WBJ #16-17, 2013

Worse than we thought

Regional power

The government has lowered its expectations for Poland’s economy this year

WBJ sits down with Henryka MoÊcicka-Dendys from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Poland’s role in strengthening the Visegrad Group

8

WWW.WBJ.PL

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VOLUME 19, NUMBER 16-17 • APR 29 – MAY 12, 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

Destination Dubai

COURTESY OF CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

REAL ESTATE

As the Annual Investment Conference in Dubai gets underway this week, WBJ presents a special supplement on Poland’s business relations with the Middle East 11-14

• CEEQA 10th anniversary • IHG expansion plans • Reshaping Rotunda 15-17

Plus: • Lewandowski scores four • More LOT turbulence • Balkans and the EU • Google Street View • 1 million Fiat 500s • InPost expansion

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . .9 Middle East in Focus . . . . . . . .11-14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .15-17 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

SHUTTERSTOCK

In this issue

The Gowin gambit

Brave faces

PM Donald Tusk will decide whether to The prime minister and deputy PM keep or fire Justice Minister Jaros∏aw show solidarity after tensions in Gowin – again 3 the governing coalition rise 3

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

KOV eyes Toronto listing

is how many goals Robert Lewandowski scored for Borussia Dortmund in its Champions League first-leg semifinal game against Real Madrid.

1.9% is the revised figure for Poland’s GDP growth in 2012.

10.5 million is how many web security breaches were reported to CERT Polska in 2012.

0.1% is how much retail sales grew in March in annual terms.

Serbian youths hold up their country’s flag

A court of appeals in Warsaw has found former Civic Platform MP Beata Sawicka not guilty of corruption, thus overturning her conviction from May of last year. Judge Pawe∏ Rysiƒski said that Ms Sawicka did accept a bribe, but that the methods used by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) were illegal, making most of the evidence collected

by CBA agents unusable in court. ●

“It might be better to just stop torturing each other.”

Eugeniusz K∏opotek, an MP from the government’s junior coalition member, the Polish People’s Party, commenting on the prospects for cooperation with senior coalition member, Civic Platform.

Figures in focus Debt ceiling Debt-to-GDP ratio in selected EU states as of Q4 2012 (euro convergence criteria allow maximum 60%) 200 150 * Highest in EU ** Lowest in EU

100 50

On WBJ.pl

Po lan d

De nm Cz ar ec k hR ep ub lic Lit hu an ia Bu lga ria Es ton ia* *

0 ny

Jacek Ciesnowski

Quote of the Week

rm a

Republic of Macedonia. If that proposal was accepted by both Skopje and Athens, then the accession process could start.

With Montenegro, the biggest issue that keeps it out of the EU is the euro, which the country unilaterally adopted as its own currency in 2002.

The EU insists on strict adherence to convergence criteria, which Montenegro has never met.

With that, Montenegro is still theoretically closer to joining the EU as it has closed two acquis chapters out of 35, with another two opened. Neither Serbia nor Macedonia have opened a single chapter yet.

nc e

Two other Balkan countries – Macedonia and Montenegro – also hold full candidate status, but both need to resolve issues keeping them out of the EU. In Macedonia’s case it’s the country’s name. For years Greece has objected to the official name used by Skopje – the Republic of Macedonia, calling it an open challenge to the Greek region of Macedonia and blocking the country’s participation in international organizations. For years the EU has maintained the practice of recognizing the state only as the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.”

The latest proposal by the UN is for Macedonia to change its name to the Upper

Ge

With Croatia joining the EU on July 1, the bloc will expand to 28 member states. That number might increase in the coming years as more and more countries from the Balkan region look set to follow.

With Serbia and Kosovo finally reaching an agreement last week to normalize relations between the two states, Belgrade is back on track towards EU membership.

Although it is still years before Serbia can become an EU member state, the European Commission recommended that talks with Belgrade regarding membership of the bloc be formally opened. Serbia received full candidate status last year.

Portuguese Jeronimo Martins (JM), which owns the Biedronka discount store network in Poland, reported a Q1 net profit of €75 million, up by 10% year-on-year. Sales rose by almost 16% y/y to €2.77 billion. Sales in Poland, which is a key market for Jeronimo Martins, grew by 22% y/y.

Sawicka found not guilty of corruption

4

ly

JM grows largely on Polish sales

Balkan states on the path to the EU

Fra

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported that many MPs are against maintaining the Ministry of Administration and Digitization in its present form, including coalition party members. The head of the ministry, Micha∏ Boni, has in turn confirmed that he would like to run for seat in the European Parliament in 2014.

Numbers in the News

Ita

Gov’t ministry to be dissolved?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

SHUTTERSTOCK

Kulczyk Oil Ventures (KOV), part of the capital group run by wellknown Polish businessman Jan Kulczyk, will acquire a Canadian company and list its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

KOV is buying Torontolisted Winstar Resources for C$112 million (z∏.350 million) in cash and stock. When the deal is completed, KOV will change its name to Serinus Energy and will dual-list its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Toronto bourse.

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Gr ee ce *

2

Source: Eurostat

How can the EU achieve sustainable growth?

Joaquin Almunia and Eduardo Pérez Motta argue for pro-competition policies on in a special feature on WBJ.pl. Log on to learn more.

Company index AFI Development ..............17 Gulermak ..........................11 Morgan Stanley AIG/Lincoln ......................16 Hines Global REIT ............17 Real Estate Investing........17 Arcadis EC Harris ............16 Homo Homini......................6

Nautiner Yachts ................14

Bank Handlowy ................20 Hyundai ..............................7

Calendar

Event:

Location:

Web:

AIM is an emerging markets FDI-focused event that blends a trade fair with intellectual features aimed at enriching investors attending with a comprehensive set of guidelines for their future investment decisions in highgrowth regions.

Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, Dubai, UAE www.aimcongress.com

13-15 EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CONGRESS Event:

Location: Web:

The congress will feature a number of debates and meetings, featuring 6,000 guests representing Poland and other European countries, who will discuss the most significant matters of economic and social development in Europe.

Katowice www.eecpoland.eu

Brunswick Marine ............14

JUNE 7-9 WALLSTREET CONFERENCE Event:

Location: Web:

The conference is the largest meeting of individual stock exchange investors in Poland, organized annually by the Association of Individual Investors. It provides an opportunity to meet prominent analysts and to participate in discussion panels.

Hotel Go∏´biewski, Karpacz www.sii.org.pl

24-26 EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CONGRESS Event:

Location: Web:

The congress, organized by the Gdaƒsk Institute for Market Economics – Gdaƒsk Academy of Banking, provides space for pragmatic debates of business, political and academic circles. This year’s edition will focus on financial security and European integration.

Sopot www.efcongress.com

New World Resources........6

Boeing ................................6 Integer.pl ............................6 Panattoni Europe..............16 Borussia Dortmund......2, 21 InterContinental

May/June MAY APRIL 30-MAY 2 ANNUAL INVESTMENT MEETING

Bank Zachodni WBK ..........9 InPost ..................................6

Buma ................................16 Bumar Group ....................11 Buro Happold....................15 Castorama ........................15 CBRE ..........................16, 17

PKO Bank Polski ..........6, 15

Hotel Group ......................17 Qatar Airways ..................11 Interpromex ......................21

Skanska Commercial

Isuzu Motors Polska ..........6 Development Europe........16 Jastrz´bska Spó∏ka W´glowa ................6

Skanska Property Poland....17

Jeronimo Martins ..............2 Skanska SA ......................16

Colliers International ......16 Jones Lang LaSalle..........16 Sports Direct ....................15 Construction Marketing Group ..............15 Cushman & Wakefield15, 16 Dentons ......................11, 16 Deutsche Pfandbriefbank....16 East-West Development ..16 Emirates Airlines..............11

Jula ..................................15 Suzuki ................................7 Katowicki Holding

Tesco ................................15

W´glowy ..............................6 TOR Transport KD Kozikowski Design Pracownia

Consultants Group ............6

Architektoniczna ..............15 Twitter ..............................15

Europlan............................15 KGHM ................................20 Union Investment Facebook ..........................15 Kohler ..............................23 Real Estate ......................16 Fiat ......................................7 Kulczyk Oil Ventures ..........2

Volkswagen ........................7

GE......................................23 LG ......................................23 General Motors ..................6 LinkedIn ............................15

Warsaw Stock Exchange ....2

Google ................................4 LOT ......................................6 Winstar Resources ............2 Groupe Beneteau..............14 Mitsubishi ..........................7 X-Trade Brokers ..............20

NEWS

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

www.wbj.pl

3

Politics

Gowin goes rogue again With controversial statements on in vitro clinics, Mr Gowin has received more attention that he had bargained for

Out of context

COURTESY OF THE PRIME MINISTER’S CHANCELLERY/FLICKR

Poland’s Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin ruffled a lot of feathers in late April with controversial claims that Polish fertility clinics had sold Polish embryos to German research facilities for medial experiments.

“German scientists ‘import’ embryos from other countries, probably also from Poland, and experiment on them,” Mr Gowin said in an interview with TVN24.

As could be expected, Mr Gowin’s words created a lot of tension in his party, Civic Platform, particularly after the German embassy in Poland asked Mr Gowin to give the name of the clinic allegedly conducting experiments on human embryos. German law states that embryos resulting from in vitro treatments can only be used to help women get pregnant.

from Mr Tusk that he would decide on Mr Gowin’s fate.

Ultimately, Mr Gowin was spared.

Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin has sparked yet another controversy Prime Minister Donald Tusk, after giving his minister the benefit of the doubt and allowing him to explain his unfortunate comments, admitted he was “somewhat irritated” with Mr Gowin. “As far as Minister Gowin is concerned, I’m not denying that there is some problem,” PM said at a press conference.

“I’d rather my ministers attracted publicity with their work and good solutions, particularly since Minister Gowin has had something to boast about recently,” Mr Tusk said, referring to the recently adopted deregulation law, which has opened up 50 professions (see story, p. 7).

As WBJ went to press,

Prime Minister Donald Tusk was due to make an announcement about whether Mr Gowin would be dismissed on April 29.

Earlier this year Mr Gowin clashed with the prime minister on the issue of civil unions for gay couples, which Mr Tusk supports. That conflict had also led to an announcement

Mr Gowin, trying to find a way out of the most recent controversy, said that his words had been taken out of context and twisted by the media, and that he had no one particular clinic in mind.

“My intention was to show real problems arising from insufficient regulations on in vitro in the Polish law, and also to point to German solutions which Poland could take example from when preparing its own regulations,” the justice minister wrote in a statement on his website.

In an interview with daily Rzeczpospolita Mr Gowin said “I regret that my statement was so imprecise that it could be misinterpreted as critical of German solutions. It is known that the in vitro bill I prepared was in many ways based on German regulations.”

He also said that he was calmly awaiting the prime minister’s decision. When asked if

his in vitro comments were sufficient grounds for dismissal, he said, “This is for the prime minister to assess. On the one hand there are my words which some might find controversial, on the other my achievements from the past 18 months. I believe I have used my time well.”

‘Politically spirited’ Professor Henryk Wujec, an advisor to President Bronis∏aw Komorowski, praised Mr Gowin for his work, particularly for the deregulation bill, which he said would give young people access to more jobs. However, he also believes Mr Gowin should curb his “political temperament which seems to go rampant at times,” and that his in vitro comments are outside of his area of expertise as a minister.

Civic Platform’s deputy leader, Grzegorz Schetyna, also was on the fence when it comes to the justice minister’s future.

“Mr Gowin is hurting the government as a whole. But he is persistent and politically spirited,” Mr Schetyna said in an interview for RMF FM. Beata Socha

Politics

‘Deepest ever’ crisis in coalition, or a tempest in a teacup?

Last week, Janusz Piechociƒski, deputy prime minister and leader of the junior government coalition partner, the Polish People’s Party, told Rzeczpospolita, “If my ideas are not adhered to, I will quit [the coalition]. I don’t intend to be a deputy prime minister just for show.”

As could be expected, the statements sparked a flurry of speculation as to the future of the ruling Civic Platform-Polish People’s Party coalition.

Mr Piechociƒski, who is also economy minister, was upset he was not briefed that Prime Minister Donald Tusk was planning to dismiss Treasury Minister Miko∏aj Budzanowski over recent confusion regarding the possible construction of a Russian-sponsored gas pipeline through Poland. Mr Piechociƒski was also apparently not even made privy to a report explaining why the confusion had arisen.

What’s all the fuss about?

The speculation forced Mr Tusk and Mr Piechociƒski to call a press conference to quell the rumors of an imminent break-up of the coalition that has ruled Poland since 2007.

“I realize that, traditionally for the media, politicians who quarrel are more interesting than those who work together in agreement, and so Mr Piechociƒski and I want to be boring bosses of our parties,” said Mr Tusk. “I am convinced that we will last in our resolve much longer than you expect,” he added.

The PM said there had been a “communication problem” on the pipeline issue but not between coalition partners, rather between the Treasury Ministry and the energy firms it controls.

Mr Piechociƒski, meanwhile, tried to downplay his earlier statements, claiming in fact that the reports in had been a “journalistic essay and not an interview.”

“I see that recently jour-

nalists have been doing everything to speed up the political calendar. I want to point out that no politician, be they in parliament or in local government, wants to be a politician for show.” The deputy prime minister added that relations between the coalition partners are “good and rational.”

We’re tired of each other But Mr Piechociƒksi’s party colleague, Eugeniusz K∏opotek, a prominent MP, sees it somewhat differently. “During the last parliamentary term, there were two similar moments, but this crisis is deeper. After five and a half years of ruling together, I see signs of mutual tiring of one another. In such conditions it’s easier to just decide not to continue,” he said.

“From time to time, they [Civic Platform] try to scare us that they can find another coalition partner. Let them try,” he added.

Jan Bury, the head of the Polish People’s Party parlia-

COURTESY OF POLISH PEOPLE’S PARTY

The prime minister and his deputy say the coalition is rock-solid.

Not everybody agrees

Mr Piechociƒski caused a flurry of speculation over the future of the coalition mentary caucus, admitted that there had been some lack of “elegance” in relations

between the coalition partners recently. However, he attributed the recent flare-up to a

“simple lack of communication.”

Remi Adekoya

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Economy

Technology

Polish government lowers GDP forecast for 2013

Google Street View expands in Poland

Poland’s economy is growing at an even slower pace than initially calculated, the government admitted, as it revised its growth projection for this year downward from 2.2 percent to 1.5 percent. That means that the government expects the Polish economy to grow slower this year than it did in 2009, when the global economic crisis hit hardest. In 2009, Polish GDP grew by just 1.9 percent.

The Finance Ministry’s chief economist Ludwik

Kotecki said that the lower GDP forecast is the result of a lower projection for exports and lower domestic consumption, which reflects a longerthan-expected slowdown in the EU. In more bad economic news, it turns out that last year, Poland’s economy actually grew as quickly as it did in that difficult year of 2009 – at a rate of 1.9 percent. Earlier this year, Poland’s statistics office had said that growth in 2012 amounted to 2.0 percent, but on April 22 revised that figure downward.

The same forecast for this

year’s economic growth is shared by others. The Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (INE PAN) predicts GDP growth at 1.5 percent as well. If calculated using revised data from the statistics office, growth may even be 0.2-0.3 percentage points lower, Jerzy Mycielski from INE PAN was quoted by PAP as saying.

The institute’s experts expect GDP growth in the first quarter of 2013 to be 1.1 percent, then 1.4 percent in Q2, 1.7 percent in Q3 and 1.9 percent in the last quarter of the year.

Kamila Wajszczuk

Sliding back down Poland’s quarterly GDP growth (% year-on-year), 2007-2012 8 7 Source: Central Statistical Office

6 5 4 3 2 1

07 20 0 Q1 7 20 0 Q2 8 20 0 Q3 8 20 0 Q4 8 20 0 Q1 8 20 0 Q2 9 20 0 Q3 9 20 0 Q4 9 20 09 Q1 20 1 Q2 0 20 10 Q3 20 1 Q4 0 20 10 Q1 20 1 Q2 1 20 1 Q3 1 20 1 Q4 1 20 Q1 11 20 12 Q2 20 1 Q3 2 20 12 Q4 20 12

20

Q4

Q3

07 20

Q2

Q1

20

07

0

Now all of Poland’s major cities are included in the service Most Polish cities and major roads are now available on Google Street View, the internet search giant’s map technology that allows for panoramic views of streets on a computer or a Now you can visit the Chopin monument in Warsaw’s ¸azienki mobile device. The without leaving your home development comes after a major expansion of the users can navigate through mid-May. The initial launch of the service in Poland was unveiled more than five million miles of last week. Previously, only cities streets and roads on all seven service sparked controversy that had hosted 2012 European continents and even under regarding privacy issues, but these claims were dismissed by soccer championship matches water.

Now you can virtually travel the Polish Inspector General and selected tourist destinations could be accessed throughout Poland, visiting not for Personal Data Protection.

In the Street View service, only major cities, but also through the service.

The latest and biggest remote locations, as long as which captures images from update makes footage of some there are roads available there. the ground level, users can 350,000 miles of roads across Google will continue to move an icon on a computer, 14 countries available, expand- upgrade its Street View pres- smartphone or tablet, which ing the service to 50 countries. ence in Poland, as the company allows them to view the area Google launched it back in plans to send its cars for anoth- from the street level virtually.

Jacek Ciesnowski 2007 in five US cities; now er round of photos to Poland in COURTESY OF GOOGLE

GDP growth data from last year was scaled down as well

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BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

Poland’s largest lender, PKO BP, is planning to set up a separate mortgage bank by 2014. The aim of the move is to lower the cost of financing longterm loans by providing the possibility of issuing covered bonds. Polish law forbids the issuance of such securities by universal banks.

Poles want to decide about their pensions Poles would like to be able to choose if their pension savings are managed by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) or open pension funds (OFEs), a survey by Homo Homini for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna found. Over half of the respondents spoke in favor of such a choice and only one third were against it. While 46% said they would transfer their savings to ZUS, 44% would keep them in OFEs and 10% did not make any choice.

General Motors takes over Isuzu Motors Polska General Motors will become the full owner of Isuzu Motors Polska after it signed an agreement to acquire 40% in the Tychy-based company. After the acquisition is completed, the company will be renamed GM Powertrain Poland. GM bought a 60% stake in Isuzu Motors Polska in 2002. The Tychy factory produces car engines with a capacity of 1.7 liters.

JSW looking for acquisitions Jastrz´bska Spó∏ka W´glowa (JSW), the largest coking coal producer in the EU, is considering takeovers in order to secure coal reserves, the company’s CEO Jaros∏aw Zagórowski told Reuters. The company could carry out takeovers either in Poland or in neighboring countries. Mr Zagórowski said that his company is looking at market peer Katowicki Holding W´glowy (KHW), and at the D´bieƒsko mining project in Poland, owned by New World Resources. ●

Airlines

More turbulence for LOT The troubled airline might need another state loan, on top of the previous one being reviewed by the EC The 2012 net loss incurred by Poland’s national airline LOT was over z∏.200 million, and could be as high as z∏.300 million, daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported, citing unnamed sources. The company had earlier claimed its loss was z∏.157 million.

The daily suggests that LOT may ask for another loan from the State Treasury. In December, the airline received a bailout of z∏.400 million from the Treasury and that loan still hasn’t been approved by the European Commission.

Treasury Ministry spokesperson Katarzyna Koz∏owska denied the reports. “At present, we are not planning on increasing state aid to the company,” she told the paper. LOT should focus on restructuring now, she added.

Restructuring has been LOT’s priority for several months now. So far no definite solution has been found to the carrier’s troubles. According to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna’s sources, the company’s current

rescue plan proposes three options, without specifying which one should be implemented. It sees LOT either going bankrupt, staying under the Treasury Ministry’s aegis or sold to an investor.

The latter scenario seems unlikely, though. “In order to sell the company it has to be profitable first, or at least show the potential to become profitable again. We need to clean up this whole mess in LOT before we are be able to sell it,” Adrian Furgalski from TOR Transport Consultants Group told WBJ. For that reason, a scenario in which LOT remains a state-controlled company is the most probable, at least for now.

The Treasury Ministry also seems less than satisfied with LOT’s restructuring process.

“In our opinion, the plan is not perfect,” Deputy Treasury Minister Rafa∏ Baniak said. The sources cited by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna claimed that the plan only proposes laying off some of its workers and that there’s nothing there about reducing routes and selling off some of its planes as was earlier reported. For the Treasury Ministry, that is not enough.

“The goal is to make LOT profitable in 2014,” Mr Baniak said.

LOT’s Dreamliners should be airborne in early June Dreamliners back soon Not all the cards are stacked against LOT, though. On April 19, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Boeing’s fixes for the battery systems of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the company’s largest passenger aircraft. The planes, which the company is planning to use for transatlantic flights, have remained grounded since January due to battery

issues. The FAA’s decision means that the planes could be back in the air within a week.

Nevertheless, the planes will be repaired and returned to some other airlines first, meaning LOT will still have to wait. “Our bigger competitors will probably fly [the Dreamliners] before us, which is quite a bitter pill to swallow,” LOT’s CEO Sebastian Mikosz said in an inter-

view with the Polish Press Agency. “That’s not how I imagined being treated,” he added.

LOT plans to be back flying the Dreamliner aircraft on June 5. Once flights are resumed, LOT plans to ask Boeing for hundreds of millions of z∏oty in compensation for damages and lost business due to the grounding.

Jacek Ciesnowski, Kamila Wajszczuk

Foreign investments

Postal services

German chamber: Poland best investment location in CEE

InPost plans huge global expansion

Ninety-five percent of companies that have invested in Poland would do so again, a new report has found Poland holds the top spot in investment attractiveness among Central and Eastern European countries, according to a survey carried out by the German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Poland). The country received a score of 4.87 out of 6 points.

The second and third places went to the Czech Republic (4.17 points) and Slovakia (3.99 points). Meanwhile, Russia, the region’s largest economy, and Ukraine were ranked lowest.

Crucially, AHK Poland chairman Michael Kern said that 95 percent of companies that have already invested in Poland would do so again.

What the enterprises surveyed appreciate about Poland the most is the country’s membership in the European Union and a well-skilled, highly productive workforce.

The entrepreneurs polled

did, however, say that Poland has to work on improving its infrastructure, reforming its public finances, stabilizing the exchange-rate of the z∏oty or adopting the euro, and making its public administration more efficient.

Euro losing favor However, there is also a growing number of companies that don’t want Poland to join the euro zone. In 2009, 96 percent of them said Poland should adopt the common currency, while this year only 60 percent were in favor.

Despite Poland’s slowing economy, a total of 85.8 percent of the enterprises surveyed do not expect their economic situation to worsen and an impressive 77 percent plan to increase their investment outlays in Poland or maintain them at the same level. However, only 23.5 percent now consider Poland’s economic situation to be good. Last year, the figure stood at 37 percent.

Remi Adekoya

The Polish company will spend at least z∏.1 billion on international expansion this year alone InPost, a subsidiary of private postal operator Integer.pl, plans to install up to 2,000 lockers for delivery of internet purchases in the United Kingdom this year. The company will spend €45 million on the investment, but hopes that in three years’ time, 25 percent of its profit will come from the UK. But the firm has more international plans. InPost has signed deals to install lockers in Saudi Arabia, Chile, Cyprus, Spain, Ireland and several other countries. This year alone, the company plans to spend up to €1 billion on foreign expansion – it plans to enter the French, Hungarian, Turkish, Swedish and Norwegian markets.

The choice of the United Kingdom as one of the countries leading InPost’s foreign expansion is easy to understand. The UK boasts

Europe’s biggest e-commerce market, worth some €90 billion last year alone. InPost wants to take a slice of that pie.

People ordering goods online often complain about the inconvenience of waiting at home for the package to arrive, and sometimes it fails to turn up altogether. Interactive Media in Retail group estimates that failed deliver-

ies cost the economy nearly €100 million each year.

InPost’s solution allows customers to pick up items they have bought online from lockers installed in convenient locations such as supermarkets or nearby gas stations. The Polish company claims that it has signed deals with 95 percent of e-retailers present on the UK market.

Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF INTEGER.PL

PKO BP to set up mortgage bank

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

COURTESY OF LOT

6

Thousands of lockers like this one will be installed in UK cities

BUSINESS

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Auto industry

COURTESY OF FIAT AUTO POLAND/IRENEUSZ KAÂMIERCZAK

Fiat looking to get back in the driver’s seat

After nearly six years, the Tychy plant produced its one-millionth Fiat 500

With the millionth Fiat 500 car rolling out of the Tychy plant, the company is trying to regain its glory days Fifty years after the first 500 model was unveiled by Italian auto maker Fiat, the Tychybased Fiat plant manufactured the millionth unit of the car.

Its current version has been produced since 2007. The Tychy plant is one of two factories in the world producing the model. The other is located in Mexico.

Despite this milestone achievement, the company still had to reduce its workforce by some 1,400 employes at the end of last year. This year nearly 260,000 cars – including models other than the 500 – will be made in Tychy, which is a far cry from the more than 600,000 units that were produced there three years ago.

Those figures could be set to rise though, if recent reports of Fiat planning to make yet another model, this time an

SUV, at the Tychy plant turn out to be true. Dziennik Gazeta Prawna quoted unnamed sources in the company last week saying that the production of the new model could start late this year. That would boost production to 470,000 units a year, though that still would not be enough to justify increasing the workforce.

According to industry experts, the company could increase employment if yet another model was being made in Tychy. This might happen if earlier, still unofficial reports, of Fiat moving its global production of the 500 model exclusively to Tychy are confirmed.

Out of gas?

A lot is riding on Tychy gaining more production. With the whole automotive industry in Europe facing hard times (sales of cars in the EU dropped by 9.7 percent in Q1 2013 compared to the first quarter of last year), opportunities for investment in the sector are few and far between, while Poland’s

unemployment rate stands at 14.3 percent.

Poland’s Ministry of Economy has sent out nearly 30 proposals to car makers around the world inviting them to invest in Poland, and offering numerous incentives.

Minister of Economy Janusz Piechociƒski said that so far he has received four responses – from Suzuki, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Hyundai – but none of them favorable.

“These companies don’t plan to invest in their production facilities in Europe in the near future because of the current situation on the market,” Mr Piechociƒski explained during a speech in parliament.

The news about Volkswagen not planning to expand its production in Poland is especially difficult news for the Polish auto industry, as reports – confirmed by Turkish officials – claimed the German company had Poland and Turkey on its shortlist of possible locations for the production of its new delivery car.

Jacek Ciesnowski

Labor law

Sejm passes deregulation bill Fifty professions will now be opened up The Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, has passed the first tranche of deregulation legislation prepared by Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin and aimed at easing access to some 230 professions in Poland. Before the deregulation push, some 380 professions were regulated in Poland, one of the highest numbers in Europe.

The first deregulation tranche involved 50 professions, including notaries, attorneys, prosecutors, repossession agents, detectives, real estate brokers, sports instructors, tour guides and court officials.

Approximately 535,000 people combined work in the professions that have now been deregulated. The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration, but is expected to pass easily as the ruling party has a comfortable majority in Poland’s upper house.

‘Only good sides’ The deregulation move is being pushed very strongly by Mr Gowin, who told WBJ in an interview recently that he wants Poland’s economy to be more open, business-friendly and that in his opinion, there are “only good sides” to deregulation.

“Opening up professions will create new work places for young people in Poland so

they don’t have to emigrate and look for work abroad. This is just the first step, almost 200 professions will be deregulated [in addition to the first group],” he said after the vote in the Sejm.

The second deregulation tranche will involve 91 professions in the area of finance, banking, construction and transport. Customs and insurance agents, pilots, architects and brokers will be some of the professions affected.

The second tranche is now being worked on and a third will follow. All in all, it is expected that 60 percent of the regulated professions in Poland will eventually be opened up.

Remi Adekoya

www.wbj.pl

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INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Foreign affairs

Visegrad Group works to advocate for region

Ewa Boniecka: The Visegrad Group (V4) has been gaining influence in Europe. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a recent V4 summit in Warsaw.

What is behind the alliance’s growing clout?

Henryka MoÊcicka-Dendys: Once all of the members of the Visegrad Group joined the EU in 2004, many felt the alliance’s mission was accomplished. It took some time till it became evident that also within the EU, the group still has a role to play and, more importantly, that we still have some homework to do internally – improving energy or transport infrastructure between our countries, facilitating person-to-person contacts or removing some continuing stereotypes that we have about each other.

The V4 is increasingly becoming a well-established trademark within and outside the EU. We bring the experience of a successful transformation and the readiness to follow the path of further necessary reforms to the EU. The recent summit of V4 prime ministers, which was attended by President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel, showed that the group is strongly focused on the biggest issues facing Europe: the future of the euro zone, growth, and the common security and defense policy – a topic to be discussed by the European leaders at the European Council in December this year.

Poland is treated by the West as the natural leader of our

region, is this view shared and accepted by other members of V4?

The success of the Visegrad Group lies in its ability to channel the interests of all its members. This reinforces our practices of consultation, active cooperation and, where possible, intelligent policy coordination on subjects of common interest to the region.

Yes, sometimes it may make sense for Warsaw to take the lead in policy on behalf of the group, which is the case this year since we are holding the annual presidency of the V4. Other times, we follow the presidency of the V4 when it is held by other countries.

Whichever capital takes the lead, it must have all of the other partners standing behind it, offering valuable expert assistance.

One of the most important decisions made at the recent summit was to strengthen the military cooperation of the V4 and to proceed with creating the Visegrad Battle Group, which will consist of 3,000 soldiers. What will Poland’s role be?

Poland plays the role of a “framework nation,” which means that we are responsible for providing key military capabilities, including a force command (FHQ), communication systems, a maneuver (combat) element and theoretically, any capability which cannot be provided by our partners. In practice, a framework nation provides some 60-70 percent of the required

COURTESY OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Henryka MoÊcicka-Dendys, director of the Department of European Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, talks to WBJ about Poland’s role in strengthening the political and military cooperation within the Visegrad Group, the alliance’s economic challenges and its growing influence inside and outside the European Union

Ms MoÊcicka-Dendys says the V4 is making progress on integrating the region’s energy markets, to help ease dependence on Russia forces. In other words – it is mainly our responsibility to make it work.

What is the aim of the unit and how will that relate to the general military cooperation at the EU and NATO levels?

The aims are always the same, be it for battle groups or the NATO Response Force. The first aim is to be ready to act whenever there is a necessity and if the political bodies

The European Union remains mired in economic crisis, but the members of the V4 are doing much better than some

“The V4 is increasingly becoming a well-established trademark within and outside the EU.” responsible (that is the EU Council and the North Atlantic Council) make the appropriate decision. The second aim, almost equally important, is to increase the interoperability among the military forces of the EU and NATO countries. To make sure they understand each other in the battlefield.

And this how it relates to general EU and NATO military cooperation – it is our

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

What is the Visegrad Group?

The Visegrad Group (V4) is an alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia for the purposes of cooperation and furthering their European integration.

According to Ms MoÊcicka-Dendys, “The Visegrad Group originates from a summit in 1991 by political leaders of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia (today the Czech Republic and Slovakia), who decided to take joint efforts to transform their respective countries both in terms of democratic reforms and in terms of market economy, with the ultimate goal of joining the European Union and NATO.” The Czech Republic and Slovakia became members after the 1993 dissolution of Czechoslovakia. All four members of the Visegrad Group became members of the European

input into building the ability of these two organizations to react to crisis. It is proof that V4 countries are ready to fulfill declarations with practical tools, and that together we are ready to take our turn in the broader EU or NATO endeavor.

The Visegrad Group countries Union on May 1, 2004.

Since then, the V4 has continued cooperation, working to influence the EU on issues of regional interest.●

other EU members. What does the experience of the V4 countries say about how the crisis should be resolved?

Our point of departure by the end of the 1980s was a more-or-less bankrupt centrally planned economy.

Therefore, all V4 countries went through a process of strenuous structural reforms and a long transformation to a free market economy. This sometimes painful process eventually resulted in impressive growth rates, enabling these countries to begin systematically catching up with the more advanced Western economies. Thanks to EU cohesion funds, the modernization of our countries is still under way.

Therefore, in times of financial turmoil in Europe, we recognize the importance of coordinated efforts to implement structural reforms as a way out of the crisis. In some countries, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms cause a lot of tension, but our experience shows that consistency and determination to complete those reforms pay off.

How does the V4 cooperate when it comes to energy policy and reducing dependence on Russia for natural gas?

Poland cooperates with its V4 partners on a common approach towards energy policy, both regionally and at the EU level. Particular concern is given to regionalization of energy markets and the promotion of regional solidarity when there are supply disruptions.

Significant work has been done so far in the field of infrastructure development and enhancement of interconnectivity. The V4 countries share the position that the EU funds should be one of the major tools to strengthen the physical integration of the V4 markets, with EU Cohesion Policy and the Connecting Europe Facility being key sources of support for large energy projects in the region.

Currently, the Polish presidency is working on its main priority, namely the regionalization of the gas market in the V4 region. This will be done by eliminating existing regulatory and trade barriers between the V4 countries.

Developing strong market structures and continuing to pursue key diversification projects for the region, such as the LNG terminal in ÂwinoujÊcie, will counterbalance the existing high dependence on gas supplies from one direction.

The members of the V4 compete for foreign investment.

But has their been any move to develop a common Central European approach?

Within the V4 we discuss questions pertaining to cooperation with partners from outside the region. Such consultations are carried out in the so called “V4+” format and are designed to promote the V4 region as a whole. The increasing role of the V4 region in the EU and its good socio-economic standing have made it an attractive partner not only for EU countries but also for countries from outside Europe.

Of course cooperation regarding foreign investment is not exactly easy, since we tend to be competitors. But, in any case, we share the interest in promoting the region and bringing investment to Central Europe. That’s why we engage in joint promotional events or economic missions as well as support innovative businesses.

The V4 members differ when it comes to political integration in the EU. Poland is very much in favor, whereas the

Czech Republic and Hungary are more skeptical. How does the V4 deal with these differences?

Since we are all advocates of a strong European Union acting globally, it is in our interest to bring the integration process forward. We act jointly on dossiers of common interest – the V4 can be satisfied with the positive outcome of negotiations and the compromise reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-20.

We are also making progress on the integration of the V4’s regional gas market.

The V4’s flagship endeavor – the north-south energy interconnections corridor – shows its potential to promote issues at an EU level.

We all support closer EU cooperation with our Eastern neighbors, in particular via the Eastern Partnership initiative.

We would like to see the swift integration of the Western Balkans with the EU and therefore, we firmly support reforms and the reconciliation processes in the region.

How can the members of the V4 promote economic and political cooperation at central and local levels? Isn’t it a significant obstacle that the V4 Group has not established formal mechanisms for such cooperation?

We are aware of the need to intensify people-to-people contacts, to promote closer cross-border and regional cooperation. With this intention in mind, in 2000 the V4 countries decided to create the International Visegrad Fund. The fund facilitates and endorses grassroots initiatives and projects aimed at developing closer cooperation among citizens and institutions in the region, as well as between the V4 region and other partners, especially the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries.

It does so through grants supporting common cultural, scientific and educational projects, youth exchanges, crossborder projects and tourism promotion, and through individual mobility programs in the form of scholarships and residencies.

We also contribute to the development of initiatives that promote Visegrad cooperation like the Visegrad Bicycle Rally to be organized by the Polish V4 Presidency in May this year or the Joint Master’s Degree in international relations, launched recently by the Jagiellonian University and three other universities in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. ●

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

National finances

Deficit overshoots EC target countries like Poland, who have implemented some privatization of their pension systems, bringing the deficit-toGDP threshold up to 3.5 percent for them.

At a press conference on April 22, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said that he expects the ratio to fall to 3.5 percent this year as a result of the ministry’s policies. This should allow for the excessive deficit procedure to be lifted next year, he added. Poland already meets the debt-toGDP ratio criteria, with debt at about 55.6 percent of GDP. Andrzej Sadowski, vice president of the Adam Smith

Unemployment rate inches lower In line with expectations, registered unemployment declined only slightly in March, to 14.3 percent from 14.4 percent in February.

The figure meets the Labor Ministry’s forecast from earlier this month.

In an e-mailed comment, Bank Zachodni WBK wrote that the “decline in [the] unemployment rate in

March did not come from the improvement of the labor market situation, but mainly from intervention of the Labor Ministry.” The bank’s analysts added that in the coming months they expect “slightly more pronounced declines of the unemployment rate, provided that the situation in the euro zone improves.”

There were 2,141,900 jobless persons registered in March compared to 2,336,700 in February, statistics office GUS said. The number of newly registered unemployed persons was 213,900 in March, compared to 224,900 in February and 193,700 in March 2012.

KW

Research Institute, a think tank, told WBJ that instead of turning its attention to Poland and other newer EU members, “the European Commission should focus first on the core EU countries that permanently fail to meet the criteria.”

Mr Sadowski added that although government debt is dangerous for the stability of public finances, ratio targets such as the one for deficit-toGDP were arbitrary and therefore “should not be interpreted on their own but in conjunction with how the country can service its debt.”

Kamila Wajszczuk, Beata Socha

9

Retail sales up only slightly in March, at 0.1% Retail sales in Poland rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March. Statistics office GUS said that the year-onyear increase was 0.1 percent and in month-on-month terms retail sales grew by 16.8 percent. In constant prices, the figure remained unchanged y/y.

Economists surveyed by PAP had expected retail sales to rise by 0.5 percent y/y and by 17.2 percent m/m.

“These data should not be interpreted as a signal of improvement of consumer demand because the rebound is driven by Easter shopping

carried out already in late March,” Bank Zachodni WBK economists wrote in a comment. “We expect consumer demand to remain subdued in coming quarters,” they added.

Poland’s strong retail sales during the global economic crisis was one of the factors credited with keeping the economy in growth territory.

Recently though, retail sales have slowed markedly. In March last year, retail sales grew at 10.7 percent y/y – and they haven’t grown by more than 7.7 percent since then.

KW

Still too high Poland’s unemployment rate (%), March 2011-March 2013

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Poland’s general government deficit-to-GDP ratio was 3.9 percent in 2012, according to Poland’s statistics office GUS. The figures are higher than what the European Commission has said was acceptable, which means it will likely continue the excessive deficit procedure against Poland.

Earlier this year, European Commissioner for Economic

and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn had suggested that the EC could lift the excessive deficit procedure against Poland as early as this year. In order for that to happen however, Poland’s deficit-to-GDP ratio would have to have come in no higher than 3.5 percent.

The excessive deficit procedure is a system by which the EC monitors a government’s spending when its deficit-toGDP ratio is above 3 percent and the debt-to-GDP ratio is above 60 percent. The system can lead to financial sanctions if the government continues not to comply with the rules.

However, the EC had said it would make an exception for

Ma

With government deficit exceeding 3.9 percent of GDP, Poland could face financial sanctions from the European Commission

www.wbj.pl

Source: Central Statistical Office

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Looking east

Flying in style

Steering in the right direction

What can Poland do to improve trade relations with the Middle East?

11, 13

Middle Eastern airlines have brought luxury to the Polish skies

Polish companies want to conquer markets with their one-of-a-kind yachts 14

11

MIDDLE EAST IN FOCUS Warsaw Business Journal ’s special supplement on Poland’s economic relations with Middle Eastern countries

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Poland and the Middle East

Region of opportunity Polish economic involvement in the Middle East is minimal – but that wasn’t always the case.

Can Polish firms regain a foothold?

Four giant German-made TBM cutting shields are currently working around-theclock at an average speed of 80 meters per week, building Warsaw’s second subway line. The project is one of the biggest of its kind in Poland, valued at z∏.4.7 billion, and carried out by a consortium headed by a Turkish company, Gulermak.

Turkey’s construction industry is ranked third-biggest in the world after those of the US and China, with 23 companies in the world’s top 225.

After Romania, Poland is the second-largest European construction site for Turkish firms, who have carried out projects worth $1.2 billion here since 1989.

But construction is only one of several areas where Turkey has a strong presence in Poland. The number of Turkish companies operating in other sectors in Poland is growing, too, according to the Polish-Turkish Business Council: from trading micro-firms to large companies eying big infrastructural programs in energy, transport infrastructure and services.

Poland is eager to reciprocate this interest. The government has identified Turkey as a top potential market for Polish businesses. Last year Poland exported goods worth €2.4 billion to Turkey, but the potential is much bigger.

Polish sectors that could benefit from cooperation with Turkey include machine production, chemicals, cosmetics, consumer electronics, home appliances, furniture and energy generation.

“The structure of Turkish industry is similar to Poland’s,” said Tomasz Dàbrowski, man-

aging partner at Dentons law firm and chairman of the Polish-Turkish Business Council.

“In many areas our economies are complementary.”

Untapped potential Turkey’s position at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East means it can offer a gateway to a whole world of business opportunities for Poland in the region. It’s an EU candidate (albeit a somewhat disheartened one), with a customs treaty in place since 1996. It combines Caucasian, Mediterranean, Balkan and Middle Eastern cultural influences, which could make it Poland’s bridge to the neighboring markets inhabited by as many as a billion consumers.

Moving further south, there is Israel, another land of opportunity for Polish businesses. It is one of Poland’s strategic military partners (components of Spike missiles for Israeli

defense firm Rafael are produced by Poland’s Bumar Group), and it is about to tighten its scientific cooperation with Warsaw, adding nanotechnology and IT to the list of knowledge transfers.

As far as countries from the Gulf are concerned, Poland’s biggest achievement in terms of energy contracts is undoubtedly in Qatar. A contract for LNG gas supplies signed in 2009 is estimated at $550 million annually and will make the country Poland’s second-largest gas supplier after Russia, once the gas port in ÂwinoujÊcie has been completed in 2014.

These examples aside, Poland’s presence in the region is negligible in absolute figures.

Israel accounts for nearly 30 percent of Polish trade with all Middle Eastern countries, while Turkey’s exports to Poland represent just 1 percent of the country’s total exports.

Polish trade with Turkey Between 2002 and 2007 Polish-Turkish trade increased nearly sixfold. In 2012 the trade volume dropped slightly to just above $4.9 billion, with the surplus for Poland, according to Turkey’s statistics agency, TurkStat. But Poland remained an important trade partner for Turkey, holding 20th place in terms of both imports and exports. Transnational corporations in the automotive, consumer electronics and home appliance sectors play a key role in the trade turnover between the two countries.

Source: Trade and Investment Promotion Section, Embassy of Republic of Poland in Ankara

Big stakes Still, there are those who are not discouraged so easily. A couple of small, private firms showed up at the latest trilateral British-Afghan-Polish analytical forum organized by the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), a think tank.

There was talk about the future of Afghanistan, the shape of the new NATO mission and prospects for rebuilding regional infrastructure. Could Polish businesses join efforts to rebuild the ravaged country?

Marcin Piotrowski, an analyst at PISM, said it’s much too early to think about any serious investments in Afghanistan, for obvious security reasons. In the long-haul though, the prospects for doing business in Afghanistan are not the stuff of fantasy. The stakes are high. If Afghanistan’s deposits of minerals and metals estimated at $1-3 trillion are tapped, the war-torn country would quickly become one of the world’s mining powers.

Continued on p. 13 ➡

Airlines

Arab airlines compete for Polish passengers

COURTESY OF EMIRATES AIRLINES

With Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines’ flights to Warsaw, Polish passengers can travel to the Middle East faster, easier and in luxury

Emirates Airlines services its Warsaw-Dubai route with Airbus A330-200 aircraft

Middle Eastern air carriers are fighting for European travelers, luring them with its luxury fleet and direct flights to the region.

Qatar Airways launched its Warsaw-Doha connection in December 2012. Since February of this year it has even increased the frequency of Warsaw-Doha flights from four days a week to seven.

Also in February, Emirates Airlines started flying to and from Warsaw. The company has even launched its website in Polish, to attract more Poles to its flights at Warsaw Chopin Airport.

Emirates Airlines carries some 34 million passengers each year. From Dubai, passengers can fly to 130 cities around the globe, opening up a world of opportunities for Polish travelers, as well as to businesspeople traveling to the CEE region.

When asked about the reasons for launching the Warsaw-Dubai connection, Maciej Pyrka, Emirates’ country man-

ager for Poland, said that the main reason was the fact that demand for international flights from Poland had risen by 20-30 percent annually.

“For Emirates, one of the key indicators was the fact that the UAE is currently Poland’s number-one trade partner among Arab countries,” Mr Pyrka said. He added that Poland’s trade volume with the region amounted to some $1 billion in 2010.

The Warsaw-Dubai route is serviced with Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The plane can carry 237 passengers in three classes. It has 12 seats in the first class, 42 in business class and

183 in economy class. Emirates is in fact the first international airline to offer Polish fliers first-class seats.

Emirate’s Airbus planes fly to Dubai every day. In addition to passengers, the aircraft can also carry 238 tons of cargo a week in its planes’ luggage hold.

Beata Socha

In this supplement Region of opportunity . . . . . . . .11, 13 Middle Eastern airlines . . . . . . . . . .11 Polish-UAE business . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Yachts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

12

MIDDLE EAST IN FOCUS

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Business relations

Unnoticed in the UAE The reasons for Polish companies to search for business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seem obvious. With a population of just over 8 million, the UAE had a nominal GDP of $338 billion in 2012, compared to the $514 billion Poland’s 38-million strong economy generated, according to IMF figures.

The UAE’s economy grew by 4 percent last year, although that is expected to slow down to 2.6 percent (still high by current European standards) this year, also according to the IMF.

Not just oil Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the country has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. But although the UAE, like other

Gulf countries, is associated mainly with oil wealth, services account for 43.1 percent of its GDP, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Dubai, UAE’s most famous city, has grown to become a huge metropolis, as well as a cultural and business hub of the region. So how are Polish companies faring in this lucrative market?

No strategy “Poland has no strategy for doing business in the UAE. Sometimes we get calls from companies just one or two weeks before they come here, whereas you need at least a month or two to arrange anything tangible,” said Ahmed Amer, vice chairman of the Polish Business Group – UAE. “They just come to expos and display their wares but this is not a bazaar, there are companies from all over the world trying to win clients here,” he added.

However, Mr Amer did say that companies like Centrum Medyczne, a private healthcare provider, have a good chance to enter the UAE mar-

SHUTTERSTOCK

Polish businesses are not yet doing enough to attract attention in the United Arab Emirates

The Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai – you’re unlikely to meet Polish businesspeople there ket because “Polish healthcare companies are wellrespected here.”

From the point of view of possible UAE investments in Poland, Mr Amer said the

problem is that “people in the UAE simply do not know anything about Poland. They have no idea what kind of country it is.” Asked how this situation could be remedied, Mr Amer

repeated that Poland had to have a concept for getting noticed.

“I lived in Poland for 18 years and I know that very often the quality of Polish

products is better than the quality of some of the products brought here from other countries. But there has to be a strategy,” he said.

Remi Adekoya

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

MIDDLE EAST IN FOCUS

Region of opportunity ➡ Continued from p. 11 Mr Piotrowski is optimistic about the future of Afghanistan. “I think a breakout of civil war [after American troops withdraw in 2014] can be avoided. The Afghan security forces will remain at 353,000 troops, stabilizing the country’s security and opening up investment possibilities,” he said.

But how realistic is it to imagine Poland as part of the international business community, which includes American, British, German, Chinese and Indian companies, ready to play for the big stakes?

Abandoned legacy As a matter of fact, it would not be entirely unprecedented.

During the Cold War era, Pol-

ish business had a significant presence in the Middle East, with 450 Polish experts on contracts in Algeria, Libya and Morocco alone. Polish engineers built thousands of kilometers of roads, two steel plants, a dam and a dozen other big construction projects in Iraq and Libya. There were also 700 Arab students at Polish universities at the time. But since Poland’s political and economic transition, that cooperation has withered.

“We have forgotten about the region,” said Adam Balcer, program director at the demosEUROPA – Centre for European Strategy policy institute. “All post-communist countries have had a problem with the practical dimension of

Poles want stronger soft power The vast majority of Poles (74 percent) feel a moral responsibility to support poorer societies, according to a recent study based on polling conducted for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2011, Poland spent z∏.1.2 billion on international aid.

That included Polish contributions to the EU budget (z∏.803.2 million or 65 percent of all Polish aid transfers) and bilateral aid provided directly. The latter went mainly to the Eastern Partnership countries, Afghanistan, North Africa and Middle Eastern countries.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Poles on Development Assistance” study summarising results of an opinion poll conducted in November 2012 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

their foreign policy to a greater or lesser extent,” he added. But Poland has shoved the whole sphere of foreign policy-making into a deep corner and marginalized discussion about foreign issues in the media, he said.

However Patrycja Sasnal, an analyst at PISM, is cautious not to overestimate the importance of once close economic ties with the region. She pointed out that though Poland created a notable economic footprint there, Polish politicians were not too eager to engage politically, and had reservations towards both Arab countries and Israel. But the past is past and both the political and business map have changed dramatically since then.

Idle business Still, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Poles spend their holidays in Egypt and Turkey (in 2010, 600,000 Poles visited Egypt alone) and the fact that there are now direct flights linking Warsaw with the Arabian Peninsula, Polish businesspeople are not eager to jump on the plane and fly east.

“Official visits on a high level cause great pain to organize,” said Ms Sasnal. “It’s difficult to find Polish produc-

www.wbj.pl

13

Polish food exports to the Middle East ers who are willing to promote their products in Arab countries,” she added, explaining that on more than one occasion, Polish business delegations were met by non-decision-makers and representatives of the wrong sectors.

There is also little improvement in terms of attracting investment. Saudi Arabia, which holds the world’s thirdlargest foreign-exchange reserves, worth $600 billion, prefers more prestigious locations for its foreign direct investments. “There is a kind of global competition for Gulf investments,” Ms Sasnal said.

“If Poland attracts anybody, they are mostly fly-by-nighters.”

Where the business community is concerned, there seems to be a lack of joint grassroots initiative, she notes.

Take the ban on beef levied on Poland in 2008 by Saudi Arabia as a result of the mad-cow disease breakout. It has not been lifted because nobody cared to send inspectors to Polish meat processing plants.

Strategic ADHD It would be unfair to place all the blame for Polish businesses’ limited success in nonEuropean markets on politicians. In fact, some say they are even doing too much.

According to preliminary data from Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture, the combined food and agricultural exports from Poland to Arab countries and Turkey stood at €591 million, a 36 percent increase compared to 2010. Saudi Arabia is the biggest food importer in the region.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, “Poland’s food export possibilities in selected Arab countries and Turkey,” 2012

“Sometimes [government initiatives] give the impression of strategic ADHD,” said Mr Balcer. There are the “Go China” and “Go Africa” strategies, five priority markets listed and a number of regional initiatives. The economy ministry and the foreign ministry have been busy coming up with bold strategies to conquer foreign markets. But as a medium-sized country we should not try to bite off more than we can chew, Mr Balcer warns.

What could also help leverage our international standing is so-called “soft” power, which thus far is not very powerful. Proportionally, Poland’s development aid is the smallest in the whole EU at a mere 0.08 percent of gross national income. Poland also lags behind Ukraine and Romania in terms of student exchanges with Arab countries.

The 2011 Polish Presidency of the EU Council and Poland’s support for the Arab Spring might have improved

the country’s image abroad a bit, Ms Sasnal cautiously states. After all, “it turned out that we had something to say based on our experience with system transformation. If that’s any foundation for economic relations, then it might be a good sign.”

But even though Poland was the first Western country to recognize the new Turkish republic in 1923, it’s been British-Turkish companies that have been entering Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Central Asia, Mr Balcer pointed out. “I’m afraid that we’ll stay at the level of global expansion rhetoric, our economic footprint will slightly broaden, but finally, we’ll remain a self-consumed, Euro-centric and unfortunately peripheral country,” he said.

Next year’s 600th anniversary of the establishment of Poland’s relations with Turkey offers an opportunity to turn rhetoric into action. Both sides declare they would like to see that happen.

Joanna Irzabek

Karpielówka Restaurant Our name comes from an area in Zakopane, and in our restaurant you can feel the air and the atmosphere of the Tatra Mountains.

With our original highlander décor and the climate of an outlaw’s cottage, it’s the perfect place to dine on traditional dishes including our specials: dumplings, knuckle baked with onion, dishes with oscypek cheese and much more.

We can organize wedding dinners, conferences and banquets, as well as picnics with BBQ and bonfire. Check our lunch menu, our delivery service and catering options. ul. Indiry Gandhi 11, tel. 22 644 85 10 | Imielin Metro Station, close to Multikino; City Hall Ursynów; 5 minute walk towards St. Thomas the Apostle Church Open 12:00-last guest. | Reservations: +48 22-644-85-10 or karpielowka@home.pl www.karpielowka.com.pl | Check our Facebook page

14

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MIDDLE EAST IN FOCUS

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Yachts

COURTESY OF NAUTINER YACHTS

Smooth sailing Polish shipyards are capable of producing even the most luxurious yachts

Polish yacht producers are already renowned in Europe, and are now looking to expand even further There are some 900 shipyards in Poland. Many of them

started out as small familyrun businesses. Now they employ 35,000 people in total and sell their products worldwide.

Over the years Poland has become a global giant in the boat-building industry. One out of every three sailing yachts in Europe is made in Poland. In the category of motorboats of up to 9 meters in length, Poland is the second-biggest producer in the world, after the US. Polish shipyards produce up to 22,000 marine vessels per year, and since the luxury goods market in Poland is still limited, 95 percent of the boats are exported. In 2011 alone, Poland exported $268 million worth of yachts, rowboats and canoes, with France, Norway and Germany being the top three destinations.

About a third of all vessels which take part in boat shows across Europe are Polishmade, according to estimates by the Polish Chamber of Marine Industry and Water Sports. However many of them are sold under global brands like the renowned French Groupe Beneteau and US giant Brunswick Marine.

Now Polish companies are thinking about conquering the rest of the world, and are looking with particular interest to the Middle East.

“We know that the Middle East market is a unique one, looking for one-of-a-kind, luxury boats. We have one like that in the development stages and want to show it to potential customers,” said Marcin Bank, management board member at Nautiner Yachts.

“Customers from this region don’t really care about the price, but about the quality and uniqueness of the product. We spoke with one of our potential customers last year and his initial interest waned after hearing that the yacht was 58 feet long, and not 58 meters long, as he had initially thought,” Mr Bank added.

Polish shipyards produce top-of-the-line boats and claim that they can incorporate almost all client requirements into their existing yacht designs – and they have the awards to prove it. The tailor-made approach and a high degree of flexibility is something that Polish shipyards hope will help them make their mark in the Middle East.

Jacek Ciesnowski

The CEEQA awards gala crowned industry leaders and celebrated its 10th anniversary

IHG plans to expand in Poland, bringing the number of hotels it has in the country to 40

16

17

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

Sports Direct at Europa Centralna UK clothing retailer Sports Direct has leased 2,350 sqm at the Europa Centralna shopping center in Gliwice, which is the first lease signed by the company in Poland.

Europa Centralna, a mixed-use complex combining a shopping mall and a retail park, is located at the intersection of the A1 and A4 highways, the largest motorway interchange in Central Europe. Five million people live within its catchment area and anchor tenants include Tesco, Media Saturn, Castorama and Jula. The Europa Centralna scheme was opened in March 2013. ●

In this issue Sobieski Business Park . . . . . .15 Rotunda revamp . . . . . . . . . . . .15 CEEQA roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Kraków offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 More IHG hotels . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Investment volumes . . . . . . . . .17

Sobieski Business Park construction to launch soon Europlan has obtained a building permit for its office scheme in Warsaw’s Mokotów district, along the Royal Route The Sobieski Business Park in Warsaw has obtained its final building permit. Developer Europlan will soon begin construction on the first phase of the investment. The scheme will be located at the intersection of ul. Sobieskiego and ul.

Sikorskiego, along Warsaw’s Royal Route. In total, the investment will comprise three buildings with 30,000 sqm of office space.

The first phase of the investment will deliver some 7,900 sqm of office space on seven storeys and 365 sqm of retail space. Each storey of the building will comprise from 1,100 to

1,300 sqm. The building is scheduled for completion at the end of 2014. Europlan intends to obtain BREEAM certification for the building as well.

Europlan is touting the project for its proximity to the city center – within a 15-minute car or bus ride – and for its accessibility to public transport. New infrastructure developments are planned in the area, including a new tram route, a southern ring road and an inner-city thoroughfare. Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed the exclusive agent in the commercialization of phase one of this office complex.

Europlan has developed residential and office schemes in Warsaw since 2005. It recently completed the construction of the Feniks office building in downtown Warsaw.

Karolina Kowalska

The first phase of Sobieski Business Park is due for completion at the end of 2014

Office

Varsovians to decide on Rotunda’s future PKO Bank Polski wants to revitalize its landmark building in downtown Warsaw PKO Bank Polski, Poland’s largest lender, wants to revitalize its iconic Rotunda building in the center of Warsaw. Rotunda is located at the Rondo Dmowskiego roundabout in the heart of the Polish capital and is one of the best-known landmarks and meeting places in the city.

Its construction was launched in 1960 and completed in 1966. The building, sometimes referred to as the “general’s hat” is considered one of Poland’s icons of the modernist style, a popular architectural style in the countries of the Eastern bloc at the time. PKO BP wants to

make it more modern and energy-efficient.

As 30 percent of the modernized building’s area has been designated for social space, the bank’s representatives decided to launch public consultations on the project’s future purpose. Until May 11 Poles can participate in a poll to decide whether Rotunda should host a tourist information office, the city’s museum, a café or a press-reading room.

PKO BP has also met with architects and experts from the Association of Polish Architects, the Museum of Modern Art, the Warsaw Development Forum, the Polish Green Building Council and the city’s Center for Social Communication to discuss the building’s function

after the revitalization. After public consultations are completed, the bank will launch an international architectural competition for the design.

There have been several attempts to refurbish, revitalize and even to demolish the existing structure and build the new development that would be similar in form to its iconic predecessor and would retain its function as home to one of the bank’s Warsaw branches.

In 2008 the bank held a competition for the best architectural concept for a new building to be erected in place of Rotunda. The winning design, prepared by Gdaƒsk-based KD Kozikowski Design Pracownia Architektoniczna architectural studio, envisaged a glass-covered

COURTESY OF ADIK7SWIONY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Social media could be the future of real estate and development marketing, but the sector still isn’t using such communication vehicles as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn in B2B or B2C communication as it should, according to industry experts who participated in a discussion panel organized

by Construction Marketing Group. Announcing news on Twitter or Facebook could increase sales in the sector, they said. CMG is an initiative from engineering consultancy Buro Happold aimed at helping the construction business make better use of marketing tools.

Office

COURTESY OF CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

Social media in real estate

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013, LI 18/16-17

The Rotunda building is one of Warsaw’s most popular meeting places cylinder structure. The project was never carried out, as there were protests against

the demolition of the landmark.

Karolina Kowalska

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

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LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE CEEQA 2013 winners

Awards

Celebrating success

GRAND AWARDS Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Brian Patterson, managing partner at AIG/Lincoln

The Palas Iasi, Iasi Romania Hotel, Leisure and Retail Development of the Year Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, Vilnius, Lithuania

Industry Professional of the Year Pawe∏ D´bowski, partner and head of CEE real estate at Dentons

COMPANY AWARDS Developer of the Year Skanska Commercial Development Europe

COURTESY OF CEEQA

Building of the Year CEE Le Palais, Warsaw Building of the Year SEE The Pala s Iasi, Iasi, Romania

Jones Lang LaSalle won the Company of the Decade award

Green Leadership Award Skanska Commercial Development Europe

CEEQA’s 10th anniversary proved to be a hit

DECADE AWARDS Building of the Decade Rondo 1, Warsaw

Retail Development of the Year

Agent of the Year (retail, leisure & residential agency) Cushman & Wakefield Agent of the Year (industrial & logistics agency) Colliers International

Investor of the Year Union Investment Real Estate

Agent of the Year (capital markets) Jones Lang LaSalle

Lender of the Year Deutsche Pfandbriefbank

REALGREEN AWARDS RealGreen Building of the Year Green Towers Wroc∏aw – Phase A, Wroc∏aw, Poland

Development Services Company of the Year Arcadis EC Harris

BUILDING AWARDS Office Development of the Year Le Palais, Warsaw

AGENT AWARDS Agent of the Year (office agency) Jones Lang LaSalle

Industrial Developer of the Year Panattoni Europe

Legal and Financial Consulting Company of the Year Dentons

Company of the Decade Jones Lang La Salle

RealGreen Developer of the Year Skanska Commercial Development

Construction Company of the Year Skanska SA

RealGreen Investor of the Year Union Investment Real Estate

Property Management Company of the Year Colliers International

RealGreen Services Provider of the Year Arcadis EC Harris

Office

Rondo 1, in Warsaw, won Building of the Decade honors of the Year CEE. Of course, the CEEQA gala is not only about industry recognition, it also provides an opportunity to get the key players together, for a night of entertainment. In between the presentation of the awards, the excellent fourcourse meal was interspersed with a performance by Polish singing star Edyta Górniak, who gave a superb rendition of the Dolly Parton classic “I Will Always Love You,”

Polish star Edyta Górniak serenaded the crowd with a heartfelt rendition of “I Will Always Love You”

accompanied by composer Adam Sztaba on piano. Other musical accompaniment came from CEEQA mainstay and fellow pianist Albert Kurowski, as well as the Dziubek Band. But arguably the standout performance of the night came from 1980s girl group Bananarama, who really got the party going when they sang numerous hits from their back catalog.

The CEEQA awards cover business activity in 18 countries across Central Europe and Southeast Europe and are judged by a panel of senior representatives of market-leading companies active across the sector. The judging of the awards is supervised and audited by consulting firm Deloitte.

David Ingham

Warsaw Business Journal was a media partner of the CEEQA gala

The former Polish capital is seen as the most important Polish outsourcing center Rapidly developing hi-tech and accounting outsourcing companies are keeping demand for office space high in Kraków, according to a new report by real estate agency CBRE. In 2012, 107,000 sqm of office space was leased in the city, an all-time record for Kraków and the best result among all Polish cities, save Warsaw.

The vacancy rate in Kraków is at 4 percent, while 24,000 sqm of office space remains available. The average price per sqm of office space ranges from €13 to €15. According to the report, prices could rise in the next few months.

With over 60 BPO/SSC companies employing altogether nearly 20,000 people, Kraków is considered the most important BPO/SSC center, not only in the country but also in the whole CEE region, according to experts at the Ma∏opolska Commercial Property Forum Conference, which was held in April and organized by the British Polish Chamber of Commerce and CBRE. “Kraków is no longer perceived as a source of cheap workforce but as a leading aca-

COURTESY OF JANKAROL.COM

COURTESY OF CEEQA

Kraków BPO/SSC sector drives office demand

COURTESY OF CEEQA

The Central & Eastern European Real Estate Quality Awards (CEEQA) held its 10th annual event at the SOHO Factory in Warsaw’s Praga district on April 23, and the setting provided a fitting venue for a night of celebration. CEEQA founder Richard Hallward decided to break with tradition and go for a location that recognized both the capital’s past and present real estate traditions.

The decision was a good one, as the 3,000-sqm warehouse was rocked to its foundations with more than 600 guests from over 50 countries gathering to celebrate at the sector’s main annual industry awards event for emerging Europe.

Two of the biggest awards were those marking the 10th anniversary, with Rondo 1 in Warsaw winning the Building of the Decade award and Jones Lang LaSalle taking home the Company of the Decade award, after a live vote among members of the audience. The other standout winner was Brian Patterson, managing partner of AIG/Lincoln, who took home the Lifetime Achievement award, sponsored by the Financial Times.

Among the other key winners on the night were Pawe∏ D´bowski, partner and head of real estate at Dentons, who won Industry Professional of the Year, and Le Palais in Warsaw, which won Building

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Kraków is the top destination in the region for BPO/SSC investments demic center in Poland, offering highly skilled scientific and technical staff,” said Miko∏aj Martynuska, development consultancy director at CBRE. Earlier this year, Kraków ranked 10th in the world and second in Europe as a location for services centers in a ranking by outsourcing advisory Tholons.

According to CBRE, the city is second in Poland, after Warsaw, in terms of total office space, with 600,000 sqm. Currently, developers are building 75,000 sqm of new office space, half of which will be delivered later this year.

Office buildings are concentrated in the center of the

city, near the Rondo Mogilskie and Rondo Grzegórzeckie roundabouts.

Other popular office locations in Kraków include ul.

Opolska, ul. Lublaƒska, ul.

Lea, ul. Armii Krajowej, the Podgórze district, the Zabierzów district and in the special economic zone along ul. Jana Paw∏a II. The biggest office projects currently under construction are Skanska’s Kapelanka 42 project (the first phase will deliver 12,300 sqm), Buma’s Quattro Business Park III (12,200 sqm) and East-West Development’s Amsterdam building, the first phase of Orange Office Park.

Karolina Kowalska

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Hospitality

www.wbj.pl

17

Economy

The plans include the introduction of two brands new to the Polish market

COURTESY OF WARIMPEX

British hotelier InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) plans to expand in Poland, increasing its number of hotels to 40. Currently IHG has seven hotels in its Polish portfolio with a total of some 1,300 rooms, including the landmark InterContinental Warsaw, Holiday Inn Express Warsaw Airport and Holiday Inn Kraków City Centre.

The construction of two more IHG hotels will be launched in Poland soon. In June construction work will commence on the site of the three-star, four-storey Holiday Inn Express Katowice, which will comprise 124 rooms. The construction of Holiday Inn Warszawa Mokotów will be launched in October.

IHG has confirmed it wants to open more hospitality facilities in Poland from the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands in the next three to five years. There are also plans to introduce Hotel Indigo, a chain of boutique hotels, promoted as “the industry’s first branded bou-

volume in CEE in Q1 2013 was three times bigger than in the same period of last year

The InterContinental Hotel Warsaw is the firm’s signature building in Poland tique experience” and the Crowne Plaza brand in Poland’s largest cities. Crowne Plaza is a chain of full-service upscale hotels catering mainly to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market.

Angeli Brav, general director for Central Europe at IHG,

said that the company’s target cities for the new hotels in Poland are Gdaƒsk, Szczecin and Wroc∏aw. The expansion in Poland is a part of a bigger project in Europe, which includes opening 87 new hotels in Russia and some new facilities in Germany and the UK. Karolina Kowalska

Total commercial real estate investment volume in Central and Eastern Europe in the first quarter of 2013 reached €2.6 billion, according to a new report by real estate advisory CBRE. The most active markets were Russia (€1.8 billion) and Poland (€600 million). The total investment volume for the region was three times that of Q1 2012 and is also the best first-quarter result in four years.

Offices and retail continue to dominate, the report said.

Those sectors represent 44 percent and 37 percent of the CEE market respectively. For Poland offices were the clear leader, representing some 71 percent of the market. Retail accounted for 10 percent.

Industrial properties are becoming increasingly popular.

They constituted 19 percent of total property investment volume in Q1 2013 in CEE and 17 percent in Poland.

The most significant deals

COURTESY OF SKANSKA PROPERTY POLAND

InterContinental to open over €2.6 bln transacted in CEE in Q1 The commercial real 30 more hotels in Poland estate transaction

RREEF purchased Green Corner from Skanska Property Poland for €94.6 million in Poland in Q1 2013 were RREEF’s acquisition of Green Corner from Skanska Property Poland for €94.6 million and Hines Global REIT’s acquisition of New City from ECI for €127 million, both in Warsaw.

While smaller economies within the CEE region also saw an increase in transaction volumes, the biggest deals were closed in Moscow. Metropolis shopping center was acquired for around €900 million by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and AFI Development completed its acquisition of the remaining 50 percent in Aquamarine BC III. “Of the 14 percent of investors who see the CEE as the most attractive investment

choice for 2013, the majority considers Poland to be the most attractive market, and the preference for Poland exceeds that of France, Spain and the Nordics,” said Mike Atwell, head of capital markets for CEE and Poland at CBRE. “In terms of cities, Warsaw was seen as the fifth-most attractive city for purchases in 2013,” Mr Atwell added.

When it comes to industrial properties, a variety of factors are driving interest, including relatively low rent levels, limited development activity and a relatively high income component in total returns compared to more traditional asset classes.

Karolina Kowalska

18

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Financial services

Commercial Banks Ranked by revenue from interests and fees in 2012

Rank

A guide to Polish business and industry

www.bookoflists.pl

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Company name Address Tel./Fax E-mail Website

Revenue from interests and fees (z∏. mln)

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

Net profit (z∏. mln)

Gross profit on banking operations (z∏. mln)

C/I (Costs/Income) ratio (%)

2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Activities Current Phone Investment accounts / Commercial banking / banking / Savings loans / Online Securities accounts / Retail banking / trading / Hard loans / Private Leasing / currency Mortages banking Factoring accounts

Debit cards / Own ATMs / Forex tellers

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Top local executive / Title

CFO

1

Powszechna Kasa Oszcz´dnoÊci Bank Polski SA ul. Pu∏awska 15, 02-515 Warsaw 22 521-8440/22 521-8470 prasa@pkobp.pl www.pkobp.pl

16,829.0 15,875.0 14,296.2 12,366.6

17,574.5 16,278.6 14,781.7 13,015.3

3,748.6 3,807.2 3,216.9 2,305.5

11,569.9 11,142.3 10,197.6 8,867.8

39.9 39.6 41.7 47.9

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

28,556 1919

2

Bank Pekao SA ul. Grzybowska 53/57, 00-950 Warsaw 22 656-0000/22 656-0004 info@pekao.com.pl www.pekao.com.pl

11,114.0 10,338.0 9,348.0 9,464.0

12,138.0 11,249.0 10,312.0 10,678.0

2,956.0 2,899.0 2,530.0 2,412.0

7,824.0 7,671.0 7,212.0 7,019.0

47.1 47.5 50.6 52.1

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

19,816 1929

3

BRE Bank SA ul. Senatorska 18, 00-950 Warsaw 22 829-0000/22 829-0033 info@brebank.pl www.brebank.pl

5,750.8 5,169.7 4,600.5 4,454.5

6,441.9 5,849.6 WND 5,223.0

1,203.8 1,144.4 660.9 131.0

3,488.9 3,381.7 WND 2,758.0

46.4 47.7 WND 54.2

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND 1986

4

Bank Zachodni WBK SA ul. Rynek 9/11, 50-950 Wroc∏aw 61 856-4017/61 856-4015 rzecznik.prasowy@bzwbk.pl www.bzwbk.pl

5,463.5 4,972.4 4,686.2 4,760.5

5,913.7 5,369.1 5,057.8 5,171.0

1,462.6 1,226.9 1,040.6 939.2

4,086.6 3,773.1 3,491.1 3,238.3

43.9 50.2 49.9 50.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND 2001

Mateusz Morawiecki

5

Getin Noble Bank SA ul. Domaniewska 39, 02-675 Warsaw 22 522-8300/22 541-5159 bpr@getinbank.pl www.gnb.pl

5,308.0 4,906.0 4,109.0 3,538.0

5,534.0 5,863.0 4,298.0 3,715.0

386.0 979.0 460.0 314.0

2,230.0 3,160.0 2,233.0 1,714.0

37.4 27.4 32.8 36.5

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

-

✓ ✓

6,489 2010

Krzysztof Rosiƒski

6

ING Bank Âlàski SA ul. Sokolska 34, 40-086 Katowice 801-222-222 mampytanie@ingbank.pl www.ingbank.pl

4,974.0 4,555.6 4,065.8 4,162.8

5,086.2 4,595.3 4,141.4 4,276.1

832.3 880.1 753.1 595.1

3,165.4 2,912.4 2,690.4 2,480.2

56.9 56.3 58.3 58.8

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

8,687 1989

Ma∏gorzata Ko∏akowska

7

Bank Millennium SA ul. Stanis∏awa ˚aryna 2A, 02-593 Warsaw 801-331-331/22 598-2563 www.bankmillennium.pl

3,776.1 3,366.9 2,985.3 2,950.0

4,077.0 3,614.1 3,264.5 3,307.0

472.2 466.5 326.0 1.5

2,008.2 1,950.0 1,771.7 1,514.0

57.4 59.5 63.1 70.4

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND 1989

Bogus∏aw Kott

8

Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA ul. Pi´kna 20, 00-549 Warsaw 22 585-2001/22 585-2585 www.raiffeisenpolbank.com

2,942.9 1,992.0 1,373.5 1,376.0

3,694.7 2,451.7 1,706.5 1,759.4

8.1 340.0 238.2 118.0

1,853.0 1,493.5 1,143.3 989.1

71.0 55.9 54.6 57.4

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

WND 1991

Piotr Czarnecki

9

Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA ul. Senatorska 16, 00-923 Warsaw 22 657-7200/22 692-5023 listybh@citi.com www.citihandlowy.pl

2,783.0 2,680.0 2,721.0 2,759.0

3,476.0 3,072.0 3,199.0 3,325.0

970.0 736.0 755.0 504.0

2,745.0 2,416.0 2,565.0 2,423.0

52.0 59.0 54.0 54.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

5,076 1870

S∏awomir Sikora

2,640.0 2,940.0 3,195.0 3,397.0

2,665.0 2,981.0 3,261.0 3,448.0

261.0 218.0 -135.0 53.0

1,802.0 1,982.0 2,225.0 2,269.0

74.1 65.9 -68.8 -64.5

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

6,074 1989

Richard Gaskin

Andras Bende

Geert Embrechts

Bank BPH SA Al. Pokoju 1, 31-548 Kraków 10 58 300-7500 pytanie@ge.com www.bph.pl

Zbigniew Jagie∏∏o Bartosz Drabikowski President

Luigi Lovaglio CEO

Cezary Stypu∏kowski Joerg Hessenmuller President

Silva Rojas

President

President

Rados∏aw Stefurak

Miros∏aw Boda

President

President

Prezes

President

11

Bank BG˚ ul. Kasprzaka 10/16, 01-211 Warsaw 801-123-456 www.bgz.pl

2,506.8 2,003.0 1,682.3 1,556.0

2,715.8 2,175.3 1,882.5 1,862.5

130.0 128.1 112.3 100.6

1,464.1 1,216.2 1,024.0 933.0

70.0 75.2 75.2 77.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

WND 1975

Monika Nachy∏a

12

Credit Agricole Bank Polska SA Pl. Orlàt Lwowskich 1, 53-605 Wroc∏aw 801-331-111/71 355-3005 www.credit-agricole.pl

2,498.9 2,646.5 1,965.1 WND

2,752.8 2,824.7 1,992.9 WND

198.8 308.3 42.7 WND

1,659.3 1,779.8 1,416.5 WND

65.2 59.7 55.8 WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ -

✓ -

6,378 1991

Romuald Szeliga

1,950.0 1,324.0 735.0 313.0

2,217.0 1,496.0 856.0 352.0

172.0 152.0 -104.0 -271.0

1,385.0 994.0 575.0 181.0

64.0 64.0 97.0 263.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

5,990 2008

Wojciech Sobieraj

Alior Bank SA Al. Jerozolimskie 94, 00-807 Warsaw 13 22 555-2222/22 555-2323 kontakt@alior.pl www.aliorbank.pl

Stefano Santini

Acting President

President

President

Julianna Boniuk

Piotr Konieczny

Witold Zieliƒski

Rados∏aw Ksi´˝polski

Witold Skrok

THE LIST

Rank

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Company name Address Tel./Fax E-mail Website

Revenue from interests and fees (z∏. mln)

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

Net profit (z∏. mln)

Gross profit on banking operations (z∏. mln)

C/I (Costs/Income) ratio (%)

2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Santander Consumer Bank SA ul. Strzegomska 42C, 53-611 Wroc∏aw 195 00 (info line) biuro@santanderconsumer.pl www.santanderconsumer.pl

www.wbj.pl

Activities Current Phone Investment accounts / Commercial banking / banking / Savings loans / Online Securities accounts / Retail banking / trading / Hard loans / Private Leasing / currency Mortages banking Factoring accounts

19

Debit cards / Own ATMs / Forex tellers

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Top local executive / Title

CFO

Jose Luis Sanchez Diaz

1,621.8 1,703.3 594.3 716.7

1,720.0 1,726.3 635.2 795.3

529.9 328.2 26.3 24.5

1,120.3 1,285.4 341.3 405.5

37.3 39.9 39.0 36.0

✓ -

✓ ✓ -

-

-

✓ -

2,211 2006

Piotr ˚abski

Nordea Bank Polska SA ul. Kielecka 2, 81-303 Gdynia 15 58 669-1000/58 669-1110 poczta@nordea.com www.nordea.pl

1,382.0 1,182.0 890.0 804.0

1,510.0 1,415.0 1,126.0 975.0

151.0 297.0 259.0 154.0

946.0 981.0 789.0 593.0

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

2,011 1992

S∏awomir ˚ygowski

Deutsche Bank PBC SA Al. Armii Ludowej 26, 00-609 Warsaw 16 22 579-9800/22 579-9001 info.dbpbc@db.com www.deutschebank.pl

1,334.0 1,243.0 WND WND

1,608.0 1,097.0 WND WND

171.0 166.0 WND WND

951.0 969.0 WND WND

63.4 61.1 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

2,279 2001

Leszek Niemycki

Euro Bank SA ul. Âw. Miko∏aja 72, 50-126 Wroc∏aw 17 19 000/71 795-5501 eurobank@eurobank.pl www.eurobank.pl

1,234.0 1,398.0 WND WND

1,329.0 1,465.0 WND WND

138.0 72.0 WND WND

826.0 995.0 WND WND

44.4 40.5 WND WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ ✓ -

2,745 2003

Patrice Cheroutre

BNP Paribas Bank Polska SA ul. Suwak 3, 02-676 Warsaw 18 22 566-9000/22 566-9010 info@bnpparibas.pl www.bnpparibas.pl

1,204.8 1,181.5 1,113.0 1,089.0

1,353.3 1,267.7 1,218.0 1,087.0

30.8 39.4 42.0 -429.0

815.8 784.1 849.0 570.0

74.0 76.4 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

WND 1991

Frederic Amoudru

Bank Ochrony Ârodowiska SA Al. Jana Paw∏a II 12, 00-950 Warsaw 19 801-355-455 bos@bosbank.pl www.bosbank.pl

999.0 918.8 743.8 662.2

1,047.1 975.1 809.2 703.4

58.5 58.7 54.1 13.8

432.3 423.9 394.8 340.9

73.7 74.4 76.0 85.1

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

1,745 1990

Mariusz Klimczak Stanis∏aw Kolasiƒski

Bank Pocztowy SA ul. Jagielloƒska 17, 85-959 Bydgoszcz 20 52 349-9100/52 327-0407 informacja@pocztowy.pl www.pocztowy.pl

527.7 424.0 332.2 305.2

555.2 437.5 353.0 315.1

45.4 29.6 14.4 5.9

298.3 258.5 221.2 221.5

72.6 80.6 87.8 81.0

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ -

1,579 1990

Tomasz Bogus

Idea Bank SA ul. Domaniewska 39, 02-672 Warsaw 21 22 288-8012/22 288-8211 kontakt@ideabank.pl www.ideabank.pl

460.9 140.0 NA NA

530.3 170.9 NA NA

70.0 11.1 NA NA

270.1 105.6 NA NA

61.0 72.0 NA NA

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ -

1,766 2010

Jaros∏aw Augustyniak

Deutsche Bank Polska SA Al. Armii Ludowej 26, 00-609 Warsaw 22 579-9000/22 579-9001 www.db-polska.pl

395.0 334.0 279.0 238.0

470.0 400.0 341.0 354.0

131.0 109.0 82.0 113.0

247.0 226.0 191.0 212.0

35.0 40.0 48.0 41.0

-

✓ -

-

✓ ✓ -

-

192 1995

Krzysztof Kalicki

Rabobank Polska SA ul. Bielaƒska 12, 00-085 Warsaw 23 22 278-8201/22 278-8205 info-waw@rabobank.com www.rabobank.pl

281.0 310.0 WND 366.0

284.0 313.0 WND 372.0

26.0 39.0 WND 16.0

84.0 99.0 WND 90.0

60.0 50.0 WND 39.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ -

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ ✓

-

55 1993

Jerzy Jacek Szugajew

INVEST-BANK SA ul. Ostrobramska 77, 04-175 Warsaw 24 801-445-566/22 514-5109 twoj.doradca@investbank.pl www.investbank.pl

189.2 187.1 190.6 214.0

238.5 209.0 206.9 232.0

8.9 3.4 3.7 2.0

117.4 122.6 119.9 139.0

92.4 89.8 92.7 88.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ ✓ ✓

974 1991

Gra˝yna Niewolik

Volkswagen Bank Polska SA Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw 25 22 538-7000/22 538-7070 info@vwbank.pl www.vwbank.pl

177.0 172.0 180.0 203.0

233.0 233.0 216.0 236.0

19.0 26.0 32.0 17.0

106.0 111.0 115.0 112.0

97.0 82.0 57.0 62.0

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ ✓ -

-

-

340 1997

Jaros∏aw Konieczka

FM Bank ul. Solec 38, 00-394 Warsaw 26 22 568-3500/22 568-3610 info@fmbank.pl www.fmbank.pl

162.2 95.4 NA NA

WND WND NA NA

WND WND NA NA

117.2 73.8 NA NA

WND WND NA NA

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ -

-

-

573 2010

Henryk Pietraszkiewicz

Tomasz Maciejewski

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

6.3 -12.0 WND WND

198.7 121.6 WND WND

52.3 67.2 WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓ -

-

✓ -

778 1990

Piotr Urbaƒczyk

Jacek Czechowski

14

22

Meritum Bank ICB SA ul. Ch∏opska 53, 80-350 Gdaƒsk NR 58 778-8888/58 767-0700

klient@meritumbank.pl www.meritumbank.pl

Notes: NA = Not Applicable, NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in March/April 2013. Capital groups provided consolidated data. All information pertains to the banks’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

President

President

President

President

President

President

President

President

Bohdan Tillack

Piotr Gemra

Micha∏ Pluta

Jan Bujak

Pawe∏ Sp∏awski

Ma∏gorzata Szturmowicz

Zbigniew B´tkowski

Krzysztof Zajàc

President

President

President

President

Jacek Sieniawski

Bartosz Piech

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 mbrysiak@valkea.com. 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.

20

MARKETS

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

14,700.80 (Apr 25 close)

S&P500

3,289.99 (Apr 25 close)

1.13% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,585.16 (Apr 25 close)

3.90% (for the week)

DAX

6,442.60 (Apr 25 close)

2.82% (for the week)

3.19% (for the week)

All’s well that ends well

NIKKEI 7,832.86 (Apr 25 close)

13,926.08 (Apr 25 close)

4.81% (for the week)

5.34% (for the week)

CHANGE: 9.60% (year to Apr 25)

CHANGE: 5.71% (year to Apr 25)

CHANGE: 8.39% (year to Apr 25)

CHANGE: 6.89% (year to Apr 25)

CHANGE: 0.70% (year to Apr 25)

CHANGE: 30.30% (year to Apr 25)

52-week high: 14,887.51

52-week high: 3,306.95

52-week high: 1,597.35

52-week high: 6,533.99

52-week high: 8,074.47

52-week high: 13,974.26

52-week low: 12,035.09

52-week low: 2,726.68

52-week low: 1,266.74

52-week low: 5,229.76

52-week low: 5,914.43

52-week low: 8,238.96

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst In the week of April 22 stocks saw moderate gains after investors across the Atlantic had experienced their worst week of the year so far between April 15 and 19. Polish stocks, as has been the trend in recent months, underperformed most European indices.

Monday started off well, with most blue chips trading higher, while small and medium-sized stocks lagged behind. Shares of Handlowy and KGHM saw strong gains, earning more than 2 percent for their investors. A weak opening in the United States reversed gains, with the bluechip WIG20 index closing flat, while the main WIG index closed lower by 0.2 percent.

Tuesday’s session was disappointing for Polish stocks.

With most of Europe trading higher and a slew of strong

Major indices WIG

43,482.18 (April 25 close)

WIG20

2,288.09 (April 25 close)

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

11.04

10.04

09.04

08.04

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

2,200

11.04

43,000

10.04

2,260

09.04

44,000

08.04

2,320

05.04

45,000

04.04

2,380

03.04

46,000

02.04

2,440

28.03

47,000

27.03

2,500

26.03

48,000

05.04

52-week low: 2,035.80

04.04

Change year to April 25: -12.87%

03.04

52-week low: 36,653.28

02.04

52-week high: 2,628.36

Change year to April 25: -9.62%

28.03

Change for the week: 0.83%

27.03

52-week high: 48,222.72

26.03

Change for the week: 0.27%

Top 5 ALTERCO 06MAGNA MISPOL PGODLEW GANT

Closing 1.23 0.21 1.00 2.47 1.46

% change (week) 52-week high 57.69 25.78 31.25 0.36 28.21 1.50 23.50 2.51 19.67 7.79

52-week low 0.66 0.13 0.70 1.57 1.08

Top 5 TAURONPE HANDLOWY KGHM GTC TPSA

Closing 4.16 96.00 146.00 7.81 6.69

% change (week) 6.67 5.49 4.14 3.86 2.76

52-week high 5.11 102.10 194.80 10.25 17.34

52-week low 3.84 64.20 92.14 5.13 6.23

Bottom 5 REGNON MOSTALWAR BAKALLAND DREWEX AGROTON

Closing 0.01 2.98 1.50 0.21 2.36

% change (week) -50.00 -40.40 -34.78 -34.38 -31.59

52-week low 0.01 2.90 1.31 0.15 1.13

Bottom 5 KERNEL SYNTHOS BORYSZEW ASSECOPOL LOTOS

Closing 50.00 4.56 0.44 42.20 38.80

% change (week) -6.54 -4.00 -2.22 -2.09 -2.02

52-week high 76.00 6.00 0.73 50.90 45.45

52-week low 47.25 4.29 0.40 38.80 22.66

52-week high 0.09 16.85 4.33 0.84 19.61

Currency report

Big moves ahead?

Other indices sWIG80

10,327.20 (April 25 close)

NewConnect

31.24 (April 25 close)

52-week high: 11,245.80

WIG-Banki

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

11.04

52-week low: 8,984.43

10.04

05.04

04.04

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

10,200

11.04

2,400

10.04

10,380

09.04

2,480

08.04

10,560

05.04

2,560

04.04

10,740

03.04

2,640

02.04

10,920

28.03

2,720

27.03

11,100

26.03

2,800

03.04

Change year to April 25: -1.94%

02.04

52-week low: 2,147.52

28.03

Change year to April 25: -2.95%

27.03

Change for the week: -0.85%

26.03

52-week high: 2,718.31

09.04

2,492.91 (April 25 close)

08.04

mWIG40 Change for the week: -1.10%

6,127.49 (April 25 close)

Change for the week: -0.57%

52-week high: 40.98

Change for the week: -0.54%

52-week high: 6,723.16

Change year to April 25: -5.96%

52-week low: 30.93

Change year to April 25: -8.86%

52-week low: 5,163.30

SOURCE: WSE

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

11.04

10.04

09.04

08.04

05.04

04.04

03.04

02.04

28.03

26.03

25.04

24.04

23.04

22.04

19.04

18.04

17.04

15.04

12.04

11.04

10.04

09.04

6,100

08.04

31.0

05.04

6,200

04.04

31.4

03.04

6,300

02.04

31.8

28.03

6,400

27.03

32.2

26.03

6,500

27.03

6,600 32.6

corporate earnings released late in the day from across the Atlantic, the gains seen throughout Europe – the DAX up 2.34 percent, the CAC40 up 3.24 percent – did not extend to Eastern Europe.

The WIG closed nearly half a percent lower, while the WIG20 shed 0.2 percent.

Shares rose on Wednesday on more strong corporate earnings and speculation that the European Central Bank would cut interest rates.

A lack of stimuli left stocks trading sideways for most of Thursday. The mid-cap mWIG40 index finally saw some revival, seeing the largest rise of all Polish indices, closing 0.83 percent higher.

Friday was another good day, with the WIG ending up 0.42 percent and the WIG20 finishing 0.26 percent higher. ●

Weak macroeconomic data from the German economy and from other euro zone countries put downward pressure on the euro. The ECB press conference after the interest rate decision on May 2 should be very interesting.

The market expects the central bank to do something in order to fight the visible slowdown.

What can be done? The ECB has a few options, but I think cutting interest rates from the current 0.75 percent is the last resort (then the deposit rate, the rate at which commercial banks can deposit funds with the ECB, would have to drop below 0 percent).

The EUR/USD is waiting for a strong impulse. In the week of April 22 it traded in the $1.2975-$1.3090 range but I expect the first week of May to be more volatile.

The Polish z∏oty market reacted to weaker European data but also to local news.

The unemployment rate remained above 14 percent, while retail sales increased by only 0.1 percent in March (on an annual basis). The EUR/PLN broke from the range in which it had been trading during the previous week and continued to increase to reach z∏.4.16 by the end of the week.

The USD/PLN headed in the same direction, advancing from z∏.3.14 all the way to z∏.3.20 throughout the course of the week. Liquidity on the z∏oty should be lower in the week of April 29, as markets will be closed on Wednesday and Friday in Poland. The lack of liquidity offers a chance for large market movements on the z∏oty if foreign traders enter the market. ●

currency rates 3.2374 26.04

3.2010 25.04

SOURCE: NBP

3.1952 24.04

3.1518 22.04

3.2239

3.1652 19.04

0.1015

0.1020 26.04

3.0

23.04

PLN-100JPY

3.5

25.04

0.1008 24.04

0.1002 23.04

22.04

0.0998 19.04

3.3648

3.3843 26.04

0.090

0.0994

PLN-RUB

0.103

25.04

3.3682 24.04

3.3840 23.04

22.04

3.3777 19.04

4.9041

4.9316 26.04

3.35

3.3666

PLN-CHF

3.45

25.04

4.8598 24.04

4.8406 23.04

22.04

4.8235 19.04

3.1792

3.1943 26.04

4

4.7926

PLN-GBP

5

25.04

3.1823 24.04

3.1811 23.04

3.1448 22.04

26.04

25.04

3.1

19.04

3.1409

4.1588

4.1518

4.1403 24.04

23.04

PLN-USD

3.3

4.1025 22.04

4.1118 19.04

4.1

4.1293

PLN-EUR

4.2

SPORTS

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Soccer

www.wbj.pl

21

American football

Lewandowski masterclass Seahawks top Eagles again Borussia Dortmund taught Real Madrid a tough lesson in soccer in the Champions League last week, as Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scored all of his side’s goals in a 4-1 rout over the Spanish champions at the Westfalenstadion.

The first semifinal leg started at an electric pace, with Dortmund launching wave after wave of counter attacks as they consistently regained possession in the middle of the pitch before breaking courtesy of Polish national team captain Jakub B∏aszczykowski and the very impressive Marco Reus, whose direct running caused Real problems all night.

It was somewhat inevitable that the pressure would eventually tell and with just eight minutes on the clock Mario Gotze, the man labeled “Judas” by some Dortmund fans due to his impending move to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, supplied a perfect cross for Mr Lewandowski, who lost his marker before toe-poking the ball home. The goal sent the “Yellow Wall,” as Borussia’s south stand is known, absolute-

When the Warsaw Eagles and the Gdynia Seahawks last met, the two teams ran up a total of 89 points at Warsaw’s National Stadium in the PLFA’s Topliga championship, the Superfina∏, last July. When they met again last Saturday, at the Eagles’ new home on ul. Konwiktorska in one the early season’s most anticipated fixtures, they only managed 27. The end result was

Robert Lewandowski scored four goals in Borussia Dortmund’s rout of Real Madrid ly wild as Mr Gotze’s €37 million transfer to Bayern was forgotten, at least for the night.

But despite Dortmund being the better team, the two sides still went in to the break level as Real capitalized on a defensive mix-up that enabled Cristano Ronaldo an easy tapin to secure his 51st goal of the season, just before halftime.

Yet whatever head coach Jurgen Klopp said during the interval certainly worked, as his Dortmund side was unstoppable in the second half. Just five minutes in, Mr Lewandowski scored again after he turned expertly before firing low past the helpless Diego

Lopez.

If Mr Lewandowski’s second was good, his third was truly spectacular, as with his back to goal he controlled the ball with his left foot, before spinning around with his right and then firing an unstoppable shot in to the top corner. In the 67th minute he then completed a wonderful night, converting a penalty after Xabi Alonso had carelessly fouled Mr Reus.

And while the 4-1 scoreline may have surprised some, it was no less than the German side deserved as they proved they definitely belong at the top table of European soccer.

David Ingham

the same, however, with the Seahawks prevailing 20-7 to run their winning streak to three straight against the Eagles and 14 straight overall dating back to last year.

The game started slow, with neither team threatening the end zone in the first quarter.

Finally, in the second quarter, Eagles quarterback Shane Gimzo put his team in a good position with a long run, and Clarence Douglas Anderson made the most of it with a 14yard touchdown run. Gdynia’s response was swift, however,

COURTESY OF PIOTR PIEKUT/PLFA

The defense took over in the second half to help Gdynia to a 20-7 victory over Warsaw

COURTESY OF BVB.DE/FACEBOOK

The Pole scored four in Dortmund’s stunning victory over Real

The Seahawks’ Jeremy Dixon runs past his former Eagles teammates in the fourth quarter

with Gdynia quarterback Ferni Garza’s passing leading the Seahawks down the field on an impressive drive that ended in a Marcin Bluma touchdown reception. The Eagles led 7-6 at halftime.

The Seahawks defense held the Eagles without a first down in the third quarter. Mr Garza finally gave Gdynia the lead late in the quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass to his 19-yearold receiver Patryk KordyÊ. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and the score was 12-7 going into the final frame, in which Jeremy Dixon ran past his former Eagles teammates, completing the final score of the game.

The Seahawks are now 4-0 on the season, and currently hold a commanding lead over the other teams in the Topliga North Division. The Eagles, on the other hand, are now at 1-1, trailing Koz∏y Poznaƒ by a half game. The Seahawks and Eagles will meet again later this year, in Gdynia on June 9.

In the weekend’s other games, the Wroc∏aw Giants topped the AZS Silesia Rebels 55-13, Koz∏y Poznaƒ beat the Warsaw Spartans 47-8 and Devils Wroc∏aw beat the Zag∏´bie Steelers Interpromex 48-7.

Alex Zarganis

22

LIFESTYLE

www.wbj.pl

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

Museums

Concert

Night vision

XX factor The xx May 14 Torwar ul. ¸azienkowska 6A, Warsaw

SHUTTERSTOCK

The xx burst on to the music scene with their widely acclaimed debut album “XX,” released in 2009. The record, which contains the hits “Crystalised” and “Islands,” achieved almost universal acclaim, capturing the coveted Mercury Music Prize, as well as being

Night of Museums May 18-19, 7 pm – 9 am This year sees the 10th edition of the Night of Museums, one of the most popular events on Warsaw’s cultural calendar.

Over 200 institutions, including 47 galleries and museums, as well as theaters, government buildings and even the National Stadium, will be open throughout the night, enabling anyone in the capital to venture inside free of charge.

Among the many standout events, the Warsaw Fotoplas-

tikon will display unusual threedimensional photographs of “Warsaw 100 years ago,” while Dom Kultury Rakowiec has prepared a remarkable artistic journey into the world of symbols and myths, which includes live music from the group Babadag.

But although the exhibits on show are the main draw for the evening, street parties, and a great atmosphere of togetherness also combine to make this a not-to-be-missed event, with more than 200,000 set to be in

attendance.

Speaking about what makes the event special, organizers say, “The Night of Museums is a phenomenon, creating a huge annual place for public meetings. This is a time when you can combine education with entertainment, unforgettable aesthetic experiences, art and the ability to discover and enrich the each other.”

David Ingham

For more information, log on to noc-muzeow.pl

COURTESY OF ALTER ART

The National Stadium in Warsaw will be open to the public during Night of Museums

The xx

voted number-one in The Guardian’s list of the year’s best albums. It spent over 100 weeks in the UK album charts and has sold millions worldwide.

Mixing emotional lyrics with stripped-down guitars and electronic beats, the group has struck a chord with a whole generation of music fans, and since their release of another critically acclaimed record, their appeal has only grown.

The xx’s second studio release “Coexist” came out in Novem-

ber last year and on the back of single “Chained” helped cement their place as one of the most original and talented groups on today’s music scene.

This Warsaw show is their first ever in the Polish capital and comes as part of their current world tour, which will see them play across Europe, Asia and the US this spring and summer.

David Ingham

For more information, log on to torwar.cos.pl

LAST WORD

APRIL 29 – MAY 12, 2013

www.wbj.pl

23

Tech Eye

The Numi Comfort Height Due to a dental emergency, Techeye spent much of last week drifting in a codeine-induced haze. It wasn’t as fun as it sounds, due to the grotesque facial swelling and the merciless, radiating ache which never ever stopped, not ever, as it eroded the ragged facade of sanity that allows us to maintain normal relations with other humans.

At least we learned that you should never gnaw on something discovered under a couch. That’s the “molar” of the story, so to speak.

Anyway, dear readers, it was a drugged, swollen and demented

water-efficient flush mechanism, though it sounds rather pedestrian compared to the rest of the features.

Still, anything that lowers your bills is welcome, as the Numi Comfort Height costs a great grunting sum of money: $6,650.

That’s the only interesting toilet we could find on short notice, but we did come across some other waterefficient products, like the LG Styler from – as you probably guessed – LG. The LG Styler is a “clothing management system” which “uses a com-

The LG Styler

bination of technologies including steam to help reduce wrinkles and odors on clothing.” Now, steam has not been an innovative technology since the Victorian era, but the device offers two functions that the Victorians never had: the provocative Steam Spray and the enigmatic Moving Hanger Action. Price and availability aren’t clear yet, but we expect this to hit the market within a year.

Intriguingly, LG is also working on a completely water-free washing machine. How this works is a mystery for now, but – according to a rumor we just invented – the device uses saliva harvested from the elderly.

And with that, let’s turn to the blandly named GE Cafe Series French Door Refrigerator with Hot Water, which we shall henceforth refer to by the equally bland acronym GECSFDRwHW. Whatever you call it, this freestanding fridge is a capacious beast, with 809 cubic liters of storage space.

The key feature is its hot-water dispenser, targeted at consumers too impatient to wait 45 seconds for an electric kettle to boil. The temperature is carefully regulated by the appliance, which adds an element of

COURTESY OF GE

man that sat down to write this column, which wouldn't be unusual, except that this time we also had a toothache. In our desperation to finish quickly, we turned to our favorite kind of gadget: the techno-toilet.

Pictured is the Numi Comfort Height from US-based toilet-crafter Kohler, whose website literally invites you to “explore” its toilets. If you recognize the rectangular shape of the Numi Comfort Height, or its inverted aquiline profile, that might be because we covered its predecessor a few years ago. Or maybe you’ve got posh friends.

Kohler’s latest uber-toilet provides “the finest in personal comfort and cleansing.” It boasts a touchscreen remote, an auto-open/close function, an integrated bidet, a heated seat and a foot warmer. Its namesake feature “offers chair-height seating that makes sitting down and standing up easier for most adults,” and there’s ambient lighting, a radio and integrated speakers to add a bit of rumble to the experience. Our favorite feature is the “welcome music” which plays whenever the toilet opens. We’d choose “Ode to Joy.” One final selling point is the

COURTESY OF LG

COURTESY OF KOHLER

Dental distress and toilet humor

The GE Cafe Series French Door Refrigerator with Hot Water precision you may or may not care about.

Otherwise, the GECSFDRwHW offers the usual assortment of highend fridge features, like a temperature-controlled drawer, an odor filter, and a “pharmaceutical” water filter. The price for all of this: $3,099.

That might sound high, but remember that this is an important investment. Indeed, if Techeye had a decent fridge, maybe we wouldn’t be eating food scrounged from under our furniture. Maybe. ●

Ever attempted to wax poetic about a toilet while swollen and moaning piteously? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com

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