Q- According to the annual report of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Poland has very promising results when it comes to foreign investments. This is something to be proud of. What are the factors that helped Poland reach these results?
Rafał Baniak- If we are speaking about investments in last year, it is about 11 billion US dollars. In comparison with economies which are competing with ours- Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania- it is a significant achievement. Poland did encounter 20% fall of investment in comparison with the year 2008 but it is not surprising taking into account general recession trend in the world economy and the fact that some countries encountered a fall of foreign direct investments of 50%-60%.
There are few factors responsible for the promising investment level in Poland. First of all, political and economic stability. Second of all, regardless the economic crisis, constant growth of GDP. Poland is after all, a leader in terms of economic growth rate, in the region. In the first half of this year the GDP growth will be at least 3.1%. We are predicting that the GDP for the whole 2010 will reach 3.5%, which will position Poland among top 3 EU states. Thirdly, human capital- one in 10 of European students is Polish. This creates great potential for our country. Additionally, 80% of young people speak at least one foreign language. There are more and more possibilities of cooperation between universities and business. On top of that, one has to notice very close cooperation between local government, Members of Parliament and national government. An investor in Poland receives support from them, local government and Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency. German Trade Chamber recently reported that 90% of German investors who are already present on the Polish market is planning to continue investing in our country. All this makes me very optimistic and we can already predict about 10 billion Euro FDI allocated in Poland in 2010.
Q- You quoted numbers which proof good shape of Polish economy. Where does it come from considering that the whole world is struggling with the economic crisis?
Rafał Baniak- Poland is in a very special period of development. I am far from hyperbolizing but it has to be noticed that Poland is currently implementing its biggest modernisation plan. We are talking here about sum of around 100 billion Euro between years 2007-2013. This money benefits not only Poles but directly firms that are investing in our country and tender for public investments. Poland as a country has a significant packet of incentives for investors. For example, special economic zones which offer exemption from corporate tax. Another point is a governmental support- investments are covered by a long-term guardianship plan. And finally EU funds assigned for significant investment projects, especially 4.4 and 4.5 within the framework of Innovative Economy, which covers also promotion of investments. IBM is an example of investor which took advantage of these funds while establishing a service centre in Wrocław. The centre will employ 2000 people. Another example is IKEA manufacture which started functioning this July.
Q- You said that Polish economy does pretty well job in comparison with Slovakia, Czech Republic and Romania. What comparative advantages does Poland have over these countries, which are after all our main competitors when it comes to attracting investors?
Rafał Baniak- Unquestionable advantage is that we are a leader in economic growth among these countries. Apart from this, is what I already mentioned: concrete support from national and local government, highly qualified working force and most of all political stability.
Q- One of the “attractions” that Poland offers to investors are special economic zones. What do they provide?
Rafał Baniak- The main opportunity that an economic zone creates is an exemption from corporate tax. Economic zone, together with local government and Information and Polish Investment Agency offers special attention to investors, especially guiding them through bureaucratic process of starting an investment. On top of that, economic zones have infrastructure adjusted to investors. What is very important, is that our care for investors does not finish in the moment they launch their business in our country. We put great effort into “after- investment care”. We keep record of success as well as hardships in which case we offer our help.
Q- Let us turn towards promotion of Poland abroad as a good location for investments. What role do Trade and Investment Promotion Sectors play here?
Rafał Baniak- Trade and Investment Promotion Sectors are special units in Polish embassies dedicated exclusively to businessmen; Polish investors who would like to be present on foreign markets and foreign investors interested in Poland. We are currently present in 42 crucial countries, in some of them, like Russia or China we have more than one Sector. Our objective though is to establish our presence in various destinations.
Q- What strategy and program does Ministry of Economy implement in order to promote investment in Poland abroad?
Rafał Baniak- Most of our economic relations take place within the boarders of the EU. It is possible due to freedom of movement of people and services. And as a result the role of the Ministry is limited here. When it comes to programs, at the moment the biggest one is EU- funded program Economic Promotion of Poland. It is very broad and complex undertaking which aims is to anchor Polish investors and products abroad. Through this program we are first of all trying to find partners abroad, for example trade chambers, which help us facilitate cooperation with polish investors abroad. Simultaneously, we are also conducting research on sectors in which Poland might have comparative advantage abroad- we want to focus our attention and funds on them.
Q- Recently, we could observe that Regional Investors Service Centers are growing in strength.
Rafał Baniak- This is a sign of active involvement of local government which provide for them organizational structure. They are supported financially both from state and EU budget. They provide information, expertise and local experts.
By: Aneta Popiel (apopiel@ceoworld.biz) & Milena Golda (mgolda@ceoworld.biz)
Editorial Team, CEOWORLD Magazine
The following Interview is brought to you by CEOWORLD Magazine.
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Contact details: Ministry of Economy
Plac Trzech Krzyży 3/5 00-507 Warszawa Tel. 0048 (22) 693 50 00 mg@mg.gov.pl |
