WBJ Observer 12/01 2015/16

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MIGRANTS

ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI ON POLISH POLITICS 24 THE NEXT GRAPHENE? CAN PEROVSKITES CHANGE PHOTOVOLTAICS? 36 SMALL CITY, BIG IDEAS THANKS TO ONE MAN, NIECIECZA IS ON EVERYONE’S LIPS 40

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

Start-up Kings ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• N ew s • C o m m e n ta r y • R a n k i n g • L i fe st y le • E ve n t s • I T

Be at the heart of business Leasing inquiries | Artur Lis - Asset 足Manager | T: +48 22 540 70 00 | info@wfc.pl | www.wfc.pl

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lll NEWS 4-11 In Review Latest news 12 Dateline 13 Economy

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lll COMMENTARY

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16 Law Data security 17 Real Estate Warsaw office market 18 IT Cloud computing 19 Real Estate Interior design

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lll INTERVIEWS 20-22 Łukasz Wejchert and Maciej Żak 28-29 Tomasz Trzósło

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LOKALE IMMOBILIA

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INTERVIEW WITH ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI

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lll FEATURES 36-39 Perovskite Revolution in photovoltaics?

40-44 Nieciecza Where dreams came true 45-49 IT insights 72-73 Ranking Shopping malls 74 Events International banking summit 75 Events Big data congress

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lll LIFESTYLE 76-77 Gadgets 79 Restaurant review 80 Van Gogh alive

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NEWS

lll INREVIEW News highlights from the past month

Poland plunges into constitutional crisis The

Duda argued that, in his opinion, the choice of all five breached the Constiution, but the constitutional

4

court reminded that the only body competent to decide whether an act is constitutional or not is the Constiutional Tribunal itself.

In November, PiS and Kukiz' 15 annulled the appointment of all five judges who were chosen by the previous parliament in October. PiS argued that two of them had been nominated prematurely to replace judges whose terms were due to end in December.

On December 2, the Sejm, with votes from Law and Justice (PiS), voted in five new Constitutional Tribunal judges presented by

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

PiS. The debate saw vehement protests from the opposition who accused PiS of violating the constitution. “This is not something that we got as a present. We had to fight for this,” said Henryka Krzywonos, a legendary figure of the Solidarity movement, while waving a copy of the Constitution.

The five new judges appointed are Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, Mariusz Muszyński, Julia Przyłębska, and Piotr Pszczółkowski. Four of them were sworn in by the president a few hours after they had been chosen.

Image: Ministry of Justice

Constitutional Tribunal ruled on December 3 that a paragraph of the amendment to the law on the Constitutional Tribunal adopted by the Sejm in June, on the basis of which two out of five judges were elected in October, was not constitutional.

The choice of the remaining three is valid. The tribunal also said that the President, Andrzej Duda, had no right to refuse the swearing-in of the other three judges.

NEWS

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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NEWS

Shorts

POLISH BRAND24 TO WORK FOR US FIRST LADY Polish internet monitoring company Brand24 will cooperate with the office of the US First Lady on a social campaign aimed at promoting education, wirtualnemedia.pl reported.

The initiative is designed to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by continuing their education past high school, whether in a professional training program, at a community college, or a four-year college or university course.

"We will help to follow the effects of the campaign, but we are also discussing alternative ways of carrying out the project, for instance, online participation in conversations with people who take part in it," said Michał Sadowski the co-founder and CEO of Brand24.

6

BGK to cooperate with world's largest bank

S

tate-owned lender BGK has begun strategic cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the biggest bank in the world by total assets and market capitalization. The signing of the deal was attended by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda and the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.

The deal stipulates establishing multidimensional and strategic cooperation between the two entities, including sharing know-

how and experience in the fields of financing large scale investment projects, developing industrial parks and granting guarantees for large companies.

"I am convinced that ICBC's global network and experience will provide many opportunities to work together, whether on projects such as bond issues, managing capital fund investments or sharing knowledge about the Chinese market and investment banking products," said Dariusz Kacprzyk, CEO, BGK.

PKP CEO resigns Jakub Karnowski and Piotr Ciżkowicz have stepped down from their positions at state-controlled PKP. Karnowski was the company's CEO, while Ciżkowicz was a member of the board, Puls Biznesu daily reported.

"We are offering full support in transferring our experience, because there are a lot of challenges ahead for Polish railways. We will fully support the new management of PKP," Karnowski and Ciżkiewicz said in a joint statement.

According to the daily, right-wing politician Bogusław Kowalski is to take charge of the railway company.

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Image: Shutterstock

PRESIDENT DUDA PARDONS KAMIŃSKI President Andrzej Duda has pardoned Mariusz Kamiński the former head of the anti-corruption bureau who was sentenced to three years in prison and a 10 year ban from holding office for abuse of power.

"In the president's view this case had a political character," said presidential adviser Andrzej Dera.

"People who fight corruption ... deserve special protection," he added.

According to critics, Kamiński was circumventing law while in office and was overzealous in his anti-corruption efforts, targeting innocent people.

The decision stirs controversy among legal experts as some of them argue that the president had no right to pardon Kamiński prior to appeal proceedings.

“The president's decision is a symbol of the restoration of integrity to public life,” Kamiński said.

Mariusz Kamiński was sworn in as a minister in Beata Szydło's government in mid-November.

Cyprus Industrial Products – When quality matters

M

anufacturing is central to innovation and economic growth, and Cyprus is now focusing on advanced high-tech products.

The country’s leaders believe value-added activities could facilitate a resurgence of productivity and protect the island’s production heritage.

Cyprus is radically restructuring its manufacturing base and actively seeking to attract new high-tech and knowledge-based industries. The sector is emerging from a particularly challenging time and is now focusing on higher-value production, more appropriate to Cyprus’ modern-day economy and its highly educated workforce, while the government is encouraging capitalintensive foreign investment, which will bring with it advanced technology, knowledge and expertise.

The Cyprus industry sector contributes to the country’s GDP of 6,5%, and accounted for 9% of workforce. The industrial products make over 60% of total domestic exports.

Cyprus has a lot to offer in terms of exportable manufacturing products, processed foodstuff and fresh produce at competitive prices and fast order fulfillment that together with sourcing reliability can safeguard a successful and lasting business partnership. All production, packaging and storage procedures adhere strictly to European regulations and standards.

The main destination for Cypriot manufactured exports is the European Union, which constitutes over 50% of the market. Exports to the Middle East make up around 15%. The main products exported are pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, cement, as well as raw and processed agricultural products.

The majority of manufacturers are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This makes the sector flexible and open to innovation and responsive to changes in customer requirements and to adopt new production techniques. Modern technologies have brought with them both quality improvement and longer product shelf-life, while the recent application of more scientific marketing techniques is opening up new customer bases. The adoption of modern production technologies has already created new opportunities for traditional enterprises to compete globally and the sector

is attempting to secure its future by establishing itself afresh in specific niche markets.

The government is seeking to improve SME’s access to finance and overseas markets, while seeking to maximise the commercial potential of local research and development in order to open up untapped areas of productivity. The pharmaceutical and non-metallic mineral sectors have already succeeded in making this transition towards the provision of value-added products for a specialist market. Since 1999, both areas have shown consistent growth. Also successful are the food and beverage manufacturers, with halloumi cheese, fruit and vegetable juices and wine all appealing to a loyal, specialist customer base. Halloumi is the famous traditional cheese of Cyprus, registered in the European market as a Collective Community Trade Mark complying with the certain product specifications, including as to the origin of the product and the type of milk used.

Cyprus is also aiming to attract international companies to its shores, highlighting potential to use island as both production and export base. Transformation of the island into a European and regional support hub for firms doing business in the region allows companies to take advantage of full services including warehousing, headquartering, high-tech repair centers and servicing, software development and testing centers. Years of supporting the development of high-value manufacturing, Cyprus –based enterprises benefit from numerous government –sponsored incentive schemes, designed to encourage the diversification and expansion of manufactured export.

Great opportunities for Cyprus creates also the energy sector with the recent discovery of significant hydrocarbon reserves in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and with the government’s strategic decision to become the leading energy centre and transit hub in the Eastern Mediterranean. The use of its own energy supply will not only provide local industry with an economic boost, it will also stimulate rapid technological development within the manufacturing sector.

Take advantage of what Cyprus has to offer.

Cyprus Trade Center www.cyprustrade.pl 35

NEWS

PIS TO CANCEL $3 BLN TENDER

Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said in late November that the contract with US firm Raytheon for the delivery of surface-to-air Patriot missile systems has not yet been signed and is practically invalid. The tender will probably be repeated.

“The price is much higher, the delivery could take much longer and the conditions of the supplier are practically unknown,” Macierewicz said regarding the Patriot tender. “The Defense Ministry is interested in honest, fair and effective talks with our American partners.”

Under the initial agreement, Raytheon was responsible for the delivery of six Patriot missile systems equipped with GEM-T missiles in the next three years, and then, with newer PAC-MSE missiles. The total value of the contract stood at PLN 26 billion.

Images: Wikimedia

>>

Michał Jach, head of the parliamentary defense committee, told public radio broadcaster that a tender for multi-purpose helicopters, in which the French Eurocopter Caracal EC725 was initially selected, will be canceled and carried out once again.

"The problem with the multipurpose helicopter tender was that the Ministry had repeatedly said that the armed forces will receive the best helicopter on the market, it later turned out that the one which won was chosen because other competitors were excluded from the tender on a formal basis. It seems formal issues were decisive rather than the features of the equipment. It cannot be that way," Jach said.

In April, the Ministry of Defense announced that Poland will buy 70 French Eurocopter Caracal EC725 helicopters manufactured by Airbus. The value of the tender stood at $3 billion.

MOD CANCELS TENDER FOR PATRIOT MISSILES

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DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

COMMENTARY / FMCG

NEWS

PL

OPEL ASTRA V

LEASING AND CAR FLEET MANAGEMENT handlowy@nfm.com.pl 22 517 93 83 www.nfm.com.pl

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* Car: Opel Astra 1.4 Essentia 100 hp, hatchback, model year 2016. Leasing for 48 months, initial payment of PLN 17 700, the buyout of PLN 11 050. depend on the value of a car chosen by the customer and the acceptance of the customer's creditworthiness.

J U NThe E 2final 0 1 5 terms • W BofJ the O Boffer S E Rwill VER Net prices. The above information is illustrative and does not constitute an offer 66Bet seq.

W B Jwithin O B S the E R meaning V E R • DofE Art. CEM ER - J AThe N UCivil A R YCode.

2015/16 9

NEWS

PGNiG opens mine in Pakistan

S

tate-controlled Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG) has opened its first mine in Pakistan, a press release read.

PGNiG plans to fully develop Rehman and Rizq deposits located in the Kirthar extraction concession, the company informed. "We believe that thanks to the deposit we have found, we will be able to significantly increase extraction output. Until now, net sales revenue in Pakistan stood at $25 million," Zbigniew Skrzypkiewicz deputy CEO at PGNiG SA ds.

Poszukiwań i Wydobycia pointed out, as quoted in the press release.

Rizq-1 well was spudded in October 2014 and drilled up to a total depth of 3,173 meters.

Production testing was undertaken in May 2015.

PGNiG has been active in Pakistan since 2005.

SIKORSKI FINDS NEW JOB AT HARVARD

Poland's former Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has been appointed by Harvard University's Center for European Studies as a non-resident Senior Fellow.

Sikorski, who was a key figure in the Civic Platform government serving as a Foreign minister from 2007 to 2014 and a Marshal of the Sejm, stepped down from his position in June 2015 following the so called Waitergate affair in which illegally made recordings of prominent politicians were published.

Sikorski will be expected to “participate in CES activities, engage in seminars and discussions with the faculty and students, and help to advance the academic mission of CES by stimulating new thinking and research in Europe," a statement issued by Harvard University said.

"I am delighted to share my experience of Polish and European politics with the American faculty and students," Sikorski said.

10

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

CHINA TO BUILD POLISH NUCLEAR PLANT? A Chinese-Polish memorandum for the construction of a nuclear plant and high-speed railway is to be signed during President Andrzej Duda's visit to China according to unofficial information reported by governmental news agency Xinhua.

Andrzej Duda told the Chinese media that the Polish energy sector, based on coal, will be modernized and supplemented with alternative energy sources.

At the same time, Xiunha published the unofficial information about China and Poland's cooperation on nuclear and high-speed train technology.

Sławomir Majman, president at the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), reported that eight contracts have been signed regarding exports of Polish dairy, mining equipment, the sale of Polish food via China's largest internet platform, and scientific and technical cooperation with Polish universities and research centers.

What is more, under one of the agreements, Polish products will be promoted in Shanghai.

Images: PGNiG, Pis.org.pl

PIS WANTS TO PUT TUSK BEFORE STATE TRIBUNAL After his term as the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk may be tried by the State Tribunal, the minister at the Prime Minister's Chancellery Adam Lipiński, told Super Express daily.

"Tusk has a guilty conscience in relation to many matters, including giving away the Smoleńsk air crash investigation to the Russians, negligence in explaining the air crash and failing to bring back the plane wreckage," Lipiński said.

The same opinion was expressed by PiS spokeswoman Elżbieta Witek in an interview with private broadcaster TVN24.

Donald Tusk's term as the EUCO president ends in 2017, however, he may be re-elected for another two and a half year term.

NEWS

Beata Szydło delivers policy speech P

oland's Prime Minister Beata Szydło said in her inauguration speech, delivered before parliament, that Poland will inject PLN 1 trillion into the economy to boost innovation and economic growth.

Beata Szydło started her address with a reference to terrorism and the refugee crisis stating that the EU cannot burden European countries with problems that other EU members created. "The issue of refugees is making us aware that the question of solidarity must be clearly defined," Szydło said.

"One cannot call attempts to export problems, which some countries have created without others' participation, - solidarity," she continued.

The Prime Minister announced that her government will support Polish SMEs by lowering the CIT tax rate to 15 percent for small companies.

Szydło highlighted that her government will base Poland's economy on investments and innovation and not on cheap labor. "We have to break out of the middle-income trap...

In order to do that we must use all of the reserves that we have."

Speaking about boosting growth, she pledged to invest PLN 1 trillion. "This is the one trillion zlotys for economic development projects which we were talking about during our election campaign."

The Prime Minister also reiterated her party's earlier promises: to increase the tax threshold to PLN 8,000, lower retirement age, hand out PLN 500 for every child and raise the minimum hourly wage to PLN 12. Szydło also declared that she will introduce taxes on large retailers and banks.

Wesołych Świąt I SZCZĘŚLIWEGO NOWEGO ROKU ŻYCZYMY NASZYM PRZYJACIOŁOM I KLIENTOM

Merry Christmas AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND CLIENTS

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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NEWS / ECONOMY

CALENDAR

JANUARY/FEBRUARY JANUARY

18-19

THE 6TH KPMG TAX AND ACCOUNTING CONGRESS

JANUARY

28

FEBRUARY

23

Event: The event is the biggest event of its type in Poland. It traditionally features two thematic blocks – tax and accounting.

The congress will be attended by chief financial directors and chief accountants of major Polish and foreign companies.

Location: Hilton Hotel, Warsaw Web: kpmg.com

THE 8TH ANNUAL CEE RETAIL AWARDS 2016 Event: This year, over 450 guests are expected, including more than 100 retailers interested in doing business in the region. The awards gala will be preceded by a day of discussion panels covering the retail markets.

Location: InterContinental Hotel, Warsaw Web: retailawards.eu

THE 7TH NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE ON POLISH INFRASTRUCTURE Event: Representatives of investors, contractors and government will once again meet to discuss the condition of Polish infrastructure. The event will culminate with the “Polish Infrastructure Diamonds” awards gala.

Location: Sheraton Warsaw Hotel Web: executive-club.com.pl

www.whiskyquarterly.com

12

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

27-28 JANUARY

28

FEBRUARY

18-19

fill the moment The first whisky magazine in Poland

JANUARY

THE 16TH POLISH POWER AND HEAT ENGINEERING CONGRESS POWERPOL Event: This year's edition will discuss the development prospects within the Polish energy sector.

Location: Hilton Hotel, Warsaw Web: powerpol.pl

OUTSOURCING STARS 2015 GALA Event: Outsourcing Stars is the only non-commercial contest for the outsourcing industry in Poland.The main goal of the contest is to identify and award the fastest growing outsourcing companies and organizations directly connected with the industry.

Location: Institute of Power Engineering, Warsaw Web: outsourcingstars.pl/pl

TRADE FAIR OF MOBILE SOLUTIONS, E-COMMERCE AND MOBILE DEVICES MOBILEIT Event: This event is dedicated to issues connected with effective usage of mobile technologies, both in the private and public sectors.

Location: International Exhibition and Convention Centre EXPO, Kraków Web: mobile-it.com.pl/targi

FACTS AND FIGURES

Data Data overview overview Data overview Data overview Data overview for October for October for October for October for October

WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE WARSAW STOCK2015 EXCHANGE WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE AS AS OF NOVEMBER OF NOVEMBER 2015 AS OF NOVEMBER 2015 WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE AS OF NOVEMBER 2015

479 479 479 479 479

-0.7% -0.7% -0.7% -0.7% waswas Poland's CPICPI was Poland's CPI -0.7% Poland's

AS OF NOVEMBER 2015

Number of listed companies Number of listed companies Number of listed companies Number of listed companies Number of listed companies

was Poland's CPI inflation October wasin Poland's CPI inflation in October inflation in October inflation in October inflation in October

2.4% 2.4%2.4% y/y y/y industrial 2.4% 2.4% industrial y/y industrial output growth

Trade volumes Trade volumes Trade volumes Trade volumes Trade volumes

9.6% 9.6% 9.6% 9.6% 9.6%

Shares

SharesShares

Shares billion PLNShares 206.86

206.86 billion PLNPLN 206.86 billion PLN 206.86 billion PLN 206.86 billion

REGISTERED REGISTERED

UNEMPLOYMENT REGISTERED UNEMPLOYMENT REGISTERED REGISTERED RATE IN OCTOBER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN OCTOBER UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN OCTOBER RATE OCTOBER RATEININ OCTOBER

industrial y/yy/yindustrial output growth output growth in October outputgrowth growth inoutput October in October in October in October

Bonds Bonds Bonds Bonds

PLN 808 million

Bonds

808 million PLNPLN 808 million PLN 808808 million PLN million

3.6% 3.6% 3.6%3.6% 3.6%

Futures Futures Futures

PLN 7.02 billion Futures PLN 7.02 billion PLN 7.02 billion PLN 7.02 billion PLN 7.02 Growth of main index (WIG), ytd billion

Futures

y/y y/y retail sales retail sales growth in October y/y retail sales y/y retail sales growth in October y/y retailin sales growth October growth in October

Growth of main index (WIG), ytd

-6.8% -6.8% -6.8%-6.8%

Growth of main index Growth of main index (WIG), ytd(WIG), ytd Growth of main index (WIG), ytd

growth in October

-6.8%

Going up

"42 percent

PLN PLN49.9 49.9 of Poles are PLN 49.9 financially billion billion PLN 49.9 PLN 49.9 billion will be Poland's full year will be Poland's full year literate, which

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for Poland, calculated by the European Commission, grew to 99.7 points in November compared with 98.7 points in October

billionbillion means they budget deficit budget deficit full year will be Poland's budget deficit

10.5 10

10 11

9.5

10.5 10

Sep. ‘15

Jul. ’15

Aug. ‘15

Jun. ‘15

Oct.’15 Apr. ‘15

May ’15

Sep. Mar. ‘15 '15

Jul. ’15 Jan. '15

Aug. Feb. ‘15 '15

Jun. Dec. ‘15 '14

Jan. '15

Feb. '15

Dec. '14

Oct. ‘14

Oct. ‘15

Sep. ‘15

Jul. ’15

Aug. ‘15

May ’15

Jun. ‘15

Jan. '15 Aug. ‘15 Feb. '15 Sep. ‘15 Mar. '15 Oct. ‘15 Apr. ‘15

Dec. '14 Jul. ’15

Oct. ‘14 May ’15

Nov. ’14 Jun. ‘15

Apr. ‘15

Apr. ‘15 Oct. ‘14

9.5

9.5

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-2

10 9.5

12

10.511.5

are able to understand how money works in the world, according to a survey by Standard and Poor’s."

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11

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Nov. ’14 Oct. ‘14 Dec. '14 Nov. ’14 Oct. ‘14 Jan. '15 Dec. '14 Nov. ’14 Feb. '15 Jan. '15 Dec. '14 Mar. '15 Feb. '15 Jan. '15 Apr. ‘15 Mar. '15 Feb. '15 May ’15 Apr. ‘15 Mar. '15 Jun. ‘15 May ’15 Apr. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Jun. ‘15 May ’15 Aug. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Jun. ‘15 Sep. ‘15 Aug. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Oct.’15 Sep. ‘15 Aug. ‘15 Oct.’15 Sep. ‘15

0.5

Nov. ’14 Oct. ‘14 Dec. '14 Nov. ’14 Oct. ‘14 Jan. '15 Dec. '14 Nov. ’14 Feb. '15 Jan. '15 Dec. '14 Mar. '15 Feb. '15 Jan. '15 Apr. ‘15 Mar. '15 Feb. '15 May ’15 Apr. ‘15 Mar. '15 Jun. ‘15 May ’15 Apr. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Jun. ‘15 May ’15 Aug. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Jun. ‘15 Sep. ‘15 Aug. ‘15 Jul. ’15 Oct. ‘15 Sep. ‘15 Aug. ‘15 Oct. ‘15 Sep. ‘15

-2

-1

11

12

Nov. ’14

-1 -1.5

12

12 Poland’s registered unemployment rate, 12 October11.52014 11.5 – October 2015

0

-0.5

Mar. '15

Oct. ‘14

-2

-0.5

Steadily down

Year-on-year CPI inflation in Poland, October 2014 – October 2015 0.5 0

0

Jan. '15

-1.5

Deflation holding

0.5

Feb. '15

-1

0.5

Dec. '14

0 -0.5

Nov. ’14

0.5

Data source: Warsaw Stock Exchange, Central Statistical Office

will be Poland's full will beyear Poland's full year budget deficit budget deficit

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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as: Ferrari, Maserati, Triumph, Cisitalia, Cunningham, Jensen and DeTomaso. In 1969, Alfredo Vignale sold his company to the Argentinian DeTomaso, and three days later he died in a car crash while driving his favourite Maserati. DeTomaso, Ghia and Vignale were eventually acquired by Ford. The American carmaker had earlier ties with the Vignale plant located near Turin, in which bodies for DeTomaso Pantera powered by Ford’s V-8 engine were manufactured.

Ford Mondeo Vignale – More Than JusT a Car

I

t is easy to be trapped in seeing the development of our civilisation from the “Golden Age” perspective, known as early as in ancient Greece. Everything was excellent in the good old days. Wine was more flavoursome, life was less hectic, cars were better. It is easy to criticise the entire world of today, but remember, in the old times there was no running water in houses, car engines were started with a hand crank, and phoning someone on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean required superhuman patience. Civilisational progress is inevitable and many of its achievements make our lives both easier and safer. The secret of the entire art of striving for a more harmonious life

lies in making use of all such feasts of the present, while understanding the past and its best achievements. Such are the origins of the Ford Mondeo Vignale, a car combining state-of-the-art technology with extraordinary attention paid to customers’ individual needs. The times of coachbuilding companies manufacturing individual, custom-designed car bodies, are long gone. However, the need to stand out from the crowd, to draw more pleasure from life than other human beings do is far from over.

The story began in 1913, the year Alfredo Vignale was born. At the age of only 17, the talented Italian took a job at Stabi-

limenti Farina, a coachbuilding company run by Giovanni Farina, the brother of the famous Battista “Pinin” Farina. He was a trainee car mechanic at the time. But, after the war, he single-handedly built a car body. He soon swapped his good motorcycle for a rusted car, for which he built a new, aluminium body. It received favourable revues even from the very demanding British journalists. Encouraged by them, Alfredo established his own company, Carrozzeria Vignale, at Via Cigliano in Turin, with a logo showing the famous Turin Cathedral. Throughout his career, Vignale designed bodies for many big carmakers, and mass-manufactured bodies for some of them, including such renowned brands

Ford Mondeo Vignale is the first Vignale model line available in the FordStore offer. Available in the exquisite Vignale Nocciola, Vignale White, Vignale Black and Vignale Silver colours, the hand-finished cars are just the beginning of the Vignale adventure, which covers many aspects of living with a car, and not just driving it. The Ford Mondeo Vignale is available with TDCi 180HP and bi-turbo 210HP Diesel engines, an EcoBoost petrol engine (203HP or 240HP,) or a hybrid engine (187HP.) All the engines, in combination with the active noise reduction system and laminated glass windows, create ultimate travelling

conditions, even when covering very long distances. The interior, finished with Lux Charcoal Black or Lux Cashmere leather upholstery, hand stitched and quilted, is a reminder of exquisite hand-crafted masterpieces from the times of Alfredo Vignale. Standard adaptive LED headlights and optional four-wheel drive improve the driving safety in all possible weather conditions.

The process of selecting and ordering a new Ford Mondeo Vignale is truly unique. A Vignale Relationship manager can arrange a special, extended test drive lasting even throughout a weekend, so that a customer could fully appreciate how the Ford Mondeo Vignale differs from other cars. There is no need to collect the ordered vehicle from a FordStore – it can be delivered to your home or office address. Six authorised dealerships offer such customer relationship services to customers in Poland: Auto Boss – Chorzów Euro Car – Gdynia PGD Partner – Kraków Auto Brzezińska – Łódź

More info:

vignale.ford.pl

BCH Chwaliński – Opole Bemo Motors – Warszawa As soon as a brand-new Ford Mondeo Vignale is delivered, its owner has no more reasons to be involved in typical car user’s activities, since Vignale, to begin with, is a method of saving the most precious luxury in life – time. The servicing of a car, an extremely complex machine, has never been easier: your Ford Mondeo Vignale can be collected from you, restored to tip-top technical condition and then returned to your home or office. But there is more. You are entitled to complimentary car washes throughout the ownership of your car, including, when desired, a complete interior cleaning, so your Ford Mondeo Vignale could always look the way envisioned by its designer – simply perfect.

And now the most important piece of information: Vignale OneCall service support staff members are available 24/7 at (61) 831 99 72. They can organise roadside assistance or your service bookings and answer all questions relating to the use of the car. Owning a unique vehicle has never been easier.

The site’s QR code:

COMMENTARY / LAW

KATARZYNA SYSKA LAWYER, WKB WIERCIŃSKI, KWIECIŃSKI, BAEHR

Appointing a data protection officer is no longer obligatory

As

of January 1, 2015, personal data controllers are no longer obliged to appoint a data protection officer (DPO), known in the Polish Data Protection Act as administrator bezpieczeństwa informacji (abbreviated and commonly referred to as an ‘ABI’). Until the end of last year, every organization (which was a data controller) had to have a DPO. Their tasks were very vaguely defined as the supervision of the proper safeguarding of personal data.

Under the current legal framework, organizations can freely choose whether to name a DPO or not. At the same time, the duties of a DPO, and the criteria that a DPO should fulfill, are now laid out in much more detail.

The basic responsibility of a data protection officer is to ensure the compliance of data processing operations with the law. For that purpose, a DPO should audit the compliance of data processing within their organization on a yearly basis and draw up reports in this respect. Moreover, a DPO must supervise the preparation of data processing documentation, such as the security policy. They should also ensure that persons authorized to process personal data within an organization know the legal framework concerning personal data processing.

processed within the organization. It should be remembered, however, that merely appointing a DPO is not enough in order to be exempt from the data file registration duty – the GIODO must be notified of the appointment of a DPO and then the said DPO is entered into a public register, which is maintained by the GIODO. Interestingly, the GIODO can request a DPO to perform an audit concerning data processing compliance in their organization and draft a report in this regard for the GIODO. If any infringements are identified, then the DPO should also indicate how they were or would be remedied. Such an internal audit would not, however, preclude the GIODO from carrying out an inspection.

Currently, there are almost 15,000 DPOs registered with the GIODO, but it is said that the number is still rising. It seems that the prospect of not having to register data filing systems and of having someone to supervise data processing compliance, appeals to many organizations.

Smaller entities can choose to register the data filing system which seems to be a less costly solution. u

One of the advantages of appointing a DPO is that in such a situation data controllers do not have to register data files containing ordinary (non-sensitive) personal data with the GIODO (the Polish data protection authority). This is why a DPO is also tasked with keeping a register of data files

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DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Image: Shutterstock

As far as the criteria that a DPO has to fulfill are concerned, such a person should have a good understanding of personal data protection regulations, have full legal capacity and enjoy full civil rights, as well as have a clear criminal record concerning intentional crimes.

COMMENTARY / REAL ESTATE

BARTŁOMIEJ ŁEPKOWSKI

RENATA KABAS-KOMORNICZAK

PARTNER, HEAD OF OFFICE AND LOGISTICS ASSET MANAGEMENT, KNIGHT FRANK

PARTNER, RÖDL & PARTNER

Current challenges on the Warsaw office market

B

etween July and September 2015, some 92,000 sqm of office space was delivered to the Warsaw market. Consequently, the volume of new space completed since the beginning of the year amounted to 235,000 sqm. As a result, total office stock in Warsaw reached almost 4.6 million sqm, while the leasable area exceeded 3.9 million sqm. Unless developers postpone completion dates of their investments, 2015 should close with an annual new supply of approximately 340,000 sqm.

Although it is a smaller volume than expected in mid-year, 2015 should be a record year in the history of the Warsaw office market in terms of newly completed offices.

They have to compete with new developments and find ways to enhance the attractiveness of their buildings. The goal is always to entice new tenants and convince existing ones to stay longer by prolonging lease agreements.

Monthly rental rates offered in the CBD decreased slightly over the last year and start from €15 per sqm, only the smallest office modules in prestigious office buildings exceed €23 per sqm. In buildings outside the center, asking rents still ranged between €10.5 and €18, depending on location, the age of the project and the availability of space in the building. Importantly, effective rates may be lower than asking rates by up to 30 percent, as in many cases, developers still offer substantial incentive packages to potential tenants.

For those property owners who do not have dedicated, specialized teams in Poland, it is of great importance to secure optimum care of their investments which should continuously generate steady returns for their shareholders in the long term. Therefore, considering the challenging market conditions, it is of high importance to have a trustworthy and professional advisor in place.

The availability of existing office space increased in comparison to the end of 2014. Approximately 590,000 sqm of vacant offices accounted for 15 percent of the rentable stock (12.9 percent of all Warsaw office stock).

Nearly 200,000 sqm remains vacant in the CBD, out of which some 45 percent of the volume consists of buildings delivered prior to 2000. The vacancy trend is rising and is expected to reach over 17 percent by end of 2015.

The current and forecasted situation on the Warsaw office market already is, and will be, even more challenging for landlords, especially for those who own older buildings.

Basically, there are real estate owners such as property funds or specialized real estate firms who have complex organizational structures which include asset management and other specialized teams. On the other hand, other property investors do not, and will not establish such teams and will outsource the management of their real estate investments to professional advisors.

In order to keep pace with challenging market requirements and growing competition, property owners pay more and more attention to asset management activities as well as the optimization of business administration services which usually include a set of corporate governance, accountancy, legal and tax services.

The one-stop concept, i.e. all asset management, accounting, legal and tax services under one roof provided by a professional advisor, is a solution worth further consideration. Such a solution is more effective than contracting each service separately. It enables real estate investors to have one point of contact for all day-to-day matters related to their assets and therefore, to concentrate on their core business. u

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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COMMENTARY / IT

MICHAŁ JAWORSKI BOARD MEMBER, TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGY DIRECTOR, MICROSOFT POLAND

A cloud you can trust

In

the last 25 years, the development of the Internet has influenced the world on an unprecedented scale. Our fears of using the global network have become almost as big as the benefits that it brings us. In the last few years, with the scale of Internet crime constantly increasing, we realize almost every day that we cannot manage the threat of cyber crime alone.

IT transformation

Initially – and rightly so – the cloud was primarily presented as a new economic model of using IT. Instead of investing in servers and IT staff, the cloud offered flexible resources, as well as the ability to dynamically adjust to the requirements of the business and to constantly have access to the most recent, updated solutions. It also changed how IT solutions were bought. Both the infrastructure and the software had become services.

One of the most common challenges in relation to the transition to the cloud was a shift in responsibilities. In the previous model, it was clear – it was my company, my IT department and my Information Security Administrator that were fully responsible for the efficient operation of systems, for cyber security and for personal data protection. If some of these IT operations were outsourced, the responsibility had to be shared between the user, his departments, and the cloud provider. This responsibility sharing has been, and is, adjusted in two ways – by regulations which define the framework for the use of the cloud, and by agreements between the user and the cloud provider.

The evolution of the legal framework around the cloud

The law is constantly evolving, keeping up with technological changes. The solutions that

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DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

were considered sufficient several years ago can be criticized today, and requirements are expanding constantly. This is what happened to the Safe Harbor agreement of 2000 concerning the transfer of personal data between the EU and the US, which was declared invalid by the Court of Justice of the European Union. But, this does not mean that users and providers who use better and newer data protection rules have been affected by this judgment. Take, for instance, Microsoft services such as Office 365, CRM Online and Azure in which European standard contract clauses have been used for years to provide an adequate level of data protection on both sides of the Atlantic. This kind of legal security is expressly written in Poland’s Personal Data Protection Act. Data security is a necessity, but also an initiative of service providers

Cloud providers voluntarily go beyond what is required by law, because this is what their customers demand and something their competitors are willing to provide. Add to this the increasing threat level.

In today’s reality the real danger is organized crime.

In Poland, we’ve had cases of attacks on some of the, supposedly, best protected businesses such as banks.

Worldwide, there were cyber attacks against pipelines and energy systems, and these are not institutions that lack the funds for security measures. Only the biggest players, among them cloud providers, will be able to afford true security measures and hire the best professionals. Others, including institutions which have not yet recognized the need to invest in cyber security, will not be able to cope with potential threats. u

COMMENTARY /REAL ESTATE

STANISLAV FRNKA CEO, HB REAVIS POLAND

2016 – a year marked by work-life balance and ‘non-standard’ interior solutions

2015

is coming to an end. As always, at this time of year, we summarize the past months and try to predict what will happen in the near future. How will the current situation on the property market evolve?

How will the real estate sector look in the future?

Where will we be in a year’s time? As a representative of one of the most active office developers operating on the Warsaw market, I must say that in many ways the commercial real estate industry in Poland seems to be on a more solid footing than it has been for quite some time. The Polish economy continues to develop and market players are seeing robust performance across most property types.

During the first three quarters of 2015, companies leased nearly 613,000 sqm, which was equivalent to the volume recorded throughout the entire previous year. Although this positive sentiment on the leasing market is expected to continue due to the expiration of ten-year leases signed in 2006-2008 and five-year leases signed in 2011-2013, the large number of office buildings coming on stream in the near future will lead to a rapid rise in the amount of vacant space that may reach levels of 17-20 percent.

If this happens, the Polish office market will continue to favor tenants, while at the same time becoming more and more challenging for developers and landlords. An excellent location, good public transport connections and advanced technological and ecological solutions will no longer be enough to attract companies. Of course, such factors will still be highly important, but as time passes we will observe the growing significance of ‘non-standard’ amenities, such as, modern fitness centers, special facilities for cyclists,

cafes, retailers, and green spaces. Employees now expect more from their employers than merely a comfortable chair and good lighting. They want to work in an inspiring and productive environment which increases their engagement and development. As a result, year by year, we are witness to a growing tendency to create ‘non-standard’ office areas, which adhere to a positive work-life balance philosophy. Enlarged kitchens with sofas, casual conversation areas or special laundry rooms – these are only some of the conveniences expected by modern day employees. And I believe it’s really good that more and more companies are becoming aware of it. A creative, dynamic and friendly work environment not only fosters productivity, efficiency, and loyalty within a company, but also helps to attract and retain the best talent. I mean, wouldn’t you want to come in every day to an office that looks like Google headquarters? u

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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INTERVIEW / DIRLANGO

(L-R) Maciej Żak, Dirlango CEO and Łukasz Wejchert, the company's founder

A DIFFERENT APPROACH WBJ OBSERVER SAT DOWN WITH DIRLANGO FOUNDER ŁUKASZ WEJCHERT AND CEO MACIEJ ŻAK TO DISCUSS HOW THEIR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY DIFFERS FROM INVESTMENT FUNDS, HOW THEY MANAGE THEIR START-UPS AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THEM AND THE COMPANIES THEY RUN WBJ Observer: You’ve said that you plan on expanding your ad platform Netsprint to foreign markets. The contextual advertising market is dominated by Google.

How do you expect to compete if the search engine can simply undercut you by changing a few lines of its algorithm and putting your clients’ sites at the bottom of search results.

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Maciej Żak: We have been considering various options for international expansion. However, this year we decided to concentrate our efforts and priorities on the Polish programmatic market, which is experiencing very strong growth.

It is a misconception that we compete directly with Google. We rather develop strong local products, which are comple-

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

mentary to the global advertising ecosystem. Using our portfolio of programmatic products we help publishers to optimize their inventory and income potential and allow advertisers to reach their clients in the most effective ways.

Are you afraid that this start-up bubble will burst soon? That these $1 billion

Image: Maciej Stankiewicz

I N T E R V I E W B Y JA C E K C I E S N OW S K I

r

INTERVIEW / DIRLANGO

unicorns aren’t worth a fraction of their valuations? Łukasz Wejchert: I think we are on the brink of a ‘selective’ bubble. Some start-ups have enough substance for huge valuations – but I think many so-called ”Unicorns” will fail to justify their valuations in the long term. In our opinion, different methods of financial engineering boost valuations too quickly, which does not always end with a soft landing. At the end of the day a company must have a business model which can generate enough profit and cash flow to justify its valuation.

Sometimes it’s difficult to evaluate an idea, which very often, is the only thing a start-up has, with products existing only on paper.

MŻ: Unicorns are, to a large extent, valued on future market potential, which is largely based on a set of business assumptions. In my opinion, some companies are pushing their expectations too far, which sometimes results in abstract figures and valuations.

We have a different approach with more focus on ‘relatively’ proven business models.

It is of course nice to have a large expanding customer base, but the long term viability of our businesses is measured by revenues and positive cash flows.

What do you look at when someone comes to you hoping that you’ll invest in his start-up? ŁW: Dirlango is not an investment fund.

We develop our own products and companies in which we have controlling stakes.

MŻ: When acquiring companies the initiative comes from our side - It was never the other way around. We assess the potential of the company by its team, what we can do with the company together going forward, and how it fits into Dirlango’s existing business lines.

What else is important when you consider takeovers? The sector? Most of your companies operate within the marketing business. ŁW: We have our vision on how the world will look in few years’ time. Based on our market predictions, we position our companies accordingly. We think that data is the oil of the 21st century – hence our strong focus on programmatic, data analysis and wifi intelligence. We are also convinced that most people will be ordering taxi’s using apps in 3-5 years from now – therefore we are rapidly expanding iTaxi here in Poland.

Can you really make money on data when there is such an abundance of data and so much of it is free? ŁW: It’s not necessarily a matter of the volume of data but rather the practical commercial products one can build using data in a clever way. We work with our clients to find and develop practical business solutions.

Where, in this data-driven picture, is a place for your other company iTaxi? ŁW: It’s part of Dirlango’s claim ‘tech for simplicity’. By the way, iTaxi is also, to a large extent, built on data and analytics.

How can it compete with a powerhouse such as Uber?

MŻ: We’re working with licensed taxi drivers with a very strong focus on business

clients. Secondly, Uber is directed more at people who are not regular taxi users, rather occasional cients.

What if Uber introduces a similar product?

MŻ: It could, but please remember that in many countries Uber is actually banned.

Furthermore, Uber recently raised its prices in Poland, which has made it less price-competitive. Will still have to see how Uber can operate in price competitive ‘emerging’ markets in the long term and reach profitability. Sooner or later, investors’ patience might run out. ŁW: We constantly make innovations around the iTaxi platform. Effectively, we try to tailor the product to the Polish market, and build the best possible local network advantage.

Dirlango’s portfolio:

Netsprint: provider of marketing platforms and technologies for advertisers and publishers. It includes contextual advertising network AdKontekst and ContentStream. It is a platform/marketplace which increases traffic and revenue generation for publishers, among other tools. iTaxi: Taxi ordering app with a strong focus on the B2B market.

Justwifi: wifi market place that provides localized advertising services and lead generation for e-commerce & couponing.

LeadR: database and targeted email marketing solutions.

Email Network: mailing network, associating database publishers worldwide.

Justtag: benefits platform including coupons, discounts and special offers.

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

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INTERVIEW / DIRLANGO

MŻ: You have to remember that ultimately every investor is looking for value and liquidity. There are so many paper tigers these days, with high valuations driven by unrealistic investors, that are unable to launch an IPO. This is a serious problem.

With you being the majority shareholders in your companies is the stock exchange a viable option for financing?

MŻ: It’s one of the options we can take.

What differentiates us from investment funds is that we don’t have set timetables for an exit strategy. We have other financing options besides the stock exchange. ŁW: We’re not on the stock exchange now, but we’ve been there before. The pros and cons of being public are quite well-known to us. The stock exchange has its limits. It demands regular performance. You have to show profits every quarter. Sometimes instead of making a profit we’d rather invest in a project to earn more a few years down the line. That is our DNA. We want to stay flexible.

Do you have a timetable for when your company should start making a profit? ŁW: We don’t have any dates set in stone, but all of our projects have milestones, which they have to reach within a certain period of time. At these milestones we decide on the future of the projects.

MŻ: Our business culture encourages change. When an idea is not working we push the management team to come up with alternative paths to reach our goal, which ultimately – is being profitable. ŁW: You can’t invest in a company for too long without producing any revenue.

Which is one of the reasons why so many people are talking about this start-up bubble.

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It’s hard to function in an ecosystem that’s so unpredictable. That changes so often. Nowadays you can’t imagine a world without Facebook or Twitter, but we’re all sure that our children will be using some completely different services.

How can you predict the moment when the shift from old to new will occur?

MŻ: Change is the most exciting factor.

Now everyone can innovate and change things, business models and markets. You just can’t be scared, but rather adapt continuously to changes. One day your product can be one thing and the next it can be something else. I think people who operate in stable business environments are reluctant to change. u

But are you considering an IPO for one of your companies?

MŻ: Yes, we are. Some of our companies have such potential. Especially Netsprint.

You say that one of your aims is improving life through technology. What other areas would you like to improve? ŁW: Everything! When we started some 15 years ago we all thought that the whole world would be connected and everything including media, commerce and communication would move online. And it all happened.

In the pre-internet era most industries had high entry barriers including media, telecoms, banking, etc. Everything was sort of monopolized…

Isn’t that the case now? We have one Facebook, one Twitter, one Uber, one Airbnb. ŁW: It is true that many tech companies are big and strong. But, the tech business environment is ever-changing. Way, way back, IBM was the dominant hardware producer, later, Microsoft stepped in and ‘monopolized’ software. We all thought they would dominate the internet as well. Now we have a full range of companies Facebook, Youtube, Google, Twitter, Spotify that dominate their fields, but every so often someone new pops up and disrupts the ecosystem.

MŻ: Right now we want to entrench ourselves in what we own. We acquired

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Images: Maciej Stankiewicz

In the HBO show Silicon Valley, one of the investors says that start-ups shouldn’t have any revenue, because “people will ask how much, and it will never be enough. It’s not about how much you earn, it’s about what you’re worth.”

I understand that all of your companies have revenues. ŁW: Yes, we operate our businesses based on fundamental revenue and cash flow assumptions. When launching a business from scratch we set growth targets, customer number goals, etc – but over time we move to more tangible performance indicators.

Netsprint a few months ago. I think, in the coming quarter we will have to evaluate the situation do some fine tuning in-house.

PLANNING TO INVEST IN POLISH REAL ESTATE? LOOK NO FURTHER!

KR Group is a dynamically expanding Polish accounting and auditing group. Established in 1997 and with over 120 experienced real estate professionals, we provide tax, book-keeping and advisory services to real estate fund managers and investors. With a significant share of the Polish market in this sector, our team understands and provides insight into industry issues that real estate investors need to address.

Who are you?

Most of our clients are Polish companies with foreign capital involvement and foreign entities doing business in Poland. They include: • Investment funds (open and closed ended) • Banks financing real estate investments • Other entities that invest in commercial real estate (office, retail, warehouse, hotel properties) • Companies whose assets consist of real estate.

Why chose KR Group?

Managing the finances of a property investment requires time, attention to detail, and knowledge of ever-changing accounting laws. Over the years we have also learnt that to operate successfully in Poland it is crucial to fully understand Poland’s complex regulatory and compliance reporting requirements. Doing so reduces the risk of transactions, and provides the level of transparency expected by key stakeholders.

Our property accounting professionals will manage your books so you do not have to. We ensure compliance with all local and international accounting standards. You can count on us to provide financial accuracy, timeliness and peace of mind.

What we do By combining expert knowledge with best industry practice, and extensive transactional and project experience we are able to bring real value to the investment process. Our key services include: • Book-keeping • Nominee directorship • Financial and manage- • Domiciliation ment reporting • Company secretarial • Tax advisory services • Cash management • VAT representation for • Sale of off the shelf businesses from outside companies the European Union • Payroll services We have been successful by building trustful relationships with clients and becoming a business partner in your investment ventures. We can also cut the overall cost of your business operations in Poland.

Our team is well connected with other professionals around the world and able to find solutions at every stage of the reporting process and across several locations.

In short, our aim is to ensure that you receive the highest quality services and insightful advice to help you on the road to investing success.

Office in Warsaw

KR Group, Skartszewska 7 Street, 03-802 Warsaw, Poland T (+48) 22 262 81 00, F (+48) 22 100 65 14, E office@krgroup.pl

INTERVIEW / ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI

POST ELECTION ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI SAT DOWN WITH WBJ OBSERVER TO ANALYZE THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE IN POLAND AFTER THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS, THE CHANGES ANNOUNCED BY THE PIS GOVERNMENT AND THE ROLE OF CIVIC PLATFORM AND OTHER OPPOSITION PARTIES

WBJ Observer: For the first time since 1989, one single party has won a majority in the Sejm and Senate, with the president also based in that party.

Do you think that the PiS victory will result in fundamental, some say revolutionary, changes to Poland’s internal and foreign policy?

Aleksander Kwaśniewski: That is a very difficult question. I currently have difficulties in assessing PiS. I remember the party’s radical behavior when they were in government between 2005 and 2007. On the other hand, I have two election campaigns fresh in my memory. In both the presidential and parliamentary campaigns the party presented a much more moderate face, sending out many reassuring messages concerning domestic and foreign matters. For instance, PiS withdrew the issue of constitutional reform from their campaign, along with some other radical motions.

Saying that, I want to point out that it remains to be seen what PiS will do in practice while in government. But, in answer to your question concerning any potential changes, I think that the changes will be profound, because in my view the differences in ideology between PiS and Civic Platform are more significant than between American republicans and democrats, or

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between the German Christian democratic party and social democrats. Therefore, in that sense, the change of government in Poland will mean a sharp turn to the right in many domains, among others in justice, the economy, pensions and the education system. It is not the case that when one established party changes for another, the country continues to move in roughly the same direction which is normal in democratic countries. In Poland the differences between PO while in power and PiS when it was in opposition were acute, politically and ideologically. PiS promised to change Poland’s liberal democratic system from top to bottom.

Yet, having said that, I want to underline that the PiS victory was fully democratic, achieved with respect to all democratic procedures, so the election shows that the democratic system in Poland is working.

Concerning the matter of the constitution, you were the co-creator of the present constitution, created in 1997.

Now there are some voices on the right, among others, Paweł Kukiz who are saying that it is time to change that constitution. What is your reaction to this?

Before I was elected president I was in parliament as the chairman of the con-

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

stitutional commission. We worked very hard to achieve compromise while working on that constitution and later to get it approved. Next year the present constitution will celebrate its 20 year anniversary.

It seems a long time but for a document such as a constitution it is still in its infancy and my opinion is that our constitution has proven itself well. After all those years, there is only one paragraph which may require alteration: that which states that the Złoty is our currency, so, when Poland approves the Euro it will have to be amended.

However, in the coming 4 years the matter of approving the Euro will certainly not be on the agenda. As for the remaining constitutional articles, there is no need for any amendments. I’d say more, the stability of the constitution is of great value in itself. In a country such as Poland, where we have

Image: Jan Malinowski/WBJ

I N T E R V I E W B Y E WA B O N I E C K A

INTERVIEW / ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI

issues with law culture and where the constitutional tradition was shaken in our history, the stability of the constitution is vital for all institutions and citizens in terms of respecting the law. If the constitution were to be changed depending on the political setup, it would become one of many state laws and not the fundamental document that shapes the system of the country.

After the election result, Donald Tusk gave Civic Platform a few words of comfort. He pointed out that obtaining 24 percent of electoral votes is defeat, but not a disaster after 8 years in power.

However, there is now a heated debate within Civic Platform about the responsibility for the defeat and questions are being raised about the leadership of Ewa Kopacz. I was in London during the last

British parliamentary election and witnessed the resignation of Ed Miliband from the leadership of the Labour Party a few hours after his party’s defeat. Is that how it should be in Poland?

You are right to point out that in mature democracies the principle is clear: after losing an election the leader of the party takes responsibility for the defeat and opens the way for personal conclusions to be drawn.

But, Poland is still a fledgling democracy and the practices are different. After the previous defeat, PiS did not change its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński and after a couple of years he has led his party to victory.

Also, the SLD leader Leszek Miller did not resign after the party’s defeat in 2003. I do not want to comment on current practices within Civic Platform and the expected

fight for its leadership. The most important thing for the party now is to heal its wounds and build unity, because the danger of its collapse is substantial.

How do you view the role of Civic Platform in opposition?

It has to be a strong, confident and pragmatic opposition. It will be up against a government with the comfort of a total majority, which no party has had before.

PiS is governing without a coalition partner and it has the backing of the president.

Civic Platform has to present a long term political scenario for Poland, based on understanding the changes that are going on in our country and in Europe, and be a viable political alternative to PiS. To achieve this PO must refresh its structure and

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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INTERVIEW / ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI

It will be difficult for PO to build a new identity, they have had to confront the various divisions within the party.

The liberal/conservative/center/left mix has resulted in the lack of a clear vision and ideology. In a parliament where there will be a strong liberal showing from Ryszard Petru, the populist movement of Kukiz and no representatives from the Left, what stance will PO take on the opposition benches?

be just as difficult when it is in opposition.

But, if PO were to turn more to the left, there would be the risk that the conservatives within the party would begin to flirt with PiS.

disappear. The social left movement, led

by Adrian Zandberg, is attracting young, educated people with anti-establishment sentiments, which is interesting, but what will come of it is as yet unknown.

The Left coalition did not make it into parliament, how do you perceive its present and future fate?

The scale of the PiS victory shows that a large section of Polish society is firmly conservative. In the opinions of many foreign commentators and also some Polish analysts, a strong nationalistic and conservative trend with eurosceptic elements now prevails in the country. Do you agree with those opinions?

I regret that the left coalition built by SLD and the Palikot party did not get into parliament, but the coalition was created much too late in the day, when both of those parties were already in crisis and I think that now that coalition will disband.

Barbara Nowacka, as the face of the coalition, regardless of how hard she worked to convince the electorate of her leftist ideas, could not build a credible coalition with the burden of mistakes made in the past by the leaders of its founding parties.

But, certainly the principle of a credible left is needed in Poland and they will not

Firstly, a party’s identity is easier to build in opposition than in government because while ruling there is often the need for compromise and decisions to be made which go against ideological values.

So, I think that now in opposition, Civic Platform should clearly define its message to voters, its identity as a center/conservative/liberal party, devote time to internal, content-related debates. I want to state here that in my opinion, many political parties in democratic states face program dilemmas because I think that traditional divisions on left and right, to which we became accustomed in the 20th century, are now much more complicated. It is associated with the technological revolution which has changed social structures and the strict divisions of social classes, the shape of the job markets and the form of public communication. Therefore, it is important how parties address such changeable societies with their political and economic policies. In Poland the situation is even more confused because PiS has a leftist social program while being very nationalistic and conservative in relation to ethical and moral issues such as in vitro, abortion and the role of the Church in political life. Civic Platform has a dilemma in terms of consolidating its conservative and liberal approach to policy, economy and ethical matters with sensitivity towards social issues. Maintaining such a balance was difficult when PO was in power and it will

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I have fundamental doubts. While it is obvious that after the PiS victory the country has turned to the right, I would not say that Polish society is now more conservative than 10 years ago. Just like in other European countries there is a process of modernization and secularization going on in Poland. So, to answer the question

Image: Jan Malinowski/WBJ

identity, regardless of who its leader will be. It is the only way to preserve political balance in Poland, which has already been diminished to a conservative/nationalistic monopoly. But what political identity Civic Platform will develop and present is difficult to say. It will also be dependent on the shape of the future parliament, in a situation with the absence of a left-wing party, PO may be able to acquire some of their policies, especially concerning citizen’s liberty and the secularity of the state.

INTERVIEW / ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI

as to whether we are, as a nation, resolutely conservative, we should find one thing that proves it, or there should be a referendum on the subject. I am convinced that such a referendum would show that 60 percent of Poles are in favor of further modernization in all areas and 40 percent is staunchly conservative. That is only my intuition as I have no proof. But, generally I think that the success of PiS has many aspects. PiS has substantially softened its rhetoric and hid many elements of its nationalistic and conservative character during the presidential and parliamentary election campaigns. There were unofficial statements concerning the constitution, and ethical and moral issues were touched upon very carefully. PiS also kept its close ties with the Catholic Church subtly under wraps.

In choosing such tactics PiS was certain it would retain its core electorate. Approximately 30 percent of society has, for years, assured the party of its hard conservative, religious and nationalistic support. Therefore, PiS consciously choose to present a softer image during its campaign to win over the more moderate groups of conservative voters. That group had grown substantially because people from various political standpoints and economic interests had become disillusioned with Civic Platform and mainstream politics. Among them were new voters in their 20s, who were generally rebellious towards the political establishment and they had reasons to be angry. If young Poles cannot find work, as the best educated generation in our history, when they are employed on worthless contracts, they cry out for change. Furthermore, their votes for the populist Kukiz group, which won more than 40 seats in parliament, is another sign that young people are angry and frustrated.

We are in a very challenging international situation, how will the PiS government handle foreign policy?

First of all, I would like to make a general remark. I am less worried about the economic promises of PiS because when responsible, knowledgeable people determine financial policy their political views do not trouble me, as long as they don’t ruin the state budget. I am, however, concerned about the new government’s foreign policy.

Having witnessed the proclamations of PiS politicians, I can foresee the situation that Poland, from its current position as an emerging power in the EU, could become a

euro-sceptic member with a whole host of negative consequences for our country and the entire European Union. Poland taking a euro-sceptic position could become a serious problem, especially in the very difficult present situation in which the European Union is under significant pressure from many crises. There is the war in Ukraine, the matter of relations with Russia which will be problematic for years to come, there is the issue of Islamic State which could be a threat for the foreseeable future. There is the matter of refugees, also an issue that does not seem to have a quick solution.

There is the matter of the referendum in Britain concerning its membership in the

“IF YOUNG POLES CANNOT FIND WORK, AS THE BEST EDUCATED GENERATION IN OUR HISTORY, WHEN THEY ARE EMPLOYED ON WORTHLESS CONTRACTS, THEY CRY OUT FOR CHANGE.

EU. There are also many other crises: the economic situation in Greece, the problem of the energy union and the climate program. There is also the problem of various populist and nationalistic parties gaining support in many EU countries. I would not want Poland to add to those problems.

PiS politicians have declared that there will be significant changes in Poland’s foreign policy and that Poland should not conduct its policy in the EU according to a ‘mainstream’ framework, i.e., “following Germany and France.” My answer is that if Poland has built close cooperation with those two countries we should be happy and strengthen that cooperation. If PiS wants to dismantle that partnership with Germany and France, the most important players in EU, by creating separate Polish policies based on close cooperation with members of the Visegrád Group, it is not realistic in the context of the political and economic conditions in the European Union. Plus, we differ from members of the Visegrád Group on many matters such as attitudes towards the Kremlin.

If PiS want to help maintain independence in Ukraine and its pro-Western policy, it should not be obstructive towards Germany as they are the main player in the EU in the process of achieving it. Poland could not do it alone, we must take care to strengthen relations with the countries which can help us in our policy towards Ukraine.

I hope that the facts that illustrate the interdependence of today’s world will get through to PiS leaders, and that the notion that Poland can stand alone and separate from the EU will be dispensed with.

How will the issue of refugees in Poland be resolved, considering that during the election campaign PiS leaders attacked prime minister Ewa Kopacz for accepting them?

Pacta sunt servanda. The present government has to accept the obligation made by the previous one. However, there is the more important issue that accepting refugees is an element of European solidarity and breaking our word would have its costs.

If Poland refuses to accept refugees and later finds itself in the situation when we require the solidarity of the European Union, we may hear “we will not help the Poles.”

Finally, I would like to ask how you react to the comparison, made my some commentators, of Jarosław Kaczyński to Józef Piłsudski in terms of being the most powerful influence in shaping the country, but not holding any formal position and therefore being above constitutional responsibility?

The personalities of Józef Piłsudski and Jarosław Kaczyński are entirely different, as are their eras and roles in shaping Poland.

Having said that, the fact that such comparisons are made reflects the situation in which the main center of power is located outside the realms of constitutional responsibility. I think that the role of king-maker suits Jarosław Kaczyński but I will not demonize it. I am convinced that in the 21st century, with the power of technological media and the internet and the strength of society, even a man who is outside formal structures but so strongly influences events, is under public control. And on my part, I would like to close our conversation by saying that I wish the government all the best because I wish nothing but the best for Poland. u

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INTERVIEW / TOMASZ TRZÓSŁO

EVERY DOLLAR AND EVERY EURO COUNTS TOMASZ TRZÓSŁO, THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF JLL REAL ESTATE CONSULTANCY, TALKS ABOUT POLAND’S INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS I N T E R V I E W B Y B E ATA S O C H A

How is Poland perceived now?

From the point of view of the entire market, including real estate, the general sentiment is vital for attracting investment. Either it is good and the country gets good press,

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or it isn’t, regardless of indicators and ratings.

These soft elements are extremely important as any investment decision usually boils down to two or three possible locations which are very similar in every aspect. These soft factors are what determines which area a business will locate to.

I hope the new government understands that the marketing of the country and its investment potential is extremely important.

The early days of the new government suggests it is focusing more on communication within the country, rather than internationally. I hope they will bolster their efforts with respect to the latter, too.

Some could say that whether or not more money comes into Poland makes little difference to the entire economy, but this is definitely not true: new investments do create new jobs in the economy, and new money for the real estate market creates income for the government (locally or on a national level) but it also fuels the country’s various advisory

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businesses (lawyers, tax advisors, technical advisors, banks, insurers, agents, etc) and so generates wealth in the country and also tax revenues.

Do you think the new government will see it that way as well?

I know the new government wants to put an emphasis on creating incentives for Polish investors. All well and good, and I definitely support efforts to build a stronger investment capital base in Poland, but I am sure it’s more important for a fresh out-of-school graduate to get a job in Poland rather than consider whether the money is coming from a Polishowned company or otherwise. It is actually the opposite, working for a big international company could be a bridge to an international career for some.

Secondly, the scale of Polish capital available for investment compared to international money is insufficient. We need to make use of what we are offered and develop employment

Image:JLL

WBJ Observer: The geopolitical situation in our region is far from ideal. A few years back we could have been perceived as a safe haven, but then the Ukrainian conflict broke out and now the RussianSyrian turbulence is making headlines around the world. How does it affect Poland in the eyes of potential investors?

Tomasz Trzósło: After the events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, we kept our ear to the ground and we talked to a lot to investors to see whether the situation in Ukraine would make a difference to them. Luckily, they are well-informed as to what effect, if any, the conflict has had on Poland, and therefore the whole situation has had little or no bearing on Poland as an investment destination. If anything, I would say that it has had a slightly positive impact as some funds that were looking to invest farther east decided to withdraw their capital and look elsewhere, with Poland as one of the possible alternatives.

The situation of Russian involvement in Syria is the same in terms of its impact on Poland. It’s still too soon to tell for sure, but the Ukrainian situation is much closer to home and it still hasn’t made a dent in investor confidence.

INTERVIEW / TOMASZ TRZÓSŁO

in Poland using the capital available. In an interview, Deputy Prime Minister Morawiecki said that the government will seek to continue the wave of success Poland has had in the business services sector. I think that’s extremely important. The BPO/SSC industry is one of the fastest growing employers in the country.

We already have some 150,000 jobs in the sector. This should definitely continue to be the area of focus for one simple reason – it creates a multitude of jobs for young graduates.

How long do you think this BPO trend can continue? Isn’t Polish labor becoming a little too expensive?

We can see that in the real estate market when an investor looks to buy a building leased to BPO/SSC companies, they ask a question: what happens if they leave to a cheaper location in the future? Well, I don’t think it’s like that at all. Labor costs are only one aspect of a BPO operation. Investors look at other factors as well: the quality of education, number of students, foreign languages spoken or employee loyalty, which translates into employee turnover costs, which are equally important. Poland is doing well in these areas, too.

What is even more important is that these jobs in the business services sector are not susceptible to business cycles within Poland.

These centers offer services to many countries in Europe and around the world. The company I work for, JLL, also has several hundred employees in Poland who service international markets, as well as our own BPO. We also have a shared service center rendering accounting and financial services to the JLL group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

These employees do not depend on the Polish economy or selling services in Poland.

This is, in my view, a super-strength of the entire BPO/SSC services industry in Poland – it provides much more stable and sustainable jobs as these are for a much wider geography, and therefore much less dependent on business cycles in Poland.

One more thing that is vitally important for the Polish economy as a whole is that the BPO sector offers a lot of jobs in cities other than Warsaw. We all know that Warsaw has a markedly better job market than any other major Polish city, and therefore I think that it’s important for Poland to prevent Warsaw from dominating other markets and to try and keep the other regional cities attractive. This should allow young people to be able to find good jobs throughout the country rather than limiting the options to Warsaw and abroad.

Such as the situation in Germany, where there are seven top cities with comparable attractiveness for investors as well as for Germans looking for work?

Exactly. Just like the German model. The business services sector is great for the jobs market in Poland’s regional cities, but importantly it also drives further job creation. People who have jobs spend their money and through consumption or investment create other jobs as a result. Therefore, the benefit of the cities attracting BPO/SSC firms is much wider than the jobs in the sector.

There are those who say that BPO firms offer little in terms of professional development and that it’s just a way for a graduate to gain his or her first professional experience and then move on to something more advanced.

It’s only natural that people want to move forward with their careers but it is also a fact that we already have a number of more advanced processes and positions within the business service sector in Poland. It’s not just customer services and accounting. There’s IT, KPO – Knowledge Process Outsourcing units, and an increasing number of R&D centers that are being moved to Poland. There is also huge potential for fund management in Poland, but it still requires legislative changes. We have the people, the knowledge and the quality to do it, but Poland would need tax solutions that would allow funds to have similar effectiveness as, for example, in Luxembourg. I hope the new government will look into this.

There is another macroeconomic reason why this would be good for Poland. Everything seems to indicate that such changes would help bring more capital to the Warsaw Stock Exchange providing these funds are traded on the WSE. And, as we all know, our stock exchange would benefit from additional capital. After the pension fund debacle in 2014, its position has suffered and so a positive impulse would undoubtedly be good for it.

What about the new government’s position related to favoring Polish companies with Polish capital?

I strongly believe that every dollar and euro that comes to Poland is in the country’s best interest. When an international giant buys a company built here, its profit stays here, it will pay its Polish employees more and produce more goods in Poland for export. Naturally, it is important that the company pays its taxes here. But it is always a good thing and I find it surprising when some politicians question it.

The only way for long term success of Polish companies is for them to be as internationally

competitive as possible, and this includes cost, but also creativity and pro-activeness of quality. No governmental regulations will ensure this. Internal support from the country should focus on easing access to capital that would help Polish companies to grow, and this should be the focus of the government. Hopefully, the new government will see it the same way.

The new ministerial appointments to financial and economic related posts are good and I am hopeful.

Where is the capital coming from as far as the real estate market is concerned? How much of it is Polish?

In 2015, Polish capital accounted for some 10 percent of the entire real estate investment volume. The majority of it is international: American, Western European, Canadian, and others. Recently we’ve seen a new player from South Africa in the Polish market acquiring several shopping centers. It’s a fund called Rockcastle. It’s a completely new source of money for Poland, which is great news. We’ve also seen several major deals with South Korean and Chinese capital. We have money from the Middle East coming into Poland, which is invested mainly through international money managers, although there have also been direct purchases, such as Qatar Holding’s acquisition of the new building where Orange HQ is located. It is therefore, a truly international and diversified market, which is what we should be proud of in Poland – Poland has positioned itself very well on the international map of real estate, international pension funds also want to have an allocation on this market.

The latest EU round of funding will likely be the last one in which Poland receives such funds for developing its infrastructure. What will happen after this source of money dries up?

That is another reason why we need to work on creating as many jobs now and bring as much business to Poland as possible. Not only in the service sector, but also in the financial industry or in the manufacturing sector. These investments, and workplaces, are made with a long-term perspective and therefore should be really high on the governmental agenda. Polish companies should, of course, be given as much support as possible to help them grow, and their investments are very important in facilitating long-term growth. That being said, attracting more international capital will also definitely be to our benefit, not only in terms of job creation, but additionally in long term stability, safety and growth in the country. u

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Image: Shutterstock

COVER STORY / MIGRATION

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CN H C O V EFRE A S TT U OR R EY / H M II GG H R -ATT EI O

B Y S E R G I U S Z P R O K U R AT

Are immigrants unwelcome in Poland?

”MAN WAS BORN FREE, AND HE IS EVERYWHERE IN CHAINS.” – JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU ONCE WROTE. SUCH PSYCHOLOGICAL CHAINS INFLUENCE A CERTAIN SECTION OF POLISH SOCIETY WHO DISPLAY AN INHOSPITABLE ATTITUDE TOWARDS IMMIGRANTS

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COVER STORY / MIGRATION

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ccording to the National Census of Population and Housing, in 2011, only 383,200 people born in Poland had parents that were both born abroad. More than 98 percent of Polish citizens are Poles, that is unique in today’s ethnically diverse Europe. Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians and the Vietnamese are among the largest groups of residence permit holders in Poland. Data from the authorities, however, points to a certain trend. For example, in the first half of 2015, Polish institutions received 30,906 work permit applications submitted by foreigners. That is about 28 percent more than in the same period of 2014. More than 27,000 of those applications were approved. “We are trailing behind the rest of Europe in terms of the population of immigrants. No one should have any illusions – most of these people do not want to live in Poland, which is not considered a very wealthy country and whose “social offer” is not as attractive as other western countries” said Anna Antczak-Barzan, a university lecturer and expert in the field of national security.

Multidimensionality Despite the fact that Poland is an almost totally ethnically homogeneous country, where it is unusual to meet a person of another skin color outside a big city, the migration process has recently grown in strength in both the European Union and in Poland which has stirred a lot of emotions. Antczak-Barzan pointed out

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JUNE 2015 • WBJ OBSERVER

its multidimensionality: “The dilemma for the adoption of growing numbers of people from distant countries, not only geographically, but above all, culturally, is not only a political, economic, social or cultural problem and it boils down to the question of whether we can afford it, taking into account the shortage of funds for health care and social benefits for the poor.” As the Western media have noted, the general attitude in Poland is the following: “Instead of helping Africans we must first take care of our own people.”

The positive effects of immigration can be seen everywhere. From the cuisine – including the ubiquitous kebabs or popular Vietnamese bars serving plates full of fried rice – to language skills and increased opportunities to find employees or experts from other countries.

Even a small increase in immigration can result in huge benefits. If Poland took in enough immigrants so that the level of employment increased by one percent, this added value would be worth more than the cost of maintaining the

“THE INFLUX OF NEW IMMIGRANTS IS LIKE ADDITIONAL WATER FROM THE MELTING SNOW IN SPRING, IT HELPS THE WATER MILL TO SPIN FASTER SO THAT MORE ENERGY IS PRODUCED.

Images: Shutterstock

COVER STORY / MIGRATION

It used the US, Examples to be may recall of such that Krakus products if you Polish ham. include asked a Most IceGerman foreignlanders, on NIVEA er with the other cosmetics, limited hand, will Swedish knowlwithout IKEA edge of a doubt furniture or geograexclaim: the popular phy or Prins Póló! Italian Fiat history (see p. 28).

500 city what But stereocar. they types aside, A numknow what is the ber of comabout condition panies in Polish of the Polthe country prodish brand have manucts or today? aged to specigo a step alities, And you further, they are from to stand may where? out from have Today, the crowd. menan overSince 1996, tioned whelming Solaris Bus pierogis number of & Coach, or kielcompanies has been basa, in are sucproduca very cessfully ing public generic exporting transporsense. products tation Not much manufacvehicles else. On tured in which now the other Poland, yet roam the hand, the in many streets of same ques- cases these 600 cities tion about are reand towns Germany branded for in 30 would the target countries. entire education As comlong as triggerhigher a market orsystem.The Poland itsunder status as one the differentmaintains sold panyofwas countries lowest fertility rates in reaction: with the well-known founded the world, boost BMW or and Europe interna-continues andtoled by its fertility through the massivethe influx Mercedes tional hus-of people from Arab and African countries, cars, Bosch brands.

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However, contrary to common perception, new immigrants do not steal jobs from citizens of the country to which they come.

If immigrants steal jobs, one could say the same about every graduate leaving school and entering the job market. In fact, it is the opposite – the economy expands and the total number of jobs increases, because the economy is a living organism. Today’s employee is tomorrow’s potential entrepreneur. An example can be seen in Maksymilian Faktorowicz, who after arriving in the US in the early twentieth century, founded Max Factor, a company which exists to this day. The influx of new immigrants is like additional water from the melting snow in spring, it helps the water mill to spin faster so that more energy is produced. More

taxes levied on extra staff means that more money can be spent on education, roads and infrastructure, which leads to an increase in the productivity of the community as a whole.

Interestingly, according to Work Service research, employers in Poland are open to foreigners. No wonder, for small businesses such employees present the opportunity to survive on a competitive market. Immigrants provide fundamentally different skills that are complementary to the skills of local people, which is confirmed by the research of Giovanni Peri from the University of California. Newcomers from other countries, usually representing countries of lower standards of living, are willing to take jobs that local people do not want to do.

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Difficult times In difficult times Poles were able to count on the hospitality of many countries of the world. Over the years they have been the

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beneficiaries of the wider possibilities of leaving their native country. On the one hand, for the average Pole it is obvious that governments that prevent the departure of their own citizens are sinister regimes, and those who do not want to allow Poles to enter without visas, such as the US, are ”overly restrictive”. On the other hand, Poles who have emigrated rarely deny that right to others, being aware that the entitlement to move freely is a basic human right.

There is significant potential in immigration, assuming that immigrants want to work and are not only interested in benefiting from social programs. This potential makes the European Union willing to accept immigrants. The Polish government, however, is more reserved and society is divided.

At the end of November, several Polish

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Image: Shutterstock

Poles are familiar with this issue from their own personal experience. Over the years, many Poles have been refugees and immigrants seeking opportunities in countries whose governments did not enslave people and allowed the possibility to do business comfortably. Then, after the accession to the European Union, a lot of Poles left their country for a better life. More than 700,000 to Great Britain, over 500,000 to Germany and in excess of 250,000 to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. 10 million people living in the US have Polish roots.

COVER STORY / MIGRATION

Images: Shutterstock

cities witnessed demonstrations against the acceptance of immigrants into Poland.

Manifestations organized by national groups were a reaction to the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris. Nationalist organizations perceive immigration as a struggle for national identity and provoke the following slogans: Opponents of immigration base their attitudes on arguments derived from nationalism, misunderstanding the differences between cultures and harboring an instinctive aversion to “foreign” and “other”.

A student of management at one of Warsaw’s universities Abdul Mohammed said that in spite of that fact, Poles are mostly hospitable and friendly: “I like Poland. Especially young people, who speak foreign languages very well and are eager to help. They have visited many places and people of a different skin color are nothing new for them.” His words were confirmed by Tom Gresk, an English and

“THERE IS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL IN IMMIGRATION, ASSUMING THAT IMMIGRANTS WANT TO WORK AND ARE NOT ONLY INTERESTED IN BENEFITING FROM SOCIAL PROGRAMS.

business lecturer from the US who came to Poland in 1991: “Much has changed in the last 25 years as when I came there were virtually no foreigners in Poland.

Although everybody has always been nice and helpful, Poles still tend to classify people depending on the region that they come from.” He gives an example of his Indian students who always have their passports with them in case of emergency situations. When they are taken for Muslim radicals on the street, they show their documents confirming that in fact, they come from India.

Time has shown that Poles can be valuable assets for the German economy.

The same could be said about immigrants in Poland. Having said that, newcomers are not helped by the fact that they often come from countries where authorities hinder the development of entrepreneurship and contribute to the promotion of religious and social intolerance or discrimination based on gender or opinions.

Involuntarily, they bring with them part of this reality, which can manifest itself in various ways. The role of the governments of host countries is to shape the incentives and institutions so that newcomers are attracted by work opportunities and are not tempted to cultivate some bad habits they inherited from their homeland. “The issue of migration is something the government will, sooner or later, have to face, and with it, the society of our country as a whole,” said Antczak-Barzan.

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F E AT U R E / P H OTO V O LTA I C S

Solar prodigy CRISIS ON THE POLISH BLACK GOLD MARKET

B Y A L I CJA C I S Z E W S K A

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M

inerals (precisely mineral patterns) called perovskites, which occur naturally and can also be created under laboratory conditions, have been used in electronics for a few decades, but the first perovskite solar cells were made in 2009. They converted 3.8 percent of the light falling onto them into electricity. Now, the most advanced absorb around 20 percent. This conversion rate is similar to the performance of commercial silicon cells, and researchers are confident they can push it to 25 percent in the next few years. "Perovskites are very interesting materials with excellent optical properties, which can certainly be applied to produce low-cost, efficient solar cells,” Tadeusz Żdanowicz, Department of Plasma and Vacuum Technology, Faculty of Microsystem Electronics and Photonics at Wrocław University of Technology, pointed out.

The technology invented by a Polish female scientist, Olga Malinkiewicz involves low temperature perovskite application onto PET foil to create a semi-transparent PV cell. The process involves digital ink-jet printing of perovskites in a vacuum-free process, than spraying perovskite precursors onto adhesive backings. This will allow the cells to be stuck onto any device that needs power.

THANKS TO HER GROUNDBREAKING INVENTION, OLGA MALINKIEWICZ, THE FOUNDER AND CTO AT SAULE TECHNOLOGIES IS BECOMING A KIND OF CELEBRITY IN THE WORLD OF SCIENCE. RECENTLY, A JAPANESE BILLIONAIRE HAS PLACED HOPE AND MONEY IN HER TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PUSH SILICON PANELS OFF THE MARKET

Image: Saule Technologies

€10 mln revolution Olga Malinkiewicz has spent years developing her technology and naturally, wanted to commercialize it. Finding an investor for the project was the biggest challenge that lay ahead of the young scientist and her company, Saule Technologies. Piotr Krych, the firm’s CEO and Artur Kupczunas, who owns a 25 percent stake, have each been looking for investors around the globe. They were introduced to Hideo Sawada, a Japanese discount-travel pioneer, by a Pole running his business in London. Sawada invited them to Tokyo and offered to inject PLN 20 million into their company after a quick talk. Saule’s owners stressed that the Japanese investor’s offer “seemed to have potential” and guaranteed protection of the intellectual property. Both the Polish start-up and Sawada are more than satisfied with their choice. “The new technology being developed by Saule Technologies has enormous potential to revolutionize the solar power market and make it more accessible and common. Future uses for its application are almost limitless,” said Sawada at the signing event in October.

Krych and Kupczunas said they wanted their investor to be inspired by their plans and they managed to find one. “The contract with Sawada will make it easier for us to get access to the Japanese and Asian markets. This cooperation confirms that we are entering the world market by taking small but bold steps,” Krych concluded.

Sawada’s investment in Saule Technologies comes on the back of a grant which the company received from Poland’s National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR), amounting to over PLN 25 million, and funding from ARP Venture (one symbolic share), a venture capital arm of state owned Grupa Kapitałowa Agencji Rozwoju Przemysłu. The minor financing that Saule was provided with by ARP will enable the company to seek support in the field of promoting the technology on the domestic market. In total, the company garnered funds valued at some €10 million, a sum that is sufficient to carry out the project which is worth approximately PLN 34 million. Currently, experts from Poland and western Europe, led by Malinkiewicz, are working on the technology in their Wrocław-based laboratory. The team has developed prototype flexible cells which are 3 percent efficient, and Malinkiewicz thinks its engineers can get to 10 percent in the next 24 months when the production process may be launched. Żdanowicz admitted that perovskites themselves

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Saule’s foil may be integrated into a building's elevation

Big game So what exactly did Malinkiewicz do?

She put perovskites and electrodes on PET foil by using special ink, produced in her laboratory. “We focused on developing the technology, which will make it easy to print our cells,” Kupczunas said, stressing that Saule was the first in the world to invent such an application. The process may seem quite simple to perform, however, as he explained, it requires extraordinary laboratory conditions to make the foil effective. Since Saule’s product is capable of producing solar electricity, it may be addressed to wide range of industries. Its owners asserted that thanks to Poland’s climate, the foil will be exposed to high temperature amplitudes as well as different weather phenomena.

This, consequently, will make the product usable all over the world. The foil may be attached to roof tiles or to other building materials, thus building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are at the center of the firm’s business interests. Obviously, the technology may also be useful for charging electronic devices, cars, and so on, and most importantly, energy surpluses may be sold by a prosumer and also recycled. Ultimately, the foil is to be usable for 20 years, at the moment the firm has managed to achieve a product life-span of three years. “This is the first

38

“THE NEW TECHNOLOGY BEING DEVELOPED

BY SAULE TECHNOLOGIES HAS ENORMOUS POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE SOLAR POWER MARKET (SAWADA) time in history, when the accumulated costs of electric energy production may be lower than from fossil fuels and even from silicon panels,” Kupczunas claimed and added that the time has come to develop new technologies. Saule has already been in talks with some significant domestic and international players, potential recipients of their product. “We visited an Airbus production plant based in Ottobrunn [Germany]. They are interested in cooperation with us. We have contacts with the European Space Agency and the Polish Army, among others,” Kupczunas informed. He did not want to disclose any details about the business ties with the aforementioned entities, but he stressed that his company was approached by many potential partners and Saule is looking into these offers carefully. The company is also considering cooperation with a Barcelona-based research facility which has been working on developing technology for adopting graphene into photovoltaics. “Graphene would replace

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

the material we use to produce the electrodes applied in our photovoltaic cell. It could be quite a fine conductor” Kupczunas explained, adding that this project is a side issue and that Saule is focusing on the knowledge it has already acquired.

The competition never sleeps Saule is not the only firm working on selling its technology using perovskites in photovoltaics. Oxford Photovoltaics (PV), established by Oxford University, is developing and commercializing thin-film perovskite solar cells, which can be deposited directly onto silicon solar cells on glass. Żdanowicz claimed that the option to connect perovskites with traditional crystalline silicon cells which allows the combination of the different optical properties of both materials seems to be “a particularly interesting” application.

The company hopes to produce panels with perovskite-based solar cells by 2017.

So basically, Oxford Photovoltaics is combining silicon cells with perovskites, that is why Saule “is more innovative,” Kupczunas said proudly. “Unlike other companies, we focus on combining our inks with the foil, which is much more technically demanding, but also opens a wider range of potential applications than simple deposits on glass, not to mention the lower cost of production, assembly and transport,” he concluded.

Saule’s owners admitted that it is hard to stay up to date with all the results that their potential competition achieve, because most of them are secret. On the other hand, the point that the Polish firm has already reached is the right one to

Images: Shutterstock, Saule Technologies

“could also be used for the preparation of cells for a thin, light, flexible substrate,” without commenting on Saule’s product.

However, for now, he thinks that the road to the commercialization of such technology is “long and bumpy.”

F E AT U R E / P H OTO V O LTA I C S

pursue their goal, which is wide commercialization. “Others are also working in laboratories on the efficiency of their material, the best achieve 20 percent.

We prefer to establish cooperation with industry quickly, because it only needs 10 percent efficiency, which we are capable of,” Malinkiewicz pointed out.

Brighter future Saule has the undoubted potential to become a globally known Polish company, which has managed to put an idea into practice and run a promising business. At the same time, its success may pave the way for many Polish scientists who are wary about carrying out their research in our country. “Saule Technologies is just one of the examples that proves that Poland is ready to create global enterprises. I think that we have the academic background, infrastructure and industry ready to support research for inventions,” said Malinkiewicz, who chose Poland over foreign facilities to make her dreams come true. u

+20 YEARS

Straightening things out A perovskite is any material with the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate, with the chemical formula CaTiO3. The mineral was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia by Gustav Rose in 1839 and is named after the Russian mineralogist, Lev Perovski.

Often, perovskites are semiconductors, which means that like silicon, they can be used in solar cells.

Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at an atomic level. Some materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons.

When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, or facades.

– IS THE ULTIMATE LIFE SPAN OF SAULE’S FOIL Team behind Saule Technologies(L-R) Piotr Krych (CEO), Olga Malinkiewicz (CFO), Artur Kupczunas (Deputy CEO)

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

39

FEATURE / NIECIECZA

THE LITTLE VILLAGE T B Y WOJ C I E C H R Y LU KOW S K I

An entrepreneur in the centrally planned economy The history of Witkowski’s success dates back to 1984, when as a fresh graduate from Kraków’s AGH University of Science and Technology, he was trying to find a job in his field of building material technology.

Unsuccessful, he took matters into his own hands and rented a depleted workshop, bought a cement mixing machine and set up a concrete manufacturing firm. Beginnings were not easy though, so called “private initiatives” as the ruling party described entrepreneurs, were not favorably regarded under communism. With only two employ-

40

WBJ OBSERVER UNVEILS THE STORY OF THE VILLAGE OF NIECIECZA, THE SMALLEST MUNICIPALITY IN EUROPE TO HAVE A TEAM IN THE TOP FOOTBALL DIVISION. WE ALSO PRESENT THE FIGURE BEHIND THE SUCCESS, KRZYSZTOF WITKOWSKI, A LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR

ees, Witkowski was forced to work physically, producing flagstones, breezeblocks and curbstones - products which were later sold to large state-owned companies. The fall of communism marked the beginning of the business’ intensive growth, further eased by Poland’s accession to the EU. Since the bulk of the funds provided by the Union were channeled into infrastructure, companies like Bruk-bet had a bonanza.

Thirty years after its establishment, the firm has become the third largest player (after Libet and Polbruk) in the sector of cobble stone manufacturing, with around 10 percent of the market share, as estimated by Witkowski himself. The company’s income in 2013 amounted to PLN 15 million and Bruk-bet now runs 15 plants, 32 technological lines and 17 sales offices Poland-wide. Despite national-level success, its heart still beats in the village of Nieciecza.

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Image: Shutterstock

L

ocated in south-eastern Poland, 20 kilometers from Tarnów, is the small village of Nieciecza, inhabited by 750 citizens. On November 20 it celebrated a landmark event in its history.

For the first time ever the local football club, Termalica Bruk-Bet, played a match in Poland’s elite division at its own stadium. After the club won promotion to Poland’s top-tier, the facility underwent a major overhaul to fulfill license requirements needed to play in the T-Mobile Ekstraklasa, including the installation of pitch heating and floodlights, as well as an increase in its capacity to 4,500.

Seen from distance, the brightly illuminated stadium, located in the wind-swept countryside, resembled a UFO aircraft which had landed in a corn-field. That evening, Termalica took to the field against league leaders, Piast and although the game was lost three to five, the celebratory mood of Krzysztof Witkowski, the project’s mastermind, was not diminished. The only sponsor of the club has just reached another milestone in its long-term plan to develop football in the village.

FEATURE / NIECIECZA

>>

Images: Tomasz Madejski

E THAT COULD

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

41

FEATURE / NIECIECZA

The health and fitness market is a small but growing part of Poland’s economy. As consumer sentiment improves, it will likely expand further

42

for a place inhabited by 750 citizens. In fact, it might be the only village in the world that has a 4D cinema. But, maintaining cultural traditions is not the only commitment to the community shown by the businessman. After he saved the local school from bankruptcy, he turned it into one of the best in the region. “He gets outstanding teachers from the area to work there. Kids are provided with language lessons, it’s all covered

by Witkowski,” Wójcik said. The school’s reputation is known outside Nieciecza and parents from neighboring communities make efforts to enroll their children there.

The entrepreneur also made donations to renovate a fire squad depot and sponsored the purchase of new fire trucks. Not surprisingly, he is also the main employer in the village. “Whoever wants to work, can work at the Bruk-bet plant,” said Wójcik’s wife.

Because of that, the village is not ridden with problems common for many small Polish towns, namely emigration and depopulation. “Of course, the youth wants to live in big cities and they leave, but we used to have many empty buildings and now they are all inhabited. Nieciecza is a kind of oasis in the region,” Wójcik admitted. Knowing all this, it becomes more understandable why he is

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

{

CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING MORE ACCESS TO HEALTHY PRODUCTS, SO THEY CAN TRY THEM OUT.

SŁAWOMIR CHŁOŃ, CEO OF ORGANIC FARMA ZDROWIA

Images: Tomasz Madejski

To uphold tradition “He could afford to move anywhere he wants, name the place, but he’s a local patriot and his whole family is from here,” said Tadeusz Wójcik, the village leader of Nieciecza. The businessman’s attachment to the place where he was born and bred is motivated by his roots. Historically, the village stood out from other municipalities in the region due to its unusual high share of well-educated inhabitants - a fact that earned it the nickname “gazeciarze”, which can be translated as “press readers”. In 1916, an amateur theater group was established, in which Witkowski’s grandfather was involved. The cultural inclination was passed to the son, Kazimierz, a soldier in the Armia Krajowa, Poland’s second World War underground army, then to the grandson, Krzysztof. The theater troupe is up and running to the present day and currently it is headed by Witkowski’s mom. Bowing down to tradition, Witkowski has built a cinematic auditorium fitted with a theater stage on the ground floor of Bruk-bet’s headquarters. With two rows of seats equipped with a moveable platform and devices for simulating wind, water, lightning or smell, the cinema is quite an extraordinary facility

{

FEATURE / NIECIECZA

“NIECIECZA MIGHT BE THE ONLY VILLAGE IN THE WORLD THAT HAS A 4D CINEMA.

“We are from a village, but we are the best” The gem in Bruk-bet’s crown is Termalica, the football club. Just like the beginnings of the theater, football’s history in the village reaches back to the 1920s. For years the local team had been playing in the lower divisions of Poland’s football system. Its situation saw a sudden change after the cobblestone producer became its sponsor and set the ambitious goal of climbing up the league system ladder. Its rise to Poland’s second division was spectacular and achieved rather easily, however, the final touch that would secure promotion to the Ekstraklasa encountered hurdles. Since 2010, Termalica struggled to make the move to Poland’s football elite, despite the fact that it had always finished in the top parts of the second league table. In 2013, the club missed out on promotion by just one point, losing three out of the five final games. This kind of a bad luck combined with fresh memories of corruption scandals that shook Poland in the 1990s and 2000s, provoked comments that Termalica was either selling the games off or was throwing matches to avoid the expensive renovation

44

of its stadium required to meet Ekstraklasa’s license demands. Witkowski said that these allegations were unjustified and the season 2014/2015 proved his point. After winning 2:0 against Pogoń Siedlce in May, Termalica Bruk-bet Nieciecza secured an historic promotion to Ekstraklasa, an event celebrated by local fans chanting “We are from a village, but we are the best.” The remarkable success also caused a headache. Termalica’s stadium was way too small to host top-tier games and Witkowski was forced to move his team to play in Kraków. Nonetheless, he immediately made the decision to start building a new stadium with a capacity of 4,500, seven times more than the population of Nieciecza. The CEO boldly stated that he was not afraid that the stands would be empty, saying that “it is a problem of big agglomerations. There are some clubs which are able to fill their stadiums, but most of them are half-empty.”

Despite receiving invitations to permanently move his team to Tarnów or Kraków, Witkowski declined, once again making a reference to his roots. “It’s my relation with the village” he explained, assuring that the club’s place is in Nieciecza. The businessman sees the development of the football team as a kind of gift to the villagers. And the villagers appreciate it, attending every game and creating a picnic-like atmosphere. The team is also supported at away games, with almost a third of Nieczeca’s population traveling with Termalica. “We go in four buses, every bus fits around 40-50 people,” Wójcik said.

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Women, children, the elderly and families - they do differ from typical away fans and this causes awkward and funny situations.

Wójcik remembers when they were going to a game against Legia in Warsaw, the police stopped the bus and checked whether they had any weapons on them, looking for axes, machetes or brass knuckles.

There’s more to win Although for Witkowski the football club is part of the company’s CSR, he’s not ruling out that one day it may turn into a profitable business. As of now, he is the one that injects money. “No one has ever counted how much I have spent on the club, but it’s way more than one percent of the company’s profit as some suggest,” he laughed.

Being the sole sponsor of the club doesn’t stop him from making plans. The short-term expectations are modest: to keep the club in Ekstraklasa and to create a training program for children. But he also sets more longterm targets: to buy outstanding players and to make Nieciecza (even) more visible on the footballing map. When pressed to admit whether he thinks of European cups, he swerved the question, explaining that it is too early to say, but he didn’t dismiss the idea that, one day, it might happen. Who knows if one day Nieciecza will surprise Europe as it has already surprised Poland and become the smallest village to ever play in the Europa League or even the Champions League? u

Image: Tomasz Madejski

treated like a local hero, and why everybody in the village looks up to him. Some even attribute him god-like features: “he has such nobility in his hands, everything he touches turns gold,” the village leader said, all the same ensuring he doesn’t become uppish, the opinion expressed by most villagers.

IT / CYBER SECURITY

IT INSIGHTS

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

45

IT / CYBER SECURITY

By Beata Socha

CYBER SECURITY DRIVING THE IT MARKET A NUMBER OF HIGH PROFILE ATTACKS ON POLISH FIRMS’ DATA SECURITY HAS PUT THE IT SECURITY BUSINESS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT ONCE AGAIN

The CEOs of companies included in Deloitte’s latest Fast 50 ranking (a ranking of the fastest growing IT businesses across CEE countries), published in late October, claim that data security is one of the market sub-segments with the greatest potential for growth over the coming year. It came in fourth after cloud computing (with nearly 60 percent of the CEOs believing in its growth potential), mobile technologies and business software.

The data security business is already quite well developed in Poland, although significantly smaller than in Western European countries.

The entire IT security submarket in Central European countries (Poland,

46

the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania) is currently valued at $685 million, with Poland accounting for nearly half of the total sum, according to IT industry research firm IDC. Data security is also among the fastest growing sub-segments of the IT market. Its value is expected to increase by 7 percent over the entirety of 2015.

The IT security submarket can be broken down into three areas. The largest of them, at least in Central European countries, is IT security services, accounting for 40 percent of the submarket and dominated by large international corporations such as HP and IBM. The second area, security software, accounts for a third

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

of the market and is growing at an impressive pace of 9 percent a year.

The smallest slice, security hardware, constitutes a quarter of the pie.

In Poland, the two main reasons behind the growth of the IT security business are the constantly evolving data security regulations (both domestic and international) as well as the ever increasing number of potential threats.

Embarrassing and dangerous One of the most feared threats to data security is, naturally, theft. Often performed either by an external hacker or, also quite frequently, by a disgruntled former or current employee. Such thefts occur rather often

IT / CYBER SECURITY

cause a stir. According to niebezpiecznik.pl, during a recent election campaign there was a time when entering the website address of one political party would result in being redirected to the internet page of its opponent.

and have been known to cause many companies (and their clients) serious problems, the least of which being major embarrassment as was the recent case when the Ashley Maddison website was hacked.

In Poland, banks seem to be among the favored targets of data hackers. For example, Polish Plus Bank suffered such a data breach in April of this year. A group of hackers wanted to extort some PLN 200,000 by threatening to publish the bank’s confidential client data. Failing to receive monetary “compensation” the hackers released the data. In September the list of default debtors of Getin Noble Bank was stolen and put up for sale. Poland’s biggest lender, PKO had also fallen prey to a similar data theft four years previously.

Accidental data leaks, usually with no foul play involved, are also quite a serious plague among businesses. Only a few weeks ago a video streaming portal kinoman.tv suffered a security breakdown which revealed the e-mail

addresses of its users, according to niebezpiecznik.pl a website devoted to IT security issues. Given that the legality of using online video streaming is strongly debatable the incident may have given the users serious cause for concern.

Public institutions are also often targeted by hackers, either to serve their political agenda or simply to

Keep your guard up Unsurprisingly, the largest contributors to the growth of IT security market this year have been financial sector companies, alongside public institutions and energy firms. The health care business offers a lot of potential for the security business too. Still, many smaller firms don’t seem to see the point of investing in IT security and fail to take similar threats seriously. Overall, IT security expenditure makes up between 2.5 percent and 15 percent of the total IT costs in Polish companies, IDC stated.

According to a recent survey commissioned by HP, only one out of every ten mid-sized companies has a dedicated IT security department.

Almost half of all firms rely on their in-house IT team to take care of data security, while 36 percent scatter the responsibility for data security across several departments. Only 9 percent decide to outsource this part of their business to professional IT security companies which suggests there is still a lot of room for growth in this area.

On the plus side, the same study revealed that nearly a third of all Polish SMEs plan on increasing their

Security breakdown

Poland’s IT security market in 2014 divided into categories

25%

35%

40%

Hardware Security software IT security services Source: IDC

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

47

IT / CYBER SECURITY

TECH WHIZZES CHIME IN TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY SUB-SEGMENTS THAT HAVE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, ACCORDING TO THE CEOS OF COMPANIES NOTED IN THE 2015 EDITION OF DELOITTE’S FAST 50 RANKING Cloud computing Mobile technology Business software Data security Source: Deloitte

48

57.9% 47.4% 44.7% 42.1%

spending on IT security while the majority (62 percent) have no intention of cutting back on data security. Nor should they as the number of hacker attacks on Polish companies continues to increase.

“Let’s not kid ourselves – anyone can become the victim of a cyber attack – from the hijacking of your e-mail to breaking into your bank account, to hacking companies’ and public institutions’ IT systems. In each of these cases the consequences can be dire to both the personal and financial data of the users as well as the company’s image and credibility.

It is particularly important for firms managing other people’s data or financial assets,” Michał Iwan, managing director at F-Secure in Poland, told niebezpiecznik.pl.

“The responsibility in a case like this falls primarily on the user who can’t be bothered to increase the strength of his password. The employees of the IT department are also often to blame, particularly when they fail to implement necessary procedures and safeguards, for example, requiring employees to change their password periodically,” explained Iwan.

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Social phenomenon Nevertheless, even if they do put those safeguards in place, people can be relied upon to foil any attempts at bolstering security. When forced to change passwords on a regular basis they often rely on a “tried and tested” method of generating them, for example, the current month and year, thus making the job of hackers even easier. That is one of the reasons why niebezpiecznik.pl recently started a campaign under the patronage of the Interior Ministry aimed at educating people about data security.

Another, often underrated, reason why hacking has become easier is the increasing use of social media with social website users paying little or no attention to security issues when posting their personal details online.

“Unfortunately, in the age of constant and rapid expansion of web resources and unwarranted trust in their security, attacks based on social engineering are increasingly successful. This way we expose ourselves to the loss of sensitive data and to incurring serious financial losses, thus putting our careers, as well as the wellbeing of the entire company, at risk,” said Iwan.

789.0 WND 789.0 230

WND WND WND WND WND WND WND

700.0 WND WND 530 WND WND WND 500 WND WND WND WND 490

557.0 128.0 88.0 544.0 92.0 65.0 517.0 106.0 41.0

Wincor Nixdorf Sp. z o.o. ul. Popularna 82, 02-225 Warszawa 360.0 175.0 178.0 22 572-4200/22 5725 327.0 181.0 150.0 4209 166.0 poland@wincor-nixdorf. 342.0 164.0 com www.wincor-nixdorf. com/pl S&T Services Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Postępu 21D, 02-676 Warszawa 6 22 535-9500/22 5359597 info@snt.pl www.snt.pl

IBM; Microsoft; HP; Oracle; SAP; Cisco

PKO BP; PZU; Tauron; NFZ

379 352

210 235

2,967 1989

WND

WND

WND

WND WND

WND WND

WND WND

WND

4,000 WND

WND WND

530 1992

None Brak Oracle Corporation 100%

WND WND

WND WND

WND 1994

Janusz Filipiak – 32.9%, Elżbieta Filipiak – 10.4% WND

150 WND

WND WND

WND WND

WND

WND WND

WND WND

280 1963

None Brak S&T CEE Holding S.R.O. – 100%

WND WND

WND WND

WND 1989

Asseco Poland – 46.5%; Amplico Wojciech OFE – 10.5%; Aviva OFE Aviva Barczentewicz President BZWBK – 9,8% None Brak

WND WND

WND WND

242 1992

None Brak SAS Institute – 100%

WND

Ministry of Finance; Oracle Partner Allegro; Polpharma; Network Energa; NBP; PKO BP; Orange

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

def 3000/CB; Ins.; PROMAk; AMMS; AUMS

Comarch OSS; Comarch BSS; Comarch E-Plus; KPN; Internet Banking; HP; IBM; Cisco; Ministry 4,211 of Justice; Comarch Loyalty Microsoft; 4,222 111 T-Mobile; Telefonika; Management; Oracle; Google 3,759 UniCredit; BP; Metro Serwery IBM; Inc; Juniper Group Serwery HP; Macierze IBM; Komputery NTT TP.net; NAMOS; InterWpłata; BTS Management Studio; Bankomaty 209 Cineo; Systemy kasowe WND WND 155 WND BEETLE; Kasy 129 samoobsługowe POS Tower; Dyspensery kasjerskie Cineo

Ministry of Justice;

148.0 132.0 115.0

SAP; Infor; Gaz System; Auchan 7.0 WND WND Hitachi; Polska; Instytut 6.4 WND WND WND Olcast; Scanexpress Cisco; HP; IBM; Pomnik – Centrum 6.3 WND WND Microsoft Zdrowia Dziecka; Euronet Polska

Asseco Business Solutions SA ul. Konrada Wallenroda 4C, 147.0 145.0 WND 585 7 20-607 Lublin 148.5 146.0 WND 580 81 535-3000/81 535142.7 139.3 WND 588 3005 info@assecobs.pl www.assecobs.pl SAS Institute Sp. z o.o. ul. Gdańska 27/31, 01-633 Warszawa 8 22 560-4600/22 5604604 polska@spl.sas.com www.sas.com/poland

Selected clients

Number of testers and test engineers / Number of implementation engineers

Comarch SA Al. Jana Pawła II 39A, 31-864 Kraków 4 12 646-1000/12 6461100 info@comarch.com www.comarch.com

1,321.3 943.7 136.1 2,967 1,428.4 877.1 280.3 3,180 50.7 1,318.8 873.5 WND 3,154

WND WND

Technological partners

PLN mln

2014 / 2013 / 2012

Asseco Poland SA ul. Olchowa 14, 35-322 Rzeszów 1 17 888-5555/17 8885550 info@asseco.pl www.asseco.pl Veracomp S.A. ul. Zawiła 61, 30-390 Kraków 12 252-5555/12 2522 5500 veracomp@veracomp. pl www.veracomp.pl Oracle Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Przyokopowa 31, 01-208 Warszawa 22 690-8700/22 6903 8900 reception_pl@oracle. com www.oracle.com/pl

Main products

Number of developers / Number of database administrators

PLN mln

R&D expenditure in 2014

Average employment

Revenue from hardware sales

Revenue from own software sales

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

Total revenue

Rank

RANKING OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE & HARDWARE PRODUCERS

Mobile Touch; Asseco Softlab ERP; Asseco Softlab 6.0 HR; Platforma Connector; Faktor; Asseco WAPRO

WND

Mondelez International; Nestle; Dr. Oetker; Lotte Wedel; Grupa Atlas; Work Service; Orange

SAS Visual 108.8 104.3 WND Analytics; SAS 114.8 109.7 WND 242 WND Visual Statistics; 250 WND 97.7 92.4 SAS Office Analytics

WND

PKO BP; NBP; Bank Pekao SA; PZU; UFG; Orange; GUS

OPTeam SA Tajęcina 113, 36-002 Jasionka 9 17 867-2100/17 8520138 opteam@opteam.pl www.opteam.pl

98.0 93.3 91.5

46.5 42.5 182 40.1 44.0 170 32.1 49.0 177

UNIT4 Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Strzegomska 140A, 54-429 Wrocław 71 323-3400/71 32310 3401 pl.marketing@unit4. com www.unit4.pl

89.4 83.9 88.4

86.1 81.5 32.4

3.3 2.4

2.9

320 262 WND 239

OPTiCamp; OPTiPass; OPTiBudowa; OPTiCommerce; HROptiCenter

TETA ERP; TETA HR; TETA EDU; TETA WEB

PKN Orlen; PGE Dystrybucja; University HP; Microsoft; of Rzeszów/ IBM; Cisco; Uniwersytet Webcom; Rzeszowski; PSG; VMare; HS Wrocław; Comarch Pedagogical University of Krakow; Prosecutors Office in Rzeszów

Oracle; Microsoft

Danone; Getin Noble Bank; LG Electronics; Konsalnet; EuRoPol GAZ S.A.; Dozorbud; ATM Group; Medical University of Gdańsk

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

Adam Góral – 9.7%; Aviva OFE Adam Góral President BZ WBK – 12.6%; OFE PZU – 6.8% WND

28 1

5 51

208 1988

Janusz Bober; Andrzej Pelczar; Wacław Irzeński; Ryszard Woźniak; Wacław Szary None Brak

160 WND

WND WND

330 1987

None Brak UNIT4 – 100%

WND

Piotr Witczyński

General Director

Janusz Filipiak President

Mirosław Janik President

Piotr Staszczak President

Alicja Wiecka Managing Director

Wacław Szary President

Artur Sawicki CEO

SOURCE BOOK OF LISTS 2015/2016

Kongres_WBJ_en_280x210.indd 1

2015-11-27 15:48:46

December/January 2015/16

20 pages of real estate content

section partner by

LOKALE IMMOBILIA / NEWS

>LOKALE IMMOBILIA

NEWS

l INVESTMENTS

Stary Browar mall sold for €290 mln

T

he ex-wife of late tycoon Jan Kulczyk, Grażyny Kulczyk has sold the Stary Browar mall in Poznań to Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (Deutsche AWM) for €290 million.

Stary Browar is a center of commerce and art, built in November 2003, located in the center of Poznań. The center is a combination of retail space and an art gallery. The total area

of the center is around 130,000 sqm. Stary Browar is home to around 210 stores and restaurants.

"Despite the change of owner, we will continue to work according to standards we have learned here. There will be no staff changes and no changes to the character of operations," Barbara Banat, PR Coordinator, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). u

Marriott to acquire Sheraton for over $12 bln

M

arriott International is to purchase its rival, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, telegraph.co.uk reported.

The value of the transaction is to reach $12.2 billion.

As a consequence of the deal, the

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world's biggest hotel company will be established. The combined business will either operate or franchise more than 5,500 hotels and will have around 1.1 mln rooms across the world generating revenues of over

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$2.7bn, the web portal pointed out.

The transaction is to be completed in mid-2016.

Starwood hotels have been on sale since April, Hyatt was being considered as a possible buyer. u

Images: PRC Architekci, Stary Browar

l C O M PA N I E S

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l H O S P I TA L I T Y

New Hilton by Hamilton to be developed in Łódź Hilton Worldwide has signed a franchise contract with Polish VHM Hotel Management regarding the launch of a second Hilton by Hamilton hotel in Łódź on ul. Piotrkowska, a press

release read. Construction work on a multifunctional building, including the hotel, which is to feature 149 rooms, has already started. The project is to be delivered by the beginning of 2018.

Besides the hotel, the facility will offer 21,000 sqm of office space and 4,000 sqm of retail space.

DoubleTree by Hilton was opened in Łódź more than two years ago. u

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l R E TA I L

Meyer Bergman acquires Galeria Katowicka

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Images: Neinver

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ondon-based Meyer Bergman has taken over Galeria Katowicka, a shopping center that it built with Neinver, and Poland’s state railway company, PKP SA in Katowice, a press release read. From now on the building will be managed by Apsys Poland.

Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Neinver to develop the scheme in late 2010 alongside PKP, which contributed the land for the venture. The fund purchased an additional 30 percent stake in the venture in 2012. It has now acquired the remaining interest from Neinver and PKP for an undisclosed sum.

Galeria Katowicka features of 53,000 sqm and hosts over 250 units. u

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l WAREHOUSE

PANATTONI COMPLETES FACTORIES FOR PILKINGTON AND GE ENERGY MANAGEMENT

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anattoni Europe has delivered production plants for Pilkington and GE Energy Management.

The Pilkington factory is one of the largest investments in the country. It involved the construction of a new manufacturing plant which will produce automotive glass for Pilkington Automotive Poland. The facility has been erected in Chmielów, in the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone EURO-PARK WISŁOSAN. It totals

some 90,000 sqm, three quarters of which were developed by Panattoni Europe. The development of the project, valued at PLN 500 mln, was planned for 2011-2015. It is the second Pilkington factory in Poland and it will make glass for the world's largest car manufacturers. The facility will also make glass products for trucks. The investment has created a total of 1,100 new jobs for local inhabitants.

Panattoni Europe has also completed

work on the first European brilliant factory for GE Energy Management.

The new facility features 45,000 sqm.

The manufacturing and warehousing section takes up 37,839 sqm and office space amounts to 7,872 sqm.

The building was designed to accommodate up to 1,200 employees and enhance innovation and efficiency in manufacturing. The tenant is to move into the production plant next year, the press release also read. u

l R E TA I L

Futura Park sold for €27 mln JLL, on behalf of Encore+, has acquired the shopping mall known as Futura Park in Wrocław from equity fund IRUS, the media reported. The value of the transaction stood at over €27 million, which roughly translates to PLN 115 million. Futura Park is located in the suburbs of Wrocław, it features 20,208 sqm of GLA. JLL informed it will invest further in Poland and the Czech Republic. u

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l OFFICE

HB Reavis to build 310-meter skyscraper Slovak real estate developer HB Reavis has received approval from Warsaw City Hall to construct a 310-meter tall skyscraper in the city center of Warsaw, the media reported.

Including the height of the spire, the building will be as tall as The Shard in London. The project was designed

by British architect sir Norman Foster from Foster+Partners.

The skyscraper is to be constructed on ul. Chmielna 69, HB Reavis purchased the land from PKP in mid-November. It may offer 102,000 sqm of GLA. HB Reavis plans to start construction work in April next year. u l INVESTMENTS

Royal Wilanów and Eurocentrum to be sold next year

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Rockcastle purchases two shopping malls in Silesia

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outh African listed Rockcastle Global Real Estate has signed an agreement to acquire two shopping malls in Poland’s Silesia region from giant US manager, BlackRock for €220.8 million, a press release read.

Silesian Retail Portfolio comprises two shopping centers in Southern Poland, Karolinka in Opole and Pogoria in Dąbrowa Gornicza. Both malls offer 106,700 sqm in total. The properties were developed in 2008 by Mayland Real Estate, BlackRock acquired them in 2009.

"We are very pleased with the acquisition of Karolinka and Pogoria shopping centers.

We believe that they both offer substantial scope for growth and will be an important base for our retail portfolio expansion in the future," said Spiro Noussis, Chief Executive Officer at Rockcastle Global Real Estate.

The seller was represented in this transaction by real estate advisory firms Cushman & Wakefield and JLL, law firm Dentons and property manager Mayland Real Estate.

Beside the takeovers in Silesia, the company is constructing Fabryka Wołomin in Wołomin. u

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Images: Capital Park, BlackRock

Real estate developer Capital Park is planning to sell the Royal Wilanów and Eurocentrum schemes in 2016, the company told propertynews.pl web portal. "We are sure that we will complete the sale of Eurocentrum, but as I mentioned our goal is to sell both projects," said Marcin Juszczyk, a member of the board of managers at Capital Park.

He explained that talks with potential investors have already been initiated, in the case of Eurocentrum negotiations have reached a more advanced stage.

Juszczyk also pointed out that the company wants to complete the transactions by the end of 2016, before its bonds mature. u

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l OFFICE l C O M PA N I E S

J.W. Construction to issue bonds worth PLN 120 mln The board of managers at Polish real estate developer J.W. Construction has decided to issue PLN 120 million mid-term bonds, the company reported.

The offer features 120,000 two-year securities, valued at PLN 1000 each. Maturity was scheduled for December 8, 2017. The bonds have a floating interest rate that will be determined based on the WIBOR 6M interest rate, plus investors' markup.

J.W. Construction has been listed since 2007. u

9.6%

of Poles face housing cost overburden (Eurostat)

PHN to acquire Alchemia II A subsidiary of WSE-listed Polski Holding Nieruchomości (PHN) has signed a contract with real estate developer Torus to acquire perpetual usufruct rights for land located in Gdańsk, near Al. Grunwaldzka and property rights for the Alchemia II building, the second phase of the Alchemia office scheme, the media reported. As of 17 November, the value of the contract stands at some €60.8 million, which translates to approximately PLN 258 million. The subsidiary of PHN said it would acquire external funding in order to pay for the rights. The transaction is to be completed by September 30, 2016.

Alchemia II is to feature nearly 21,000 sqm of modern office space.

Construction work was launched in December 2013.

Alchemia is a Class A office complex located in Gdańsk, which will ultimately consist of four towers interconnected by a 4-storey base. Alchemia will be delivered in four phases, the first of which was the subject of the transaction. l HOTELS

Starwood to develop Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotów

l OFFICE

Skanska launches its largest CEE office scheme in Warsaw Skanska Property Poland is launching the development of the first phase of its new office project, dubbed Generation Park, located at Daszyńskiego Roundabout in Warsaw, a press release read.

Generation Park will comprise three buildings – two offering approximately 40,000 sqm of leasable space in total and the third a 140-meter tower providing more than 44,000 sqm of modern office, retail and service space. One of the project's main aims is to create a new meeting place in the green surroundings of Generation Park that is tailored to the needs of various generations. u

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts is planning to construct a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in the Mokotów district of Warsaw and by doing so, introduce a new brand to the Polish market, a company press release read.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts have signed a franchise agreement with Mokotów Business & Airport Hotel in order to develop the scheme. The hotel, which is to feature 192 rooms, is to be opened in the last quarter of 2018, the press release also read.

The Four Points Warsaw Mokotów hotel will be Starwood's fourth hotel in Warsaw and seventh in Poland. u

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DEVELOPERS ARE SHOWING RENEWED INTEREST IN HOTEL PROJECTS IN THE POLISH CAPITAL

Hospitable again

Nowy Świat 2.0

B Y A DA M Z D R O D OW S K I

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fter several years of slower activity, the hotel property market in Warsaw is now expected to see the launch of a number of new hospitality projects in the coming months, with real estate experts saying that there is still much room for new hotel schemes in the city. Several new hotel developments have recently been announced in the Polish capital.

High occupancy levels and positive investor sentiment are now encouraging developers to commence new investments.

The trend is expected to continue in the coming years. “If we look at new hotel projects for Warsaw over the next five years, we can declare that there will be around 500 rooms added to the inventory every year,” said Alex Kloszewski, managing partner at Hotel Professionals. New schemes are expected to be developed in the major business districts of the Polish capital. “The predominant locations of choice in this period will be Mokotów and Wola,” Kloszewski added.

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New projects galore

UBM will, at the beginning of next year, launch construction on the planned Holiday Inn Warsaw – City Centre scheme, which will be developed at the intersection of ul. Żelazna, ul. Twarda and ul. Złota in the downtown of Warsaw and will provide 254 rooms in early 2018. The developer has recently offloaded the planned project to Union Investment.

“UBM will develop the property and be responsible as leaseholder for the successful running of the hotel until 2038,” UBM CEO Karl Bier said in a statement.

For its part, Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced that the first Four Points by Sheraton-branded hotel in Poland will be located in the Mokotów district of Warsaw, with the company having just signed a franchise agreement with Mokotów Business & Airport Hotel. The Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotów project, which will be developed on ul. Suwak in the Służewiec Przemysłowy area of Mokotów and is sched-

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uled to be opened in the last quarter of 2018, will comprise 192 rooms and over 500 sqm of conference space.

Gonçalo Duarte Silva, area manager, Poland, at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said that the company and the property owners have chosen Mokotów because the district is an important business location and is located close to both the center of Warsaw and Warsaw airport. Silva views Mokotów and the Warsaw airport area as some of the most attractive hotel locations in the city at the moment. His company wants to make the planned Mokotów project the flagship hotel for the Four Points by Sheraton brand, he said.

On ul. Tamki, in the Powiśle neighborhood of downtown Warsaw, construction on the first Motel One hotel in Poland should start next year. Also, Puro Hotels is planning to open a new facility in the center of the city in the near future, which will be located on ul.

Widok. A number of hotel chains which are

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not yet present in Poland are said to be looking for opportunities to open new facilities in Warsaw. They include InterCityHotel, Meininger and Leonardo.

Images: Jems

Back in favor

Few new hotel projects have been delivered in Warsaw in recent years, noted Adam Konieczny, country head, Poland, at Christie + Co. “Developers have, until recently, viewed investment in office schemes as more profitable,” Konieczny said. The most important branded developments completed in the Polish capital within the last two years were, a Hampton by Hilton hotel in the downtown area, which is the largest Hampton hotel in Europe, and a Doubletree by Hilton hotel in

the Wawer district, he added. Construction is now underway on a Renaissance hotel located just next to the passenger terminals of Warsaw Chopin Airport. A new Golden Tulip hotel located in the Włochy district of Warsaw and a luxury Raffles hotel located in the downtown of the city are also in the pipeline. According to Konieczny, the rising vacancy rates in the office sector have resulted in renewed developer interest in hotel property. Additionally, investors and lending institutions have begun to show interest in the hotel sector.

“There is confidence in the hotel sector, from investors, developers and banks which want to finance branded hotels that are well located and managed by professional operators,” Kloszewski said. German investment

funds are more and more active hotel buyers, he added. Moreover, REIT companies should start establishing their activities in Poland in the next few months. “This will drastically change the real estate investment sentiment in the country, which will be especially beneficial to the hotel real estate market in Poland,” Kloszewski said.

According to Martin Thom, director, head of hotels valuation, Germany & CEE, at CBRE, operators and developers see scope for new schemes in Warsaw, and the forecasts illustrate that this is across all market segments.

Developers and owners are now actively looking at the potential to convert existing office buildings and schemes to hotel use. “We have seen a number of international operators,

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mostly in the economy segment, look seriously at such opportunities,” Thom said.

There are now 73 hotels in Warsaw, which comprise a total of approximately 12,100 bedrooms and 22,280 beds, according to CBRE data. This means an increase in available bedrooms of around 3.4 percent, compared with the end of last year. “If you compare this against regional capital cities such as Budapest, Prague and Vienna, there is clear disparity in the supply of hotel accommodation,” Thom said. However, he pointed out that this is linked to demand.

When it comes to arrivals in terms of tourist accommodation in 2014, the Polish capital (approximately 2.86 million arrivals) was far behind Budapest (approximately 3.58 million), not to mention Prague (around 6.12 million) and Vienna (around 6.21 million), Thom noted. Nevertheless, there is the need for new hotel investments in Warsaw, according to Jakub Kleban, national director, valuation department, at JLL. The city is the strongest business destination in Central Europe, Kleban noted.

Indeed, very high room take-up levels have recently been recorded in the Warsaw hotel market. “Based on the latest data received from hotels in Warsaw, take up of rooms has been stronger than ever,” Kloszewski said. He added that as, of November 1, hotel occupancy was at a level of 80 percent throughout the entire sector. “We strongly believe that there is room for more hotel investments in all market segments from economy hotels to luxury products,” he said.

According to Konieczny, the main opportunity in the Polish capital is for economy and mid-market segment hotels, although the Warsaw market could also accommodate a high-end hotel if the hotel offers an original concept or new services and does not comprise more than 150 rooms. JLL experts are of a similar opinion, arguing that the Warsaw market can absorb another luxury project as long as it is developed in a prime location.

They also see good prospects for lifestyle hotel developments which would meet the expectations of the so-called Generation Y. New locations emerging

Where will new hotel projects in Warsaw be developed in the coming years? According to Thom, operators continue to look for central locations, but the extension of the Metro system also strengthens the possibility of further hotel development outside the traditional core. In Kleban’s opinion, hotels located

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close to major office hubs, including those in Mokotów and Wola, have a big chance of success. “Warsaw is, first and foremost, a business destination,” Kleban said.

The Wola district, which has recently become one of the main office hotspots in the Polish capital, will likely attract new hotel investments in the next few years, especially since some office developers argue that there is already too much competition there. Many new office projects, including high-rise schemes, have been announced for Wola. It cannot be ruled out that some of the planned office skyscrapers will, in the end, be developed as mixed-use towers including hotel space. Konieczny said that the Służewiec Przemysłowy business neighborhood of the Mokotów district, which has to date, mainly been dominated by office projects, will see the development of new hotel schemes in the

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coming years. He also noted that there are still no chain hotels in the Praga part of the Polish capital, which Warsaw City Hall is planning to revitalize in the near future. The area around the National Stadium in Praga has the potential for the development of new hotel space, Konieczny said.

Also, according to Silva, the rapidly changing Praga district will be ready for new hotel investments in a few years. Indeed, it may not be long before a new hotel development is completed in the district. Earlier this year, BBI Development and Liebrecht & wooD, which are currently developing their Centrum Praskie Koneser mixed-use project in Praga, announced that a hotel scheme will be part of the complex. u

Image: UBM

Room for more

LOKALE IMMOBILIA / LOGISTICS

A click away Fueled largely by increasing online sales, the warehouse market is poised to hit record figures this year. However, logistics operators agree that gearing up for the e-commerce boom in Poland will involve overcoming several major obstacles

A

B Y B E ATA S O C H A

After three quarters, it has become clear that 2015 will be the best year for Poland’s warehouse industry in eight years. “Despite the slightly lower tenant activity in the third quarter, compared to the previous quarters, levels of demand since the beginning of this year are at record levels,” said Tomasz Olszewski, head of Industrial Department in Central and Eastern Europe, JLL. Since the beginning of the year, gross demand for warehouse space in Poland amounted to 1.6 million sqm with the third quarter accounting for 433,000 sqm. New lease agreements with extensions amounted to 247,000 sqm and an additional 186,000 sqm were renewals of existing contracts. The largest deal in 2015 has been the lease of 53,000

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Images: Shutterstock

sqm by Leroy Merlin in Panattoni Park Stryków II. “If the fourth quarter results are similar to those of the previous quarters, we can expect demand to reach record levels for the third time in a row,” added Olszewski.

Logistics still on top

Logistics is once again the leader among tenants, accounting for 30 percent of net demand. “Logistics companies appreciate Poland’s geographical

location and improving infrastructure.

Also, logistics companies represent all industries. This means that when a sector starts to grow there is a similar growing trend in logistics. The logistics industry is subject to an overall market performance and the tendency of companies to outsource logistics services,” explained Olszewski.

A recent report prepared by Prologis and JLL stated that e-commerce companies may need to lease another 700,000 sqm of warehouse space by the end

of 2020, assuming stable e-commerce growth rates of 15 percent per year.

“We’ve seen the e-commerce market grow at a double-digit pace for years.

The boom in e-commerce, combined with Poland’s investment attractiveness, creates new opportunities for the warehouse market along with the expansion of companies already present here, plus an inflow of foreign firms to the market as well as the launching of new brands,” said Paweł Sapek, senior vice president and country manager at Prologis Poland.

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71%

of third-party logistics firms will need more space for processing returns over the next five years, according to research by JLL.

Handbags, blenders and groceries

In 2014, online sales accounted for 3.9 percent of total sales volumes in Poland, while in 2020 the share of e-commerce in all retail is forecast to exceed 10 percent. The areas of online retail where warehouse demand is growing the fastest right now include clothes and accessories, white goods and small household appliances, cosmetics, consumer electronics, multimedia and food.

The increase is bound to translate into much higher demand for modern warehouse space. Sapek stated that the Polish warehouse market is well-placed

for the increase in demand and that the majority of existing space meets tenants’ expectations.

According to Jan Zombirt, associate director, Research and Consulting at JLL, both international corporations bringing their business to Poland and domestic firms will contribute to increasing demand. “This take-up will be sourced from three types of lease agreements: direct leases of pure-play online stores and e-fulfillment centers by traditional retailers, 3PL leases where a logistics operator fulfills online orders on behalf of a retailer, and omni-channel leases where only part of the floor space

{

is dedicated to e-commerce,” Zombirt explained.

Major challenges

While growing at an impressive rate year after year, the e-commerce business also poses a number of challenges to all market players. Logistics operators polled by JLL unanimously pointed to same-day deliveries as the greatest challenge of all, followed by return logistics (60 percent of those polled), and handling cross-border sales (40 percent). Security, increasing labor costs and short-term contracts vs longterm leases were major issues to 20 per-

Getting ready What are the biggest challenges of e-commerce for logistics operators?

Same-day deliveries Return logistics Cross-border deliveries Security Growing labor costs Lease length Availability of suitable warehouse space

– 100% – 60% – 40% – 20% – 20% – 20% – 10%

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Images: Shutterstock

Source: JLL

cent of respondents, while sourcing appropriate warehouse space was cited by only 10 percent – after all, developers have been churning out new warehouse space in preparation for e-commerce growth.

“Around 50 big warehouse modules will be available for lease in Poland in the next six months. Furthermore, around 280,000 sqm of warehouse space is currently being developed on a speculative basis – that is without binding lease agreements. These factors combine to make Poland well-equipped to receive e-commerce led demand,” said Zombirt.

What do they need?

As the Polish warehouse market continues to mature, it is becoming increasingly similar to Western European markets. It will continue to develop and specialize in the same way as the developed markets where e-commerce warehouses feature certain specializations including: a dedicated e-fulfillment center, parcel hub/sorting center, parcel delivery center and urban logistics depot, returns processing center, and a Dot.com warehouse for online food fulfillment. A survey conducted by JLL among third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and retailers show that

some warehouse functions will also be increasingly in demand in Poland.

For instance, 71 percent of 3PLs will need more space for return processing centers over the next five years, the research suggested.

What logistics operators in the ecommerce industry need now is the flexibility to expand or contract leased space, mezzanine levels, a high security level, more power, intensive HVAC, and an abundance of parking lots for employees. In terms of location, the key factor is availability and access to staff, access to an extensive road network, and proximity to the end-customer. u

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B Y A DA M Z D R O D OW S K I

HIGH DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY IS MAKING OWNERS OF EXISTING ASSETS RETHINK THEIR STRATEGIES

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significant amount of new office space which is now under construction in Poland is continuing to provoke concerns from property experts about the market already being overheated and unable to absorb all of the upcoming schemes.

The intense development activity in the office sector in recent years has translated into fierce competition for occupants, with the owners of existing buildings having to think of new ways of keeping tenants, as more and more new projects are delivered.

Developers have been optimistic, claiming that the decent condition of the leasing market continues to justify the launch of new schemes. Arkadiusz Rudzki, leasing and asset director at Skanska Property Poland, pointed out

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that this year we are going to see record take-up levels. However, Rudzki admitted that the market situation is more challenging for owners of older office buildings as the highest demand for office space in Poland is generated by tenants already present in the country, and those tend to move from older to newer facilities.

“A total of more than 1.3 million sqm of modern office space is now under construction in Poland, of which 612,000 sqm is being developed in Warsaw,” said Michał Lis, director of the office space leasing department of JLL. As more and more new office projects are delivered to the market the share of older buildings in the total existing office supply in Poland will gradually decrease. “We will witness more and more thorough modernizations and demolitions,” Lis said.

According to Karol Bartos, executive director, portfolio and asset manage-

Images: Wikimedia, UBS

Building pressure The

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ment at Tristan Capital Partners, “landlords cannot afford to rest easy, especially when faced with the stream of new developments that will open in the coming years.” The owners of existing buildings still have many trump cards to play, but effective property management is critical and depends on a constant hunt for improvements to make a building stand out so that it can meet the needs and expectations of tenants, Bartos added.

Tenants keep moving

Property market experts agree that new office projects are becoming major competition for existing properties, some of which have aged quickly. “Tenants generally prefer new buildings,” said Paweł Skałba, partner and office department director at Colliers International. There are several reasons for the trend – some occupants may simply need a change, whereas others may be interested in securing better leasing conditions and in optimizing costs, Skałba said.

In Skałba’s opinion, global trends are now exerting significant influence on the companies which lease office space in Poland. The approach to the workplace is changing, and so are tenant expectations regarding the standard and arrangement of the occupied area. Meanwhile, a tenant who wants to completely re-arrange their office, more often than not, chooses to move to a new location simply because staying in a building that is being renovated is a major logistical challenge.

According to a recent report by Colliers International, relocations accounted for

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almost 50 percent of the combined volume of lease transactions that were brokered by the company in the third quarter of this year. The implementation by tenants of the “workplace solutions” concept is one of the main reasons for relocating to another building. Many tenants are also currently moving to new premises as a result of their office consolidation processes, the Colliers International study found.

When it comes to those tenants who are looking to lease large areas, going for a new office development is usually the only option because finding more than 10,000 sqm of vacant space in an existing building can be a daunting task. Skałba also pointed to another important factor that influences tenant decisions – the fact that developers, for the most part, are more flexible and have a better understanding of the needs of occupants than the investment funds which own older office buildings.

Holding their own

Which office buildings can be described as “old”? According to Lis, generally speaking, the term refers to buildings which were completed approximately ten to twelve years ago, but this is not a hardand-fast rule. He pointed out that there are even older buildings on the market which, despite their age, meet the requirements of tenants and remain popular with companies looking for office space. On the other hand, there are relatively new office buildings in Poland that are not fully leased.

Real estate market experts point to the Warsaw Financial Center office skyscraper in the Polish capital, which was completed

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in 1998 and is owned by Allianz Real Estate and Tristan Capital Partners, as a good example of an older building that has aged very well. “Our experience at the Warsaw Financial Center shows that landlords with a proactive approach to property management can hold their own against new office developments,” said Bartos.

According to JLL data, for the third quarter of this year, in Warsaw the vacancy rate in office buildings that are less than five years old amounts to 14.3 percent.

The vacancy rates in facilities between five and ten years old, and over ten years stand at 14.2 percent and 11.4 percent respectively. However, one has to remember that the relatively high vacancy rate in newer buildings results from the fact that the complete commercialization of a building takes some time after the building has been commissioned for use.

“We believe that both new office projects and existing buildings will find tenants,” said Dariusz Karwański, an associate at the office agency of Savills. He added that it all depends on the situation on the leasing market, tenant needs and the location of a given building. Katarzyna Gajewska, a consultant at the consulting and research department of CBRE, argued that due to their central location, many older office buildings remain attractive. Nevertheless, their standard needs to be improved as tenants’ expectations grow.

The modernization imperative

Indeed, some investment funds have already realized that their office buildings can only be successful after the in-

Images: JLL, Savills

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troduction of adequate negotiation policies, supported by actions aimed at the improvement of the standards of those buildings, Skałba said. “In some cases, an older office building needs to be re-introduced onto the market,” Skałba added. This basically means that the building needs to be renovated, its standard needs to be upgraded and the brand of the building needs to be created anew, he said.

Lis pointed to a number of older office buildings in Warsaw – including Sienna Center, Spektrum Tower, Moniuszki 1a and Koszykowa 54 – where successful modernization schemes have resulted in securing new tenants. Karwański mentioned the Warsaw Trade Tower office skyscraper in the Polish capital as an example of an older asset which has boosted its attractiveness by the addition of new functions. A conference center was implemented on the 35th floor of the building earlier this year.

However, Lis argued that the decision to launch a modernization process

always needs to be preceded by proper cost calculations because each office building is different and requires the application of a specific strategy, depending on the location and the tenant mix.

The owner has to be convinced that the planned modernization will result in the reduction of vacancies and will positively impact the rental levels at the building. If an older office building is occupied by good tenants, slight renovation will probably be sufficient, Lis added.

In some of the cases when the property owner is convinced of the need to upgrade an aging asset, the question arises whether the demolition of the existing building and its replacement with a new structure would not be a more favorable option. This option is mostly taken into consideration by owners of office buildings which were developed before the political and economic transformation of 1989 or in the early 1990s.

It is also a solution to the problem of the low availability of vacant office sites, Lis said.

According to Skałba, the demolition of an existing office building is only justifiable in the situation when the property owner will be able to develop a considerably larger amount of leasable space in the same location. A well thought-out modernization process can often be more profitable and more efficient than a new investment, said Skałba. Gajewska also pointed out that demolition makes sense when the new project is going to be taller than the existing building.

In downtown Warsaw, there are now at least two planned skyscraper office schemes that will be developed on the sites of older existing office buildings.

PHN is planning to build its City Tower investment on the site of a communistera building located close to the Rondo 1 tower. Additionally, UBS wants to demolish the 103-meter tall Ilmet building, completed in 1997, and replace it with a taller skyscraper called Warsaw One. At the moment, it is not yet known exactly when construction on either of these two developments will be launched. u

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OBSERVER RANKING

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Shopping malls RANKED BY GLA

The

supply of modern shopping centers in Poland has grown at a stable rate since 2007, with developers delivering an annual average of over half a million sqm of gross leasable area. In 2015, the overall space of shopping centers, retail parks and outlet centers in use amounts to over 10.9 million square meters of GLA. Polish commercial real estate still attracts a lot of interest from foreign investors and draws the bulk of investment capital that flows into the CEE. As of the end of 2015, there were more than 465 shopping centers with GLA of at least 5,000 sqm in Poland. In addition, there were 47 retail parks and 13 outlet centers. The average vacancy rate, measuring absorption of retail space in shopping centers in Poland, is low and remains at a level of about 3 percent in the 15 biggest Polish agglomerations.

“Developers seek opportunities to better meet the needs of consumers or to stand out with spectacular new projects.

This can be seen in three areas: redevelopment of existing shopping centers (like two very large schemes in Wrocław: Magnolia and Aleja Bielany, both extended in 2015), construction of shopping centers with novel architecture and marketing strategies (e.g. Posnania and Wroclavia shopping centers, both to be put into operation by 2017), or construction of original, mixed-use downtown schemes, where cultural, restaurant and entertainment functions are complemented by the retail offer (e.g. Art Norblin, Hala Koszyki and Koneser schemes in Warsaw).” – said Radosław Knap, General Director of the Polish Council of Shopping Centres.

1ALEJA BIELANY

3 ARKADIA

GBA (sqm): WND Number of shops: 180 Annual visitors: WND Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Ikea: 37,000; Tesco: 16,794; Decathlon: 3,500; Alma: 2,747; RTV Euro AGD: 1,148; OBI: 13,400; H&M: 1,988 Managing company: IKEA Centres Polska bielany.parkhandlowy.pl

GBA (sqm): 159,000 Number of shops: 270 Annual visitors: 21,000,000 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Carrefour: 18,400; Leroy Merlin: 11,800; Saturn: 5,627; Cinema City: 4,985; Peek & Cloppenburg: 3,635; Holmes Place: WND; H&M: 2,787; C&A: 2,221; RTV Euro AGD: 1,500; Mango: 1,023 Managing company: Unibail-Rodamco arkadia.com.pl

GLA (sqm): 140,000

2 MANUFAKTURA

GLA (sqm): 126,000

GBA (sqm): 159,000 Number of shops: 300 Annual visitors: 20,000,000 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Auchan: WND; Leroy Merlin: WND; Cinema City: WND; Pure Jatomi Fitness: WND; Zara: WND; C&A: WND; Van Graaf: WND; Empik: WND; RTV Euro AGD: WND; Reserved: WND, Intersport: 1,600; Kakadu: 1,600 Managing company: Apsys Polska manufaktura.com

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GLA (sqm): 111,900

4 PORT ŁÓDŹ

GLA (sqm): 103,000

GBA (sqm): 118,935 Number of shops: 170 Annual visitors: WND Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Ikea: 33,000; Leroy Merlin: 11,176; Saturn: 5,082; Zara: 1,790; C&A: 2,477; H&M: 1,812; Fabryka Formy: WND Managing company: IKEA Centres Polska portlodz.pl

OBSERVER RANKING

5 MAGNOLIA PARK

GLA (sqm): 97,600

GBA (sqm): 120,000 Number of shops: 260 Annual visitors: 9,500,000 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Tesco: WND; Helios: WND; Saturn: WND; Peek & Cloppenburg: WND; Pure Jatomi Fitness: WND Managing company: Multi-Mall Management Poland magnoliapark.pl

6 TARGÓWEK PARK HANDLOWY

GLA (sqm): 90,600

GBA (sqm): 100,000 Number of shops: 115 Annual visitors: 5,500,000 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Ikea: 23,100; Leroy Merlin: 14,800; Jula: 6,300; TK Maxx: 3,000; Sports Direct: 3,000; Smyk Megastore: 2,400; Piotr i Paweł: 2,000 Managing company: IKEA Centres Polska targowek.parkhandlowy.pl

7SILESIA CITY CENTER GLA (sqm): 85,508

Image: Shutterstock

GBA (sqm): 159,974 Number of shops: 310 Annual visitors: 15,054,756 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Tesco: 14,905; Saturn: 5,681; Cinema City: 4,903; Van Graaf: 3,905; Smyk Megastore: 2,300; Pure Jatomi Fitness: 2,000; C&A: 1,950; H&M: 1,845 Managing company: ECE Projektmanagement silesiacitycenter.com.pl

8 PARK HANDLOWY MATARNIA GLA (sqm): 77,778

GBA (sqm): WND Number of shops: 65 Annual visitors: 4,006,182 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Ikea: 31,000; OBI: 13,400; TK Maxx: 2,873; C&A: 2,265; Media Markt: 4,047; Sports Direct: 2,166 Managing company: IKEA Centres Polska matarnia.parkhandlowy.pl

9 CENTRUM HANDLOWE WOLA PARK GLA (sqm): 77,600

GBA (sqm): WND Number of shops: 220 Annual visitors: 11,000,000 Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Auchan: WND; Castorama: 10,000; Multikino: WND; Reserved: 2,230; Zara: 1,650; Go Sport: 1,512; RTV Euro AGD: 1,500; Calypso Fitness: 1,264; C&A: 1,095 Managing company: IKEA Centres Polska wolapark.pl

10 CENTRUM HANDLOWE ATRIUM FELICITY LUBLIN GLA (sqm): 75,000

GBA (sqm): 98,000 Number of shops: 140 Annual visitors: WND Selected tenants (name: space leased - sqm): Auchan: WND; Leroy Merlin: 12,102; Saturn: 3,467; Cinema City: 2,500; Zara: 2,390; Smyk Megastore: 2,149; Reserved: 2,108; H&M: 2,000; Fabryka Formy: 1,500; Carry: 1,100; Intersport: 883 Managing company: Atrium Poland Real Estate Management atrium-felicity.pl

GBA = Gross Building Area; GLA = Gross Leasable Area; WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for the list was conducted in October- November 2015. Reported in cooperation with the Polish Council of Shopping Malls. Only 10 shopping malls are listed. Full list is available at: bookoflists.pl; prch.org.pl.

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EVENTS / INTERNATIONAL BANKING SUMMIT

LEADERS IN ONE PLACE

On

October 21 and 22, 2015, at the Westin Warsaw Hotel, the latest Meeting of Leaders of Banking and Insurance was held. The event is highly respected by key representatives from the banking and insurance sectors. It is the only such gathering where the full spectrum of key stakeholders can meet and debate. The purpose is to discuss the most important challenges and expectations facing the financial sector. It also serves as a platform for the identification of upcoming trends.

On this occasion, the Meeting of Leaders consisted of three simultaneous conferences: the 10th Warsaw International Banking Summit – Banking Forum, the 6th Insurance Forum and the 3rd Receivables Management Forum. The conference was opened by Adam Jasser, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. After his speech, participants heard debates concerning the most important aspects for each sector of the economy. The first of them was dedicated to the Grexit and Brexit, which refer to the possibility of Greece's withdrawal from the Eurozone and Great Britain's departure from the European Union. Among the panelists were: Zbigniew Jagiełło (PKO Bank Polski), Krzysztof Kalicki (Deutsche Bank Polska) and Jacek Rostowski. The second panel was devoted to ethical financial institutions, in which the following participated: Wojciech Kwaśniak (KNF), Sławomir S. Skora (Citi Handlowy) and Artur Olech (Ubezpieczenia Pocztowe).

The next part of the Meeting of Leaders conference was separated into three independent events.

The Meeting of Leaders is the largest and most prestigious event which focuses on banking, insurance and accounts receivables. The themes of each conference are created by an advisory board, who guarantee the topicality and relevance of discussions.

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EVENTS / BIG DATA CONGRESS

A WORLD OF BIG DATA IN ONE PLACE

Images: MMC

N

owadays, information is the main guarantee of efficiency and development in a modern enterprise. The adequate utilization and collation of data from different sources are not the only keys to the success of companies, they also spur on competition on the market.

These main issues were discussed during one of the most important forums concerning Big Data in Poland – the 3rd edition of Big Data: Think Big CEE Congress. It took place on October 28 and 29, 2015, at the Westin Warsaw Hotel.The conference began with speeches from Maciej Witucki, chairman of the Advisory Board and Jesus Garcia, Chief Operating Officer, emnos. The first panel discussion concerned current and future trends in the world of Big Data. Among the panelists were: Ronald Binkofski (Microsoft), Vikram Gupta (Arthur D. Little), Michał Kwieciński (AXA) and Aleš Bartůněk (IBM). The Guest of Honor at the Conference was Stephen Brobst (Teradata), one of the most renowned CTOs in the world. The second panel focused on the Client 2.0 approach. The debate was conducted by: Michał Pieprzny (PAYBACK/emnos), Andrzej Horawa (Teradata) and Bartosz Dobrzyński (P4). Further panels were conducted relating to anonymity, safety, and the prospects of the IoT. Among others, the following took part in those discussions: Dariusz Piotrowski (Microsoft), Vit Soupal (Deutsche Telekom), Mariusz Gaca (Orange) and Artur Waliszewski (Google).

The 3rd Big Data CEE Congress attracted 622 participants. 59 speakers debated during 8 panel discussions. The congress was supported by 19 business partners.

We would also like to extend an invitation to the next edition of Big Data: Think Big CEE Congress which will take place in April 2016.

WBJ OBSERVER • DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16

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GADGETS WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF GADGETS: some are useful, but most are just a waste of time and money. We sift through the latest available tech to pick those that we believe will help you live your life more comfortably and confidently.

MECCANOID G15

>>

TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

The Meccanoid G15 is a cross between Lego blocks and Johnny 5 from the Short Circuit movies. It’s a highly programmable robot that can be assembled from different modules, it can look like anything from a heart to a dinosaur. You can program its moves, sounds, operate it through an app, or even let it mimic your gestures. It comes in two varieties (two and four feet tall). It can walk, talk, flash lights and even dance.

Price: $130 (for the two-foot model) Meccano.com

Price: $199 Pantelligent.com

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Price: €950 Fujitsu.com

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DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015/16 • WBJ OBSERVER

Images: Amazon, Fujitsu, Kyocera, Meccano, Pantelligent, Raspberry Pi

>> PANTELLIGENT

If you’re one of those culinary illiterates that can even manage to burn scrambled eggs, the Pantelligent pan might be the perfect gift for you.

It’s equipped with a temperature sensor and a Bluetooth transmitter to warn you if your meal is starting to burn. The app monitors what you’re cooking and sends you notifications when you should add more oil or flip the pancake or steak.

It features a number of built-in recipes and also lets you save recipes you’ve created for future meals.

FUJITSU STYLISTIC

The Fujitsu Stylistic V535 tablet enables new levels of productivity in industrial settings. It is made for rough environments thanks to a water and dust resistant, yet lightweight design combined with a 21 cm display made of toughened glass. Ultimate connectivity and navigation options such as 4G/ LTE, NFC, GPS and even Glonass, as well as a long battery runtime, let you stay connected wherever you are. Easy integration and security are enabled due to Windows 8.1 and TPM. The Fujitsu Smart Shell concept is designed to adapt to individual industrial requirements.

KYOCERA

The Kyocera FS-4200DN is designed for overloaded workgroups who require fast, professional output with productive, automatic, double-sided printing. It prints up to 50 pages per minute in A4 with up to 1,200 dpi resolution.

The printer has a ceramic drum for 500,000 standard printouts. To maximise benefits for the user, the printer is equipped with 256 MB of RAM as standard and a 750 MHz processor.

The device has advanced security features such as an alphanumeric keypad for easy password input (Private Print), gigabit network functionality and flexible paper handling options.

Price: â‚Ź450 Kyocera.com

>>

PI ZERO

The Pi Zero is a $5 computer. It has a CPU, 512MB of RAM, an SD slot and various sockets. It is a single-board device no bigger than a credit card and is fully compatible with the Linux-based Raspbian operating system. The Raspberry Pi is a series of small computers developed with the intention of promoting the teaching of computer science and allowing budding software developers to test their skills and products for a fraction of the price of a regular PC.

>>

>>

Price: $5 raspberrypi.org

AMAZON ECHO

The Amazon Echo is the perfect device for those who love to talk, but have no one to talk to. It’s a voice-activated personal assistant that can play you music, read news, find information online, organize your daily schedule and even control other devices in your home.

It also works with other apps such as Pandora or Spotify.

Price: $180 Amazon.com

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LIFESTYLE / RESTAURANT REVIEW LIFESTYLE / BAKERIES

Address: Koszykowa 1

TŁUSTA GĘŚ: REDEFINING POLISH CUISINE, ONE FAT GOOSE AT A TIME B Y V E D I K A LU T H R A Stereotyped as heavy, starchy and fatrich, the traditional Central European diet appeals to only a small minority.

And in light of today’s modern, healthconscious eating habits, this potatoand-meat laden cuisine is in need of a slight makeover, one that Tłusta Gęś, is no doubt, ready to provide. Do not be deceived by its name (The Fat Goose, in English), which conjures up images which exactly fulfill the stereotype.

From an opening on ul. Koszykowa, Tłusta Gęś beckons. You can peer inside through one of the windows, giving a view to a small bar, several tables and a stream of lights hanging from the ceiling. Subtle music plays in the background, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. The restaurant is a good choice for an undisturbed, pleasant lunch or dinner.

When we settled down, the waiter immediately brought out a bread basket and Polish pickles: a winner in my book already. While theoretically I should have ordered goose, I was keen to try the duck served with baked apples, beetroot slaw, cranberry sauce and gnocchi, a traditional Polish dish to which they had added a slight twist.

The wait was not too long, but long enough to imply that the chef was preparing the meal from scratch.

Regardless, it was worth it. Not only was the portion more than generous for a single serving, but the dish tasted as good as it looked.

Duck is not easy to prepare. But obviously, the chef knew what he was doing. The exterior was crisp and the bird was perfectly cooked. I was most surprised by how pleasant

the sweet and savory combination of soft baked apples, slightly sour cranberry sauce and poultry was. The pairing of gnocchi was an interesting addition, though I preferred the side of potato gratin that was served to my companion. Gnocchi simply cannot compete with layers of egg-andcheese covered potatoes.

I wasn’t so eager to order a dessert, as the meal was filling enough.

However, sugary creations happen to be my weakness and I gave in at thought of a warm chocolate soufflé.

While satisfying, the soufflé didn’t reach the heights of the main course by quite a distance. Perhaps their roasted butter apple pie is better, something I will have to keep in mind for my next visit. And obviously, there will be a next visit.

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LIFESTYLE / EXHIBITION

VAN GOGH ALIVE B Y V E D I K A LU T H R A

Tickets can be purchased online or at the venue.

For more information, visit vangoghalive.pl.

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Images: Vedika Luthra

V

an Gogh was one of the world’s most illustrious post-impressionist artists. While he is long gone, his landscapes, portraits and sunflower paintings continue to inspire, impress and amaze more than a hundred years on.

After travelling to Beijing, Chile and Istanbul, among other various locations, The Van Gogh Alive exhibition has finally made its much-anticipated debut in Warsaw. At an ordinary museum you observe, but at Van Gogh Alive, you experience.

The installation is located in a dark tent, close to the National Stadium. The entire sequence takes roughly forty-five minutes. During this time, projections of Van Gogh’s most celebrated pieces sprawl across the floor, ceiling and walls. The room is illuminated only by the artist’s use of vivid, bold colors. The aim of the exhibition is to present Van Gogh’s turbulent life through his paintings, from 1880 to 1890, in a modern context.

A visual experience like no other, the projections move to and fro, animatedly, as to simulate the rhythmic breathing of Van Gogh’s landscapes. His bold, blue brush strokes flow from one screen to another, mimicking the flow of water. If you stare long enough at the art, it is as if you are being transported into “A Meadow in the Mountains” or “Starry Night”.

Obviously, Van Gogh’s art is remarkable. But what gave me goose-bumps was the addition of music to create a multisensory exhibition. The orchestral arrangements were perfectly synchronized with the art, with the mood, with the progression of Van Gogh’s life - a combination that was simply overwhelming. I cannot recall a time when museumgoers were more touched by what they were seeing, even the toddlers seemed enthralled. Not just by the art, but also by the flow of images, by the thematic sequences, by Van Gogh’s quotations that accompanied each idea. Through the exhibition, it was possible to feel his struggle, but also his love for nature, for art, for people, for life as a whole.

In a time when technological distraction, overconsumption and disconnectedness are the norm, Van Gogh Alive provides a refreshing alternative.

Every individual in the room was linked together by a mutual appreciation for the art, and the man behind the art. It’s really no surprise that Van Gogh Alive has been exhibited in such a broad range of places- if there was only one art museum you that could ever visit, visit this one.