| POLISH INFOMATION AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT AGENCY | |||||||||||||
NEWSLETTER February 12th 2009, Number 109 | |||||||||||||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS
INVESTMENTS IN POLAND
ANALYSES AND REPORTS
FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, This week the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency presented results of its performance in 2008 and the Agency’s plans for the current year. The conference provided an opportunity to present a report by the Gdańsk Institute of Market Economics concerning clients’ satisfaction with services provided by PAIiIZ. In the Newsletter we provide information about the preliminary 2008 FDI inflow projections by the National Bank of Poland. In the Investment section you may read about the opening of a Uniliver R&D centre and a recently opened Cadbury factory producing chewing gum. Pleasant reading! PAIiIZ’s editorial team NEWS Conference "PAIiIZ’s performance in 2008 and the Agency’s plans for 2009" In 2008 PAIiIZ acquired 56 new foreign investments and thus closed the year with a result similar to the one achieved in 2007. In 2009 Poland should take advantage of efficiency-oriented businesses and investors interested in lowering investment costs.
In 2008 the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency realised 56 investment projects from 17 countries. The projects were jointly worth 1.5 billion EUR. The greatest number of projects was realised in the BPO sector (21) and the automotive industry (14). By comparison in 2007 PAIiIZ closed 57 projects of a joint value of 1.3 billion EUR. PAIiIZ’s statistics show no sign of slump in investors’ interest in greenfield investment. Among the major projects managed in 2008 there are investments realized by the following companies: Lafarge from France (construction sector, 115 million EUR, 625 jobs), Credit Suisse from Switzerland (BPO sector, 8.3 million EUR, 500 jobs), Cadbury from the UK (food sector, 256.7 million EUR, 750 jobs), Jabil from the USA (electronic sector, 20 million EUR, 600 jobs), City from the UK (BPO sector, 7.5 million EUR, 500 jobs) SWS Group from Ireland (BPO sector, 1 million EUR, 370 jobs) Lenovo Technology B.V. from China (electronic sector, 4 million EUR, 1276 jobs). Undoubtedly the USA continues on the leading position among investors in the country (12 projects) with Germany on the 2nd (6 projects) and Japan coming 3rd with 5 projects realised. Data collected by the Agency allows to conclude that PAIiIZ specialised in attracting projects from the BPO sector - last year as many as 21 investments from the industry were completed. The automotive sector constitutes the second major category of investments attracted to the country. Dynamic economic situation makes it difficult to produce viable economic forecasts of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to Poland in 2009. Factors shaping the level of forecast reliability include: the National Bank’s of Poland (NBP) FDI inflow projections, the volume of investment declarations resulting from projects managed by the Agency and the macroeconomic situation, currently in a rather unstable shape. Against this backdrop the estimated FDI inflow in 2009 may be expected to hover at the level of 7 to10 billion EUR. - In the current downturn Poland stands a good chance to attract efficiency-oriented businesses. - said Paweł Wojciechowski, PAIiIZ President at the conference devoted to the Agency’s performance in 2008. The weakening złoty makes investment costs in Poland fall and thus attract investors from sectors like the BPO or food industry who opt for transferring enterprises to Poland. The country is still attractive for investors on a cost-cutting drive cinsidering lower production costs vital to go through the crisis. (PAIiIZ) Preliminary 2008 FDI inflow projections According to preliminary estimates of the National Bank of Poland FDI inflow to Poland in 2008 amounted to 12 232 million EUR, against 16 649 million EUR in 2007. Detailed data for 2008 will be available this autumn.
Judging by the preliminary data, the FDI inflow to Poland is estimated to have dipped by round ¼ against the results achieved in 2007. It is worth emphasising, however, that the data is only based on preliminary calculations and the actual decrease may be on a smaller scale. In the case of the volume of FDI presented by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) attention should be paid to differences in FDI inflow results presentation. Preliminary estimates published at the beginning of the year differ from results published in the 3rdQ of a given year. For instance, results dated in 2008 and concerning preliminary FDI inflow for 2007 accounted for 12.8 billion EUR while the final forecasts amounted to 16.6 billion EUR. The difference neared 30%. The latest data provided by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) proves more optimistic than the January UNCTAD projections for Poland. According to NBP, FDI inflow to the country amounts to 16.6 billion USD and is higher than the 16.2 billion USD forecast expected by UNCTAD.
Comparison of the estimates with preliminary results for 2007 proves that despite the economic downturn the value of investment inflow dropped by only less than 10%. All in all, much better a result than many experts worldwide expected. According to UNCTAD, global foreign investment flows dropped by 20%. (NBP/PAIiIZ) Conference: "The automotive industry in Poland in 2009" On February 17th the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency organises a conference “The automotive industry in Poland in 2009 - current condition of Polish automotive companies and future projections.” The conference enjoys the patronage of the Economy Minister.
The aim of the event is to exchange experiences and information on the current condition of the automotive sector in the context of the ever worsening economic situation. Guests invited to take part in the meeting hope to develop a schedule of activities that could effectively contribute to and improve the competitiveness of producers operating in the sector and consequently also improve the situation in the Polish economy. The conference will be attended by, among others, Mr Waldemar Pawlak, deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, Ms Grażyna Henclewska, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, Paweł Wojciechowski PhD, PAIiIZ President as well as representatives of companies and institutions from the automotive sectors. (PAIiIZ) INVESTMENTS IN POLAND Honda to invest in a new logistic centre in Pniewy Honda Europe NV signed a contract to acquire a lot where the company plans to build a logistic centre and a warehouse for spare parts for the concern's Japan cars.
The 20 000 m² centre is expected to effectively streamline spare parts delivery in Poland, the Baltic states and also in the western part of Germany. Expected investment outlays are bound to reach 10.7 million EUR. The centre which is to generate 38 new jobs will recruit employees mainly from Pniewo. Official opening is planned for April 2010 The town of Pniewy has been chosen after a careful consideration of numerous locations in the western part of the country. - Conducted analyses made us arrive at the conclusion that the town of Pniewy results to be the best investment destination for the project. Pniewy managed to outstrip other locations not only thanks to a good connection to the A2 highway and a dynamic infrastructural development of the location’s neighbourhood but also due to an excellent co-operation with the local authorities. - commented Toru Tsuchiya, President of the Honda Europe NV. Pniewy is located 50 km west of Poznań, close to major East-West transport routes connecting Moscow and Berlin via Warsaw and not far from communication corridors connecting Szczecin and Świnoujście with the southern part of the country. It is the excellent location of the town, the well-developed technical infrastructure and attractive offer of investment lots that continues attracting investors from, among others, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Holland. (Honda Europe NV) Unilever opens first global product development centre in Central & Eastern Europe Unilever has invested 16 million EUR in the new building and its world-class R&D facilities.
Unilever opened the Centre of Excellence Liquid Foods in Poznań, the first global foods product development centre in the Central & Eastern European region. The R&D Centre is responsible for product, process and packaging development for food products to brands like Knorr, Hellmann’s. - "It's great to see how fast we've been able to build this new R&D team and these new R&D facilities here in Poznań. It takes the best R&D experts to be able to deliver the most natural, home-cooked quality foods on a large scale.” The R&D centre employs 65 R&D professionals from 13 countries. Unilever, already operating one food factory in Poznań, in 2006 invested over 100 million PLN in a new production line for soups destined both for the Polish and foreign markets. That is why the company opted for Poznań as the best location for the centre. Vindi Banga, Unilever CEO for food and cosmetics, admits that even if offered other destinations the company would once again choose Poland to locate the investment. Banga confirms that investment in Poland continues to be attractive and the food market is highly absorbent. Within the last three years Unilever’s investment outlay in Poland reached 300 million PLN. Beside the two Poznań-based facilities, the company constructed also a tea factory and a transport management centre in Katowice. (Unilever/Rzeczpospolita) Cadbury opens its 3rd factory in Poland The Skarbimierz-based Cadbury plant producing chewing gums opened last autumn. The official opening ceremony took place on February 10th.
- The newest Cadbury plant constructed in Poland is the concern’s most modern plant in the region and will provide European markets with chewing gums. The enterprise generated 300 new workplaces and contributed to making Poland, currently hosting three Cadbury plants and more facilities under construction, the concern’s major distribution centre in Europe.- said Judith Pickering, President of the Chewing Gum Factory, Cadbury Polska. The plant located in Skarbimierz is the latest completed project by Cadbury and at the same time the company’s most modern facility in the region. It manufactures products known and sold all over Europe, including brands like Trident, Stimorol, V6 i Hollywood.
It was the good location of Poland and the town of Skarbimierz itself, in the very centre of Europe as well as access to highly-qualified employees and well-developed transport infrastructure that helped the location outstrip other possible investment destinations. The construction process took round 1.5 year as the project began to be realised in 2006 and regular production stared in autumn last year. The first Cadbury investment in Poland dates back to 1993. The first plant producing chocolate was constructed in Bielany Wrocławskie (Kobierzyce). In 1999 the company acquired a historic Polish brand Wedel, together with a Warsaw-based Wedel factory, which has been modernised since 2007. To date, Cadbury invested in new lines for the production of one of the brand’s flagship products Ptasie Mleczko as well as in new laboratories and office space. Two first Cadbury companies have been hiring over 1600 people. In the upcoming months further 200 workplaces are to be created in all of the company’s facilities. February 2008 saw announcement of another Cadbury investment in Poland. The project which is to be realised near Wrocław, estimated to cost 250 million EUR, received support from the Polish Government. The planned actions include expansion of the factory in Bielany Wrocławskie (to be completed by the 4thQ of the year) as well as a the construction of a new chocolate factory in Skarbimierz, which is to be opened in 2010 and will be located next to the facility producing chewing gums. Last year the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency rewarded Cadbury with the title of the biggest foreign investor of the year in Poland. (Cadbury) MACROECONOMIC POLAND
Source: www.nbp.pl ANALYSES AND REPORTS IBnGR report on clients’ satisfaction with services provided by PAIiIZ 88% of the surveyed investors would recommend other entrepreneurs to turn for assistance to PAIiIZ - results from a report by the Gdańsk Institute of Market Economics carried out at the request of PAIiIZ. Last year such a recommendation was declared by 72% of the surveyed.
The report was prepared in December 2008 and derived data from a survey concerning clients’ satisfaction with services provided by PAIiIZ. According to the report 88% of the surveyed (72% in 2007) would recommend other investors to take advantage of services provided by the Agency. The polled assessed three aspects of the Agency’s activities i.e. impressions from the first contact with the Agency, PAIiIZ as a business partner and the quality of co-operation with PAIiIZ project managers. The surveyed were also asked to express their suggestions that could prove useful for the Agency in the future. It is the first impression PAIiIZ makes on investors that results to be one of the most highly rated categories with 4.5 points out of 5 possible (4.3 points in 2007). Among the strongest PAIiIZ qualities appreciated by the investors there is the high quality of provided reports and information, professional skills of the Agency’s project managers and contact persons at the Agency as well as effective communication channels with the PAIiIZ and the Agency’s website www.paiz.gov.pl (being one of the major information sources for the investors about the Agency) both in the aspect of content and structure. Moreover, the surveyed emphasised the need to increase the Agency’s scope of authority in the administrative aspects concerning investment project management (vital decisions are taken by the central or local governments), the need to make the services provided resemble more those rendered by other consulting companies and expansion of investment lots offer. The poll was conducted on a group of 34 investors surveyed by phone. Five selected investors took part in a more detailed interview. (IBnGR) 
Editorial office: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, 00-585 Warsaw, Bagatela Street 12 Economic Promotion Department, tel: (+48 22) 334 99 49, fax: (+48 22) 334 99 99, e-mail: redakcja@paiz.gov.pl | |||||||||||||
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