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Financial Times' Special Report: Investing in Poland
( 11 / November / 2005 )
On 23rd of November 2005 Financial Times published an extensive report concerning investing in Poland. The report presents chosen aspects of the current situation in Poland.
The main aim of the articles was to present the current political and economic situation in Poland, especially in the light of recent parliamentary and presidential elections. It also devoted some pages to describe the situation that awaist new investors in Poland.
ECONOMIC SITUATION
Financial Times emphasizes that the economy in Poland is solid and in good shape. The aim of the new government is not only to maintain it at this level, but continued, higher growth. The inflation and interest rates are low and the fiscal deficit under control. Gross domestic product is likely to rise to 3.5% this year, which by EU standards is good. However, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, the new prime minister aims to reach 5% in the coming year.
The huge and most significant task that stands before new government is to reduce unemployment, which stands at 17.6%. Some other challenges for Polish government are also indicated in the report. These are: problems with the judicial system and shortage of roads and highways. There is a strong motivation for Polish politicians to make efforts and work on the improvement of the situation. According to The World Bank estimations, if Poland takes care of restrictions that interfere entrepreneurs with their activity - which includes fixing the judicial system - GDP growth could increase by 1.2 percentage points a year and unemployment could drop by one - third from its current level.
FDI AND POLISH SPECIALISTS
Attracting new investors is also one of the priorities of the new political power. In order to attract more investments the government wants to lower the taxes, simplify procedures and reduce bureaucracy. Financial Times highlights that skilled and hardworking Poles that working abroad are the best advertising for Poland.
Polish workforce continues to be a very positive factor and remains the country's biggest asset. The cost of labour still remains the lowest in EU and the efficiency of the workers is very high. They are renown for their quality. Also quality of education, which is very high, is a big advantage of Poland. Especially the ability to speak foreign languages other than English (French or German). The educated workforce is very large and makes Poland an attractive place to locate call centers, offshoring and services centres.
AVIATION SECTOR CASE STUDY
Significant part of the report was devoted to the Polish aviation sector. The history and tradition of that industry, located mainly in South-Eastern Poland. Marek Darecki, president of WSK Rzeszów (one of the main companies from the Polish aviation sector) and author of the idea of creation the Aviation Valley in Poland is quoted. It associates 40 companies and the Rzeszow University of Technology (with advanced aviation and pilot training programmes) to form the Polish aviation cluster. They attract a lot of new foreign investors, including main international groups from that sector. The project creates a base of suppliers for world aviation sector. The associated companies are offering advantages of tradition, low costs, state-of-the-art technologies and educational infrastructure. It is a chance for development of the whole region.
AIR TAVEL BOOM
Air travel boom in Poland was analyzed as well. Special attention was given to the very popular low - cost airlines that operate in Poland since a short time: Ryanair, easyJet, WizzAir, SkyEurope and Central Wings. The developing Polish aviation market offers attractive possibilities of the new transport links for businessmen and travelers, but also improves the situation of such cities as Bydgoszcz, that have insufficient road or rail links with the rest of Poland. Better communication conditions are expected to make attracting foreign investors to such cities easier.
BUMA CASE STUDY
The report presents also an interesting profile and history of Buma - Polish succesful construction company based in Krakow. It is a supplier of pre-fabricated units for steel-framed homes. The company is unique in the degree of prefabrication that is achieved and in the speed with which the homes can be erected as well as dismantled and moved. Although the company has already achieved success (e.g. on the British market), Buma's founder has plans of further development and expansion on other international markets.