WBJ #42 2012

Conservative PO MP John Godson weighs in on Poland’s “culture war”

3

10

WWW.WBJ.PL

Poland has unveiled its long-awaited shale gas taxation strategy. Experts say it's “attractive” for investors in the sector

VOLUME 18, NUMBER 42 • OCTOBER 22-28, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

Privatize it

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

COURTESY OF QUESTIA

REAL ESTATE

Privatization is a key part of the government’s plan to launch new investments – but it's also just sound economic policy 12-13

• Skanska offices • New-home subsidy • Adventure World Warsaw 15-17

Plus • The PM’s stimulus plan • Inflation holds steady • Investment profiles • Mobile payments • UOKiK interview • TP dividends

In this issue

SHUTTERSTOCK

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Investing in Poland Project . . . . . . . . . .10 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13 Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-17 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Conservative maneuver

Poland chides Russia

Prime Minister Donald Tusk is trying to rein in a conservative faction in his party as the liberal opposition launches a “culture war” 3

The Foreign Ministry has expressed its outrage over the publication of photos depicting bodies of the victims of the 2010 Smolensk disaster 4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

Poland rises in Doing Business ranking

was Poland’s current-account deficit in August, far lower than expected, as trade slowed significantly.

-5.2% was the growth rate in industrial production in September. It was the first time the figure has been negative since October 2009.

z∏.3,640.84 that was the average gross wage in Poland in September.

30,000-50,000 is how many individual investors are expected to sign up for shares of state-owned utility ZE PAK, the fifthlargest electricity producer in Poland, according to analysts surveyed by business daily Parkiet.

Quote of the Week

Herman Van Rompuy

“They say we want a culture war. Yes, we do.”

Janusz Palikot, leader of Palikot's Movement, talking about his wish for a “war” in Poland on social issues such as abortion, gay rights and the relationship between church and state.

Figures in focus Farmers’ market Percentage of workforce employed in agriculture, selected EU27 countries, 2011 30 25 20 15 10 5

Log on to WBJ.pl to read our entertainment writer’s reviews of three movies that delighted audiences during the most recent Warsaw Film Festival.

DATELINE

October

Atrium European Real Estate ........................15 Avestus Real Estate ..17 Bank Gospodarstwa

Warsaw Marriott Hotel

Event:

Web:

konferencje.nowyadres.pl/office-buildings-inpoland.php

Event:

This 5th edition of the conference, organized

by Nowy Adres, will feature over 30 expert speakers, as well as a number of lectures and panel discussions. It promises to be a great meeting opportunity for senior management of companies in the Polish office market.

Bank Zachodni WBK6, 7 BGK ............................12

CEE Property Group ..16 Location:

OFFICE BUILDINGS IN POLAND

ny

** UK

e

ma

nc

Amber Gold ..................7 Home Broker ............16 PwC ............................10

BRE Bank ....................6

24-28 FASHIONPHILOSOPHY

Citi Handlowy ............12 Czerwona Torebka ......5 DHL ............................17 DM BOÂ........................7

25

5TH JEWELRY AUCTION

Event:

Ninety rare items will be auctioned from a wide selection of old jewelry from the art deco and Biedermeier periods, among others. The offer includes diamond-encrusted bracelets and a unique ring called “the poisoner.”

Location:

ul. Marsza∏kowska 34-50, Warsaw

Web:

desa.pl

PKO BP ......................12

AIG New Europe ..........5 Schlemmer ................23 Polimex-Mostostal ......5

Krajowego ....................4

25

Ge r

Company index Warsaw Film Festival

Web:

ly

Source: Eurostat

Advent International ....6 Hammacher

Location:

Fra

*Highest in EU27, **Lowest in EU27

Remi Adekoya

On WBJ.pl

FashionPhilosophy Fashion Week Poland is the biggest fashion event in the region, say organizers. This event will present Spring/Summer 2013 trends. ¸ódê fashionweek.pl

Ita

7

0 EU 2

achieved satisfactory wording on an eventual financial mechanism for the euro zone.”

Such a mechanism, even if it were to materialize, would now be “separated” from negotiations over the general EU budget. Mr Tusk said that in the summit’s final agreement “there was no question of a separate budget for the euro zone or even a separate mechanism for it.”

He said the euro zone budget proposals would now be examined by Mr Van Rompuy, but no “concrete date” has been given.

Regarding the banking union, Mr Tusk said as long as Poland is outside the euro zone, it would have “fewer rights but also fewer obligations” in the proposed supervision process.

nd Gr ee ce Po rtu ga l Bu lga ria

of 2013,” he added.

This is important news, especially for countries like Spain, since only after the SSM is fully operational will the euro zone’s rescue fund be able to recapitalize troubled banks directly, without adding to a country’s sovereign debt pile.

Meanwhile, Poland went into the summit mainly concerned about recent talks of a separate euro zone budget that would function alongside the general EU budget.

Poland has been very wary of a possible two-budget solution, as it fears this could mean less money for it in the 20142020 EU-wide budget.

But Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Brussels that “after two hours of arguing, mainly with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Poland

ia*

EU leaders agreed last week to set up a euro zone banking supervisor, a major prerequisite for a proposed banking union aimed at preventing another financial crisis in the currency bloc.

The necessary legislative framework should be in place

by January 1, 2013, and the European Central Bank-led overseer, which will have the power to intervene in any euro zone bank, is expected to take off fully later next year.

After the deal was agreed, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the “Single Supervisory Mechanism [is meant] to prevent banking risks and cross-border contagion from emerging.”

“Once this is agreed, the SSM could probably be effectively operational in the course

Rostowski named CEE FM of the year Poland’s Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski was awarded the title of “Finance Minister of the Year 2012 for Emerging Europe” by Emerging Markets, an online economic news site. David Hauner, head of EEMEA economics and fixed income strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch, said Mr Rostowski had provided a model for how his Western European neighbors should have acted since the sovereign debt crisis hit the euro zone. Poland’s economy has grown in every year since the crisis began. ●

€633 million

EU banking union and budget

an

Poland sees itself as a future member of the euro zone but is in no hurry to adopt the euro, Marek Belka, president of the National Bank of Poland, said last Thursday.

“Poland perceives itself as a future member of the euro zone but is avoiding haste on the matter for a number of reasons,” Mr Belka said in a speech.

“The main reason is that we are not yet wellprepared to join the zone,” Mr Belka added. He also noted that Poland must be sure that the euro zone is in a stable position before it decides to join.

Numbers in the News

Po la

Euro adoption can wait, says NBP head

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

For the second year in a row, Poland has risen significantly – this year by seven positions – in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, in which countries are graded based on the quality of their business climate.

The ranking is considered one of the most important resources used by investors to decide whether to invest in a given country. This year Poland ranked 55th in the Doing Business report, which encompasses 185 countries, and is behind the likes of Georgia, Lithuania and Kazakhstan.

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Ro m

2

Echo Investment ........17 Eko Holding..................6 Estudio Lamela..........10 Eurocash ......................5 Fiat ..............................6 Forteam Investments ..5

Imtech Polska ............15 Prudential ....................3 ING Bank Âlàski ..........6 PTC ..............................6 Invest Bank ................12 PZU ............................12 Jarre Technologies ....23 RTV Euro AGD ............15 JSW ............................12 SEGRO ........................17 KBC Securities ............7 Servier ........................10 KGHM ..................12, 20 Kompania W´glowa ..12 Skanska Property Las Palm ....................15 Poland ........................15 Lotos ..........................20 Sonoco Products Maçków Pracownia

Company ....................17

Projektowa ................17 T-Mobile ......................6 MasterCard Europe ....6 TP ................................5 Metrohouse & TVN ............................20 Partnerzy....................16 Vantage Mid Europa Partners ..6 Development ..............17 NowyGaz ......................8 Warsaw Stock Orange..........................6 Exchange....................12 PBP Bank ....................7 Wodrol Inwestycje ......15 Peter Nielsen &

Gazprom ......................6 Partners ......................6 W´glokoks ..................12 Grant Thornton ............6 PGE ............................12 X-Trade Brokers ....7, 20 GTC ............................20 PGNiG ....................8, 12 ZE PAK ..................2, 12

NEWS

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Politics

State promises less bureaucracy

Can Tusk end the ‘abortion war’?

No extremes

SHUTTERSTOCK

When 40 MPs from Civic Platform, the senior party in Poland’s ruling government coalition, voted recently to continue work on legislation that would further tighten Poland’s already restrictive abortion laws, a political and media storm erupted, sparking what some in the Polish media

Platform MP, John Godson, has publicly back-tracked on the issue, saying he now “supports the existing [abortion] compromise.” (See interview with Mr Godson, p. 14).

have dubbed “the abortion war.”

For Civic Platform, which positions itself as a moderate party, the vote sent out mixed signals to its electorate. Even media commentators usually supportive of the government lambasted it for the abortion vote.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has now stepped in, reportedly holding a meeting with his parliamentary caucus during which he blasted the 40 MPs, saying they were “breaking up” the party.

Since then at least one prominent conservative Civic

Mr Palikot says his party wants a culture war

Commenting on the matter in a television interview, Mr Tusk said he would do “everything to make sure neither the ultraconservative legislation nor the ‘rainbow’ legislation passes in parliament.”

By the “rainbow legislation,” the PM was referring to the proposal of the anti-clerical opposition party Palikot’s Movement, which wants to significantly liberalize Poland’s existing abortion laws.

Palikot’s Movement wants to give women the right to an abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy, without any restrictions.

“There is a huge sphere occupied by moderate Poland, which does not want a revolution or a counter-revolution,” said the PM on the issue. But a “revolution” seems to be just what Palikot’s Movement has in mind.

Its leader, Janusz Palikot, said last week that he and his party were intent on starting a “culture war.”

“They say we want to start a culture war. Yes, we do. …

Why? Because the compro-

COURTESY OF KPRM

The prime minister has moved to quell dissent among his MPs that has seen them taking a controversial stand on abortion

Prime Minister Tusk is trying to hold his party together mises that were reached in the 1990s on the constitution, abortion and relations with the Vatican have not stood the test of time,” he said.

“It’s time to challenge those rotten compromises,” he added. He also claimed that “70-80 percent” of Poles support a liberalization of abortion laws. Polling has shown a near 50-50 split between those who favor and those who oppose liberalizing Poland’s abortion laws.

During the television interview, Prime Minister Tusk was also asked about other hot-button social issues in Poland, including in vitro fertilization, for which there

is currently no legal framework, and gay rights issues.

Mr Tusk responded that Civic Platform would soon present legislation that would probably be “associated with the liberal wing” of the party.

This would likely mean the state would provide funding for in vitro fertilization procedures in some cases for a limited number of attempts. However, the PM opposes refunding the procedure in the case of single women who want to have children. Mr Tusk also said he opposes gay marriage, although he supports civil unions.

Remi Adekoya

Shale gas

Poland plans 40% tax on gas and oil profits The planned tax burden is low compared to other countries The Polish government plans to introduce a new regulatory and tax regime that would cap taxes at 40 percent of profits for companies extracting oil and gas in Poland. It says the move will help create a stable investment framework for the country’s shale gas sector.

“We are launching this system to ensure that investors who are currently investing in Poland can feel assured what the state’s strategy in this matter is. After all, we are talking about billions of z∏oty in investments. It is very important for us that investors feel safe and that these investments can be made in a transparent manner,”

Tomasz Arabski, the head of the prime minister’s office, said at a news conference.

“Our aim is to create the best regulations possible. We need to take care of the citizens and the investors, but on the other hand we need to secure the State Treasury’s interests,” said Environment Minister Marcin Korolec.

Poland plans to impose a tax of 5 percent of the value of gas extraction and a tax of 10 percent of the value of crude oil extraction. It also plans to introduce a 25 percent tax on the difference between revenues and expenses.

The extraction fee will be raised to z∏.20-24 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, up from the z∏.4.90 to z∏.5.89 charged at present.

Including a flat 19 percent corporate income tax, “we think the burden on investors’ profits should measure around 40 percent,” Deputy Finance Minister Maciej Grabowski told the Polish Press Agency.

The new tax regime is expected to come into force on January 1, 2015.

Attractive package “Based on the 40 percent figure, this is an attractive fiscal package,” said Peter Csaszar, an energy analyst at KBC Securities. He noted that the global average for total government take is around 65-70 percent.

In terms of tax burden, “Poland would rank at the lower end, lower than countries such as the UK or Norway,” he added.

“This may act as a stimulus for further shale gas investments in Poland,” said Mr Csaszar.

However, he cautioned that the initial excitement about potential shale gas reserves had fizzled out, adding that this may be a reason for the low tax.

“Poland seems to have a less favorable geology than elsewhere, with reserves now being estimated downwards and unsuccessful drillings reported,” he said.

According to the Polish Geological Institute, Poland’s shale gas reserves are likely to stand at between 0.35 and 0.77 trillion cubic meters, much lower than the 5.3 trillion cubic meters estimated earlier by the US Energy Information Administration. Gareth Price

IBA European Regional Forum

Shale supervisor The government’s new shale gas law envisions the creation of a state-owned institution called the National Operator of Energy Mineables (NOKE). The body, which is to be supervised by the treasury minister, will oversee the shale gas exploration industry and will have the right of first refusal on the secondary trade in licenses.

NOKE’s profits will be transferred to the state budget and the Hydrocarbon Generation’s Fund. The latter will support long-term investments. ●

Less bureaucracy and better quality of service are among the improvements in administration proposed in a government scheme presented by Micha∏ Boni, Poland’s minister of administration and digitization. The scheme, called Optimum State, is aimed at creating a citizenfriendly administration.

Explaining the Optimum State concept, Mr Boni said, “An optimum state is one with only as many regulations as are needed to keep institutions alive, serve the population and businesses.”

Prudential soon in Poland?

Prudential plans to invest at least z∏.150 million in the Polish market over the next three years, creating jobs for 1,200 people, Parkiet reported. These are the plans announced

by Abhishek Bhatia, who will head the Polish division of the British insurance provider. The company will reportedly launch sales of life insurance policies at the beginning of 2013, although it has announced plans to enter the Polish market in the past, before reneging on these.

Inflation below 3%: Finance Ministry Poland’s Finance Ministry estimates that at the end of 2012, Poland’s inflation rate may slow down to below 3%. “According to preliminary estimates, core inflation, excluding food and energy prices in September, may fall to 1.9% y/y (compared to 2.1% in August), which is a level last seen in the first quarter of 2011,” the ministry wrote in a statement. ●

21-23 November 2012, Warsaw

Opportunities and challenges that growing businesses face in selected new EU member states – perspectives for the future FOR L AWY ERS A ND B U S I NES S P E O P L E W W W. I B A W A R S A W. 2 0 1 2 . C O M

3

WORKSHOPS AND SESSION S

• F E E O N LY 1 8 0 0 P L N • M A I N S P O N S O R : TM F G R O U P

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

State investment

The government says the z∏.40 billion plan will increase small firms’ access to credit Out of all the proposals Prime Minister Donald Tusk put forward in his October 12 speech to parliament, his plan for a special investment vehicle to be managed by the stateowned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), attracted the greatest amount of interest – and questions.

In his speech, Mr Tusk announced the creation of the investment vehicle, called “Polish Investments,” which is due have z∏.40 billion in funds by 2015 – all to be managed by BGK. The funds would be lent to firms, mostly SMEs, for investment in Poland. The program would be financed “without increasing public debt” but by “exploiting frozen assets of state-owned firms,” Prime Minister Tusk said.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski and his counterpart in the Treasury Ministry, Miko∏aj Budzanowski, tried to shed more light on the PM’s proposal the next day.

Mr Rostowski said BGK would receive shares of state-

owned firms, and after these shares are sold off, the funds from those shares will “recapitalize the bank and increase its lending potential.”

“We will select well-prepared, profitable projects and invest in them,” he added.

Treasury Minister Budzanowski said that the state would still keep control of “strategic” firms. The Treasury has not revealed which stateowned firms will see their shares transferred to BGK. Nevertheless, the government says that the value of the shares the bank will receive is roughly z∏.10 billion. With that money at hand, BGK will then be able to raise some z∏.30 billion in financing, likely by simply borrowing money from other banks or issuing bonds.

The shares, along with the newly raised capital, come to the z∏.40 billion in the government’s plan.

BGK will also guarantee up to 60 percent of the value of other banks’ loans granted to companies under the investment program. BGK is due to begin issuing loans to investors in 2013. Loans of up to z∏.3.5 million will be guaranteed for a maximum of 27 months.

COURTESY OF KPRM

Prime Minister Tusk’s proposed investment vehicle – a closer look

Prime Minister Donald Tusk According to the government, the program aims to “enable SMEs access to credit during the economic slowdown, offer banks security tools against loan risk with a credibility [guarantee] equivalent to the guarantee of the

State Treasury.”

BGK currently has an AAA long-term credit rating on domestic loans from Fitch. The bank made a net profit of z∏.270 million in H1 of this year.

Remi Adekoya

Poland chides Russia over photos of victims of Smolensk tragedy After several Russian websites published photographs seemingly depicting the body of the late President Lech Kaczyƒski and partial re-mains of others who died in the April 2010 Smolensk airplane disaster, Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced its anger and disappointment over the publications to the Russian ambassador.

Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jerzy Pomianowski delivered an official statement summoning the Russian ambassador, so that Poland could express its “indignation over the internet publication of graphic images of the bodies of victims of the government plane crash in Smolensk on 10 April 2010,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote in a statement.

The ministry claims that the photos were taken by Russian officers.

The spokesperson for Russia’s federal investigation authority, Vladimir Markin, denied these allegations, the Russia Today television news channel reported him as saying.

He added that measures had been taken to remove the

photographs from Russian media, and that investigators were looking into who had originally posted the photos.

When contacted by WBJ, the Russian embassy declined to comment.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr Pomianowski told the Russian ambassador that Poland expects Russian authorities to promptly launch an inquiry into the matter and punish those responsible for the leaked images. It also expects Russian investigators to cooperate closely with the Polish Internal Security Agency and prosecutor’s office dealing with the case.

Russian authorities have blocked access to some of the websites on which the images were hosted, a fact that Mr Pomianowski’s statement acknowledged.

The appearance of the photos is yet another embarrassment for Russian and Polish authorities, after prosecutors in Warsaw last month said at least two victims’ families had received and buried the wrong bodies.

Izabela Depczyk

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 HA LI K @ VA L K EA .C O M, O R C AL L + 4 8 ( 2 2 ) 6 78-9912

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 2012 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2012 (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 2012 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2012 (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

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

TP cuts dividend as cash flow outlook worsens trum purchases are pending and the threat of a European Commission fine hangs.

A preliminary set of Q3 numbers revealed the carnage: Q3 revenues were down 5.5 percent year-on-year, including a sudden move to 4.8 percent erosion in mobile revenues.

That seemed dark after the Q2 group top line had been down a mere 1.1 percent The full-year revenue target was shifted down: “Not more than 3 percent” erosion became a forecast for a 4 to 5 percent decline.

And while cost control helped protect margins, the lower revenues and worsening

PAP Market Insider – incumbent Polish telecom TP slashed its dividend per share from a long-standing floor at z∏.1.5 to z∏.1.0 and said that its target of z∏.2.0 billion in net free cash flow was now well out of reach.

The firm cut short a share buyback as well.

Revenue and EBITDA margin targets were also cut.

“The macro environment is difficult, a price war on the mobile market: we see 2013 also as a difficult year,” CFO Jacques de Galzain told an investor teleconference.

“It is very important to keep a safe balance sheet,” Mr de Galzain said of the dividend cut. Gearing at 35 to 40 percent and net debt-to-EBITDA at a max of 1.5x are the by-words.

By cutting dividend in excess of free cash flow guidance, markets were left to understand that pressure might increase moving forward.

5

Retail

payments situation meant TP was only at half of its original full-year cash generation target after nine months. That motivated the decision to preannounce Q3 and revise guidance, management said.

The value of TP’s shares took a painful dive last Wednesday, falling 14.8 percent from the previous day’s close to z∏.12.83.

“The cutting of guidance, deep and unexpected, may be viewed only negatively, especially since it translates into a deep dividend cut,” Ipopema Securities analyst Waldemar Stachowiak told PAP. Glenn Tyrpa

Czerwona Torebka to invest z∏.4.5 bln to launch strip malls The firm wants to open over 1,880 strip malls Czerwona Torebka, a company created by Mariusz Âwitalski, who founded retail chains ˚abka, Biedronka and Eurocash, is planning to invest z∏.4.5 billion until 2021 on setting up a chain of shopping plazas throughout Poland.

So far, the company has opened 22 such centers, and plans to open over 1,880 in total over the next nine years.

By the end of that period, the company aims to operate 1.2 million sqm of leasable space.

The company said the chain is designed to match the needs of inhabitants in small and medium-sized Polish cities.

“The format of the company is to cater to the needs of small and medium-sized cities where there is still a big need for modern retail space,” Czerwona Torebka wrote in a statement.

Czerwona Torebka minimalls will bring together grocery, commercial and service points.

“The new chain is to provide an alternative to the private retail outlets, the malls

are to give shoppers an opportunity to easily access a wide range of high-quality goods,” the company said.

“For owners of local shops on the other hand, this is an opportunity to move their business into a convenient location with modern infrastructure,” it added.

Mariusz Âwitalski is the majority shareholder of Czerwona Torebka, holding 74.69 percent of all shares, while Forteam Investments, which belongs to private equity fund AIG New Europe, has 25.04 percent.

Izabela Depczyk

Polimex-Mostostal plans to slash workforce

COURTESY OF TP

Threats to cash flows TP confirmed a long list of threats to cash flows: a wave of unlimited usage offers are tearing at mobile revenues, the economic downturn has suppliers pressing for their payments and customers lagging with their own, somewhere between z∏.1 billion and z∏.2 billion in spec-

www.wbj.pl

TP confirmed a long list of threats to cash flows

Troubled Polish construction firm Polimex-Mostostal has announced plans to fire 1,744 workers by March 2013. The company, which has found itself in dire financial straits, currently employs nearly 10,000.

The builder took heavy losses on infrastructure projects in the wake of the Euro 2012 soc-

cer championships, when it signed unfavorable agreements that didn’t allow it to adjust its prices for changes in the cost of materials or labor.

It was reported in July that the firm was in debt to the tune of some z∏.2.5 billion.

“We want to downsize by 1,744 jobs in the near future,” said the company’s CEO,

Robert Oppenheim, at a general shareholders meeting last Monday.

The company also plans to issue up to 396 million shares with pre-emptive rights, of which 300 million shares at a price of z∏.0.50 will go to the state-controlled Industrial Development Agency.

RG

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

Advent nears Eko Holding takeover Advent International appears to be in pole position to take over Polish supermarket chain Eko Holding.

Advent International and rival private equity firm Mid Europa Partners have been involved in a bidding war, but Eko’s former chief executive Krzysztof Gradecki told Reuters he and his wife had tendered their 55 percent stake to Advent, as previously agreed.

This is despite the fact that Mid Europa Partners offered a higher price. Mid Europa’s offer per share valued the whole company at z∏.309 million, while Advent’s valued it at z∏.272 million.

Gazprom to avoid EU probe Russian gas giant Gazprom will register its overseas assets in Switzerland, RIA Novosti reported last week. In doing so, the company will not have to establish two independent branches, as required by EU legislation. The European Commission has no right to carry out investigations in Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. In early September, the EC launched an antitrust investigation into Gazprom’s activities. ●

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Mobile payments

Orange and T-Mobile jostle for position in Poland’s mobile payments market The mobile operators are due to launch contactless services in Poland within weeks Orange and T-Mobile have begun the battle for control of Poland’s nascent mobile payments market, with both announcing plans last week to launch contactless services in the country later this year.

Both are aiming to team up with as many partners as possible to ensure they get the largest slice of the pie.

Although the technology can vary, contactless payments work by using a mobile phone equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC) module. The SIM NFC card installed in the mobile phone works with PayPass technology to allow consumers to make payments by using their mobile smartphone anywhere their card is accepted.

services in Poland through contactless payments in November 2012. It will offer the service through its new scheme, Orange Cash, which it is launching in conjunction with BRE Bank’s virtual bank mBank and MasterCard Europe.

“We believe that the mobile payment market will develop quickly and mBank intends to be the leading player in this field,” BRE Bank president Cezary Stypu∏kowski told a news conference.

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), operator of the TMobile network in Poland, will at the end of October also begin offering mobile payment services. By the end of next year the service will be used by tens of thousands of PTC’s customers, Grzegorz Bors, a member of the board at PTC, said at a press conference. The scheme will be launched in cooperation with MasterCard.

SHUTTERSTOCK

6

Mobile payments are expected to take off in Poland soon transactions where its services are used will be carried out on a mobile device by 2020, is itself engaged in preparations to enter the market.

The company has so far conducted mobile payment trials in Poland, working alongside five major banks and three of the country’s leading mobile operators.

Rival services Mobile phone operator Orange says its customers will be able to buy products and

Visa weighs in Visa Europe, which predicts that more than half of all

Asked about Visa’s prospective mobile operator partners, spokesperson Maciej Gajewski said that Visa “works with all partners, including all mobile operators.”

“Visa Europe is already working in Poland on commercial mobile payment launches with many banks, a few of

which agreed to be named.

They are: BRE (mBank and MultiBank), Bank Zachodni WBK and ING Bank Âlàski.

The organisation also cooperates with all mobile operators, the most advanced projects being run with two of them, including the Orange network,” he added.

Gareth Price

What worries Polish entrepreneurs: survey Polish firms are worried about potential increases in social security contribution payments required from employers, an unstable exchange rate of the z∏oty and cumbersome regulations, according to a survey carried out by Grant Thornton during the first three quarters of

the sort in the near future, so that might help quell some of those worries.

Half of the entrepreneurs surveyed said they were worried about the exchange rate of the z∏oty to the euro. On this front, Poland’s government has little influence, except in the short term.

2012.

Roughly 80 percent of respondents to the survey said an increase in social security contributions would have a negative or very negative effect on their business. However, in his speech on October 12, Prime Minister Donald Tusk ruled out any increase of

In the opinion of the Tribunal of Justice (judgment of October 4, 2012, court ref. no. C-22/11) the term “denied boarding” mentioned in the Regulation (EC) no.

261/2004, which establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of their being denied boarding and of cancellation or long delays to flights, covers not only denied boarding due to overbooking but also denied boarding due to other reasons, such as operational factors.

Moreover, the occurrence of “extraordinary circumstances” which cause an airline to reschedule subsequent flights, may neither justify “denied boarding” to such subsequent flights nor release the carrier from the obligation of paying compensation to the passengers who were denied boarding to flights chartered after

Official amendments to press releases On October 8, 2012 the president signed new legislation which changes the Act on Press Law. The new provisions abolish the provisions which provided penalties for editors-in-chief in case they don’t publish official amendments or they publish such amendments contrary to the Act. The Act abandons the notion of a socalled response to a statement which poses a threat to personal interests. From now on, the only form of reaction to a press release will be an official amendment, i.e. a statement relating to the facts. The Act also assumes that pursuing protection of personal interests threatened (or violated) as a result of a press release will be possible only by civil lawsuit. ●

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

COURTESY OF FIAT

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik ms@pnplaw.pl the said circumstances had ceased.

Today, it takes roughly 308 days to get a building permit.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has promised to reduce this time to 100 days for big investments and 60 days for small investments. The situation has yet to change, however.

Remi Adekoya

Fiat production in Poland continues to slump

Legal News

Compensation for being denied boarding

What it could influence is an area in which businesses say they need help fast – cumbersome business regulations.

Seventy percent of firms surveyed said they expect the government to simplify and liberalize regulations. An example given was building permits.

Production at Tychy will likely fall for a third-straight year Fiat’s factory in Tychy, southern Poland, will produce roughly 350,000 cars this year, compared to around 468,000 last year and 40 percent less than in 2009, when it produced 606,000 cars. This will be the

third year in a row that production has fallen in what is Fiat’s flagship European factory.

The figures were announced by the factory’s new boss, Antoni Greƒ, who

did not specify what could happen to his firm’s Polish production line in the future.

Some 98.5 percent of the cars produced in Tychy are destined for export, mostly to other European Union member states.

Meanwhile, total new-car sales dropped by 7.1 percent in the EU in the first half of 2012, compared to the same period last year. In Italy, where most Fiat cars produced in Poland go, new car sales have slumped by roughly 20 percent in the last year.

After the first three quarters of this year, Fiat is number 10 in car sales in Poland, with some 9,600 Fiat vehicles sold, over 25 percent less than during the same period last year, according to statistics from industry monitor Samar.

RA

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

7

www.wbj.pl

Banking

Prices

KNF to loosen rules for consumer lending

Inflation remains stable, will the RPP cut rates?

The regulator hopes to slow the drop in consumer loans

Economists expect a sharp slowdown in inflation in the months to come

Andrew Kureth

Poland’s annual inflation rate in September remained at 3.8 percent year-on-year, the same rate as in August, the Central Statistical Office said last week.

The figure was below market forecasts of around 4.0 percent.

Prices increased by 0.1 percent month-on-month, following a 0.3 percent decrease in August.

“The figures are a clear signal that prices have reacted to the decline in domestic demand,” wrote Ignacy Morawski, chief economist at PBP Bank, in an e-mailed statement.

“By October inflation will be within the [central bank’s] inflation target range [of 1.5-3.5 percent]. And by the spring of 2013, it should reach the middle, which is 2.5 percent,” he added.

Mr Morawski explained that

low wage growth, stagnating domestic demand and the global economic slowdown will continue pushing inflation downward.

Last week’s inflation figures were yet another argument for the rate-setting Monetary Policy Council (RPP) to cut interest rates, economists said, with the market consensus being that it will do so at its next meeting in

early November.

The president of the National Bank of Poland, Marek Belka, admitted that lower interest rates were justified in an interview with Bloomberg last week. Until now he had made more neutral comments, but now is considered a dove among the members of the RPP. RG, AK

Ready to drop?

Poland's CPI inflation rate, September 2011-September 2012

5.000 4.625 4.250 3.875 3.500 p.

'1 Oc 1 t. ' 1 No 1 v. ' 1 De 1 c.

'1 Jan 1 . '1 Feb 2 . '1 Ma 2 r. ' 1 Ap 2 r. ' 1 Ma 2 y '1 Jun 2 . '1 2 Jul . '1 Au 2 g.

'1 Se 2 p.

'12

Will more consumer loans be approved as a result of the less-stringent rules?

make less than the average wage and whose loan payments already make up 50 percent of their monthly salary.

The rules are aimed at slowing down dropping consumerloan figures, and reducing the number of people who would look to a more risky “parabank” – like Amber Gold, whose collapse over the summer brought scrutiny to Poland’s non-bank lenders – for such loans. But will these new rules be effective?

“I would not expect a boom,” Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ, chief economist at X-Trade Brokers, told WBJ. “We are in a slowdown, delinquency rates are on the rise, the supply of capital is tight so banks will think twice before taking on higher risk; such regulations usually matter during an expansion – especially in a late phase of an expansion, when some brains get hot and need to be kept in check,” he added.

Se

SHUTTERSTOCK

Poland’s financial regulator, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), has presented new draft amendments to its “Recommendation T” which regulates banks’ consumer loan activities. If passed, the new,

less-restrictive rules would make it easier for banks to make consumer loans.

There are several changes, but one of the most important is the elimination of the requirement for banks to check the creditworthiness of a borrower in the case of small loans. Also, banks will not be restricted from lending to those who

Source: Central Statistical Office

Industrial production, EU financial transaction construction output drop sharply tax to hinder liquidity?

Office revealed last week. In both cases, the readings were worse than market expectations, triggering a depreciation of the z∏oty and a drop in

Producing worry Poland’s industrial production growth rate, September 2011-September 2012

10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4

Se p.

'1 Oc 1 t. ' 1 No 1 v. ' 1 De 1 c.

'1 Jan 1 . '1 Feb 2 . '1 Ma 2 r. ' 1 Ap 2 r. ' 1 Ma 2 y '1 Jun 2 . '1 2 Jul . '1 Au 2 g.

'1 Se 2 p.

'12

-6

bond yields.

The data were somewhat distorted by a lower number of working days than in the same period of last year, but analysts agree that the numbers still confirm that economic growth in Poland is decelerating. In August, industrial production grew by 0.5 percent, and in July by 5.2 percent.

Producer prices rose by 1.8 percent in September, which is the lowest growth in two years and confirms that there is no threat of inflationary pressure, analysts at Bank Zachodni WBK wrote in a report. These figures support expectations that the Monetary Policy Council will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in November, while two other cuts are likely by the end of Q1 2013, BZ WBK added.

AK

Source: Central Statistical Office

More weak numbers from Poland’s labor market Wage growth in Poland’s private sector decelerated sharply in September to 1.6 percent year-on-year, from 2.7 percent in August, the Central Statistical Office announced last week. The average gross wage in Poland in September 2012 amounted to z∏.3,640.84.

At the same time, the

number of those in employment fell 0.1 percent from August 2012. In year-on-year terms there was no change.

Since the beginning of the year the number of employed has declined by 37,000, while it increased by 14,000 in the same period last year.

The last time the Polish labor market had such a

After an agreement reached earlier this month, 11 euro zone states are moving forward with implementing a new financial transactions tax.

Poland, being outside the euro zone, was not part of the agreement, but Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said last week that Poland would “observe this experiment with good will.” Experts have warned, however, that the players in the Polish financial system – including the Warsaw Stock

Exchange, brokerage houses and private brokers – could suffer because of the new tax.

Such a tax would “significantly increase transaction costs, especially for active investors, and will consequently reduce market liquidity. And a market without liquidity is dead,” Marek Pokrywka, director of operations at DM BOÂ, told Parkiet.

“The introduction of a financial transaction tax could be an attractive option for pol-

icymakers, due to the fact that it plays on the public opinion that financial institutions were largely responsible for causing the current crisis,” he added.

The exact details of the tax have not been agreed upon, but it is considered likely that share and bond transactions would be taxed at 0.1 percent, while derivatives would be taxed at a lower rate, likely 0.01 percent, according to the paper.

AK

COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Polish industrial production fell in September by 5.2 percent year-on-year while construction output fell 18 percent, the Central Statistical

Finance Minister Rostowski said Poland would “observe the experiment with good will”

weak Q3 was in 2002.

“The September data clearly indicate that the Polish economy is slowing down significantly. The situation on the job market affects domestic consumption,” Maja Goettig, chief economist at KBC Securities, told Puls Biznesu.

AK

Current-account deficit far smaller than expected Poland’s current-account deficit amounted to €633 million in August, the National Bank of Poland said on Monday. The market had expected a deficit of €1.027 billion.

“The current account deficit narrowed quite visibly in August and annual pace of growth of exports and imports was lower than in previous month,” said economists from

Bank Zachodni WBK in an emailed statement. “In the following months we expect further slowdown in Polish foreign trade.”

AK

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Business regulation

Regulator fights for fair competition and consumers’ rights Ma∏gorzata Krasnod´bska-Tomkiel, president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) talks to WBJ about eliminating anti-competitive practices and protecting consumer rights in Poland `zEwa Boniecka: In what areas do prohibited practices usually occur in Poland?

Ma∏gorzata Krasnod´bskaTomkiel: It is worth emphasizing that competition-restricting practices are at the forefront of UOKiK’s activity. I have in mind not only activities in the broader domestic market, but also in local ones. In 2011, the Office conducted 509 explanatory proceedings and 128 antimonopoly proceedings concerning competition-restricting practices, issuing 72 decisions concerning the abuse of a dominant position.

However, on the domestic level, the abuse of a dominant market position occurs in highly concentrated sectors, i.e. gas or energy, yet the domination does not have to lead directly to abuse. This appears when a company undertakes specific actions in order to eliminate the competition. It happened for instance when the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) refused to enter into an agreement that would have allowed NowyGaz to deliver gas, which resulted in a restriction of competition and in consumers being deprived of the possibility of

choosing a gas provider. Having received notifications that the dominant market player impeded the sale of gas, I instituted legal proceedings against PGNiG and consequently punished it with a z∏.60 million fine.

On the other hand, in its daily work UOKiK tackles many cases concerning the abuse of market power by communes or communal undertakings operating mainly in small local markets. The most common irregularities include the following: onerous contract terms set by the local water supply monopolist, the abuse of a dominant position in the waste disposal market, discrimination of private companies, and even the hindrance of undertakings in the funeral services sector.

Due to the fact that irregularities in local markets can be

THE BEST SOLUTION TO AUDIT AND ACCOUNTING

Wide experience of professional services include: ■ auditing, ■ accounting , ■ financial management, ■ financial & tax advisory, ■ international tax advisory, ■ law advisory, ■ stock exchange advisory referral, ■ bookkeeping & management accounts, ■ economic analysis of the financial and business activities, ■ other services - investigations to support management decisions; assisting clients in changing the legal set up of their business activities e.g. transformation of branches/partnerships into corporations or vice versa, trusteeships as well as business appraisals, economic and financial analysis, due diligences valuation of business within privatization or restructuring procedures, providing trainings.

Biuro Audytorskie SADREN Sp. z o.o.

00-656 Warszawa, ul Âniadeckich 10, tel: (48 22) 621 72 16-18, mail: biuro@sadren.com.pl, www.sadren.com.pl

difficult to spot from the perspective of the country as a whole, UOKiK puts an emphasis on the elimination of infringements on smaller markets. ... Competition on local markets influences not only local entrepreneurs, but also the national economy.

Another type of competition-restricting practice that my agency deals with are cartels – [including] agreements such as price-fixing ... Recently we have detected these practices in the mobile phone, food, and taxi services sectors, among others.

The latest one was identified within the furniture industry.

To what extent do actions taken by your agency lead to the elimination of prohibited practices?

One of my agency’s priorities is to deal with the abuse of a dominant market position, and our actions in this respect are quick and effective, which enables socalled commitment decisions to come into force. This means that commitments made by a company, whose fulfillment results in the elimination of practices which restrict competition, are accepted. Moreover, under such circumstances UOKiK rescinds any financial sanctions. Last year every third decision issued in antimonopoly cases and in cases relating to the violation of collective consumer interests represented this type of measure.

As an example, one of this year’s decisions, issued following my decision to rescind a fine, concerned PGNiG. Contracting parties had complained that notice periods for withdrawing from contracts with PGNiG were too long – lasting as they did for up to 15 months.

As a result of our decision, the notice period was shortened to one month. The entity itself

committed to changing its practices.

Are there any limits to the financial sanctions you impose on wrongdoers?

If the entity disobeys competition or consumer law, the Office may initiate proceedings and, consequently, order the entity to change its practices and impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the entity’s income from the previous year. The total value of financial sanctions imposed last year by the Office exceeded z∏.397 million.

It must be stressed that every company can appeal against our decisions to a court, which makes the execution of

and services. For this reason, cartels constitute the most serious anti-competitive [phenomena] and therefore they entail harsh punishment.

In your opinion, do any changes need introducing – legal or otherwise?

As far as I am concerned, the situation with regards to respecting the law must be improved. In my opinion, new legal instruments would help us fight cartels and other infringements of competition law more effectively. That’s why we recently prepared an amendment to the antimonopoly law.

The essential change is aimed at raising interest among under-

“UOKiK puts an emphasis on the elimination of infringements on smaller markets” fines (which ultimately are paid to the state budget) last longer.

I am pleased that the agency wins most of the cases before the courts. ... In my opinion this confirms the fact that my decisions have a strong basis.

However, I am aware of the fact that we still have a lot to do, especially in the field of cartel detection. The problem is that very often prohibited agreements concluded by undertakings are kept secret and for this reason detection is sometimes not as effective as I would expect. Cartel participants may decide to enter into prohibited price-fixing, market division or bid rigging. Furthermore, due to prohibited agreements consumers lose the opportunity to buy products at lower prices, or enjoy a wide range of products

takings with regards to the leniency program, based on the US system. This will contribute to a better detection of prohibited agreements. The [amendment] will enable entities to obtain even more significant reductions in fines for participating in anti-competitive agreements, as long as they provide us with information on other undetected agreements.

Does your agency enjoy the right to conduct inspections concerning anti-competitive practices by foreign companies operating in Poland, even when the headquarters of those firms are located in other countries?

We do not differentiate between the undertakings of foreign, public or private entities. The rules applying to law-

Ma∏gorzata Krasnod´bska-Tomkiel In 2008, Ma∏gorzata Krasnod´bska-Tomkiel was appointed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to be the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).

She has worked for UOKiK since 1998. She was made vice president in June 2007 when she was responsible for the Department of Competition Protection, Department of Legal Affairs and Department of Market Surveillance.

She lectures on anti-monopoly law at Collegium Civitas, the Polish Academy of Sciences and at the Warsaw School of Economics. She holds a Ph.D. in law.

She is the author of a number of publications concerning Polish and EU competition and protection law. ●

INTERVIEW

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

In the EU there is a debate about how the free market should function, and about the role of the state in the economy.

How do you see this from the perspective of your agency?

I am not a policy maker, but rather the executor of existing laws dealing with competition and consumer protection in the framework of economic realities. I absolutely support the free market and effective competition which, in my opinion, are the best ways to ensure economic growth and improve consumer welfare.

I believe that the free market and fair competition are the basis of our economy. However, generally speaking, there are certain regulatory mechanisms for the better functioning of the free market and in my opinion the activity of my agency ensures this as well. Therefore, as I said before, our aim is to improve the effectiveness of combating prohibited practices for the benefit of all market participants – consumers and those who undertake fair competition and stick to the rules.

When I try to think about the economic crisis from my standpoint – the president of the antimonopoly office – I am totally against any forms of protectionism which could be detrimental to combating the economic slowdown in the EU. The Polish, and to some extent the EU’s gas sector is dependent on deliveries from Russian supplier Gazprom, which has been accused of using monopolistic practices when setting prices. What can be done to open up that market?

Actually, efforts to liberalize the Polish gas sector are being made. As far as I am concerned, the Polish Ministry of Economy has been undertaking actions in order to liberalize the gas market and my agency has been participating actively in that process. As regards competition on the gas market, the agency has examined the market and consequently drawn up a report concerning directions for the development of competition and consumer protection on the gas market in Poland in September 2012.

The thing is that the Polish gas market, in respect of exploitation, storing and sales, is void of competition. Accord-

9

ing to UOKiK, it is necessary to separate the retail and wholesale divisions within PGNiG, activate the wholesale trading of gas via an exchange, protect vulnerable recipients and diversify supply sources in the future.

Now let’s move on to the problem of consumer protection.

Generally, consumer rights are not seen as being sufficiently protected in Poland. How would you respond to that claim?

I absolutely disagree with that view. I believe deeply that consumer protection has undergone a profound change in our country. In Poland there already exists a highly developed institutional system for protecting consumers. My office is one of the institutions responsible for protecting weaker market participants and is the main state authority that deals with that task. Last year UOKiK conducted 372 proceedings concerning the infringement of collective consumer interests and issued 294 decisions as regards the application of prohibited practices by entities.

Apart from UOKiK, many other institutions operate in Poland, supporting consumers in their individual problems.

These include the Trade Inspectorate, the municipal and district consumer ombudsman and several non-governmental organizations. All of these provide free legal assistance to the consumer.

The awareness of consumer law in Poland is growing, people are more and more willing to turn to the consumer ombudsman for its free-of-charge assistance, and I am very pleased with that.

The statistics confirm the following: last year the consumer ombudsman provided nearly 416,000 pieces of advice.

The advice usually covers fields where consumers are not aware of the details and character of the offered services, i.e. financial and telecommunications services. Still in many branches of services consumers have no possibility of negotiating the terms of agreement, thus there is the risk they may be forced to accept contract conditions which are in fact not beneficial to them.

As far as the case of Amber Gold is concerned, it was a massive fraud against the company’s clients. How can you put a stop to such malpractice?

Consumers should be aware that every decision should be made cautiously and deliberately because the consequences of such lack of caution may be very severe. I would like to emphasize that UOKiK operates under specific laws and that is why we are not able to combat all negative practices in the market. When it comes to Amber Gold, I am convinced that on the basis of all the legal instruments that are strictly linked with the powers of the

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

infringing practices are the same for all entities operating in the Polish market. All our procedures are harmonized with the EU and other international standards, but we issue more decisions than other European authorities, since we also deal with abuses on local markets throughout Poland.

According to different surveys, in Western Europe the majority of cases regard anti-competitive agreements, while in Poland nearly 70 percent of cases concern the abuse of a dominant position both on national and local markets.

www.wbj.pl

Ms Krasnod´bska-Tomkiel says UOKiK still has much to do when it comes to identifying cartels agency, we did everything possible. UOKiK acts within the scope of its competence. At present the Office is conducting almost 60 proceedings related to the shadow-banking sector.

And what does your agency do to combat the abusive contract clauses issued by some travel agents?

We regularly monitor the tourism market. In relation to the activity of travel agencies, in the previous year, we analyzed the contract terms applied by tour operators. The inspection revealed that fewer and fewer travel agents violated consumer rights. It was our fifth inspection since 2003. Unlawful practices were applied by 63 percent of the examined undertakings.

According to the results of the previous inspection in 2008, irregularities were found in up to 96 percent of undertakings.

UOKiK usually examines the standard contract terms, regulations, advertising mat-erials – brochures, folders, leaflets – and the agreements concluded with consumers. However, the agency does not have the remit to go beyond its scope of competence by, for example, examining the business model or financial credibility of a company. The point is, these issues that exceed our competence are considered by institutions relevant in the case. As I said before, everybody should pay attention to the details of every contract, read it carefully and understand what they are entering into before signing.

What do you consider to be your priority as the president of UOKiK?

Generally speaking, reducing the number of anti-competitive practices, especially in local markets, is my number-one in the field of market competition. But, on the other hand, I

do not forget about weaker market participants.

And in the domain of protecting consumers, my priority is to keep educating people on their rights. I strongly believe

that the more aware of the law we are, the better choices we make and the more we can benefit from the market.

Needless to say, we are all consumers. ●

> Establishment of companies > Accounting services > Payroll and human resources > Law and notary offices > Payment recovery and debt recovery > Permits for foreigners > Seat for the company

www.bilans.eu BILANS Accounting and Consulting Company Ltd., 02-729 Warszawa, 195 Rolna st., tel. (+ 48) 22 212 86 27-29, mobile: (+48) 502 057 107 e-mail: Jacek@bilans.eu

10

INVESTING IN POLAND PROJECT

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

A

s part of its mission to support foreign investment in Poland, Warsaw Business Journal aims to recognize companies that have made a large, positive contribution with their investments in Poland. To accomplish this goal, WBJ is organizing a competition for “Investment of the Year” award, to be presented at the Investing in Poland Gala ceremony in November 2012. Nominees for the awards will be chosen by selected chambers of commerce partners.

Below we present the profiles of two companies and their investments nominated for Investment of the Year: Spanish architectural firm Estudio Lamela’s design for City Stadium in Lublin, nominated by the Polish-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, and French pharmaceutical company Servier’s investments in Poland, nominated by the French Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Poland. ●

Pharmaceutical investments

About Servier

Servier focuses on R&D, education

French pharmaceutical company Servier has been present in Poland for 20 years, and cites its production facilities, educational programs and R&D investments as being its most innovative and sustainable investments.

The company focuses on the development and manufacture of innovative drugs from therapeutic areas including cardiovascular disease, metabolism, rheumatology, mental health and oncology.

Production capabilities Around 95 percent of the medicinal products supplied by Servier to the Polish market are manufactured in Poland by Przedsi´biorstwo Farmaceutyczne ANPHARM, a subsidiary of Servier. The PF Anpharm plant is Servier’s third-largest production plant worldwide.

The company says that thanks to the capital it has provided, the Polish manufacturing plant has been equipped with the state-of-the-art pharmacological technologies for drug manufacture, and production capacity of the plant

has increased tenfold.

One of the company’s main objectives is to develop modern innovative drugs for therapeutic uses concerning civilizational diseases. “All drugs manufactured by Servier Poland have been developed through our own research,” said company communications director Katarzyna Urbaƒska.

R&D Servier’s International Clinical Trial Centre in Warsaw (ICTR Poland), coordinates an average of 15 to 20 clinical trials in Poland each year and monitors clinical trials conducted abroad. The total cost of research projects conducted and monitored by the Polandbased center has amounted to z∏.256 million so far.

At present, Servier conducts clinical trials of 38 innovative molecules as part of 78 research projects in a number of research centres around the world. The company’s focus on clinical trials (including the clinical trials conducted in in Poland) resulted in it launching three new innovative drugs in the EU over the last six years.

“Polish scientists take an active part in the research conducted by Servier, not only as investigators but also as members of steering committees of international research proj-

SHUTTERSTOCK

The pharmaceutical firm invests nearly 25 percent of its turnover in clinical trials and innovative therapeutic solutions

Servier invests nearly 25 percent of its turnover in clinical trials and innovative therapeutic solutions neurology, all in relation to chronic diseases that substantially affect the quality and comfort of life of the patient.

ects,” said Ms Urbaƒska.

For over 10 years Servier has been working with the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Pharmacology in Kraków and the Pharmacology Department of the Medical University of ¸ódê.

Currently, the company conducts research in several therapeutic areas, including cardiology, in particular hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure or prevention of cardiovascular diseases or cardiac arrhythmia, as well as in the area of diabetes, rheumatology, psychiatry and

Sustainability In Servier’s case, sustainable development means integrating certain key elements – human capital, as well as social, economic and scientific potential.

“Finding a balance between investment in manufacture and research is a fundamental thing,” said Ms Urbaƒska.

Each year, the company

invests nearly 25 percent of its turnover in clinical trials and innovative therapeutic solutions.

Servier Poland is involved in initiatives aiming at increasing patients’ awareness of diseases that constitute a major social problem, and prevention of such diseases.

“The key to success is awareness of the risk. That is why patients’ health education is so important,” said Ms Urbaƒska.

For that purpose, the company sponsors a number of initiatives, including social educa-

Founded in 1954, French pharmaceutical company Servier is now present in 140 countries, with more than 20,000 employees, including close to 3,000 in R&D. The company has been present in Poland since 1992, focusing on research into new drugs, drug manufacturing and distribution, information science and health education.

Currently, Servier employs 550 qualified workers responsible for research and studies, production and promotion.

Nearly 96 percent of the staff have university degrees in various fields; most of them studied medicine and related sciences.

PricewaterhouseCoopers data shows that Servier had invested a total of z∏.620.5 million in its activities in Poland as of September 2011. ● tion and information initiatives conducted as part of the “Servier w trosce o twoje zdrowie” (“Servier Cares For Your Health”) campaign, under the auspices of Polish scientific medical associations, such as the Polish Society of Hypertension, the Polish Diabetes Association, and the Polish Phlebological Society. ●

Sports investment

Lublin City Stadium has regeneration in mind The post-industrial area which was once home to a sugar refinery, will host two training fields, athletics tracks, a parking lot and a park near the Bystrzyca River.

COURTESY OF ESTUDIO LAMELA

Not just for sports

The facility will be able to hold 15,000 people

The stadium has been designed to help revitalize the local area City Stadium in Lublin (Stadion Miejski w Lublinie), designed

by Spanish architectural firm Estudio Lamela, will be one of the most important investments in Poland’s southeastern region,

Lublin City Hall said.

Valued at z∏.125 million, the stadium will have the capacity to hold 15,000 spectators. It will include facilities including changing rooms, VIP rooms, press rooms, a gym, a restaurant and catering facilities, a television and broadcasting area, as well as a large shopping area.

The facility is expected to open as soon as autumn 2014.

The stadium will comply with all UEFA and Polish Football Association (PZPN) rules and will have the highest rating possible issued by the PZPN. Additionally, the project includes a revamping of the area surrounding the stadium.

Pierluca Roccheggiani, the managing director for Estudio Lamela in Poland, said the project is a new kind of investment, because the arena will not just focus on soccer, but will also incorporate other services and facilities.

Ms Roccheggiani said the investment is sustainable because it entails the “reactivation” of an old and abandoned industrial area.

The stadium will also give Lublin the opportunity to host events such as concerts, sports matches and recitals. The company says the “low profile” of the facility’s architecture will

encourage the revitalization of the area as a whole.

Lublin on the map Lublin City Hall says it is proud that the stadium will be located in the city.

“For us this is a key investment, which will not only put us on the map of Poland, but put us on the map internationally,” said Beata Krzy˝anowska, spokesperson for Lublin City Hall.

She added that the stadium will not only ensure that the city hosts sport events, but also concerts, festivals and other cultural events.

She added that the stadium is of great value because of the commercial aspect.

“It is an attractive investment because it will provide a fitness area, a gym, as well as practice fields, and shops,” Ms Krzy˝anowska said. ●

About Estudio Lamela Estudio Lamela is one of Spain’s largest architectural firms, boasting a portfolio of over 1,600 projects carried out since it was founded over 50 years ago.

Estudio Lamela functions is most fields of architecture, such as transportation, sports, offices, residential space, urban planning, health facilities and hotels.

Currently the company employs over 70 professionals.

The firm has received more than 50 first prizes and honorable mentions in national and international competitions. ●

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Is the prime minister’s stimulus plan a good idea?

P

rime Minister Donald Tusk likes to swim against the tide.

When the global financial crisis erupted a few years ago, many experts said the Polish government should embark on a stimulus program to save the economy, just as governments from Washington to London were doing at the time.

“Prime Minister Donald Tusk likes to swim against the tide.”

Mr Tusk largely ignored those calls, although his government did take some steps to help keep people in work, such as chipping in for employees’ social security contributions at firms experiencing troubles.

But the PM insisted that rather than spend huge sums of money on stimulating the economy, his government would start a public finance consolidation program to bring the country’s budget deficit down to 3 percent of GDP by 2015.

When Poland emerged from 2009 as the only EU member whose economy registered growth, the PM

seemed vindicated in his policies.

Then in mid-October, to the surprise of the media and his political opponents, Mr Tusk announced a public investment plan which is massive by Polish standards.

Hundreds of billions of z∏oty are now set to be spent on investments in the energy sector, on infrastructure, the Polish army and police, R&D as well as on pro-family policies. In an interesting twist, the government says it will spend all this money while at the same time sticking to its deficit-cutting program.

Palikot’s Movement (RP), all call for an active government role in the economy. And so, in theory, they should wholeheartedly support the PM’s plans. In practice, though, they seem torn between criticizing the PM as a poor performer and backing his spending plan.

But the prime minister’s program is worth implementing.

First of all, a lot of the spending plans Mr Tusk mentioned are not all that new and have already been accounted for in the budget. The ones that are new, the government plans to finance largely by leveraging state assets in order to borrow money on the market, which will in turn be lent to firms, especially SMEs, wanting to make investments in Poland.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski has vowed to stick to the budget deficit-reduction plan. Mr Rostowski is respected in financial circles and has given no cause to doubt his word.

Emerging Markets, a respected financial portal, just this month chose Mr Rostowski as the best finance minister of 2012 for Emerging Europe. In 2009, the UK magazine “The Banker” pronounced Mr Rostowski the best finance minister in the whole of Europe.

Hawks unhappy, opposition confused Economists from the “neoliberal” camp – of which the PM himself was once considered a member – are unhappy with the announcements.

They see the move as classic Keynesian policies, which they say will lead Poland into more debt.

There are economists who support the move, too. But then there is the opposition, which doesn’t really know whether to be for or against.

All the opposition parties in parliament lean left when it comes to economic policy.

Law and Justice (PiS), the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and

Mr Rostowski has earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt

Investment and innovation Investment, propped up in recent years by spending on infrastructure projects leading up to Euro 2012 soccer championships, has cooled off since the end of the tournament.

There is no doubt Poland still has a lot to do to get its infrastructure in shape, and so spending money to speed that up is a good tactic.

Extending credit to SMEs is also a good idea, and one currently being practiced even by governments that favor austerity, such as that of David Cameron in the UK. Prolonging maternity leave to an optional 12 months is an excellent idea. A woman will now be able to choose whether she wants a sixmonth maternity leave with 100 percent of her salary paid by the Social insurance Institution (ZUS) or a one-year maternity leave during which she would receive 80 percent of her salary.

Poland has a demographic problem, with the average fertility rate at 1.3 children per woman. In addition, its population is expected to shrink by 1 percent in the next decade, and

Remi Adekoya

is aging.

If Poles don’t start to have more children, there will be too few people to work for those on pensions. The PM is right to address this problem.

A lot has been made of the fact that Poland needs to transform into a knowledge-based economy in order to continue developing. The state currently spends just 0.6 percent of GDP on R&D, much less than most other EU countries. The PM said z∏.10 billion will be invested in the next three years on laboratories and building high-speed information networks in order to make Poland more innovative. Again, this is an idea worth supporting.

Prime Minister Tusk is right to ignore ideology and look to what works. But it remains to be seen how his government implements the promises he has made. How it performs on this front will likely decide Mr Tusk’s political future. The PM has a lot at stake here. If nothing results from his promises, then the opposition’s attack line, namely that he has no credibility, will ring that much truer. ● Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Business Journal’s politics editor. Read his blog, “The business of politics” on WBJ.pl

Europe fragments even further One consequence of the ongoing European financial crisis is the growing divide between countries within the euro zone and countries outside the euro zone. But two statements made Monday, October 15, show that the European Union may be fracturing even further.

Polish lawmaker Rafa∏ Trzaskowski said he had misgivings about the creation of a separate budget for the euro zone, a project that is slowly taking shape in Brussels. According to Trzaskowski, the budget could exclude non-eurozone countries from EU decision-making.

Meanwhile, Italian Finance Minister Vittorio Grilli expressed concern over what impact a potential Spanish bailout would have on Italian finances. Grilli said Italy’s contribution to such a bailout would equal 1.5 percent of Italy’s gross domestic product.

Divided within While undeniably divided between each other, euro zone and non-eurozone countries are also divided among one another. Rifts between

northern and southern euro zone countries formed as soon as the crisis began. Traditionally austere and fiscally disciplined countries, such as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, pressured southern countries, such as Greece and Portugal, to meet their deficit targets. Financial assistance to southern Europe is a constant source of political tension in the parliaments of northern Europe.

In the south, Italy and Spain supported bailouts to other peripheral countries, like Greece, even though Athens clearly is not meeting the targets to which it agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Rome and Madrid believed the bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland were essential to prevent the crisis from reaching Italy and Spain.

Grilli’s comments show that peripheral countries may no longer agree. Italy is interested in a Spanish bailout – it could reduce Italy’s borrowing costs – but Rome’s new misgivings may be well founded. The government of Mario Monti is struggling to reduce Italy’s deficit and

debt, which accounts for more than 120 percent of its gross domestic product amid a lingering recession.

Disagreement Aside from the north-south division in the euro zone, there is disagreement at the heart of the European Union between France and Germany. While the two countries are interested in preserving their joint leadership of the European Union, they have different long-term visions of the regional bloc.

France has been pushing for the creation of a debt mutualization mechanism for the euro zone. The country is more flexible regarding the situation of the countries on the periphery of the euro zone and favors economic growth over fighting inflation. Conversely, Germany envisions a European Union where all member states move within a framework of strict fiscal discipline under increasing control of European bureaucrats.

These conflicting plans will make it difficult for the European Union to decide on substantive issues.

Countries outside the euro zone are similarly divided. Some of them believe the European crisis is expediting the integration of euro zone countries to the exclusion of the remaining 10. Officially, EU projects, such as the creation of a banking union or the signing of the fiscal compact treaty, are formally open to noneurozone countries. However, these projects by design cater to the euro zone. Non-eurozone countries see the proposal to create a common budget – the proposal Poland’s Trzaskowski spoke out against – as evidence of their marginalization.

For its part, Poland fears that the crisis is undermining Warsaw’s already weak position in European decision-making.

Central and Eastern European nations fear that the creation of a budget for the euro zone could reduce European contributions to the Common Agricultural Policy, a key subsidy for these countries. They also fear that such a budget could limit Western European contributions to structural funds, the European tool designed to finance infrastructure projects in the less

11

Stratfor

developed members of the European Union.

The United Kingdom does not share these fears. A net contributor to the European Union, Britain considers its contribution to the EU budget excessive. While the details of the proposed euro zone budget have yet to be announced, London would enthusiastically support any initiative that would potentially reduce what it contributes.

The United Kingdom could be supported by Denmark and Sweden, two countries that do not benefit from European subsidies and are not interested in accessing the common currency. These contradictory interests among non-eurozone countries weaken the possibility of forming a common front if any were to block the proposal at the supranational level.

As the European crisis progresses, the European Union will continue to fragment. ● This edited version of “Europe fragments even further” is reprinted with permission of Stratfor

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 MANAGING EDITOR

GARETH PRICE (GPRICE@WBJ.PL)

JOURNALIST

IZABELA DEPCZYK (IDEPCZYK@VALKEA.COM)

COLUMNISTS

ADAM NARCZEWSKI ANDREW NAWROCKI

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

REMI ADEKOYA (RADEKOYA@WBJ.PL) REAL ESTATE EDITOR

ADAM ZDRODOWSKI (AZDRODOWSKI@WBJ.PL)

(ABREJWO@WBJ.PL) CONTRIBUTORS

E. BLAKE BERRY EWA BONIECKA ROBERTO GALEA DAVID INGHAM

PRODUCTION MANAGER

PIOTR WYSKOK

EWA BROGOSZ-KORYCKA (EBROGOSZ-KORYCKA@WBJ.PL)

AGNIESZKA BREJWO MARKETING &SALES DIRECTOR

POLITICS EDITOR

MANAGING DIRECTOR MONIKA STAWICKA

MAGDALENA KARPI¡SKA (MKARPINSKA@WBJ.PL)

¸UKASZ MAZUREK

AGNIESZKA KUCZY¡SKA (AKUCZYNSKA@WBJ.PL)

KRZYSZTOF WILI¡SKI (DYSTRYBUCJA@VALKEA.COM)

PR & MARKETING SPECIALIST

KATARZYNA MAREK (KMAREK@VALKEA.COM) SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

PRINT & DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR

AGNIESZKA MICHALIK (AMICHALIK@VALKEA.COM)

BOOK OF LISTS COORDINATOR

MONIKA BRYSIAK (MBRYSIAK@VALKEA.COM)

COVER STORY

www.wbj.pl

W´glokoks in line for 2013 IPO Poland’s Treasury announced that it plans to float the country’s largest hard-coal exporter, W´glokoks, in 2013. “Within companies in the coal industry, W´glokoks is the most prepared for the IPO. I think that 2013 is a realistic time frame when we can seriously consider entering W´glokoks on the Stock Exchange,” Deputy Treasury Minister Pawe∏ Tamborski told a press conference. Mr Tamborski added that state-owned miner Kompania W´glowa could be floated in 2014.

KGHM expects copper price stability Herbert Wirth, president of Polish copper giant KGHM, said recently that the metal mining industry lacks the optimism it had two years ago. When it comes to prices of copper and silver, he expects them to stabilize or possibly rise. ●

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Gareth Price

Privatization

A panacea for Poland?

The Polish state is offloading assets to boost the budget and help the government launch investments to prop up a weakening economy. But how are companies faring post-privatization?

Assets held by the Polish state are proving more than a little useful in helping the government steer the economy through the crisis. Poland’s Treasury Ministry has earned tens of billions of z∏oty from privatizations in recent years, bolstering the government’s balance sheet.

The state has raised about z∏.8 billion from asset sales so far this year and hopes the sale on the Warsaw Stock Exchange of 50 percent of power-plant operator ZE PAK will help it close in on a yearend target of z∏.10 billion. The firm’s IPO is due on or near November 30.

“After a privatization process that has lasted for 13 years, we’re putting the dot on the ‘i,’ ” Treasury Minister

COURTESY OF THE WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE

12

Firms privatized on the Warsaw Stock Exchange have seen their profit margins increase more than firms sold in other ways Miko∏aj Budzanowski told the Wall Street Journal.

Investment plan

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

The government has also announced a plan to use state assets to help it raise money for investments over the next few years, with the aim of boosting Poland’s slowing economy. Unveiled by Prime Minister Donald Tusk in midOctober, the plan is aimed at leveraging revenues from privatization to raise money for z∏.40 billion worth of investments.

The plan calls for stakes in state-controlled companies to be transferred to state bank BGK, which will sell them, leveraging the proceeds to finance infrastructure and energy investments. The plan is expected to be neutral for the state budget, while the government believes it will be able to keep control of its strategic assets while executing the strategy.

“Every z∏oty received from privatization we will multiply so that it has the strength of several z∏oty,” Treasury Minister Miko∏aj Budzanowski said at a news conference. “This mechanism will be credible for the markets and safe for public finance.”

“The new BGK project could fill the gap that might be created in a slowdown if banks were not willing to lend,” said Piotr Kalisz, chief economist for Citi Handlowy, Citibank’s Polish branch. “However, suc-

cess will depend on the final details of the project. It is very complicated,” he added.

Among the assets whose surplus shares the state could sell while still retaining control is PZU, which is 35 percent government-owned, and PKO BP, which is 44 percent stateowned. The state also owns 62 percent of Poland’s largest utility, PGE, 72 percent of gas monopolist PGNiG and 56 percent of coal miner JSW.

‘Pseudo privatizations’ However, some economists have criticized the Treasury’s practice of selling stakes in firms while keeping executive control. In some cases, stateowned companies have even purchased stakes in other state companies – a process termed “pseudo privatization” by some economists, many of whom say the interests of companies are best served by private owners.

“It is not the role of the state to be an entrepreneur,” former European Commissioner Gunter Verheugen said during a panel discussion at the 2012 Investments Forum in Tarnów.

“Privatization is a very difficult operation, but in a market economy the state cannot be a competitor competing with private entities,” he added.

“The role of the state is to create favorable conditions for all, equal and fair.”

The Treasury has a list of strategic companies in which it

wants to keep a controlling stake, saying they are key to the Polish economy. These include companies from the energy, mining and finance sectors.

“We should take into consideration that while Treasury officials have in the past declared some firms ‘privatized,’ the Treasury has retained control in many cases,” said Wiktor Wojciechowski, chief economist at Invest Bank.

“It amended contracts prior to privatization in some firms to ensure that it had the most powerful vote; we must be aware of this fact because it could influence the effectiveness of a company after it has been sold,” he added.

However Citi Handlowy’s Kalisz said decisions about privatizing assets should be made on a case-by-case basis.

“It could make sense for the state to retain control of certain companies. It depends on the details of the case,” he said.

Deputy Treasury Minister Pawe∏ Tamborski said recently that the state would seek to take better care of assets under its control.

“Privatization in Poland is coming to an end and now we should fix our attention on the professionalization of corporate governance in companies that remain under the control of the Ministry of Treasury,” he said in early

COVER STORY

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

September.

Effective privatization But while the era of privatization might be drawing to a close, the government still hopes to offload some 300 companies in the near future.

In addition to headline acts such as ZE PAK, the state is aiming to sell assets including health spas, an animal-breeding station and an animation studio – each a legacy of the communist era when the Polish state owned almost all the means of production.

A report prepared by the Treasury Ministry itself bears out the idea that such firms would be more effective if ownership was fully privatized. The study, which uses Central Statistical Office data, suggests recent rounds of privatization have improved the profitability and overall effectiveness of the companies involved.

Net profit margins of all state companies sold to private owners in 2008 rose from 2.6 percent in that year to 5.4 percent in 2011, while firms privatized in 2010 saw profit margins grow 6.8 percentage points in just a single year.

Meanwhile, operating profits of companies privatized in 2010 rose from z∏.20 million in that year to z∏.104 million in 2011 – a 516 percent increase that economists aren’t just attributing to economic growth. Companies privatized via the WSE have seen their profitability improve even more than the others.

“There is quite obviously an increase in the effectiveness of firms after they become fully privatized,” said Mr Wojciechowski.

Indeed, annual turnovers recorded by privatized companies have increased much more than for firms from the same sector of the economy.

For companies privatized in 2010, for example, profitability rose 22.40 percent in the following year, compared to an average of 4.5 percent for firms from the same sectors.

Control plan Companies included in the 2012-2013 Privatization Plan supervised by the Minister of Treasury

Companies of key importance remaining under the supervision of the Ministry of Treasury

15%

Companies under supervision of the Ministry of Treasury, where all shares are to be sold

85%

Source: Treasury Ministry

say.

“To some extent higher profit margins of privatized companies in the period 2008-2012 can be explained by the business cycle,” said Kamil Pruchnik, consultant at the World Bank & economist at the Civil Development Forum.

However, he said an increase in revenues does not automatically translate into higher profit margins.

“That can be achieved through better management,” he said, adding that in his opinion, higher profit margins can only be realized by companies when they are run by profit-seeking managers, who want to satisfy shareholder expectations.

“They can achieve that by increasing revenues while having a constant level of cost or they can cut spending in their companies – or both.

While an increase in revenues can be achieved by both state-owned and privately owned companies, cost cutting is very rare in

public firms as they are very hard to be implemented by public owners,” he added.

“So from the most important perspective, which is the long-run … privatized companies are performing much better than public ones,” he added.

Better-suited Thus, while the state continues to leverage its assets to create demand in a slowing economy, and to forge ahead with the final chapters of its asset-sale program, experts who spoke with WBJ say it shouldn’t forget about the firms it is using to generate the money.

“Privatization isn’t a panacea that solves all problems – privatized companies operate in the same markets, where negative shocks effect everyone. But since they are no longer under political pressure they are better suited to handle the headwinds than their state-owned counterparts,” said Mr Wojciechowski. ●

Privatization plan Revenues from privatization (in z∏. billions), 2008-2012 40

30

20

10

Profit-seekers Some of the increase in effectiveness can be attributed to Poland’s growing economy and supporting strong retail sales between 2008 and 2012, economists

0 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012* *Planned

Source: Ministry of Treasury

Job security and privatization Privatization in Poland has in recent years often been carried out with workers’ job security in mind.

Some 73 percent of privatization agreements signed as of the end of 2011 concerning commitments not connected with the final price, contained clauses aimed at maintaining the employment level at firms undergoing privatization.

Many companies inherited government assets following extensive restructuring work by the state, meaning they were willing to keep employment levels at the same level.

“Some 10 or 15 years ago state-owned enterprises required ambitious labor-squeezing programs, but since then the Treasury has restructured many firms to make them more attractive to potential suitors,” said Wiktor Wojciechowski, chief economist at Invest Bank. ●

www.wbj.pl

13

14

POLITICS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Politics and society

The world according to a PO conservative Mr Godson, the first black MP in Poland, has said he will quit Civic Platform (PO) if forced to vote “against his conscience.” WBJ asked him whether, in such an event, he would consider joining the ruling party’s main rival, the Law and Justice (PiS) party, as has been speculated. We also talked about divisions in PO and whether dissent is tolerated in the ruling party.

Remi Adekoya: In your opinion, what is the role of a politician in parliament and in society?

John Godson: At the parliamentary level, a politician cocreates policy while I believe the role of a politician in society is to be a leader, a role model. He should be a servant because he is someone whom voters have chosen and paid to represent them.

If a politician’s role is to represent his electorate, that means the views he pushes through in parliament should reflect the views of at least a majority of that electorate, is that not so?

Yes, that is true but there is also a role that a politician’s conscience has to play. The fact that a majority of my voters might be in support of legalizing euthanasia when I am against it does not mean I have to support that in parliament.

This is also the case with many populist sentiments. I am sure the majority of voters would like to pay no tax at all and would support an abolition of income tax altogether, but that does not mean I should push for such a change in the law. Ultimately, a politician has to take personal responsibility for whatever he does in parliament.

I asked that question because you recently voted for work to continue on a legislative bill which would further restrict abortion in Poland. If a poll among your voters were to show they don’t support that, what would you say to them?

I would be glad to listen and I

am listening to what they are saying right now. I support the existing abortion compromise we have. My problem is with those suggesting changes that would enable abortion, if tests show the future child might have a mental disease, for example, like Down’s Syndrome. That is eugenics.

As an immigrant in Poland, I don’t think it is my role to get involved in abortion wars. But coming back to my electorate, it is varied.

A huge number of people voted for me despite the fact that they don’t support the party I am in because of my stand on ethical issues.

You must know it takes great strength to raise a child who is mentally handicapped. If a family feels it is in their best interest to forgo that difficulty, why should the law force them to?

This is a matter of human rights, the right to life. There are people among us who are handicapped. Exterminating unborn babies because they will be handicapped and don’t have a voice is equal to exterminating handicapped people who are alive. The role of any society is to try and protect those who are weaker, especially those who are unborn.

Having said that I am not against abortion in all cases.

For example, in the case of rape and incest, I believe a woman should have the right to choose whether to have the baby or not. Also, if tests show the fetus is damaged beyond limit.

What about the in vitro fertilization procedure? Do you support it?

I support it. I have four children and I know the joy they bring. I might not use that method but I don’t have the right to stop it. I am pro-life and want to help create life.

There are only questions regarding the freezing of embryos and how many eggs need to be harvested that should be sorted out. But I leave that to the experts. On in vitro, I don’t have the kind

of strong views I have on abortion.

What about gay marriage?

I am against it.

Why? The constitution says that marriage is between a man and a woman. I am a Christian and believe in what the Bible says. I respect gays but I cannot accept and vote for gay marriage or the adoption of children by homosexuals.

Because homosexuality is a sin?

That’s one of the reasons.

There are heterosexuals who commit major sins but are allowed to raise children.

Even a murderer who is a heterosexual can get married and raise children …

Homosexuality is not natural and has a negative effect on society, as well as on children. There are enough laws to guarantee gays their rights but I am against putting gay marriage on the same platform as heterosexual marriage.

But why exactly?

I have already told you: for social reasons, for religious reasons and for ethical reasons. I do not accept it.

Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?

I have heard different opinions. Some believe it’s a choice, some believe it can be genetic. There might be situations where people are born with such genes.

Human beings tend to pick behavioral patterns they believe will bring them benefits in their society and not behavior that will marginalize them. It’s difficult to imagine that, especially in a conservative society like here in Poland, people would actively choose to be gay …

It’s usually not that simple but rather a combination of different events in people’s lives. I know people who became gay because they went to an all-male boarding school and then got used to having relations with other men. I know people who became gay because they were molested during their childhood. I do sympathize with the issues they grapple with but I do not think they should have the same rights

REPORTER

WBJ sits down with John Godson, a conservative MP from the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party, to talk about his world views. He discussed abortion, which has become a hotbutton political issue in recent weeks, gay marriage and in vitro fertilization

Mr Godson says a politician’s conscience should have a role to play in how he governs as heterosexual couples.

You have said publicly you will leave PO if forced to vote against your conscience on social issues. If that were to happen, would you join another party, like PiS for example?

I wouldn’t like to comment on that now because of the situation in PO. Right now I am not being forced to vote against my conscience in PO. But if I were ever to leave PO, I would be an independent.

Are there any other issues which cause divisions within PO, maybe economic issues?

No. I myself am conservative when it comes to moral issues and liberal on economic issues and sensitive or leftist on social issues. PO is the kind of party which brings people from the right and the left together. That is its strength but it could also become a weakness.

How so?

If there is no adequate respect for other opinions, no discussions with contrary views but rather one view is imposed on others, then that eclectic nature of PO could become a weakness.

And are views being imposed now?

No, that is not the case.

So on economic issues, are you closer to Margaret Thatcher or to Tony Blair, for example?

I believe in people being industrious and in the government giving people the freedom to create wealth and not getting in their way. I believe in hard work.

That sounds like Thatcherspeak …

But I am also very interested in helping people who are not able to cope in life. I am a big supporter of charity and empowerment. I try to do my bit by awarding scholarships to talented students out of my own pocket. Seventy-two students have already benefited from that.

There have been many reports of factions within PO battling each other. Is it true there is not much interaction between liberals and conservatives in PO? No, that’s not true. We have meetings with each other.

I am not talking about formal meetings. Do you meet on an informal basis with each other?

Yes, we do. People have friends across the ideological divide. Also, just because someone is conservative doesn’t mean he attends meetings held by conservatives in the party.

Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin, who has been described by the media as the leader of the conservatives, doesn’t always attend meetings organized by them.

Is Mr Gowin really the leader of the conservative faction?

He leads part of the group.

Forty MPs or fewer?

Around 40. But actually I wouldn’t even say he is their leader. I would rather describe him as one of the leaders and the most visible part of that leadership. He brings people together to discuss issues. But when you look at voting records, you can see there are about 80 conservative MPs in PO in total.

Has the opposition tried to take advantage of some of these differences in PO, by wooing some MPs to decamp?

Yes, they have. But when we identify others trying to capitalize on ideological differences within the party, then we put those differences under wraps. Especially a few months ago, there was significant activity on the part of the opposition to encourage some in PO to decamp. For me that is not an option. ●

The government plans to introduce a new subsidy program for first-home buyers

Echo Investment has acquired a major office plot in Warsaw's Mokotów district

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

Property investor Atrium European Real Estate has held a cornerstone laying ceremony at the construction site of its Atrium Felicity regional shopping center project in Lublin, in southeastern Poland.

Construction on the scheme, which will deliver 75,000 sqm of leasable space and will be the largest shopping center in Lublin, has been underway since September and is scheduled to finish by the end of next year. The investment is valued at €128 million. Atrium Felicity is currently more than 70% leased out, with Atrium having recently secured consumer electronics and home appliances retailer RTV Euro AGD for the mall.

Sandomierz mall set for 2013 launch Lublin-based investor Wodrol Inwestycje plans to launch construction on a new shopping center project called Galeria Królewska in Sando-mierz, in Âwi´tokrzyskie voivodship, in the first half of next year. The development will comprise more than 5,600 sqm of leasable space, which will house 20 retail and service outlets. Retail Concept is the exclusive leasing agent for the investment. ●

In this issue Skanska offices . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Adventure World Warsaw . . . .15 Housing subsidies . . . . . . . . . . .16 Property-related stocks . . . . . .16 Promenady Zita . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Echo Investment plot . . . . . . . .17 Avestus offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Office

Skanska lays cornerstones for Wroc∏aw, Warsaw offices Two of the company’s latest projects will deliver a total of almost 34,000 sqm of leasable space Developer Skanska Property Poland held a cornerstonelaying ceremony at the construction site of its Green Day office project in Wroc∏aw, Lower Silesia, earlier this month. The more than 15,900-sqm scheme is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.

The Green Day facility, like other new offices developed by Skanska Property Poland, will be a sustainable development featuring green certification. It will be the company’s third office investment in Wroc∏aw.

In 2009, the developer completed its Grunwaldzki Center project in the city, where it is now also building the Green Towers scheme.

“It is not by accident that Skanska is starting another investment in Wroc∏aw,” said Skanska Property Poland president Waldemar Olbryk.

“Once again we bet on the capital of Lower Silesia due to the great potential of the city and its increasing popularity among companies from

COURTESY OF QUESTIA

Atrium Felicity cornerstone laid

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012, LI 17/42

The Green Day development is due to be completed in Q1 2014 the business process outsourcing sector,” Mr Olbryk added.

In mid-October, Skanska Property Poland also laid the cornerstone for its Atrium 1 office investment in downtown Warsaw which, the company claims, will be the greenest office facility in

Central and Eastern Europe.

The development will feature innovative energy efficient systems, decreasing energy consumption by at least 50 percent compared to standard buildings, and will employ solutions including geothermal cooling and heating.

“Atrium 1 is another step towards sustainable construction and a response to the expectations of our clients, both tenants and investors,” Mr Olbryk said.

He added that the investment reflects Skanska’s philosophy and the direction in which the company is now

heading.

Located at Warsaw’s Rondo ONZ roundabout, the 25-storey Atrium 1 development will comprise 18,000 sqm of leasable space.

The investment is scheduled to be completed at the turn of 2013 and 2014.

Adam Zdrodowski

Amusement parks

Adventure World Warsaw construction gets underway The first facility of its kind in Poland is scheduled to open in 2015 Investor Las Palm has turned over the construction site of its Adventure World Warsaw amusement park project near Grodzisk Mazowiecki, in the western part of Mazowieckie voivodship, to general contractor Imtech Polska, thus initiat-

ing the launch of construction work on the scheme.

Archaeologists are now doing research work at the location. Meanwhile, Imtech has started preparatory construction work including the delivery of temporary access roads and demolition of some of the existing structures sitting on the land.

Las Palm is currently awaiting building permits for a num-

ber of facilities that will be built as parts of the Adventure World Warsaw investment.

These include the Grand Resort Hotel and the Aqua Hotel, as well as a water park.

“Observing the ongoing work at the construction site of Adventure World Warsaw I can see our dreams come true,” Peter Jan Mulder, president of the management board of Las Palm, said in a state-

ment.

“I am very happy with the stage that we are now at and would like to thank our partners and the municipal authorities of Grodzisk Mazowiecki for having been with us throughout the time,” Mr Mulder added.

The Adventure World Warsaw development, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015, will be the first invest-

ment of its kind in Poland and, according to the investor, the largest amusement park in Central and Eastern Europe.

The project is to include a theme park with over 50 different attractions, the largest water park in Poland, two themed hotels with a total of more than 800 rooms, cinemas, restaurants, clubs, cafes and stores.

Adam Zdrodowski

16

www.wbj.pl

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Residential

Government announces replacement for ‘Family on its Own’ program Market analysts say the new program will be less attractive than its highly popular predecessor

COURTESY OF KPRM

Minister of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy S∏awomir Nowak outlined a new government program intended to make it easier for young people to

purchase a first home at a press conference earlier this month.

The newly announced “Mieszkanie dla M∏odych” (“Apartment for the Young”) scheme is meant to replace the popular “Family on its Own” subsidized mortgages program for first-home buyers which expires at the end of 2012.

“We have prepared in the

Minister Nowak hopes the scheme will come into force by the middle of next year

ministry a new tool that will support young Poles in the purchase of their first own apartment. There is no need to convince anyone how important having their own apartment is from the perspective of planning a family,” Mr Nowak said at the conference on October 14.

The program is targeted at people aged below 35 and provides for a one-off subsidy amounting to 10 percent of the average apartment construction cost in a particular voivodship. Qualifying units cannot be sized more than 75 sqm and the subsidy will cover a maximum of 50 sqm.

Additionally, families having one or more children will see their subsidy increased to 15 percent and if a third or subsequent child is born after the purchase of the apartment the family will get yet another 5 percent in government subsidy.

Mr Nowak said he hopes the program could come into force in mid-2013. The ministry estimates the initial annual cost of the program

at from z∏.600-700 million.

Up to 36,000 families will benefit from the scheme per year.

Popular program Number of mortgages granted within the Family on its Own program, 2007-2012

Program limitations Market analysts point out that the new program will be less attractive for the majority of young apartment buyers than the existing scheme, even in the case when a given family has three or more children.

According to Home Broker estimates, such a family could count on a maximum of z∏.57,895 when buying a 50-sqm apartment in Warsaw within the Apartment for the Young program. In the Family on its Own scheme, the maximum subsidy amounts to z∏.75,480.

The limited scope of the new program will also likely make it less attractive for buyers than the existing scheme. Unlike Family on its Own, Apartment for the Young will only cover the primary market. People building or buying singlefamily houses will not get the subsidies either.

60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

H1 2012

Source: Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego

Meanwhile, units in the secondary market are usually cheaper than those in the primary market and used apartments account for 80 percent of the turnover in the residential market, said Pawe∏ Grzàbka, president of real estate advisory CEE Property Group.

From a developer’s perspective, this aspect of the new program is obviously highly welcome, as is the fact that the one-off subsidies

will help improve the credit worthiness of buyers and thus drive home sales.

However, a report by Metrohouse & Partnerzy, a real estate brokerage and consultancy, noted that the new scheme will come into force at least half a year after the current program has expired. If buyers decide to wait, the coming months could be a tough period for developers, the study said.

Adam Zdrodowski

Property-related stocks Security

Closing price on Oct 18

% change (week)

52-week low

52-week high

% change (year)

Total shares

Market value (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX

58.90

5.46

45.85

88.35

71.55

25,530,098

1,503.72

CELTIC

7.15

-11.73

6.52

20.20

19.01

34,231,466

244.75

DOMDEV

31.82

13.24

23.51

42.80

25.04

24,715,272

786.44

ECHO

4.66

0.87

3.05

4.76

3.44

420,000,000

1,957.20

ELBUDOWA

116.40

4.02

87.00

120.00

100.00

4,747,608

552.62

ENERGOPLD

0.43

10.26

0.17

2.52

2.45

70,972,001

30.52

ERBUD

14.83

0.95

11.33

23.20

19.60

12,677,956

188.01

GANT

3.66

-3.94

3.37

9.85

7.35

20,120,000

73.64

GTC

8.22

5.38

5.20

12.30

10.98

319,372,990

2,625.25

HBPOLSKA

0.03

-25.00

0.01

1.43

0.75

210,558,445

6.32

JWCONSTR

3.54

-3.28

3.37

8.40

6.10

54,073,280

191.42

LCCORP

1.20

4.35

0.85

1.48

0.98

447,558,311

537.07

MARVIPOL

8.80

-9.37

6.20

11.00

7.25

36,923,400

324.93

MIRBUD

1.35

16.38

0.98

2.68

2.41

75,000,000

101.25

MOSTALWAR

13.38

-4.43

11.30

25.00

21.00

20,000,000

267.60

MOSTALZAB

1.26

5.88

0.81

1.80

1.14

149,130,538

187.90

ORCOGROUP

12.58

28.63

6.36

19.55

17.90

107,840,962

1,356.64

PBG

6.00

-4.91

3.36

92.00

62.00

14,295,000

85.77

PLAZACNTR

2.18

-0.91

1.93

2.94

1.88

297,181,703

647.86

POLAQUA

3.77

4.72

3.30

8.18

7.50

27,500,100

103.68

POLIMEXMS

0.65

-1.52

0.48

2.04

1.60

521,154,076

338.75

POLNORD

13.74

1.63

10.49

19.85

11.03

23,798,439

326.99

RANKPROGR

11.67

15.54

7.10

16.97

9.60

37,145,050

433.48

ROBYG

1.36

0.74

1.08

1.75

1.10

257,935,500

350.79

RONSON

0.82

5.13

0.61

1.15

1.00

272,360,000

223.34

TRAKCJA

0.86

0.00

0.65

1.87

1.39

232,105,480

199.61

ULMA

41.50

-0.72

37.20

74.80

62.90

5,255,632

218.11

UNIBEP

5.20

4.42

3.60

6.28

6.08

34,021,684

176.91

WARIMPEX

3.20

0.31

2.64

5.45

5.43

54,000,000

172.80

ZUE

7.10

-3.66

5.07

8.50

8.98

22,000,000

156.20

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Office

Promenady Zita will be the second office facility in the huge mixed-use Wroc∏aw investment

according to the vision of architects from the Wroc∏aw-based Maçków Pracownia Projektowa studio. The scheme will deliver over 20,000 sqm of leasable space in 2014.

Promenady Epsilon, the first office building in the Promenady Wroc∏awskie complex, opened for business in July. Qatar Airways has recently joined the list of companies that have leased space in the development.

“The Wroc∏aw market has a lot of potential and this is why, after the construction and successful

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Vantage Development, the investor behind the ongoing Promenady Wroc∏awskie mixed-use project in Wroc∏aw, Lower Silesia, has selected the design of the second office building to be developed within the complex.

Called Promenady Zita, the facility will be built

commercialization of Epsilon, we have decided to launch a new project, Promenady Zita,” Roman Meysner, board member and operational director at Vantage Development, said in a statement.

Currently, Vantage Development is also constructing the first residential building within the Promenady Wroc∏awskie complex, which will deliver 248 apartments. When completed, the whole investment will comprise approximately 20 buildings.

Adam Zdrodowski

COURTESY OF PUBLICON

New office building in Vantage’s Promenady Wroc∏awskie scheme

Promenady Zita will comprise over 20,000 sqm

Echo buys major office site in Warsaw

Developer Avestus Real Estate has completed and opened the first phase of its Enterprise Park office complex in Kraków in southern Poland. The two buildings have delivered a total of 15,300 sqm of space, 87 percent of which has already been commercialized.

When completed, the whole Enterprise Park investment is expected to comprise three four-storey buildings offering a combined 28,000 sqm of class-A office space.

Avestus is planning to launch construction on the second phase of the development in April next year.

“The level of demand, even in these uncertain global economic times, continues to go

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Echo Investment has acquired over 30,800 sqm of land in Warsaw from the Industrial Development Agency on which it plans to construct a large-scale office project. The value of the transaction amounted to z∏.60 million.

The land in question is located between ul. Marynarska, ul. TaÊmowa and ul. Cybernetyki in the capital’s Mokotów district, a neighborhood that has been one of the fastest developing office locations in Warsaw in recent years.

“The purchase will allow us to expand our portfolio of office areas in the strategic market of Warsaw and launch a large project in a short time,” Waldemar Lesiak, director of

COURTESY OF AVESTUS REAL ESTATE

Enterprise Park offices in Kraków completed

The scheme has delivered 15,300 sqm of space from strength to strength,” Guy Speir, leasing and marketing director CEE at Avestus Real Estate, said in a statement.

“Therefore we are delighted by the success of phase one

and are very positive about the leasing of phase two. We can confirm ongoing detailed discussions with a number of high-profile international occupiers,” Mr Speir added.

Adam Zdrodowski

the office and hotel department at Echo Investment, said in a statement.

“It is one of the most popular office locations in the capital city,” Mr Lesiak added, and noted that the newly acquired land is located close to the main traffic arteries and the airport and has excellent access to public transport and other services.

Echo Investment is currently also preparing two other office projects in Warsaw – a 155-meter tower with 50,000 sqm of space located at the intersection of Al. Jana Paw∏a II and ul. Grzybowska in the downtown, and a 34,000-sqm complex on ul. Konstruktorska in the Mokotów district.

Adam Zdrodowski

17

SEGRO secures 23,700-sqm deal

Industrial space developer SEGRO has extended its lease agreement with Sonoco Products Company for a total of 23,700 sqm of warehouse and office space at the Tulipan Park Stryków logistics park in central Poland. The project is located next to the future junction of the A1 and A2 motorways.

The largest of SEGRO’s logistics centers in Central Europe, the facility will comprise 400,000 sqm of warehouse, production and office space when completed.

DHL expands within Silesia park Logistics company DHL has leased an additional 10,800 sqm at the Prologis Park Dàbrowa distribution center in Silesia. Up till now, the company has been occupying almost 33,800 sqm of space at the facility. Prologis Park Dàbrowa consists of 10 buildings totaling 144,000 sqm of space. In the whole Silesia region, Prologis has four distribution parks comprising a combined 24 buildings, which offer a total of more than 471,000 sqm. ●

18

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Corporate Services

Tax Advisory Companies Ranked by number of tax advisors (as of September 2011)

Rank

Number of tax Revenue from advisors: tax advisory 2011 / (z∏. mln): 2010 / 2010 / 2009 / 2009 / 2008 2008

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

1

PricewaterhouseCoopers Sp. z o.o. (1) Al. Armii Ludowej 14, 00-638 Warsaw 22 523-4000/22 523-4040 podatki@pl.pwc.com www.pwc.pl

124 118 108 102

2

Deloitte Doradztwo Podatkowe Sp. z o.o.

Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19, 00-854 Warsaw 22 511-0812/22 511-0813 deloittetaxpl@deloittece.com www.deloitte.com/pl/podatki

109 96 92 88

3

KPMG ul. Ch∏odna 51, 00-867 Warsaw 22 528-1100/22 528-1009 kpmg@kpmg.pl www.kpmg.pl

Total revenue (z∏. mln): 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Services offered

Sector specialization

www.bookoflists.pl

Number of persons dealing Total number with taxes / of employees / Number of Year founded lawyers and in Poland legal advisors

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

399.7 388.8 342.4

Tax optimization of income, indirect, employee Pharmaceuticals; healthcare; chemicals; taxes and social security, transfer pricing, financial services; real estate; trade and enviromnental taxes; IT-based tax consulting; tax distribution; energy; transport and logistics; reporting services; tax litigation; mergers and technology; communication; media and acquisitions; international tax planning; tax entertainment; public sector; specialized teams workshops and seminars; publishing of reports dedicated to clients from: Germany; France; and analysis; Taxonline.pl - an online tax and Scandinavia; China; Japan; South Korea accounting portal

387 10

1,593 1990

WND

106.7 106.0 97.0

WND WND WND

CIT; VAT; PIT; excise; customs; tax and court proceedings; transfer pricing; international tax Real estate; finance; fuel and energy; mining law; mergers and acquisitions; suspended tax; tax and metallurgy; automotive; pharmaceuticals; risk management; advisory for companies in SEZ; chemicals; FMCG and retail; telecom; IT; investment grants and incentives; incentives for technology; transport, forwarding and logistics; R&D; IT and technological aspects of tax specialized language teams: German Desk, transactions; workshops, conferences and tax French Desk, Korean Desk, Japanese Desk, trainings; internet publication and gratuitous tax Spanish Desk service organizations

288 5

Around 1,100 1990

WND

97 96 85 WND

92.0 113.0 WND

407.0 455.0 WND

VAT; CIT; PIT; social security; mergers and acquisitions; tax payer defence and financial risk Banking and financial institutions; automotive; management; bank and financial tax regulations; building & construction; market for consumer international tax; transfer pricing; customs and goods; energy; telecom; pharmaceuticals; excise; grants and incentives; European Funds; tax chemicals; transport; public sector and court proceedings

248 9

1,295 1990

WND

Andrzej Âcis∏owski

83 79 75 80

119.8 113.5 108.6

497.0 402.0 423.0

Advisory on: transfer pricing, customs and excise, IT and new technologies; telecom; financial cargo and service tax, income and international solutions; construction and real estate; tax, income tax and insurance, tax and court pharmaceuticals; fuel and energy; FMCG; proceedings, mergers and acquisitions, incentives foreign investments; media; heavy industry; and grants, financial reports public sector

313 15

1,361 1990

WND

Jacek K´dzior

30 28 26 26

24.6 24.6 24.6

24.8 24.7 24.7

VAT; CIT; PIT; excise; customs; international tax; estate; pharmaceuticals; FMCG; finance; transfer pricing; tax and court proceedings; social Real media and technologies; automotive; energy security; tax planning; tax risk management

60 6

75 2004

Tomasz Michalik; Renata D∏uska; Monika M. Dziedzic; Tomasz Olkiewicz; Pawe∏ Mazurkiewicz None

6

Instytut Studiów Podatkowych Modzelewski i Wspólnicy Sp. z o.o. - Grupa ISP ul. Kaleƒska 8, 04-367 Warsaw 22 517-3060/22 870-4178 biuro@isp-modzelewski.pl, www.isp-modzelewski.pl

24 26 22 22

20.1 19.1 24.0

29.8 29.5 34.5

Tax and law consulting; tax optimization; transfer pricing; tax proceedings; tax audits; trainings; tax specialist publications; business expertise and legislative process; reports issuing

68 6

115 1996

Witold Modzelewski; Renata JaniecModzelewska; Jerzy Bielawy None

Witold Modzelewski

7

Grupa Gumu∏ka - Kancelaria Prawa Finansowego Sp. z o.o. ul. Jana Matejki 4, 40-077 Katowice 32 790-2295/32 201-1765 kancelaria@gumulka.pl, www.gumulka.pl

19 18 9 9

3.2 2.1 1.6

8.6 5.9 5.4

Tax optimization; transfer pricing; tax audit; energy; fuel; mining; construction; mergers and acquisitions; tax proceedings; risk Metallurgy; TSL; municipal; food industry; R&D management; services for foreign companies

35 5

70 1993

Rados∏aw Gumu∏ka - 99.8% None

Rados∏aw Gumu∏ka

7

TPA Horwath Sztuba Kaczmarek Sp. z o.o. ul. Murawa 12-18, 61-655 Poznaƒ 61 630-0500/61 630-0502 office@tpa-horwath.pl, www.tpa-horwath.pl

19 17 15 13

11.1 9.3 10.1

21.8 18.2 19.0

International tax planning; transaction and investment tax service; tax risk managment; tax and court proceedings; tax outsourcing; transfer pricing; real estate taxation

Real estate and construction; energy; municipal; retail; transport and logistics

34 -

110 2005

Wojciech Sztuba; Krzysztof Kaczmarek; Krzysztof Horodko; Katarzyna Klimkiewicz; Damian KubiÊ TPA Horwath Wirtschaftstreuhand und Steuerberatung

Accreo Taxand Sp. z o.o. ul. Grzybowska 5A, 00-132 Warsaw 22 324-5900/22 324-5901 accreo@taxand.pl www.taxand.pl

17 20 18 15

22.0 22.0 22.0

WND WND WND

CIT; PIT; VAT; excise; transfer pricing; international tax planning; tax and court proceedings; EU consulting; business consulting

Real estate; fuel and energy; FMCG

53 1

68 2005

WND

Rödl & Partner (Roedl, MajchrowiczBàczyk Kancelaria Prawna Sp.k.) ul. Sienna 73, 00-833 Warsaw 10 22 696-2800/22 696-2801 warszawa@roedl.pl www.roedl.pl

16 20 18 15

9.0 10.0 11.9

15.6 17.6 16.8

Regular tax and legal advisory; structural tax and legal advisory; international transactions and investments; innovative remuneration system; CIT; PIT; VAT; transactions in real estate; loan security; tax and legal due diligence; establishing companies and branches; companies liquidation; acquisition and sale of business; headhunting; tranfer pricing; DTAA consulting

All sectors

39 12

77 1992

Aneta Majchrowicz-Bàczyk Rödl & Partner International Wirtschaftsprufungesellschaft

Spó∏ka Doradztwa Podatkowego O˝óg i Wspólnicy Sp. z o.o.

11 ul. Sienna 39, 00-121 Warsaw 22 480-8100/22480-8118 info@ozog.pl, www.ozog.pl

15 15 13 11

8.2 8.5 7.5

8.2 8.5 7.5

VAT; CIT; PIT; excise; tax planning and optimization; SEZ; tax and court proceedings; transfer pricing

Energy; building & construction; pharmaceuticals; finance; media and telecom

25 1

33 2003

Irena O˝óg; Pawe∏ Tomczykowski None

12 8 6 6

5.5 4.2 4.0

4.0 4.2 4.0

Tax advisory; training; PIT; CIT; VAT

WND

23 WND

25 2006

Andrzej Paczuski; Andrzej Taudyl; Piotr Korszla; Maciej Grochulski WND

GWW TAX (GWW Ladziƒski, Cmoch i Wspólnicy Sp.k.)

12 ul. Pi´kna 18, 00-549 Warsaw 22 212-0000/22 212-0001 warszawa@gww.pl, www.gww.pl ECDDP Sp. z o.o. Spó∏ka Doradztwa Podatkowego 14 ul. Zielony Most 8, 31-351 Kraków 12 622-8600/12 622-8666 ecddp@ecddp.pl, www.ecddp.pl

12 9 7 6

6.5 6.5 6.5

28.7 37.2 33.8

29 4

37 2011

Andrzej Ladziƒski; Artur Cmoch None

Andrzej Ladziƒski; Artur Cmoch

11 10 13 11

9.5 8.0 8.0

WND WND WND

VAT; income tax; tax proceedings; excise; SEZ; tax audit; international tax optimization

Logistics; forwarding; fuel and energy; finance

47 2

65 2005

WND

Krzysztof Komorniczak

Salans D. Oleszczuk Kancelaria Prawnicza Sp.k.

14 Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw 22 242-5252/22 242-5242 warsaw@salans.com, www.salans.com

11 10 9 8

6.5 4.8 4.8

109.5 93.4 75.2

Full tax advisory service; tax assistance; transaction advisory; transfer pricing; tax proceedings

Pharmaceuticals; real estate; energy; IT; finance and banking; capital markets

15 78

290 1991

(2) (3)

Grant Thornton Fràckowiak Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.

Pl. Wiosny Ludów 2, 61-831 Poznaƒ 16 61 850-9200/61 850-9201 info@gtfr.pl www.gtfr.pl

10 9 8 9

15.4 13.0 11.9

RSM Poland KZWS Spó∏ka Doradztwa Podatkowego SA 16 ul. Stary Rynek 38-39, 61-772 Poznaƒ 61 851-5766/61 851-5786 biuro@rsmi.pl, www.rsmi.pl

10 10 8 4

4.6 3.4 3.0

4

5

9

12

Ernst & Young Sp. z o.o. (1) Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw 22 557-7000/22 557-7071 ernst.young@pl.ey.com www.ey.com/pl MDDP Michalik D∏uska Dziedzic i Partnerzy Spó∏ka Doradztwa Podatkowego Sp. z o.o. ul. Ksià˝´ca 4, 00-498 Warsaw 22 322-6888/22 322-6889 biuro@mddp.pl, www.mddp.pl

Andrzej Paczuski, Andrzej Taudul, Piotr Korszla, Maciej Grochulski Doradcy Podatkowi Sp.p. ul. Polna 11, 06-633 Warsaw 22 205-2200/22 205-2201 biuro@ptpodatki.pl, www.ptpodatki.pl

115.6 109.9 93.2

Building & construction; chemicals; energy; pharmaceuticals; fuel; IT; mining; medical; automotive; food industry; public sector; education; transport and shipping; tourism; finance; publishing

Iwona Smith Managing Partner in Tax Department

Piotr ˚arski Managing Partner in Tax Departament

Managing Partner

Managing Partner

Renata D∏uska Managing Partner

President

President

Wojciech Sztuba; Krzysztof Kaczmarek Managing Partners

Jaros∏aw Antosik; Rados∏aw Czarnecki; Micha∏ Gwizda; Andrzej Puncewicz Partners; Board Members

Full legal advisory; complicated transactions service; corporate services; law consulting for TMT; energy and fuel; finance; developer and entities on regulated markets; real estate law and construction sector; transport, shipping, investment process; construction law; intellectual logistics; FMCG property law

Aneta Majchrowicz-Bàczyk Legal Advisor; Unlimited Partner

Irena O˝óg; Pawe∏ Tomczykowski Managing Partner; Partner

Andrzej Paczuski Partner

Managing Partners

President

Karina Furga-Dàbrowska; Tomasz Dàbrowski Partner; Managing Partner

33.8 34.6 31.8

Tax assistance; tax optimization; transfer pricing; Food industry; building & construction; tax audits; tax proceedings; tax advisory for transport; fuel; machinery; mining and expatriates; tax compliance; due diligence; metallurgical; IT; telecom; chemicals; bookkeeping and tax returns pharmaceuticals; trade; publishing; consulting

91 2

242 1993

Grant Thornton Fràckowiak; Grzegorz MaÊlanko; Katarzyna Banach; Przemys∏aw Polaczek; El˝bieta GrzeÊkowiak; Jan Letkiewicz; Tomasz Wróblewski; Cecylia Pol; Dariusz Bednarski; Micha∏ Rajtaczak; Rafa∏ Âmigórski; Dariusz Ga∏àzka; Szymon Wróblewski; J14 None

6.8 5.5 5.2

Tax advisory; transfer pricing; transaction advisory; Real estate; conventional and green energy; IT; due diligence; business valuation; financial audit; retail; transport, forwarding and logistics; accounting outsourcing; IAS/IFRS; US GAAP automotive; hi-tech manufacturing

32 1

70 1992

Bartosz Mi∏aszewski - 100% None

Cecylia Pol; Tomasz Wróblewski President; Vice-President

Bartosz Mi∏aszewski President

THE LIST

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Revenue from tax advisory (z∏. mln): 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Total revenue (z∏. mln): 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Services offered

Sector specialization

Marciniuk i Wspólnicy Sp. z o.o.

Spó∏ka Doradztwa Podatkowego Al. Szucha 13/15, 00-580 Warsaw 18 22 627-2323/22 627-3033 marciniuk@marciniuk.com www.marciniuk.com

9 9 11 10

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Income tax; indirect tax; customs; tax optimization; mergers and acquisitions; restructuring; tax and court proceedings

Real estate; building & construction; trade; private equity; finance

14 4

Wardyƒski i Wspólnicy Sp.k.

Al. Ujazdowskie 10, 00-478 Warsaw 18 22 437-8200/22 437-8201 warsaw@wardynski.com.pl www.wardynski.com.pl

9 9 8 6

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Tax litigation; penal fiscal litigation; international tax planning; mergers and acquisitions; financial services tax advisory; state aid advisory; income tax and VAT optimization; customs; excise

WND

BDO Sp. z o.o. ul. Post´pu 12, 02-676 Warsaw 20 22 543-1600/22 543-1601 office@bdo.pl www.bdo.pl

8 12 12 10

18.7 7.5 8.5

51.6 50.3 45.0

Audit; accounting; tax advisory; mergers and Investment funds; insurance; chemical; trade; acquisitions; business and financial advisory; IT; food industry; transport; construction; obtaining funding and structural funds; publishing houses; feedback for lawsuits; IT advisory and audit; brokerage companies; listed companies trainings

Independent Tax Advisers Doradztwo Podatkowe Sp. z o.o. ul. Bednarska 7, 00-310 Warsaw 21 22 250-3101/22 250-3102 biuro@itadp.pl www.itadp.pl

7 6 7 5

2.1 2.3 2.3

WND WND WND

Tax advisory

DLA Piper Wiater Sp.k. ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw 22 22 540-7400/22 540-7474 warsaw.reception@dlapiper.com www.dlapiper.com

6 7 6 -

3.9 3.9 3.9

WND WND WND

Mazars w Polsce ul. Pi´kna 18, 00-549 Warsaw 22 22 255-5200/22 255-5299 main@mazars.pl www.mazars.pl

6 5 WND WND

2.8 WND WND

Taxpoint Sp. z o.o. ul. Pràdnicka 4, 30-002 Kraków 22 12 626-7310/12 383-2393 biuro@taxpoint.pl www.taxpoint.pl

6 6 5 7

Rank

Number of tax advisors: 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

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

Number of Total persons dealing number of with taxes / employees / Number of Year lawyers and legal founded in advisors Poland

19

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top local executive / Title

22 1997

Janusz Marciniuk; Iwona Marciniuk - 100% None

Janusz Marciniuk

9 75

246 1992

(4) None

59 4

271 1991

André Helin; Krisof Zorde WND

Media; building & construction; IT; FMCG; pharmaceuticals; automotive; alcohol products

12 1

12 2004

Law and tax advisory

Fuel; finance; pharmacueticals; real estate; energy

8 20

86 2007

Krzysztof Wiater; Agnieszka LachmanFilipiak; Krzysztof Kycia; Marcin Matyka DLA Piper Europe

41.0 41.0 40.0

VAT; transfer pricing; CIT; tax proceedings; PIT; pre-purchase research

All sectors

10 -

165 1992

WND

1.6 1.4 0.9

2.0 1.9 2.2

Tax advisory; public goods solicitation; business consulting; legal advice; training

Automotive; metal industry; chemicals; building & construction; electronics; trade; energy; printing; developers; FMCG

10 2

13 2007

WND None

Anna Strzelecka

5 5 5 6

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Tax advisory on: income tax, VAT, PCC, international law taxation; tax and court proceedings; customs; excise

All sectors

8 37

154 1991

WND None

Jan Matejcek; Janusz Fiszer

4 5 3 NA

0.8 WND NA

WND WND NA

12 1

16 2009

Tomasz Janicki - 75% None

Tomasz Janicki, ¸ukasz Blak

CMS Cameron McKenna Dariusz Greszta Sp.k. ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw 26 22 520-5555/22 520-5556 warsaw@cms-cmck.com www.cms-cmck.com

4 4 3 3

6.0 5.8 5.7

109.3 97.2 95.9

9 70

245 1989

WND

Dewey & LeBoeuf Grzesiak Sp.k. ul. Ksià˝´ca 4, 00-498 Warsaw 26 22 690-6100/22 690-6222 woffice@dl.com www.dl.com

4 4 4 4

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Mergers, acquisitions and IPO; tax and court IT; banking and finance; FMCG; real estate; proceedings media and telecom

5 WND

WND 1991

Jaros∏aw Grzesiak; Lejb Fogelman; D&L Services None

Jaros∏aw Grzesiak

PKF Tax Sp. z o.o. (5) ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw 26 22 560-7650/22 560-7663 podatki@pkftax.pl www.pkftax.pl

4 4 4 4

1.0 0.9 0.8

1.2 1.3 17.7

Tax advisory; advice for activities in the SEZ; estate; pharmaceuticals; IT; telecom; tax audits; due diligence; transfer pricing; tax Real publishing; production and trade optimization; tax proceedings

8 -

8 1993

PKF Consult - 100% None

Agnieszka Chamera

GLOBALTAX Sp. z o.o. ul. Wo∏oska 18, 02-675 Warsaw 30 22 629-5106/22 696-4325 kancelaria@globaltax.pl www.globaltax.pl

3 3 3 3

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

CIT; PIT; VAT; transfer pricing; tax and court proceedings; mergers and acquisitions; tax audit; due diligence; tax workshops and seminars; business and financial consulting; business and trademark valuation

Financial institutions including investment funds; real estate; production and trade

3 -

4 2007

Krzysztof G. Szymaƒski; Marcin Krajewski WND

Krzysztof G. Szymaƒski; Marcin Krajewski

Taxonity Sp. z o.o. Spó∏ka doradztwa podatkowego ul. Post´pu 15C, 02-676 Warsaw 30 22 381-6178/22 381-6001 biuro@taxonity.pl www.taxonity.pl

3 2 NA

0.5 0.5 NA

0.5 0.5 NA

Transfer pricing; advisory for investors in SEZ

WND

5 3

WND 2009

Jaros∏aw F. Mika None

WND

Tokarczuk, J´drzejczyk i Wspólnicy Kancelaria Prawna GLN Sp.k.

Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1, 00-078 Warsaw 30 22 344-0000/22 344-0001 gln.warsaw@gide.com www.gide.com

3 3 4 4

WND WND WND

33.0 29.1 31.0

VAT; CIT; PIT; tax planning of transactions; international tax optimization; transfer pricing; Food industry; cosmetic industry; chemicals; tax audits; tax and court proceedings; finance; automotive; transport; infrastructure; prepration of internal tax procedures; tax risk energy; real estate analysis

5 20

90 1990

Dariusz Tokarczuk; Robert J´drzejczyk WND

Dariusz Tokarczuk

Chadbourne & Parke LLP; Radzikowski, Szubielska i Wspólnicy Sp.k.

33 ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw 22 520-5000/22 520-5001 warsaw@chadbourne.com www.chadbourne.com

2 2 2 2

WND WND WND

WND WND WND

Inspection, tax and court proceedings; Building and construction; real estate; execution proceedings; consulting in tax, pharmaceuticals; food industry; mining financial and corporate structure creation in industry; energy; telecom; computers and IT; mergers and acquisitions, real estate spirit industry; banking; finance transactions and restructuring; tax advisory tobacco and and insurance institutions (CIT, PIT, VAT; excise; customs)

4 27

WND 1990

WND

Forystek & Partnerzy Adwokaci i Radcowie Prawni ul. Armii Krajowej 16, 30-150 Kraków 33 12 622-4511/12 622-4510 kancelaria@forystek.pl www.forystek.pl

2 2 2 2

0.7 0.7 0.5

4.0 4.8 5.5

Tax optimization; mergers and acquisitions; excise

20 20

36 1997

Józef Forystek; Marek Forystek; ¸ukasz Wo∏k; Marek Na∏´cz None

25

White & Case W. Dani∏owicz, W. Jurcewicz i Wspólnicy - Kancelaria Prawna Sp.k. ul. Marsza∏kowska 142, 00-061 Warsaw 22 505-0100/22 505-0400 warsaw@whitecase.com

AXON TAX Sp. z o.o. ul. Tr´backa 3, 00-074 Warsaw 26 22 826-8792/22 826-5415 biuro@axontax.pl www.axontax.pl

Real estate; building & construction; infrastructure; education; media and Tax advisory; acquisition of EU funds; training communication; trade; new technologies; industrial production; capital markets; pharmaceuticals; transport; finance

Legal services

All sectors

Real estate

Notes: NA = Not Applicable; WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for the list was conducted in October 2011. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of September 2011. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

Footnotes: (1) Financial year: July 1 – June 30; (2) Marcin Bartczak, Tomasz Dàbrowski, Pawe∏ D´bowski, Piotr Dulewicz, Robert Dulewicz, Karina Furga-Dàbrowska, Pawe∏ Grabowski, Wojciech Koz∏owski, Arek Krasnod´bski, Micha∏ M´˝ykowski, Piotr Nowaczyk, Dariusz Oleszczuk, Anna Maria Pukszto, Maciej Ryniewicz, Krzysztof Sajewski, Tomasz Stasiak, Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Baraƒska, Piotr Szafarz, Mateusz Toczyƒski, Agnieszka Wardak, Wojciech Zieliƒski; (3) Pirouzan Parvine, Eric Rosedale; (4) Tomasz Wardyƒski, Stefan Jacyno, Micha∏ Bar∏owski, Pawe∏ Cieçwierz, W∏odzimierz Szuszuk, Dariusz Wasylkowski, Jacek Bondarewski, Ewa Butkiewicz, Jan Cieçwierz, Monika Hartung, Mirella Lechna, Krzysztof Libiszewski, Agnieszka Lisiecka, Jan Nowicki, Danuta Pajewska, Weronika Pelc, Anna Pompe, ¸ukasz Szegda, Izabela Zieliƒska-Bar∏o˝ek; (5) Since Jan 1, 2009 PKF Tax Sp. z o.o. is a separate company detached from PKF Consult Sp. z o.o.

President

Tomasz Wardyƒski; Dariusz Wasylkowski Partner Chairman; Senior Partner

André Helin President

Joanna Kanicka-Zió∏kowska - 49%; Dorota Baczewska-Goliƒska - 26%; Alicja Kadziƒska Joanna Kanicka-Zió∏kowska - 25% President None

Krzysztof Wiater Managing Partner

Michel Kiviatkowski; Krystyna Szyd∏owska Managing Partner; Tax Advisory Department Director

Board Member

Managing Partner; Partner

Partners

Andrew Kozlowski Managing Partner

Managing Partner

President

Managing Partner

W∏odzimierz Radzikowski Managing Partner

Marek Forystek Managing Partner

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

20

MARKETS

www.wbj.pl

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

S&P500

13,548.94 (Oct 18 close)

3,072.87 (Oct 18 close)

1.67% (for the week)

0.77% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,457.34 (Oct 18 close)

DAX

5,917.0 (Oct 18 close)

1.71% (for the week)

1.50% (for the week)

8,982.86 (Oct 18 close)

2.14% (for the week)

5.10% (for the week)

CHANGE: 9.29%

CHANGE: 16.01%

CHANGE: 14.12%

CHANGE: 3.81%

CHANGE: 22.41%

CHANGE: 4.94%

(year to Oct 18)

(year to Oct 18)

(year to Oct 18)

(year to Oct 18)

(year to Oct 18)

(year to Oct 18)

52-week high: 13,661.90

52-week high: 3,196.93

52-week high: 1,474.51

52-week high: 5,989.10

52-week high: 7,478.53

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 1,158.66

52-week low: 5,075.20

52-week low: 5,366.50

52-week low: 8,135.79

52-week low: 2,441.48

52-week low: 11,231.40

A disappointing finish

NIKKEI225 7,437.23 (Oct 18 close)

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst Last week saw a lackluster start on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, with shares moving narrowly on Monday. Despite major European bourses opening higher, most bourses in the region spent the day barely treading water. Both the overall WIG and bluechip WIG20 managed to close slightly higher by the end of the day, with energy shares doing particularly well.

Tuesday saw more dynamism, with shares broadly seeing buying. The decision

by Moody’s not to downgrade its sovereign rating on Spain, coupled with a better-thanexpected ZEW investor-sentiment reading from Germany, pushed up markets. The WIG20 gained 0.87 percent, while the WIG saw a 0.89 percent increase. The clearest gainers of the day were TVN and GTC.

Major indices WIG

44,550.12 (October 18 close)

WIG20

2,397.93 (October 18 close)

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

05.10

04.10

03.10

02.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

05.10

2,200

04.10

40,000

03.10

2,260 02.10

41,000

01.10

2,320

28.09

42,000

27.09

2,380

26.09

2,440

43,000

25.09

44,000

24.09

2,500

21.09

45,000

01.10

52-week low: 2,035.80

28.09

Change year to October 18: 9.29%

27.09

52-week low: 36,653.28

26.09

52-week high: 2,417.32

Change year to October 18: 16.26%

25.09

Change for the week: 0.16%

24.09

52-week high: 44,550.12

21.09

Change for the week: 0.74%

Top 5 ALTERCO EUROMARK PCCEXOL ABMSOLID BEST

Closing 2.66 0.37 3.40 0.17 29.50

% change (week) 52-week high 92.75 47.98 54.17 2.39 46.55 3.40 41.67 4.75 40.48 36.50

52-week low 0.66 0.20 2.01 0.11 10.75

Top 5 KGHM GTC TVN BRE PGNIG

Closing 168.00 8.22 7.25 326.90 4.00

% change (week) 6.13 5.38 4.17 3.32 2.30

52-week high 174.20 12.60 15.20 329.20 4.39

52-week low 102.40 5.13 5.90 233.00 3.61

Bottom 5 ATLANTIS HBPOLSKA ADVADIS SEKO MNI

Closing 0.28 0.03 0.04 3.05 1.50

% change (week) -33.33 -25.00 -20.00 -18.45 -16.20

52-week low 0.18 0.01 0.04 2.24 1.46

Bottom 5 TPSA LOTOS PBG PKNORLEN CYFRPOLSAT

Closing 13.63 30.49 6.00 44.19 14.39

% change (week) -15.81 -5.60 -4.91 -2.86 -1.77

52-week high 18.56 33.12 94.65 46.30 15.85

52-week low 12.83 21.30 3.25 31.44 12.25

52-week high 1.21 1.47 0.11 7.10 2.72

Currency report

Z∏oty sellout lies ahead

Other indices sWIG80

10,092.73 (October 18 close)

NewConnect

34.54 (October 18 close)

52-week high: 10,536.29

WIG-Banki

SOURCE: WSE

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

05.10

04.10

03.10

02.10

01.10

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

05.10

04.10

5,900

03.10

33.0

02.10

6,020

01.10

33.6

28.09

6,140

27.09

34.2

26.09

6,260

25.09

34.8

24.09

6,380

21.09

35.4

28.09

52-week low: 5,163.30

27.09

Change year to October 18: 16.81%

26.09

52-week low: 33.85

25.09

52-week high: 6,495.06

Change year to October 18: -16.75%

24.09

Change for the week: 1.18%

21.09

52-week high: 43.83

6,500

Mixed macroeconomic data was supported last week by rather good quarterly earnings reports by US companies (mainly from the financial sector). It also seems that Greece will receive another transfer of financial aid.

Sentiment is not deteriorating and that helped the EUR/USD to recover from the previous week’s corrective movement. The main currency pair bounced from $1.29 but was unable to reach September’s highs of $1.3150.

A corrective movement pulled the EUR/USD back below the $1.31 level, but this week it should be in a position to test local highs again.

On the local market, the z∏oty remains under pressure.

Macroeconomic data continues to indicate that Poland’s economy is slowing, suggesting an interest-rate cut is nec-

6,475.00 (October 18 close)

Change for the week: -0.80%

36.0

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

05.10

52-week low: 8,218.71

04.10

01.10

28.09

18.10

17.10

16.10

15.10

12.10

11.10

10.10

09.10

08.10

9,200

05.10

2,200

04.10

9,400

03.10

2,260

02.10

9,600

01.10

2,320

28.09

9,800

27.09

2,380

26.09

10,000

25.09

2,440

24.09

10,200

21.09

2,500

27.09

Change year to May 10: 17.30%

26.09

52-week low: 2,076.52

25.09

Change year to October 18: 12.64%

24.09

Change for the week: 0.98%

21.09

52-week high: 2,561.94

03.10

2,467.05 (October 18 close)

Change for the week: 3.03%

02.10

mWIG40

The bulls fell short on Wednesday, with shares retreating. All eyes were on Telekomunikacja Polska, as falling revenues as well as a cut in future dividends proved reason enough for many to dump its stock. TP closed with a fall of nearly 15 percent.

On Thursday, indices saw little action, with not much macroeconomic news being released. Strong auctions for Spanish and Irish debt propped up markets for the day, with the WIG finishing nearly half a percent up.

Optimism drained somewhat from the WSE on Friday, thanks to disappointing quarterly earnings announced

by US companies and a delay in the establishment of a European banking union.

The WIG fell 1.39 percent, while the WIG20 shed 1.99 percent. ●

essary. This past week we learned that wages in September increased by only 1.6 percent on an annualized basis. Industrial production also surprised on the downside.

The z∏oty reacted sharply, with the EUR/PLN climbing from zl.4.08 to zl.4.11 and kept trading in that area until the end of the week. The weakness of the US dollar, though, was visible in the USD/PLN quotations. The USD/PLN tumbled from zl.3.17 all the way to zl.3.11 but the z∏oty had given up some of those gains by the end of the week.

Z∏oty depreciation is inevitable in the upcoming weeks, unless the European Central Bank intervenes on the bond markets to aid Spain, which would strongly support the euro. ●

currency rates 3.9855

3.9707

3.9568

09.10

10.10

11.10

12.10

4.0179 08.10

SOURCE: NBP

4.0251 05.10

0.1019

0.1022 12.10

3.8

3.9700

PLN-100JPY

4.5

11.10

0.1015 10.10

0.1016 09.10

08.10

0.1019 05.10

3.3928

3.3996 12.10

0.1

0.1019

PLN-RUB

0.11

11.10

3.3839 10.10

3.3822 09.10

08.10

3.3866 05.10

5.0572

5.0532 12.10

3.0

3.3835

PLN-CHF

3.5

11.10

5.0481 10.10

5.0599 09.10

08.10

5.0714 05.10

3.1314

3.1499 12.10

5.0

5.0709

PLN-GBP

5.5

11.10

3.1261 10.10

3.1438 09.10

08.10

3.1577 05.10

4.1034

4.1103 17.10

3.0

3.1565

PLN-USD

3.5

16.10

4.0940 15.10

4.0889 14.10

13.10

4.0957 12.10

4.0

4.0920

PLN-EUR

4.5

SPORTS

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Soccer

www.wbj.pl

21

Boxing

Poland and England draw 1-1 Adamek set for rematch

with Steve Cunningham

The pair will meet for the first time as heavyweight fighters

REPORTER

Former IBF and WBC world champion Tomasz Adamek will take on the US’s Steve Cunningham in Newark, New Jersey this December, promoters announced last week.

Tomasz Adamek, also known as “The Highlander,” has an impressive record of 47 wins from 49 fights. He is now a heavyweight boxer after previously capturing world titles in both the cruiserweight and light heavyweight divisions.

The rearranged match was overshadowed by last Tuesday’s cancellation for bad weather Poland earned a valuable point against England in Warsaw last week courtesy of a goal from Torino defender Kamil Glik.

Poland had gone behind to a 31st-minute header from Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who shrugged off the attentions of ¸ukasz Piszczek to glance the ball in from Steven Gerrard’s corner.

However, despite the setback, Poland did not cave in and arguably had the best of the game’s chances as they

pushed hard for an equalizing goal.

Then, with time seemingly running out, an uncharacteristic error from England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who misjudged a corner from Ludovic Obraniak, enabled Glik to power in an 81st minute header and send the fans in the National Stadium wild.

After the match England manager Roy Hodgson praised the Polish players, who went some way to banishing the memory of their poor Euro 2012 showing.

“A point in Poland is not to be looked down on and it will not be easy for any of our rivals coming here,” he said.

But the action on the field

was overshadowed by the debacle surrounding the cancellation of the original fixture, which was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Polish Football Association (PZPN) made the decision not to close the stadium’s roof at the start of the week, but following a day of heavy rain the pitch became completely unplayable, leaving Italian referee Gianluca Rocci no option but to postpone the match. The decision was then made to play the following day at 5 pm, meaning thousands of England supporters were unable to attend due to previously arranged return flights home.

David Ingham

another war with the 36-yearold Cunningham.

“This is a chance for Cunningham to have a rematch with me. The first time we fought there were knockdowns and it was a very exciting fight.

The fans loved it,” he said.

“I think this is going to be a very exciting fight for our fans again. I am ready for a tough fight. I love a tough fight because after every big fight I have more fans. ... It has been my dream to be the champion of the world and this is important to me. I will be ready.”

David Ingham

COURTESY OF TOMASZADAMEK.EU

Kamil Glik scored Poland’s equalizer

The two boxers first met in 2008, with Adamek winning both the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles after the bout went to the judges’ scorecards following 12 brutal rounds of action.

Victory for the Pole this time up could pave the way for another attempt to capture the biggest prize in boxing, the world heavyweight title, after his previous bid to become champion ended in failure with a tenth-round stoppage against Vitali Klitschko.

Ahead of the fight Adamek told reporters he expects

Tomasz Adamek

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

22

LIFESTYLE

www.wbj.pl

Concert

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

Concert

Man in the mirror Classical genius

Gotye Gotye November 5 Torwar Warsaw Belgian-born singer Gotye went viral last year with the hit song “Somebody That I Used To Know,” from his third album, “Making Mirrors.” The video for the record, which features a painted Gotye (real name,

Wouter “Wally” De Backer), has so far attracted more than 330 million views on YouTube.

The single helped propel his album into the mainstream, and it has since gone multi-platinum around the world.

A multi-instrumentalist by trade, Gotye’s live shows are characterized by him playing various instruments, with par-

ticular emphasis on all types of percussion. As a result, old and new fans alike can expect a great live show when he makes his first appearance in Warsaw.

Tickets for the event are priced from z∏.120.

David Ingham

For more information log on to torwar.cos.pl

World-famous pianist Denis Matsuev and Sinfonia Varsovia (the Warsaw symphony orchestra) will combine to provide a fantastic evening of classical music this November.

Renowned as an expert interpreter of the great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s works, Mr Matsuev made his name at the 11th International Tchai-kovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998, where he won first prize.

He has since gone on to gain international acclaim as a live performer, while also recording some of Mr Rachmaninoff’s best-loved works in the studio.

This year’s program will include Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 and Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30.

Alexander Rachmaninoff, the grandson of the Russian composer, will be the guest of honor at the event to commemorate the best of his famous relative’s compositions.

The concert kicks off the “Racmoninoff Gala,” a series of jubilee concerts celebrating the 140th anniversary of the

composer’s birth. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to charity.

David Ingham

Tickets for the event are available at the National Philharmonic and at eBilet.pl

Denis Matsuev

COURTESY OF MEDIA METROPOLIS

SHUTTERSTOCK

Rachmaninoff Gala November 4 National Philharmonic Warsaw

LAST WORD

OCTOBER 22-28, 2012

www.wbj.pl

23

Tech Eye

munch on one appendage.

In any case, the Light Up Body Parts are only $19.10 on Amazon, which is frankly less than Techeye would expect an arm and a leg to cost.

FYI, there’s plenty of other Halloween stuff on Amazon too, like the “Headless Zombie Prop” ($45.99) and the “Zombie Gnome Creepy Garden Halloween Porch Lawn Yard Decoration Figure” ($17.96).

Another item we came across online almost made us reconsider our original costume idea: the 12-foot Inflatable Headless Horseman from kitsch-purveyor Hammacher Schlemmer (Hammacher.com).

There’s not really a whole lot to say about the product. It’s inflatable.

It’s tall. It glows. Also, the horse’s

The Inflatable Headless Horseman

gies – the speaker-making side business of chronically sucktastic French composer Jean Michel Jarre – has just unveiled something appropriate for the occasion: the Aeroskull.

This heady sound system has two 15-watt speakers hidden behind its sunglasses, as well as

bone-fide remote control.

The Aeroskull costs a spine-stiffening £349, but at least it’s functional

COURTESY OF JARRE TECHNOLOGIES

Light Up Body Parts

head “turns eerily side-to-side and it produces a bone-chilling whinny, portending malevolence in your Sleepy Hollow.”

That last part is pretty cool, and we briefly considered getting the Inflatable Headless Horseman to torture our annoying neighbors at other times of the year, when the punks are least expecting it. But the price tag is actually scarier than the product itself – $249.95 is rather dear for a lawn ornament.

We’d happily pay that much or even more for a bit of genuine Halloween-inspired technology, though.

So it’s fortuitous that Jarre Technolo-

COURTESY OF HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER

With Halloween just around the corner, Techeye has been giving a lot of thought to this year’s costume. We initially wanted to go as a centaur with no head (i.e. a headless horse-man), but decided it was too similar to our costume from 2011, “the Assman” (a mutant man-donkey).

So instead Techeye is planning to go as a mixed metaphor. Either as Scooby-Doo the magician (“an old dog with new tricks up his sleeve”) or as a big baby nibbling on a finger (“biting the hand that rocks the cradle”). It’s unlikely anyone will get the joke, but that’s fine. Sometimes it’s enough to amuse yourself.

Anyway, if we decide go with the latter costume we’ll need a hand to gnaw. Our beloved wife has already said she’s not going to walk with her hand in our mouth all evening, so we’ve had a look online for alternatives.

One possibility is the Light Up Body Parts, a collection of four plastic body parts that do precisely what the name suggests. On the one hand (ha ha), you only need two “AA” batteries (not included) to light up all four body parts. On the other, they’re all connected by a single cord, which is kind of inconvenient if you only want to

COURTESY OF BUYCOSTUMES DOT COM

Gadgets to scare you silly as a goose

a 40-watt subwoofer that occupies the back of the skull. The Aeroskull has a frequency range of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, is Bluetooth enabled and has a headphone jack as well as a 30-pin iPod dock connector (a poor choice, in light of Apple’s newly unveiled Lightning connector). The device is available in 11 colors and comes with a

The Aeroskull as well as decorative. In fact, Techeye is thinking about incorporating several Aeroskulls into one awesome mixed-metaphor costume. Picture this: a hunched woman carrying a sack of different colored Aeroskulls, all playing pre-recorded knock-knock jokes. In other words, a lady left holding a mixed bag of funny bones. ●

Ever tortured a metaphor for your own amusement? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2 www.csw.art.pl Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4 www.czarnagaleria.art.pl

Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Gallery ul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul. Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 42/44 and Old Town Square 19/21 www.napiorkowska.pl

Fibak Gallery ul. Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 5 www.galeriafibak.pl

Królikarnia National Gallery ul. Pu∏awska 113a www.krolikarnia.mnw.art.

Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik pl ul. Mazowiecka 11a www.owzpap.pl Le Guern Gallery ul. Widok 8, Galeria 65 www.leguern.pl ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com Museum of Galeria Appendix 2 Independence ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 Aleja SolidarnoÊci 62 www.appendix2.com www.muzeumniepodleglo sci.art.pl Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18a National Museum in www.asymetria.eu Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3 Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.mnw.art.pl www.galeriafoksal.pl Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36 www.galeriaxx1.pl Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8 www.zoya.art.pl Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4 www.greengallery.pl

Polish National Opera at Teatr Wielki Pl. Teatralny 1 www.teatrwielki.pl

Simonis Gallery ul. Burakowska 9 www.simonisgallery.com State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw ul. D∏uga 52 www.pma.pl State Ethnographic Museum ul. Kredytowa 1 www.ethnomuseum.we bsite.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

Pracownia Galeria Wilanów Palace ul. Emilii Plater 14 Museum and Wilanów www.pracowniagaleria.pl Poster Museum ul. St Kostki Potockiego Rempex Art and 10/16 Auction House www.milanow-palac.pl ul. Karowa 31 www.postermuseum.pl www.rempex.com.pl Royal Castle Pl. Zamkowy 4 www.zamekkrolewski.com.pl

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

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