WBJ #36 2012

Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski offered his own economic plan last week. The government calls it “unsustainable”

Tech Eye looks at making movies with your iPad, and Samsung’s latest smartphone

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VOLUME 18, NUMBER 36 • SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

Economic defense COURTESY OF JONES LANG LASALLE

REAL ESTATE

• DIY expansion • Twarda Tower sold • Offices in small cities 15-17

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

President Komorowski lays out a plan to “defend” Poland from a second economic crisis, and other stories from last week’s Economic Forum in Krynica 12-13

st 41

Poland fails to move up in a ranking of countries’ economic competitiveness 7

In this issue

Change of plans

Draghi’s gamble

The government’s revised budget for 2013 predicts sharply slower growth

Will the ECB’s unlimited bondbuying plan save the euro zone?

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AFP/EAST NEWS

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . .10 Krynica Economic Forum . . . .12-13 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-17 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

NEWS

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Poland’s first postcommunist president, Lech Wa∏´sa, has withdrawn a lawsuit against a former union leader who had accused him of being a government agent during the 1970s. Krzysztof Wyszkowski, who was an opponent of the communist regime and a co-founder of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast, had referred to Mr Wa∏´sa as “Bolek,” his alleged code name in Poland’s communist-era secret service. He also stated that he believed the former leader of the Solidarity trade union had been handsomely rewarded for information he passed on to Poland’s secret police.

Privatization goal for 2013 Poland’s Treasury Ministry hopes to raise z∏.5 billion through the privatization of statecontrolled financial and chemical companies in 2013, reported Rzeczpospolita. Investors are expected to have the opportunity to buy shares in firms including insurance giant PZU, Poland’s largest bank PKO BP, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the National Depository for Securities. As far as chemical firms are concerned, the Treasury hasn’t revealed any names.

UN convention for the disabled Polish President Bronis∏aw Komorowski has signed a UN convention detailing the rights of disabled people – the first international document of its kind.

“The journey is not over, we have to go further, according to the convention’s stated direction, adjusting Polish law to the convention,” Mr Komorowski said at the signing ceremony. He also encouraged the “building of more social acceptance and sensitivity on the issues of the disabled,” thanking the athletes who had won medals for Poland at the Paralympics in London.

“Those are medals for all disabled people,” Mr Komorowski said. ●

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Numbers in the News

The ECB’s bond-buying program Mario Draghi

2.2% is the government’s updated GDP growth forecast for 2013. The previous forecast was 2.9%.

z∏.35.6 billion is the budget deficit that the government forecasts in its new plan.

111 is the total number of concessions for shale gas prospecting issued in Poland.

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Wa∏´sa withdraws agent lawsuit

z∏.4.1 billion is how much open retirement fund assets in Poland grew in August.

Global stock exchanges rallied on September 6 after Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, delighted markets by announcing that the ECB would launch an unlimited bond-buying program to put downward pressure on the borrowing costs of heavily-indebted euro zone countries.

The program, called Outright Monetary Transactions, allows for unlimited ECB purchases of sovereign bonds on the secondary bond market with a maturity period of three years or less.

Bond yields have increased significantly for Spain and Italy in recent months, sparking worries that both countries might suddenly find themselves incapable of paying the

interest on their debts.

The ECB’s move is designed to reverse this trend, easing pressure on sovereign borrowing costs and convincing investors that the euro zone countries are determined to keep the currency union alive.

“The euro is irreversible,” Mr Draghi stated when announcing his decision.

However, the ECB will only buy the bonds of countries that officially ask it for help and agree to undertake reforms, often involving painful spending cuts.

The ECB’s 22-member Governing Council made the decision despite objections from representatives of the Bundesbank, the central bank of Europe’s largest economy, Germany. Bundesbank mem-

bers had earlier said that such a move would amount to “printing money.”

But markets liked the decision, with the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s blue-chip WIG20 index enjoying a 1.6 percent rise on the day the news was announced.

Also, both Spain and Italy saw their borrowing costs fall.

To calm fears that the program may fuel inflation, the ECB said that in the case of any future purchases, an equivalent amount of funds would be drained from the banking system so as to keep the money supply stable. The ECB could do this by offering interest-bearing deposits to banks equal to the total amount of government bonds Remi Adekoya it holds.

Quote of the Week “I would also like to say what could be done in Poland while closing my eyes and covering my ears.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, commenting on economic proposals made last week by Law and Justice leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski.

Figures in focus Baltic or bust GDP growth rates in Q2 2012, percentage change compared with the same quarter of the previous year, selected EU27 countries 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8

*Eurostat figures. According to Poland’s own statistics, the economy grew by 2.4 percent in Q2.

Greece

Italy

Spain

UK

EU27 Germany Estonia Poland* Lithuania Latvia

On WBJ.pl Gateway to the past COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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Poignant landmarks are plentiful in Poland but even so, the remains of Saski Palace (Saxon Palace) are particularly symbolic of this nation’s discordant past.

Log on to WBJ.pl for a glimpse of this architectural landmark, presented by WBJ’s sister publication Warsaw Insider.

Source: Eurostat

Company index Abbey House ................................6 Eurostat........................................3 Penta Investments ......................7 ABC Data......................................6 Filiz Tours ....................................6 Peter Nielsen & Partners ..........6 Advent International ....................7 Gamelion Studios ........................6 PGE ............................................12 Africano Travel ............................6 Gazprom ....................................12 PGNiG ........................................12 Alba Tour ......................................6 GE Hitachi ....................................8 Amber Gold ..................................4 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy..........8 Apple ......................................6, 23 General Electric ........................13

PKN Orlen ..................................12 PKO BP ........................................2 Polimex ......................................10

Aquamaris....................................6 Google ..........................................6 Polimex-Mostostal ....................10 Arch-Deco ..................................16 Henpol ........................................17

DATELINE

September 13

17TH YOUNG ART AUCTION

Event:

The first auction of the new season: works of young artists, each one with a starting price of z∏.500. Works by both new and wellknown artists will be up for sale.

DESA Unicum auction house, ul. Marsza∏kowska 34-50, Warsaw desa.pl

Location:

Web:

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POLISH OUTSOURCING FORUM

Event:

Organized by Roadshow Poland and Aspire, the Polish Outsourcing Forum will present the latest trends in the outsourcing market in Poland and abroad and will feature representatives from business, government and media.

Hyatt Hotel, Warsaw

Location:

Areva ............................................8 Hermanowicz Art&Business ..............................6 Rewski Architekcii......................17 Atena ............................................6 HSBC ..........................................10

Polski Holding NieruchomoÊci ..4 PZU ..........................................2, 7 Rank Progress ..........................17

Bank Zachodni WBK..................10 IVG ..............................................15 Rockefeller Group ......................15

Web:

roadshowpolska.pl/e

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34TH WARSAW MARATHON

Event:

The annual Warsaw Marathon will raise funds for the Bátor Tábor Polska Foundation, an organization that offers therapeutic camping opportunities to children with chronic diseases in Central and Eastern Europe. Participants are expected to be sponsored by friends, family and colleagues for every kilometer they run. Organized by Kompania Wra˝eƒ, the marathon route will travel through Warsaw’s key landmarks, including the Old Town.

Warsaw kompaniawrazen.pl

Blue Rays ....................................6 Joanna........................................15 Ronson Development ................17 BPT Asset Management A/S ....15 Jones Lang LaSalle ......15, 16, 17 Samsung ....................................23

Location: Web:

Bricoman....................................17 JW Construction ........................15 SEGRO ........................................15 BZ WBK ........................................3 KGHM ........................................12 Sky Club ......................................6 CAT ............................................15 Lux Med........................................7 Stocznia Gdaƒsk ..........................8 CBRE ..........................................17 Markit ........................................10 Summerelse ................................6 Clifford Chance ..........................15 Mati World Holiday ......................6 Comanche Investments ............15 Microsoft ......................................6 Cushman & Wakefield ..............15 Mid Europa Partners ..................7

Tauron ........................................12 Tesco ..........................................17 Tokyo Electric Power Company ..9

Dom Development ....................17 Mirbud ........................................17 Toshiba ........................................8 Echo Investment ........................16 Mrówka ......................................17 Eko Holding..................................7 Multi Corporation ......................15 Elektra Travel ..............................6 Multi Development Poland ........15 Endurance Real Estate Fund ....15 Nordea Bank ..............................15

TP Link ......................................15 Twitter ..........................................4 Warimpex ..................................15

Enea............................................12 Nowa Era....................................15 Westinghouse ..............................8 EURO Styl ..................................16 OLT Express ................................4 X-Trade Brokers ....................3, 19 Eurocopter....................................6 Orco Property Group..................15 ZE PAK..........................................4 Europa Capital LLP....................15 PBG ........................................7, 10 Zielona Galeria ..........................17

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Budget

Government slashes growth forecast for 2013 to 2.2 percent Assumptions in the 2013 draft budget • 2.2% GDP growth for 2013 • Inflation at an average of 2.7% • Employment to grow by 0.2%

PREMIER.GOV.PL

• Wages to rise by 1.9%

Jacek Rostowski and Donald Tusk envisage 2.2 percent GDP growth for next year

And yet the government’s new budget proposal for next year may still be too optimistic The Polish government approved a draft budget for 2013 last week, envisaging 2.2 percent GDP growth for next year, a significant downgrade from the 2.9 percent growth assumption contained in its previous forecasts.

The government expects the budget deficit to come in at z∏.35.6 billion – only slightly higher than the z∏.35 billion planned for this year, despite the significantly weaker economic growth prospects.

The projections appear optimistic in the light of the worsening economic outlook, with many economists expecting growth of 2 percent or lower in 2013. Moreover, Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said at a conference last

week that he didn’t foresee any tax increases next year, leading analysts to question where revenues would come from.

“This change of macroeconomic assumptions means making them more realistic, but they still cannot be described as conservative in the context of the recent deterioration [of the] economic outlook,” Bank Zachodni WBK chief economist Maciej Reluga wrote in a report.

Mr Rostowski said that the

Fiscal policy

PiS economic plan comes under fire Both the government and economists criticized the opposition party’s latest set of economic proposals

‘Closed eyes’

Poland’s main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) has fired the opening salvo in what some of its politicians are labeling their “autumn offensive,” by presenting its economic proposals for Poland.

PiS leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski has called for the unification of the personal and corporate income tax codes, z∏.300 vouchers for poorer families to spend on sending their children to preschool, undoing the recently passed pension reform which raised the retirement age to 67 for both men and women, and increasing tax rebates for families with more than one child.

Mr Kaczyƒski has also called for the introduction of a turnover tax for banks and retail chains, a 10-year plan to combat unemployment and create 1.2 million jobs, and the abolition of taxes for pensioners

Prime Minister Donald Tusk was quick to respond, saying the PiS proposals don’t take into account the “context of the crisis.”

“I would also like to say what could be done in Poland while closing my eyes and covering my ears to what is spreading around the world, Europe and Poland,” he said.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski went further, describing the proposals as amounting to nothing more than a “classic financial pyramid.” Mr Rostowski said the cost of the proposals are “unsustainable in the medium term,” putting their price tag in 2013 at z∏.62.6 billion, far more than the z∏.1213.5 billion that the PiS leader had said they would cost.

“In the first year of implementation, the changes proposed by [Mr Kaczyƒski] would be double the amount of the deficit planned for next year,”

receiving less than z∏.1,000 a month. He also said he wants to reduce social security contributions, although he offered scant details.

he said.

Mr Kaczyƒski, meanwhile, claims his proposal to reduce the social security burden would cost the state z∏.9 billion, while z∏.3 billion would be needed to launch his jobs program. Add to that z∏.1 billion for his pro-family proposals and z∏.400 million for eliminating tax for pensioners receiving under z∏.1,000 a month.

He said that his proposals for simplifying the tax system, plus the bank tax, would earn the government an extra z∏.11 billion. He also said that the state should be able to reduce the size of its administration, reforms which would mean his program would have a net cost of zero or “very little.”

‘Stimulus’ program Economists criticized the PiS proposals. Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ, chief economist at XTrade Brokers, called the proposals a “stimulus” program that Poland couldn’t afford right now.

“The positive effects are uncertain, while the risk is great,” he said.

Remi Adekoya

new macroeconomic assumptions are “realistic,” adding that the budget is based on “the most important principle in these dangerous times in Europe, which is ensuring security for the Polish economy.”

The government is under pressure to reduce the deficitto-GDP ratio, but has limited room for maneuver since it will need to balance cuts in spending against the damage they could do to the economy.

“The central budget deficit was set more or less at the same level as in 2012, which suggests that the general government deficit will not be cut to 2.2 percent of GDP as planned earlier,” BZ WBK

wrote, referring to the government’s unchanged plan to reduce the deficit to 2.2 percent of economic output.

“Still, under circumstances of a considerable deterioration of the economic climate in the whole of Europe we do not think that this [will] diminish the [international] assessment of Polish fiscal policy,” the bank added.

Mr Rostowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk both admitted that for this year, it won’t be possible to lower the public deficit below the 3 percent limit set by the EU, and have instead set a target of 3.5 percent of GDP. Gareth Price

3

Car sales hit the brakes The month of August saw a 13 percent decline in the sales of new cars compared to July this year. Sales results are also worse than those from August 2011 by close to 8 percent. In August, two-thirds of the 15 biggest car importers in the Polish market saw declines in sales, some in double digits. Lower demand was recorded especially in the case of the less expensive brands.

Euro zone unemployment at 11.3% The euro zone’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate amounted to 11.3% in July, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

That’s in line with analysts’ expectations, and the same as in the previous month. While the fact that the jobless rate hasn’t increased might seem optimistic, it is still the worst result since 1995, when comparable data was published for the very first time. ●

4

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

Politics

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Privatization

PM accused of lying Treasury reveals plan to hit in Amber Gold scandal 2012 privatization target Also, the prime minister’s son has decided to sue over some Polish tabloids’ portrayal of his involvement in the disgraced firm

now suing several tabloids for slander over the matter, saying that their portrayal of him suggests he was involved in the scam.

As of September 7, over 5,000 people have told prosecutors they lost a combined amount of nearly z∏.274 million to Amber Gold. The company’s owner, Marcin P. (Polish law forbids the release of the full names of those against whom charges have been brought), was arrested on August 30 and is facing seven charges of financial wrongdoing.

Remi Adekoya

COURTESY OF FLICKR/KPRM

The political fallout from the demise of Amber Gold, a “parabank” that attracted clients with promises of high returns on investments in goldindexed instruments, continues to dog Prime Minister Donald Tusk, now that politicians in the Law and Justice (PiS) party have accused him of lying about the matter.

Members of PiS say Mr Tusk received information from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) that Amber Gold could be a Ponzi scheme back in May, and failed to inform Poles about the dangers of investing in the parabank.

PiS MP Przemys∏aw Wipler wrote on Twitter that he had received information that the PM learned Amber Gold had no gold reserves on May 24, and had lied to Poles about how much he knew.

Mr Tusk has denied this,

saying the information he received in May “was not different from what the media were writing about Amber Gold at this time,” and gave him no reason to sound the alarm.

The affair took on decidedly political overtones when it emerged earlier this summer that the prime minister’s son, Micha∏ Tusk, had held a position at OLT Express, a low-cost airline that was backed by Amber Gold and which declared itself insolvent in July. This prompted suggestions that the PM had warned his son about the company. The PM’s son is

Mr Tusk denied he received warnings about Amber Gold

One more successful IPO – probably of energy firm ZE PAK – should be enough to see the state home Poland’s Treasury Ministry is counting on one more major asset sale to ensure it hits its year-end target of z∏.10 billion from privatization receipts.

“Revenues from privatization now stand at z∏.8 billion. I expect that if there is one more big IPO, there will be a further z∏.800 million to z∏.1 billion, thus giving us z∏.9 billion,” Deputy Treasury Minister Pawe∏ Tamborski told journalists last week. He added that the state budget can count on additional revenues from smaller privatization projects to bring it nearer the z∏.10 billion target.

The Treasury is currently preparing two public offers: those of power-plant operator Zespó∏ Elektrowni PàtnówAdamów-Konin (ZE PAK) and real estate group Polski Holding NieruchomoÊci (PHN).

Mr Tamborski said that the IPO of ZE PAK is the one that

group to debut on the stock exchange this autumn, but not “for any price.” In June, the Treasury was forced to suspend the IPO of PHN due to unfavorable market conditions, but chief executive Wojciech Papierak said last week that the company plans to list on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in November.

The Treasury has a 100 percent stake in the real estate group, whose value is estimated at around z∏.2.8 billion.

is most likely to go ahead this year.

According to the Ministry, ZE PAK, whose financial prospectus was sent to the Financial Supervision Authority at the end of August, will debut on the stock exchange at the turn of Q3 and Q4. The Treasury plans to sell 50 percent, the value of which is estimated by analysts at about z∏.800 million.

When it comes to PHN, Treasury Minister Miko∏aj Budzanowski said in early August that he wants the

Gareth Price

Selling the family silver Revenues from privatization (in z∏. billion), 2008-2012 29.95 30 25 *Planned 20 13.1

15

10* 10

6.97 2.37

5 0

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Source: Ministry of Treasury

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BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak is overseeing work on an “investment package” to facilitate foreign investments in Poland.

The ministry is proposing dozens of changes to provide incentives for companies, speed up investment processes and support entrepreneurs.

Eurocopter promises Poland production French-German Eurocopter has announced that if it wins a tender for the production of 26 helicopters for the Polish Army, all of them would be assembled in Poland, Puls Biznesu reported. The Polish Army is planning to purchase the 26 helicopters for z∏.3 billion, with the tender set to be launched this autumn.

ABC Data notes 30% sales increase Polish IT distributor ABC Data announced a 30% y/y increase in sales for Q2, 2012. Sales grew mainly in the consumer electronics, mobile devices and transport sectors. “The increase in sales of ABC Data reinforce our strong and stable position in IT distribution. We want to increase our margins by reducing costs and by increasing the sales of profitable products,” Micha∏ Rumiƒski, chairman of ABC Data, said in a statement. ●

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Travel industry

Filiz Tours declared bankrupt The company is the tenth Polish travel agency to go bankrupt this summer Polish travel company Filiz Tours declared itself bankrupt in a statement on its website last week.

“Dear customers of Filiz Tours! The management board apologizes for any inconvenience and the failure to fulfill your dreams because of the bankruptcy of the company,” the statement on the website, which is otherwise out of operation, reads.

The Mazowieckie Marshall’s Office had however not received an application for insolvency by the time the statement was published. And when staff visited the company’s Warsaw headquarters

there were no workers or equipment left and the office was empty, Anna GroszykKsià˝ak of the Mazowieckie Marshall’s Office, told the Polish Press Agency.

At the time of the announcement, only two of the firm’s clients were believed to be abroad, but as many as 1,500 people had booked holidays with Filiz Tours. Ms Ksià˝ak said the company, which has been present on the Polish market since 2004, has two insurance guarantees worth a total of z∏.400,000.

The company’s folding was the latest in a long line of bankruptcies for Poland’s travel industry this summer, with nine other companies also going out of business. In July, Sky Club, Alba Tour,

SHUTTERSTOCK

Investor incentive plan

At the time of the announcement, as many as 1,500 people had booked holidays with Filiz Tours Africano Travel, Blue Rays, Atena and Elektra Travel all went bust. In August, they

were joined by Aquamaris, Mati World Holiday, and Summerelse, with Filiz Tour

completing the list at the start of September.

David Ingham

Smartphone apps

Polish-made game apps are taking market by storm Some 40 percent of smartphone users in Europe now use game apps, many of which are designed by Poles

Polish game programmers are now playing a leading role in the growing popularity of mobile game applications.

Some 40 percent of smart-

COURTESY OF GAMELION STUDIOS

6

phone users in Europe currently use game apps on their phones, according to a recent survey by digital analytics company comScore, and an increasing number of these apps are being designed by Poles.

Polish programmers now constitute the third-most important group of game designers for the Windows Phone operating system, according to Sebastian Szczygie∏, CEO of Gamelion Studios, a leading Polish game programming company.

“Poles have created over 4,000 apps for Windows, and

for Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, we made 1,000 each,” he said.

Gamelion Studios’ flagship product “Monster Shooter” has already been downloaded by 4 million users since it launched in 2011, and around 100,000 people play the game every day, only 3 percent of whom are Poles.

Even more impressive is one of Poland’s biggest game hits, “Speedx 3D,” created by Polish designer Bart∏omiej Janusz. The game has been downloaded 13 million times since 2009, and over 300,000

people play it every day.

But Polish game programming is still in its “baby stage,” according to Mr Szczygie∏.

“This business is still considered very much a niche here in Poland, whereas in the USA the market is very advanced,” he said.

But although Polish talent is somewhat in the shadow of those working in Western countries, Google and Microsoft are now recognizing their worth, providing many Polish programmers with benefits and loyalty programs.

Izabela Depczyk

Art market

Monster Shooter has been downloaded by 4 million users since 2011

Legal News Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik ms@pnplaw.pl

Draft budget for 2013 On September 4, the government adopted the following macroeconomic assumptions in its draft budget for 2013: actual GDP growth (2.2 percent), average inflation rate (2.7 percent), general increase in consumption (by 5 percent, nominally), actual growth of salaries in the national economy (1.9 percent) and an increase in employment (0.2 percent). The draft of the budget act for 2013 is due to be referred to the Tripartite Commission for public consultation.

European Commission proceedings against Gazprom

On September 4, the European Commission announced that it had opened formal proceedings to investigate whether Gazprom, a Russian producer and supplier of natural gas, limits competition in Central and Eastern European gas markets, thus violating EU antitrust rules.

The Commission believes that Gazprom’s activities may abuse the company’s dominant market position in the upstream gas supply markets in Central and Eastern European for EU Member States, in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. ●

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Art auction market’s turnover up 90 percent in H1 The economic crisis has positively impacted the Polish art market Poland’s art auction market has seen a 90 percent increase in turnover in the first six months of this year, according to a report by Abbey House, one of Poland’s biggest fineart auction houses.

Turnover for H1 2012 was z∏.30.1 million, compared to z∏.15.8 for the same period last year. Experts say the driving force behind the increase is the global economic slowdown.

“Art is the most popular alternative asset group, as investing in art is motivated by the need to secure capital from the crisis. The crisis has given impetus to the global art

market, and Poland is beginning to reflect this trend,” said Maciej Gajewski, an art market analyst at Abbey House.

Riding on the wave of art market growth Poland’s first art investing magazine, Art&Business, has announced it plans to launch on Poland’s NewConnect market in Q3.

Chairman of the board of Art&Business, Jakub Kokoszka, told WBJ that growing interest in art investment would spur interest in an art investment guide.

“There are an increasing number of Poles interested in buying art, and in reading about the art market. Moreover Poles are starting to treat art as an important element of a particular lifestyle. Here is where we, as a magazine, see a

great opportunity for growth,” Mr Kokoszka said.

Aside from raising capital for campaigns promoting the magazine, Mr Kokoszka said the reason to go public is to make the company more transparent, to allow for better market measurement, and also to encourage new investors who have never invested in art before to get involved with the art market.

The art market in Poland is however still quite underdeveloped compared to more established art markets like those in France, the US and the UK. “Poland’s annual [art-market] turnover is less than one really outstanding piece of art sold in the US, for example,” Mr Kokoszka said.

Izabela Depczyk

BUSINESS

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Economic competitiveness

Poland 41st in competitiveness ranking The country’s position remains unchanged since the last ranking Poland was ranked 41st in the 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Index prepared by the World Economic Forum

Could do better Global Competitiveness Index ranking, selected countries Country

Position

Switzerland

1

Germany

6

Japan

10

Puerto Rico

31

Czech Republic

39

Poland

41

South Africa

52

India

59 Source: World Economic Forum

in cooperation with the National Bank of Poland.

This is the same as its previous result but worse than its 2010-2011 performance, when it was ranked 39th. “[Poland] displays a fairly even performance across all 12 pillars of competitiveness.

Notable strengths include its large market size (20th) and high educational standards, in particular its high enrollment rates (17th),” the report states.

“The financial sector is well developed (34th) and Poland’s increased trustworthiness (16th) has contributed to its very good performance in this domain,” it added.

The report did, however, point out that “further enhancing competitiveness will require a significant upgrading of transport infrastructure, which trails international standards by a consid-

erable margin (111th),” adding that “while some progress has been made in this area since last year, it is not sufficient to increase its ranking.”

The quality of roads in Poland continues to be assessed very poorly (134th).

And although the improvements to some aspects of the institutional framework, such as the transparency of government policy making and physical security, are “notable,” the business sector remains very concerned about the burden of government regulation (124th), the report said.

As Poland transitions to the innovation-driven stage of development, it will have to focus more strongly “on developing capacities in innovation and business sophistication.”

“Stronger clusters, more R&D orientation of compa-

Mid Europa confirms intention to sell Lux Med Mid Europa Partners, a private equity fund, plans to sell Lux Med, one of Poland’s top providers of private medical services, by the end of 2012.

“We are preparing to launch the sale of Lux Med and I presume it will start in September,” Zbigniew Rekusz, Mid Europa partner in Warsaw, told Reuters, adding that “we wish to sign the final sale agreement this year.”

The transaction is likely to

attract bids estimated at around z∏.1 billion, Reuters wrote.

Polish media has speculated that insurer PZU, Britain’s Bupa, Vienna Insurance Group and Italy’s Generali could be among the bidders for Lux Med, which has more than one million clients and controls 72 medical centers.

However, PZU has said the Lux Med valuation is too high for a takeover.

“Yes, we are interested in this market segment and Lux Med, but our final decision will depend on pricing,” PZU management board member Ryszard Trepczyƒski told Reuters.

“The valuation that the press speculates on, the initial expectations of the investor, that is EBITDA times in the teens, from a business point of view are out of the question,” RA he added.

Poland’s rank in previous years 2011-2012: 41 2010-2011: 39 2009-2010: 46 2008-2009: 53 nies, and intensified collaboration between universities and the private sector would help the country to move toward a more future oriented development path,” the report concluded.

Switzerland has the most competitive economy in the world, followed by Singapore and Finland, according to the Remi Adekoya survey.

www.wbj.pl

7

Suitors line up for Eko Holding takeover Three private equity firms have reportedly demonstrated an interest in taking over Polish supermarket operator Eko Holding. Advent International, Penta Investments and Mid Europa Partners have all apparently been eying the company.

“Eko Holding is an interesting company and it would align well with our strategy,” an anonymous Mid Europa Partners representative told Parkiet.

The newspaper added that both Penta and Mid Europa are frustrated with Eko Holding’s main shareholder and president of the board, Krzysztof Gradecki, who seems to be favoring Advent.

That company is reportedly ready to pay a hefty premium for shares it buys from Mr Gradecki and his wife.

If Advent were to

announce a call for shares, ordinary Eko shareholders could receive as much as z∏.4 per share, and Mr Gradecki, z∏.6 per share, Parkiet reported. Together with his wife, he controls 55 percent of the company, in a stake estimated at z∏.129 million.

According to analysts, now is a good moment for a takeover, because the company’s valuation is relatively low.

A single share in Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed Eko Holding was priced at z∏.4.80 as WBJ went to press, but the company has been trading at an average of z∏.3.77 over the last six months.

Eko Holding owns around 300 stores and its capitalization amounts to z∏.233 million.

Its annual revenues have generally exceeded z∏.1.5 billion over the last few years.

Gareth Price

Construction

PBG seeks z∏.200 million in state aid The bankrupt construction firm posted a z∏.1.7 billion net loss in the first half of 2012 Polish construction firm PBG has applied for z∏.200 million in state aid from the Industrial Development Agency (ARP).

PBG had previously submitted a request for a loan in July, but the ARP decided it was not possible until the firm’s H1 financial results had been released.

Following the announcement of a net loss of z∏.1.7 billion in the first six months of 2012, the company’s president Wies∏aw Ró˝acki said, “We will amend our motion to the ARP by the end of the week. … We are filing for z∏.200 million.”

Mr Ró˝acki said that company’s significant net loss came as a result of writing down the value of assets due to continued financing problems.

“In a situation of such great uncertainty and volatility, the management decided to take a

very conservative approach to the valuation of its assets and decided to take significant writedowns,” Mr Ró˝acki confirmed in a statement.

Poland’s third-largest construction firm suffered financially after it decided to invest heavily in Poland’s infrastructure boom ahead of Euro 2012. The company, which helped build three out of four stadiums for the tournament, filed for bankruptcy in July, blaming difficulties with infrastructure contracts and intranDI sigent banks.

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Nuclear power

GE Hitachi appeals to ‘economic logic’ WBJ sits down with Ziemowit Iwaƒski, regional executive at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, to talk about his company’s bid to provide the technology for Poland’s first nuclear power plant As Poland prepares to launch a tender for the design and construction of its first nuclear power plant, three companies are trying to tip the scales in their favor.

The contract has been valued at up to z∏.50 billion, the biggest ever signed in Poland.

US-Japanese GE Hitachi, Toshiba’s US-based unit Westinghouse and France’s Areva are understandably very keen to highlight what, in their view, makes them the best pick to lead Poland on the road to nuclear energy.

Baltic hub?

According to Ziemowit Iwaƒski, regional executive at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy,

one of the cards up his firm’s sleeve is a proposal to turn the Polish shipyards in Gdaƒsk into a technical hub for the firm’s nuclear projects in Poland and around the Baltic.

The shipyards, once a thriving industrial center and the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, have fallen on hard times with Poland’s transition to a free economy. The idea would be to produce modules, which the firm uses to build its reactors, there. GE Hitachi has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Stocznia Gdaƒsk as part of their review process.

“Typically there are over 80 modules, each weighing

several hundred tons, per reactor. To make sure that these modules can be produced in Poland, we need to create an industrial, technological and technical hub,” said Mr Iwaƒski. “[The shipbuilding] industry, which is being liquidated, is in very good shape to restart with new techniques and processes.” The potential agreement would not involve GE Hitachi buying any firm, but rather providing expertise and potentially contracts, he explained.

Nuclear contracts usually include obligations to partner with local businesses. For example, the Polish Economy Ministry’s nuclear energy department said last month that Poland sees 60 to 70 percent of the work involved in building its first nuclear power station awarded to domestic suppliers.

The Fukushima disaster led to the closure of Japan’s 50 reactors and spurred Germany to pledge to close all of its nuclear reactors by 2022.

Despite this, nuclear power is undergoing a tremendous expansion all over the world, and especially in Asia. According to a July report from the United Nations’ nuclear body and the OECD, world nuclear capacity is expected to grow by 44 to 99 percent by 2035. In East Asia, that figure jumps to between 125 and 185 percent. The strongest growth is expected in China, India, Russia and South Korea.

Mr Iwaƒski says GE Hitachi is concentrated on supplying nuclear units to India and the Middle East, and does not plan to enter China and Russia. The main reason behind this, he said, is lack of protection for intellectual property in these markets.

“We are not under such economic pressure as to offer our technological knowledge to everyone. Westinghouse and Areva are persisting, and we can expect that in a few years Chinese companies will offer their technologies. It’s a short-term plan, and we are in it for the long term.” ●

COURTESY OF GE HITACHI NUCLEAR ENERGY

Nuclear expansion

Ziemowit Iwaƒski says GE Hitachi wants to turn the Polish shipyards in Gdaƒsk into a technical hub for the firm’s nuclear projects in Poland and around the Baltic

INTERVIEW

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Mr Iwaƒski said the planned Gdaƒsk hub would not only be devoted to GE Hitachi’s Polish project, but also be involved in the firm’s projects on the Baltic sea.

Hitachi, GE’s partner in nuclear power projects, has been selected to build a new 1,350 MW nuclear power plant in neighboring Lithuania, which will replace one of the Russian-built reactors from the 1980s that was closed in 2009. GE Hitachi is also currently in the process of bidding for a fourth reactor at Finland’s Olkiluoto nuclear power station, on the country’s west coast.

Apart from its project in Gdaƒsk, GE Hitachi has already signed memorandums of agreement with several firms over the potential building of Poland’s first nuclear plant, including: Fluor, a US firm with an engineering division in Poland, Energoprojekt Warszawa, an engineering design project company that was part of Poland’s first (aborted) nuclear project, and Rafako, a Polish manufacturer of boilers.

“In preparation of the nuclear process, which is complex, we need to bring our production process to the field before talking about building,” said Mr Iwaƒski.

His firm has also signed cooperation agreements with the largest number of Polish universities among the three bidders, he said.

The safety issue Though involving domestic businesses is important for the Polish government, an even higher priority is ensuring safety.

GE Hitachi is proposing to build one of two reactors.

The first, the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), is the only thirdgeneration reactor operating (in Japan), and has been for over 15 years without any operational problems, explained Mr Iwaƒski. It is also the reactor technology that was selected this year by Lithuanian authorities for that country’s nuclear power program.

The second, the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), is a generation III+ reactor, mean-

z∏.50 billion

is the upper estimate of the cost of building Poland’s first nuclear power plant.

99%

is how much world nuclear capacity could grow by 2035, according to the UN and OECD.

2023

is when Poland’s first nuclear power plant is scheduled to become operational.

40%

was the proportion of Poles in favor of building the country’s first nuclear power plant, according to an April 2011 CBOS survey.

2013

is the date by which a location and firm should be selected to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant.

Choczewo, Gàski and ˚arnowiec are the three cities shortlisted to host Poland’s first nuclear power plant. ing it includes fully passive safety features. The ESBWR uses gravity and the natural rising of steam to cool the reactor, which allows for more than seven days of reactor cooling without any operator action, onsite or offsite power, says the firm.

According to GE Hitachi, this reactor’s security system would allow it to withstand severe environmental chal-

“Any process for such a strategic investment is political, but we prefer if political decisions are supported by economic logic” lenges, including, said Mr Iwaƒski, phenomena such as the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 Although some generation III+ reactors are scheduled for construction in the US, none has been installed yet. “Each feature of our technology is tested physically, and we are

now at the very end of the process of licensing this technology in the US,” said Mr Iwaƒski.

Poland has signed nonexclusive investigation agreements for Areva’s EPR reactor technology, Westinghouse’s AP1000, as well as for GE Hitachi’s ABWR and ESBWR designs.

Some observers have noted that French Areva’s bid had a somewhat unfair advantage over the two other bidders, as it is tied to another bid from French EDF for the operation of the power plant. Mr Iwaƒski did not deny this advantage, but said his firm was looking for “a transparent tender and an open discussion.”

Regarding the potential influence of politics on the Polish government’s decision, Mr Iwaƒski said he was realistic. “Any process for such a strategic investment is political, but we prefer if political decisions are supported by economic logic,” he said. “If the plant doesn’t make economic sense, it should not be built.”

Alice Trudelle

Fukushima Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi reactor, which collapsed following a violent earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, had been built based on a GE design when it was built in 1970 (GE Mark I BWR reactor). It was then operated

by Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, for the following 40 years.

According to Mr Iwaƒski, the Fukushima accident was due to both operational issues and technical ones, as opposed to the nuclear technology used. Moreover, he said, the walls supposed to protect the plant against the

tsunami were two times too low.

When the earthquake and tsunami struck, GE was working on a scheduled outage of unit 4 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with over 40 employees and contractors on site. The firm participated in relief efforts by setting up 24hour command centers in the US and in Japan. The firm, its charitable foundation and its employees pledged a total of over $12 million to disaster relief organizations in Japan, and delivered 17 gas turbine units to help meet emergency power demands in Japan. ●

www.wbj.pl

9

10

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

www.wbj.pl

Interest rates

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Manufacturing

Monetary Policy Council PMI continues parade leaves interest rates on hold of ugly macro figures

4.0

Jan. '12 Feb. '12 Mar. '12 Apr. '12 May '12 Jun. '12

Jul. '12 Aug. '12 Sep. '12

Source: National Bank of Poland

Construction firms’ losses could ripple through economy Instead of giving a boost to Poland’s builders and by extension the economy, the construction of highways and stadiums for the Euro 2012 soccer tournament has proven a crushing burden for construction firms. Troubled builders PBG and Polimex – which were deeply involved in Euro 2012 infrastructure proj-

ects – revealed enormous losses for Q2: The PBG group saw a stunning net loss of some z∏.1.7 billion, while PolimexMostostal reported a loss of z∏.388 million.

Unfortunately, construction firms’ woes aren’t limited to this sector alone. Banks provided some z∏.60 billion in loans and guarantees for con-

struction firms, Gazeta Wyborcza reported, and investment funds put plenty of money in construction bonds. Many subcontractors are still waiting for payment.

The construction sector employs some 700,000 people and is responsible for nearly 7 percent of the country’s GDP, AK according to the daily.

51 49 47 45

11 v. ' 11 De c.

'11 Jan . '1 2 Feb . '1 2 Ma r. ' 12 Ap r. ' 12 Ma y '1 2 Jun . '1 2 Jul . '1 2 Au g.

'12

4.2

*A reading above 50 indicates expansion, a reading below 50 indicates contraction 53

No

4.4

55

'11

4.6

Poland’s manufacturing PMI reading*, Aug. 2011-Aug. 2012

t. '

4.8

“The recovery in the previous month, which we took as a tentative sign of stabilisation, has now been followed by a broad based deterioration of all the components of the headline index,” said Agata Urbaƒska, an economist for Central & Eastern Europe at HSBC, in a statement accompanying the release of the figures.

“The PMI data amplifies the weakening trend observed for real activity indicators and puts increasing pressure for policy response in the face of a likely deeper-than-expected economic slowdown in the coming Andrew Kureth quarters.”

Downward trend

Oc

5.0

'11

The National Bank of Poland’s headline interest rate, January 2012-September 2012

Poland’s manufacturing PMI, an indicator that measures performance of the sector, dropped to 48.3 in August, its second-lowest reading in 35 months. A reading under 50 indicates contraction of the sector, and August’s figure indicated the fifth month in a row where conditions in the manufacturing sector deteriorated in Poland.

The survey data showed yet another monthly fall in new business received by Polish manufacturers. New orders have declined every month since February, the data showed, and the rate of contraction accelerated last month.

New export orders continued to decline at a faster rate than total new business, partly reflecting the stronger z∏oty, said HSBC and Markit, the firms that compile the index.

The volume of inputs purchased fell as well – for the sev-

enth month in a row. Firms said the lower purchasing was linked to reduced output requirements.

As a result, stocks contracted for the fifth consecutive month.

The one bright spot was the continued hiring that the manufacturing sector is seeing.

August was the fifth month in a row that jobs were created in the sector, although growth was marginal.

In July, the index had shown slightly less-bad figures, which analysts had taken as a sign that the sector might be stabilizing. However, those hopes were dashed with the release of Monday’s data.

p.

Rate cut coming?

The manufacturing sector contracted again in August, confirming the sharp slowdown in Poland’s economy

g.

changes in monetary policy parameters, disregarding the fact that economic outlook has deteriorated substantially since the previous meeting.”

Mr Reluga said the bank was maintaining its forecast that the RPP would slash rates by 50 basis points in the fourth quarter, and lower them again by another 25 at the start of next year. He added that the first cut could come in October, on the back of weak economic data, and that inflation would drop along with the worsening economic situaAndrew Kureth tion.

Se

Poland’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Council (RPP) left the country’s benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.75 percent last week. The decision was in line with analysts’ expectations.

Inflation fell to 4 percent year-on-year in July from 4.3 percent in June, remaining well above the central bank’s tolerance range of 1.5-3.5 percent. This was despite annualized GDP growth slowing in the second quarter to 2.4 percent from 3.5 percent in Q1.

“Even though the National Bank of Poland remained on hold at today’s RPP meeting, in our view it is just a matter of time before the NBP starts monetary easing,” Lars Christensen, chief analyst and head of emerging markets at Danske Bank, said in an emailed statement.

“Given that the outlook for the Polish economy is bleak and inflation is heading down,

we expect the NBP to cut its key policy rate by 100 basis points in total in the coming 12 months, bringing the key policy rate to 3.75 percent,” Mr Christensen added.

Maciej Reluga, chief economist at Bank Zachodni WBK, was critical of the RPP’s decision. “In our view, an interest rate cut right now would be the correct move, justified by the current and expected economic situation regarding GDP and inflation,” he said in an e-mail. “Apparently the RPP prefers gradual

Au

But experts expect rate-setters to start lowering borrowing costs soon

Source: Markit, HSBC

Investment spending slashed in some Polish regions Polish companies spent some 7.6 percent more on investments in the first half of 2012 than during the same period in 2011, according to daily Rzeczpospolita. Though that number may sound encouraging, it belies deeper inequalites among Poland’s regions, some

of which are losing investments at a surprisingly fast rate. For example the Lubuskie voivodship, which lies along Poland’s border with Germany, saw investment spending plummet by as much as 9.9 percent.

“This is the result of uncer-

tainty on euro zone markets, the German market in particular. This is where we are sending some 80 percent of exports of regional companies,” ¸ukasz Rut from the Lubuskie Voivodship Employers’ Association told the daily.

AK

12

KRYNICA ECONOMIC FORUM

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

The economy

President lays out vision for Poland’s economy

Unity was a key theme at this year’s Economic Forum in Krynica-Zdrój, southern Poland. Political and business leaders who gathered at the event’s 22nd incarnation last week called loud and often for a focus on increased European cohesion and solidarity as a means of facing the growing economic storm.

Business deals were also announced, including a landmark letter of intent signed by three Polish utilities and copper miner KGHM, to share the burden of paying for Poland’s first nuclear power plant.

Here, WBJ presents a selection of the most important stories from the event, touching on a broad range of themes. ●

As the Polish economy shows signs of a sharp slowdown and worries mount among economists as to how the country will cope, President Bronis∏aw Komorowski last week laid out an economic plan that he said would help Poland “defend itself from the crisis.”

Speaking at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Mr Komorowski listed five priorities that he said the government needed to concentrate on.

The first of these was the improvement of Poland’s public finances. “We need to gradually reduce our deficit and public debt so as to reduce dependency on financial markets and create a safety buffer as well as room for maneuver in fiscal policy,” Mr Komorowski said.

He added that the cuts in public spending should be made as the private sector

rebounds so as to keep the economy growing.

Second, the president pointed to the private financial system. Though he stressed that

Polish banks are in good shape, he said it was “necessary to finish work on a deep restructuring and even on readjusting the ownership rules of banks if a danger arose.”

Polish banks’ profits in the first four months of this year were 14.2 percent higher than during the same period last year. However, the president

Shale could bring state z∏.87 bln, create 500,000 jobs

Polish oil and gas company PKN Orlen and the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE) say the Polish shale gas industry could create more than half a million jobs and generate tax revenues of z∏.87 billion by 2020.

A joint report by the two entities presented at the Economic Forum predicts that shale gas will not only increase Poland’s importance in the international arena, but also strengthen the position of countries currently dependent on Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, since they will be

able to import the resource from Poland.

During the presentation, CASE presented three possibilities for the future development of the shale gas industry in Poland. The three scenarios take into account differing levels of demand and investment in the energy sector.

Shale gas scenarios The most optimistic outlook foresees 15 billion cubic meters of shale gas being produced by 2020. If this scenario were to be realized, Poland’s budget could receive z∏.87 billion annually from taxes related to shale gas extraction.

The most pessimistic scenario assumes there will be production of 3 billion cubic meters of shale gas, while the middle-of-the-road estimate

employers. He said “getting people to work and not on unemployment benefits should be the focus of labor agencies.”

Unemployment has re-

President Komorowski wants “geographical diversification” of Poland’s trade

Shale gas

That’s according to the most optimistic outlook presented in a new report at this year’s Krynica Economic Forum

said the changes he is proposing would act as “additional insurance policies for citizens who have savings or have taken out loans.” Some observers

COURTESY OF KRYNICA ECONOMIC FORUM

Krynica Economic Forum

Bronis∏aw Komorowski wants reforms in the country’s public and private financial systems, as well as its labor market

sees production at 5.6 billion cubic meters.

However, the optimistic approach presented by Orlen and CASE was received coolly by Dr Piotr Moncarz of Stanford University, an energy expert. He said that in order to start thinking about exploiting shale gas on a commercial scale, Polish legislation would have to be systematized when it comes to regulations dealing with shale gas extraction and sales.

Aside from these projections, PKN Orlen announced its ambition to acquire the largest number of shale gas concessions in Poland. The firm currently owns eight licenses for shale gas across the country while gas monopolist PGNiG has the most, with a total of 15.

Izabela Depczyk

worry that as the crisis bites in other European countries, foreign banks might withdraw capital from their Polish operations to shore up finances in their home markets.

More flexible labor market Third, President Komorowski said he wants to reform the labor market to improve support for the unemployed, to give them better incentives to seek employment and to offer more flexible options for

mained a serious problem in Poland since the economic transformation in the early 1990s. It currently stands at 12.3 percent, up from the same period last year but an improvement from the nearly 20 percent unemployment rates in the early 2000s.

Fourth, Mr Komorowski said it was necessary to “cultivate the country’s absorptive domestic market” which has so far acted as a safety buffer against the threat of crisis from abroad. Poland’s domestic con-

sumer spending is greatly credited as one of the biggest reasons the country came through the first wave of the global economic crisis without going into recession.

Finally, President Komorowski said that the Polish economy must be opened up to new markets. There must be a “geographical diversification of Poland’s trade and business relations,” Mr Komorowski said. He added that Polish exports have become increasingly reliant on a few major markets, mainly in the EU, and that this pattern of trade involved “dangers” in the present economic environment.

A quarter of Poland’s exports go to Germany, making the Polish economy vulnerable to slowdowns suffered by its western neighbor.

Mr Komorowski announced plans to organize enabling meetings involving Polish businesspeople during his foreign visits, like the one held in the course of his trip to China last December, with a view to promoting the Polish economy and facilitating new contacts.

After laying out these priorities the president argued that to successfully fight the crisis in Europe more EU integration was needed, especially in terms of economics.

Remi Adekoya

Nuclear energy

KGHM joins forces with utilities to fund first nuclear plant Four companies have signed a letter of intent to share the costs of building the 3,000-megawatt facility Power producers PGE, Enea and Tauron have signed a letter of intent along with copper giant KGHM to jointly fund the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, valued at z∏.30-50 billion. The companies, all state-controlled, will buy equity in PGE EJ 1, the entity created to construct and operate the 3,000-megawatt plant.

Treasury Minister Miko∏aj Budzanowski said the structure of the joint venture will help

spread the costs and risks of building the plant.

“Today we have a preliminary deal. By the end of December or at the beginning of 2013 we expect some concrete agreement and concrete actions,” he told reporters last week.

The letter, whose signing was announced at the Economic Forum in Krynica, is the first step towards a potential agreement outlining the rights and obligations of the parties in the project, which is to be managed

by PGE. All signatories have so far avoided speculating on the size of the stakes they will hold in the company.

“We have been warning for a long time that PGE wouldn’t

be able to shoulder the project on its own, and we have just found a solution,” said PGE president Krzysztof Kilian.

“The letter authorizes us to negotiate,” said Mr Kilian, adding that the decision to cooperate is a breakthrough for Poland’s nascent nuclear energy industry.

Two nuclear plants with a total output of 6,000 megawatts are to be constructed in Poland

by PGE, according to the government’s plans, which are aimed at reducing Poland’s reliance on highly polluting coal to produce electrical energy.

The first plant is due to come online by 2023, the second by 2030.

Gareth Price

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

KRYNICA ECONOMIC FORUM

Europe

While politicians in Brussels continue to debate the size and shape of the next EU budget, leaders in Central and Eastern Europe are focusing on how to most effectively use cohesion funds to accelerate the region’s economic development.

Politicians and business leaders on a panel at the Economic Forum in Krynica agreed that to implement a modern and effective cohesion policy, all EU member states would have to pull together as a unified whole. Moreover, professional management and oversight at the local level would have to be stepped up to ensure the funds were put to work more efficiently.

They expressed fears, how-

13

Quotes from Krynica

Old Continent searching for cohesion, leadership Politicians and business leaders in Krynica said European leaders face major hurdles in their quest to accelerate development and integration

www.wbj.pl

ever, that the ongoing European economic crisis and growing mistrust among member states was not conducive to increased unity – a situation, the panelists agreed, that does not bode well for non-members looking to join the bloc.

Micha∏ Boni, the Polish Minister of Administration and Digitization, said Poland was still drawing lessons from its past experiences with EU cohesion policy.

“The basis must be of wellthought-out and constructed projects. I have the impression that some [projects] in the past were prepared too hastily,” he said.

Leadership issues The minister also suggested that a new champion of European unity was needed, someone in the image of Robert Schuman, the former Prime Minister of France and President of the European Parliamentary Assembly.

However Mario Baldassarri, chairman of the Finance Committee of Italy’s upper house of

parliament, said that it would require a cadre of like-minded European leaders to cope with the growing demands being placed on politicians who call for deeper integration.

Hendrik Bourgeois, vice president, European affairs General Electric, said the single market is a necessary element for improving competitiveness in Europe, as is reducing red tape.

Mr Baldassarri also underlined that the entire European Union in the last 10 years had lost over 1 percent of its GDP, resulting in huge unemployment figures.

In the face of these significant hurdles, panelists agreed that Europe needs well-coordinated and long-term plans to engage its regions both economically and politically, and to improve Europe’s competitiveness.

This, they said, is the most realistic way for Europe to avoid a political and economic collapse, and to prevent itself from becoming marginalized GP on the global stage.

WBJ presents a selection of the best soundbites from the Economic Forum in Krynica

“Poland isn’t a source of crisis, it’s not part of Europe’s woes.”

Polish President Bronis∏aw Komorowski recalled Poland’s continued economic growth throughout the economic crisis.

“The division into old and new Europe is being replaced by the new order of a Europe of the able and the less courageous.”

President Komorowski said the European debt crisis had revealed a division between states able to cope and those without sufficient courage.

“The financial crisis woke many Europeans up from a luxurious snooze, making them realize that wealth and a high standard of living can’t be taken for granted.”

President Bronis∏aw Komorowski, again, on what the crisis has revealed about Europe.

“We have been warning for a long time that PGE wouldn’t be able to shoulder the project on its own, and we have just found a solution.”

PGE president Krzysztof Kilian joined representatives of Enea, Tauron and KGHM in signing a letter of intent for cooperation in funding Poland’s first nuclear power plant.

“I think the world has changed in the way they consume football.”

Daniel Marion, head of information and communications technology at European soccer’s governing body, said Euro 2012 marked a watershed in the way fans consume sports online. At least half of surfers opted to use smartphones and tablet computers to obtain online information about the tournament.

“I have the impression that some [projects] in the past were prepared too hastily.”

Poland’s Minister of Administration and Digitization, Micha∏ Boni, said Poland was still drawing lessons from its experiences with EU cohesion policy.

14

OPINION & ANALYSIS

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

European exceptionalism Jean-Claude Trichet

T

he creation of Europe’s economic and monetary union is unique in the history of sovereign states. The euro zone constitutes a “society of states” of a completely new type, one that transcends the traditional Westphalian concept of sovereignty.

Europe’s monetary union has worked remarkably well. Since the euro’s launch in 1999, price stability has been maintained for 17 countries and 332 million people, with average yearly inflation of just 2.03 percent – better than Germany’s record from 1955 to 1999. Moreover, the euro zone has created 14.5 million new jobs since 1999, compared to 8.5-9 million in the United States.

Likewise, on a consolidated basis, the euro zone’s current account is balanced, its debt-to-GDP ratio is well below that of Japan, and its annual public-finance deficit is well below that of the US, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Weak economic union The euro per se thus does not explain why the euro zone has become the sick man of the global economy. To understand that, one has to consider the weakness of Europe’s economic union.

For starters, the Stability and Growth Pact, intended to ensure sound fiscal policies in the euro zone, was never correctly implemented. On

the contrary, in 2003 and 2004, France, Italy, and Germany sought to weaken it. The European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the small and medium-sized euro zone countries prevented the SGP from being dismantled, but its spirit was gravely compromised.

Moreover, euro zone governance did not include monitoring and surveillance of competitiveness indicators – trends in nominal prices and costs in member states, and countries’ external imbalances within the euro zone. (In 2005, long before the crisis, I called, on behalf of the ECB’s governing council, for appropriate surveillance of a number of national indicators, including unit labor costs.)

A third source of weakness is that no crisis-management tools were envisaged at the euro’s launch. For much of the world at the time, “benign neglect” was the order of the day, particularly in the advanced economies.

Finally, the high correlation between the creditworthiness of a particular country’s commercial banks and that of its government creates an additional source of vulnerability, which is particularly damaging in the euro zone.

ments to the SGP and the introduction of surveillance of competitiveness indicators and national imbalances.

New crisis-management tools have been put in place. And there is a consensus that the EU’s stability and prosperity requires completion of the single market and obligatory structural reforms for all 27 members. A proposed banking union would help to separate the commercial banks’ creditworthiness from that of their government.

But none of this is enough. Instead of imposing fines on countries that transgress rules and ignore recommendations, as the SGP was supposed to do, the European Commission, the European Council, and – this is essential – the European Parliament should decide directly on measures to be immediately implemented in the country concerned. Fiscal and certain other economic policies should be subject to activation of a euro zone “federation by exception.”

The idea that sharing a single currency also means accepting limitations on fiscal sovereignty is not new. A “federation by exception” merely draws the logical consequences from the ineffectiveness of the fines envisaged by the SGP, and is fully consistent with the concept of subsidiarity that has been applied since the SGP’s introduction: as long as national eco-

‘Federation by exception’ Fortunately, much progress has been made, including significant improve-

nomic policy complies with the framework, there are no sanctions.

Perhaps the most important element of the “federation by exception” would be its strong democratic anchor. Its activation would be subject to a fully democratic decision-making process, with clear political accountability. More precisely, decisions to implement measures proposed by the Commission and already approved by the Council would require a majority vote by the European Parliament – that is, those representatives elected from the EU’s euro zone members.

In such exceptional circumstances, the parliament of the country concerned should have the opportunity to explain to the European Parliament why it could not implement the recommendations proposed, while the European Parliament could explain why the euro zone’s stability and prosperity are at stake. But the final word would belong to the European Parliament.

Euro zone finance ministry In the past, I have suggested establishing a euro zone finance ministry, which would be responsible for activating economic and fiscal federation when and where necessary, and for managing new crisis-management tools like the European Stability Mechanism. It would also be responsi-

This recovery is different

T

he misguided belief that “this time is different” led policymakers to permit the credit boom of the early 2000s to continue for too long, thus preparing the ground for the biggest financial crisis in living memory. But now, when it comes to recovery, the belief that this time should not be different might be equally dangerous.

Many policymakers and economists have observed that the recovery from the 2007-2008 financial crisis has been much slower than most recoveries of the post-war era, which needed only a little more than a year, on average, to restore output and employment to their previous levels. By this standard, the current recovery is unacceptably slow, with both output and employment still below the previous peak. Policymakers thus feel justified in using all available macroeconomic levers to achieve a recovery that resembles those of the past.

In doing so, officials are reluctant to take into account that the recent crisis resulted from an unprecedented

credit boom gone bust. To some extent, it should have been logical to expect an unprecedented upturn as well. When the crisis erupted, many hoped for a V-shaped recovery, notwithstanding a substantial body of research showing that recoveries from recessions caused by a financial crisis tend to be weaker and slower than recoveries from “normal” recessions.

The observation that recoveries following a financial crisis are different suggests that standard macroeconomic policies might not work as one would usually expect. And a transatlantic comparison suggests that this may indeed be the case.

Striking similarities One would expect that the shock from the financial crisis should be comparable for the United States and the euro zone, given that they are of similar size, exhibit a similar degree of internal diversity, and experienced a similar increase in house prices (on average) in the years preceding the bust. Moreover, the relative increase in debt

(leverage) in the financial system was similar on both sides of the Atlantic.

And, indeed, US economic performance has been very similar to that of the euro zone since the start of the crisis: GDP per capita today is still about 2 percent below the 2007 level on both sides of the Atlantic. The unemployment rate in the US and the euro zone has increased by about the same amount as well – three percentage points.

Of course, one can point to particular countries in Europe that are mired in recession. But the US also has depressed areas. For Ireland and Spain, read Nevada and California (and, for Greece, read Puerto Rico).

The proper comparison is thus between the average of two continental-sized economies, both of which are characterized by considerable internal diversity.

These similarities in economic performance are striking, given that macroeconomic policy in the US and the euro zone has been so different.

The US let its fiscal deficit rise above

10 percent of GDP, compared to less than 6 percent of GDP in the euro zone. Measured over a five-year period (2007-2012), the US has thus not done any better than the euro zone, although it has relied on a much larger dose of fiscal expansion. In the US (and the United Kingdom), the general government deficit today is still around 8 percent of GDP, compared to a little more than 3 percent of GDP in the euro zone, and the US debt-toGDP ratio has increased by more than 41 percentage points, compared to “only” 25 points in the euro zone.

In fact, the economy that has imbibed the strongest dose of expansionary policy has recovered less: GDP per capita in the UK today is still 6 percent below the 2007 level. Of course, one could argue that the UK was particularly exposed to the bust, because financial services make up a large part of its GDP. But the fact remains that its economy, supposedly the most flexible in Europe, has not recovered from the shock five years later, despite massive fiscal and mone-

ble for overseeing the banking union, and it would represent the euro zone in all international financial institutions and informal groupings.

But, most important, “federation by exception” would ultimately cease to be an exception. The finance minister would be a member of the EU’s future executive branch, together with the other ministers responsible for other federal departments.

From this perspective, the Commission presages a future European democratic government, as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has proposed instituting an elected president, has suggested. The Council, meanwhile, appears to anticipate the European Parliament’s future upper house, with the lower house already elected by all EU citizens.

I am fully aware of the boldness of what I propose. But Europeans must learn the lessons of the recent past.

We must clarify the nature of what must be done to secure governance that is both democratic and effective as circumstances require. ● Jean-Claude Trichet was president of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011.

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

Daniel Gros tary stimulus, coupled with a substantial devaluation.

Abrupt change coming?

On balance, it thus seems that this time – or, rather, this post-crisis environment – really is different, and that macroeconomic policies have done little to improve matters. Countries like the US and the UK, which are accumulating debt at a record pace, are betting that deficit spending will eventually pay off in a stronger economy.

But they risk ending up with debt-toGDP ratios north of 100 percent, which would leave them at the mercy of financial markets should sentiment turn against them.

History suggests that interest rates will not remain at record-low levels indefinitely, and that when change comes, it might be abrupt. Why should we expect this time to be different? ● Daniel Gros is director of the Center for European Policy Studies.

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

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

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A host of new destinations have emerged in the Polish office market

DIY markets chain Bricoman sees room for more Poland stores 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

Transactions

JWC opens Krynica hotel

The skyscraper is expected to undergo extensive refurbishment next year Real estate fund management firm Europa Capital LLP has acquired the Twarda Tower office skyscraper in downtown Warsaw from a fund managed

by BPT Asset Management A/S. The value of the transaction has not been revealed.

The Twarda Tower building was completed in 2003 and comprises 27,000 sqm of space. It is located on ul. Twarda in Warsaw’s central business district and is occupied by telecom operator Telekomunikacja Polska.

The skyscraper is expected to undergo extensive refurbishment in 2013, with Warimpex having been appointed to manage the process. Europa Capital and

SEGRO acquires logistics park

Warimpex have previously cooperated on two other Warsaw projects – the Sobieski Hotel & Offices and the CityPoint Distribution Park.

“We are delighted to have completed this transaction because opportunities to acquire prime assets in central Warsaw such as the Twarda Tower are rare,” Michael Abel, a senior associate at Europa Capital LLP, said in a statement.

“We are pleased to see Warsaw maintaining its leading position in the region in terms of real estate volume transacted,” Tomasz Puch, national director, capital markets, at Jones Lang LaSalle Poland which advised BPT in the transaction, said in a statement.

“Furthermore, this investment demonstrates continued investor demand and increasing liquidity, not only for coretype products but also for

Real estate company IVG has acquired the Norway House office building located on ul.

Lwowska in downtown Warsaw from a Pramerica-managed fund. The value of the transaction has not been

revealed.

The nine-storey building offers approximately 5,400 sqm of class-A office space and is currently fully leased out. The main tenant, occupying more than half of the total

Twarda Tower sale . . . . . . . . . .15 Norway House sold . . . . . . . . . .15

Property-related stocks . . . . . .16 Bricoman plans . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Rank Progress mall . . . . . . . . . .17 Galeria Bialska construction . .17

COURTESY OF IVG POLAND

Forum Radunia agents . . . . . . .15

Oxygen certification . . . . . . . . .16

Twarda Tower comprises 27,000 sqm of space located in Warsaw’s CBD assets requiring more intense asset management engagement,” Mr Puch added.

A member of the Rocke-

IVG buys Norway House office building in Warsaw

In this issue

New office destinations . . . . . .16

COURTESY OF JONES LANG LASALLE

Europa Capital buys Twarda Tower building in central Warsaw

Developer JW Construction opened its Czarny Potok project in Krynica-Zdrój in southern Poland on September 7. The scheme includes a 231-room hotel, a wellness and spa facility and the largest conference center in the region. It is situated on more than three hectares of land and comprises 12 buildings with a total of over 13,100 sqm of space.

Approximately 150 people will be working on the premises.

Industrial property developer and manager SEGRO has acquired the O˝arów Business Center logistics park near Warsaw from the Orco Property Group-managed Endurance Real Estate Fund for €14.1 million.

The purchase is aimed at enhancing the company’s presence in the Warsaw market.

O˝arów Business Center is located 16 kilometers from Warsaw and comprises four stand-alone buildings offering a total of 36,600 sqm of space. The park is currently occupied by companies including CAT, Joanna, Nowa Era and TP Link. ●

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012, LI 17/36

The 5,400-sqm scheme is now fully leased out

space, is the international law firm Clifford Chance, with other tenants including Nordea Bank and Comanche Investments.

The purchase of Norway House is the seventh transaction in the Polish commercial property market concluded by IVG in the last two years. Earlier, the company bought Victoria, BTC, Ujazdowskie 10, N21 and Pa∏ac M∏odziejowskiego in Warsaw and sold the city’s Horizon Plaza building.

“We hope that the acquisition of Norway House will not be the last proof of our investment activity in the Warsaw commercial property market this year,” Maciej Zajdel, managing director of IVG in Poland, said in a statement.

Adam Zdrodowski

feller Group, Europa Capital is currently investing two funds for European property investment – Europa Fund III and

Europa Emerging Europe – which raised a total of €895 million in equity capital.

Adam Zdrodowski

Multi appoints Forum Radunia leasing agents Developer Multi Development Poland has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield as the leasing agents for the planned Forum Radunia shopping center in Gdaƒsk on the Baltic Sea. In May this year, a consortium of Multi Development Poland and Multi Corporation signed an agreement with the Municipality of Gdaƒsk concerning the development of the Hay and Crayfish Markets area in the city.

In the first phase of the Forum Radunia project, scheduled to be completed in 2015/2016, a 52,000-sqm shopping center, a parking lot

and public infrastructure will be developed. The second phase will involve the construction of an office park by 2020.

“Forum Radunia is a project combining commercial functions with a significant infrastructural investment which will revitalize and redefine the very center of Gdaƒsk,” Marek Noetzel, partner at Cushman & Wakefield, said in a statement.

He added that the project would substantially change and diversify the retail offer in the region. “It is one of the most interesting projects in Europe,” Mr Noetzel said.

Adam Zdrodowski

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

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LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

Office

Oxygen office building GreenBuildingcertified

Poland’s office market evolving in the regions New research points to eight emerging regional office destinations in the country The Polish office market is dominated by the nine major office locations of Warsaw, Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Tri-city, Katowice, Poznaƒ, ¸ódê, Lublin and Szczecin, but new research shows that a number of emerging destinations in the country are also increasingly attracting investors’ attention.

large-city competition and looking for a qualified workforce and cost-effectiveness.

“Service centers are beginning to compete with each other in talent retention, which increases the costs and distracts them from their core business.

Therefore, companies are seeking alternative, attractive locations,” John Duckworth, JLL’s managing director in Poland and CEE, said in a statement.

The modern office supply in the eight cities in question now amounts to a combined 260,750 sqm, which accounts for five percent of the entire office stock in Poland, the study

According to the “New Office Locations in Poland” report by Jones Lang LaSalle, the office market is evolving and the regional cities of Rzeszów, Kielce, Bia∏ystok, Opole, Bydgoszcz, Olsztyn, Toruƒ and Radom have emerged as start-up and alternative destinations.

Demand for office space in these locations is mainly generated by local companies seeking more functional and prestigious offices and external investors, including business services sector firms that are escaping

found.

Over 57,600 sqm of office area is under construction in the cities examined in the report, most of which can be found in Olsztyn (15,400 sqm) and Radom (13,000 sqm). An additional 114,000 sqm of space is in the pipeline.

The Jones Lang LaSalle research also found that new class-A and class-B+ projects are appearing in several other cities with populations of around 100,000, with Nowy Sàcz, Zielona Góra and Cz´stochowa some of the most notable examples of the trend.

Under-construction office space (sqm) in selected emerging Polish office destinations

COURTESY OF JONES LONG LASALLE

20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Olsztyn

The Oxygen building offers 14,000 sqm of leasable space

Adam Zdrodowski

Office alternatives

Developer EURO Styl is planning a 14,000-sqm office building called Centaurus in Olsztyn

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

COURTESY OF ECHO INVESTMENT

16

Radom Rzeszów Bia∏ystok

Toruń

Kielce Bydgoszcz

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle

The Oxygen office building, located in Szczecin in northwestern Poland and developed

by Warsaw Stock Exchangelisted Echo Investment, has obtained a GreenBuilding certificate of energy efficiency and environmental performance.

In February last year, a GreenBuilding certificate was also granted to the Echo Investment-developed Park Post´u office complex in Warsaw. In December 2011, the same certificate was given to

the Astra Park office buildings in Kielce.

All of Echo Investment’s new projects will have green certification, the company says. It is now preparing to use BREEAM standards.

Szczecin’s Oxygen building was designed by the Gdyniabased Arch-Deco architectural studio and was turned over for use in the third quarter of 2010. The nine-storey building offers over 14,000 sqm of leasable space.

Adam Zdrodowski

Property-related stocks Security

Closing price on Sep 6

% change (week)

52-week low

52-week high

% change (year)

Total shares

Market value (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX

48.85

2.82

45.85

88.35

-24.85

25,530,098

1,247.15

CELTIC

10.49

2.34

7.02

22.70

-41.72

34,231,466

359.09

DOMDEV

24.70

-3.85

23.50

42.80

-13.30

24,670,397

609.36

ECHO

3.79

2.43

3.05

4.40

11.14

420,000,000

1,591.80

ELBUDOWA

93.65

-0.90

87.00

120.00

-14.08

4,747,608

444.61

ENERGOPLD

0.20

-16.67

0.20

2.98

-93.33

70,972,001

14.19

ERBUD

11.65

-0.85

11.33

23.30

-33.05

12,644,169

147.30

GANT

3.61

-27.22

3.61

9.85

-59.89

20,120,000

72.63

GTC

6.30

-0.63

5.20

12.49

-42.83

319,372,990

2,012.05

HBPOLSKA

0.05

-16.67

0.05

1.43

-95.24

210,558,445

10.53

JWCONSTR

4.13

4.29

3.85

8.42

-49.33

54,073,280

223.32

LCCORP

0.89

-4.30

0.85

1.48

1.14

447,558,311

398.33

MARVIPOL

10.39

-1.24

6.20

11.00

19.01

36,923,400

383.63

MIRBUD

1.10

1.85

0.98

2.68

-57.69

75,000,000

82.50

MOSTALWAR

12.70

-2.31

11.30

25.88

-36.97

20,000,000

254.00

MOSTALZAB

0.93

5.68

0.81

1.80

-39.61

149,130,538

138.69

ORCOGROUP

6.52

-28.98

6.52

22.79

-70.63

99,992,889

651.95

PBG

5.11

-10.51

4.83

92.00

-94.26

14,295,000

73.05

PLAZACNTR

2.08

2.46

1.80

2.94

-16.80

297,174,515

618.12

POLAQUA

3.85

-1.03

3.60

12.11

-69.20

27,500,100

105.88

POLIMEXMS

0.56

16.67

0.48

2.04

-67.06

521,154,076

291.85

POLNORD

11.90

-4.80

10.49

19.85

-7.61

23,798,439

283.20

RANKPROGR

7.60

4.97

7.10

16.97

-21.81

37,145,050

282.30

ROBYG

1.19

-4.03

1.04

1.75

-5.56

257,935,500

306.94

RONSON

0.64

0.00

0.63

1.15

-39.05

272,360,000

174.31

TRAKCJA

0.76

16.92

0.65

1.87

-52.20

232,105,480

176.40

ULMA

37.50

-1.70

37.20

74.80

-36.87

5,255,632

197.09

UNIBEP

4.35

-1.14

3.60

6.61

-2.90

34,021,684

147.99

WARIMPEX

2.98

0.34

2.64

5.88

-50.33

54,000,000

160.92

ZUE

6.40

10.54

5.07

9.50

-28.89

22,000,000

140.80

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

Retail

Rank Progress launches work on Chojnice mall

Bricoman plans further Poland expansion

Developer Rank Progress has selected construction company Mirbud as the general contractor for its Brama Pomorza regional shopping center in Chojnice, Pomorskie voivodship. The value of the transaction amounts to z∏.58 million.

The project will be built in two phases, the first of which will involve the development of a DIY market, a shopping area with a grocery supermarket, boutiques and restaurants, and a parking lot for 1,300 cars.

In the second phase of the scheme, a retail park will be

COURTESY OF ITBC COMMUNICATION

The company sees the country’s DIY market as stable and offering long-term growth potential DIY markets chain Bricoman will be expanding in Poland in upcoming years, with two new stores scheduled to open in 2013 and three expected to open annually in large and mid-sized Polish cities in later years, said Arnaud Boule, general director of Bricoman Polska.

According to Mr Boule, the Polish DIY market is stable, despite the economic slowdown. “In the long term, Poland is perceived as a place with very large potential in terms of the demand for construction materials,” Mr Boule said.

He added that this results from Poland’s stable economic situation in comparison to other European countries and the fact that the Polish residential market is still relatively poorly developed. Where the market is well-developed, construction materials are often not in great demand, he noted.

The current slowdown in the Polish housing market has not hit the DIY sector very hard. Mr Boule said that there has been some negative impact but added that while some entities have lost clients, others have gained them.

Analysts describe the Polish DIY market as stable “Most large DIY market players continue to open new facilities, even though they do not see the turnover in their existing stores grow – or see very small growth – which means they are increasing their share of the market at the expense of the traditional distribution channels,” Mr Boule said.

Mature market Magdalena Fràtczak, retail agency director at CBRE, said that the DIY sector is seeing stable growth in Poland, with the leading players having already secured locations in large cities and started expansion into cities with populations of below 100,000.

She noted that stores belonging to the Polish Mrówka chain, for instance, are now appearing in towns with populations of less than

www.wbj.pl

30,000. “In the next few years, we expect an increased interest in DIY chains in locations in cities in the east of Poland,” Ms Fràtczak said.

According to Jan Jakub Zombirt, an analyst at the research and consultancy department of Jones Lang LaSalle, the DIY market in Poland now accounts for a total of approximately 1.8 million sqm of space in 211 facilities.

Mr Zombirt described the market as mature, pointing out that DIY stores are already present in most large and mid-sized cities in the country. He said that operators tend to focus on promising locations in small cities and fill niches in the large ones. Five major stores are now under construction in Poland, he added.

Adam Zdrodowski

constructed. The whole investment will comprise approximately 34,000 sqm of space.

Construction is scheduled to finish in Q3 2013, with Brama Pomorza expected to open for business in the final quarter of next year.

Between 2001 and 2012, Rank Progress completed 25 investments, including seven of its own shopping centers – in Jelenia Góra, Legnica, Âwidnica, Kalisz, K∏odzko, ZamoÊç and Zgorzelec.

The last four of those have already been sold.

Adam Zdrodowski

Construction on Galeria Bialska soon to get underway

COURTESY OF CBRE

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Galeria Bialska will deliver over 25,000 sqm of retail space Investor Zielona Galeria has announced that construction will soon get underway on its planned Galeria Bialska shopping center project in Bia∏a Podlaska in Lubelskie voivodship. The scheme is scheduled to open for business in the second quarter of 2014.

Galeria Bialska will be the first modern shopping center in Bia∏a Podlaska. It will deliver more than 25,000 sqm of retail space and will include a Tesco hypermarket, a DIY store and over 70 stores and points of services.

Adam Zdrodowski

17

New Osiedle Klasyków phase Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Dom Development has launched construction on the third phase of its Osiedle Klasyków multifamily residential project located on ul.

Klasyków in Warsaw’s Bia∏o∏´ka district. The newly launched phase comprises five buildings offering a total of 236 apartments which are scheduled to be completed at the end of 2013. The whole development was designed by the Hermanowicz Rewski Architekci studio and will consist of a total of 12 buildings when completed. Henpol is the general contractor of the third phase of the investment.

Ronson starts Poznaƒ project Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed developer Ronson Development has launched sales of apartments in the first phase of its M∏ody Grunwald multifamily residential project in Poznaƒ, in western Poland. Construction on the phase is scheduled to launch later this month and finish in Q2 2014. The whole scheme is expected to deliver a total of 268 apartments, while its first phase will offer 136 units arranged in two five-storey buildings. ●

18

THE LIST

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Corporate Services

IT Consulting Companies

Rank

Ranked by total number of consultants

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

Number of consultants: Total / Polish / Foreign

Revenue from IT consulting (z∏. mln)

Total revenue from consulting (z∏. mln)

Total revenue (z∏. mln)

www.bookoflists.pl

Main activities

Selected clients

Total number of employees / Year founded in Poland

Top local executive / Title

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

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

433 421 12

WND WND WND WND

WND 188.8 146.9 146.7

WND 453.7 389.1 399.7

Financial advice; strategic advice for public and private sector: business plans; investment consultancy; development management and strategy; transaction and crisis consulting; sustainable development consulting; economic inquiry and expertise; legal, tax and audit consulting

TP; PKN Orlen; PZU; PKO BP; PGNiG

1,765 1990

Olga Grygier-Siddons

Ernst & Young(1) Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw 2 22 557-7000/22 557-7001 ernst.young@pl.ey.com www.ey.com.pl

394 WND WND

WND 32.0 23.0 22.0

WND 176.0 133.7 120.8

WND 497.0 406.1 444.0

Business consulting; IT consulting

PKO BP; BOÂ; PGE; Energa; Orlen; Lotos; Poczta Polska; Agora; Cyfrowy Polsat

1,585 1990

Duleep Aluwihare; Piotr Piela; Aleksander Poniewierski

Deloitte Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19, 00-854 Warsaw 3 22 511-0811/22 511-0813 dpoland@deloittece.com www.deloitte.com.pl

305 305 -

WND WND WND WND

211.0 341.0 335.6 363.7

216.2 344.6 340.3 371.8

Business, tax, financial consulting; audits

PZU; Frontex; Tauron; PKP Cargo; Pekao

1,119 1990

Marek Metrycki; Dariusz Kraszewski

Capgemini Polska Sp. z o.o. ul. Pi´kna 18, 00-541 Warsaw 4 22 464-7000/22 464-7100 office.pl@capgemini.com www.pl.capgemini.com

265 WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND 471.5 392.3 333.2

IT consulting; SCM; CRM; business process and efficiency management

WND

4,200 1996

WND

KPMG ul. Ch∏odna 51, 00-867 Warsaw 5 22 528-1100/22 528-1009 kpmg@kpmg.pl www.kpmg.pl

189 184 5

10.3 21.0 13.6 16.5

41.8 66.5 70.7 72.3

230.0 407.0 455.0 440.3

Information risk management; company efficiency improvement; IT system selection, implementation and maintenance; IT system and process inspection

WND

1,289 1990

Andrzej Âcis∏owski

90 90 -

10.0 12.0 9.2 6.5

WND WND WND WND

38.4 44.0 30.5 21.8

Software design and implementation; IT systems integration and maintenance; infrastructure development and maintenance; consulting and analysis; testing

Citi Handlowy; Gemalto; Volvo; Polkomtel; Pekao

700 2006

Gregoire Nitot

Infovide-Matrix SA ul. Prosta 51, 00-838 Warsaw 7 22 440-2500/22 440-2501 infovidematrix@ivmx.pl www.infovidematrix.pl

60 60 -

64.7 151.2 155.2 165.2

64.7 151.2 155.2 165.2

66.1 186.8 209.2 213.7

Consulting services and IT solutions

Deutsche Bank; Raiffeisen Bank; Ministry of the Interior and Administration; Generali; PGNiG

587 1991

Jan Maciejewicz

Carrywater Group SA Al. Jerozolimskie 65/79, 00-697 Warsaw 8 22 630-6655/22 630-6656 biuro@carrywater.com www.carrywater.com

52 52 -

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

5.5 10.0 8.7 8.6

Business consulting; IT consulting; project management

Grupa TP; Enea Operator; Liberty Direct; RWE; Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa

63 1996

Pawe∏ Biarda

APAX Consulting Group Sp. z o.o.

Al. Ujazdowskie 41, 00-540 Warsaw 9 22 319-5755/22 319-5758 biuro@apax.pl www.apax.pl

38 28 10

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Grupa PKP Cargo; Impel; Strategic advice; restructuring; operational advice; Miasteczko Multimedialne; Polskie financial advice; IT consulting; interim Porty Lotnicze; Agencja Rozwoju management Przemys∏u

40 2007

Dariusz Brzeziƒski

MDDP Business Consulting (MDDP Sp. z o.o. Finanse i Ksi´gowoÊç Sp.k.) ul. Ksià˝´ca 4, 00-498 Warsaw 10 22 322-6888/22 322-6889 wlodzimierz.makowski@mddp.pl www.mddp.pl

17 17 -

1.2 WND WND WND

5.3 6.0 5.7 4.9

5.3 6.0 5.7 4.9

Strategy definition and implementation; cost management; risk management; project management; performance and productivity management; IT systems implementation management; due diligence; advice on SOX; internal audit; restructuring; corporate advisory

Bumar; Pfizer; TVN; Polpharma; NFI EMF

22 2006

W∏odzimierz Makowski

UBIK Business Consulting Sp. z o.o. ul. Emili Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw 11 22 423-7060/22 211-1607 info@ubikbc.pl www.ubikbc.pl

6 5 1

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND 0.5

Business strategy; technology start-ups; innovation management; Internet/social media advisory

Microsoft Poland; TVN; Groupon; Loyalty Partners; Allegro

7 2006

Krzysztof Kowalczyk

Accenture Sp. z o.o. ul. Sienna 39, 00-121 Warsaw NR 22 464-0000/22 464-0001 pl.office@accenture.com www.accenture.pl/com

WND WND WND

225.7 172.1 215.8 257.2

320.1 244.1 306.1 364.8

322.2 245.9 308.9 367.0

WND

WND

WND 1993

WND

getsix Group(1) ul. Szwedzka 5, 55-040 Bielany NR Wroc∏awskie 71 388-1300/71 388-1310 office@getsix.pl www.getsix.pl

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Virtual office services; start-up support; business planning and modeling; accounting services; payroll and HR; IT services; legal and tax advisory

WND

45 2006

Monika Martynkiewicz-Frank; Claus Frank; Roy Heynlein

The Boston Consulting Group Sp. z o.o. ul. Mokotowska 1, 00-640 Warsaw NR 22 820-3600/22 820-3636 kontakt@bcg.com www.bcg.com

WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

Services for companies in banking, insurance, energy and telecom sectors

WND

WND 1997

Franciszek Hutten-Czapski

6

SII Sp. z o.o.

Al. Niepodleg∏oÊci 69, 01-214 Warsaw 22 486-3737/22 486-3734 informacja@pl.sii.eu www.pl.sii.eu

Notes: Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in November 2011. Number of employees is as of October 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.

President

Managing Partners

Managing Partners

Senior Partner

President

President

President

Managing Partner

Partner

President

Partners

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.

MARKETS

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

www.wbj.pl

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

S&P500

FTSE100

DAX

Cause for optimism

NIKKEI225

13,292.00 (Sep 6 close)

3,135.81 (Sep 6 close)

1,432.12 (Sep 6 close)

5,777.30 (Sep 6 close)

7,167.33 (Sep 6 close)

8,680.57 (Sep 6 close)

2.24% (for the week)

2.86% (for the week)

2.33% (for the week)

1.01% (for the week)

3.94% (for the week)

-3.38% (for the week)

CHANGE: 7.22%

CHANGE: 18.39%

CHANGE: 12.14%

CHANGE: 1.36%

CHANGE: 17.97%

CHANGE: 1.41%

(year to Sep 6)

(year to Sep 6)

(year to Sep 6)

(year to Sep 6)

(year to Sep 6)

(year to Sep 6)

52-week high: 13,338.70

52-week high: 3,135.81

52-week high: 1,432.12

52-week high: 5,989.10

52-week high: 7,194.33

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 10,404.50

52-week low: 2,298.89

52-week low: 1,074.77

52-week low: 4,868.60

52-week low: 4,965.80

52-week low: 8,560.11

Despite the announcement of weak Chinese macroeconomic data, the beginning of last week saw growth on European markets that was, however, limited due to a public holiday in the US. The lack of US capital resulted in a low turnover on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Monday, of just z∏.420 million, and the overall WIG and the blue-chip WIG20 grew by 0.38 percent and 0.30 percent, respectively.

The Monday stagnation continued on Tuesday, largely due to an atmosphere of anticipation before the planned Thursday speech of the head of the European Central Bank (ECB).

WIG20 ended the day with a 0.73-percent loss.

That was made up for by the market on Wednesday, which started with slow but steady increases on the WIG20. The announcement of unchanged Polish interest rates was received calmly but

Major indices WIG

42,134.93 (Sep 6 close)

WIG20

2,296.88 (Sep 6 close)

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

24.08

23.08

22.08

21.08

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

24.08

2,200

23.08

40,000

22.08

2,240 21.08

2,280

40,600

20.08

41,200

17.08

2,320

16.08

41,800

14.08

2,360

13.08

42,400

10.08

2,400

09.08

43,000

20.08

52-week low: 2,035.80

17.08

Change year to Sep 6: 1.50%

16.08

52-week low: 36,549.47

14.08

52-week high: 2,414.62

Change year to Sep 6: 9.96%

13.08

Change for the week: 3.13%

10.08

52-week high: 42,408.41

09.08

Change for the week: 2.57%

Top 5 IFCAPITAL JAGO MOSTALEXP INTERSPPL MEDIATEL

Closing 1.65 0.11 0.50 3.15 1.80

% change (week) 52-week high 58.65 14.97 57.14 0.37 31.58 0.98 31.25 4.56 19.21 2.69

52-week low 0.45 0.05 0.35 1.33 1.08

Top 5 POLIMEXMS LOTOS KGHM PEKAO PKNORLEN

Closing 0.56 27.35 137.90 158.00 40.40

% change (week) 16.67 6.42 6.40 6.40 4.34

52-week high 2.09 31.90 174.30 164.80 41.68

52-week low 0.46 21.30 102.40 115.10 30.33

Bottom 5 MEWA ORCOGROUP GANT BBIZENNFI LIBET

Closing 0.19 6.52 3.61 0.16 2.70

% change (week) -32.14 -29.98 -27.22 -23.81 -21.74

52-week low 0.18 5.90 3.45 0.16 2.51

Bottom 5 Closing PBG 5.11 TVN 6.46 CYFROPOLSAT 14.00 GTC 6.30 PGE 18.14

% change (week) -10.51 -8.5 -2.10 -0.63 -0.11

52-week high 94.65 15.98 15.85 12.75 21.78

52-week low 4.70 6.36 12.25 5.13 15.98

52-week high 0.50 23.90 9.98 0.69 4.74

NewConnect

34.50 (Sep 6 close)

WIG-Banki

SOURCE: WSE

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

24.08

23.08

22.08

21.08

20.08

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

24.08

5,900

23.08

33.0

22.08

5,980

21.08

33.4

20.08

6,060

17.08

33.8

16.08

6,140

14.08

34.2

13.08

6,220

10.08

34.6

09.08

6,300

17.08

52-week low: 4,944.19

16.08

Change year to Sep 6: 12.09%

14.08

52-week low: 33.69

13.08

52-week high: 6,237.06

Change year to Sep 6: -16.85%

10.08

Change for the week: 4.55%

09.08

52-week high: 43.83

35.0

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

6,213.59 (Sep 6 close)

Change for the week: 0.76%

Adam Zdrodowski

ECB to defend the euro

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

24.08

23.08

22.08

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

31.08

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

9,200 24.08

2,200

23.08

9,260

22.08

2,220

21.08

9,320

20.08

2,240

17.08

9,380

16.08

2,260

14.08

9,440

13.08

2,280

10.08

9,500

09.08

2,300

21.08

52-week low: 8,218.71

20.08

Change year to Sep 6: 9.51%

17.08

52-week low: 2,076.52

16.08

52-week high: 10,536.29

Change year to Sep 6: 2.07%

14.08

Change for the week: 1.49%

13.08

9,422.72 (Sep 6 close)

52-week high: 2,561.94

10.08

2,235.60 (Sep 6 close)

09.08

sWIG80

Change for the week: 1.11%

news of planned bond purchases by the ECB brought more investor enthusiasm. In the end the WIG20 and the WIG gained 0.55 percent and 0.40 percent respectively.

The Thursday conference during which ECB president Mario Draghi confirmed speculation concerning the bond purchasing program further increased optimism on the main European markets.

Friday witnessed the publication of worse-thanexpected data on nonfarm payroll employment in the US which rose by just 96,000 in August. However, other macroeconomic data released on the day were more positive and markets still remained under the influence of Mr Draghi’s speech from Thursday. Ultimately, the WIG and the WIG20 gained 0.87 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively.

Currency report

Other indices mWIG40

19

We have not heard such a strong declaration as that given by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi last week from any central bank representative in a long time.

During its monetary policy meeting the ECB decided to keep interest rates unchanged but declared it is ready to intervene on the bond market by buying back bonds from troubled countries. The new operation is named Outright Monetary Transactions and will involve buying back short-term bonds. However, the troubled countries will need to meet strong criteria in order to get help from the ECB. The reaction by the euro was immediate, with the EUR/USD rebounding from its weekly lows of just above $1.25 all the way to $1.27 on

Friday. I expect this upward move to end soon and the dollar to regain value in the next couple of weeks.

The ECB’s decision also affected the domestic currency market, with the z∏oty experiencing a sudden turnaround. Investors were not surprised with the Monetary Policy Council leaving interest rates unchanged at 4.75 percent. But if the economic situation in Poland keeps deteriorating, an interestrate cut this year is still inevitable.

The market has already discounted this news, so the z∏oty’s appreciation clearly has to be attributed to the ECB’s statements. The z∏oty regained ground from last week’s decline and by the end of the week it had reached z∏.4.12 against the euro and z∏.3.25 against the dollar. ●

currency rates

SOURCE: NBP

4.2019

4.2984 05.09

4.1277

4.2434 04.09

07.09

4.2622 03.09

06.09

4.2460 4

31.08

0.1017 07.09

0.1023

0.1038

PLN-100JPY

5

06.09

05.09

0.1035 04.09

0.1031

0.1027 0.10

31.08

3.4071 07.09

3.4508 06.09

3.5096 05.09

3.4926 04.09

3.4958 03.09

3.4839 31.08

5.2033 07.09

5.2421

3.5

3.0

PLN-RUB

0.12

03.09

PLN-CHF

4.0

06.09

5.3424 05.09

5.2886 04.09

03.09

5.2756 31.08

3.2955

3.2578 07.09

5

5.3046

PLN-GBP

6

06.09

3.3693 05.09

3.3281 04.09

03.09

3.3353 31.08

4.1580

4.1275 07.09

3.0

3.3398

PLN-USD

3.5

06.09

4.2157 05.09

4.1838

4.1944 04.09

03.09

31.08

4

4.1981

PLN-EUR

5

SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Paralympics

www.wbj.pl

21

Tennis

Polish athletes see Radwaƒska knocked Paralympic success out of US Open The Polish number one lost in straight sets to Italy’s Roberta Vinci

who claimed gold in the women’s long jump F20 classification, and Katarzyna Piekart, who won gold in the women’s F46 javelin event. Ms Piekart also showed her versatility as an athlete by competing in the 100 and 200 meters events in the T46 class.

Agnieszka Radwaƒska suffered a shock defeat to 20th seed Roberta Vinci in the fourth round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows last week.

The 23-year-old, who was seeded second for the tournament, lost 6-1, 6-4, as she was outplayed by her lower-ranked opponent.

After her defeat Ms Radwaƒska admitted that the Italian deserved the win. Asked how well she thought she had played, Ms Radwaƒska conceded, “Certainly not as well as I played in the initial phase of the tournament. Vinci was better.

Roberta has a very hard style of play. … She had the answer to all my shots.”

For Ms Vinci it marked a career-best Grand Slam performance as she reached her first-ever major quarterfinal at the age of 29. In the first round she had also defeated Ms Radwaƒska’s younger sister, Urszula, 6-1, 6-1.

For the older of the two Radwaƒska sisters defeat to Ms

David Ingham

SHUTTERSTOCK

The Polish Paralympic team easily surpassed the medal total of their Olympic counterparts in London this summer, with a total of 27 medals as WBJ went to press, leaving them 9th in the overall medal table. This was in comparison to just 10 medals won by the Polish team at the 2012 Olympics.

Poland’s star athlete was once again Natalia Partyka, who retained her Paralympic title in the women’s table tennis singles Class 10 event. Ms Partyka, who also reached the third round of the women’s singles at the Olympics, defeated China’s Qian Yang in five sets (11-5, 1113, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4) to claim her third Paralympic gold to go with the titles she won in Beijing and Athens.

Patryk Chojnowski also claimed table tennis gold in the men’s singles Class 10 event.

The 22-year-old teacher from Âwidnik beat China’s defending champion GE Yang in straight sets, in his first ever Paralympic appearance.

Other standout performers included Karolina Kucharczyk,

Natalia Partyka

American football

US defeats Europe in continental gridiron showdown

SHUTTERSTOCK

Natalia Partyka and Patryk Chojnowski were among the country’s gold medal winners

Agnieszka Radwaƒska Vinci was another setback, after she was recently knocked out in the first round of the Olympic tennis event in London in July.

Ms Radwaƒska had been one of the favorites for both the US

Open and London 2012 after she reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in June, before eventually losing to five-time champion Serena David Ingham Williams.

DAILY EXECUTIVE DIGEST

COURTESY OF MAFFOTO.PL

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

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

The US proved too strong for their European opposition

More than 25,000 fans attended the game at the National Stadium The US beat Europe 34-7 at the National Stadium in Warsaw in the first ever EuroAmerica Challenge on September 1. The match, organized in conjunction with the Warsaw Eagles and the US Collegiate Development Football League, attracted a record crowd for an American football game in Poland, with more than 25,000 fans packing

into the stands.

Prior to kickoff, specially invited guest and former Polish President Lech Wa∏´sa performed the opening coin toss to start the match. And the presence of professional scouts, there to cast an eye over the teams made up of players from the US Collegiate Development Football League and from 10 European countries, ensured the action on the field was topdrawer.

The European team, led by

coach Kirk Heidelberg, included more than 20 Polish players. But the Americans proved to have the stronger side, with their roster including match MVP, wide receiver Clarence Anderson.

“It was a great game, I feel honored that I could take part in it. I played in a small college team in the USA and I had the opportunity to play in such a great stadium, in front of such a large audience. It was a great experience,” Mr Anderson said after the game. David Ingham

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

22

LIFESTYLE

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

Film

Concert

‘80 Million’ is Poland’s choice for Oscars

Video star

COURTESY OF JAROS¸AW SOSI¡SKI/KINO ÂWIAT

“80 Million”

The movie is set in 1981, just days before the imposition of martial law Poland’s Oscar committee has chosen “80 Million” as its entry in the best foreign language film category for the 2013 Academy Awards. The film, based on actual events, is set in 1981 during communistera Poland and follows how members of the Solidarity trade union attempted to

secure z∏.80 million of the organization’s funds before they were frozen by authorities when martial law was announced.

The film, which is set in the southwestern city of Wroc∏aw, details the activists’ race against time to withdraw the money, which subsequently helped to finance Solidarity’s fight against communism, before the country’s then-leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski launched a major crackdown.

The film, which is directed

by Waldemar Krzystek, is now in contention to make the final Oscar nominations.

Those will be announced on January 15, 2013.

Last year, Poland’s “In Darkness,” another film based on actual historical events (it is set during World War II), was one of five films nominated for the best foreign language film award. It ultimately lost out to Iran’s “A SeparaDavid Ingham tion.”

American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey will perform in Poland for the first time this month. The New York native became an internet sensation in 2011 when her self-produced video for debut single “Video Games” went viral.

She subsequently released her second studio album (the first being released independently under the name Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant) “Born to Die.” The album has so far sold more than two million copies worldwide, while the single of the same name has more

than 62 million views on YouTube.

The singer, who has described herself as a “selfstyled gangsta Nancy Sinatra,” is known for her retro fashion style and unique singing voice.

But fans of the 26-year-old may find it difficult to attend her first Polish performance, which takes place at a gala event in the capital, entitled “Poles with verve,” as it is an invitation-only event.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Lana Del Rey September 14, 10 pm National Theater Plac Teatralny Warsaw

Lana Del Rey

Fans need not despair.

Footage of her concert will be screened live on TVP1 at 10 pm on September 14.

David Ingham

Show jumping

Sport of kings Royal Cup 2012 September 23, 11 am Hippodrome, ¸azienki Park Warsaw Horse lovers and fans of refined pursuits have something to look forward to this month as the second edition of the Royal Cup 2012 takes place in the capital’s historic ¸azienki Park.

The event, which aims to raise the popularity of show jumping and dressage in Poland, will see riders compete over a course of fences, as well as a performance of a quadrille, a choreographed dance performed to music.

One of the organizers, Karolina Wajda, said of the

event, “This is the second competition of the season held under the name Royal Cup. Our intention is to continue this event in the future, and we are confident that it will be an elegant and unique event which will demonstrate the uniqueness of both ¸azienki and WarDavid Ingham saw.”

LAST WORD

SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2012

www.wbj.pl

23

Tech Eye

and some bad. Nevertheless Techeye tends to be optimistic about the future, because that’s where new technology comes from.

A case in point: Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5 this week.

What kind of uber-technofangled goodness is it packing? Well, Techeye doesn’t usually prognosticate past our next meal, but once, while camping with friends, we nibbled the wrong kind of cactus and saw visions of an older, sexier Techeye, with sultry love handles and silky back hair, wearing

COURTESY OF THE PADCASTER LLC

The future is, if you’ll excuse the comparison, like a filthy fish tank. It is inscrutable, continually in motion, its contents resisting divination by the learned and ignorant alike. Strange things lurk amidst its murky currents, unseen but in swirl and shadow, and there are little wafty bits that could be baby fish or food flakes or possibly pooplets.

OK, the simile falls apart a bit there at the end. But you get the idea.

The future is nebulous, with lots of weird stuff floating in it, some good

The Padcaster

an irresistible, beer-fragranced singlet.

That vision came pass, so we feel comfortable making a few predictions about the iPhone 5. Two things we’ll definitely see are a larger touchscreen and a new dock connector.

Possible (meaning occasionally rumored) improvements include a new chip architecture, an upgraded battery and new earphones, replacing the iconic (albeit craptastic) white earbuds that first shipped with the gen-one iPod. And here’s a couple of things the iPhone 5 really ought to have, but won’t: a pretty, pretty princess sparkle mode and a misplaced-donut detector. Glaring omissions, those.

Anyway, we’ll know what Apple has up its sleeve soon, but here’s something to tide us over until then: the Padcaster (Thepadcaster.com).

What is it? Several things, and pretty ain’t one of them. The Padcaster is “an aluminum frame with a urethane insert that snugly holds your iPad” and transforms it “into an onthe-go production studio.” You can shoot videos, edit them using special software, then upload your masterpieces to YouTube to be mocked by an international audience. The

COURTESY OF SAMSUNG

The future is unknowable, kind of yucky

The Galaxy Note II device can also turn an iPad into an on-set monitor, teleprompter, film slate or a portable light source.

In short, the Padcaster lets you make fancy movies in a fancy way.

And that’s not all – would-be auteurs can also get the Lenscaster, an accessory that lets you attach a proper SLR lens (not included) to an iPad. Please note that tablets with SLR

lenses attached look awfully silly.

Anyway, the Padcaster costs $149 (or $189 when sold with the Lenscaster attachment).

We’ve got some space left in this column, so let’s also look at the Galaxy Note II, which is not to be confused with the Galaxy Note 10.1 despite the fact that Samsung (Samsung.com) gave them confusingly similar names. No, the Galaxy Note II is a “phablet” – a mobile phone verging on the over-large – which claims kinship with the Note 10.1 because both have a stylus.

Compared to its immediate predecessor, the relatively popular Galaxy Note I, Samsung’s newest phone offers modest improvements. The Note II has a 5.5-inch screen (up 0.2 inches on the Note I) but screen resolution is unchanged. The battery is slightly better, you can upgrade your storage to 64 GB (compared to just 16 GB) and there’s a 1.6 GHz quadcore Exynos processor (versus the Note I’s 1.4 GHz).

And how much does the Galaxy Note II cost? For now, that information is lost in the swirling unknowability of the future, amidst a haze of metaphorical fish pooplets.

Or something like that. ●

Ever come up with and mercilessly over-use a terrible simile? 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

Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik Królikarnia National ul. Mazowiecka 11a Gallery www.owzpap.pl ul. Pu∏awska 113a www.krolikarnia.mnw.art. pl Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65 www.galeria65.com Le Guern Gallery ul. Widok 8, www.leguern.pl Galeria Appendix 2 ul. Bia∏ostocka 9 Museum of www.appendix2.com Independence Aleja SolidarnoÊci 62 Galeria Asymetria www.muzeumniepodleglo ul. Nowogrodzka 18a www.asymetria.eu sci.art.pl Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4 www.galeriafoksal.pl Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A www.milano.arts.pl Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39 www.galeriaschody.pl 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

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

National Museum in Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3 www.mnw.art.pl

Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5 www.filharmonia.pl

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