WBJ #7 2012

Heads are rolling over the National Stadium’s delays

The WSE’s president is preparing to clean up NewConnect

Polish scientists have genetically modified pigs for transplant organs 14

5

WWW.WBJ.PL

21

VOLUME 18, NUMBER 7 • FEBRUARY 20-26, 2011 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

REAL ESTATE

Sick and tired COURTESY OF QUESTIA

Lokale Immobilia

• Blackstone completes acquisition • ROBYG president interview • Neinver’s Warsaw outlet 15-18

A new act on pharmaceutical reimbursement is causing no end of confusion. Will the government be able to find a cure?

12-13

COURTESY OF JOANNA ERBEL

Interview: Wanda Nowicka

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

The Sejm’s deputy speaker is on a mission to bring women's issues to the fore 8-9

In this issue

SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK

COURTESY OF KPRM

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-5 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . .10 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13 WSE in Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-18 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Losing popularity

Nuclear setbacks

A number of mishaps by the government have served to undermine support for the ruling party 4, 11

The first plant is now expected to be at full capacity five years later than planned, but who will host it?

6

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

German president resigns Christian Wulff announced last Friday he was resigning as president of Germany.

The move was announced after prosecutors called for his legal immunity to be lifted. Mr Wulff has been accused of accepting a low-interest loan from the wife of a wealthy businessman and criticized for trying to force the daily Bild not to publish the story in the first place. But Mr Wulff had previously made clear he intended to remain in his post. The situation changed when state prosecutors in Hannover asked the German parliament to end his legal immunity.

AP style guide bans use of ‘Polish camps’ The Associated Press has officially changed its style guide to rule out the expression “Polish death camps.” The entry banning the term reads: “Concentration camps.

For World War II camps in countries occupied by Nazi Germany, do not use phrases like Polish death camps that confuse the location and the perpetrators. Use instead, for example, death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland.”

Poland’s Foreign Ministry applauded the move, stressing that Polish diplomats and the Polish community abroad have for years fought against the use of the term. The AP follows The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, among others, in banning the term.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Numbers in the News

Poland’s pension reforms

z∏.3,666.41 was the average gross wage in Poland in January 2012, according to the Central Statistical Office.

63% is the share of Poles who disapprove of the prime minister, according to a recent poll by TNS OBOP.

60% is the share of Poles who oppose adopting the euro. In 2002, 64 percent supported moves to include Poland in the single European currency bloc.

The government submitted its controversial pension reform bill for social consultation on February 14, a move which has given new life to the debate about the pros and cons of increasing the retirement age.

The new bill, if enacted, would see the retirement age increased incrementally from 2013, meaning men will retire at 67 by 2020 and women at the same age by 2040.

However, the plans, which were proposed by the Civic Platform-led government, have generated widespread disagreement among Poland’s main political parties. In society as a whole, many workers and trade unions are at odds with business leaders, many of whom argue in favor of the move.

Those who support the pension reforms believe the state will be unable to provide for its retired population in the future without raising the retirement age, while those in

opposition say that although the system needs reforming, increasing the length of time people have to work is not the fairest solution.

Opinions on the best alternative are varied, to say the least. The largest opposition party, Law and Justice, wants to see the system that is currently in place in Canada implemented in Poland.

Under that system, citizens pay a prescribed amount each month, which guarantees them a standard pension when they reach the retirement age. Civic Platform’s coalition partner, the Polish People’s Party, wants to see the retirement age for women reduced by three years for every child they give birth to.

Pressing ahead Prime Minister Donald Tusk is pressing ahead with the reforms, despite the contentious nature of the bill. “I know that this decision does not

spark enthusiasm, but someone has to make it. We decided that this is one of the last moments to do so,” he said.

Mr Tusk has received support from President Bronis∏aw Komorowski, who said changes to the pension system were an inevitable consequence of an aging society and a declining birth rate.

In Brussels, the prevailing view is also in line with the Polish prime minister’s.

“Higher unemployment, lower growth, higher national debt levels and financial market volatility have made it harder for all systems to deliver on pension promises,” the European Commission wrote in a statement.

Currently 10 percent of the EU’s GDP goes toward pensions. The figure is set to rise to 12.5 percent by 2060, when as few as two people could be working for each citizen over the age of 65.

12 months is how long the Ministry of Administration and Digitization wants telecom operators to keep data.

Currently they have to safeguard data for 24 months, the longest period in the EU.

Quote of the Week “I was wrong.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, on his initial position supporting the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) treaty. He has now asked the European Parliament to reject the agreement.

Figures in focus Seaborne trading places Total gross weight of seaborne goods handled in all ports, selected EU27 countries in 2010 (in million metric tons) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Netherlands* UK

Italy

Spain Germany Greece Portugal Poland Cyprus Malta**

*Highest in EU27 **Lowest in EU27

David Ingham Source: Eurostat

On WBJ.pl

KBC Securities ..........................................7

APA Wojciechowski......................................15

LC Corp ....................................................15

Atal ................................................................17

Master Management Group ....................16

Atelier3

Mercedes-Benz Polska..............................7

Girtler&Girtler..............................................15

Mermaid Properties ................................18

Avtech Aviation & Engineering ..................14

Moody’s ..............................................10, 19

Bank Pekao ....................................................7

National Sports Centre............................21

Bank Zachodni WBK ..................................10

Neinver......................................................15

Bentley ............................................................7

Parkridge Retail Poland ..........................16

Blackstone....................................................16

Pekoa SA ..............................................7, 19

BRE Bank ......................................................7

PGE..............................................................6

Budimex..................................................13, 15

PGNiG..........................................................6

BZ WBK ....................................................7, 10

PKO BP ......................................................7

CBRE Global Investors................................16

Porsche Warsaw ........................................7

Centrex............................................................6

Project Syndicate......................................11

CMS Corporate

PwC ..........................................................14

MIPIM

Management Services ................................14

Rank Progress..........................................16

MIPIM is the world’s leading international real estate fair. Over 4,000 investors and over 19,000 participants attend these four days of workshops, debates and networking.

Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France mipim.com

Cushman & Wakefield ................................18

Rialto Restaurant ....................................22

E.ON ................................................................6

ROBYG ................................................15, 17

Edison ............................................................6

RWE ............................................................6

EGL..................................................................6

Schrack Seconet ......................................17

Eni....................................................................6

Shell Energy Europe ..................................6

Ferrari ............................................................7

SMG KRC ..............................................4, 11

GasTerra ........................................................6

TNS OBOP ............................................4, 11

Gazprom ........................................................6

TVN......................................................13, 19

Getin ..............................................................19

Unibep ......................................................15

Globe Trade Centre......................................17

VeriFone Poland ......................................17

GWH Gashandel ............................................6

Warsaw Stock Exchange........14, 16, 17, 19

IMS Health....................................................12

Warszawska

ING Âlàski ......................................................7

Spó∏dzielnia Mieszkaniowa......................15

Inpro ..............................................................17

Withings ....................................................23

Jarre Technologies ......................................23

X-Trade Brokers ................................10, 19

DATELINE

February/March FEB 29 – MAR 1 Event:

Location: Web:

EXPOCHEM

This two-day meeting allows Polish and foreign firms in the chemical sector to meet, do business and establish partnerships.

Spodek, Katowice expochem.pl

6 -9 Event:

Location: Web:

6-8

POLISH ECONOMIC CONGRESS

6-10

CEBIT 2012

Event:

This congress and its accompanying conferences offer debate on Poland’s current economic situation, along with discussions on specific issues in each sector.

Warsaw University of Technology polskikongresgospodarczy.pl

Event:

CeBIT is the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions.

Hannover, Germany cebit.de

Location: Web:

Location: Web:

Company index Alma..............................................................15

In the market for a new tablet?

A wave of new tablets are entering the Polish market, providing users with faster and better technology. As competition becomes more fierce, companies are increasingly looking for creative methods to lure consumers. Log onto WBJ.pl to find out how these tablets compare.

Report: shale not polluting The process of extracting shale gas does not lead to contamination of the water table or to the release of excessive levels of polluting gas into the atmosphere, according to a study conducted for Poland’s Ministry of Environment by experts from the Polish Geological Institute. The analysis, which bases its findings on a study of hydraulic fracturing performed on a borehole near the Polish village of ¸ebieƒ, is the first comprehensive report conducted on behalf of the Polish government into the environmental effects of shale-gas extraction. ●

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

SHUTTERSTOCK

2

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Politics

Steep drop in public support for prime minister, Civic Platform Poland’s ruling Civic Platform (PO) party has seen a sharp drop in public support in recent weeks, after the government took unpopular stances on several issues, opinion polls show.

A survey by SMG KRC earlier this month saw PO receive just 27 percent support, down 6 percentage points from January, with main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) polling at 23 percent, an increase of one percentage point.

A recent TNS OBOP poll painted an even more negative picture for Civic Platform, putting support for the party at 28 percent, 9 percentage points lower than in January, with PiS

COURTESY OF FLICKR/KPRM

Approval numbers for both Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his party have slumped after a series of unpopular moves

Surveys indicate that a majority of Poles are unhappy with Mr Tusk’s performance polling just 2 percentage points behind.

Another survey by the same pollster showed that 70 percent of Poles were dissatisfied with the government, while 63 percent said they were unhappy with Prime

Minister Donald Tusk’s performance.

Major missteps Despite winning an unprecedented second term in office just last October, PO and Mr Tusk have seen their populari-

Internet freedom

ty drop as a result of three major missteps, said Sergiusz Trzeciak, a political scientist at Collegium Civitas.

First, a controversial and seemingly ill-prepared piece of legislation intended to reform prescription-drug reimbursement was met with protests by doctors and pharmacists upon its introduction at the beginning of the year (see Cover Story, pp. 12-13).

Then, the prime minister pushed forward with the signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) treaty, which aims to protect intellectual property rights on the internet. Critics have argued that ACTA would limit freedom of expression. Mr Tusk’s stance sparked large protests in several Polish cities, and the government has since put ratification on hold, pending the results of a public consultation.

“ACTA was a major factor, particularly with young voters, because people who use the internet are more likely to vote for PO, so it harmed their own electorate,” Mr Trzeciak said.

“Mr Tusk should stick to his proposals, otherwise he will be seen as soft” Finally, Prime Minister Tusk’s government took heat over delays in the completion of Poland’s new National Stadium that led to the cancellation of Poland’s much-anticipated Super Cup Final soccer game. New Sport and Tourism Minister Joanna Mucha inspired little confidence when she asked journalists how the

two teams that compete in the Super Cup are chosen.

“PO was playing on the argument that ‘we have made mistakes but you have no alternative.’ However, their voters are now seeing that they [PO] are not as professional as they previously pretended to be,” Mr Trzeciak said.

So how should Civic Platform go about battling the negative perceptions? Mr Trzeciak said that if the PM were to make a U-turn and apologize for his government’s mistakes, it would play into the hands of the opposition parties.

“Mr Tusk should stick to his proposals if he wants to show he is not a mere politician but that he is a European statesman, even if this leads to a loss of public support … otherwise he will be seen as soft for not sticking to his principles,” he said.

David Ingham

Space technology

Polish government asks First-ever Polish satellite European Parliament to launched into space reject ACTA treaty Prime Minister Donald Tusk has completed the about-face his government started earlier this month on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

“I sent a letter today to all the party leaders who cooperate with Civic Platform and the Polish People’s Party in the European People’s Party, including prime ministers, the [German] chancellor, presidents of some countries and the leadership of the European People’s Party, with a proposal to reject ACTA in the shape that was negotiated by the European Commission,” Mr Tusk told a news conference last Friday evening.

The PM admitted that the position prepared by Polish officials on ACTA over the last few months had been “reckless.”

“I was wrong. … It would be a sin to maintain a mistaken belief … the agreement does not correspond to the reality of the 21st century. The battle for the right to property should also respect the right to freedom.”

On January 26, the European Commission and 22 EU countries – including Poland – signed the deal, joining Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US. But ACTA also needs to be ratified by the European Parliament and by each of the 27 EU member states in order to be implemented in the EU.

From Poland to Europe …

Large protests across Poland in January forced the government to soften its stance on ACTA – it halted the ratification process and held public consultations on the treaty.

Two weeks later, on February 11, tens of thousands of protesters marched in some 50 European cities, denouncing what they saw as an agreement that would give governments and internet providers the means to censor content and intrude on privacy online.

Over 25,000 protesters rallied in several cities across Germany, according to Reuters. Smaller numbers marched in Sofia (4,000), Prague (1,500), Paris (1,000), London and Warsaw (a few hundred each). Countries including the Czech Republic,

Germany, Latvia and Slovakia have now followed Poland’s lead and have frozen ACTA ratification.

… and the European Parliament Mr Tusk’s latest comments come as an increasing number of MEPs in the European Parliament have begun to openly criticize ACTA. Last week Joseph Daul, a member of the European Parliament and chairman of the European People’s Party, the EP’s largest political group, bluntly told reporters that “ACTA is dead.”

Although Mr Daul later issued a milder official statement on behalf of his party, comments from other MEPs and decisions by an increasing number of EU countries to freeze national ratification processes seem to have put the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in jeopardy.

Danuta Hübner, a Polish MEP in the European People’s Party, told WBJ that ACTA was unlikely to gather enough support in the European Parliament for ratification.

The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on ACTA in June.

Alice Trudelle

Last Monday the first-ever Polish satellite was launched into space. Called PW-Sat, the satellite was constructed by students of the Warsaw University of Technology and scientists from the Space Research Center at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The Vega rocket carrying the Polish satellite was launched in French Guyana from a spaceport that belongs to the European Space Agency.

An hour after the launch, the PW-Sat was detached so that it could continue on its mission. Around an hour later, it extended its antenna and began sending telemetry data to a communications station on the ground.

The satellite’s main mission is to test a new deorbiting system, which it is hoped can be used as a mechanism for selfdestruction by satellites that have completed their tasks.

“This satellite’s main goal is deorbiting, meaning PWSat’s mission is to selfdestruct,” Adam Okniƒski, coordinator of the Students’

COURTESY OF PAWE¸ STEFA¡CZYK, PW-SAT

Prime Minister Tusk has admitted he was wrong to support the treaty

The satellite’s mission is to test technology designed to reduce the amount of man-made debris in space

The satellite will test a new deorbiting system Rocketry Group at the Students’ Space Association at the Warsaw University of Technology, told WBJ. More deorbiting by larger numbers of decommissioned satellites means there will be less cosmic debris zooming around space. This man-made waste creates a hazard for important pieces of space equipment.

“Cosmic waste, like old satellites which are no longer in use, travels at high speeds of several hundred kilometers per second, and poses a threat to functioning satellites,” Mr Okniƒski said.

He explained that there is a growing need to remove old

satellites, which normally take four years to completely selfdestruct.

“We have created a new technology which functions by extending a long metal tail which creates greater resistance. Its resistance should be big enough for the speed and the height of the satellite to drop enough for it to burn up within one year, instead of four years,” Mr Okniƒski said.

If PW-Sat’s mission is successful, it should be destroyed within a year’s time. The total cost of the project was €500,000, according to the Polish Press Agency.

Izabela Depczyk

NEWS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

5

Genetic engineering

Mystery mountain Polish scientists make pig-organ man identified as transplant breakthrough war veteran Genetically modified

SHUTTERSTOCK

Researchers in Poland have genetically modified four pigs so that they possess a combination of two genes which make them genetically closer to humans than other pigs.

Human immune systems would be less likely to reject these pigs’ organs in the case of a transplant.

The breakthrough, made by experts at the Institute of Zootechnics in Kraków, brings scientists closer to being able to produce pigs whose body parts could be harvested for use in patients.

“This is an important discovery, as there is a shortage

The organs of genetically modified pigs could one day be used for human transplants

other animal that has a closer DNA match is the chimpanzee, with a 98 percent correlation.

“We use pigs rather than monkeys for two main reasons.

First of all, for ethical reasons, mainly monkeys being too similar, not just in terms of DNA makeup, to humans. Secondly, the breeding cycle of pigs is faster than that of monkeys.

Also, pigs’ organs are closer to those of humans in terms of size and weight,” professor Smoràg said.

The project, which is financed by the state budget, is planned to run until 2013, by which time researchers should be able to produce pigs that have a special combination of four genes. These will help to lower the immunological barrier even further.

However, it will be several years before pig organs can be used as transplants by humans, as the organs will have to be tested first – on monkeys.

of organs available for transplant,” professor Zdzis∏aw Smoràg, the leader of the project, told WBJ. Currently, the four pigs are genetically close enough to humans to have their skin, heart valves and cartilage used in pig-to-human body-part transplants, “since human bodies are less likely to reject these,” professor Smoràg said.

“The transplant of liver, heart or kidneys has a higher risk of rejection [by the human body],” he added.

“This is why we are continuing our work on getting pigs which have a complete set of four genes which decrease the immunological barrier. Ultimately the goal is to modify the pigs’ genes enough so that their heart, liver and kidneys could be used for transplant,” he said.

Pigs are similar to humans in terms of their DNA makeup. Some 94 percent of pig DNA matches with the DNA of a human being. The only

Izabela Depczyk

A man who was found alive in an unheated shed in Poland’s Tatra Mountains has been identified by his family as a veteran of the Iraq War. Frostbitten and unable to speak coherently, the man was only idenW∏odzimierz N. tified after his family saw his image on televi- Friday.

Thirty-six-year-old W∏odzsion. Only the man’s first name and the first letter of his imierz N. served in Lebanon surname – W∏odzimierz N. – and in the Iraq War before have been revealed to the being discharged from the military for medical reasons. media.

Responsibility for his He disappeared a year ago.

A Syrian doctor who treattreatment is being taken by the Defense Ministry, which ed Mr N. in Zakopane reportarranged for him to be trans- edly spoke to him in Arabic ferred from a hospital in the and English, drawing a southern Polish mountain response from the patient in town of Zakopane to a mili- both languages.

Gareth Price tary hospital in Warsaw last COURTESY OF THE ZAKOPANE POLICE

pigs could be the answer to the shortage of human organs for transplant

Photojournalism

Polish photographers Tomasz Lazar and Tomasz Gudzowaty were two of the 57 who were awarded in nine categories in the 55th edition of the World Press Photo competition, the world’s leading international contest for photojournalists.

The two Poles were in competition with over 5,000 photographers from 124 countries.

Tomasz Lazar was awarded second place in the category “People in the News,” while Tomasz Gudzowaty won third place in the “Sport” category.

Mr Lazar, a newcomer to the competition, received the accolade for a photograph that depicts an arrest during the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City’s Harlem district. The 27-year-old was in New York for a photo workshop when he started documenting the protests. “I was certainly lucky. I was in the right place at the right time,” he told daily Rzeczpospolita.

Mr Gudzowaty, who has won several awards in the competition since 1999, received his citation for a series of photos commissioned

by National Geographic Polska about Lucha Libre, a version of freestyle wrestling popular in Mexico. Mr Gud-

zowaty’s pictures have been published in established news and industry publications, as well as in several photo books, and exhibited worldwide. He is associated with Yours Gallery in Warsaw.

The winner of the World Press Photo of the Year 2011 is Spanish freelance photographer Samuel Aranda, for a photo the panel of 19 judges felt was representative of the Arab Spring movement. The photo, taken on October 15, 2011 for The New York Times in Sana’a, Yemen, depicts a veiled woman holding a wounded man in her arms.

“It is a photo that speaks for the entire region. It stands

for Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, for all that happened in the Arab Spring. But it shows a private, intimate side of what went on. And it shows the role that women played, not only as care-givers, but as active people in the movement,” Koyo Kouoh, a judge on the panel, said in a statement.

Prize-winning photographs from the World Press Photo competition will be exhibited in Poland twice this year, between April 27 and May 19 in Poznaƒ, and between November 11 and December 7 in Kraków.

Izabela Depczyk, Alice Trudelle

Polish photographer Tomasz Lazar took this picture of the Occupy Wall Street protests

Enjoy Tuscanyas the natives do!

COURTESY OF WORLD PRESS PHOTO

The Poles captured award-winning images of protests and wrestling

COURTESY OF WORLD PRESS PHOTO

Polish photographers awarded at World Press Photo contest

Tomasz Gudzowaty chronicled Lucha Libre wrestling in Mexico

We offer rooms with all of the most modern creature comforts: WiFi, minibar, satellite TV, and bathrooms with all the amenities. There's a pool, too.

We also offer delicious Tuscan cuisine and wines!

For more information, visit www.tuscanyrural.com, or call us at +39 056 456 7488

6

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Natural gas

Despite the move, Poland’s PGNiG has said it will push forward with arbitration hearings In exchange for an increase in gas purchases, Russian gas giant Gazprom has said it may lower prices for European recipients, including for Poland’s gas monopoly PGNiG, by 7 to 10 percent.

The announcement was made during an investors’

meeting at Gazprom’s headquarters in Moscow on February 10, where company representatives from firms such as RWE, Shell Energy Europe, E.ON, Eni, GWH Gashandel, Centrex, EGL and GasTerra, also took part in the proposed discussions.

Nonetheless, despite the purported proposal, PGNiG has released a statement saying that it had not received any proposal of changes to the commercial terms of the contract between PGNiG and Gazprom

Moreover, “no representative of PGNiG has made a statement that would describe the proposed price reduction of 7-10 percent reported by the media as attractive,” said Joanna Zakrzewska, a press officer from PGNiG, in the press release.

When contacted by WBJ, Ms Zakrzewska said PGNiG planned to continue its arbitration hearing against Gazprom in Stockholm to reduce gas prices. She added that the legal process was an ongoing one and

could last months.

However, Polish daily Parkiet reported that PGNiG was willing to negotiate with Gazprom over its latest proposal.

Italian firm Edison recently won a court case to have the price it pays Gazprom lowered.

The ruling will save it approximately $200 million a year.

In 2011, PGNiG purchased an estimated 9.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Gazprom, a decrease of almost 22 percent from 2010’s figure of 11.9 bilElla Pa∏ka lion.

COURTESY OF GAZPROM

Gazprom offers to lower gas prices in Europe

Gazprom has said it could reduce prices by 7-10 percent

Nuclear power

PGE: first nuclear plant will not reach full capacity until 2025 Originally, full capacity was expected in 2020, but the new date is considered “more realistic” Polish state-controlled energy group PGE has announced that Poland’s first nuclear plant will be brought up to full capacity five years later than previously planned.

PGE, which has been charged by the government

with overseeing Poland’s nuclear-energy plans, revealed in an investment plan that a nuclear plant with 1,530 MW of installed capacity will be brought to full capacity in 2025, instead of the originally planned 2020. A second nuclear plant is expected to reach full capacity four years later.

“PGE will produce some nuclear power between 2020 and 2025, although the latter date is when the first plant will

be at full capacity,” said Krzysztof Dragan, an investor relations official at the company.

The new date, Mr Dragan said, was “more realistic” than 2020, which is the date still contained in the government’s official plan.

“The government’s strategy will now also likely be adjusted to reflect our dates,” Mr Dragan added.

Planning permit issues and problems with technology, as

well as protests, are all considered to be potential hurdles for Poland’s nuclear ambitions.

‘Nie’ to nuclear Just last week residents of the municipality of Mielno voted against a proposal to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant in the local village of Gàski, one of the three sites shortlisted by PGE. Of the 2,389 residents who participated in the referen-

dum, 94 percent expressed their opposition to the plan.

In response to the vote, Deputy Economy Minister Hanna Trojanowska said in a statement that the government would take the views of the Mielno inhabitants into account when it comes time to decide where to locate the plant, but that the referendum itself was not well-timed.

“The timing of the referendum held without prior debate and discussion, without the

possibility of delivering information on benefits stemming from such an investment to the inhabitants of Gàski, has strongly weakened the process,” she said.

Plans are afoot, she said, to launch a pro-nuclear public campaign in March. The government wants to develop the country’s nuclear power capabilities to reduce Poland’s reliance on coal as a source of fuel for producing electricity.

Gareth Price

SUBSCRIBE FOR 1 YEAR AND SAVE UP TO 50% OFF THE COVER PRICE Choose one option by checking the box

❏ WBJ IS NOW AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT. READ WBJ AS A PDF OR E-ZINE.

OPTION 1

WBJ Electronic

Wa Warsaw Business Journal PDF version and a link to view WBJ in e-zine format delivered to your e-mail address each week for 12 months. for Everywhere: zł.424

❏

OPTION 2

WBJ Print

ENQUIRIES AM I C H A L I K @ VA L K EA .CO M, O R C A L L + 4 8 ( 2 2 ) 6 7 8-9912

In Europe: €297

OPTION 3

Outside Europe: €374

WBJ Premium

Warsaw Business Journal print edition delivered each week to your address for 12 months, plus WBJ PDF version and a link to view WBJ in e-zine format delivered to your e-mail address each week.

Also receive Investing in Poland 2011 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2011 (zł.100 value).

In Poland: zł.691

Warsaw Business Journal print edition delivered each week to your address for 12 months, plus receive Investing in Poland 2011 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2011 (zł.100 value).

In Poland: zł.550

❏

In Europe: €330

Outside Europe: €407

Please fax this form to: +48 22 639 85 69 or mail it to our office: Subscriptions Warsaw Business Journal Valkea Media S.A. ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, Poland

CLIENT DETAILS

PAYMENT OPTIONS (please check one)

Name ......................................................................................................................

Company ......................................................................................................................

Address ......................................................................................................................

Postal code ......................................................................................................................

City ......................................................................................................................

Country ......................................................................................................................

Telephone/Fax ...................................................................................................................... e-mail ......................................................................................................................

NIP (Poland)/EU VAT number (EU countries) ......................................................................................................................

❏ Pre-payment by bank transfer upon receipt of a pro-forma invoice. The pro-forma invoice will be sent to you immediately upon receipt of your order.

Your subscription will start within one week of payment. ❏ Credit card: ❏ American Express

❏ Visa

❏ Mastercard

Cardholder name ......................................................................................................................

Number ......................................................................................................................

CVV2/CVC2/CID

Expiration date

....................................................... ............................................................

Signature ......................................................................................................................

BUSINESS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

7

Automobiles

Banking

Record profits: Polish High demand for luxury banks earn z∏.15.7 bln cars in Poland Polish banks’ combined net profits amounted to almost z∏.15.7 billion for 2011, the most ever recorded in a single year, according to data from Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority.

Polish lenders earned 38 percent more than in 2010, when they booked total profits of z∏.11.4 billion.

An increase in mortgage lending and a recovery in the corporate sector, as well as a number of major banks offloading bad debt, were some of the principle reasons behind the Polish banking sector’s strong showing last year.

“Revenues in H1 of 2011 performed nicely, with margins widening,” said Marta Czajkowska-Ba∏dyga, an analyst at KBC Securities. “The top line was supported by volumes driven by mortgage lending in H1 2011 and corporate lending in H2 2011. There was still a relatively strong performance on the fee-income

generation side in the first part of the year.”

In the second half of the year, she said, revenues slowed down, “so banks started to look cautiously on the cost side.” The bottom line in 2011 was also helped by lower net provisioning driven by recoveries in the corporate segment, given strong operating performance of companies as well as bad-debt portfolio selling.

Poland’s banking sector is dominated by the country’s

five largest banks. PKO BP, Bank Pekao, BRE Bank, ING Âlàski and BZ WBK currently control 43.32 percent of the banking sector in terms of assets, and hold 45.45 percent of the country’s deposits.

BRE Bank’s net profit grew by 77 percent to z∏.1.14 billion in 2011, while ING Âlàski and BZ WBK earned z∏.880 million and z∏.1.54 billion respectively.

PKO BP and Pekoa SA have yet to release their figElla Pa∏ka ures for 2011.

Banking on growth Value of total loans given and household deposits in the Polish banking sector (2009-2011), in z∏. billions

Household deposits

Total loans given

1,000 800 600 400 200 0 2009

2010

2011 Source: KNF

Ferrari has already sold all of its cars earmarked for the Polish market in 2012 Sales of luxury cars in Poland are continuing to increase, according to representatives of showrooms around the country.

For example, all of the Ferraris earmarked for the Polish market in 2012 had already been sold, Dante Cinque, the general manager of the Ferrari showroom in Warsaw, told Rzeczpospolita. He added that he would try to obtain additional cars.

Micha∏ Maske, the marketing manager for Ferrari Warsaw, told WBJ that he could not reveal specific sales figures, but added that “we are very pleased that we’ve exceeded our plans for 2012 already.”

“Our most popular models in Poland include the Ferrari SS and the Spider 458, which sell for €316,000 and €230,000 respectively,” he said.

According to Rzeczpospolita, there were 15 Ferraris registered in Poland in 2011.

Good sales have also been reported by Mercedes-Benz

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The banking sector offloaded bad debt and increased lending activity last year

The Ferrari Spider 458 is one of the more popular models in Poland Polska, which saw revenues increase 15 percent to z∏.2.45 billion last year. Bentley also fared well in Poland, selling 19 vehicles in 2011, up from the nine sold in 2010, said Piotr J´drach, general manager at Bentley Warsaw. He added that 2011 was a “special year” and that the company plans to sell 22 Bentleys in 2012.

Pawe∏ Jakubisiak, sales director at Porsche Warsaw, said that his showroom sells around 130 vehicles a year on average, while overall, the Ger-

man car maker sells around 500 units per year in Poland.

He added that he expects 2011 to have brought similar results to 2010.

The only factor negatively affecting sales, according to representatives from both Bentley and Porsche, is an unfavorable EUR/PLN exchange rate. Over the last three months, when the euro cost around z∏.4.5, sales of Bentleys were not as good, Mr J´drach added.

Ella Pa∏ka

Custom publishing delivers specially tailored content Professionally honed and targeted to a defined group, whether B2B or end-customers, each message is designed for maximum effectiveness.

Custom publishing is one of the world’s fastest-growing marketing tools, because it pinpoints – and achieves – corporate goals.

Popular custom publishing media: • print: magazines, enhanced catalogs, newspapers • virtual: web services, newsletters, e-zines • interactive: social media If you want to: • build loyalty and long-term customer relations • acquire new clients • implement an integrated professional communication strategy • build strong brand identity Custom publishing is the perfect tool!

Valkea Media SA, ul. Elbląska 15/17, 01-747 Warszawa, tel. 22 639 85 69, e-mail: mlindholm@valkea.com, www.cp.valkea.com, www.facebook.com/valkeacp

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Palikot’s Movement

Putting women first Wanda Nowicka, an MP in Palikot’s Movement and deputy speaker of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, talks to WBJ about her party’s activities, her own initiatives, and about the feminist movement in Poland Ewa Boniecka: How do you balance your duties as the deputy speaker of the Sejm and your membership of Palikot’s Movement?

Wanda Nowicka: The answer to that question has a few parts. One is that being a parliamentarian and deputy speaker of the Sejm is something entirely new for me, and I am learning as I go. Second, I am now evaluating how best to use the opportunities that come with my position for public service and for the good of society. From a technical point of view, when parliament is in session and I function as a deputy speaker, I cannot be active in the party caucus. However, between sessions I concentrate on my activities as an MP. And apart from my role in Palikot’s Movement, I want to focus on the things that are the most important to me – most of all, the problems of women.

So I don’t take part in all of my party’s activities because I see my role less as a participant in some current gestures or events, and more in terms of the realization of my longterm visions, commitments and promises. One example of this is my recent initiative to create a program called “Sejm friendly to women,” which will involve open debates every month with different groups of women who deal with various aspects of the situation of Polish women, and of passing their ideas on to politicians and decision-makers.

I am convinced that we need to create better lines of communication between parliament and society and to have MPs listen to the voice of the people, because I am disappointed that there are not real debates in the Sejm. The government thinks that it does not have to listen to any arguments, because it has the power and

the majority in parliament to pass any law. So I want to open the Sejm up to society and improve the quality of our democracy, to make it more direct and participatory.

The first open debate will take place later in February, with women from trade unions. It will concern the government’s plan for raising the retirement age for both men and women to 67.

presented on how to achieve this, while taking into consideration the specifics of certain professions where people are not able to work so long for physical reasons. We also have to make sure that people over the age of 60 will actually have work.

But I don’t think that the PSL proposal for linking the retirement age of women to the number of children they have is a good one, because it will discriminate against other women and will reinforce the gender stereotype of women as [predominantly] child-bearers. So what we need is a serious public debate about the various aspects of these problems, and all interested parties should take part in it and be heard.

“The opinion that the feminist movement has a leftist character is not entirely true”

How do you see that plan and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) proposal to reduce the retirement age for women in proportion to the number of children they have had?

I understand the general problem: We are living in a global crisis, we have a very low birth rate in Poland and we are living longer. These factors pose problems for the budget and the retirement system. So some kind of increase to the retirement age would have to take place sooner or later. But a realistic proposal must be

It seems that since Palikot’s Movement discovered the political realities of working in the Sejm, it has not managed to achieve much success.

Would you agree with that

assessment?

I do not agree, because Palikot’s Movement has brought up some important issues in the Sejm. We are in the opposition, so the possibilities for us to influence the legislative process are limited, but we can do a lot by drawing attention to some problems. So I look at certain gestures made

by Janusz Palikot and some other members of the caucus, like [declarations that they will smoke] marijuana [in the Sejm], as working toward the goal of raising awareness. At present, the reality of the media is such that when – and I agree to the use of this term with regard to some of our actions – controversial gestures are not made, certain problems go unnoticed.

Palikot’s Movement focuses on controversial moral issues, but does not present a strong stand on social and economic problems. Why is this?

I would not agree with that.

We are preparing a social package to deal with various serious social problems. In cooperation with the wellknown leftist activist Piotr Ikonowicz, we are working on

a draft bill … that gives support and protection to the poorest debtors who are threatened with eviction from their apartments.

Some other projects, among them one that deals with in vitro fertilization and one – prepared by myself – that concerns family planning, are underway in the Sejm. All of them have strong social aspects. We now have a very annoying situation, where the center-right government is paying very little attention to the results of its political decisions on the social conditions of the people.

What is your assessment of the recent demonstrations in Poland against the AntiCounterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and the fact that the protesters have forced the government to delay ratification?

I have already sent my interpretation to the prime minister, in which I voiced my reservations about the ACTA agreement. In my opinion that agreement puts those interests and rights that help big companies make profits – particu-

INTERVIEW

COURTESY OF JOANNA ERBEL

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Wanda Nowicka wants to “open up the Sejm” to society and especially to women larly the right to protect intellectual property – above the social interest.

So I will be opposed to the ratification of the ACTA agreement by Poland. I also think that the traditional definition of intellectual property protection does not fit to and cannot be totally preserved in the era of the internet, and most of all, cannot prevail over the public good. And crucially important for users of the internet is that their rights to keep their personal data private and to maintain freedom of expression on the internet are preserved.

I think that the matter of free access to culture through the internet is also involved here, and in less developed and less wealthy societies, where it is more difficult to have direct access to culture in a traditional way, the internet plays a big educational and cultural role. So the problems related to ACTA are very complicated and controversial and it is a pity that Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his government decided to begin a real public discussion only in the face of demonstrations against it.

came to politics because we want to change the present situation in Poland, and we share ideas which are different from those of the old, established parties. The people in our caucus did not join Palikot’s Movement because they wanted a political career.

A few months ago nobody gave our party any chance to enter parliament, but our members work hard for the party in their communities. All of them are learning the parliamentary procedures quickly, and many are showing real political talent.

workers, but totally ignored their real rights. The feminism of the 1990s was linked to the whole liberal policy and the values of individual freedom.

More specific feminist problems and the language to express them, like the matters of right to abortion, equality in family, sex, and the freedom of lifestyle choices, were exposed in this century. And in the face of harsh criticism by the conservatives, feminism in Poland began to be linked with leftist social groups.

This differentiated Polish feminism from the American and West European model, where feminism became a part of mainstream thinking. In the US, for instance, gender studies departments are very well-developed in various universities, and feminism, its history and development are the subjects of academic studies.

I think that it is a simplistic view that the Polish feminist movement appeals only to women’s elites in the big cities, because in various forms it has expressed itself in smaller locales and among women’s groups in local communities.

Polish women are changing and their aspirations and views on many matters are different than they were 20 years ago.

So I see feminism in a larger context. I see it as a drive by women for independence, real equality in making choices in life, a respect for their dignity however they look, whatever age they are and whatever they do. Feminism is a part of a mature, tolerant society and helps us to understand ourselves better as human beings. ●

“The government is paying very little attention to the results of its political decisions on the social conditions of the people”

The majority of members in Palikot’s Movement are unknown to the public and take a limited role in the activities of parliament. Do you believe they can be effective despite this?

I am positively surprised by the quality of our caucus. Even while I do not yet know all of its members very well, I see the common will to cooperate and foster inner solidarity. What unites us is the fact that we all

Before entering the Sejm you were head of the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, and have been fighting for the rights of women for most of your life.

As one of Poland’s leading feminists, how do you view the present condition of feminism in the country?

A discussion of the state of feminism in Poland – like everywhere in Europe – is a very broad subject. The popular opinion that the feminist movement has a leftist character is not entirely true in all cases. In its historical development, from the suffrage movement in Britain at the end of the 19th century to the present time, feminism has developed along many paths.

In Poland, it was revived in the 1990s after being suppressed under communism, which officially praised female

www.wbj.pl

9

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

www.wbj.pl

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded six euro-zone countries and lowered its outlook for three other countries in the EU last week.

Italy, Malta and Spain’s ratings were all lowered to A3 – that’s just four places above speculative-grade ratings. Spain’s rating was lowered by two notches, from A1, while Italy’s and Malta’s were brought down one notch from A2.

Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia also saw their ratings slashed. Portugal was brought down from Ba2 to Ba3, while

continue to have on market confidence, which Moody’s says is “likely to remain fragile, with a high potential for further shocks to funding conditions for stressed sovereigns and banks.”

In a research note X-Trade Brokers said that Moody’s used the better sentiment in the market after Greece’s approval of austerity measures “to remind investors about the problems of the euro area.”

“Most telling is the downgrade of Spain by two levels,” the brokerage said, “because in Spain recently, little has been said about the market.

Investors had found that the austerity measures initiated

both Slovakia and Slovenia were downgraded to A2 from A1.

Moreover, three other European Union countries – Austria, France and the UK – saw their outlooks changed to negative.

Moody’s said the main drivers behind the actions included “the uncertainty over (i) the euro area’s prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework and (ii) the resources that will be made available to deal with the crisis.”

It also cited increasingly weak macroeconomic prospects in Europe and the impact that these factors will

by the government and the improvement in the debt market were sufficient to

move this country from danger.”

Andrew Kureth

In a bad mood Moody's ratings actions on European sovereign debt last week Country

Ratings action

Austria

outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative

France

outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative

Italy Malta

downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook

Portugal

downgraded to Ba3 from Ba2, negative outlook

Slovakia

downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook

Slovenia

downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook

Spain

downgraded to A3 from A1, negative outlook

United Kingdom

outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative Source: Moody's Investors Service

Inflation falls due to stronger z∏oty Wages in Poland’s in a research report.

“The CPI data also suggest that the Monetary Policy Council will not be in a hurry to change monetary policy,” the analysts wrote.

point of view, the January CPI reading supports the [Monetary Policy Council’s] ‘wait and see’ stance, as it can monitor closely the upcoming data from the real economy,” Bank Zachodni WBK analysts wrote

Gareth Price

On its way back down?

Consumer price inflation in Poland, last 12 months 6

5

4

'11

. '1 2

c.

Jan

De

11

v. ' 11

. '1 1

t. '

No

Oc

. '1 1

Se p

Au g

1

. '1 1

. '1

Jul

Jun

'11

y '1 1

3 Ma

Poland’s inflation rate fell for a second month in a row in January, to 4.1 percent yearon-year compared to 4.6 percent in December. January’s reading also undershot market expectations of inflation of around 4.2-4.3 percent.

One of the main causes of the lower inflation was a stronger z∏oty, which cut the price of imported goods. A low base effect due to last year’s VAT hike was also a factor.

Many economists warn however that consumer prices will not continue to fall much further, and that inflation will almost certainly not reach the rate-setting Monetary Policy Council’s target of 2.5 percent any time soon.

“From the monetary policy

r. ' 11

After selling his stake in ITI Group and withdrawing from managing online portal Onet.pl, businessman ¸ukasz Wejchert has invested in iTaxi, reported Puls Biznesu. iTaxi is a start-up that allows users to locate and contact the closest cab drivers using a smartphone. “This will allow taxi drivers to use their time more effectively. According to studies, during the day they have between one and two hours of downtime,” Mr Wejchert told the daily. The company is currently testing the project, and

by March it expects to have 300 cab drivers participating in the scheme. ●

Italy and Spain were among the countries that saw downgrades

Ap r.

iTaxi start-up

Moody’s downgrades six euro countries

. '1 1

The recent cold weather in Poland has helped boost retail sales, as people rush to stock up on warm clothing, reported Parkiet.

Winter-sports equipment and clothing retailers are benefiting the most from the extreme cold. Intersport’s stock price rose by around 20% last Wednesday, closing at z∏.4.14. The company’s sales for January increased by nearly 30%, to z∏.27 million. Meanwhile, the stock price of clothing retailer Vistula rose by 15% to finish at z∏.1.33.

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Ratings agencies

Ma

Cold weather boosts sales

Feb

10

Source: Central Statistical Office

private sector grow 8.1 percent The average wage in Poland’s private sector rose by 8.1 percent year-on-year in January, well above market forecasts of 4.9 percent, and significantly more than in December, when wages grew 4.4 percent, according to the Central Statistical Office.

“It is difficult to explain what the source of such a substantial acceleration of wages was without detailed data, but in our view this may be due to payment of bonuses or wage rises in a big company and (only partially) to [a] hike of

[the minimum] wage, which jumped from z∏.1,386 to z∏.1,500 in January,” Bank Zachodni WBK analysts wrote in a market report.

Employment growth in the private sector slowed to 0.9 percent year-on-year in January, from over 2 percent y/y a month earlier. In January 2011, the figure stood at 3.8 percent y/y, showing that there has been a substantial slowdown in the Polish labor market, according to BZ WBK. David Ingham

Legal Forum

Holding a sale: regulations for retailers Urszula Kalata Gryko Attorney-at-law Who doesn’t love to shop when there’s a sale on? Bargain prices of 50 percent, 60 percent and 70 percent off the regular price not only allow you to buy the products you’ve been dreaming of, but also provide fuel for the economy. Sales are healthy: they allow businesses to get rid of products that are out of season, outdated or soon to be unfashionable.

So then, why can’t sales last for the whole year? Well, one reason is that it’s prevented by Poland’s competition regulations.

A “sale” is understood as the sell-

ing of goods at prices below their cost of production or without any margin.

If sales continued throughout the year, some firms, usually smaller retailers, would not survive – they would be unable to bear the costs of production and delivery without profit. Competition on the market would be skewed and only a few businesses would remain.

Note that usually the biggest chain retailers have the means to hold sales. If not regulated, such practices could “kill” the smaller players in the market.

Therefore, Polish law provides for

regulation on how the largest retailers conduct sales. The act of April 16, 1993 on unfair competition provides that a sale held in a facility larger in area than 400 sqm may be considered as hindering small businesses’ access to the market and, therefore, as an act of unfair competition.

As a result, large retailers are generally limited in terms of how they can conduct sales – but they are not completely prohibited from having them.

The above-mentioned act provides that the sale will not be considered as an act of unfair competition if

it is organized: (i) twice a year as an after-winter and after-summer seasonal sale, which lasts no longer than a month; (ii) because the expiry date of the products in question is nearing; or (iii) during the closing of the business, whereas the sale shall last no longer than three months in one retail facility, or no longer than a year for all retail facilities belonging to the business being liquidated.

The above-mentioned act does not regulate when an after-winter and after-summer seasonal sale can be held. Therefore, such events as

Legal Forum is a paid-for module which gives law firms in Poland an opportunity to discuss and inform readers about important developments in the market.

The content is created in consultation with Warsaw Business Journal's editorial staff.

after-Christmas sales or after-winter sales, or sales in June or August, can be considered legitimate. The only limitation for the businesses is that such sales may be organized only twice a year (so no “second-winter” sale), and only for one month.

So, if you were hunting for a bargain to buy that special something for yourself after Christmas, or winter, or other seasonal event, you have one month from the start of the sale.

After that month the sale should end if the business does not want to face claims of unfair competition. ●

OPINION & ANALYSIS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

The ‘PiS-vaccine’ wears off

R

ecent polls clearly show that the ruling Civic Platform (PO) has taken a serious hit as a result of mistakes party members and leadership have made since the start of 2012. A February SMG KRC poll had PO with 27 percent support, down 6 percentage points from January. The opposition Law and Justice (PiS) polled at 23 percent (+1 p.p.). A TNS OBOP poll, also carried out in February, was even more negative for PO, putting support for that party at 28 percent (9 percentage points fewer than in January), with PiS snapping at its heels with 26 percent (+4 p.p.).

Three times unlucky PO has already suffered three PR disasters this year. The first was the poorly-executed and controversial prescription-drugs reimbursement law which came into force on January 1 this year, arousing anger, frustration and confusion among doctors, pharmacists and patients alike. The fiasco was well-publicized and was a terrible start to the year for the ruling party.

Then came the ACTA treaty controversy, as internet users across the country protested against what they

perceived to be a bill that will introduce too many restrictions for internet users. Here, the loudest protests came from a group which has for years been a key electorate for PO – the urban youth.

The latest problem for the government stems from the chaos surrounding the opening of the newly built National Stadium in Warsaw. The Super Cup, a fixture that was supposed to officially inaugurate the stadium, was postponed several times before being canceled altogether.

There have also been complaints that not everything is up to snuff in the stadium, the cost of which is so far estimated at z∏.2 billion.

Behind the guise of professionalism Sports Minister Joanna Mucha has been derided in the press recently for exhibiting a rather limited knowledge of the field she is supposed to be overseeing. She recently asked publicly who had “decided on” the two soccer teams that were due to play in Poland’s Super Cup. Journalists had to point out to the minister that it is the Ekstraklasa league winner and the Polish Cup

winner that play for the Super Cup, rather than teams that had been “decided” by anyone.

All these events have served to seriously dent the image PO has so carefully cultivated in recent years – namely that it is a party of highlycompetent and knowledgeable professionals.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who says he values pragmatism over ideology, has had one simple message for Poles in recent years: that while PO politicians may not be the stuff of voters’ dreams, they are pragmatic, competent and much more professional than any of their political opponents.

Until now a large number of Poles have bought into PO’s narrative, but the government’s recent series of mistakes has belied the party’s professional image.

The real cause of PO’s problems But the main reason why PO is getting such bad publicity is that the “PiS vaccine” is starting to wear off.

It’s no secret that the majority of the opinion-forming media in Poland are dead set against the idea of the biggest opposition party, the conservative and

nationalist PiS, coming back to power.

The mere thought of Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski’s party in government again is anathema to most of Poland’s cultural and business elite. And so last year, as long as there was a parliamentary election on the horizon and even a slight possibility that PiS might regain power, criticism of PO was muted in much of the Polish media.

The notion that “criticizing PO only strengthens PiS” was verbalized by some well-known publicists as a valid reason to refrain from criticizing the ruling party and to focus instead on hammering away at PiS. This process is what one PO-friendly publicist has described as “injecting the public with the PiS vaccine.”

But now, no major elections are scheduled for at least three years, and the prospect of PiS returning to power seems so distant and abstract that it can no longer rally the troops for the ruling party.

Gloves off That’s also why the gloves are off, at least for now, when it comes to the media’s criticism of PO. Frustrations about the ruling party, once discussed only within journalistic circles, are

11

Remi Adekoya

now being formulated in newspapers, on television and on the radio. The effects of this are evident in the recent polls.

Prime Minister Tusk can react in one of two ways. He can decide that his government and party need to be jolted into action, and bring out the whip.

Or he can say to himself, “Let’s let the establishment media make all the noise they want. They still don’t have any alternative to PO, so when election time comes again, they’ll be the ones scrambling to improve our image in the eyes of the public and bringing out that PiS vaccine once again.”

It would be much better for Poland, and the long-term health of PO, if Mr Tusk were to choose the first option, since his ministers, in an effort to keep their jobs, would be more likely to make fewer mistakes and to govern more efficiently.

But if the prime minister chooses to wave away the criticism, then his ministers will remain complacent – and the mistakes will continue. ● Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Business Journal’s politics editor. Read his blog, “The business of politics” on WBJ.pl

A new European growth agenda Philippe Legrain

A

usterity alone cannot solve Europe’s economic and financial crisis, growth and jobs need to be promoted with equal zeal. European Union leaders now recognize this – kick-starting growth in 2012 was high on the agenda at the European Council’s meeting on January 30. But the big question remains: how?

The need for immediate action is clear. The euro zone’s economy contracted in the last three months of 2011, when even Germany’s economy shrank.

The new year is also looking grim.

France is flat-lining, as is Britain, and both Italy and Spain have sunk deep into recession, while Greece is in its fifth year of a slump. And at the same time euro zone unemployment is at record highs, with nearly 50 percent of young people in Greece and Spain jobless.

The economic headwinds are formidable. Fiscal austerity, high interest rates outside AAA-rated countries, credit cutting by banks, deleveraging households, weak private-sector investment, and declining exports as the global slowdown undermines demand.

Focus on investment Until growth resumes, any tentative financial stabilization will be extreme-

ly fragile. Recession will hit banks’ and governments’ already-weak balance sheets, increasing pressure for faster deleveraging. But while gradual adjustment is essential, faster and deeper cuts are largely self-defeating.

Big reductions in private credit and government spending will cause a sharper slowdown and thus a vicious downward spiral. A big new push for growth is therefore vital.

So far, the growth agenda has consisted largely of structural reforms, which are essential for boosting future productivity and flexibility. The crisis does provide a political opportunity for bold moves on this front in many countries, but structural reforms generally will not generate growth and jobs immediately.

On the contrary, a shake out of less productive jobs, for example, would at first raise unemployment, increase government outlays, and reduce private spending. And, because demand is depressed, credit is in short supply, and barriers to enterprise are often high, it will take longer than usual for businesses to create more productive jobs. In short, structural reforms alone cannot be relied upon to stimulate growth in 2012.

Instead, the immediate focus

needs to be on boosting investment and exports in economies with a current-account deficit – such as France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – and stimulating consumption in surplus countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.

Unblock financing, boost exports, consumption The European Central Bank has acted decisively to prop up European banks; now it needs to support the real economy too. While official interest rates are only 1 percent, solvent sovereigns such as Spain pay more than 5 percent to borrow for 10 years, while creditworthy businesses in Italy can borrow only at punitive rates, if at all.

So the ECB should do more to unblock the transmission mechanism for monetary policy, the European Banking Authority should discourage excessive deleveraging by insisting that banks raise specific capital amounts rather than hit a uniform 9 percent ratio; and, where necessary, national governments should provide guarantees for bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

While improving access to finance is vital, governments also need to do more to boost investment. They should priori-

tize measures to make it easier to start a business, lift barriers to venture capital, and introduce temporary 100 percent capital allowances to encourage businesses to bring forward investment. At the EU level, the (callable) capital of the European Investment Bank should be greatly increased, as European Commission President José Manuel Barroso suggested in his State of the Union speech last September, so that the EIB can finance a big wave of pan-European investment, notably in infrastructure.

Boosting exports is also essential.

Deficit countries need to become more competitive, increasing productivity while cutting costs. A more competitive currency would be welcome: Just as the sterling’s collapse since 2008 has lifted UK exports, a weaker euro would help Mediterranean economies regain competitiveness for price-sensitive exports. A fiscal devaluation – slashing payroll taxes and replacing the revenues with a higher VAT – would also help.

Surplus countries, too, must do their part, which is in their own interest. Just as China needs to allow the renminbi to rise, so Germany – whose current-account surplus exceeds China’s both as a share of GDP and in absolute terms – needs a higher real

exchange rate. That means that Germans need to earn higher wages, commensurate with their increased productivity, so that they can afford more Greek and Spanish holidays. If businesses will not oblige, an income-tax cut would do the trick.

That brings us to fiscal policy.

Governments that cannot borrow cheaply (or at all) from markets have no option but to tighten their belts.

But they should pursue smart consolidation rather than unthinking austerity. So they should maintain investment in skills and infrastructure, while cutting subsidies and transfer payments. They should also legislate now for future reforms, notably to encourage people to work longer.

Last but not least, governments that can borrow at unprecedented low rates – 0 percent in real terms over 10 years in the case of Germany – must play their role in supporting demand.

Would it really be so difficult to see VAT coming down ahead of the German election next year? ● Philippe Legrain is an independent economic advisor to the president of the European Commission.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012. project-syndicate.org

Editorials are the opinions of WBJ’s editorial board. Other opinions are those of the authors alone. Comments, opinions and letters should be sent to editor@wbj.pl. Please include a name and contact information and clearly indicate if they are to be considered for publication.

PUBLISHER VALKEA MEDIA SA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANDREW KURETH (AKURETH@WBJ.PL)

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

REAL ESTATE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

PRODUCTION MANAGER

GARETH PRICE (GPRICE@WBJ.PL)

ADAM ZDRODOWSKI (AZDRODOWSKI@WBJ.PL)

E. BLAKE BERRY EWA BONIECKA BRIAN DAVIES LIAM NOLAN

PIOTR WYSKOK

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

COPY EDITORS

ALICE TRUDELLE

DAVID INGHAM ELLA PA¸KA

(ATRUDELLE@WBJ.PL) POLITICS EDITOR

REMI ADEKOYA (RADEKOYA@WBJ.PL)

INTERNS IZABELA DEPCZYK VERONIKA JOY

¸UKASZ MAZUREK

MARTA CZESZEJKO-SOCHACKA (MCZESZEJKO-SOCHACKAKA@WBJ.PL)

AGNIESZKA BREJWO

KAROL KOSIOREK (KKOSIOREK@WBJ.PL)

(ABREJWO@WBJ.PL)

PR & MARKETING SPECIALIST

MAGDALENA KARPI¡SKA (MKARPINSKA@WBJ.PL)

NATALIA ROGACZEWSKA (NROGACZEWSKA@WBJ.PL) SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER

COLUMNISTS

ADAM NARCZEWSKI ANDREW NAWROCKI

MARKETING &SALES

MARKETING &SALES DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

MANAGING DIRECTOR MONIKA STAWICKA

CARTOONS

PIOTR WYSKOK

AGNIESZKA KUCZY¡SKA (AKUCZYNSKA@WBJ.PL)

AGNIESZKA MICHALIK (AMICHALIK@VALKEA.COM)

PRINT & DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR

KRZYSZTOF WILI¡SKI (DYSTRYBUCJA@VALKEA.COM)

BOOK OF LISTS SPECIALIST

JOANNA RASZKA (JRASZKA@VALKEA.COM)

COVER STORY

www.wbj.pl

Polish exports up, for now The EU downturn has not hurt Polish exporters, who have broken sales records.

According to data compiled by the Central Statistical Office in 2011, exports grew by around 33% to €136 billion. Experts fear that these positive results will not last long, however. In December, month-on-month growth was just 5%, and exporters now have to face problems such as weakening economies in partner countries, as well as a drop in prices in other countries’ exports.

JPII museum delayed A new museum in Warsaw dedicated to John Paul II’s life will not be ready on time to greet the thousands of fans who are expected for the Euro 2012 soccer championships this summer, daily Rzeczpospolita reported.

Due to lack of funding, the opening of the museum is now scheduled for the second half of 2013.

The multimedia museum is scheduled to be part of the Temple of Divine Providence complex in Warsaw’s Wilanów district, which also includes the sizable Church of Divine Providence.

Belka backs loan to IMF Marek Belka, the president of the National Bank of Poland, has presented the terms of a €6.27 billion loan from Poland to the IMF. The IMF will use the funds to help euro-zone countries that are facing financial difficulties. The repayment period, set at 5-10 years (with a potential for extension), is expected to have a neutral effect on Poland’s foreign-exchange reserves, which are currently valued at €76 billion. ●

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Pharmaceuticals reimbursement

Searching for a cure The government hopes to put an end to the growing storm over the new Reimbursement Act for pharmaceuticals When Poland’s Health Minister Bartosz Ar∏ukowicz came to office in November last year, he could not have been ready for the storm that was about to engulf him as a result of a new act governing pharmaceutical reimbursement regulations.

The brainchild of Mr Ar∏ukowicz’s predecessor, current Speaker of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz, the legislation, usually referred to as the Reimbursement Act, was passed by the Sejm last year and came into force at the beginning of 2012.

It introduced sweeping changes for the industry, from production, distribution and sale, to prescription of medicines and other medical products.

The mess During the long period between the act’s original drafting and its passage, the main focus of the media was on how the National Health Fund (NFZ) and patients would cope with the planned cuts in expenditure on prescription-drug reimbursement.

But other unforeseen aspects of the act wreaked havoc at the beginning of the year.

In January, doctors and pharmacists staged protests across the country against the new act’s much stricter regulations for issuing prescriptions.

A new requirement obliging doctors to ensure that patients for whom they write prescriptions are covered by public health insurance was particularly controversial. Previously, doctors had taken patients at

Brian Davies

their word. Now, harsh penalties for omissions and errors have come in to force, although there is no centralized database containing information on who is insured.

In protest, thousands of doctors chose to issue prescriptions with a stamp stating: “Reimbursement level to be determined by the National Health Fund.” In turn, the doctors’ protest prompted numerous pharmacies to demand that patients pay the full cost of some drugs.

With the combined protests threatening to bring the system for providing pharmaceutical care to its knees, the government introduced an amendment to the act. This eliminated the penalties for doctors and allowed them to forgo the task of checking patients’ eligibility for NFZ reimbursement.

Nevertheless, the process remains to be resolved, leaving an atmosphere of chaos and confusion.

Pharma sales plunge Unsurprisingly, the pharmaceutical industry has taken a big hit as a result of the changes. In January, sales from pharmacies in Poland fell by 24 percent year-on-year before tax, according to data from global pharmaceutical market information and consulting company IMS Health.

While this decline is mainly attributable to the fact that many people stocked up in December in preparation for the higher out-of-pocket medicine prices, experts say that protests and strikes also contributed.

“The chaos surrounding the manner of the Reimbursement Act’s implementation has affected each stakeholder

COURTESY OF FLICKR/KPRM

12

Current Health Minister Bartosz Ar∏ukowicz and his predecessor Ewa Kopacz are at the center of the storm over the Reimbursement Act in the pharmaceutical market,” said Pawe∏ Sztwiertnia, director general of the Polish Employers Union of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies (INFARMA).

One cause for the confusion may be that the Health Ministry set itself a very tight deadline to get the act implemented on time. For example, regulations covering contracts between pharmacies that dis-

“All stakeholders in the market are adversely affected, including patients” pense reimbursed medicines and the NFZ were only revealed on December 8, just a few weeks before the new sys-

tem was due to start functioning.

“Clearly, the new law has not been introduced in the most effective and transparent way,” said Maciej Kuêmierkiewicz, director of consulting at the Polish branch of IMS Health. “Some of its regulations are still calling for clarification or change.”

“Above all, the lack of transparency and a clear inter-

COVER STORY

www.wbj.pl

SHUTTERSTOCK

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Many patients are worried that under the new act, hospitals may not be willing to cover the cost of the drugs they need pretation of the legal provisions have created a series of problems hindering everyday business for drug makers, their partners and the whole healthcare market – all stakeholders in the market are adversely affected, including patients,” added INFARMA’s Pawe∏ Sztwiertnia.

More problems ahead Once the Ministry of Health has tamed the fires of the doctors’ and pharmacists’ protests, it is expected to meet with plenty of other problems. One of the most serious relates to the hospital medicine sector.

The hospital sector has been one of the driving forces behind the growth of the Polish pharmaceutical market in recent years, with the Polish government putting an increasing amount of money into paying for high-cost, modern, innovative medicines used in the treatment of life-threatening and chronic diseases.

This can be seen in the growth in expenditure on medicines used in therapeutic programs, which function as administrative frameworks for defining eligibility for reimbursement in the case of very expensive medicines used in hospitals. Expenditure on these drugs increased by 25.89 percent in 2009, by 27.49 percent in 2010, and by 20.5 percent in 2011. However, under the NFZ’s current plan for 2012, there will be a 1.4 percent reduction in spending on therapeutic programs, with the total set to amount to some z∏.1.65 billion.

With changes to the reference-pricing system used for medicines organized within “limit groups” (medicines where the NFZ will only reimburse up to a certain amount),

hospitals and in-patients may also feel the pinch.

As opposed to pharmacies, where patients can pay for the difference if they buy a medicine that’s only partially covered by the NFZ, in hospitals patients cannot make co-payments for their medicines.

Meanwhile, the NFZ reimburses hospitals only for drugs up to the level of the price of the “limit” product. Now the list of these limit groups has become much wider, and that could spell trouble for both hospitals and patients, explained Mr Sztwiertnia.

“The new system of creating limit groups is much more liberal than the previous one and entails the possibility of products which have decidedly fewer common characteris-

lic hospitals’ debts continue to grow, they are unlikely to want to cover these extra costs, leaving certain patients without the appropriate medicines.

An uncertain future Cost-effective treatment?

Another major administrative amendment likely to cause upheaval this year is change to the system of therapeutic programs, which are used by gravely ill patients. “Drug programs,” are set to replace them from July, but little is known about how they will work in practice.

According to Mr Sztwiertnia, how this change will be carried out and when it will be announced remains an open question.

“Clearly, the new law hasn’t been introduced in the most effective and transparent way” tics being grouped together,” he said. “This is not a problem if there is a generic equivalent in a given group that meets the price criteria defined by the limit, is tolerated by the patient and is available in the hospital pharmacy.

However, if any of these criteria is missing, there is a danger that the drug needed will not be available,” Mr Sztwiertnia added.

In short, under the new system, the range of drugs put together in limit groups is much wider, and could contain expensive, innovative options, priced well above the given limit, as well as cheaper products which may be entirely inappropriate for certain patients. And since many pub-

how this situation will pan out, but many patients will no doubt be worried about the Ministry of Health’s stance on this issue.

Another concern is whether medicines used in these drug programs will also be put into the new, wider limit groups.

“The effects of such a decision could be very serious, considering the fact that medicines used in drug programs are used in the case of the most seriously ill patients, patients for whom substitution with an equivalent drug for economical reasons may not be appropriate for clinical reasons,” he said.

In cases of rarer cancers where the only real therapeutic option for patients are modern, innovative and highcost medicines, there are serious doubts over hospitals’ willingness to cover such costs. It remains to be seen

Data from the Polish pharmaceutical market research

organization PharmaExpert show that in the first week of February there was a significant increase in the sale of prescription medicines. This followed a big drop in January and was probably helped by the amendment addressing the concerns of doctors and pharmacists.

PharmaExpert expects the market to stabilize, but warns that the new mechanisms introduced by the Reimbursement Act will continue to have a negative influence on the market this year.

Indeed, zero growth or a contraction of the Polish pharmaceutical market remains a possibility.

The NFZ has set aside 4 percent less for outpatient drug reimbursement in 2012 than in 2011. The industry will undoubtedly feel the consequences of this. Despite the boom of recent years, Poland’s drug spending is yet to reach the levels of fellow CEE countries like the Czech Republic or Slovakia, let alone Western Europe.

As drug-reimbursement expenditure has grown, Polish patients have also come to expect that more targeted, innovative and expensive treatments will be available.

How the government manages an even partial reversal of these expectations remains to be seen. ●

13

TVN lowers outlook Shares of broadcaster TVN plunged last week following reports that the group had slashed its 2012 guidance because of a drop in Q4 net profit.

The group explained that it is unlikely to meet its forecast of 11% sales growth this year since advertisers have been hit hard by adverse economic conditions.

Between October and December, the group recorded a net profit of z∏.12 million, against expectations of z∏.42 million.

Interest in airport project Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin Airport will once again turn into a construction site. Valued at z∏.300 million, the project to rebuild Terminal 1 is set to start in the second half of 2012 and last until the end of 2014. Several firms have expressed an interest in the project, including Budimex, Warbud, Astaldi, and Bilfinger Berger, reported Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. ●

DAILY EXECUTIVE DIGEST Poland A.M. gives you the biggest Polish stories of the day.

Have the most valuable news delivered to your inbox each weekday morning.

S i g n u p f o r a 2 - w e e k f r e e - t r i a l ! w w w. p o l a n d a m . p l G e r m a n v e r s i o n : w w w. p o l e n a m m o r g e n . p l

14

www.wbj.pl

WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE IN FOCUS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

NewConnect

In need of a makeover The president of the Warsaw Stock Exchange has said 2012 will see a cleanup of the bourse’s alternative market.

Experts say it’s high time

A new age “I think everybody knows that quality is not a hallmark of NewConnect. I am really happy Mr Sobolewski made these comments, because I think we really need to take a fresh look at NewConnect,”

said Bogus∏awa CimoszkoSkowroƒska, president of CMS Corporate Management Services, a company that helps firms list on the WSE. “Until now everybody has been focused on bringing new companies to NewConnect; this was the measure of success. We are all guilty of this,” she added.

NewConnect has developed at a fast pace since its launch in 2007, with 361 companies now listed. Although not a heavyweight when it comes to the value of its IPOs, in 2011 NewConnect was largely responsible for the fact that 47 percent of all European IPOs were conducted in Warsaw. That made the WSE the “undisputed leader in Europe in terms of debuting companies,” according PwC’s ‘IPO Watch Europe’ report.

Mr Sobolewski insists that this makes NewConnect a successful project. “We are not interested in creating a market structure for 10 companies.

Our goal is to have hundreds of companies listed on the alternative platform. This is a big impulse for small entrepreneurship in Poland,” he told WBJ. Both Ms Cimoszko-Skowroƒska and Mr Gorczyca agreed that NewConnect’s success was an important achievement for Poland, and that a few mistakes on a market which is itself in its early stages of development were inevitable. But they also said that in their view, a few of the 361 IPOs should never have taken place.

Too many companies currently listed on NewConnect “just have the wrong profile,” said Ms Cimoszko-Skowroƒska. “We are in a very sensitive moment. If companies being introduced are wrong or have the wrong business model for being public companies, then investors will lose interest.

And without investors this market doesn’t exist.”

Mr Sobolewski said details of the planned reforms would be made public “in the very near future.”

They would, he said, toughen companies’ disclosure requirements, as well as raise awareness among investors to the fact that the alternative market is riskier than the main one.

Mr Gorczyca said that investors should have some kind of assurance that companies conducting private placements will, in the end, actually list on NewConnect. Private placements are a funding round of securities which are sold without an initial public offering.

“There were certain cases recently where companies made those private placements and have not listed at the end of the day. Investors that subscribed for their shares felt cheated, because having a small number of shares in a company that is not listed

Legal News

Pursuant to the act which amends the Act on Retirement Benefits and Pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, as well as a number of other acts, retirement benefits and pensions will be increased by z∏.71 from March 1. Apart from the said benefits, other benefits are also to be subject to indexation, including pre-retirement allowances, social pensions and allowances for war veterans and their families.

Interest on loans recognized as tax deductible The individual interpretation by the director of the Tax Chamber in Warsaw of Jan-

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Warsaw

4%

3% 3% London

5%

NASDAQ OMX

6% 47%

NYSE Euronext

7%

Luxembourg

25%

Deutsche Börse Oslo Other

Value of total IPOs in Europe, 2011 London

3% 2% 2% 3%

Spain (BME)

6% Warsaw

8% Deutsche Börse

53% Oslo Germany Luxembourg Other

Source: PwC ‘IPO Watch Europe 2011’

equals having assets you can’t do anything with.”

The WSE should also send clear signals about its commitment to improving the perception of the market’s litigation environment, he added. “The regulations are there, it’s about market participants having a belief they can effectively sue companies and individuals who are responsible for any malpractice. Right now, the perception is that it’s very difficult to go to court and successfully sue someone who did not adhere to market regulations and standards.”

Ms Cimoszko-Skowroƒska said that authorized market advisors should also be much stricter when selecting and

preparing companies to list on NewConnect. “You have to be prepared to bear the cost of unproductive time spent on discussing business plans with people who will never go public. Like anywhere in the world, it’s difficult to find good companies. For any 100 companies that walk through the door, you can maybe find five to work with,” she said.

“We authorized advisors are supposed to be the gatekeepers. Unfortunately right now that’s not the case. This is a huge problem because we are losing investors and we are losing good companies because they don’t want to appear in bad company.”

Alice Trudelle

COURTESY OF THE WSE

Contact: Aleksander Kowalski ak@pnplaw.pl uary 20, 2012 (no. IPPB1/415-1022/114/EC) addresses the question of how to treat interest earned on a bank loan.

The doubts of the taxpayer who requested the interpretation of the Tax Chamber related to whether interest on a contracted loan may also be recognized as tax deductible. The director of the Tax Chamber gave a positive answer.

Interest on a loan may be recognized as being tax-deductible, provided that the following conditions all have been fulfilled: the loan must be contracted in connection with income earned by the taxpayer; only the interest already paid is recognized as being tax deductible; and such interest does not increase investment costs. ●

Share of total IPOs in Europe, 2011

23%

Some argue listing so many companies on NewConnect has resulted in quality issues

Indexation of retirement benefits and pensions on March 1

European IPO breakdown

Tougher requirements

WBJ/ARCHIVES

NewConnect, the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s alternative market, may soon be in for a makeover. Last week WSE CEO Ludwik Sobolewski said that 2012 would see a “cleanup” on NewConnect and that the exchange will take “very serious steps even against companies which have listed with us for a long time.”

Although he would not disclose details of the planned changes, Mr Sobolewski said the WSE would target companies “with low liquidity, very weak business perspectives, and those not fully aware of their obligations in relation to investors.”

The recent case of British

firm Avtech Aviation & Engineering has raised questions about the quality of some of the companies listed on NewConnect. Trading of its shares was halted after it stopped providing information to investors.

Although most experts contacted by WBJ refused to indulge in finger-pointing, many said that the issue needs to be addressed.

“I believe that the quality bar should definitely be raised.

There have been some transactions that were certainly not in line with what you would expect in terms of market standards,” said Filip Gorczyca, senior manager at PwC’s capital markets group in Warsaw.

WSE CEO Ludwik Sobolewski says the alternative market is a big driver for small entrepreneurship in Poland

Blackstone has completed its acquisition of the Galeria T´cza mall in Kalisz

The president of ROBYG talks about the company’s entry into the commercial market

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

Unibep gets z∏.39.3 mln contract Construction company Unibep will be the general contractor of the first phase of a residential complex that Warszawska Spó∏dzielnia Mieszkaniowa will develop on ul. Niedzielskiego in Warsaw’s Bielany district. The value of the contract amounts to z∏.39.3 million. The first phase of the investment, which is scheduled to be completed in August 2013, will comprise two buildings with a total of 122 apartments. ●

In this issue ROBYG offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Neinver’s Warsaw outlet . . . . .15 Blackstone buys new mall . . .16 Rank Progress acquires land . .16 BREEAM for Ogrody mall . . . . .16 Property-related stocks . . . . . .16 ROBYG interview . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Most expensive offices . . . . . .18 Jasna 26 permit . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Commercial property

Construction gets underway on ROBYG’s first commercial investment The first phase of ROBYG Business Center will deliver over 8,000 sqm of space A subsidiary of developer ROBYG has obtained a building permit for the first phase of the company’s ROBYG Business Center project in Warsaw, the firm’s first venture into the Polish commercial property market.

Designed by the Atelier3 Girtler&Girtler architectural studio and located on Al. Rzeczypospolitej in the capital’s Wilanów district, the entire development is expected to comprise two phases whose total usable space will amount to 35,000 sqm.

The first building in the complex, which is scheduled to be completed in mid-2013, will comprise over 8,000 sqm of space and include approximately 2,700 sqm and some 5,700 sqm of retail and office space respectively.

The development will comprise 35,000 sqm of usable space Talks are now underway with potential tenants of the scheme. So far, the company has secured Alma Market for its investment. In accordance

with a deal signed in November, Alma will take up most of the space on the first building’s ground floor.

Warsaw Stock Exchange-

listed ROBYG has to date been mostly known for its activity in Poland’s residential market. The company has already built a total of over

2,300 apartments in the Warsaw and Tri-city markets with last year’s sales exceeding 1,000 units.

Adam Zdrodowski

Neinver starts construction on second Warsaw outlet Developer Neinver has launched construction on Factory Warszawa Annopol, the company’s second outlet center project in the Polish capital. The scheme is located between ul. Annopol, ul.

Toruƒska and ul. Bia∏o∏´cka in Warsaw’s Bia∏o∏´ka district and is scheduled to be completed in Q1 2013.

The development, which is being built by Budimex, will feature 19,700 sqm of space and will house 120 retail units. A parking lot located in front of the building will provide parking spaces for 1,400 cars.

“Ten years after the opening in [Warsaw’s] Ursus [district] of the first outlet center in Poland, we are building the

second Factory in Warsaw, this time on the right bank of the Vistula River,” Barbara Topolska, general director of Neinver Polska, said in a statement.

“This part of the city has been developing dynamically in recent years and this is why we have decided to enrich its offer with a well-located and communicated outlet center in Bia∏o∏´ka,” Ms Topolska added.

The architectural design of Factory Warszawa Annopol was furnished by the APA Wojciechowski studio. The investment is the first retail project in Poland to have been BREEAM certified at the planning stage.

Adam Zdrodowski

COURTESY OF NEINVER POLSKA

Wroc∏aw-based developer LC Corp is preparing four new large-scale residential projects which are currently at various stages of the planning process. Three of the schemes will be developed in the company’s home market and one will be built in Gdaƒsk. They will include a sevenstorey residential building with commercial outlets on ul. Brzeska in Wroc∏aw, which will be the first residential project developed by LC Corp in the city’s center.

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012, LI 17/07

COURTESY OF ROBYG

LC Corp plans residential projects

•

Factory Warszawa Annopol is scheduled for completion in Q1 2013

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

16

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

www.wbj.pl

Retail

Rank Progress buys land for shopping center in Pi∏a

Blackstone completes Galeria T´cza deal The transaction was worth €37 million Blackstone’s real estate funds have completed the acquisition of the Galeria T´cza shopping center project in Kalisz, Wielkopolskie voivodship, from Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Rank Progress. The value of the transaction was €37 million.

The Galeria T´cza mall has joined King’s Street Retail, a collection of Polish shopping centers that are funded and asset-managed by Blackstone

and whose combined leasable space amounts to more than 200,000 sqm.

Apart from Galeria T´cza, the portfolio includes Magnolia Park in Wroc∏aw, Galeria Twierdza in K∏odzko, Galeria Twierdza in ZamoÊç, Galeria Pestka in Poznaƒ and Wzorcownia in W∏oc∏awek, with the K∏odzko and ZamoÊç schemes having also been previously acquired by Blackstone from Rank Progress.

Opened in October 2011, Galeria T´cza is located in downtown Kalisz and compris-

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Rank Progress has signed a preliminary purchase agreement concerning the acquisition of approximately 2.85 hectares of land in Pi∏a, Wielkopolskie voivodship.

The company plans the development of a shopping center project at the site.

“It is an exquisitely located piece of land in the very center of the city. We are convinced that building a shopping gallery at the site will be an excellent investment,” Jan

es 16,100 sqm of GLA, almost 100 percent of which is currently leased out. The scheme, which includes a five-screen 3D movie theater, is, as with the other King’s Street Retail portfolio properties, managed by Master Management Group.

“We are excited about Galeria T´cza joining King’s Street Retail as we see tremendous growth potential for this brand new, perfectly located mall,” Paul Kusmierz, principal of Master Management Group, said in a statement.

project in Elblàg, WarmiƒskoMazurskie voivodship.

The scheme, which opened in 2002, will soon feature an expanded area, building on which is scheduled to start in

COURTESY OF QUESTIA

The expanded project will feature 43,500 sqm of GLA

Security

Closing price on Feb 16

% change (week)

52-week low

52-week high

% change (year)

Total shares

Market value (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX

85.70

0.59

64.00

109.70

-9.98

25,530,098

2,187.93

CELTIC

17.84

0.85

15.55

23.20

-22.03

34,068,252

607.78

DOMDEV

41.88

8.78

23.50

50.80

-11.27

24,560,222

1,028.58

ECHO

3.97

1.53

3.05

5.55

-13.88

420,000,000

1,667.40

ELBUDOWA

106.50

3.40

87.00

168.00

-33.02

4,747,608

505.62

ENERGOPLD

2.30

0.00

1.81

4.10

-39.47

70,972,001

163.24

ERBUD

20.80

-5.45

14.65

49.00

-58.57

12,644,169

263.00

GANT

9.19

0.33

5.85

16.44

-43.79

20,499,953

188.39

GTC

9.41

-13.11

7.91

21.79

-55.80

219,372,990

2,064.30

HBPOLSKA

1.31

11.02

0.70

2.79

-52.36

210,558,445

275.83

JWCONSTR

7.71

9.05

4.36

15.50

-46.83

54,073,280

416.90

LCCORP

1.19

-4.03

0.85

1.69

-25.16

447,558,311

532.59

MARVIPOL

9.70

-1.62

7.22

9.95

1.15

36,923,400

358.16

MIRBUD

2.50

1.21

1.94

4.74

-46.81

75,000,000

187.50

MOSTALWAR

22.21

8.08

15.40

49.00

-53.24

20,000,000

444.20

MOSTALZAB

1.75

4.17

1.07

3.00

-41.47

149,130,538

260.98

ORCOGROUP

17.80

-0.28

14.00

40.00

-43.94

17,053,866

303.56

PBG

78.60

-0.57

56.05

204.90

-60.90

14,295,000

1,123.59

PLAZACNTR

2.74

3.40

1.80

5.15

-34.45

297,174,515

814.26

POLAQUA

7.76

8.53

4.53

19.78

-60.91

27,500,100

213.40

POLIMEXMS

2.00

2.04

1.23

3.76

-41.69

521,154,076

1,042.31

POLNORD

18.15

0.55

11.03

33.55

-44.00

23,798,439

431.94

RANKPROGR

13.48

2.28

8.60

13.60

32.81

37,145,050

500.72

ROBYG

1.37

3.01

1.04

2.13

-27.51

257,390,000

352.62

RONSON

0.97

7.78

0.77

1.58

-30.71

272,360,000

264.19

TRAKCJA

1.34

6.35

0.65

3.85

-65.37

232,105,480

311.02

ULMA

62.00

4.03

57.00

88.00

-24.21

5,255,632

325.85

UNIBEP

5.79

0.17

4.47

9.35

-38.73

33,927,184

196.44

WARIMPEX

4.50

-1.10

2.95

10.89

-57.94

54,000,000

243.00

ZUE

8.15

-4.12

5.07

14.05

-40.90

22,000,000

179.30

AZ

COURTESY OF MEDIADEM CONSULTING

CBRE Global Investors plans to apply for a BREEAM certificate of energy efficiency and environmental performance for its Centrum Handlowe Ogrody shopping center

Property-related stocks

Construction on the mall that Rank Progress plans to build in Pi∏a is expected to launch in Q4 2012 and finish in Q3 2013.

Rank Progress is currently involved in retail projects in cities such as Chojnice, Grudziàdz and Kielce and is opening the Galeria Âwidnicka mall in Âwidnica next month. The firm is eying spots for new shopping center projects in cities including Olsztyn, Tychy, Opole, Gliwice and Siedlce.

Mroczka, president of the management board of Rank Progress, said in a statement.

The value of the purchase agreement amounts to z∏.17 million and is expected to be finalized by August 15 this year.

The deal involves Rank Progress’s acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Gemar-Umech, a company that holds perpetual usufruct rights to the land.

Originally, Parkridge Retail Poland planned a shopping center development at the same location.

Investor wants BREEAM certification for Ogrody mall

Adam Zdrodowski

Galeria T´cza is almost 100 percent leased out

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

the third quarter of this year.

The new building has been designed in keeping with the rules of sustainable architecture, the company said in a statement.

After the expansion, the one-level Ogrody project will get another floor and its leasable space will increase from the current 17,500 sqm to 43,500 sqm. The opening of the expanded scheme is expected to take place at the turn of 2013 and 2014.

AZ

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Developers

Diversifying revenue streams Lokale Immobilia sits down with Zbigniew Wojciech Okoƒski, president of the management board of Warsaw Stock Exchangelisted developer ROBYG, to talk about the company’s entry into the commercial segment of Poland’s property market and its plans in the residential sector

Your company is not the only residential developer in Poland that has entered the commercial property market of late.

Will this trend continue?

We can assume it will. For any large, experienced developer that has accumulated a certain amount of capital and land, entering new sectors of the property market is a natural way of developing its business activity. It also gives a company diversified sources of revenue and thus greater security.

How would you respond to the claim that a company that has until now focused solely on building apartments does not

have the know-how needed to develop office space?

In the case of our company, such a claim would be totally unfounded. One of our coowners is active in the office market in Israel, so we will be able to use the ample experience that we have gained there in the Polish market.

What will be built in the next phases of ROBYG Business Center?

We are planning 28,000 sqm of office and retail space in the next, five-floor building in the complex. However, it is possible that this space will, in the end, be distributed across several smaller buildings. That will

Don’t you face strong competition from the developers that have already been involved in office projects in Miasteczko Wilanów for some time now?

We rather see those seemingly competing projects as a magnet that will help promote the location in general and will attract tenants to the Miasteczko Wilanów estate, from which our investment will definitely benefit as well.

We see the area as a promising office location; some of the employees of the potential tenants that could lease space in the planned offices in Miasteczko Wilanów already live, or will soon live, in the neighborhood.

Are you already planning new commercial projects in other locations in Poland?

As for purely office projects in

completely new locations, their potential launch will depend on how successful the Wilanów investment is. However, we are now planning commercial space within our ongoing and planned residential projects in Warsaw and the Tri-city area.

One of the buildings in the Osiedle Kameralne estate in the capital’s Bemowo district, for instance, will mostly feature retail space and offices with just its two top floors expected to house upmarket apartments.

Will you continue to concentrate most of your activities on the residential market in the upcoming years?

By all means. We have actually stepped up our residential activity in recent months. Last year we managed to sell more than 1,000 apartments, which makes us one of the three largest developers in the sector.

Currently we are building a total of some 1,300 units in our

Warsaw and Tri-city projects.

Are you planning to expand to other Polish cities as well?

No. In the current uncertain market conditions that would be too risky. You have to remember that starting development activity in a new market is a complex, time- and cost-consuming logistical process.

We will grow in the cities in which we are already present.

In Warsaw, for one, we have recently bought land in the Bemowo district, where we will develop a new housing estate with approximately 70,000 sqm of usable space. The first phase of the project alone will deliver some 300 units.

We are also looking for plots in other parts of the city.

For instance, we would like to secure land on the right bank of the Vistula River where we have not yet built a single project and where we would like to establish a presence. ●

17

Bronowice Residence completed Developer Atal has finished construction on its Bronowice Residence multifamily residential project in Kraków. The company has already obtained an occupancy permit for the development, whose value is estimated at z∏.59 million. The Bronowice Residence complex comprises 139 apartments, approximately 80 percent of which have already been sold.

Inpro touts Miko∏ajki apartments Warsaw Stock Exchangelisted developer Inpro has sold almost 30% of apartments in its luxury condohotel investment in Miko∏ajki, Warmiƒsko Mazurskie voivodship.

The current offer comprises 14 units out of the total of 19 that have been planned in the complex. The investment, which is being built on an island on Lake Miko∏ajskie, will comprise 77 hotel rooms, as well as 19 apartments sized from 31.6-114.8 sqm and priced at z∏.35,000 per sqm.

New tenants in Warsaw’s Platinium

COURTESY OF ROBYG

Adam Zdrodowski: The launch of ROBYG Business Center in Warsaw’s Wilanów district marks your company’s first commercial investment in Poland. What’s the rationale behind the firm’s entry into the sector?

Zbigniew Wojciech Okoƒski: We bought the land in Wilanów a few years ago in the belief that this project would complement the main part of our business: the development of multifamily residential buildings.

We also came to the conclusion that the investment would fit the concept of the whole Miasteczko Wilanów estate.

We’ve been involved in the development of that project since construction began.

Apart from housing schemes, the estate will also feature office and retail space.

Several other developers are working on commercial projects in the area. This is how the most modern neighborhoods in the world are designed these days.

ultimately depend on the tenants which we will secure for the investment.

www.wbj.pl

Mr Okoƒski said ROBYG will continue to concentrate most of its activities in the residential market

Developer Globe Trade Centre (GTC) has signed two lease agreements for a total of more than 1,500 sqm of office space in its Platinium Business Park development in Warsaw.

VeriFone Poland and Schrack Seconet will respectively occupy 1,100 sqm and 410 sqm in building five and building four of the complex. ●

18

www.wbj.pl

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Developer Mermaid Properties has obtained a building permit for its planned Jasna 26 office project in Warsaw. The company wants to select a general contractor for the scheme by the end of March, with the development scheduled to be ready 18 months after construction starts.

The Jasna 26 investment will involve the revitalization of a historical tenement house located on ul. Jasna in the capital’s central district. It will be turned into a modern class-A office facility that will also include retail space in its base-

ment and on the ground floor.

The revitalization process will include the development of an underground parking lot, as well as two new sections of the building. The total area of the structure will be increased by 2,000 sqm to over 5,000 sqm of GLA. “We are convinced that Jasna 26 is an excellent offer for all companies for whom business image plays an important role,” ¸ukasz Do∏´ga, vice president of the management board at Mermaid Properties, said in a statement.

He added that consulting,

law, financial and insurance companies are increasingly looking for offices that help them build their prestige, as well as for quality space.

“Jasna 26 meets these criteria,” Mr Do∏´ga said.

Jasna 26 is not the first Mermaid Properties scheme involving the modernization of an existing property and its adaptation for commercial purposes.

The company previously completed similar projects in Warsaw (Prosta 69 Business Centre and M∏odziejowski Palace) and ¸ódê (Cross Point).

Adam Zdrodowski

COURTESY OF MERMAID PROPERTIES

Mermaid Properties obtains building permit for Jasna 26 project in Warsaw

The former tenement house will be turned into class-A office space

Warsaw CBD office rents grow in 2011 Prime office rent prices grew by an annualized 6.12 percent in Warsaw’s Central Business District (CBD) last year, driven by increased rental activity and a positive economic environment, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

The Polish capital was 10th in a list of European cities ranked by rent-price growth.

Monthly rent for one sqm of GLA in Warsaw’s CBD stood at €26.00 last year, compared to €15.00 in the CBDs of

Kraków and Wroc∏aw, neither of which experienced annualized growth in prime rental prices.

Cushman & Wakefield does not consider the impact of the high demand in Warsaw to have been particularly significant for offices in prime locations.

“Record demand for office space in Warsaw in 2011 (contracts signed for more than 570,000 sqm) did not significantly affect the level of rent in prime locations in the city cen-

ter,” Cushman & Wakefield Poland’s Miko∏aj KowalskiBarysznikow said in a statement.

Demand for prime space in Warsaw is expected to remain high this year, a factor which will leave activity in other cities “largely subdued,” the firm’s report reads.

Rent-price growth is forecast to remain flat in Warsaw, Kraków and Wroc∏aw in 2012, despite expectations of an economic slowdown.

In Europe as a whole, Moscow’s CBD led the way in 2011 with a 41.18 percent increase in rental rates, followed by Oslo (15.15 percent), Helsinki (12 percent) and Stockholm (9.52 percent).

Declining rents in the main business districts of Athens (-14 percent), Dublin (-10 percent) and Lisbon (-3 percent) reflected the economic troubles of Greece, Ireland and Portugal respectively.

Gareth Price

Moscow rules European cities with largest prime rental price growth 2011, in y/y percentage change Location

Submarket

Rental change

Moscow

CBD

41.18

Oslo

CBD

15.15

Helsinki

CBD

12.00

Stockholm

Birger Jarls Gatan

9.52

Gothenburg

CBD

9.09

Aarhus

CBD

9.09

London

West End

7.89

Brussels

Quartier Leopold

7.55

Antwerp

Center

7.41

Warsaw

CBD

6.12 Source: Cushman & Wakefield

MARKETS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

12,904.08 (Feb 16 close)

S&P500

2,959.85 (Feb 16 close)

0.11% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,358.04 (Feb 16 close)

1.11% (for the week)

DAX

5,885.40 (Feb 16 close)

0.45% (for the week)

-0.17% (for the week)

Solid gains for small firms

NIKKEI225 6,751.96 (Feb 16 close)

9,238.10 (Feb 16 close)

-0.54% (for the week)

2.62% (for the week)

CHANGE: 4.09%

CHANGE: 11.75%

CHANGE: 6.34%

CHANGE: 3.25%

CHANGE: 11.13%

CHANGE: 7.92%

(year to Feb 16)

(year to Feb 16)

(year to Feb 16)

(year to Feb 16)

(year to Feb 16)

(year to Feb 16)

52-week high: 12,924.71

52-week high: 2,961.38

52-week high: 1,370.58

52-week high: 6,105.77

52-week high: 7,600.41

52-week high: 10,862.43

52-week low: 10,404.49

52-week low: 2,298.89

52-week low: 1,074.77

52-week low: 4,791.01

52-week low: 4,965.80

52-week low: 8,135.79

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst Though markets continue to seesaw as worries over Greece increase, small companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s sWIG80 index had a very strong week.

World stocks rose on Monday, after the Greek parliament passed an additional round of drastic austerity measures. Volumes on the Polish bourse were low, with banking shares continuing to see solid gains. Leading the pack were shares of lenders Getin and Pekao, which both gained over 2.5 percent. The main WIG index gained 0.88 percent.

On Tuesday, poor macroeconomic news quashed the Valentine’s Day spirit for most markets.

First, Moody’s decision to cut ratings for six European countries and place the ratings of the UK and Austria on neg-

Major indices WIG

41,430.30 (February 16 close)

WIG20

2,319.33 (February 16 close)

Change for the week: -0.87%

52-week high: 50,371.74

Change for the week: -1.90%

52-week high: 2,932.62

Change year to February 16: 8.12%

52-week low: 36,549.47

Change year to February 16: 5.71%

52-week low: 2,089.84

2,400

43,000

2,360

42,200

2,320

41,400

2,280

40,600

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

03.02

02.02

01.02

31.01

30.01

27.01

26.01

25.01

24.01

23.01

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

03.02

02.02

01.02

31.01

30.01

27.01

26.01

25.01

24.01

23.01

20.01

2,200

20.01

2,240

39,800 39,000

Top 5 WISTIL INTERSPPL JAGO EFH OLYMPIC

Closing 14.25 4.05 0.28 0.68 5.85

% change (week) 52-week high 55.74 25.00 36.36 4.47 33.33 0.87 28.30 1.04 27.17 7.20

52-week low 5.33 1.33 0.15 0.40 3.25

Top 5 ASSECOPOL POLIMEXMS GETIN BRE PGE

Closing 52.05 2.00 2.43 295.20 20.36

% change (week) 5.15 2.04 1.67 1.37 1.29

52-week high 54.55 3.78 15.29 357.90 25.07

52-week low 34.50 1.19 2.01 203.30 15.98

Bottom 5 SIMPLE MIDAS ATLASEST JHMDEV PEP

Closing 6.42 0.85 1.69 1.12 19.66

% change (week) -30.82 -25.44 -22.83 -20.00 -16.48

52-week low 5.45 0.62 1.45 1.09 18.15

Bottom 5 GTC TVN KGHM PKNORLEN CYFRPOLSAT

Closing 9.41 10.66 133.30 36.00 13.99

% change (week) -13.11 -9.66 -6.13 -4.51 -2.85

52-week high 21.79 18.53 200.30 58.85 17.69

52-week low 7.86 8.90 102.40 30.33 11.60

52-week high 17.57 4.27 3.65 2.25 32.45

2,445.17 (February 16 close)

sWIG80

Arrested correction

10,186.36 (February 16 close)

Change for the week: 0.98%

52-week high: 2,987.72

Change for the week: 3.16%

Change year to February 16: 11.64%

52-week low: 2,076.52

Change year to February 16: 18.39%

2,500

52-week low: 8,218.71

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA Ongoing discussions about the Greek debt crisis and the possibility of Portugal needing a bailout caused uncertainty last week among investors, who began to close profitable positions, thereby pushing the markets into a corrective movement.

The EUR/USD dropped all the way below the $1.30 level from $1.33 on Monday, following declines on equities.

But the fall was stopped with positive macroeconomic news from the US, which showed that the economy there is growing faster than expected.

The z∏oty mirrored the moves of the EUR/USD. A strong z∏oty depreciation lifted the EUR/PLN to z∏.4.24 and USD/PLN to z∏.3.26, both monthly highs.

This week it was announced that annualized CPI inflation for January

10,000

2,380

9,700

2,320

9,400

2,260

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

03.02

02.02

01.02

31.01

30.01

27.01

26.01

25.01

24.01

23.01

20.01

8,800

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

03.02

02.02

01.02

31.01

30.01

27.01

26.01

25.01

24.01

23.01

9,100 20.01

2,200

52-week high: 12,932.00

10,300

2,440

10 300

43.31 (February 16 close)

WIG-Banki

6,027.74 (February 16 close)

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

03.02

02.02

01.02

31.01

30.01

16.02

15.02

14.02

13.02

10.02

09.02

08.02

07.02

06.02

5,600 03.02

40.0

02.02

5,720

01.02

40.8

31.01

5,840

30.01

41.6

27.01

5,960

26.01

42.4

25.01

6,080

24.01

43.2

23.01

6,200

20.01

44.0

27.01

52-week low: 4,944.19

26.01

Change year to February 16: 8.74%

25.01

52-week low: 40.16

24.01

52-week high: 7,387.49

Change year to February 16: 4.39%

23.01

Change for the week: -0.97%

20.01

52-week high: 59.33

SOURCE: WSE

NewConnect Change for the week: 0.70%

ative outlook hurt sentiment. Then, manufacturing data for the euro zone for the month of December was worse than expected. Markets fell, with the WIG down 0.38 percent.

On Wednesday, markets turned around after data from both the US and German economies lifted moods. On the WIG20 only shares of TVN, which fell 8.47 percent, were badly hit.

On Thursday, sentiment was mixed, with the Polish bourse starting out in negative territory. Losses were cut as positive news from Greece propped up markets.

Despite this, the WIG shed 0.45 percent.

On Friday, markets once again saw large gains after Greece closed in on a bailout agreement. The WIG finished 1.76 percent up. ●

Currency report

Other indices mWIG40

19

came in lower than expected, at 4.1 percent. That decreases the chance of an interest hike any time soon.

Another factor that contributed to uncertainty regarding the possibility of a further appreciation of the z∏oty was the Ministry of Finance’s announcement that it will exchange EU funds through the central bank, rather than on the market directly. Investors seemed to ignore this information when good macroeconomic news came from the US. As a result, the z∏oty regained some ground later in the week finishing at z∏.4.18 against the euro and z∏.3.17 against the US dollar.

The future direction of the z∏oty market could be decided on Monday, the day Germany wants a full agreement on Greece. ●

currency rates 4.0244

15.02

17.02

4.0326

14.02

SOURCE: NBP

4.0708

13.02

16.02

4.0807

4.0720

10.02

0.1073

0.1062 17.02

4.0

4.1255

PLN-100JPY

4.5

16.02

0.1059

0.1060

0.1058 15.02

14.02

0.10

13.02

0.1060

3.4654 17.02

3.5027 16.02

3.4523 15.02

3.4701 14.02

3.4692 13.02

10.02

3.4752

5.0416

3.0

PLN-RUB

0.12

3.5

17.02

5.0953 16.02

4.9669 15.02

5.0054 14.02

4.9968 13.02

5.0216 4

10.02

3.2502

3.1790 17.02

5

PLN-CHF

4.0

10.02

PLN-GBP

6

16.02

3.1660 15.02

3.1801 14.02

13.02

3.1703 10.02

4.2276

4.1840 17.02

3.0

3.1643

PLN-USD

3.5

16.02

4.1695 15.02

4.1935 14.02

13.02

4.2048 10.02

4

4.1948

PLN-EUR

5

20

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

IT & Telecoms

Telecom Operators Ranked by revenue from telecom services in 2010

www.bookoflists.pl

Rank

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

Revenue from telecom services (z∏. mln)

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

Net profit (z∏. mln)

Public network / Installation cost (z∏.) Dedicated network / Radio systems

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Grupa TP (1) ul. Twarda 18, 00-105 Warsaw 1 22 527-0000/22 527-0127 biuro.prasowe@telekomunikacja.pl www.tp.pl

7,519.0 15,715.0 WND WND

7,519.0 15,715.0 16,560.0 18,165.0

1,184.0 108.0 1,283.0 2,190.0

Polkomtel SA ul. Post´pu 3, 02-676 Warsaw 2 22 426-1000/22 426-0054 www.plusgsm.pl

WND 7,457.5 7,518.6 8,244.0

WND 8,003.9 8,154.9 8,879.8

512.1 948.6 WND WND

EXATEL SA ul. Perkuna 47, 04-164 Warsaw 4 22 340-6050/22 340-6022 info@exatel.pl www.exatel.pl

Cellular network: digital / Cellular network: analog / Data transmission networks / Internet access

SMS service / Voicemail / Conference Connections / Call-back system

Total employees / Year founded / Year licensed

Ownerhship: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

23,734 1991 WND

WND France Telecom - 49.8%; Capital Group International 5%

WND 1,109.0 976.7 1,359.1

WND

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND 1995 1996

PKN Orlen; KGHM Polska Miedê; Polska Grupa Energetyczna; W´glokoks Vodafone Americas; Vodafone International Holdings

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

1,201 1989 WND

WND Liberty Global

Simon Boyd

WND 483.2 516.8 517.9

WND 529.2 579.4 557.9

WND 45.0 54.8 15.7

-

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ -

416 1993 1993

Polska Grupa Energetyczna - 95% None

Zdzis∏aw Nowak

Telefonia DIALOG SA Pl. Jana Paw∏a II 1, 50-136 Wroc∏aw 5 71 781-1601/71 781-1600 info@dialog.pl www.dialog.pl

180.9 387.4 391.0 448.0

251.5 518.3 509.0 558.0

18.2 76.0 7.0 -287.0

WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ -

919 1997 1997

KGHM None

Multimedia Polska SA ul. Tadeusza Wendy 7/9, 81-341 Gdynia 6 58 666-0300/58 666-0309 sekretariat.zarzadu@multimedia.pl www.multimedia.pl

65.0 123.0 117.0 118.0

303.2 567.2 526.3 475.0

35.4 81.5 64.1 50.0

WND

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

1,730 1991 WND

Andrzej Rogowski WND

ATM SA ul. Grochowska 21A, 04-186 Warsaw 7 22 515-6100/22 515-6600 info@atman.pl www.atman.pl

64.8 116.8 90.4 72.8

169.3 401.8 286.5 267.4

10.6 21.4 9.9 8.9

-

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ -

172 1994 2001

WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND 2009 2009

WND None

Szymon Kosmala

Crowley Data Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. Stawki 2, 00-193 Warsaw NR 22 427-3000/22 427-3003 info@crowley.pl www.crowley.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND 105.3 100.9 98.7

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

160 1999 1999

Grupa Netia None

Grzegorz Esz

dcenter.pl Al. Jerozolimskie 81, 02-001 Warsaw NR 22 292-0000/22 292-0001 info@dcenter.pl www.dcenter.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND 2009 2009

WND None

Rafa∏ KuÊmider

GTS Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. Marynarska 15, 02-674 Warsaw NR 22 488-8000/22 488-8001 info@gts.pl www.gts.pl

WND WND 421.0 443.0

WND 426.0 421.0 443.0

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

WND 1997 2000

WND

NASK instytut badawczy ul. Wàwozowa 18, 02-796 Warsaw NR 22 380-8080/22 380-8201 kontakt@nask.pl www.nask.pl

WND WND WND WND

49.8 89.5 85.8 83.9

7.6 3.1 -1.4 -0.6

WND

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ -

321 1993 -

Treasury - 100% None

Micha∏ Chrzanowski

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa SA Al. Jerozolimskie 181, 02-222 Warsaw NR 22 413-6000/22 413-6914 pr@t-mobile.pl www.tmobile.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND 7.6 7.9

WND WND WND WND

WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

WND 1995 1996

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa 7% Telekom Deutschland - 93%

Miroslav Rakowski

3

UPC Polska Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jana Paw∏a II 27, 00-867 Warsaw 22 241-6901/22 241-6900 www.upc.pl

AlterTEL Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jerozolimskie 81, 02-001 Warsaw NR 22 480-4455/22 480-4456

info@altertel.pl www.altertel.pl

Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in December 2011. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of November 2011 unless stated otherwise. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

Footnotes: (1) Grupa TP comprises Telekomunikacja Polska, Polska Telefonia Komórkowa Centertel, Contact Center, Fundacja Orange, Integrated Solutions, Orange Customer Service, Otwarty Rynek Elektroniczny, Paytel, PTE, TP Edukacja i Wypoczynek, TP INvest, TP Teletech and Wirtualna Polska.

Maciej Witucki President

Zygmunt Solorz-˚ak President

President

President

Arkadiusz Miszuk; Robert Banasiak President; Vice President

Andrzej Rogowski President

Roman Szwed President

President

President

President

Piotr Sieluk CEO GTS Energis

Director

President

To the best of WBJ ’s knowledge, the information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, omissions and typographical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Joanna Raszka, ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2011, 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.

SPORTS

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

21

National Stadium

The government is withholding the departing director’s z∏.570,000 bonus Rafa∏ Kapler, the director of the National Sports Centre (NCS), resigned last Monday following problems related to the completion of Poland’s new National Stadium in Warsaw.

His position became untenable when the Polish Super Cup final, which was due to be played at the National Stadium, was canceled recently after the stadium’s operators failed to obtain a safety permit from city authorities.

Mr Kapler defended his record as president of NCS, the body charged with overseeing construction of the National Stadium, saying

Poland’s Minister of Sport and Tourism Joanna Mucha to explain why Mr Kapler was given such a large bonus.

According to Mr Hofman, the decision to give Mr Kapler the bonus shows the “ultimate arrogance of the PO government.”

But under increasing pressure, Ms Mucha said last Thursday that the bonus would be withheld. In an earlier statement posted on the Ministry of Sport’s website, Ms Mucha had thanked Mr Kapler for his effort during his time at the NCS. “I realize that being attacked by the media, today he is placed in an unfavorable light. I hope that over time the evaluation of Mr Kapler’s performance will change,” she said.

that the facility was constructed in only 32 months and at a lower-than-expected cost.

“Although my participation in this project has come to an end as a director, I am convinced that this magnificent facility has the potential in the future to be not only a center of entertainment and culture but a profitable and independent business,” he said in a statement.

Despite resigning, Mr Kapler was set to receive a bonus of z∏.570,000 according to a contract he signed back in 2008, a fact which has led to criticism from some members of the media, as well as from Poland’s largest opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS).

PiS spokesperson Adam Hofman had called on

David Ingham

COURTESY OF NATIONAL STADIUM NCS / J.KOÂNIK

National Sports Centre head resigns over National Stadium delays

The National Stadium is still waiting to host its first match

The Pedros Cup, the biggest indoor track-and-field event in Poland, took place in Bydgoszcz earlier this month. This year’s competition comprised three events: the men’s and women’s pole vault and the men’s shot put.

In the shot put, Poland’s current Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski threw a season best of 21.05 meters to take first place, with the 2009 World Champion, the US’s Christian Cantwell, taking second with a throw of 20.96 meters.

In the women’s pole vault, Russian world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva came in

first with a vault of 4.68 meters. British sensation Holly Bleasdale, who broke her own personal best with a vault of 4.87 meters earlier this year, failed to match the Russian athlete and came second with 4.60 meters.

The men’s pole vault was won by local favorite ¸ukasz Michalski, who represents the Zawisza Bydgoszcz athletics club. Mr Michalski led the way after clearing the bar at a height of 5.72 meters. Czech athlete Jan Kudlička and Britain’s Steven Lewis finished second and third respectively.

Marcin ¸ojewski

Those who take up the offer will have access to a private skybox for three hours before kick-off and 90 minutes after, tickets to the game – with seats located just outside the box and a gourmet menu provided by Austrian event caterers DO & CO. Alternatively, the Prestige Gold package provides a business-mixer type environment which allows guests to share lounges that feature bars and catering points offering both international and local cuisine. The offer also includes match-day tickets and live entertainment.

Prices per person range from €1,450 for a group game to €23,900 for all the matches in Poland, as well as the final, which takes place in Kiev on July 1.

David Ingham

COURTESY OF UEFA

Tomasz Majewski (pictured) and ¸ukasz Michalski both won their events in Bydgoszcz

With this summer’s UEFA Euro 2012 tournament just around the corner, tickets for games at the event’s eight stadiums in Poland and Ukraine are selling out fast.

But for those who still want to take advantage of the opportunity to get hold of the best seats in the house, plus enjoy great food and entertainment, some packages within the UEFA Club Prestige range are still available.

The Prestige Platinum range, which is priced from €1,950 per person for a group match at Poznaƒ’s Municipal Stadium, to €13,400 per person for three group matches, a quarterfinal and a semi-final at Warsaw’s National Stadium, offers guests the most exclusive environments in which to watch matches.

Some tickets include a gourmet meal

Maciej Rybus to leave Legia Warszawa COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Poles triumph Best seats in the house at at Pedros Cup European championships

Legia Warszawa midfielder Maciej Rybus has agreed to join Russian club Terek Grozny on a three-and-ahalf-year deal, which could be worth more than €3 million including add-ons.

Terek, which finished last season in 11th place in the Russian Premier League,

first spotted Mr Rybus playing for Legia against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League group stages earlier this season.

The 21-year-old, who started his professional career at Legia, will join the Russian side after Legia’s away fixture against Sporting

Lisbon in the Europa League on February 24.

In the first leg of the Europa League match between Legia and Sporting Lisbon last Thursday, the game ended in a 2-2 draw, following a late equalizer by Sporting’s André Santos.

David Ingham

22

LIFESTYLE

www.wbj.pl

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

Exhibition

Images from the underground

Artur Rubinstein

Concert

Remembering a piano legend

Artur Rubinstein, a Pole who was considered one of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century, will be remembered in a celebration of the 125th anniversary of his birth at the National Theater

was young I divided my time impartially among wine, women and song. I deny this categorically. Ninety percent of my interests were women.”

At this one-night-only concert, 22-year-old Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova will play some of the compositions most associated with Rubinstein, including Chopin’s Sonata No. 3, Op. 58.

Urban culture in Warsaw Adidas Originals Rocks the Floor March 2-3 Soho Factory, ul. Miƒska 25 Warsaw Poland’s biggest hip-hop festival returns for its second edition to Warsaw’s Praga district this March. The event will bring together four fundamental elements of hip-hop culture: MCing, B-boying (break dancing), DJing and graffiti art.

In each of the four categories some of the best inter-

David Ingham

If it’s the taste and experience of old Warsaw you’re after, the five-star Hotel Rialto’s eponymous restaurant will certainly not disappoint.

Located on ul. Wilcza, not far from the capital’s historic Palace of Culture and Science, the restaurant’s stylish art deco and art nouveau interior

speaks of a bygone age that was brought to an abrupt end

by World War II. Close enough to the capital’s central business district to be accessible for a working lunch, and elegant and authentic enough to create a lasting impression on those who are keen to explore Polish cuisine and history, it is the ideal place to sample the best of real Polish cuisine.

Traditional but sophisticated dishes such as herring with hard-boiled egg and onion served under creamy mayonnaise, as well as game pierogi with crispy bacon and onion, currently feature on the restaurant’s early 20th-century menu. For the

more adventurous, “Prewar” tripe soup (flaki) served with veal meatballs and accompanying spices is also recommended.

The restaurant’s choice of deserts will come as little surprise to those familiar with Polish cuisine, but all are exquisitely presented and favor seasonal ingredients.

Aside from its early 20thcentury menu, the Rialto Restaurant also offers a threecourse business lunch, with tea and coffee, for z∏.85 per person. An a la carte menu is available in the evening.

Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2 www.csw.art.pl Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4 www.czarnagaleria.art.pl Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11a www.owzpap.pl Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com

Gareth Price

Galeria Appendix 2 ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 www.appendix2.com

Reservations: 22 58 48 77 restaurant@hotelrialto.com.pl

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18a www.asymetria.eu Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.galeriafoksal.pl Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl

Rialto Restaurant

national and domestic artists will be performing, including Polish rapper O.S.T.R. and US actor and performer Yasiin Bey, who is also known as Mos Def. Organizers say the aim of the event is to “create a space to explore new art from around the world, where artists can exchange experiences, to show hip-hop culture as a unique and extremely fast-moving component of modern culture in which everyone, regardless of age or residence, can find

something for themselves.”

DI

For more information log on to rockthefloor.eu

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

COURTESY OF HOTEL RIALTO

Rialto Restaurant ul. Wilcza 73 Warsaw rialto.pl

DI

For more information log on to muzeumkarykatury.pl

Festival this month.

Mr Rubinstein, who was born in ¸ódê, was famous during his lifetime for being one of the foremost interpreters of Poland’s most well-known musical export, Fryderyk Chopin, as well as for his love of the high life.

When questioned once about his youth, Mr Rubinstein is said to have remarked, “It is said of me that when I

A taste of old Warsaw WBJ’s restaurant review feature

There are also examples of underground pamphlets and newspapers, as well as photographs and fragments of the film “Forbidden songs.”

COURTESY OF ROCKTHEFLOOR.EU

Artur Rubinstein in Memoriam February 23, 7 pm National Theater Pl. Teatralny Warsaw

Fans of both history and satire have the chance to visit an ongoing exhibition featuring hidden artistic treasures that were saved from the period when Warsaw was under occupation by Nazi Germany.

The exhibition highlights the works of Polish cartoonists such as Henryk Chmielewski (who operated during the war under the pseudonym “Yes”) and Stanis∏aw Miedza-Tomaszewski (known as “Miedza”) and the role their art played in the resistance movement.

Drawings on display include an image of Hitler with the SS symbol for eyes and a swastika instead of lips, as well as an illustration showing the Warsaw mermaid “Syrenka” cutting a German soldier to pieces with a sword.

COURTESY OF MUZEUM KARYKATURY

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Warsaw 1939-1944 Underground Satire Until May 20 Museum of Caricature and Cartoon Art in Warsaw ul. Kozia 11

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

Simonis Gallery ul. Burakowska 9 www.simonisgallery.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LAST WORD

FEBRUARY 20-26, 2012

www.wbj.pl

23

Tech Eye

Scientific method vs the ‘miraculous’ iPhone

who narrowly avoided joining a Good-Book-of-the-month cult, thanks to a loony-detector app on her phone. The next day we read the

“Is there anything this gadget can’t do?” we recently wailed to our awfully wedded wench.

She thought for a moment before

replying. “It’s rubbish for voodoo.

Stick a pin in it and see – only one you’re hurting is yourself.”

She’s a smart woman, Techeye’s wench is. And she got us thinking – what other things is the iPhone rubbish at? We decided to approach the matter scientifically by crafting a list of hypotheses and setting out to disprove them.

Our hypotheses: 1) An iPhone makes a great companion for fish.

2) When flame broiled, an iPhone can satisfy any appetite.

3) If you record a detailed list of all your greatest sins on an iPhone and launch it in the Pope’s general direction during a public address using a hightech trebuchet, then your sins are instantly absolved and you can commit, like, 20 new ones before God notices.

On the basis of our scientific investigation, we can say with confidence that all three of these hypotheses are false. Oh, and we learned a few other things as well: the Swiss Guards have no

sense of humor and they don’t appreciate anyone lobbing wet, charred phones at their beloved pontiff.

Enough about that, though. Here’s something that the iPhone does in a blessedly mundane fashion – monitor your baby. Provided you’ve got a Smart Baby Monitor from Withings (withings.com), that is.

The Smart Baby Monitor is an iPhone peripheral, with a three-megapixel, wideangle video sensor, a sensitive microphone and a speaker so you can shout “Don’t eat the brown stuff!” as you sprint towards to the baby’s room. The monitoring program can be set to alert you to changes in movement, sound, temperature and humidity.

Withings’ gadget also works with the iPad and iPod Touch. Baby not included, although with the £299 price tag you’d be forgiven for wondering.

COURTESY OF JARRE TECHNOLOGIES

stirring account of Stroppy Bob, who fell out of an airplane, landed on an iPhone (and its owner), and lived to tell the tale.

COURTESY OF WITHINGS

Every day, it seems, Techeye reads about the miraculous power of the iPhone. Every damned day. Not long ago there was a story about a woman

The iPhone is also good for playing music, which you probably know already. But did you know it’s good for playing music on absurdly expensive speakers?

Take a gander at the AeroSystem One, a dock speaker for the iPod or iPhone from Jarre Technologies (jarre.com). At a cost of just £799 and a little self respect – you’re buying a speaker from Jean Michel Jarre, after all – you get 240° sound dispersion (with built-in 3D enhancement filters, whatever that means), two 30w high-def tweeters and a 60w subwoofer. And it’s shaped like one of those barrier posts that airport security always uses.

If that’s not rich enough for you, the company has just announced an ultra-swank version of the AeroSystem One made of crystal from Lalique. “To create this piece of work, 13 master glass-blowers blow, cut and polish crystal with their expert hands,” Jarre Technologies is boasting.

In other words, the company has hired guys who can blow crystal with their frickin hands. And that – iPhone or no iPhone – is truly miraculous. ●

Ever been beaten like a rented mule by the Swiss Guard? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com

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