s say 20 years – because dealing with demography, for example, requires such a time frame.

This new perspective should lead to Poles gaining confidence in Civic Platform and the government, and should convince the public that our party has the energy to secure the interests of society and to deal with the problems of the country during this difficult time in the European Union.

What do you think the party’s and the government’s priorities should be?

We have to continue to modernize our infrastructure and provide incentives to push economic growth and reduce unemployment, but in my view we now have to treat reforms

“Civic Platform is determined to remain a centrist party ... I think that our centrist identity is our greatest asset.”

COURTESY OF CIVIC PLATFORM

Ewa Boniecka: After the recent internal elections in Civic Platform (PO), some incidents of corruption were revealed – and now it seems there are some sharp conflicts within the party. How do you see the situation?

Ma∏gorzata Kidawa-B∏oƒska: The incidents at the convention in Lower Silesia were discussed at our party’s national board meeting in Warsaw, and were condemned by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other participants as intolerable. The five people who were involved in that scandal have been suspended, as our party does not allow such acts of political corruption and unethical behavior.

However, it is important to note that by conducting such elections, PO has proven that it is a party where democratic procedures are followed and the voice of every party member counts.

Obviously some of our politicians are happy with the results of the internal elections, some are not; some are even bitter. But in politics sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

PO’s Kidawa-B∏oƒska says she is “convinced” the party will regain voters’ confidence and win upcoming elections in health services, education and science as priorities.

Some reforms already undertaken by Minister of Science and Higher Education Barbara Kudrycka have brought good results and government financial support for higher education has increased more than at any time previously, but Polish academia is still not sufficiently linked to business.

In my view, another priority is the need for strengthening civil society and for raising the position of our culture and cultural institutions so that we can better understand ourselves and the world.

show that the majority of Poles do not identify with any particular party, because they simply are not interested in big-time politics – and that it is the problem.

At the same time, people expect that politicians should change the world for the better and do so easily, which isn’t possible. As such, I think that politicians – not only in Poland, because all over Europe ambivalence towards politics is apparent – will have the hard task of convincing people that it is worth getting involved in politics and that they have the right to demand something from politicians.

Yet Poles do not trust the promises made by politicians and they are generally disillusioned with politics. Why is that?

When we look at the findings revealed by recent studies of Polish society, they show that Poles are satisfied with their lives, but are dissatisfied with politics. The same findings

How would you describe the political identity of Civic Platform, which sometimes seems to veer to the left or the right without any coherent ideology?

Civic Platform, which I have belonged to since its beginning, has not changed. We are a centrist party, a party of the middle political road, open to vari-

ous political groups, open to various experiences – but we have not turned either to the right nor to the left. We are determined to remain a centrist party, to act rationally while listening to various sides of the political and social spectrum.

I think that our centrist identity is our greatest asset, because the world is turning away from purely ideological parties. People expect political parties to provide them security and stability, while using democratic instruments. They do not want the party to tell them how they should live and with whom. This change in attitude towards political parties is happening everywhere, and as such political parties have to respond.

You spearheaded a bill on the introduction of in vitro fertilization but it was rejected by parliament. The matter of civil unions has also been pushed to the side. Do you think that in the coming two years these

ethical matters will again come up for a vote in parliament?

It was not possible to obtain a majority in the Sejm [Poland’s lower house of parliament] to pass the in vitro bill, so Civic Platform is dealing with that matter within the framework of health care legislation which will facilitate in vitro procedures. We are constantly looking to obtain a majority in parliament for the introduction of a civil unions bill.

We are aware that we will not escape from this matter, while the reality is that many Polish children are born to parents in non-formal relationships. But ethical matters are difficult to push in parliament because a large number of MPs put their own beliefs above the political agenda and they have the right to vote accordingly. Nevertheless, I hope that some legislation will come about and that we will look at the experiences of other European countries and draw some conclusions.

INTERVIEW

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

There is currently a global debate going on about the state’s role in social policy – specifically whether it should offer more support or whether it should reduce social help.

What is your view?

I think that Civic Platform has done a lot to help Polish families. It prolonged maternity leave, increased financial support for building nurseries and enlarged the amount of social aid for disabled people.

I think that the state’s role in supporting families and financing social services is very important, but it should not simply mean the distribution of public funds. It should also create conditions for economic development and new jobs, so that people can take better care of themselves.

Do you think that the Smolensk issue will play a big role in the campaigns?

I think that for the portion of society that believes [opposition party] Law and Justice’s claims that it was a bomb that caused the catastrophe, it will play a role, but for ordinary people this matter will not be dominant.

Of course, people will

remember about the tragedy, about the people who perished in that catastrophe, but there will be a growing understanding that it was an accident and so Poles will see the Smolensk issue in a less political fashion.

Your calm, matter-of-fact style comes in stark contrast to the brutal language often used by Poland’s political class. After the death of former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki last month, do you think that his legacy could have some positive impact on Polish politics?

I hope that it will have such an impact on Poland’s political class, and that the legacy of Tadeusz Mazowiecki will play a positive role in our politics, but I am afraid that in such a quickly changing world, it will be ignored.

I only hope that our first post-communist prime minister, who acted for a free and democratic Poland all his life and who was such a deeply honest politician and man, will be remembered.

I want to emphasize the word honest, because honesty has not often been top-ofmind in public life. So now that he is gone, there is a great void in our life and in politics. ●

COURTESY OF CIVIC PLATFORM

The first electoral test coming up will be the European Parliament elections in May 2014.

Civic Platform is currently slipping in the polls. What will be your strategy to reverse this trend?

Civic Platform is the most proEuropean party in Poland and we have achieved visible success in strengthening our role in the EU and obtaining a huge amount of funding for Poland in the next EU budget. I am convinced that we will be victorious in the upcomming Euro-

pean Parliament election. Our colleagues who are now in the EP are highly qualified and will participate in that campaign.

We know that this is a difficult moment for our party, but we will show that PO has great potential and a strong will to enact a program that will benefit Poles and the country.

Poland has changed for the better and has developed tremendously during the last few years, and people see how much the government has done.

The political locomotive is currently charging ahead at full steam but I am convinced that we will win the European Parliament elections, as well as the local government elections [in late 2014] and the Polish parliamentary elections [in 2015]. That’s because we treat policy as a long-term activity based on rational foundations and not on easy populist slogans.

PO is “the most pro-European party in Poland,” according to Ms Kidawa-B∏oƒska

www.wbj.pl

9

10

OPINION & ANALYSIS

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

The business of business is more than business Laura Tyson

E

For example, Apple’s brand was recently shaken by revelations about brutal workplace conditions at Foxconn factories in China, where most of its iPhones and iPads are assembled. In response to concerns among customers, employees, and shareholders, Apple has improved working conditions and agreed to regular reviews by an independent observer.

Similarly, American and European clothing companies have been struggling to contain the reputational damage caused by lethal working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories.

arlier this year, Robert Simons of Harvard Business School fired off a blistering indictment of American businesses and business schools. American companies, he charged, have become softheaded, unfocused, and uncompetitive, in part because business schools are persuading them to embrace a long list of gauzy, feel-good values, such as social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and inclusiveness.

Reviving a famous broadside by Milton Friedman back in 1970, Mr Simons argued that a company’s only mission is to “compete and win.” Mr Friedman, too, maintained that anything except making money is a distraction.

It is difficult to deny the appealing simplicity of this argument. Who would deny that companies have a

Government failures

“Businesses that ignore the broader social and environmental context in which they operate are likely to pay a price.” clear responsibility to earn profits for their shareholders, or that most shareholders invest primarily to make money, not to make the world a better place? Why make things more complicated?

Because they are.

First, most references to Mr Friedman’s argument overlook his recognition of constraints on business behavior. In his words, companies should “make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.” In other words, compliance with the law is not enough. Some ethical constraints, such as basic human rights, reflect universal values; others vary across time, location, and situations.

Second, not all shareholders are alike. As Lynn Stout of Cornell Law School has put it, they are “human beings with differing investment time frames, different interests ex ante and ex post, different degrees of diversification, and different attitudes toward sacrificing personal wealth to follow ethical rules and avoid harming others.” They also differ in their attitudes toward risk.

Maximizing shareholder value over a particular time period may satisfy the interests of some shareholders but violate the interests of others.

The simple theory of profit maximization assumes away the conflicting interests of diverse shareholders.

In reality, when businesses make decisions, they have to balance these interests.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Basic rules

Third, businesses can also affect shareholders’ interests over time.

Individuals gravitate to organizations that are compatible with their personal preferences. So companies can attract like-minded shareholders by espousing distinctive values, missions, and cultures.

A recent study found that patient shareholders account for a larger portion of the shares of companies that espouse a long-term sustainability agenda relative to companies committed to share-price maximization.

A growing number of investors are looking for responsible investment or “impact investment” opportunities that promise a mix of both financial and social returns.

Fourth, every company both depends on and affects the societies in which it functions. The larger and more global the company, the larger and more global are its societal effects.

A price to pay Companies need customers who can afford their products, which means that businesses benefit from social stability and broad prosperity. Companies also need educated, hardworking, ethical employees and reliable, efficient suppliers. And companies need public infrastructure – not only physical infrastructure like highways and airports, but also social infrastructure like good schools, safe

neighborhoods, and effective legal systems.

Businesses that ignore the broader social and environmental context in which they operate are likely to pay a price: reputational damage and loss of brand value, falling sales, difficulties in recruiting talent, lower worker productivity, corruption, tougher government regulation, or an increase in climate-change-related costs.

There are now mobile phone apps that assess and grade large multinational companies’ supply chains for customers, investors, and public officials. Companies that score poorly risk losing sales and investors and triggering official regulatory or legal action.

The Friedman-Simons view that businesses’ sole social responsibility is to increase profits assumes that competent, non-corrupt governments both provide the public goods necessary for a prosperous economy and contain the negative externalities, like pollution and climate change, that result from private economic activities. But, in the actual societies in which businesses function, governments are often unable or unwilling to provide required public goods or curb negative externalities. In response to “government failures,” companies face pressure from a variety of stakeholders – including incompetent and corrupt governments themselves – to address broad social and environmental problems.

But businesses cannot solve such problems by themselves. Solutions depend on innovative collaboration among private companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. This is already happening. For example, Walmart has teamed up with the Environmental Defense Fund to devise a strategy to eliminate 20 million tons of embedded carbon in the products on its shelves. Likewise, the European Union, the International Labor Organization, and the government of Bangladesh have cooperated with global companies on a pact to improve conditions for Bangladeshi garment workers.

Companies have a responsibility to their shareholders, but they also have a responsibility to the societies that grant them the right to operate.

And they can fulfill both responsibilities profitably. There is no evidence for Mr Simon’s assertion that a commitment to social or environmental values is undermining US companies’ competitiveness. In fact, recent evidence suggests the opposite: social and environmental responsibility can be a source of long-term competitive advantage. ● Laura Tyson, a former chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers, is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

OPINION & ANALYSIS

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

www.wbj.pl

11

Europe’s non-rhetorical values Leszek Balcerowicz

T

Bulgaria, Sweden, and Germany have all grown faster than that of the US, while Hungary, Denmark, and most euro zone countries have registered negative growth.

These variations are rooted in differences in national policies, which highlights the fundamental flaw in the idea that solutions to

zone economies.

Current discussions also tend to ignore – and even distort – the values that European institutional arrangements are supposed to serve.

“More Europe” is not a goal in itself.

For any believer in traditional European values, individual liberties – including economic freedom – and their associated responsibili-

and employment. On the contrary, experience has demonstrated that economic liberalization and depoliticization (including reducing the share of public expenditure) is vital to lasting recovery.

But there is no way to predict whether Europe’s leaders will adopt this strategy. After all, the EU’s future depends on its members’ poli-

social and political turmoil in the euro zone, with Europeans increasingly challenging such operations’ legitimacy.

It is against this background that the risks inherent in different kinds of reform should be assessed.

Despite the chorus of voices condemning austerity, labor-market flexibility, and so on, there is a reasonable chance that these are the reforms that will be pursued. The problem countries in the EU have been moving in this direction, and their reforms’ success is largely proportionate to the speed with which they have been introduced. The examples of Poland, Estonia, Sweden, and Germany, among others, demonstrate that early reforms can yield huge social payoffs.

Europe’s future will ultimately be decided by the balance of competing political pressures, particularly at the national level. As it stands, there

European countries’ problems lie mainly at the EU level. In the US, the federal government does not take responsibility for solving states’ individual problems; indeed, the states that have been hardest hit by the crisis have undertaken their own reforms.

Likewise, there are no “European” solutions to, say, Italy’s problems. Italy needs Italian solutions, just as Greece needs Greek solutions, Portugal needs Portuguese solutions, and so on. European arrangements must not weaken countries’ incentives to address the challenges facing them – and that means exercising extreme caution when it comes to bailing out euro

ties constitute the ultimate criteria for developing and assessing institutions, from the local to the European level.

cies, which, in turn, depend on their diverse and variable political situations.

is no shortage of resistance to freedom-oriented reform and pressure to pursue statist policies. If believers in traditional European values fail to ensure that their voices, too, are heard, hazy rhetoric will continue to overshadow constructive debate of the EU’s problems – and misguided policies will continue to undermine Europe’s prospects. ●

SHUTTERSTOCK

he debate about Europe’s future is burdened by misleading and emotionally charged rhetoric, with vague talk of “more Europe” hampering productive discussion about European countries’ real problems. Indeed, beyond the loaded language lie fundamental questions that have yet to be

answered convincingly. What exactly would “a federal Europe” entail? Is “European solidarity” a euphemism for the transfer union that Germany opposes, or for massive bailouts by the European Central Bank?

Such rhetoric usually displays a centralist bias, with the pursuit of “more Europe” depicted as the only way that the European Union can compete economically with politically centralized countries like the United States and China. But this confuses economic competitiveness with military power. In order to reap the benefits of European integration, it must be achieved through individual interactions, economic and otherwise, facilitated by the removal of regulatory barriers.

Vast discrepancies The centralist approach disregards the vast discrepancies in economic performance among EU countries – and ignores the fact that one finds more economic success stories among Europe’s smaller countries than among its large ones. Within the euro zone, cumulative GDP growth since 2008 has ranged from 23.6 percent in Greece to 5.2 percent in Slovakia; outside the euro zone, it has ranged from -4.1 percent in the United Kingdom to 12.5 percent in Poland. The economies of Poland, Slovakia, the Baltic States,

Risky delays Single market At the heart of the European project lies a commitment to the single market, the subsidiarity principle, and the “four freedoms,” as well as other traditional liberties such as freedom of speech and religion. These values are universal; there is nothing specifically “Anglo-Saxon” or “German” about them.

Moreover, embedding these values in European institutional arrangements demands no sacrifices in terms of long-term GDP growth

What is certain is that delaying much-needed reforms would be more than risky; it would spell disaster for the euro zone. Indeed, given Europe’s accumulated public debt and its rapidly aging population, maintaining the status quo would serve only to intensify economic crisis, threatening the euro’s very existence. Even if European institutions like the ECB continued to extend rescue operations, they could not compensate for a lack of reform.

They would, however, aggravate

Leszek Balcerowicz is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Poland (1989-1991; 1997-2000) and a former President of the National Bank of Poland (2001-2007).

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

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COVER STORY

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Macroeconomics

Better days ahead for the Polish economy Following a sluggish 2013, Poland’s central bank predicts 2.9 percent GDP growth next year and 3.3 percent in 2015

So where will future growth come from?

In the years 2014-2015, domestic demand will be the main driving force behind GDP growth, the NBP stated,

Consumption drives growth Poland’s GDP growth, year-on-year, in % 8 6.8

7 6.2 6 5.3

* NBP forecast

5.1

5

4.5

4.3

3.9

3.9

4

3.6

3.3* 2.9*

3 1.9

1.6

2 1.2

1.4

2001

2002

1.3*

1 0 2000

2003 2004

adding that the increased demand will boost private consumption as well as corporate investment.

The central bank expects the Polish labor market to

2005

2006

2007 2008

improve in 2014 and 2015, a prerequisite for stronger consumption levels. The upcoming years are also expected to usher in a gradual rise in wage growth amidst a falling unem-

2009 2010

2011

2012

ployment rate.

As a result, real growth in aggregate wages will reach 3.1 percent year-on-year in 2015, according to the NBP. This would represent a record high

2013

2014

Source: Central Statistical Office, National Bank of Poland

This year will go down as the worst 12 months for the Polish economy in over a decade, according to the National Bank of Poland. In a report released last week, the central bank projected Poland’s 2013 GDP growth at a meager 1.3 percent, the lowest figure since 2001.

There is light at the end of the tunnel though, as the NBP expects the economy to rebound significantly in 2014, growing by 2.9 percent and by a healthy 3.3 percent in 2015.

“After a period of significant downturn in late 2012 and early 2013, individual data for 2013 Q3 (including, among others, industrial production and retail sales data) point to a moderate improvement in GDP growth,” the report stated.

The NBP cited weak household consumption (driven mainly by the difficult situation in the labor market), fiscal tightening and falling public investment resulting from the drying up of EU funds allocated to Poland for the years 2007-2013 as the main causes of sluggish growth this year.

The poor performance of euro zone economies didn’t help matters either.

Economic growth in Poland is usually strongly tied with domestic consumption. But it is an increase in exports which has kept Poland out of recession over the past two years after consumers tightened their purse strings. However, the National Bank of Poland now expects consumption to increase over the next couple of years, driving a strong recovery

2015

since the outbreak of the global financial crisis and would significantly boost Poles’ purchasing power.

An additional factor supporting stronger economic

Remi Adekoya

growth in the upcoming years will be the inflow of funds under the new EU financial framework for the years 20142020, in particular, capital transfers designed to finance public investment, which slowed down considerably in 2013.

And the market says ...

“The NBP’s GDP estimates are pretty much in line with market expectations, although I think their prediction for next year is slightly optimistic.

I myself predict 2.7 percent growth next year,” said Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ, chief economist at X-Trade Brokers. Mr Kwiecieƒ agrees that domestic demand will be the main driver of growth in the upcoming years.

“This year our growth has been based largely on exports.

But the consensus is that exports will accelerate only slightly, maybe by 5 percent, next year,” he added. However, even that modest figure is subject to events on the global market.

There is “a lot of uncertainty concerning global growth and trade trends in the coming months,” Mr Kwiecieƒ said.

“German and French exports have been declining in recent months, not a good sign.”

It is, however, important to note that in the case of Germany, Poland’s largest trading partner, its exports rocketed in the first stage of post-crisis recovery and currently remain at a level that is high and difficult to maintain. A quarter of Poland’s exports are destined for its western neighbor and thus the condition of Europe’s largest economy is crucial for

COVER STORY

COURTESY OF KPRM

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference after the Q3 2013 GDP flash estimate was announced Poland’s exporters.

Jaros∏aw Janecki, chief economist at Société Générale, also forecasts growth of 2.7 percent next year but is more bullish than Poland’s central bankers when it comes to 2015.

“I predict Poland’s economy will grow by 3.5 percent in 2015 and by 4 percent in 2016,” said Mr Janecki. He believes EU funds, public investment and large-scale infrastructure projects in the energy sector will fuel this growth.

Both economists concur with the NBP that the situation in Poland’s labor market should improve in the coming months, with Mr Kwiecieƒ adding that such improvement is “already visible.”

Inflation assumptions overly optimistic?

When it comes to inflation, the NBP expects core inflation to remain low, at 1.4 percent in 2014 and 1.5 percent in 2015.

Both Mr Kwiecieƒ and Mr Janecki have some doubts regarding this particular forecast, however.

“It is optimistic to assume inflation will remain so low should private consumption increase as it is expected to. To me this suggests our central bankers may want to leave interest rates as they are until 2015,” said Mr Kwiecieƒ.

Poland’s benchmark interest rate currently stands at 2.5 percent, the lowest it has been since the end of communism in 1989.

Meanwhile, Mr Janecki

said that looking at past history, it is “difficult” to find a period where there were no external price shocks on, say, the food market, which ended up affecting import prices and inflation as a consequence.

Polish imports are very vulnerable to such price shocks, said Mr Janecki, hence his skepticism at the low inflation assumptions. In fact, Mr Janecki thinks events on the ground could lead to an interest-rate hike of 50 basis points in the second half of 2014.

Dangers ahead So what are the possible dangers lying ahead for the Polish economy? According to the NBP, the main source of uncertainty surrounding its projections are possible developments in the euro zone.

“The external environment, in particular the scale and sustainability of the prospective recovery, continues to pose the most important source of uncertainty for the inflation and GDP projection,” the bank wrote. Another major source of uncertainty the NBP cites is the response of Polish households and the corporate sector to developments abroad.

Indeed, the economic performance of the euro zone next year is anyone’s guess.

“Everyone is assuming the European economy will recover and that it has put the crisis

behind it, but this is uncertain and the fact that Asia is slowing down is not a good sign either,” said Mr Kwiecieƒ.

The economist said the US Fed’s December decision on whether to taper its quantitative easing program will be crucial to how market sentiment shapes up in the early months of 2014.

“If US labor market figures come in as good in November as they did in October, the Fed will have no good excuse not to taper, but markets are not yet ready for this and would be hit hard. This would affect everyone.”

Meanwhile, Mr Janecki sees the main dangers from the Polish economy as stemming from the pension reform system being prepared by the government, which envisages the transfer of 51.5 percent of assets held in private pension funds to the state-run social insurance institution, ZUS. “This change, if implemented, would reduce market liquidity on the bond market, lower equity and adversely affect the forex market. Also, investors might ask for a premium or simply sell their Polish bonds,” said Mr Janecki.

Still a good bet Despite the poor performance of the Polish economy this year, it is important to remember that Poland still remains the only EU nation

www.wbj.pl

13

Expert opinions Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ Chief economist, X-Trade Brokers “The funds from the new EU budget should start making an impact on Poland’s economy pretty quickly. This is due to the effect of repeated experience. Right now, there are many people in Poland’s administrative institutions who armed with the experience they gained during the distribution of the 2007-2013 EU funds, now know how to ensure the efficient and timely distribution of these vast amounts of money.”

Jaros∏aw Janecki Chief economist, Société Générale “I believe strong domestic demand will be driven by low interest rates, higher wage growth and more disposable income in the pockets of Poles. But while the government’s pension reform plan will likely reduce our debtto-GDP ratio by 8 or 9 percentage points, I am afraid the market fallout could be negative for Poland.” to have avoided recession each year since the outbreak of the global economic and financial crisis in 2008.

The country’s economic foundations are strong, its banking sector is in healthy shape, boasting record profits, and Polish exports are gaining in popularity in EU as well as non-EU markets.

The z∏oty has proven resilient in recent years and the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has succeeded in initiating moves to bring down Poland’s budget deficit – albeit thanks to a controversial pension

reform. And starting in 2014, billions of euros will begin flowing into the country once again in the form of EU funds.

The economy is already showing signs of a strong rebound after the Central Statistics Office released a flash estimate last week indicating Q3 2013 GDP growth of 1.9 percent compared to 0.8 percent in Q2 (see p. 14).

Barring a global economic catastrophe in the near future, Poland has everything it takes to once again embark on a path of dynamic economic growth. ●

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

www.wbj.pl

Macroeconomics

GDP growth surges in Q3 The rebound is on, and institutions have begun revising their growth forecasts for next year upward The growth of Poland’s gross domestic product shot up to 1.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2013 after growing by just 0.8 percent y/y in Q2, according to a flash estimate published by statistics office GUS last week. Seasonally adjusted GDP growth was 1.7 percent y/y and 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Economists surveyed by the Polish Press Agency had

expected GDP to grow by 1.7 percent y/y in Q3. Bloomberg’s consensus estimate was 1.6 percent.

Analysts from Nomura called the figure “very strong.”

“Given we always thought Q3 would be the weaker quarter before growth took off in Q4 and Q1, this provides a very strong base going into next year with an earlier recovery starting probably around mid August into September,” they wrote in an e-mailed comment.

Citi economists wrote that in their view, the growth “was due to stronger private consumption and stabilization or

Rebound underway Poland’s GDP growth in y/y terms, Q1 2009-Q3 2013 5 *Flash estimate

3

2

1

Q1 2 Q2 009 20 Q3 09 2 Q4 009 20 Q1 09 2 Q2 010 20 Q3 10 2 Q4 010 20 Q1 10 2 Q2 011 20 Q3 11 2 Q4 011 2 Q1 011 20 Q2 12 2 Q3 012 2 Q4 012 20 Q1 12 2 Q2 013 Q3 2013 20 13 *

0

Source: Central Statistical Office

4

even slight improvement in fixed investment.”

“We believe the data will allow the Polish [Monetary Policy Council] to stick to its wait-and-see mode and in line with the guidance announced at the last meeting the MPC will probably leave rates on hold at least until end of June 2014.” The Monetary Policy Council has held the National Bank of Poland’s reference interest rate at a record low of 2.5 percent since July.

GUS will announce its final GDP growth estimate for Q3 2013 on November 29.

Rising forecasts The surge in GDP growth indicates that the recovery which was expected to materialize in the second half of this year has indeed appeared, as previous economic indicators had also suggested. On the back of those numbers, both the NBP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have raised their forecasts for Poland’s GDP growth in 2014.

According to the NBP’s forecast released last week, growth next year will amount to 2.9 percent (see cover story, pp.12-13). The NBP’s previous

forecast for 2014 put economic growth at 2.4 percent. The new forecast also put growth at 3.3 percent in 2015. Poland’s economy hasn’t grown that fast since 2011, when it expanded at a rate of 4.5 percent.

Poland’s growth should accelerate as the economic situation abroad improves and as new EU funds flow in, the NBP said.

For this year, the NBP expects Poland’s GDP growth to come in at around 1.3 percent. In 2012 Poland’s economy grew at a pace of 1.9 percent.

The EBRD raised its 2014 GDP growth forecast for Poland to 2.3 percent. In its previous forecast published this past May, it saw growth coming in at 2.0 percent next year.

For this year, its projection remains unchanged, at 1.2 percent.

“After a very weak first half of the year, when growth dropped to under 1 percent compared to a year earlier, recent data in Poland point towards a recovery over the coming quarters,” the EBRD said in its report presenting the figures.

KW, AK

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Rostowski confident 2014 budget will pass

COURTESY OF MINISTRY OF FINANCE

14

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski Poland’s coalition government has had a hard time imposing discipline on its members of parliament when it comes to voting on controversial issues.

Two weeks ago, two members of the junior coalition member, the Polish People’s Party, voted to hold a referendum on the government’s education reforms, which was opposed by the ruling parties.

It was in this light that Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski was asked whether he thought there was a risk that the 2014 budget, which is due to be voted on later this year, could be torpedoed by disgruntled parliamentarians.

But Mr Rostowski remained sanguine, saying he saw no problems ahead.

“Last year we managed to push through a budget that was no easier, with a very similar majority in the Sejm [Poland’s lower house of parliament],” Mr Rostowski said.

The Sejm has already passed a series of bills that will accompany next year’s budget.

The excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products has been raised, VAT regulations were passed that allow for tax rates to remain at their present levels until 2016. The main VAT rate will stay at 23 percent.

Mr Rostowski added that he expects the government’s controversial pension system reform – which would give it much more budgeting flexibility – to be passed before the end of KW, AK the year.

Saturation point Check out our special report on MAPIC to find out why developers have moved toward expanding first- and second-generation schemes instead of building new malls 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

Amazon’s record warehouse lease E-commerce giant Amazon will lease a 95,000-sqm fulfillment center in Wroc∏aw’s Bielany district from Goodman. Its construction began in October and is scheduled to be ready in H2 2014. Amazon plans to create up to 2,000 longterm jobs at the warehouse, plus an additional 3,000 seasonal jobs According to the developer, the deal is the biggest warehouse contract in the CEE region to date. ●

In this issue Apartment sales . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Capital Park IPO . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 MAPIC report . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-17 Postępu 14 launch . . . . . . . . . . .18 CEEQA awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Apartment sales reaching pre-crisis levels Developers are reporting record figures It’s turning out to be a banner year for the residential sector in Poland, with sales of apartments set to hit a post-economic crisis high and developers reporting results as much as 200 percent higher than last year.

For one, the volume of new apartment sales in Poland could surpass z∏.25 billion in 2013, according to calculations made by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. Indeed, sales are likely to reach their highest point since the last market boom, a management board member at a development firm told the newspaper.

In 2007, the best year of the previous boom, apart-

ment sales in Poland’s six largest cities amounted to 35,000. In 2013 so far, 25,000 apartments have been sold in these cities.

The prediction comes as real estate developers have recorded significant year-onyear sales growth this year, with some firms forecasting growth to reach 50-200 percent over the full year.

One such example of the market’s return to form is Developer Marvipol Group, which sold 71 residential and commercial units in October 2013, compared to 20 units in the same month in 2012.

Since the beginning of the year the group has sold 473 apartments, the best result in the company’s history.

Next year, the group’s offer will be significantly larg-

er thanks to the Central Park Ursynów investment, comprising 910 units, and financed by shares which debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on November 8.

Marvipol CEO Mariusz Ksià˝ek attributed the increase in sales to greater efficiencies in the firm’s sales department and improving macroeconomic conditions.

“The engine behind the sales increase was investment in mid- and high-priced units, which equaled 75 percent of this year’s sales volume,” he said.

Currently, Marvipol Group is developing six housing investments which in total will provide more than 2,000 apartments and service units.

Aleksandra S∏abisz, John Beauchamp

SHUTTERSTOCK

Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz has ordered the stoppage of construction on an office scheme near the city’s historic Plac Zamkowy square, opposite the Royal Castle. The decision comes after it was revealed that the head of the department of architecture and construction in Warsaw’s ÂródmieÊcie district, who issued the building permit, was the mother of one of the project’s designers. The permit will now be reevaluated.

Residential

Are the clouds clearing? 2013 could be a record year for new apartment sales

Stock market

Capital Park IPO gets green light The developer wants to raise z∏.210 million The Polish Financial Supervision Authority has approved the issue prospectus of real estate investor and developer Capital Park, which plans to raise some z∏.210 million in its initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange before the end of this year.

“The offering will be addressed to institutional investors and retail investors

in Poland and to eligible institutional investors outside Poland,” the company wrote in a statement earlier this month. DI BRE and Espirito Santo Investment Bank have been chosen to manage the book-building process.

Capital Park plans to offer 20.96 million shares, accounting for a 20 percent stake in the company. It will spend the IPO proceeds on developing existing projects and acquiring new ones.

Within the next three to five

years the developer plans to focus on its three office projects located in Warsaw.

The company has been present on the Polish real estate market for over 10 years, already closing around 100 investment deals.

Once all the projects in the firm’s pipeline have been completed, their total value will amount to some z∏.3.2 billion. Capital Park is present in 39 cities, however as much as 74 percent of all of its properties are located in KW, BKS Warsaw.

COURTESY OF CAPITAL PARK

Plac Zamkowy office scheme halted

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013, LI 18/45

The ArtNorblin multifunctional scheme in central Warsaw is one of Capital Park’s flagship projects

16

www.wbj.pl

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Retail

Time for expansion Developers and investors present at this year’s MAPIC seem to agree that Poland’s retail market has reached its potential for the time being and that current growth opportunities lie in expansions and refurbishing. Most developers active in Poland came to the fair to showcase expansion projects of their existing schemes.

“We have finished building retail stock. The market is now saturated,” said Krzysztof Giemza, member of the board at Echo Investment.

The company is currently expanding its shopping center in Jelenia Góra, one of its first investments in Poland.

The developer wants to turn the shopping mall into a regional retail and entertainment center, dubbed Galeria Sudecka. After the work is complete, the scheme will house 100 stores on an area of 30,000 sqm. The center will also feature restaurants and service outlets as well as a seven-screen Helios multiplex and an underground parking lot with 1,200 spaces.

Decades old Retail schemes like the one Echo is working on expand-

ing are first- and second-generation shopping centers, built in the 1990s, usually with one major anchor hypermarket with a modest fashion and service offer.

Another good example of a nearly 20-year-old project in need of more space is the

Auchan hypermarket in Piaseczno, on the outskirts of Warsaw. Immochan is currently working on a major extension of the scheme and plans to transform it into a regional retail and entertainment scheme.

The company wants to

add close to 40,000 sqm to the existing 44,300-sqm scheme, which was first delivered in 1996. The additional area will comprise over 170 mainly fashion stores plus the 48 units the hypermarket already houses.

The project has been

scheduled for completion in 2016. “Our center enjoys a very convenient location in the southern part of the Warsaw agglomeration, with some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in its vicinity,” Ma∏gorzata RajkowKrzywicka, the firm’s leas-

ing director said while presenting the project at the MAPIC fair. “With a catchment area of 1 million residents and footfall of 10 million people a year, the center is ideally located to become a regional retail center.”

Forum Gliwice at MAPIC Forum Gliwice marked its presence at MAPIC with the presence of Polish actress Ma∏gorzata Socha and an interesting stall design alluding to the Viennese victory of the Polish army 350 years ago.

The center, delivered in 2007, offers 43,000 sqm of leasable space. It boasts a catchment area of 700,000 people within a 30 minute ride. A new connection with the Trasa Ârednicowa thoroughfare, expected to be delivered by the end of 2014, will further shorten the time needed to get to the center and expand its catchment area.

With the recently opened Galeria Katowicka you must face stiff competition.

You have to remember that we are located in the Silesia region, which is a huge market with a wide offer of retail centers and good public transport.

You can get to our scheme in under 30 minutes even from places 20 kilometers away. We are not an isolated island. We do have competition. Still,

our center is the only such scheme in Gliwice.

Other retail schemes are either hypermarketanchored centers or retail parks.

We work on consumer loyalty and maintaining good relations with our clients. We try to carry out market research regularly to see what consumers want and value about our center. They stress the convenient location, the fashion offer and entertainment. ●

What is your center’s strategy at Cannes?

Agnieszka Mielcarz, managing director of the FORUM Shopping Center in Gliwice: Despite the increasing saturation of retail space, Poland continues to be an attractive market in the eyes of foreign investors. We can see a lot of interest in our market among the brands which are not present here yet but are seriously considering getting involved with Poland. Cannes is an ideal place to present our assets.

How do you position your center in relation to other retail schemes?

Our center is primarily associated with fashion.

Over 70 percent of all our tenants are fashion brands. The fashion we offer represents the medium-plus segment, with brands such as Simple.

We also have the first Pure fitness center in the Silesia region and a 13-screen Cinema City movie theater.

COURTESY OF FORUM GLIWICE

As major cities in Poland are offering increasingly scarce locations for new retail schemes, developers are looking for growth opportunities in refurbishing and expansions

Actress Ma∏gorzata Socha (center) attended the MAPIC event as the ambassador of Forum Gliwice BROUGHT TO YOU BY FORUM GLIWICE

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

www.wbj.pl

17

But is there room in Warsaw?

While the consensus at MAPIC was that the Polish market was more or less saturated when it comes to big, new prime retail developments, an analysis from advisory Jones Lang LaSalle published last week found that there is actually plenty of development potential within Warsaw’s retail market.

COURTESY OF ECHO INVESTMENT

The capital, it said, is marked by a low vacancy rate, continued tenant and developer interest, as well as one of the lowest shopping density ratios among Poland’s urban agglomerations.

Echo Investment plans to expand its Galeria Sudecka shopping mall in Jelenia Góra The best locations are taken Indeed, the first- and second-generation centers were located in some of the best spots and have had a long time to establish their positions. They have become the go-to shopping destinations for the local population and developers are now ready to capitalize on that.

“If the locations and possibilities are limited we focus on buying first- and secondgeneration shopping centers and focus on repositioning them,” said Ronald Dasbach, managing director at Multi

Development CEE. Atrium is currently working on the extension of its Galeria Copernicus center, located in downtown Toruƒ.

The mall, first opened in 2005, boasts a catchment area of over 350,000 people, not bad for a city of 200,000, and hopes to increase it once a new bridge over the Vistula River is completed, which is expected in December.

The developer wants to increase the mall’s GLA by 17,000 sqm up to a total of 47,000 sqm. The center will house 145 stores, 55 more than at present. The work

commenced in July 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2014.

Becoming dominant Refurbishing and adding new space is not the domain of old schemes, however. Even recently completed projects can benefit from expansion, as evidenced by Neinver’s plan to expand its Galeria Malta in Poznaƒ.

Delivered in 2009, the center currently houses 167 tenants. The developer plans to make room for another 30-40 stores by adding another 11,000 sqm to the existing

space, bringing the center’s total GLA to 65,000 sqm.

“We have noticed the project’s potential and decided to expand Galeria Malta to create a dominant project in the area by adding additional space and parking area to the scheme,” said Monika Brzeziƒska, Neinver’s country manager.

Martin Sabelko, CBRE Global Investments’ managing director for CEE, also believes that dominant projects in cities, even secondary ones, are what investors will continue to look for. According to Mr Sabelko, the way to go for investors in Poland is to “buy

“The dynamic development of new residential clusters, coupled with a great improvement of Warsaw’s road infrastructure, has helped to create new retail locations,” said Anna Wysocka, head of the retail agency at Jones Lang LaSalle in Poland.

“This in turn has generated demand for further retail developments such as Galeria Wilanów and Galeria Bia∏o∏´ka by GTC, which are aimed at enriching the retail offer in a district and improving the inhabitants’ quality of life.”

According to the advisory, Warsaw ranks higher than Stockholm, Lyon or Copenhagen in terms of attractiveness for international retailers.

At the end of October 2013, modern retail stock in the Warsaw agglomeration reached 1.61 million sqm of GLA. Shopping center formats total 1.10 million sqm GLA in 36 assets. With a density of 445 sqm per 1,000 inhabitants, Warsaw still ranks low among major agglomerations.

The most notable event in Q3 was the opening of Plac Unii City Shopping (15,500 sqm), the first downtown shopping mall since the launch of Z∏ote Tarasy in 2007.

AS

existing shopping centers as long as they are dominant.”

Given the amount of stock in older retail schemes that is still waiting to be refurbished, Mr Sabelko believes there is still room for investments for the next 10 years. In June

2013 CBRE Global Investors started refurbishing its Ogrody shopping center in Elblàg. “We are adding €65 million to an existing shopping center to make it dominant,” Mr Sabelko explained.

Beata Socha

18

www.wbj.pl

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Awards

Post´pu 14 will offer over 34,000 sqm of leasable space

Office

HB Reavis launches construction on Post´pu 14 It will be the developer’s third office scheme in Warsaw, with two more in the pipeline Developer HB Reavis has begun construction on an office-administration building in Warsaw called Post´pu 14.

The building, located on ul.

Marynarska near Galeria Mokotów, will offer over 34,000 sqm of leasable space and over 750 parking spaces. The building’s architectural design was put together by Hermanowicz Rewski Architekci. The building is expected to be delivered in Q2 2015.

“The site provides not only excellent access and visibility, but also a wide range of services in close proximity to the building. With their design, Hermanowicz Rewski Architekci have successfully managed to link the prestigious look of the building with the high efficiency of its interior,” said Stanislav Frnka, CEO of the Polish branch of HB Reavis, citing the location and nearby selection of services as the main selling points of the scheme.

The company hopes the building will receive the BREEAM “Excellent” certificate.

The development will be the third office-administration

complex realized in Warsaw by HB Reavis after Konstruktorska Business Center and Gdaƒski Business Center. HB Reavis has also been active in Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic, investing in office, retail and logistics projects with a total leasable space of over 670,000 sqm. It is developing assets worth €1.4 billion Other HB Reavis projects – the redevelopment of the Warsaw West railway station and the construction of an office building nearby, as well as a complex in the center of Warsaw on ul. Chmielna – are still in the preparation stages.

Aleksandra S∏abisz

The 11th edition of the CEEQA event launches on November 21 CEEQA, a main industry awards and flagship annual event for commercial real estate investment in the CEE and Southeastern Europe regions, will launch its 11th edition on November 21 with a call for award entries.

CEEQA recognizes the best privately developed real estate projects including office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, leisure centers and residential schemes across 18 countries in Central and Southeast Europe.

In 2014, CEEQA will introduce its new Rising Star awards for small and medium-sized companies which have achieved significant success during the past five years, as well as an award for Company of the Year decided by CEEQA Gala guests in a digital vote from winners of all nine Company of the Year categories.

The 2014 program will include two CEE Insight Summits focused on the Digital Revolution in Real Estate, in Cannes, concentrating on retail and logistics, as well as in Warsaw, which will look at office

and BPO segments.

The winners of the CEEQA awards will be announced at the CEEQA Gala in Warsaw on April 8, which is attended annually by more over 600 industry professionals from more than 40 countries.

Highlights of the 10th edition of CEEQA included a total of five awards for Swedish developer and contractor Skanska, including the award for Developer of the Year, and three awards for Jones Lang LaSalle, including a special award for Company of the CEEQA Decade.

The CEEQA 2013 gala fea-

tured performances by legendary band Bananarama and Polish star Edyta Górniak accompanied by leading composer Adam Sztaba. The awards ceremony was hosted for the seventh year running by Polish radio and television personality Monika Richardson.

The closing date for award entries is January 23, 2014.

Tickets for the CEEQA Gala and CEE Insight Summits are on sale from November 21.

For more information visit CEEQA.com. Warsaw Business Journal is a media partner of CEEQA.

IMAGINE LIVE EVENTS

COURTESY OF HB REAVIS

CEEQA announces new Rising Star award for 2014

Polish star Edyta Górniak performed at the 10th annual CEEQA event earlier this year, and was accompanied by composer Adam Sztaba

MARKETS

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

15,876.22 (Nov 14 close)

S&P500

3,972.74 (Nov 14 close)

1.81% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,790.62 (Nov 14 close)

2.99% (for the week)

DAX

6,693.44 (Nov 15 close)

2.49% (for the week)

-0.22% (for the week)

WSE rebounds on US movements

NIKKEI 9,168.69 (Nov 15 close)

15,165.92 (Nov 15 close)

1.00% (for the week)

7.66% (for the week)

CHANGE: 18.37% (year to Nov 14)

CHANGE: 27.65% (year to Nov 14)

CHANGE: 22.44% (year to Nov 14)

CHANGE: 11.05% (year to Nov 15)

CHANGE: 17.87% (year to Nov 15)

CHANGE: 41.90% (year to Nov 15)

52-week high: 15,884.99

52-week high: 3,975.89

52-week high: 1,791.53

52-week high: 6,875.60

52-week high: 9,193.98

52-week high: 15,942.60

52-week low: 12,471.49

52-week low: 2,810.80

52-week low: 1,343.35

52-week low: 5,605.60

52-week low: 6,950.53

52-week low: 8,898.33

Omar Arnaout Noble Securities SA After a two-week corrective movement the Warsaw Stock Exchange has rebounded and returned to rises. How long this trend will last depends on movements on the US stock exchange, though from the technical point of view if the WIG20 Futures index breaks the level of 2,586 it will be a strong signal that the rises will continue.

This week’s increase was mainly aided by events in the US, but it was also significant that Poland’s economy was revealed to have grown at a faster pace than expected in the third quarter, aided by an increase in private consumption. The statistics office’s flash estimate put growth at 1.9 percent in Q3, and that indicates that growth in Q4 should come in at higher than 2 percent. Inflation has also decreased to 0.8 percent,

Major indices WIG

53,896.03 (November 15 close)

WIG30

2,687.60 (November 15 close)

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

04.11

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

04.11

31.10

2,500

30.10

50,000

29.10

2,560 28.10

51,000

25.10

2,620

24.10

52,000

23.10

2,680

22.10

2,740

53,000

21.10

54,000

18.10

2,800

17.10

55,000

25.10

52-week low: 2,286.99

24.10

Change year to November 15: 2.41%

23.10

52-week low: 43,159.57

22.10

52-week high: 2,729.38

Change year to November 15: 12.03%

21.10

Change for the week: 1.28%

18.10

52-week high: 54,536.95

17.10

Change for the week: 1.11%

Top 5 INTAKUS WISTIL MIT KBDOM COLIAN

Closing 0.02 31.00 0.68 0.05 3.28

% change (week) 52-week high 100.00 0.02 31.91 31.00 28.30 0.68 25.00 0.19 22.85 3.33

52-week low 0.00 9.02 0.27 0.02 1.92

Top 5 EUROCASH HANDLOWY GTC TPSA PGE

Closing 52.51 122.65 8.28 10.60 18.60

% change (week) 15.41 9.80 8.38 6.32 4.32

52-week high 66.56 130.00 10.25 12.16 19.05

52-week low 38.17 80.89 6.58 5.83 13.35

Bottom 5 REGNON PLAZACNTR PRIMAMODA SKYSTONE NOVAKBM

Closing 0.01 0.35 2.20 0.04 1.03

% change (week) -50.00 -39.66 -22.81 -20.00 -19.53

52-week low 0.01 0.28 1.42 0.03 0.97

Bottom 5 CYFRPLSAT GRUPAAZOTY JSW KGHM ASSECOPOL

Closing 20.40 74.60 63.44 119.50 50.80

% change (week) -8.03 -5.57 -3.67 -3.24 -2.21

52-week high 24.70 88.50 94.15 179.15 52.70

52-week low 14.62 48.35 57.70 106.90 37.76

52-week high 0.05 2.00 4.59 0.26 6.00

2,547.01 (November 15 close)

mWIG40

Z∏oty gains on GDP data

3,443.49 (November 15 close)

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

04.11

31.10

30.10

29.10

SOURCE: WSE

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

04.11

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

04.11

318.0

31.10

14000

30.10

326.4 29.10

14220 28.10

334.8

25.10

14440

24.10

343.2

23.10

14660

22.10

351.6

21.10

14880

18.10

360.0

17.10

15100

24.10

52-week low: 296.29

23.10

52-week high: 352.36

Change year to November 15: 3.19%

22.10

52-week low: 9,660.90

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

342.80 (November 15 close)

Change for the week: -1.87%

21.10

Change year to November 15: 41.28%

NewConnect

18.10

52-week high: 15,023.33

28.10

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

07.11

06.11

05.11

14,878.82 (November 15 close)

Change for the week: 1.07%

17.10

sWIG80

04.11

3,200

31.10

2,300

30.10

3,280 29.10

2,360 28.10

3,360

25.10

2,420

24.10

3,440

23.10

2,480

22.10

3,520

21.10

2,540

18.10

3,600

17.10

2,600

25.10

52-week low: 2,383.61

24.10

Change year to November 15: 34.06%

23.10

52-week low: 2,177.02

22.10

52-week high: 3,572.51

Change year to November 15: -3.02%

21.10

Change for the week: 0.07%

18.10

52-week high: 2,628.36

17.10

Change for the week: 1.51%

mostly due to the lower prices of food and fuel.

In the US, the market mainly concentrated on what Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee for head of the Federal Reserve, said on Wednesday during her hearing with the US Senate. But Ms Yellen’s statements revealed no surprises. Importantly, she stated that only when the labor market stabilizes would the Fed return to the topic of quantitative easing.

As to stocks, the performance of Poland’s number-two utility Tauron gave investors reason for cheer. The firm’s shares beat their high from September 2013, and their technical performance indicated that they will continue to rise. On the other hand shares of Asseco, Pekao and KGHM saw significant decreases last week. ●

Currency report

Other indices WIG20

19

Traders who came back to work after the long weekend might have been surprised looking at the z∏oty charts. It seems London-based traders used the Polish holiday to weaken the z∏oty, which shot up to z∏.4.22 (from z∏.4.18) against the euro.

All this happened despite positive sentiment on global markets and the rising EUR/USD. The main currency pair climbed from weekly lows of $1.335 all the way to $1.35 and it still has upward potential. A stronger dollar is not what the US economy wants to see right now. The American currency will start gaining value whenever the Fed starts tapering its quantitative easing program and I see a small chance for this process to begin in December.

In Poland, the z∏oty

stopped its depreciation last Tuesday and began to regain value. Finally, we received positive news from the local economy. Inflation remained low (0.8 percent in October y/y) but what really offered a positive surprise was the third-quarter flash GDP growth reading – an increase of 1.9 percent y/y. With a lack of negative external factors, the z∏oty appreciated.

The EUR/PLN declined back to around z∏.4.18 while the USD/PLN, which had been trading at z∏.3.15, tumbled all the way to z∏.3.11.

From now until the end of the year I do not expect major movements involving the z∏oty. The local currency’s behavior is very stable in comparison to other emerging market currencies and only an unexpected global event will change this. ●

currency rates 3.1054 08.11

SOURCE: NBP

3.1195

3.1517 06.11

07.11

3.1543 04.11

3.1698

3.1241 31.10

0.0952

0.0953 08.11

3.1

05.11

100JPY/PLN

3.2

07.11

0.0952 06.11

0.0955 05.11

04.11

0.0954 31.10

3.3984

3.3926 08.11

0.095

0.0956

RUB/PLN

0.100

07.11

3.4147 06.11

3.4140 05.11

04.11

3.3806 31.10

4.9875

5.0048 08.11

3.37

3.3979

CHF/PLN

3.45

07.11

4.9912 06.11

4.9921 05.11

04.11

4.9582 31.10

3.1150

3.1172 08.11

4.8

5.0026

GBP/PLN

5.1

07.11

3.1358 06.11

3.1448 05.11

04.11

15.11

14.11

13.11

12.11

08.11

31.10

3.1133

3.0844

4.1890

4.1890

4.2061

4.2066

4.1696

USD/PLN

3.2

3.0

07.11

4.1

4.1799

EUR/PLN

4.3

20

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Construction & Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate Developers - Retail Ranked by retail investments completed in 2012

www.bookoflists.pl

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Retail investments Retail investments completed: GBA completed: GLA (sqm): (sqm): 2012 / 2011 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2010 / 2009 Overall

Rank

A guide to Polish business and industry

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

1

Caelum Development - grupa kapita∏owa ul. Prosta 51, 00-838 Warsaw 22 586-9790/22 586-9799 info@caelumdevelopment.eu www.caelumdevelopment.eu

75,000 8,100 185,455

32,400 5,300

Shopping malls

2

Echo Investment SA Al. SolidarnoÊci 36, 25-323 Kielce 41 333-3333/41 333-2333 biuro@echo.com.pl www.echo.com.pl

69,000 WND WND WND WND

49,400 WND WND WND

Shopping and entertainment centers; office, residential buildings; hotels

3

Neinver Polska Sp z o.o. ul. ˚elazna 28/30, 00-832 Warsaw 22 822-1200/22 822-1222 komunikacja@neinver.com www.neinver.com

6,285 49,920 WND 145,000 WND

1,707 44,000 WND 54,000

Factory outlet centers; Futura retail parks; shopping malls; office buildings

4

Grupa Inwestycyjna Hossa SA ul. W∏adys∏awa IV 43, 81-395 Gdynia 58 620-7033/58 620-7669 info@hossa.gda.pl www.hossa.gda.pl

1,750 WND WND WND WND

1,800 WND WND WND

Gato (Gdaƒsk; 11,000; 10,500; 2015); Nano Residential, commercial buildings (Gdaƒsk; 11,000; 10,500; 2015); Yoko (Gdaƒsk; 5,500; 5,000; 2015)

NR

AIG/Lincoln Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Grzybowska 5A, 00-132 Warsaw 22 564-5000/22 564-5085 office.warsaw@aiglincoln.com.pl www.aiglincoln.com.pl

WND WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Office buildings; shopping malls; warehouses and logistics parks; residential complexes

WND

WND

WND 1997

WND

NR

Apsys Polska SA Al. Jana Paw∏a II 27, 00-867 Warsaw 22 701-9200/22 701-9201 office@apsysgroup.pl www.apsysgroup.pl

WND WND WND WND 339,000

WND WND WND WND

Shopping malls

CH ¸acina (Poznaƒ; 250,000; 99,000; 2015)

Manufaktura (¸ódê; 159,000; 126,000; 2006); CH Platan (Zabrze; 30,000; 25,000; 2003); Centrum Janki (Janki; 82,000; 73,000; 2001)

170 1997

None Apsys Group - 100%

NR

Capital Park SA ul. Marynarska 11, 02-674 Warsaw 22 318-8888/22 318-8889 biuro@capitalpark.pl www.capitalpark.pl

WND 3,814 WND WND WND

WND 3,663 WND WND

Retail buildings

Vis a Vis ¸ódê (¸ódê; 6,130; 5,705; 2013)

Vis a Vis Radom (Radom; 3,814; 3,663; 2011)

48 2003

WND

Jan Motz

NR

Centrum Development & Investment Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Bonifraterska 17, 00-203 Warsaw 22 351-0100/22 351-0101 sekretariat@centrumdi.com www.centrumdi.com

WND WND WND 100,000 WND

WND WND WND 41,000

WND

WND

DH Renoma (Wroc∏aw; 99,000; 45,000; 2009)

WND 2002

WND

Joanna Richter

NR

ECC Real Estate Sp. z o.o. ul. Ostrobramska 75C, 04-175 Warsaw 22 611-3700/22 611-3753 info.europe.ce@eccrealestate.com www.eccrealestate.com

WND WND WND WND 108,600

WND WND WND WND

WND

WND 1989

ECC Holdings Poland WND

Adrian Heymans

NR

ECE Projektmanagement Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Fabryczna 5A, 00-446 Warsaw 22 310-6000/22 310-6002 info@ece.de www.ece.pl

WND 110,000 WND WND 575,000

WND 43,000 WND WND

Galeria Kaskada (Szczecin; 110,000; 43,000; 2011); Galeria Ba∏tycka (Gdaƒsk; 110,000; 39,500; 2007); Galeria Krakowska (Kraków; 130,000; 60,000; 2006); Galeria ¸ódzka (¸ódê; 110,000; 45,000; 2002); Alfa Centrum (Gdaƒsk; 55,000; 20,000; 2002); Galeria Dominikaƒska (Wroc∏aw; 60,000; 32,000; 2001)

165 1997

None ECE Projektmanagement - 100%

Rudiger Dany

Specialization

Key current investments: name (location; GBA - sqm; GLA - sqm; planned completion year)

Largest investments completed: name (location; GBA - sqm; GLA - sqm; year completed)

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

ParkLake Plaza (Bucharest, Romania; WND; 67,000; 2014)

Nova Park (Gorzów Wielkopolski; 75,000; 32,400; 2012); Galeria Wis∏a (P∏ock; 55,600; 22,600; 2008); Galeria Askana (Gorzów Wielkopolski; 55,000; 18,000; 2007); Galeria M∏yƒska (Racibórz; 4,200; 2,800; 2008); Galeria Kosmos (Koszalin; 8,100; 5,300; 2009)

WND 2002

None David Sharkey; Derek Sharkey

Niall O’Higgins

350 1994

Micha∏ So∏owow - 44.4% None

Piotr Gromniak

Galeria Katowicka (Katowice; 141,606; 48,695; 2013); Factory Warszawa Annopol (Warsaw; 24,416; 19,549; 2013); Futura Park Kraków (Kraków; 49,920; 44,000; 2011); Galeria Malta (Poznaƒ; WND; 54,000; 2009)

82 2000

None Neinver - 100%

Agata Brzeziƒska

Omega (Gdaƒsk; 5,000; 4,500; 2012); Gamma (Gdaƒsk; 5,000; 4,500; 2012); Centrum Biurowe Hossa (Gdynia; 9,300; 6,900; 2001); Centrum Biurowe Heweliusza (Gdaƒsk; 2,600; 2,600; 2003); Centrum Biurowe Glina (Gdaƒsk; 2,400; 1,650; 2003); Centrum Biurowe Grunwaldzka 184-190 (Gdaƒsk; 9,000; 8,500; 2008)

126 1991

WND None

Mariusz Gawron

Galeria Veneda (¸om˝a; 40,000; 15,200; 2013); Outlet Park Szczecin 1st phase (Szczecin; 21,000; 16,500; 2012); Galeria Amber (Kalisz; 88,000; 33,500; 2013), Galeria Olimpia (Be∏chatów; 48,000; 32,900; 2012); Galeria Sudecka (Jelenia Góra; 53,000; 30,000; Galeria Echo (Kielce; 159,000; 70,000; 2011); Pasa˝ 2014) Grunwaldzki (Wroc∏aw; 120,000; 50,000; 2007); Galaxy (Szczecin; 94,000; 42,000; 2003); Centrum Rozrywki (¸ódê; 12,000; 7,400; 2001)

WND

Milano (Warsaw; 2,500; 1,530; WND); Resort Mall (Chiang Mai, Thailand; Retail, residential, office buildings Promenada 90,000; WND; WND); “Podkowa” housing development (Warsaw; 33,000; WND; WND)

Shopping malls and multipurpose objects

Galeria w Bydgoszczy (Bydgoszcz; 110,000; 50,000; 2015)

Managing Director

President

Country Manager

President

Brian Patterson Managing Director

Fabrice Bansay General Director

President

President

President

Managing Director

THE LIST

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

21

Rank

Retail investments Retail investments completed: GBA completed: GLA (sqm): (sqm): 2012 / 2011 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2010 / 2009 Overall

www.wbj.pl

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

NR

Globe Trade Centre SA ul. Wo∏oska 5, 02-675 Warsaw 22 606-0700/22 606-0410 gtc@gtc.com.pl www.gtc.com.pl

WND WND WND 130,000 WND

WND WND WND 51,000

Office, residential buildings; shopping malls

Galeria Wilanów (Warsaw; WND; 76,500; 2015); Galeria Bia∏o∏´ka (Warsaw; WND; 60,000; 2015)

Galeria Mokotów (Warsaw; 150,000; 62,500; 2000); Galeria Kazimierz (Kraków; 112,500; 38,200; 2005); Galeria Jurajska (Cz´stochowa; 130,000; 49,000; 2009)

WND 1994

ING OFE - 12.3%; Aviva OFE 6.9%; OFE PZU - 6.7% GTC Real Estate Holding - 27.8%

Piotr Kroenke

NR

Helical Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. Wspólna 35/9, 00-519 Warsaw 22 556-5400/22 556-5401 mc@helicalpoland.pl www.helicalpoland.pl

WND 40,000 WND WND 50,000

WND 38,000 WND 10,000

Retail parks

WND

CH Europa Centralna (Gliwice; 80,000; 67,000; 2013); Turawa Park (Zawada; 40,000; 38,000; 2011)

WND 2004

None Helical Investment Holdings 100%

Jonathan Tinker; Peter Evans

NR

Inter IKEA Centre Polska SA Pl. Szwedzki 3, Janki, 05-090 Raszyn 22 711-2300/22 711-2266 inter@ikea.com www.iicg.pl

WND WND 120,000 WND WND

WND WND 103,000 WND

Shopping malls

Park Handlowy Franowo (Poznaƒ; 13,700; 14,000; 2013); Centrum Handlowe w Lublinie (Lublin; 107,000; Port ¸ódê (¸ódê; 120,000; 103,000; 2010); Park Handlowy 80,000; 2014); Park Handlowy Bielany Targówek (Warsaw; WND; 90,000; 2006); Park Handlowy (Wroc∏aw; WND; 35,500; 2014) Matarnia (Gdaƒsk; WND; 78,000; 2005)

WND 2001

WND

Mikael Andersson

NR

Liebrecht & Wood Poland Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jerozolimskie 212, 02-486 Warsaw 22 571-4444/22 571-4443 info@liebrecht-wood.com www.liebrecht-wood.com

WND WND 79,177 120,490 336,401

WND WND 16,361 16,906

Office buildings; outlet centers

Plac Unii (Warsaw; 15,500; 15,181; 2013); Fashion House Gdaƒsk (Gdaƒsk; 79,177; 16,361; 2010); Fashion House Sosnowiec (Sosnowiec; 120,490; 16,906; 2009); Fashion House Warszawa (Warsaw; 136,734; 17,292; 2008)

50 1994

None Marc Lebbe - 50%; Patrick Van Den Bossche - 50%

Mayland Real Estate Sp. z o.o. ul. Pu∏awska 427, 02-801 Warsaw 22 546-9800/22 546-9898 contact@mayland.pl www.mayland.pl

WND WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Shopping malls

CH Riviera (Gdynia; WND; 70,000; 2013); Jantar (S∏upsk; WND; 46,000; 2012); CH Karolinka (Opole; WND; 70,000; 2008); CH Jantar (S∏upsk; WND; 22,000; 2008); CH Pogoria (Dàbrowa Górnicza; WND; 38,000; 2008)

WND 2006

WND

NR

NAP Invest Group ul. Nowogrodzka 21, 00-511 Warsaw 22 262-2000/22 262-2001 info@napinvest.com.pl www.napinvest.com.pl

WND 6,450 WND 17,000 WND

WND 6,000 WND 13,000

Shopping malls; retail parks; residential buildings

Centrum Zakupów Czerwionka-Leszczyny (Czerwionka-Leszczyny; 3,000; 2,800; 2014); Osiedle Nowy Poczàtek (Lublin; 10,400; -; 2013); Osiedle Nowy Przylàdek (Lublin; 4,700; ; 2013)

Centrum Zakupów Zàbki (Zàbki; 3,100; 2,900; 2011); Centrum Zakupów Zgierz (Zgierz; 3,700; 3,500; 2011); Galeria Rembieliƒska (Warsaw; 17,000; 13,000; 2008)

25 2007

None WND

NR

NORDIC DEVELOPMENT SA ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw 22 540-7160/22 540-7161 info@nordicdevelopment.pl www.nordicdevelopment.pl

WND WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Retail, residential buildings

Wyspa M∏yƒska (Bydgoszcz; 29,000; WND; WND); Nordic Haven (Bydgoszcz; 26,000; 7,500; 2015)

Lake Residence (Bydgoszcz; 7,500; WND; 2013); Nordic Residence (Bydgoszcz; WND; WND; 2013); Nordic 10 (Bydgoszcz; WND; WND; 2012); Nordic Tower (Bydgoszcz; WND; WND; 2009)

20 2007

WND

Jon Therkildsen

NR

Plaza Centers Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. TaÊmowa 7, 02-677 Warsaw 22 231-9900/22 231-9901 headoffice@plazacenters.pl www.plazacenters.pl

WND 100,000 95,000 WND WND

WND 40,000 37,000 WND

Shopping and entertainment centers

¸ódê Plaza (¸ódê; 57,500; 35,000; WND)

Toruƒ Plaza (Toruƒ; 100,000; 40,000; 2011); Suwa∏ki Plaza (Suwa∏ki; 55,000; 20,000; 2010); Zgorzelec Plaza (Zgorzelec; 40,000; 17,000; 2010)

20 1998

None WND

Eli Mazor

NR

Polimeni International ul. W∏adys∏awa IV 43, 81-395 Gdynia 58 669-6000/58 669-6001 sekretariat@polimeni.pl www.polimeni.pl

WND WND 16,843 40,801 WND

WND WND WND WND

Commercial buildings

WND

Galeria Jastrz´bie (Jastrz´bie Zdrój; 11,289; WND; 2010); Galeria Rumia (Rumia; 37,900; WND; 2009); Galeria S∏upsk (S∏upsk; 29,622; WND; 2008); Galeria Ostrowiec (Ostrowiec Âwi´tokrzyski; WND; WND; 2005)

WND 1999

Karol Kalicki Vincent Polimeni

Karol Kalicki

NR

S+B Plan und Bau Warschau Sp. z o.o. ul. Mokotowska 1, 00-640 Warsaw 609-307-099/22 375-3010 izabella.kieler@sb-gruppe.at www.sb-gruppe.at

WND WND 768 WND WND

WND WND 721 WND

Office, retail, residential buildings; hotels

Wspólna Project (Warsaw; WND; WND; WND); Królewska Project (Warsaw; WND; WND; WND)

Zebra Tower (Warsaw; 17,800; 16,160; 2010)

WND 2007

WND

Edmund Volker

NR

TK Polska Operations SA ul. Mszczonowska 2, 02-337 Warsaw 22 572-2910/22 572-2911 tkd-warsaw@tk.dk www.tk-development.com

WND 6,545 WND 76,500 486,540

WND 5,600 WND 33,750

Retail and entertainment buildings

Nowy Rynek (Jelenia Góra; 56,000; 24,000; 2015)

TIVOLI Commercial (Warsaw; 6,545; 5,600; 2011); Galeria Tarnovia (Tarnów; 36,500; 16,550; 2009); Galeria Sandecja (Nowy Sàcz; 40,000; 17,200; 2009)

25 1994

WND

Zygmunt Chyla

NR

Specialization

Key current investments: name (location; GBA - sqm; GLA - sqm; planned completion year)

Largest investments completed: name (location; GBA - sqm; GLA - sqm; year completed)

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

Notes: GBA = Gross Building Area, GLA = Gross Leasing Area, NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in February 2013. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of February 2013. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

WND

WND

General Director

Managing Director

Patrick Van Den Bossche; Marc Lebbe Managing Directors

Maciej Kie∏bicki; Olivier Gerard-Coester; Elio Szmawonian Board Members

Bogdan ˚o∏nierzak President

President

President

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

22

SPORTS

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Basketball

Auto racing

Boxed out?

Fast and adolescent

SHUTTERSTOCK

For years Polish basketball has been dominated by Asseco Gdynia. The team won nine straight championship titles between 2004-2012, but last year their reign ended when Stelmet Zielona Góra clinched the title.

With success comes responsibility though and the new Polish champions must now represent the country in the most prestigious European club competition: Euroleague.

The club from western Poland has some big shoes to fill – Asseco Gdynia did Poland proud in 2010, advancing to the Euroleague quarterfinals.

Despite losing four of its five group games, Stelmet still has a chance to advance to the top 16. With four out of six teams in every group advancing further, the Polish champions need only a handful of wins to nab a qualifying spot.

The team came oh-so-close to one such win in its most recent game, losing in the last

SHUTTERSTOCK

Stelmet Zielona Góra has won just one game so far in its Euroleague debut season

Stelmet Zielona Góra lost to Greek powerhouse Olympiacos 79-77 on a last-second shot moments to Greek powerhouse Olympiacos 79-77.

Besides the Greek team, Stelmet has lost to Germany’s Bayern Munich, Turkey’s Galatasaray, and Spain’s Unicaja Malaga. The Poles have beat Italy’s Montepaschi Siena, and with a little bit of luck in the remaining five games they could turn their Euroleague campaign around.

Still, not many expect Stelmet to repeat Asseco’s biggest

European success, at least not during their first season in the Euroleague. But the question remains as to whether they will be able to improve their European reputation in the upcoming years. Now that Gdynia’s dominance has ended, there are many other contenders for the Polish title, and next year it could be a different club that gains the opportunity to write its own European history.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Will Mr Mirecki have another chance to drive an F1 car?

A young Polish driver was invited by the Ferrari F1 team to participate in an extensive training session Bart∏omiej Mirecki, a 17-yearold Polish driver, took part in an three-day training session held by the Ferrari Formula One team, where he had a chance to drive an actual F1 car on a proper race track.

Mr Mirecki was among three young and promising drivers invited by the car maker to spend time at the Ferrari Driver Academy. The young drivers were able to see how the professional team operates, talk with engineers and finally drive on a real race

circuit.

Mr Mirecki was invited to the training session after winning the Polish Kia Lotos Race series twice. He has also raced extensively in various carting championships.

“I had a unique opportunity to see in detail how a professional F1 team operates and to feel like one of the team members,” he said after his visit to the academy.

Despite not having much experience in driving a singleseat, open cockpit, open-wheel race car, Mr Mirecki managed to achieve results similar to his more experienced colleagues.

Not bad for someone too young to have a driver’s license in Poland.

According to his team, Mr

Mirecki impressed Ferrari executives, showing that despite his inexperience he is a fast learner who corrects his mistakes quickly.

“Luca Baldisserri [currently the chief track engineer for the Ferrari Formula One team] said that it’s not my last visit to the Ferrari Academy,” said the excited Polish driver.

Mr Mirecki’s road to actual Formula One racing is still long and arduous, and could end before it even begins – competition for the limited number of F1 driver positions is fierce. But Mr Mirecki is closer than any other Polish driver to following in the tread marks of Poland’s only F1 driver to date, Robert Kubica.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

Welcome the New Year at Hyatt Regency Warsaw!

Enjoy a great New Year’s Eve celebration at Hyatt Regency Warsaw! With a fine choice of our New Year’s Eve parties, everybody can have their perfect celebration.

New Year’s Eve in a Latin style!

Experience a Cuban Night at the Regency Ballroom! Enjoy a great Latin-American atmosphere with hot live music and a sumptuous Latin-American buffet menu prepared for this occasion by our master chef. The price of PLN 279 per person includes soft drinks and classic alcoholic cocktails.

Exclusive New Year’s Eve with spectacular skyline fireworks!

The prestigious Regency Club features a beautiful skyline view of the city of Warsaw. Experience spectacular fireworks in Warsaw during New Year’s Eve night. The price of PLN 329 per person includes an exquisite spick-and-span buffet menu with a selection of fine drinks and a midnight toast.

Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2 www.csw.art.pl Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4 www.czarnagaleria.art.pl Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11a www.owzpap.pl Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com Galeria Appendix 2 ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 www.appendix2.com Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18a www.asymetria.eu

Elegant Gala Dinner at Venti-tre restaurant Our master chef invites you to join the New Year’s Eve gala dinner at Venti-tre with an exquisite five-course menu. The price of PLN 299 per person also includes a selection of local drinks.

Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.galeriafoksal.pl

The Best Music Party in Warsaw at Q Club!

Enjoy the best music party in Warsaw with great DJ music from the 80’s and the 90’s at Q Club. The evening starts at 11:00 pm with a special price of PLN 99 per person including local drinks.

Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl

For further information or reservations, please contact Ewelina Pieńkowska on +48 22 558 1021 or ewelina.pienkowska@hyatt.com.

Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl

Hyatt Regency Warsaw Belwederska 23, 00-761 Warsaw Tel. 48 22 558 12 34, Fax. 48 22 558 12 35 www.warsaw.regency.hyatt.com

Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4 www.greengallery.pl

Simonis Gallery ul. Burakowska 9 www.simonisgallery.com

Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Gallery ul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul.

Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 42/44 and Old Town Square 19/21 www.napiorkowska.pl

State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw ul. D∏uga 52 www.pma.pl

Królikarnia National Gallery ul. Pu∏awska 113a www.krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl Le Guern Gallery ul. Widok 8, www.leguern.pl Museum of Independence Aleja SolidarnoÊci 62 www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl National Museum in Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3 www.mnw.art.pl Polish National Opera at Teatr Wielki Pl. Teatralny 1 www.teatrwielki.pl Pracownia Galeria ul. Emilii Plater 14 www.pracowniagaleria.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

Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36 www.galeriaxx1.pl

Rempex Art and Auction House ul. Karowa 31 www.rempex.com.pl

Wilanów Palace Museum and Wilanów Poster Museum ul. St Kostki Potockiego 10/16 www.wilanow-palac.pl www.postermuseum.pl

Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8 www.zoya.art.pl

Royal Castle Pl. Zamkowy 4 www.zamek-krolewski.com.pl

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

LIFESTYLE

NOVEMBER 18-24, 2013

Art exhibition

www.wbj.pl

23

Concert

A Baroque triumph in Warsaw A prog rock space odyssey their luminosity and lively style.

Besides his paintings, a number of drawings, sketches and preparatory studies are on display in Warsaw as well.

The Warsaw retrospective is one of the biggest showcased outside Italy, as his works rarely leave the painter’s native country. The Polish and Italian presidents have assumed honorary patronage of the exhibition.

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Guercino, is one of the most famous painters of the Italian Baroque era. For the first time, a Polish audience is able to witness the majority of his works in one exhibition. “The Triumph of Baroque” showcases Guercino’s paint“The Arcadian Shepherds,” Guercino ings from collections in both Italy and Poland.

The National Museum has rented the 17th-century painter’s masterpieces from the famous Roman Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini gallery, as well as from churches and palaces from Guercino’s hometown of Cento. Among the displayed paintings is arguably his most famous piece, “Et in Arcadia ego” (also known as “The Arcadian

Coheed and Cambria

COURTESY OF COHEED AND CAMBRIA

Shepherds”), which is a special treat as the artist’s magnum opus rarely leaves the Roman gallery which houses its permanent display.

Guercino’s style changed over the years. His earlier works have a very stark naturalist style, often compared to that of Caravaggio. Later on his works were painted with more lightness and clearness, resembling those of Guido Remi. His many drawings are noted for

Jacek Ciesnowski

Coheed and Cambria November 23 Proxima Warsaw

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Guercino. The Triumph of Baroque Until February 2 National Museum Al. Jerozolimskie 3 Warsaw

It is a difficult task to describe Coheed and Cambria. The progressive rock (or metal) band only writes concept albums based in a fictitious universe created by the group’s leader Claudio Sanchez. Mr Sanchez has written a series of comic books and novels that tell the story of a married couple, Coheed and Cambria, in a strange universe known as Keywork, with the story weaving itself between records and books. Some albums retell the story from the novels, with some sounding out a new aural

chapter in the Armory Wars saga (a common name for Mr Sanchez’s works).

It’s certainly not easy to catch up with Mr Sanchez and his group’s work, as the band has released seven albums so far (plus five live records and numerous EPs) in its short 12year history.

But for many who are not interested in the long and complicated sci-fi saga, there is still some great music to enjoy.

Influenced by such classic lineups as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Misfits and Queen, Coheed and Cambria have brought fresh ideas to the classic, yet stagnant, genre of progressive rock. With its roots in

punk and metal, these talented musicians are pushing the boundaries of progressive rock increasingly further with critical and commercial success.

Their last five albums have debuted in the Top 10 Billboard chart. Some critics have called the band the new Rush, although Mr Sanchez claims he started to listen to the Canadian progressive rockers after he released his first albums.

The band is currently promoting its latest album “The Afterman: Descension,” released back in February 2013.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Tickets start at z∏.100

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