WBJ #43 2013

Coal comfort

Better to do business

Greenpeace says Poland could halve its coal dependency by 2030. Experts call the claim ’science fiction’

Poland rises in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking

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WWW.WBJ.PL

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VOLUME 19, NUMBER 43 • NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

Mazowiecki: in memoriam COURTESY OF CAPITAL PARK

REAL ESTATE

• Capital Park IPO • Griffin legal dispute • Hospital/hotel scheme 15-18

A toast to a man who steered Poland towards democracy and the free market

Energy in focus Gazprom’s prices, big changes at Poland’s largest utility and a coal miner’s sinking finances 9

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Plus:

In this issue News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . .7 Energy in Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . .10-11 Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .15-18 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

TOMASZ WIERZEJSKI/FOTONOVA

• Poland in tech firms ranking • GDP growth stronger in Q4 • OFE reform illegal?

• UN climate summit • PKP Cargo debut • WP mulls IPO

Spy game

Tale of the tapes

Has the NSA been spying on Poland too? Polish officials say they’ll ask John Kerry

A vote-currying scandal could end badly for Civic Platform’s deputy leader Grzegorz Schetyna

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NEWS

www.wbj.pl

Kidnapped photographer released Photographer Marcin Suder, who was kidnapped by Syrian militants in July this year, is free and back in Poland, the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed last week. Mr Suder went to Syria in early July as a freelance photographer. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs had established a special group to work on setting him free.

Conservative MP ‘beaten’ by police?

Przemys∏aw Wipler, who left Poland’s largest opposition party Law and Justice this past summer, has claimed that he was beaten by police outside a club in downtown Warsaw last week. Police were on call at the scene to investigate another incident when Mr Wipler allegedly tried to take matters into his own hands and became aggressive towards the officers.

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Numbers in the News

The UN climate summit in Warsaw

SHUTTERSTOCK

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On November 11-22, Warsaw will host the 19th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or put simply: the COP 19.

Much to the chagrin of environmental activists and a multitude of other liberalgreen voices, it is Poland’s turn to host the summit, although pundits don’t expect anything of substance to come out of the meeting.

It does, however, give Poland a chance to put for-

ward the case for its energy interests.

On the EU stage, Poland has traditionally been seen as a hard-liner when it comes to energy, often infuriating other member states with its attraction to coal: after all, it is the second-largest producer and consumer of coal in the 28nation bloc, producing an estimated 144 million metric tons in 2012.

Almost 90 percent of Poland’s electrical energy is produced with coal, making it

the second-biggest producer of CO2 emissions per capita in the EU. According to the Sobieski Institute, a think tank, Poland’s energy production will remain based on coal for the next two decades.

Yet even with the prospect of energy diversification down the line, Warsaw has to be careful how to reduce its carbon emissions, and it is known to be the main advocate of a balanced approach towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, fearing negative economic impacts.

There is also the historical legacy of coal in Poland, which during the 1970s became the largest producer in Europe and was until 1979 the secondlargest exporter worldwide.

Eliminating the coal mining industry in Poland is simply not an option.

As such, a new strategy which includes the diversification of energy sources, such as shale gas or nuclear energy, nevertheless must include coal, whether the greens like it or John Beauchamp not.

45 is Poland’s position in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2014 ranking, three places higher than last year.

€557 million

was the value of Polish foreign direct investments in 2012.

19.34% is by how much PKP Cargo shares rose by the end of trade on October 31 over its IPO price.

22 is how many Polish firms made it into Deloitte’s Central Europe Technology Fast 50 ranking this year.

Quote of the Week “With his calm, wise, yet iron will, he set Poland on its most important paths for development.”

President Bronis∏aw Komorowski commenting on the passing of Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first Polish prime minister after the fall of communism.

Figures in focus The price of hospitality Average daily rates for a hotel room in selected European countries (in €)

On WBJ.pl

180 150

Ukraine resumes gas transit through Poland Ukrainian gas transportation company Naftogaz has resumed imports of German natural gas through Poland. Polish pipeline operator Gaz-System said that it had resumed supplies to Ukraine.

Naftogaz had earlier said that it had suspended supplies through Poland due to high prices, but continued to buy gas sent through the Hungarian pipeline system. ●

120 90 60 30

November

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Slo va

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Ita

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Calendar

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Sw

The IPO prospectus of Poland’s fourth-largest utility Energa may be approved on November 13, according to sources quoted by daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. In this case, the company’s Warsaw Stock Exchange debut could take place in mid-December. The Treasury Ministry is to sell a 35 percent stake in Energa in the IPO, and has planned a road show to encourage investors to buy the shares.

The time is running out for Ukraine to fulfill all of the criteria needed to sign its association agreement with the EU. Will the post-soviet republic make it? Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC, evaluates the chances.

Log on to WBJ.pl to read his in-depth analysis.

nd

Energa IPO expected in December

rla

Ukraine’s clock ticking

Source: Horwath HTL

Company index Accor ..........................................................17 Inter IKEA Centre Group ..........................15

TO NOV 15 BELGIAN DAYS

Web:

The Belgian Days are organized by the Belgian Business Chamber together with the Embassy of Belgium in Warsaw and the Economic Representations of Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia. They will feature both cultural and business events in two Polish cities.

Warsaw and Poznaƒ belgium.pl

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FUTURE4BUILD

Event:

The 3rd annual Future4Build trade fair and international conference will address global topics related to sustainable building. Over 100 Polish and international experts will participate in conferences covering current and relevant issues in green building developments in Poland. The conference allows direct access to best practice case studies and innovative solutions.

EXPO XXI, Warsaw future4build.com

Event:

Location:

Location: Web:

11-22 WARSAW CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE Event:

Location: Web:

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

National Stadium, Warsaw unfccc.int

13-15 MAPIC

Amazon ......................................................16 Jones Lang LaSalle ..................................16

Web:

MAPIC is the key meeting point for retailers, property developers and owners of retail property looking to enhance their sites. This leading international retail property event delivers three days of meetings, expert-led conferences and an exhibition for industry leaders targeting all types of retail property.

Palais de Festivals, Cannes, France mapic.com

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THE SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION FORUM

Dom Development ....................................17

Event:

For the fourth year running the Sustainable Innovation Forum brings together leaders from business, government, finance and NGOs to discuss innovation with the aim of accelerating green growth and sustainable development.

InterContinental Hotel Warsaw climateactionprogramme.org

Energa ........................................................2 PKP ........................................................6, 18

Event:

Location:

Location: Web:

Bitgear Wireless Design Services ..............6 Kompania W´glowa ....................................9 BRE ............................................................15 Capital Park ..............................................15 Citibank........................................................7

Event:

Location: Web:

The conference will address a wide range of administrative issues, including efficient car fleet management, purchases and logistics, property management, document management systems, innovative IT solutions and cost-optimization.

Novotel Airport Warsaw wydarzenia.nf.pl

MLP Group ................................................16 Naftogaz ......................................................2

Compal Electronics ....................................5 Panattoni ..................................................16 Comperia.pl ................................................6 Deloitte ....................................................2, 6 DMSI ............................................................6

Parkview Terrace ......................................15 PGE ..............................................................9 PGNiG ..........................................................9

Erbud ........................................................18 PKP Cargo ........................................2, 6, 19 eSKY.pl ........................................................6 PKP Energetyka ..........................................6 Espirito Santo Investment ........................15 Poczta Polska..............................................6 Europa Capital ..........................................18 Prologis......................................................16 Gaz-System ................................................2 Gazprom ......................................................9 Geo Grupa..................................................18

28-29 ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTORS FORUM

Louvre Hotels Group ................................17

Qubus ........................................................17 SEGRO ......................................................16 Softhis..........................................................6

Goclever ......................................................6 TK Telekom..................................................6 Griffin Group ..............................................15 Gromada ....................................................17 Grupa o2 ......................................................5 Horwath HTL ............................................17

Toshiba ........................................................5 TriGranit Development ..............................18 Vola.ro ..........................................................6

Immofinanz Group ....................................15 WAM ..........................................................17 Innova Capital..............................................5 Warsaw Stock Exchange ........2, 6, 15, 16,19 Integer.pl Group ..........................................6 X-Trade Brokers ........................................19

NEWS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

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Energy

With the UN climate summit in Warsaw approaching, environmentalists are trying to encourage Poland to switch to renewable sources of energy Poland could halve its demand for coal by 2030, according to a report recently published by Greenpeace. The view is in clear opposition to what the Polish government has been saying for months, pledging instead to refocus on coal as an energy source.

Poland’s energy infrastructure is extremely outdated – that fact no one is disputing.

Most of Poland’s power plants are decades old and in desperate need of modernization.

Instead of spending money on updating existing coal-powered plants and building new ones, the money could be better spent on investment in renewable resources, according to Greenpeace.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move beyond

coal,” said the report, arguing that with the shift from coal to green energy, 100,000 jobs could be created by 2030.

The cost of such a switch would be steep. It would require an investment of some $264 billion, instead of the $132 billion needed to sustain the current energy mix. Still, free renewable energies would be cheaper in the long run by

industrial country, and as such needs a source of constant energy supplies,” he explained, arguing that since wind farms and solar panels cannot provide a constant supply of energy, they could never power Poland’s factories.

Citing economic factors, Mr Macià˝ek argued that Poland should continue to rely on coal and expand its coal-powered power plants – he favors the government’s initiative to expand a huge coal-fired power plant in Opole, in southern Poland.

“Unlike Germany, Poland can’t afford to switch to renewables,” he added.

One issue on which Mr Macià˝ek agreed with Greenpeace was that Poland must create a comprehensive energy strategy soon. Poland’s Economy Ministry has said that by 2016-2017 the country could experience blackouts, as its energy needs continue to rise, aging infrastructure strains under growing demand and older plants are shut down.

According to the ministry, Poland will need 1,100 MW

“It’s science fiction.” eliminating costs of fuel to generate electricity, said the report. Overall, if Poland were to make the switch, it could increase the role of renewables in its energy mix to 26.8 percent in 2030 compared to the current 7.8 percent.

Wishful thinking “It’s science fiction,” said Piotr Macià˝ek, an energy expert from the Energy for Europe Foundation, a conservative think tank. “Poland is still an

SHUTTERSTOCK

Report: by 2030 Poland could cut coal dependency by 50%

The Be∏chatów plant in central Poland in one of the biggest emitters of CO2 in Europe more than it will produce by 2017.

“There obviously is a place for renewables in our energy mix, but I don’t think it should be more than 15 percent,” Mr Macià˝ek said, adding that the government couldn’t take much more time in adopting a new

energy policy.

Poland’s energy mix is a hot topic of late, as the UN climate summit to be held in Warsaw is drawing near. The timing of the release of the Greenpeace report is not coincidental. During the summit, officials will work on a global deal to curb

CO2 emissions, which could be signed during the next summit, to be held in 2015. So far Poland has resisted deeper emissions cuts and anything else that could drive up carbon prices, or make it more expensive to burn coal.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Pensions

Polish officials to question Kerry over NSA spying

Institutions debate the legality of planned pension reform

Polish officials are upset, but not surprised, over revelations that the NSA may have listened in on their conversations

Even some lawyers that work for the government believe its plan to move private funds to the public system is illegal

After British newspaper The Guardian revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had been spying on at least 35 world leaders, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he would demand confirmation from the US authorities “that he was not being spied on.”

While angered by the possibility that one of Poland’s biggest allies could tap into telephone conversations between the country’s top officials, he wasn’t surprised. “Special services and intelligence units are not a school of good manners,” he said.

Mr Tusk warned that both sides – the EU and the US – have to trust each other, both in terms of bilateral relations and within NATO structures, which is why Poland’s PM is pushing

for clarification of the situation as soon as possible.

Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski added that he would seek confirmation from “higher circles of US government” as to whether Polish officials had been spied on. The US announced that Secretary of State John Kerry would be traveling to Warsaw this week to discuss the issue.

Rooftop spies But the wiretap scandal doesn’t end there. Recently, the German weekly Der Spiegel wrote about a special CIA unit called Special Collection Service (SCS), which uses some 80 US embassies around the world (19 in Europe) to collect data.

According to British journalist Duncan Campbell, the embassy in Warsaw is one such location. Mr Campbell claims that the surveillance equipment is concealed in sheds atop US embassy buildings, including the one in Warsaw.

Quoting a top-secret document, the German weekly claims that SCS agents are accredited as diplomats and

COURTESY OF DUNCANCAMPBELL.ORG

International spying

According to British journalist Duncan Campbell, surveillance equipment is concealed in sheds atop some US embassies, including the one in Warsaw use their own “sophisticated listening devices with which they can intercept virtually every popular method of communication: cellular signals, wireless networks and satellite communication.”

US Ambassador to Poland Stephen D. Mull wrote on his Twitter account that “I can assure that relations between Poland and the US are close and excellent,” but declined to

discuss details.

Polish authorities maintain that their communications should be secure. Since 2011, top officials in the country are using the latest encrypted system to communicate amongst themselves. Poland’s Internal Security Agency claims that it would take 50 years to breach the network’s encryption system.

Jacek Ciesnowski

The government’s planned pension system overhaul could be unconstitutional, according to the legal advisors to Poland’s State Treasury.

The reform “entails taking away non-state property from legal entities and transferring it to a state organizational unit, and therefore is classic expropriation,” the lawyers wrote in a report.

Labor Minister W∏adys∏aw Kosiniak-Kamysz disagreed with that opinion, arguing that experts in constitutional law and economists have voiced a different view. “The change is happening within a mandatory system, where guaranteed payouts are a rule, and this guarantee will be maintained,” he said.

The planned reform of the pension system involves shifting over half of the assets from

the privately managed part of the system (open pension funds, or OFEs) to the staterun Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) in an attempt to reduce public debt. The overhaul will also ban OFEs from investing in instruments other than equity as well as corporate and municipal debentures.

The National Bank of Poland also expressed its view on the proposed reform, saying that an overhaul of the pension system is necessary.

The central bank stressed, however, that the planned changes may involve legal risk.

“This should be taken into account when proposed solutions are approved,” the NBP said.

The Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) also joined the Treasury’s legal advisors in their view that the reform may be unconstitutional. Restrictions on investment by private pension funds could in turn contribute to market volatility, the KNF said.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Beata Socha

www.wbj.pl

NEWS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Politics

Tape scandal rocks Poland’s ruling party

COURTESY OF MACIEJ ÂMIAROWSKI/KPRM

4

Formerly allies, Grzegorz Schetyna (left) and Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right) have been butting heads within the Civic Platform party for years now

Did Grzegorz Schetyna lose local party elections fair and square, or was there an orchestrated campaign to remove him?

Internal local elections can be boring affairs. Often the results are easily predictable beforehand and the debates between candidates can resemble poorly written school plays.

But an election for the leadership of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) in the southern Polish region of Lower Silesia has ended in a scandal that has trained the spotlight on a longrunning internal battle between two party heavyweights: Prime Minister Donald Tusk and PO deputy leader Grzegorz Schetyna.

Mr Schetyna, who had dominated the party in Lower Silesia for years, lost the leadership election to MP Jacek Protasiewicz by a slim, ninevote margin.

But strangely, just hours after the election results were announced, the Polish edition of Newsweek revealed a taped conversation in which Civic Platform MP Norbert Wojnarowski offered another party member, Edward Klimka, a job at state-owned copper giant KGHM in exchange for supporting Mr Protasiewicz.

Mr Klimka confirmed he had been offered the job and said he received a phone call from a KGHM board member shortly after the conversation ended.

That in itself was enough to

ignite a political firestorm. But the twists to the story would have even given Agatha Christie reason to raise an eyebrow.

It turns out that Mr Klimka was already employed at one of KGHM’s subsidiaries when the conversation took place.

What’s more, he reportedly works in a department run by a relative of one of Mr Schetyna’s closest allies.

Later on, Newsweek released a video recording of another conversation in which

“Whoever wants to lead [Civic Platform] should have run in the party elections. Mr Schetyna decided against it but he continues to criticize the government.”

Civic Platform politicians offered another Lower Silesian PO member similar incentives in exchange for supporting Mr Protasiewicz.

Mr Protasiewicz claims that the conversations and recordings constitute a setup organized by his opponents. He maintains that he never asked anyone to make any such offers in return for votes.

The blame game The fallout resulted in Civic Platform’s leaders meeting for six hours behind closed doors. During the consultations, Mr Tusk put most of the blame on Mr Schetyna,

according to daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

“The prime minister said that Mr Schetyna should have revealed the tapes before the vote, not after he knew that he had lost,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed party leader as saying.

Mr Tusk apparently added that he was fed up with others in the party and government undermining his authority.

“Whoever wants to lead [Civic Platform] should have run in the party elections. Mr Schetyna decided against it but he continues to criticize the government,” the newspaper quoted the source as saying.

In the end, Civic Platform leaders decided to uphold the results of the election in Lower Silesia and suspended everyone involved in the taped conversations while the situation is further investigated.

The biggest loser looks to be Mr Schetyna, whose chances of remaining a deputy leader in the party are now slim to none.

Mr Schetyna had been Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s closest ally for years. But in 2011, after a series of disagreements, the two politicians had a falling out which lasts to this day.

Though he has remained deputy leader of the party, Mr Schetyna has not held a public post since November 2011, when his term as speaker of the Sejm ended. His loss in Lower Silesia, as well as its aftermath, may be the final nails in the coffin in terms of his battle for influence in the party.

Jacek Ciesnowski

BUSINESS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

5

Business environment

Poland placed 45th in the World Bank’s latest Doing Business report, climbing three places from last year’s ranking.

The jump would have been even bigger if the World Bank had not adjusted its methodology for its 2014 edition. Using last year’s rules, Poland would have advanced by 10 spots.

Overall, the country came in higher than Slovakia (49th), Hungary (54th) and the Czech Doing Business 2014 ranking, selected countries Country

Rank

Singapore

1

United States

4

Denmark

5

United Kingdom

10

Germany

21

Poland

45

Italy

65

Czech Republic

75

Russia

92

China

96 Source: World Bank

Republic (75th), but lower than Lithuania (17th), Germany (21st), Estonia (22nd) and Latvia (24th).

“I’m very happy about our position,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, commenting on the results. “The ranking itself are not changing people’s lives, but they’re illustrating what is currently happening with our lives and our economy,” he added.

Xavier Devictor, World Bank country manager for Poland and the Baltic states, called Poland “champion of the [CEE] region,” praising the reforms it has made over the years.

According to the report, Poland has made two crucial improvements which make conducting business in the country much easier. Firstly, it has eliminated draconian requirements when registering a new company with the National Labor Inspectorate and the National Sanitary Inspectorate. Secondly, it is now much easier to get construction permits, since the requirement to obtain land surveying documentation has been eliminated.

Still lagging behind The ranking takes into account a series of factors ranging from starting a business, paying

SHUTTERSTOCK

According to the World Bank, it’s easier to conduct business in Poland than in Slovakia, Hungary or the Czech Republic

CPURTESY OF TOSHIBA

Toshiba sells its Poland jumps in Doing Business ranking Polish TV unit

Poland was praised for its reforms taxes, obtaining credit to resolving insolvency. Poland received its highest score in the category of obtaining credit, where the country was ranked third, as well as resolving insolvency, where it placed 37th.

But there is still much room for improvement. For example, in the getting electricity section, Poland ranked 137th out of the 189 countries listed.

The World Bank calculated that it takes up to 161 days to be connected to the electricity grid in Poland (89 is the OECD average) and it costs 205 percent of income per capita (compared to the OECD average of 79 percent).

Poland also fares poorly when it comes to starting a business (116th place) and paying taxes (113th). It takes

up to 30 days to establish a company (compared to the OECD average of 11) and it costs some 14 percent of income per capita (while the OECD average is only 3.6 percent).

When it comes to paying taxes, in Poland a businessperson needs to make on average 18 payments to the tax office per year, which takes up 286 hours of the year (the OECD average is 12 payments and 175 hours). However, the tax rate itself is close to the OECD average and stands at 41.6 percent of profits gained, just 0.3 percent higher than the OECD average.

Jacek Ciesnowski

IT

COURTESY OF WIRTUALNA POLSKA

New Wirtualna Polska portal owner mulls IPO

Innova Capital wants the portal to be listed within the next three years Private equity fund Innova Capital, which financed the takeover of web portal Wirtualna Polska by Grupa o2, wants the companies to merge into Grupa Wirtualna Polska and then debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in about three years’ time, the fund’s managing partner Krzysztof Krawczyk told ISBnews.

Innova Capital plans to retain 70 percent of Grupa Wirtualna Polska stock with the remaining 30 percent going to

the creators of Grupa o2.

Mr Krawczyk added that his fund plans to withdraw from the internet group soon after the listing. “We usually keep the shares in our listed companies for a year or two after their IPO, so I expect that our investment in Wirtualna Polska will last about five years.”

The new owner believes that video services will become the most important feature of web portals within the next five years and plans heavy investments in that sector. Jacek Âwiderski from Grupa o2 added that the e-mail segment and themed portals will also be an important part of the new

service.

Innova also plans to set aside €100 million for investments in the newly created Grupa Wirtualna Polska. This amount will be spent both on organic growth and on acquisitions.

Innova analyzed the internet market while preparing for the Wirtualna Polska – Grupa o2 deal, Mr Krawczyk said. “Conclusions are positive, but it is still too early to talk about concrete entities. We have identified a number of companies, but they are from niche and specialized markets,” he said.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

Toshiba TV sets will still be made in Kobierzyce, but by a different company Japanese electronics producer Toshiba has sold its Polish unit Toshiba Television Central Europe to Taiwan-based Compal Electronics, the Japanese corporation said on Monday.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

The transaction is expected to be finalized by March 2014 after approval from antimonopoly authorities.

Toshiba Television Central Europe is a manufacturing unit established in 2006 in Kobierzyce near Wroc∏aw, in southwestern Poland. The company produces mediumand large-screen LCD televi-

sion sets there.

Kobierzyce plant was Toshiba’s biggest TV factory.

The company also manufactures television sets in Egypt, Indonesia and China. After the transfer of ownership to Compal, Toshiba will continue to sell devices manufactured at the plant, through an original design manufacturer (ODM) partnership with Compal.

The sale is a part of a larger television segment restructuring process at Toshiba. In August, some sources had claimed Toshiba would close down the Polish unit if it failed to find a Kamila Wajszczuk buyer.

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BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Technology

Polish tech firms dominate regional ranking Nearly half of all the fastest-growing innovative companies in Central Europe come from Poland As many as 22 Polish high-tech companies made it into this year’s edition of Deloitte’s Central Europe Technology “Fast 50” ranking. Out of the top 10 companies on the list, three are Polish.

The highest ranking Polish firm is Kraków-based IT solutions provider Softhis, which came in third, with a 1,573 percent revenue increase. In last year’s ranking Softhis was ranked 29th.

“The secret behind our current success is for sure consistency, openness to innovation, as well as cooperation with scientific institutions and industry partners,” said ¸ukasz Rzepecki, president of the board at Softhis.

Warsaw-based web portal Comperia.pl, established in

2007, came in fourth, with revenue growth of 1,500 percent.

This is the first year the company was included it Deloitte’s ranking.

“Comperia started to operate in the time of the financial crisis. In order to develop our business under such difficult circumstances, we had to adopt an innovative action plan, which at the same time was very risky,” said Bartosz Micha∏ek, the company’s CEO. Polish companies that made it into the top 50 are based in cities all over Poland: eight operate in Warsaw, seven are based in Wroc∏aw. Gliwice (Silesia voivodship) and Poznaƒ each had two representatives among the top 50 tech firms. There were also companies from Kraków, Bia∏ystok, Lublin, Radom, ¸ódê, Szczecin, Rzeszów and Gdynia.

panies among the top 50 was Hungary, with eight firms, followed by Romania with six.

The companies are ranked based on the operating revenue growth over the past five years (2008-2012), which this year averaged 671 percent for the top 50 firms.

The top spot went to Romania’s online air ticket retailer Vola.ro for the third consecutive year. The company’s average growth amounted to 5,729 percent between 2008

and 2012.

Serbia’s Bitgear Wireless Design Services, the only electronics firm in the ranking, came in second, with a revenue growth of 1,872 percent over the past five years.

The Technology Fast 50 ranking focuses on companies providing innovative technologies in various fields, including biotechnology, telecommunications, electronics, media or green solutions.

As in previous years, the

Tech companies broken down by country Fast 50

ranking was dominated by software companies (29 in total, with 13 firms representing internet technologies, five in telecommunications and with only one in each of the remaining sectors: computers, media and electronics.

rates with smaller firms as well as a top 10 “Rising Stars” ranking, which includes companies that are less than five years old.

Two Polish companies were included in the “Big Five” ranking, taking the first (Goclever) and fifth (eSKY.pl) places. Also, five out of the 10 most promising rising stars were Polish, with software company DMSI taking the third spot.

‘Big Five’ and ‘Rising Stars’ Apart from the main ranking, Deloitte publishes a “Big Five” ranking with companies too big to compete in growth

Beata Socha

Rising Stars

Big Five

2 1 1

4

1

1 2

5 1

22

5 1

6 2

8

1

Central Europe’s tech leaders The second-best country in terms of the number of com-

Poland

Hungary

Romania

Czech Republic

Croatia

Lithuania

Serbia

Slovakia

Postal services

IPO

Poczta Polska finally discovers the internet

PKP Cargo shares soar on first day of trade

Not impressed

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Poczta Polska (Polish Post) has launched a new platform called “envelo,” which allows its customers to send e-mails or e-cards using traditional mail, as well as buy and even print their own postage stamps.

“Market trends are inexorable. We want to move in the direction which our customers expect us to go,” said Jerzy Jóêkowiak, CEO of Poczta Polska.

“We are in the process of building a strong postal/financial/logistics group and e-serv-

ensuring legal validity and, finally, registered electronic mail,” said Grzegorz Âwidwiƒski, president of Poczta Polska’s digital services division. “Ultimately, the platform will be a place providing access to all postal e-services,” he added.

ices will become a foundation for further development. As the leader in the postal services in this part of Europe and one of the largest Polish companies, we have all the necessary tools,” Mr Jóêkowiak added.

Poczta Polska didn’t reveal how much the project had cost, but the firm hopes that the new site will be profitable by 2017.

Earlier, the company stated that it planned to spend z∏.1.3 billion on new projects until 2017.

In the future, the company wants to expand the services available on the platform. “The services will include electronic invoicing, scanned letters, digitizing incoming mail, eSignature and eContract allowing for the signature of electronic documents with authentication

Poczta Polska is trying to shed its traditional image

But what Poczta Polska calls a revolution, their competitors are already calling outdated.

“Polish Post is boasting about their idea of hybrid mail being a new concept in Poland. The problem is that it has been available in Poland for years,” said Rafa∏ Brzoska, CEO of Integer.pl Group, which runs the biggest Polish private postal operator InPost.

Mr Brzoska added that his business is not threatened by the state-owned competitor, since his company is concentrating on business clients rather that individual customers.

Poczta Polska is currently undergoing a restructuring process which began back in 2008, although it has once again delayed its IPO plans.

Poland’s Ministry of Administration and Digitization spokesperson, Artur Kozio∏ek has said that the company will not be privatized in 2014, although plans for the company to be floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange are still in place.

Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF PKP CARGO

The state-owned postal service has launched a new internet platform, allowing its customers to print their own stamps and send e-cards by mail

The company’s stock went up by nearly 20 percent

The debut was worth nearly z∏.1.5 billion, making it the largest on the WSE so far this year Shares in railway freight transportation company PKP Cargo closed 19.34 percent over their issue price on October 31, after two days of trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

PKP Cargo’s initial public offering was the largest on the WSE this year, amounting to z∏.1.42 billion. Railway group PKP sold 20.93 million shares in the cargo firm at z∏.68 per share.

On the day of the debut, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said that it had bought a 5.27 percent stake in PKP Cargo in the IPO, making the institution become its secondlargest shareholder.

Next in line?

Both PKP Cargo’s parent company, state-owned rail carrier PKP, and the government were jubilant over the shares’ performance. Now, IPOs for other PKP subsidiaries are already being considered. Passenger railway firm PKP Intercity could also be privatized through the Warsaw Stock

Exchange, Transport Minister S∏awomir Nowak said.

“I hope that within five years [PKP] Intercity will follow the path to the WSE set by PKP Cargo,” Mr Nowak said.

Poland’s State Treasury directly owns 65.7 percent in PKP Intercity, while the remaining stake is held by PKP. “We need to make PKP Intercity profitable before we list its shares,” said PKP CEO Jakub Karnowski, adding that he wants to privatize energy supplier PKP Energetyka and telecommunications firm TK Telekom in 2014.

Kamila Wajszczuk Jacek Ciesnowski

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

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7

GDP

Investment

Evidence mounts that economic growth is picking up

FDI inflow drops by 70% in 2012

SHUTTERSTOCK

Polish investment in other countries also tanked last year The inflow of foreign direct investments to Poland amounted to €4.72 billion in 2012 compared to €14.83 billion in 2011 – a drop of nearly 70 percent – the National Bank of Poland said in a report last week.

Reinvested profits stood at €4.44 billion and the value of debt instruments was €2.91 billion. Capital worth €2.64 billion was withdrawn from Poland.

The drop in the total value was mostly the result of investors withdrawing from capital in transit (capital passing through Poland as part of finan-

cial transactions), the NBP said.

Those withdrawals came to €4.6 billion.

The largest amounts of FDI came from Germany (€3.49 billion) and France (€3.13 billion).

The largest withdrawals came from Luxembourg (€3.22 billion) and the Netherlands (€1.71 billion).

But it wasn’t only investments into Poland that nosedived. Investments from Poland into other countries also plummeted: to just €557 million in 2012 compared to €5.87 billion in 2011, the National Bank of Poland said in a separate report.

Some €529 million was invested in various debt instru-

ments, reinvested profits amounted to €432 million and withdrawn capital stood at €404 million.

According to the NBP, if the €4.6 billion in capital in transit is excluded from the calculation, Polish foreign direct investments in 2012 would have amounted to €5.16 billion, 17 percent more than the corresponding value for 2011.

Polish investment in foreign countries mostly went to the Netherlands (€574 million) and France (€329 million).

Investments were withdrawn from Switzerland (€647 million) and Luxembourg (€716 million).

Kamila Wajszczuk

Huge drop Foreign direct investment in Poland (€ bln) 6

How big will the rebound be?

5

Powered by a revival of domestic demand, the figures are beginning to look much better than in the first half of the year Poland’s gross domestic product grew much faster in the third quarter of this year than it did in the second quarter, according to calculations by one of Poland’s most respected economic think tanks. Moreover, the vice president of the National Bank of Poland has added his voice to a chorus espousing the view that next year the country’s GDP could grow at a faster pace than the government currently expects.

All of this comes as domestic demand – widely regarded as the driver of Poland’s economy when it weathered the global economic downturn in 2009 as the only EU country not to go into recession – seems to be

bouncing back after 18 months when consumers had pulled back spending.

According to the Gdaƒsk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR), Poland’s GDP grew by 1.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2013. The think tank expects growth to accelerate to 2.1 percent in Q4 y/y. The figures are much higher than the 0.8 percent y/y GDP growth seen in Q2 and the 0.5 percent growth recorded in Q1 of this year.

“This was the highest growth rate in five quarters.

Taking into account seasonal factors, the GDP growth rate in July-September was 0.6 percent compared to the previous quarter,” IBnGR said.

According to the think tank’s analysts, domestic demand was the main factor for growth in Q3. “This should be considered a favorable signal from the economy, because it means that the Polish economy

is becoming less reliant on the uncertain economic situation abroad,” they wrote.

3

2014 also looking good

2

Also last week vice president of the National Bank of Poland Witold Koziƒski said that GDP growth could come in higher than 2.5 percent in 2014. The 2.5 percent growth rate is the projection included in Poland’s draft budget law for next year.

“The 2014 GDP growth estimate is realistic, but it may be higher,” Mr Koziƒski said.

In 2012, GDP growth slowed sharply to just 1.9 percent, from 4.5 percent in 2011.

This year, economists expect Poland’s GDP growth to come in around 1.5 percent.

In mid-October, economists from the Polish branch of Citibank raised their forecast for Poland’s GDP growth in 2014 to as high as 3.1 percent.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Andrew Kureth

Rising tide?

Poland’s y/y GDP growth (%), by quarter 5 4 *IBnGR forecast 3 2 1

Q1

20 0 Q2 9 20 0 Q3 9 20 0 Q4 9 20 09 Q1 20 1 Q2 0 20 1 Q3 0 20 1 Q4 0 20 10 Q1 20 1 Q2 1 20 1 Q3 1 20 1 Q4 1 20 1 Q1 1 20 1 Q2 2 20 1 Q3 2 20 1 Q4 2 20 12 Q1 20 1 Q2 3 20 Q3 13 20 13 *

0

Source: Central Statistical Office, IBnGR

R&D spending up by 22.8% in 2012 The value of domestic internal research and development outlays in Poland grew by 22.8 percent year-on-year to 14.35 billion in 2012, according to data published by Poland’s statistics office GUS.

Outlays stood for 0.9 percent of Poland’s GDP in 2012, marking a 0.14-point increase y/y.

Spending on tangible assets stood at z∏.4.35 billion or 53.2 percent of total outlays.

The corporate sector financed 32.3 percent of the research and development spending in 2012, 4.2 points more than in 2011. The share of government spending stood at KW 51.4 percent.

4

1 0

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012 Source: National Bank of Poland

ENERGY IN FOCUS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

9

Utilities

Natural gas

Management shakeup at PGE Poland overpaid for Russian gas – NIK report each of the deals were given only one day to analyze the contracts. And more importantly, the one-day deadlines were not even made at Gazprom’s insistence, but PGNiG’s.

All these factors led to Poland paying significantly more for gas ($526 for 1,000 cubic meters in H1 2012) than most other European countries, including Germany ($379 for 1,000 cubic meters), France ($394) and the United Kingdom ($313). Only Macedonians paid more for Russian gas ($564).

Last year, PGNiG managed to renegotiate the deal, putting the prices more in line with the European average, and is expected to pay $384 for 1,000 cubic meters of gas.

Bogus∏awa Matuszewska and Wojciech Ostrowski, two vice presidents on the management board of Poland’s largest utility, PGE, were relieved of their posts on October 25. Ms Matuszewska was responsible for strategy and development, while Mr Ostrowski was responsible for financial affairs.

“The dismissals are the effects of the conclusions we’ve come to regarding their activities over the last year,” said Ma∏gorzata Dec, chairman of the firm’s supervisory board.

She added that these activities were “unsatisfactory,” without revealing further details.

The terse statement provided grist for the rumor mill, with experts puzzling over what the real reason was behind the firings and whether there would be more casualties.

“PGE is the only state-controlled company that the state has trouble controlling,” business daily Puls Biznesu quoted an unnamed source from the Treasury Ministry as saying.

Beata Socha, Kamila Wajszczuk

COURTESY OF GAZPROM

Poland overpaid for gas purchased from Russia’s Gazprom, Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) said in a report last week.

According to the watchdog, state-controlled gas distributor PGNiG negotiated very unfavorable conditions in deals signed in 2006 and 2009. The prices of natural gas for Poland were far higher than those paid by other European countries.

The watchdog admitted that Poland’s position in the negotiations was extremely disadvantageous at the time,

as it had no other gas supplier to turn to. Nor did it have its own gas infrastructure, so even if it had tried to buy the fuel from another country, it would still have had to transport it through Gazprom’s pipelines, NIK spokesperson Pawe∏ Biedziak told Polish Radio.

Still, mistakes were made and Poland failed to take advantage of the few bargaining chips it did have. Gazprom had a major debt with PGNiG at the time which the Polish gas giant could have leveraged to bring the prices down.

Instead, PGNiG opted for an insignificant discount of 1-1.5 percent on future supplies from the Russian provider.

Another mistake was the unwarranted haste in negotiations, the NIK said. Treasury ministers responsible for overseeing and approving

In H1 2012 Poland paid $526 for 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas from Gazprom

Mining

KW to be profitable in 2015 at the earliest Reducing employment and cutting the number of its mines is the company’s plan to stop losing money Poland’s largest mining group, Kompania W´glowa (KW) is in deep financial trouble after recording a z∏.295 million net loss in the first nine months of 2013.

A drop in coal prices has been blamed for the loss: in H1 2013 coal dropped by 9.4 percent (coking coal fell even further, plunging 26 percent), and the company still has some 5.5 million metric tons of unsold coal sitting in storage.

In order to improve its

financial situation, the company is working on a rescue plan which is to be presented midNovember.

“We have adopted a deadline of 2020 in our restructuring plan, but special initiatives are scheduled for 2014-2015 so that by the end of 2015 we may report a positive operating result,” said Marek Uszko, Kompania W´glowa’s deputy CEO. One of the initiatives being considered is a slash in employment from the current 57,000 to some 50,000 workers by 2015. However, Mr Uszko has maintained that the reduction would be done in an organic way, with a moratorium on new contracts for miners when their

retiring colleagues leave. While no layoffs should be needed, shifts between mines could be necessary.

KW is also thinking about reducing the number of mines it operates to eight from the current 15.

The deputy CEO said that the next two years will be crucial for the company’s restructuring. KW would like to maintain its revenue and cut costs in order to regain profitability at an operating level.

The company also plans to limit investment outlays to z∏.0.8-1.0 billion compared to z∏.1.2 billion over the past two years.

Kamila Wajszczuk, Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF PGE

Unfavorable conditions in conjunction with several mistakes on the part of Poland led to inflated gas prices

Two members of the utility’s management board have been dismissed. Will the CEO be next?

Company fired two of its executives Opole aftermath The source was likely referring to the tussle between PGE and the government over the expansion of a power plant in Opole, southern Poland.

Earlier this year, PGE withdrew from the decision to build two new coal-fired power generation units, each with a capacity of 900 MW, at the Opole facility, saying that the project would be unprofitable.

A few weeks later, Prime Minister Donald Tusk overturned the decision, forcing the company to sign a letter of intent to start the project.

The Opole plant extension was supposed to be one of the key elements of company’s new strategy, whose publication has been postponed numerous times and which still

hasn’t been released.

The biggest question now is whether the management shakeup is a harbinger of bigger changes to come. Many commentators suggest PGE’s CEO Krzysztof Kilian could lose his post.

However, Mr Kilian and Mr Tusk have been friends since the 1980s. Both worked in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki in the early 1990s, and despite differing viewpoints on the future of PGE, Mr Kilian still runs the firm. Firing two members of the management board may simply have served as a warning to him to begin heeding the company’s biggest shareholder – the State Treasury.

Jacek Ciesnowski

10

OPINION & ANALYSIS

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Development’s democratic drivers Jeffrey Gedmin

I

t’s the economy, stupid” has been a political mantra for more than two decades. Nowadays, the phrase is repeated ad nauseam in development discussions. But making countries flourish is not so simple.

There is a wealth of literature describing the various factors that determine prosperity. In their widely discussed 2012 book “Why Nations

“Democratic systems based on good governance and the rule of law are more conducive to prosperity than any of the alternatives.”

Fail,” the economist Daron Acemoglu and the political scientist James A. Robinson emphasize the importance of inclusive political and economic institutions. According to the economist Angus Deaton’s new book “The Great Escape,” health is a key.

Democracy pays The just-released Legatum Prosperity Index points to another fundamental condition for success: good governance and the rule of law. As program director Nathan Gamester puts it, “It pays to be a democracy.”

Indeed, as it stands, 27 of the

world’s top 30 most prosperous countries are democracies. This is not true of the bottom 30.

Consider the development disparities in Africa. Countries like Botswana that have accountable governments, respect for the rule of law, established property rights, and independent judiciaries fare far better than their counterparts. But most countries on the continent fall into the “counterpart” category, with 24 of the bottom 30 countries in the Prosperity Index located in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Most of these countries suffer a significant “democratic deficit.” In Equatorial Guinea, for example, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power since 1979, making him Africa’s longest-serving ruler. In just over three decades, his regime has managed to turn a tiny, oil-rich country into a development disaster. The vast majority of Equatorial Guineans have severely limited access to clean water, education, and health care. And the country has one of the world’s highest childmortality rates, with one out of every five children dying before their fifth birthday.

Despite such examples – of which there are plenty – there is a school of thought that argues that the clumsy inclusiveness of the democratic process impedes economic development. Of course, it is true that democracy is not always efficient – just ask Americans, whose government was recently shut down for 16 days and nearly defaulted on its debt as a result of partisan policy

disagreements. But democratic systems based on good governance and the rule of law are more conducive to prosperity than any of the alternatives.

Rule of law China’s unprecedented economic rise, which has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the last three decades, was a result of economic decentralization and freer, more competitive markets – not clever government planning, as some like to claim. China’s future will almost certainly be char-

acterized by more democracy and a strengthening of the rule of law – the country’s emerging middle class will see to that. This shift will prove vital to consolidating and building upon economic gains.

Similarly, in Latin America, the consolidation of democratic government over the last three decades has progressed in lock-step with economic development. Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay all have positive stories to tell in this year’s Prosperity Index.

The fact is that when governance is effective and the rule of law is

strong, good things start to happen in other areas, including the economy. Botswanans, for example, report high levels of confidence in their country’s elections (83 percent, compared to the Sub-Saharan regional average of just 47 percent) and judicial system (83 percent, compared to 53 percent).

And, lo and behold, progress is being made in several crucial areas.

Mobile-phone ownership in Botswana has nearly doubled in the last couple of years. (Can you imagine a thriving economy without modern communications?) And Botswana’s success in reducing business start-up costs since 2010 has given entrepreneurs the confidence to borrow money, hire more employees, and take calculated risks on their way to success.

While there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for prosperity, it is apparent that establishing well-managed systems guided by democratic principles is a particularly effective route to progress in crucial areas like education, health care, security, and regulation. By highlighting the factors that correlate with success, the Legatum Prosperity Index should spur policymakers and citizens to reconsider their priorities.

If they glean only one insight from this year’s index, it should be this: “It’s governance and the rule of law, stupid.” ● Jeffrey Gedmin is president and CEO of the Legatum Institute.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

The last gentlemen’s club I

s one of the last bastions of gender inequality in the rich democracies finally starting to crumble? In the past few weeks, Janet Yellen was nominated as the first female chair of the US Federal Reserve Board, and Karnit Flug became the first woman to be appointed Governor of Israel’s central bank. If money is power, then women must no longer be excluded from controlling the supply of it.

Although women do head central banks in 17 emerging markets – including Malaysia, Russia, Argentina, South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana – they are the exceptions that prove a general rule: women are excluded from the world of monetary policymaking.

Monetary glass ceiling Ms Yellen’s appointment is particularly important, because she breaks the glass ceiling in the advanced economies. Until her promotion, no member of the G-7 had a woman heading its central bank.

Moreover, men occupy all 23 seats on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council. Since the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee was established in 1997, only three women have been appoint-

ed as external members – and no woman has even been nominated since 2002. The Bank of Japan has only one woman on its policy board.

Women, nowadays, are more likely to occupy top political jobs. Angela Merkel was recently reelected for a third term as German Chancellor; Britain’s voters elected Margaret Thatcher three times as Prime Minister; and France has had a female prime minister. But no woman has come close to leading these countries’ central banks.

Equality seems to have eluded central banks even in gender-conscious Scandinavia. For example, Norway, which has been promoting positive gender discrimination for years and recently elected Erna Solberg as its first female prime minister, has yet to allow a woman to control the purse strings – at either the central bank or the finance ministry, with its powerful sovereign wealth fund.

Recent attempts to compel change have been counter-productive. In an effort to promote diversity and gender equality in the ECB, the European Parliament in 2012 blocked the appointment of Luxembourg’s Yves Mersch to the bank’s executive board.

But MEPs then failed to propose a plausible female alternative, leaving

the ECB understaffed for weeks during the euro zone sovereign-debt crisis.

Unsurprisingly, the European Parliament’s handling of Mr Mersch’s appointment was widely ridiculed, and his nomination was eventually confirmed. But many people drew the wrong conclusion from the episode, which they viewed as affirming the idea that competence and experience must always trump ill-conceived ideas about positive discrimination. If there are no suitable female candidates, it was argued, then the best candidate should prevail, regardless of gender.

No serious effort But this view misses the point. Why were there no suitable female candidates in the first place? Women hold around 30 percent of economics doctorates in developed countries, including Europe, and not one of them could be brought forward for the ECB post? The more reasonable conclusion to be drawn from Mr Mersch’s appointment is that no serious effort was made to identify qualified women early on.

On the contrary, female candidates tend simply to be overlooked.

This was the case for both Ms Yellen

and Ms Flug – until the preferred, male applicants dropped out. Ms Flug was finally offered the top job only in the absence of a male rival, though she was already occupying the position temporarily while the board searched for Stanley Fischer’s successor.

Neither Ms Yellen nor Ms Flug was held back by a lack of academic credentials – both are accomplished scholars – or by the catch-all charge of having “limited experience.” Ms Flug has been the Bank of Israel’s deputy governor since 2011; Ms Yellen has been involved in the Fed system for almost two decades, first in San Francisco and subsequently as Vice Chair of the Fed’s Board of Governors.

Familiar types If a lack of skills or experience is not preventing women from reaching the summit of monetary policymaking, what is? The most plausible explanation is that, as organizations with non-elected leaders and limited transparency, central banks tend to function as clubs whose largely male membership hire and promote familiar types; governments usually reinforce this by simply rubber-stamping

Paola Subacchi

“If money is power, then women must no longer be excluded from controlling the supply of it.” the banks’ preferred candidate for the top job.

If gender is a proxy for diversity, then central banks fail a basic test of it. Promoting diversity – not only in terms of gender, but also with respect to age and, in many countries, ethnic background – is a matter of effectiveness as much as a question of social justice. A broader, more transparent recruitment process would reduce groupthink, challenge the status quo, and, one hopes, leave central banks better equipped to handle a financial crisis. The promotion of Ms Yellen and Ms Flug is a good start; now the doors of these fusty male-dominated clubs must be flung wide open. ● Paola Subacchi is research director of international economics at Chatham House.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.

Project-syndicate.org

OPINION & ANALYSIS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

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11

What’s actually interesting about the latest Snowden leak

Stratfor

T

he US ambassador in Madrid was summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry on Monday in a public display of Spain’s outrage over information released by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. The latest information purported that his former employer had collected millions of

“Whoever is selecting the particular documents from the alleged trove of data secured by Mr Snowden for release is using them to maximum effect.”

Spanish telephone calls. The summons follows similar demonstrations over alleged NSA collection operations targeting the communications of the leaders of Germany, France, Brazil and other countries. But the fact that the NSA is targeting foreign

when an organization is discovered to be performing the very task it was created to perform. The Spanish, German and French intelligence agencies often cooperate with the NSA against targets of mutual interest. The collectors and analysts who work there are well aware of the United States’ capabilities, and certainly they are not shocked by the recent revelations; they collect on US targets, too. Perhaps more concerning for these governments is what Mr Snowden could reveal about their cooperation with the NSA – and what the public response to those revelations will be. Indeed, the real damage to relations is not driven by government outrage. It is driven by public pressure on these governments.

The truly amazing aspect to the Snowden leaks is that in a span of some three months, a contract NSA systems administrator apparently was able to access several distinct “sensitive compartments” of information and then download a large quantity of highly sensitive “codeword” mate-

citizens, governments and leaders with these kinds of operations is perhaps the least interesting element of the Snowden case.

Reading each other’s mail We can debate the propriety and the legality of such operations, but no matter what opinions we hold regarding these things, we should not be surprised to learn that they are being conducted. Former US Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson famously proclaimed in 1929 that “gentlemen do not read each other’s mail.” It turns out that when it comes to statecraft, they clearly do. Though Mr Stimson’s idealism left the US government’s Cipher Bureau cryptology group without funding, the cold, hard reality of the international system soon forced the United States to resume their signals intelligence activities. As a result, the NSA was formed in 1952 to collect such intelligence and to protect American signals from being collected by other countries.

It is strange, then, to feign outrage

rial from the NSA’s classified computer system without being caught. Even within the NSA, operations targeting the communications of “friendly” heads of state would be very tightly restricted. And yet a contract employee seemed unencumbered by these restrictions.

Maximum effect Another interesting aspect of the Snowden case has been the specific documents involved and the sequence in which they were released. Whoever is orchestrating the release of the documents obviously is not disseminating them all at once; rather, they are prolonging their release. So far, they have refrained from disclosing any documents that detail the NSA’s communication security mission of protecting US signals from the intrusions of foreign intelligence services. Now it may be sheer coincidence, but it certainly appears as if the releases are deliberately designed to harm the relationship between the United States and its allies. In the case of Brazil, perhaps

an additional consideration was ensuring that Brasilia would not extradite journalist Glenn Greenwald to the United States, were he was indicted with Mr Snowden on espionage charges. Other releases seem to be squarely aimed at damaging US alliances, specifically with Europe.

The Snowden affair is beginning to affect US relations and alliances appreciably. The Germans certainly were aware of American capabilities and activities, but the report that the NSA was listening to the personal calls of the German chancellor will provoke not only public pressure but also a visceral response from Angela Merkel. Whoever is selecting the particular documents from the alleged trove of data secured by Mr Snowden for release is using them to maximum effect. ● This edited version of “What’s actually interesting about the latest Snowden leak” is reprinted with permission of Stratfor Stratfor.com

Europe’s flight from futility

In

the next 25 years, Europe’s share of the world population and global GDP is expected to fall considerably. Does that mean that a weakened Europe will fall prey to the rising powers of 2040?

substantial progress toward “greening” agriculture, industry, transport, construction, energy, and so on. Indeed, by 2040, environmental standards will become an indicator of an economy’s overall competitiveness.

Weak vs strong Global conditions Given that Europe’s prospects are highly dependent on external factors, any speculation about its future must account for global conditions. One thing seems certain: although the 2008 global financial crisis exposed dangerous flaws in the free-market system, the market economy appears likely to remain the norm in the coming decades.

Moreover, in view of the difficulty of opting out of international markets, large-scale protectionism is unlikely.

But there is little doubt that new regulations – including financial and commercial regulations, as well as socialwelfare rules and tax reforms – will include protective measures for some countries and blocs.

At the same time, the need to counter the economic crisis and fight climate change, together with an array of fresh incentives, new directives, and scientific breakthroughs, will lead to

In this sense, Europe seems well positioned to compete in the future global economy. But, as it struggles to overcome crisis, dynamic emerging economies may well surpass it. After all, in 2040, many emerging markets – those that have managed to avoid stagnation or collapse by addressing effectively the considerable challenges currently facing them – will have “emerged.” The divide between developed and developing countries will be replaced by a distinction between weak and strong economies, with Russia remaining a special case.

In geopolitical terms, many scenarios are possible. According to a report published by the US National Intelligence Council, Western countries’ share of global income should fall to “well under half by 2030,” from 56 percent today, suggesting that Europe will continue to struggle in the coming years.

Of course, there is also the possibility of an American decline and a Euro-

pean renewal, although that seems highly unlikely. Even so, the European Union could enhance its global clout through a strategic alliance with Russia, or by negotiating a Euro-Mediterranean partnership with Turkey and with the transition countries of the southern Mediterranean and Africa.

Another scenario is that the United States and China form a G-2, or include the EU to form a G-3, that balances out the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, Indian, China, and South Africa). But either of these outcomes would risk geopolitical destabilization, given that each would require a major democratization effort in China.

Furthermore, there is the possibility of a multipolar system accommodating 12-15 powers (including the US, China, Japan, Russia, Europe, India, Brazil, Mexico, the Pacific Alliance, ASEAN, South Africa, and Nigeria). But, while such a system could balance competition with cooperation, it would lack an anchor to ensure stability.

Finally, there is the chaos scenario.

For example, a cyber superbug destroys the networks on which our way of life has come to depend, leading to economic, demographic, and environmental collapse.

Outlook: uncertainty In this set of possible outcomes, one point stands out: the uncertainty of Europe’s role in the future global system. To prevent inexorable decline, Europe must reach clear decisions on three fundamental issues.

First, EU leaders must determine how to resolve the euro zone crisis.

Any plan must involve the pursuit of a stronger and more integrated Europe, though not necessarily a truly federal arrangement, which would be met with widespread popular resistance. The United Kingdom would undoubtedly choose to remain a member of a 28- or 30-member EU; Turkey might also wish to join.

Second, leaders of member countries must agree on exactly how much national sovereignty would be transferred to the EU – and win voters’ approval for their plan. And, third, they must determine how far enlargement should be taken, including establishing a clearer distinction between the EU and the euro zone.

If these issues are not resolved – with EU leaders continually failing to achieve “more Europe” and Europeans increasingly rejecting the notion – Europe will simply move from one crisis to another. It may not collapse,

Hubert Védrine

but it would not thrive, owing to the lack of a stable, viable, and effective institutional structure with fixed and accepted limits.

Above all, Europe’s political elites must offer citizens the one thing that might lead to agreement on the EU’s future: an end to over-standardization

“One point stands out: the uncertainty of Europe’s role in the future global system.” and the appropriation of national sovereignty through excessively detailed regulation. The European system must be put to work to serve Europeans’ interests in the global competition that will underpin multilateral negotiations in the years ahead. Otherwise, European renewal will prove to be little more than a vain conceit. ● Hubert Védrine was France’s minister of foreign affairs from 1997 to 2002.

Copyright: Project Syndicate/Europe’s World, 2013.

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COVER STORY

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

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13

Obituary

The man who led Poland through the tough first year of its economic and political transition passed away last week Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the first prime minister of Poland after the fall of communism, died early in the morning on October 28. He was 86 years old.

He was one of the most prominent figures in anti-communist opposition and in Polish politics after 1989.

He was recognized for his work both in Poland and internationally. He had been awarded several distinctions, including the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish decoration, and the Vatican’s Order of St. Gregory the Great.

A Catholic in communism Born in 1927 in P∏ock, Mr Mazowiecki went on to become an activist in Catholic

organizations in post-war Poland. He published in several magazines issued by Catholic associations. In 1956 he cofounded the Club of Catholic Intellectuals and later the Wi´ê (Bond) monthly, of which he became the first editor-in-chief.

In 1961-1972 Tadeusz Mazowiecki was a member of parliament of the Polish People’s Republic, part of a group of Catholic MPs named Znak (The Sign). Together with other members of that group he used the means then available to make a stance against some of the communist government’s policies.

Advisor to Solidarity In 1980 Mr Mazowiecki joined other intellectuals in publicly supporting the strike in the Gdaƒsk shipyard, which became one of the milestones on Poland’s road to freedom.

He went to the shipyard and was later appointed to a council of experts by Solidarity leader Lech Wa∏´sa. He continued to advise Mr Wa∏´sa

throughout the 1980s. He was also one the opposition activists detained during martial law.

In 1989, when Solidarity and communist leaders agreed to hold round table talks, Mr Mazowiecki was an obvious participant and ended up as one of the key negotiators. He became one of the architects of the resulting accord that led to the partially free parliamentary elections that took place on June 4, 1989.

Prime minister in transition Following political agreements after the 1989 elections, Tadeusz Mazowiecki became the first democratic prime minister of Poland after World War II. His government is credited with the first reforms in Poland’s transition period.

Perhaps the best-known member of his cabinet was Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz, who helped lay the foundations of the country’s free market economy.

Tadeusz Mazowiecki In 1990 Mr Mazowiecki ran against his once-ally Lech Wa∏´sa in presidential elections and lost. Shortly afterward he resigned from the post of prime minister. He did not disappear from the political scene, though.

For freedom In 1992 he was appointed a special UN emissary to the for-

President of Poland Bronis∏aw Komorowski: “A man has passed away who, in moments that were crucial to Poland, had the courage to be wise.”

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk: “We are bidding farewell to an historic leader, one of the most eminent politicians of the 20th century, but also a very good man. Tadeusz Mazowiecki was a remarkable figure, and a strikingly humble person.”

Former President of Poland Lech Wa∏´sa: “Tadeusz Mazowiecki was the best prime minister [since the fall of communism]. Calm, balanced, hard-working. He knew what is more important and what is not.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: “With his tireless dedication to freedom and self-determination, he made an unforgettable contribution to overcoming authority and injustice and also to unifying Europe. As prime minister of Poland at a time when Germany was undergoing big changes, he promoted and supported both the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of our country.”

European Parliament President Martin Schulz: “It is with sadness that I learned about the death of Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a great Pole, committed European and a person of noble character.

We have lost a freedom fighter, reformer, intellectual and statesman, who was instrumental in changing the history of Poland and Europe.”

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso: “A great Pole and European, one of the founding fathers of the new Poland and re-united Europe.”

Kamila Wajszczuk

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/NEIL BATES

A toast to freedom

mer Yugoslavia after war there broke out. He stepped down from that position in 1995, saying that he felt helpless when international powers did nothing to prevent massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He continued to perform various roles in Poland later and supported civic movements. Each year, on the anniversary of the 1989 elec-

tions, he would meet colleagues and supporters and raise a toast to freedom.

In October 2010, Mr Mazowiecki was appointed advisor to Poland’s President Bronis∏aw Komorowski for domestic and foreign policy.

After his death, the president announced a day of national mourning.

Kamila Wajszczuk

A project in Katowice combines a hospital with a conference center

Opportunities abound for warehouse development 16

18

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

W a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s w e e k ly s u p p l e m e n t o n re a l e s t a t e , c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t

Inter IKEA Centre Group Poland has finalized the purchase of the Wola Park shopping center in Warsaw. The mall has a total of 61,850 sqm of GLA, anchored by hypermarket Auchan. It is fully leased with 175 tenants. The new owner plans to expand the facility by another 17,565 sqm. Construction is set launch in spring 2014.

“Once the planned extension is completed, Wola Park will be the second-largest shopping center in Warsaw,” said Mikael Andersson, managing director of IICG Poland.

Immofinanz launches Tarasy Zamkowe Developer Immofinanz Group has laid the cornerstone on its latest project, the Tarasy Zamkowe shopping center in Lublin. The center will offer 38,000 sqm of GLA, and house some 150 stores. The investment, scheduled for completion in Q4 2014 has been estimated at some €95 million.

“Lublin is an attractive market for retail trade with its 350,000 residents and a catchment area with a population of 800,000,” said Eduard Zehetner, CEO of Immofinanz Group. ●

In this issue Captal Park’s IPO plan . . . . . . .15 Griffin’s legal dispute . . . . . . . .15 Warehouse market . . . . . . . . . .16 Hotel chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Dom Development’s Wilno II . .17 Geo’s hospital/hotel . . . . . . . . .18 Poznań City Center opens . . . .18

IPO

Capital Park looks to raise z∏.210 million through IPO The developer wants to complete the offering before the end of this year Real estate developer and investor Capital Park announced it is looking to raise z∏.210 million in its initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which it wants to carry out before the end of this year. The company has already submitted its prospectus to the Financial Supervision Authority and is awaiting approval.

Capital Park is planning to offer 20.96 million shares, which in total will represent a 20 percent stake in the company. “The offering will be addressed to institutional investors and retail investors in Poland and to eligible institutional investors outside Poland,” the company wrote in a statement.

DI BRE and Espirito Santo Investment Bank have

been chosen to manage the book-building process.

The developer plans to spend the IPO proceeds on its projects which are currently under construction, as well as on new schemes. Within the next three to five years the developer plans to focus on its three office projects located in Warsaw: the 69,578-sqm Eurocentrum Office Complex, the first phase of which (42,337 sqm) is set to be delivered in June 2014, the 36,707-sqm Royal Wilanów and the 64,164-sqm Art Norblin.

The group, established in 2003, has already closed around 100 investment deals.

As of June this year it had z∏.1.3 billion worth of assets under management, located within 76 properties totaling 247,560 sqm of GLA. Its portfolio includes office projects (93,030 sqm GLA), retail schemes (26,700 sqm) and mixed-use properties (112,423 sqm).

COURTESY OF CAPITAL PARK

Inter IKEA finalizes Wola Park deal

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013, LI 18/43

The first phase of the Eurocentrum scheme is scheduled to be completed in June 2014 Once all the projects in the firm’s pipeline have been completed, their total value will

amount to some z∏.3.2 billion.

Capital Park is present in 39 cities, however as much as 74

percent of all of its properties are located in Warsaw.

Beata Socha

Legal dispute

Griffin Group seeks compensation from State Treasury If mediation fails, the developer has threatened to seek international arbitration Developer Griffin Group has notified the Prime Minister’s Chancellery that it is seeking compensation from the State Treasury for the expropriation of a plot of land located near ¸azienki Park in the center of Warsaw.

Earlier this year a district court ordered Griffin to return

the plot to the City of Warsaw, but the case is currently awaiting a verdict from an appeals court. At the same time, Griffin has said it will attempt to solve the matter of compensation amicably with the Treasury.

Should that fail however, Griffin has said it is prepared to seek the help of an international arbitration tribunal to mediate a solution. The company is citing international law protecting investments from confiscation by public authorities.

According to the provisions

of an agreement between Luxembourg (where Griffin is registered) and Poland, “investments are protected against confiscation and other measures of direct or indirect expropriation,” said Rafa∏ Rapala, the company’s legal representative. If an investment is expropriated, “the investor should be given compensation equal to the real value of the project,” he added.

The plot had previously been owned by Parkview Terrace, a developer who obtained a loan from Griffin

Group that was secured by a mortgage on the plot. When, in 2012, Parkview Terrace stopped paying installments on the loan, Griffin acquired the right to perpetual usufruct on the property.

Perpetual usufruct gives an investor nearly full rights to a property for an extended period of time, but keeps the actual ownership of the property in someone else’s hands – usually the state’s.

Parkview Terrace had earlier demolished a building previously located on the proper-

ty. That demolition was surrounded by controversy, as the building was under the protection of the curator of historic buildings.

The district court ruled that Parkview Terrace had removed the building illegally and that it had also failed to complete its investments on time, thereby violating the property deed. As a result, the court ruled that the perpetual usufruct agreement should be terminated, and ownership returned to the City of Warsaw.

Beata Socha

Warsaw Business Journal presents Real Estate weekly newsletter • Know about the newest projects before they’re on the market • Keep up to date on the latest tenders and auctions • Learn the latest trends in Poland’s dynamic office, residential and retail sectors • Find out who’s who in Polish real estate To subscribe: e-mail subscribe@wbj.pl or call +48 22 639 85 68, ext. 201 and sign up for free two-week no-obligation trial subscription

16

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Logistics

Warehouse construction picks up Warehouse operator MLP expects new logistics investments to come to Poland in the future, creating an opportunity for warehouse space developers. The logistics centers Amazon recently announced it would build in the country are representative of the coming wave, said Rados∏aw T. Krochta, the company’s deputy CEO. “Poland is basically the only alternative to investments of this type in the region,” Mr Krochta said during the company’s WSE debut in late

October. “The Polish warehouse market is still far from being saturated and lease volumes grow at a rate of over 20 percent [annually].”

He added, “That is why we are looking to buy new land, particularly in Silesia and near Wroc∏aw, and we have to do it quickly.” MLP is also looking to obtain a new BTS project. It is currently participating in seven tenders and hopes to launch a new project by the end of the year.

Experts from real estate advisory Jones Lang LaSalle agree that the warehouse market offers good opportunities in “some of the regions which suffer from low vacancy rates, such as Poznaƒ, where a sup-

Storage options Regional distribution of warehouse stock 2% 2%

3%

8%

11% 27% 14%

14% 19%

ply gap has already become evident,” JLL experts wrote in a recent report.

Construction picks up

There were 342,000 sqm of new warehouse space in the pipeline at the end of Q3 2013, the highest since Q4 2011, according to the study. Construction activity in that segment has increased by 37.5 percent over the last quarter and is as much as 107 percent higher compared to the third quarter of 2012.

Over 20 percent of that volume (74,000 sqm) is under construction in central Poland, the majority of which can be found within Panattoni’s 50,000-sqm BTS warehouse currently being built for Castorama. Other areas with high developer activity are Poznaƒ (61,000 Warsaw inner city area sqm), Silesia (44,000 sqm), Wroc∏aw (42,000 Warsaw suburbs Wrocław sqm) and Tri-City (41,000 sqm).

Silesia Speculative projects Kraków make up just 18 percent of all warehouse conPoznań Tri-City struction activity. Though the figure is low, it is still Central Poland Other higher than just three Source: Jones Lang LaSalle months ago.

COURTESY OF JONES LANG LASALLE

MLP Group expects demand for warehouse space to grow. Experts concur

Prologis Park Wroc∏aw V, with 24,00 sqm, was the biggest completion in Q3 Warsaw even stronger As many as 89,000 sqm were delivered to the warehouse market in Q3 2013 countrywide, up by 18.9 percent compared to the previous quarter.

The biggest completions included Prologis Park Wroc∏aw V (36,000 sqm), SEGRO’s Tulipan Park

Warszawa and Ideal Idea Park III in Warsaw (10,000 sqm).

With the recent completions, total supply in Warsaw’s suburbs exceeded 2 million sqm, strengthening its position as the largest industrial hub in Poland. Along with the Warsaw inner city area, the market currently stands at

nearly 2.6 million sqm, over 35 percent of supply nationally. The second-largest region in terms of supply of warehouse space is Silesia, with over 1.41 million sqm, followed by Poznaƒ and Central Poland, with some 1 million each.

Beata Socha

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LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Hospitality

Hotel chains dominate major Polish cities In some cities over 80 percent of all rooms are operated by hotel chains Over 80 percent of all hotel rooms in Warsaw and Katowice are offered by chains, and the trend is continuing, a recent

report by consultancy Horwath HTL states. In total, 50 percent of rooms in hospitality facilities operate under brands held by hotel chains.

Warsaw’s hotel base has the highest share of hospitality facilities run by hotel chains (84 percent of all rooms).

Poland’s capital, with the largest number of hotel rooms out of all Polish cities (11,659) is the destination of choice primarily for businesspeople, who expect a higher standard of service when they travel. They also tend to use corporate discounts in specific hotel chains, usually international ones. The biggest in Warsaw, Accor’s Novotel, offers as many as 733

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“Polish hotel chains, which often lack the necessary know-how ... are losing the battle for investors with foreign chains.”

Warsaw’s Novotel hotel, part of Accor’s portfolio, offers 733 rooms rooms.

The situation is different in Kraków, however. The southern city has the second-most rooms in Poland (8,104), but the largest number of hotels (134 facilities compared to Warsaw’s 75). Kraków mainly attracts tourists, including foreigners, and as such local hotels

tend to be independent, looking to lure guests with originality and uniqueness.

Other cities with a high proliferation of hotel chains are ¸ódê (73 percent of all rooms are operated by chains), Wroc∏aw and Szczecin (63 percent each).

International vs domestic Chain rule Rooms operated by hotel chains in Poland’s major cities 100 Share of rooms operated by chains 80

Share of hotels operated by chains

60 40 20

Kr ak ów

ań Po zn

sk ań Gd

ław Wr oc

Łó dź Sz cz ec in

ce ow i Ka t

Wa r

sa

w

0

Source: Horwath HTL

Unsurprisingly, international chains operate bigger facilities than Polish ones. Even though the number of all the hotels run by international chains was almost the same as the number of Polish chain hotels (139 versus 136), international brands offer nearly 50 percent more rooms than Polish-run facilities (23,286 as compared to 15,856).

International hotel brands have already taken the lead over their Polish counterparts and continue to develop at a

faster pace. They are also much more concentrated.

The top three international chains in Poland have a total of 96 facilities operating in Poland. Orbis/Accor runs as many as 60 hotels across the country, while Louvre Hotels Group has 20 and Best Western has 16 hotels. Meanwhile, the top three Polish chains – WAM, Gromada and Qubus – operate a total of 41 hotels (15, 14 and 12 respectively).

“Polish hotel chains, which often lack the necessary knowhow ... are losing the battle for investors with foreign chains,” the report reads. “This trend was clearly seen in 2012, when numerous Polish facilities joined international hotel chain brands, and Polish hotel chains were scaling down,” Horwath HTL experts added.

Beata Socha

Dom Development launches Wilno II, looks for more land for development Real estate developer Dom Development has recently launched construction and sales on its new housing estate, Wilno II, located in Warsaw’s northeastern Targówek district.

The estate will feature 786 apartments in total, 168 of which will be delivered in the first phase of the development, scheduled to be completed in

Q2 2015.

The units will range from 31.07 sqm to 88.7 sqm priced at z∏.6,000-z∏.7,000 per sqm.

This is the developer’s fourth project commercialized in accordance with new regulations – with mandatory escrow accounts.

The developer is also looking for new land in Warsaw for its housing projects. It plans to

spend some z∏.90 million on the purchases. “We are looking for mid-sized projects in particular, each capable of housing some 300 apartments,” said the company’s CEO Jaros∏aw Szanajca. He added that Dom Development would like to focus on investments in the Mokotów, Ursynów, Bemowo, Wola and Bielany districts.

Dom Development ended Q3 with higher-than-projected results. It recorded z∏.1.13 million in net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company (against the z∏.0.1 million analysts had expected), its operational profit came in at z∏.2.82 million and its revenue was z∏.123.6 million, some 20 percent higher than AS, BKS projected.

www.wbj.pl

17

18

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

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NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Mixed-use

Poznaƒ City Project combines hospital Center opens

and conference center

The mall features 265 retail/service units on a total of 61,000 sqm of GLA

COURTESY OF GEO GRUPA DEWELOPERSKA

By mid-2017 Katowice will have a new multipurpose hospital, with a 180-room hotel, a conference center for 1,500 people as well as a spa and recreation center. The project, financed by the Geo Grupa, will cost over z∏.264 million. It will be one of the largest complexes of its type in Poland and will be located near the A4 highway, close to the public hospital on ul. Ceglana.

“In our opinion the complex will not only be a symbol of the region, but will have influence reaching far beyond the region’s boundaries,” said Adam Zaremba-Âmietaƒski, president and main shareholder of the Geo Grupa Deweloperska.

About one-third of the development cost will be covered by the investor, and the remainder will be financed with a bank loan. Mr Zaremba-Âmietaƒski admitted that the project carries a lot of risk,

COURTESY OF PLUS COMMUNICATION

Geo Grupa will develop a z∏.264 mln multipurpose hospital facility in Katowice

The first wings of the hospital are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014 but said he hopes it will be profitable.

The project’s general contractor is Erbud. The largest part of the project will be the hospital, which will consist of 15 wards (a total of 230 beds) and a surgery block with eight operating rooms. Two wings of the hospital building with eight

wards and a surgery block are expected to be finished by the end of 2014 and the third wing with the remaining wards is to be built by mid-2016. The hospital will specialize in cancer treatment.

Most of the complex is set to be completed by the end of 2016, with the final portion – a

therapeutic-diagnostic center – opening in mid-2017.

Geo Grupa is a holding consisting of 16 different companies. The group has 70 investments in its portfolio, including 3,500 apartments. It is currently working on projects in Katowice, Kraków and Wroc∏aw.

Aleksandra S∏abisz

Poznaƒ City Center, a mixeduse development combining a shopping mall with a railway station and a bus station, opened in late October, after two years of construction. The project’s total cost was €240 million, while the mall itself is worth some €160 million.

The scheme was a joint venture of real estate fund Europa Capital, developer TriGranit Development and state-controlled railway operator PKP. The complex is integrated with the Poznaƒ G∏ówny railway station.

The shopping center offers

61,000 sqm of leasable space in 265 retail/service units.

Experts expect the center’s footfall at some 16 million people a year.

Currently it is 86 percent leased. Its tenant mix includes upmarket grocery store Piotr i Pawe∏, electronics store Saturn, cosmetics boutiques Sephora and Rossman, as well as various clothing retailers, such as Royal Collection, House, Cubus, TK Maxx and H&M. The store will also house three new brands in the Poznaƒ market: Sports Direct, Toys “R” Us BKS and North Fish.

MARKETS

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

15,618.76 (Oct 30 close)

S&P500

3,930.62 (Oct 30 close)

1.33% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,763.30 (Oct 30 close)

0.60% (for the week)

DAX

6,731.43 (Oct 31 close)

0.97% (for the week)

0.15% (for the week)

A losing week on the WSE

NIKKEI 9,033.92 (Oct 31 close)

14,327.94 (Oct 31 close)

0.59% (for the week)

-1.09% (for the week)

CHANGE: 16.45% (year to Oct 30)

CHANGE: 26.29% (year to Oct 30)

CHANGE: 20.57% (year to Oct 30)

CHANGE: 11.68% (year to Oct 31)

CHANGE: 16.14% (year to Oct 31)

CHANGE: 34.05% (year to Oct 31)

52-week high: 15,721.00

52-week high: 3,966.59

52-week high: 1,775.22

52-week high: 6,875.60

52-week high: 9,070.17

52-week high: 15,942.60

52-week low: 12,471.49

52-week low: 2,810.80

52-week low: 1,343.35

52-week low: 5,605.60

52-week low: 6,950.53

52-week low: 8,619.45

Last week on the Warsaw Stock Exchange was a disappointing one. Despite the biggest IPO so far this year – that of PKP Cargo – most indices were in the red.

Shares of the firm, the second-biggest rail freight operator in the EU, rocketed on their first day of trade, rising nearly 20 percent.

Despite that, however, most other companies’ shares slumped, bringing the main WIG index down by 1.1 percent and the blue-chip WIG30 lower by 1.7 percent.

Trading in Warsaw was affected by bad macroeconomic data coming mostly from the US. Retail sales, consumer confidence and unemployment figures were worse than analysts had predicted.

Even though the US Federal Reserve said that it would

Major indices WIG

53,607.86 (October 31 close)

WIG30

2,676.12 (October 31 close)

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

21.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

21.10

18.10

2,500

17.10

50,000

16.10

2,560 15.10

51,000

14.10

2,620

11.10

52,000

10.10

2,680

09.10

2,740

53,000

08.10

54,000

07.10

2,800

04.10

55,000

14.10

52-week low: 2,286.99

11.10

Change year to October 31: 1.97%

10.10

52-week low: 43,159.57

09.10

52-week high: 2,729.38

Change year to October 31: 11.43%

08.10

Change for the week: -1.55%

07.10

52-week high: 54,536.95

04.10

Change for the week: -0.72%

Top 5 BIOTON CALATRAVA PBOANIOLA DROZAPOL GROCLIN

Closing 0.03 0.03 2.38 1.34 34.50

% change (week) 52-week high 50.00 0.10 50.00 0.43 31.49 2.74 26.42 1.35 26.37 34.99

52-week low 0.02 0.02 0.96 0.56 7.85

Top 5 PKOBP TPSA KGHM TAURONPE TVN

Closing 40.85 9.98 124.55 5.03 15.55

% change (week) 2.87 1.94 1.10 0.80 0.65

52-week high 42.12 12.16 179.15 5.10 15.92

52-week low 30.63 5.83 106.90 3.67 6.04

Bottom 5 MOSTALEXP MEWA KERNEL IDEON CORMAY

Closing 0.19 0.15 41.49 0.04 7.56

% change (week) -42.42 -28.57 -22.23 -20.00 -19.57

52-week low 0.12 0.13 41.00 0.03 7.30

Bottom 5 KERNEL CYFRPLSAT INGBSK CCC PKNORLEN

Closing 41.49 22.40 113.00 130.00 43.50

% change (week) -22.23 -7.44 -7.34 -6.41 -5.66

52-week high 72.35 24.70 123.50 141.60 55.56

52-week low 41.00 14.04 82.30 56.19 39.52

52-week high 0.50 0.42 72.35 0.17 16.63

2,528.97 (October 31 close)

mWIG40

The end of October was an exceedingly calm period for the currencies market. The lack of turning-point events or significant macroeconomic data led to decreased volatility for emerging-market currencies as well as for the major currency pairs.

The US Federal Reserve decided to keep its quantitative easing program unchanged, and the statement that followed the decision was almost a carbon copy of the previous one.

Currently, most analysts forecast that the Fed will start reducing its QE program in March of 2014. However, I still believe some small reduction could happen as early as in December of this year, when the unemployment rate in the US could drop close to 7 percent.

Since there were no macroeconomic stimuli, the EUR/USD behaved “techni-

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

21.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

SOURCE: WSE

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

21.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

14.10

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

21.10

318.0 18.10

13,000

17.10

324.4

16.10

13,400

15.10

330.8

14.10

13,800

11.10

337.2

10.10

14,200

09.10

343.6

08.10

14,600

07.10

350.0

04.10

15,000

11.10

52-week low: 296.29

10.10

52-week high: 353.00

Change year to October 31: 5.04%

09.10

52-week low: 9,660.90

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

348.93 (October 31 close)

08.10

Change year to October 31: 41.76%

NewConnect Change for the week: 2.67%

07.10

52-week high: 14,994.44

15.10

31.10

30.10

29.10

28.10

25.10

24.10

23.10

22.10

14,928.63 (October 31 close)

Change for the week: 2.45%

04.10

sWIG80

21.10

3,200

18.10

2,300

17.10

3,280

16.10

2,360

15.10

3,360

14.10

2,420

11.10

3,440

10.10

2,480

09.10

3,520

08.10

2,540

07.10

3,600

04.10

2,600

14.10

52-week low: 2,383.61

11.10

Change year to October 31: 35.82%

10.10

52-week low: 2,177.02

09.10

Change year to October 31: -3.70%

08.10

52-week high: 3,572.51

07.10

Change for the week: -2.10%

04.10

52-week high: 2,628.36

Jacek Ciesnowski

Stability reigns

3,488.69 (October 31 close)

Change for the week: -0.88%

continue its quantitative easing process unchanged, many analysts are afraid that the mechanism will be reduced relatively soon. Apparently this sentiment was shared by investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, as most indices were down following the release of the Fed’s statement.

The fact that there were only four trading days on the WSE last week (there was no trade on Friday due to the All Saint’s Day national holiday) didn’t help matters.

Traders, as usual, were not particularly active on the last day before the long weekend. The volume of trade on Thursday was a mere z∏.800 million. In comparison, during its debut one day earlier, trade in shares of PKP Cargo alone was worth z∏.600 million.

Currency report

Other indices WIG20

19

cally.” After weeks of upward movements, it experienced a correction from levels above $1.38 down to $1.37. I expect this downward move to continue next week, but by the end of the year we could see the major currency pair advancing to as high as $1.40.

There were no internal impulses to move the z∏oty (no macroeconomic data, while the discussion about pension funds continues).

Volatility was extremely low and it was difficult to find good trading opportunities.

The EUR/PLN finished the week where it began – in the z∏.4.18 area.

The USD/PLN, on the other hand, rebounded from previous declines, that is from z∏.3.03 to z∏.3.05. Some important macroeconomic data will be released this week and then we should see more action on the z∏oty market. ●

currency rates 3.1045 25.10

SOURCE: NBP

3.0969

3.1003 22.10

24.10

3.1228 21.10

3.1168

3.1168 18.10

0.0951

0.0951 25.10

3.09

23.10

100JPY/PLN

3.13

24.10

0.0951

0.0951 23.10

22.10

21.10

0.0957 18.10

3.3892

3.3875 25.10

0.095

0.0956

RUB/PLN

0.096

24.10

3.3876

3.3901 23.10

21.10

22.10

3.4016 3.37

18.10

4.8872 25.10

4.8887

3.4005

CHF/PLN

3.41

24.10

4.8975 23.10

4.9055 22.10

21.10

4.9090 18.10

3.0433

3.0507 25.10

4.8

4.9164

GBP/PLN

5.0

24.10

3.0436 23.10

3.0271 22.10

21.10

3.0323 18.10

4.1869

4.1766 25.10

3.02

3.0326

USD/PLN

3.07

24.10

4.1893 23.10

4.1805 22.10

21.10

4.1812 18.10

4.16

4.1910

EUR/PLN

4.20

20

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Construction & Real Estate

Construction Project Management Companies Ranked by revenue from project management in 2012 A guide to Polish business and industry

www.bookoflists.pl

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Number of project managers / Number of construction engineers / Number of licensed engineers

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

42 270 128

339 2006

None Tebodin - 100%

Jaroslav Hrabe

WND WND WND

WND 1993

None WS Atkins International Limited 100%

30 20

41 80 32

233 1997

None PM - 100%

None URS Corporation 100%

Notable projects completed in 2011-2012

Current projects

Number of architects / Number of licensed architects

Revenue Revenue from from project architectural management design (z∏. mln) (z∏. mln)

Tenders management / Pre-investment / Investor representation

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

Land acquisition / Feasibility studies / Document preparation for tenders Foreign project authorization / Architectural design / Cost estimates / Investment supervision

Rank

Services

Central Station reconstruction (Gdynia); T1 transshipment station extension in Port Pó∏nocny (Gdaƒsk); Eurocentrum Office Complex (Warsaw); wind farms (Pàgowo, Laszki, Linowo); Center for Entertainment Warsaw Adventure Park (Grodzisk Mazowiecki)

17 17

WND WND

Tebodin Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. TaÊmowa 7, 02-677 Warsaw 1 22 334-4111/22 33-4112 info@tebodin.pl www.tebodin.pl

46.5 34.6 37.0 41.3

23.3 18.0 18.2 18.9

69.8 52.6 55.2 60.2

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Ergo Arena sports and entertainment hall (Gdaƒsk/Sopot); wind farm (Wartkowo) GDF Suez; TSK Elektronica y Electricidad bioethanol factory (Kostrzyn nad Odrà); FACTORY Outlet Annopol (Warsaw); Balice Airport extension (Kraków); Le Palais office building (Warsaw)

WS Atkins-Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Bonifraterska 17, 00-203 Warsaw 2 22 246-0700/22 246-0701 atkins@atkinsglobal.pl www.atkinsglobal.pl

34.2 WND 25.7 16.9

WND WND WND 1.5

40.0 WND 33.0 23.2

✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ -

LNG terminal - investment supervision (ÂwinoujÊcie); A2 highway Âwiecko-Nowy A4 highway, Murckowska junction, Stryków TomyÊl - investment supervision, investment supervision; A1, A2 independent engineer; Bielsko-Bia∏a ring ring road -highway - supervision road - investment supervision, contract engineer

PM Group Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Kleciƒska 125, 54-424 Wroc∏aw 3 71 354-8900/71 354-8901 wroclaw@pmgroup-global.com www.pmgroup-global.com

25.0 33.5 19.0 16.0

26.0 24.8 23.0 19.0

51.0 58.3 42.0 35.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

URS Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Rejtana 17, 02-516 Warsaw 4 22 427-3700/22 427-3701 warsaw@urs.com www.ursglobal.com

20.2 19.8 15.4 27.4

-

71.3 70.8 77.8 80.5

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Warsaw Railway Junction feasibility study; A4 highway Jaros∏aw-Korczowa - project Pu∏awy ring road - supervision; S69 management; A4 highway Rzeszówexpress road - supervision; diametrical Jaros∏aw - supervision; design of E-65 Pó∏noc tram line reconstruction (Wroc∏aw); water and E-65 Po∏udnie railway line modernization; supply and sewage network modernization of Wroc∏aw Water Junction modernization (¸ódê) supervision; technical advice for GDDKiA

-

41 232 118

338 1993

Design of construction of KrakówZab∏ocie, Kraków-Krzemionki railway line; modernization and extension of the existing building into a research and Extension project of cosmetics production development facility for WSK PZL plant (¸ódê); preparation of the conceptual Rzeszów; preparation of project design of a chemical production plant documentation, factory expansion, (Germany); land preparation for extension of investment management (Garwolin); production plant (Hungary) preparation of a conceptual design for the data center

7 5

8 118 27

217 1996

None CH2M Hill International Ruben A. Robles - 90%; CH2M Hill General Director International Engineering - 10%

3M (Wroc∏aw); Pittsburgh Glass Works (Âroda Âlàska); Fresh Start Bakeries (Strzegom); Mando Corporation (Wa∏brzych); Autoliv (Jelcz-Laskowice)

Weyerhauser (Gdaƒsk); BAMA Europa (Starachowice); Pasta Food Company (Opole); Atrium Felicity (Lublin); Philip Morris (Kraków)

CH2M Hill Polska Ltd. Sp. z o.o. ul. Podgórska 34, 31-536 Kraków 5 12 376-5500/12 376-5600 officepl@ch2m.pl www.ch2m.com

20.0 26.1 17.8 18.5

-

20.0 26.1 17.8 18.5

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Bureau Veritas Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Migda∏owa 4, 02-796 Warsaw 6 22 549-0400/22 549-0410 biuro@pl.bureauveritas.com www.bureauveritas.com

15.9 13.0 16.1 7.3

-

46.9 42.3 43.1 43.7

-

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Rezydencja Bia∏a 3 (Warsaw); Wilanów Office Park (Warsaw); Be∏chatów Sewerage; B&B Hotel (Warsaw)

B&B Hotel (Warsaw); shopping malls (Warsaw); IRS Piaseczno

WND WND

WND WND WND

107 1958

None Bureau Veritas - 100%

Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd. Sp. z o.o. oddzia∏ w Polsce ul. Królewska 16, 00-103 Warsaw 6 22 455-4554/22 455-4555 arup.poland@arup.com www.arup.com

15.9 16.5 17.5 17.0

-

45.9 54.0 56.0 50.0

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Warsaw); Chopin Airport City (Warsaw)

Galeria Katowicka (Katowice); Atrium South (Warsaw); Z∏ota 44 (Warsaw); Miasteczko Orange Warszawa; I-Tower (Warsaw)

-

20 100 45

133 1998

None Arup Group Limited 100%

Hill International Sp. z o.o. ul. Marynarska 15, 02-674 Warsaw 8 22 581-3777/22 581-3778 warsaw@hillintl.com.pl www.hillintl.com.pl

12.5 11.0 9.0 20.0

-

12.5 11.0 9.0 20.0

✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Villa Arte; GTC Platinium IV,V

Z∏ota 44; Miasteczko TP; PAOP Cold Store Gdaƒsk GTC; Airport Hotel Kraków

-

20 45 45

60 1991

None Hill International 100%

3 2

14 39 14

36 2004

None AECOM Limited 100%

WND WND

WND WND WND

WND 1998

Robert Pawlak; Aleksandra Wilczyƒska; Steven Davis None

AECOM Sp. z o.o. ul. Domaniewska 34A, 02-672 Warsaw 9 22 822-0051/22 822-0108 warsaw.europe@aecom.com www.aecom.com/poland

11.5 6.5 3.2 3.4

-

11.5 6.5 3.2 3.4

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Drainage of building area for the Baltic Design and construction project management Arena stadium (Gdaƒsk Letnica) - contract of Stop Shop shopping malls (K´trzyn, engineer; rebuilding the road system M∏awa); organization of tender and (Rumia, Reda) - contract engineer; construction project management of organization of tender and construction distribution center for Jeronimo Martins project management of distribution center Dystrybucja (Lubartów); management for Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucja contract for construction of S-17 express (Sieradz); design and construction project road Kurów-Lublin-Piaski; construction management of training and marketing management of the BP stations for BP Global center for John Deere Poland (Tarnowo Alliance Project; extesion and modernization Podgórne), Waste Management Plant of the Integrated Waste Management (Bielsko-Biala Lipnik) - contract engineer System (Pu∏awy)

Portico Project Management Sp. z o.o. i Wspólnicy Sp.k. ul. Gdaƒska 27/31, 01-633 Warsaw 10 22 560-4900/22 560-4910 office@portico.com.pl www.portico.com.pl

9.4 8.0 7.8 5.0

0.3 0.3 -

9.9 8.4 7.8 5.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Malachit Hotel modernization and Radiopharmaceuticals production plant aquapark construction (Âwieradów Zdrój); (Mszczonów); office building on ul. Foksal Kronos Ambassador (Warsaw); IKEA (Warsaw); Kronos Pacyfik (Warsaw); Targówek goods receipt warehouse Megapolis Osiedle Fi (Kraków); Portico Office (Warsaw); AGH University of Science and Building (Warsaw) Technology educational pavilions (Kraków)

President

Stephen Novis Managing Director

Con Murphy Managing Director

Susan Briggs President

Magdalena Wierzejska President

Andrzej Sitko; Jan Zabierzewski Directors

Jacek ˚urawski

Jaros∏aw Karpiejuk Managing Director

Robert Pawlak President

THE LIST

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Number of project managers / Number of construction engineers / Number of licensed engineers

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

WND WND WND

42.4 WND WND WND

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Advisory on underground parking for Warsaw City Hall; Main Railway Station (Wroc∏aw); TK Maxx stores

CH Zamkowe Tarasy (Lublin); Galeria Galardia (Starachowice); office building on ul.

Domaniewska (Warsaw); Green Towers (Wroc∏aw); Schindler (Warsaw); A1 highway Pyrzowice-SoÊnica, Warsaw Southern Ring Road Konotopa-Pu∏awska - investment supervision

6 4

19 133 68

256 2005

Lemminkäinen Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Marconich 11/3, 02-954 Warsaw 12 22 858-9837/22 642-7622 biuro@lemminkainen.pl www.lemminkainen.pl

6.0 4.7 40.2 52.8

-

6.0 4.7 40.2 52.8

-

✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

Stora Enso Narew PM 5 production plant (Ostro∏´ka); Telefonika production plant (Bydgoszcz); Suominen production plant extension (Grodzisk Mazowiecki)

Wipak printing house (Skarbimiesz, Brzeg)

-

3 11 7

12 1996

None Lemminkäinen International - 100%

Prochem SA ul. Powàzkowska 44C, 01-797 Warsaw 13 22 326-0100/22 326-0101 prochem@prochem.com.pl www.prochem.com.pl

4.6 10.6 8.6 7.3

18.8 18.6 22.2 32.4

140.0 186.0 127.0 183.0

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Uniwersity of Warsaw Biological and Chemical Research Centre (Warsaw); University of Warsaw "Ochota" Center for Faculty of Applied Linguistics and Faculty New Technologies (CeNT I, CeNT II) of Modern Languages at University of (Warsaw); arrangement of waste water Warsaw (Warsaw); sewage disposal management on Barycz; modernization and station in "Czajka" Wastewater Treatment extension of water and sewage system Plant (Warsaw); Special Education Centre (Ciechanów) for Gmina Dàbrowa Górnicza

33 14

7 31 16

217 1947

Prochem Holding 24.2%; PTE PZU "Z∏ota Jesieƒ" - 9.5%; Legg Mason Zarzàdzanie Aktywami - 15.7% Steve G. Tappan 9.8%

Mace Polska Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jana Paw∏a II 29, 00-867 Warsaw 14 22 653-7100/22 653-7101 mace@mace.pl www.macegroup.com

3.4 6.9 7.9 11.2

-

3.4 6.9 7.9 11.2

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Rezydencja Naruszewicza (Warsaw); refurbishing of Warszaw Central Railway Station; modernization of office building on Modernization of Europejski Hotel (Warsaw) ul. Wspólna (Warsaw)

-

5 13 7

25 1998

None Mace International 100%

Cushman & Wakefield Polska Sp. z o.o.

Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1, 00-078 Warsaw NR 22 820-2020/22 820-2021 info.poland@eur.cushwake.com www.cushmanwakefield.com

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Millennium Hall (Rzeszów); Galeria Mazovia (P∏ock); Tate & Lyle (¸ódê)

CH Plejada (Sosnowiec); Foot Locker; Galeria Legionowo; Galeria Bursztynowa (Ostro∏´ka)

8 3

2 1 -

130 1991

WND

Europtima Sp. z o.o. ul. Grzybowska 2/42, 00-131 Warsaw NR 22 324-0024/22 313-0777 info@europtima.com.pl www.europtima-cee.com

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Lipiƒski Passage (Warsaw); Equator II (Warsaw); CH Dukat redevelopment (Olsztyn); Helenów Park (¸ódê); CH Kaskada (Szczecin)

Warsaw Spire (Warsaw); Oxygen Park (Warsaw); Forum Radunia (Gdaƒsk); Galeria Mokotów modernization (Warsaw); Marynarska 12 (Warsaw); ¸opuszaƒska Business Park (Warsaw)

WND WND

5 11 7

13 1999

None Optimum Holding 100%

Dorota Chudykowska

Gleeds Polska Sp. z o.o.

Pl. Bankowy 2, 00-095 Warsaw NR 22 531-2002/22 531-2003 gleeds@gleeds.com.pl www.gleeds.com

WND WND WND WND

-

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

-

35 45 25

65 1992

None Gleeds Europe Holdings - 100%

Tadeusz Jachowicz

JJM Sp. z o.o. ul. Ciechociƒska 26, 02-924 Warsaw NR 22 646-1883/22 842-6125 jjm@jjm.com.pl www.jjm.com.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Gesthouse and residential building (Konstancin); modernization of a private building (Józefów)

Residential complex (Józefos∏aw) construction supervision of electrical works; housing development (Piaseczno) investment supervision; Polservice office building - technical supervision

1 1

2 8 8

11 1991

Marek Poncyljusz 50%; Jerzy Poncyliusz - 50% None

Jones Lang LaSalle Sp. z o.o. ul. Królewska 16, 00-103 Warsaw NR 22 318-0000/22 318-0099 warsaw.office@eu.jll.com www.joneslanglasalle.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

Modernization of Bristol Hotel (Warsaw); build-to-suit investments (Tarnobrzeg, Osi Food Solution production plant (Ostróda); ˚ary) - investment supervision; Zebra Adgar Data Center (Warsaw); Warsaw Tower (Warsaw) - LEED certification; Financial Center (Warsaw); Costa by Coffee banking monitoring for Nordea Bank Heaven - cost management; Concept Tower branches; management of development (Warsaw) - BREEAM, LEED certification projects for Panattoni and Prologis

1 1

9 9 5

345 1994

None WND

KIPP Projekt Sp. z o.o. ul. Konduktorska 4/19U, 00-775 Warsaw NR 22 565-4000/22 565-4001 kipp@kipp.com.pl www.kipp.com.pl

WND WND WND WND

1.0 1.4 2.0 3.0

1.0 1.4 2.1 3.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ -

-

8 2

1 2 2

11 1988

Adrian Górecki - 51%; Grzegorz Urban - 34%; Andrzej Burakiewicz 15% None

Przedsi´biorstwo Us∏ug Consultingowych Wadeco Sp. z o.o. ul. Madaliƒskiego 20, 02-513 Warsaw NR 22 856-5034/22 856-5043 wadeco@wadeco.pl www.wadeco.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

2.3 2.6 2.5 2.6

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

10 4

5 5 3

12 1996

Stanis∏aw Chrzanowski; Stanis∏aw Gu∏a None

Revenue Revenue from from project management architectural design (z∏. mln) (z∏. mln)

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

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

Footnotes: (1) Including EC Harris Sp. z o.o. data (since April 2013 a part of Arcadis Sp. z o.o.)

Tenders management / Pre-investment / Investor representation

7.6 WND WND WND

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

Land acquisition / Feasibility studies / Document preparation for tenders Foreign project authorization / Architectural design / Cost estimates / Investment supervision

Arcadis Sp. z o.o.(1) ul. Pu∏awska 182, 02-670 Warsaw 11 22 203-2003/22 203-2001 arcadis@arcadis.pl www.arcadis.pl

Rank

Number of architects / Number of licensed architects

Services

21

Notable projects completed in 2011-2012

Current projects

Panattoni logistics centers; Park Biznesu Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4 (Warsaw); Nimbus Teofilów (¸ódê); Factory Outlet Annopol (Warsaw); Green Horizon (¸ódê); Galeria (Warsaw); Chung Hong production plant Katowicka (Katowice); Apartamenty Angel (Biskupice Podgórne); Villa Parc (Warsaw); Wawel (Kraków); Rua Bonita (Kraków); Nowy Campanile Hotel, Premiere Class Hotel Targ underground parking (Wroc∏aw) (Wroc∏aw); Prologis

Villa Verde-Miasteczko Wilanów (Warsaw); Aura Island (Gdaƒsk); Aquapark (Kutno)

Centrum Pieniàdza NBP; Merliniego apartment building; extension of Sports School (Cz∏uchów)

Adaptation of production and storage complex on ul. Kijowska building No. 19A for educational facilities Office and residential 5 (Warsaw) for ALMAMER Szko∏a Wy˝sza (Warsaw)

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

None Marcin Klammer Arcadis Europe - 100% CEO

Mika Leppänen Managing Director

Jaros∏aw St´pniewski President

Pawe∏ Pajchel Country Manager

Charles Taylor Managing Partner – Poland

Director

Director

Marek Poncyljusz President

Tomasz Trzós∏o Managing Director

Adrian Górecki President

Stanis∏aw Chrzanowski President

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

22

SPORTS

www.wbj.pl

Soccer

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

Basketball

It’s Nawa∏ka’s turn Mr Gortat goes to Washington

In a widely expected move, Adam Nawa∏ka was named the new manager of Poland’s national soccer team

Adam Nawa∏ka his professional career was marred by injuries, meaning he was never able to achieve his full potential. Despite his difficulties, Mr Nawa∏ka played for Poland’s national team more than 30 times, including during the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

Since 2010, Mr Nawa∏ka has managed top-tier club Górnik Zabrze. His best result with the team was when they placed fifth in the league table last season. However, this season Górnik Zabrze is faring considerably better, sitting atop the table along with Legia Warszawa.

The coaches accompany-

ing Mr Nawa∏ka on the national team will include his current co-workers from Zabrze: Bogdan Zajàc will be his assistant and Jaros∏aw Tkocz will be responsible for working with the goalkeepers.

Mr Nawa∏ka’s first game in his new role will come on November 15 against Slovakia in Wroc∏aw. Four days later he will lead Poland’s national team against Ireland in Poznaƒ. Both games will be friendlies. The European championship campaign will start after next year’s World Cup tournament in Brazil.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Sports’ greatest beauty lies in its unpredictability. Last weekend, just hours after WBJ sent to press an issue in which we had discussed the questions surrounding Polish center Marcin Gortat’s NBA future, many of the answers suddenly became clear. Mr Gortat was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Washington Wizards in one of the most high-profile trades so far this year.

In the multi-player trade, the Suns received injured center Emeka Okafor and a firstround draft pick next year. In return, they sent Mr Gortat and three other players to the Wizards. As a result, the Suns will have as many as four firstround picks in the upcoming draft: besides their own and the one from Washington, they had already received Indiana’s and Minnesota’s first-round picks in previous trades.

On the other hand, the Wizards will now finally have a center who can lead them to the playoffs, which they’ve missed out on for the past five years.

“Our players have played against him and understand we’re getting a quality player who has had real success in the

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

COURTESY OF X-NEWS/T-MOBILE EKSTRAKLASA

Polish Football Association president Zbigniew Boniek surprised no one when he announced his choice for the next manager of Poland’s national team. Adam Nawa∏ka’s name had surfaced the most during the discussions about who would lead the team during the next qualifying campaign, especially after Mr Boniek made it clear that Waldemar Fornalik’s replacement would be a Polish coach.

“I’m sure we made the right decision,” said Mr Boniek when announcing his choice. “Mr Nawa∏ka’s job will be to qualify for the 2016 European championships to be held in France.”

It won’t be Mr Nawa∏ka’s first time working with the national team. In 2007-2008, he was one of the assistants to then-manager Leo Beenhakker. During that time, the Polish team qualified for the 2008 European championship.

Mr Nawa∏ka was a promising midfielder in his youth, but

The Polish center will end his current deal playing for the Washington Wizards

Marcin Gortat (center) has traded his Suns jersey for a Wizards one NBA. [He] fortifies our front line and gives us a lot more size,” said Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld.

This year Mr Gortat will be playing for his next contract, which he hopes will be the biggest of his career. At 29 years of age he is still in his prime, and now has found a home where he can showcase his abilities. The Wizards are hungry for success, while the Suns only want to survive this year and then rebuild their squad completely with all those first-round picks. Mr Gortat would have had trouble shin-

ing under such circumstances.

In his Wizards debut, against the Detroit Pistons last Wednesday, Mr Gortat came off the bench and in 17 minutes scored nine points and had nine rebounds. Still, his team lost 113-102.

“It was the first time [playing for the Wizards]. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to play with the team. I try to help as much as I can,” said Mr Gortat, explaining that he had only three practices with his new team before the game.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2 www.csw.art.pl Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4 www.czarnagaleria.art.pl Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11a www.owzpap.pl Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com Galeria Appendix 2 ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 www.appendix2.com Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18a www.asymetria.eu Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.galeriafoksal.pl Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl

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

Simonis Gallery ul. Burakowska 9 www.simonisgallery.com

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

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

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

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

State Ethnographic Museum ul. Kredytowa 1 www.ethnomuseum.pl Historical Museum of Warsaw Old Town Square 28-42 www.mhw.pl History Meeting House of Warsaw ul. Karowa 20 www.dsh.waw.pl Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5 www.filharmonia.pl Warsaw Rising Museum ul. Grzybowska 79 www.1944.pl

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

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

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

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

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

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

LIFESTYLE

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2013

www.wbj.pl

23

Modern dance

Concert

Dancing about architecture

The return of Placebo

audience can spend time with the things they do not recognize. The title Plateau Effect refers to a temporary state of stable productivity, in which a leveling out occurs,” he added.

The Cullberg Ballet was founded in 1967 and stages performances all over the world to promote Swedish culture. The founding philosophy is that all the dancers are to be considered soloists and therefore receive the same pay.

One of the current performers is Poland’s Agnieszka D∏ugoszewska.

Placebo November 12 Torwar Warsaw

Jacek Ciesnowski

Tickets start at z∏.28

COURTESY OF CULLBERG BALLET/URBAN JOVEN

The Swedish Cullberg Ballet will visit Poland for one-time only performance to display their “Plateau Effect” modern dance experience.

With the use of light, fabric, sound and lighting, the dancers in “Plateau Effect” attempt to seduce and challenge the audience. The performers navigate through the stage resembling a community moving through various terrains.

They communicate, construct, transport and inhabit

the stage, uniting them to create something more than one person could alone. The spectators can witness how something crude and rudimentary morphs into complicated and grandiose constructions: “where the raw reality of materiality flips into a psychedelic space of exception,” reads the ballet’s website.

“I want the body, light and sound to quite literally extend and reach out to the spectators, with directness and without a need for interpretation,” said Jefta van Dinther, the choreographer of the performance. “I want to cultivate and promote a space where an

The crude morphs into the grandiose in “Plateau Effect.”

Although Placebo is a British band, it consists of an American, a Swede and a Scot born in Belgium and raised in Luxembourg. The trio, like many other British bands, is adored in Poland. Throughout their career, which spans three decades, they have played in Poland seven times. The upcoming show will kick start the European leg of their worldwide tour, and will be their fourth ever at Warsaw’s Torwar venue.

Repetition need not be a worry, however. Since their last visit (in 2012), the band released its seventh album, “Loud Like Love,” so there will be plenty of new tracks to perform.

The album is receiving mixed reviews, though. “‘Loud Like Love’ is 50 minutes of simply okay alt-rock,” wrote music magazine Clash. Nevertheless, others call this album Placebo’s most accessible material to date.

But fans more interested in the older material will no doubt enjoy the show as well.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Plateau Effect November 6 National Opera Warsaw

Brian Molko, lead singer and guitarist for Placebo

The band has many hits in its back catalog, including “Nancy Boy” and “Pure Morning,” which they are certain to perform.

Overall, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, and all of their albums have reached the top 20 in their native United Kingdom.

But it’s the live act that attracts new fans to the group.

“We see every album as a building block ... we continually tour, taking the music to the people and capturing new hearts and going back for 10 or 12 months of the year when we’re not recording,” said group leader Brian Molko in an interview with Billboard magazine back 2003.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Tickets start at z∏.154

To advertise in WBJ’s classifieds section, contact Agnieszka Brejwo, at (+48) 222-577-526 or abrejwo@wbj.pl

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2011-08-08 09:38:47