WBJ #36 2013

European priorities

Jeronimo Martins is planning a major expansion of its Biedronka chain in Poland

Polish MEPs speak to WBJ about the most pressing issues for Poland in the European Parliament

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8-9

WWW.WBJ.PL

z∏.6 bln

Biedronka expansion

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 36 • SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

Land of opportunity To mark WBJ ’s Investing in Poland conference this week, we present a 4-page supplement with content from the Investing in Poland 2014 publication 11-14

WBJ takes a look at the Polish government’s ambitious plan to increase business ties with Africa and its many booming economies 13

REAL ESTATE • Mokotów Nova sale • Regional office markets • Dworzec Gdaƒski revamp 15-19

In this issue News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6

Man with the plan?

What exactly was Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski’s role in the plan for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons?

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Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . .7 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9 Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Investing in Poland . . . . . . . . .11-14 Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . .15-19 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Shrinking coalition Two more MPs quit the ruling Civic Platform party, leaving the governing coalition with the slimmest of majorities 4

SHUTTERSTOCK

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

NEWS

www.wbj.pl

z∏.6 billion is how much Portuguese food distributor Jeronimo Martins will invest in Poland over the next three years to expand its discount supermarket chain Biedronka.

3% is how much industrial output rose in August year-onyear, according to estimates from the Economy Ministry.

Quote of the Week

Jacek Ciesnowski

Global finance today Five years after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, has progress been made on regulating global finance?

Log on to WBJ.pl this week for an analysis by Ngaire Woods from the University of Oxford on the matter.

Calendar

September 17

INVESTING IN POLAND 2014 CONFERENCE

Event:

The conference will mark the launch of the 2014 edition of Warsaw Business Journal Group’s Investing in Poland annual publication. It will feature panel discussions examining investment conditions and incentives, with one panel focusing on outsourcing as a major investment trend in Poland.

Villa Foksal, ul. Foksal 3/5, Warsaw WBJ.pl

Location: Web:

27 Event:

Location:

Web:

THE POLISH PHENOMENON: WHAT’S NEXT FOR EUROPE’S NEW POWERHOUSE? This conference will feature panel discussions on Poland’s successful managing of the financial crisis, while also trying to map a way forward for CEE’s biggest economy.

The keynote speaker will be Marek Belka, head of the National Bank of Poland.

The Kosciuszko Foundation 15 E 65th Street, New York, NY 10065 thekf.org

Figures in focus It’s a long, hard road Monthly minimum wages in selected EU member states (in €, as of 2013) 2,000

1,874.19 1,501.82

1,500

1,430.22

*Highest in EU **Lowest in EU

1,000 752.85

683.76 392.73

500

335.27

312.01

289.62 157.50

Hu ng ary Cz ech Re pu blic Lith ua nia Ro ma nia **

Pol an d

ece

0 Gre

Regardless of who gets elected to rule Germany for the next four years, the PolishGerman relationship is likely to remain unchanged. “Both countries have a similar viewpoint when it comes to EU-related issues. The trade between us is so significant, that it’s crucial both countries stay on excellent terms in order not to hurt each other’s economy,” Ms ¸ada explained.

Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski, in response to international media reports that he played a key role in finding a solution to the Syrian chemical weapons crisis.

Sp ain

Poland won’t be affected

“If my suggestions have helped someone change their mind, or prompted reflection, then we have cause for some small satisfaction.”

nce

There is also another factor that could shape the German political stage for the upcoming parliamentary term – the small, conservative and euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD), which until recently had never even registered in opinion polls.

Currently it has 3-4 percent support and even if it doesn’t get voted in, it could hurt Ms Merkel’s chances.

“Most AfD supporters have defected from her camp, so the more votes they get, the less CDU/CSU will receive,” said Ms ¸ada, adding that in case AfD gets into parliament, it won’t be a part of any ruling coalition, as all the other parties have distanced themselves from the euroskeptic grouping.

Still, if AfD manages to hurt the CDU/CSU result

significantly, Ms Merkel might be forced to bring the biggest opposition party, the center-left SPD, into the governing coalition, as she did after the 2005 elections.

Recent opinion polls show that SPD has some 25 percent support, while the Green Party can count on about 10 percent.

On WBJ.pl

Tusk expresses support for Moldova Moldova, along with Armenia and Georgia, is expected to sign an association agreement with the EU during November’s Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that “Moldova can count on Polish support for the integration of the country into the European Union.” ●

Euroskeptics on the rise

Fra

On September 22, German citizens will choose their representatives to the Bundestag, the main federal legislative chamber in Germany’s parliament. With Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU/CSU union party receiving around 40 percent support in recent polls, it’s all but certain she will win the elections and remain the country’s chancellor, a position she has held since 2005.

But she will need a coalition partner to get a majority in the Bundestag.

“The current junior coalition member, the liberal FDP, is hovering around the 5 percent threshold needed to get into the Bundestag, so there is a chance it either won’t get into parliament at all or it will get too few seats to form a government in coalition with the CDU/CSU,” said Agnieszka ¸ada, a senior analyst at the Institute of Public Affairs, a think tank.

m

Budget airline Ryanair announced it will resume its service from Warsaw’s Modlin Airport on September 30, nearly a month earlier then previously planned. Twenty-six routes will be serviced from the airport, including to Barcelona, Paris, Liverpool, Bologna, Milan and London.

13% was Poland’s unemployment rate in August, according to Labor Ministry estimates.

lgiu

Ryanair to return to Modlin Airport

z∏.47.7 billion is Poland’s projected 2014 budget deficit, which was lowered from the Finance Ministry’s original estimates of z∏.55 billion due to savings brought about by the government’s pension fund reform plan.

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The Polish Central AntiCorruption Bureau (CBA), along with the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, are looking into “public-sector transactions” involving an employee of Hewlett-Packard’s Polish unit, according to a regulatory filing.

German elections

Be

CBA joins HewlettPackard bribery probe

Numbers in the News

ou

Poland will limit its carbon emissions by applying new technologies rather than by cutting coal consumption, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last Tuesday. “We will develop renewable sources of energy, but coal, lignite and also shale gas are key,” Mr Tusk said at a conference held in Katowice. The Prime Minister’s statements come just two months before Poland hosts UN talks on combating climate change.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Lux em b

Poland banks on tech to reduce CO2

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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Source: Eurostat

Company index Allianz ......................................................................15 Aviva ..........................................................................6 Banco Santander ......................................................6 Bank Pekao..............................................................11 Bank Zachodni WBK..................................................6 Bertelsmann ............................................................17 BLStream ................................................................17 Bridgestone..............................................................12 British American Tobacco ........................................6 Carl Zeiss ................................................................12 CBOS ..........................................................................3 CBRE ..................................................................11, 17 Czerwona Torebka ....................................................5 Deloitte ....................................................................11 Dentons....................................................................11 Detica BAE Systems ................................................12 Deutsche Telekom ..................................................11 Echo Investment ......................................................15 Ernst & Young ..........................................................11 Fair Minds Consulting Group ..................................13 Fitch ..........................................................................7 General Electric ......................................................11 General Motors..........................................................5 Genpact ....................................................................17 Ghelamco ................................................................15 GlaxoSmithKline ......................................................12 Global Group Ventures ............................................11 Google ......................................................................11 Grupa Azoty..............................................................13 HB Reavis ................................................................15 Hewlett-Packard........................................................2 Hogan Lovells ..........................................................15 HolidayCheck ..........................................................12 Homo Homini ............................................................4 HP ............................................................................11 IBM ..........................................................................11 Immobel ..................................................................15 Immofinanz Group ..................................................15 Impel ........................................................................11 Isuzu Motors ..............................................................5 Jeronimo Martins ..................................................2, 5 Jones Lang LaSalle ................................................15 JSK ..........................................................................15 Knight Frank ............................................................18 MAN..........................................................................12

Marvipol ..................................................................15 Merrill Lynch............................................................11 Metro Services ........................................................17 Microsoft ............................................................11, 12 Moody’s ......................................................................7 Motorola ..................................................................11 Neinver Poland ........................................................15 Nestle ......................................................................12 Noble Securities ......................................................20 Nordea Bank..............................................................6 Opel ............................................................................5 Oracle ......................................................................11 Orange........................................................................6 Penta Investment ....................................................15 PGNiG ........................................................................5 Philips ................................................................11, 12 PKO BP ......................................................................6 PKP ..........................................................................15 PwC ..........................................................................11 PZU ............................................................................6 Qatargas ....................................................................5 Randstad ..............................................................7, 11 Rule Financial..........................................................12 Ryanair ......................................................................2 Samsung ..................................................................11 Siemens ..................................................................11 Solaris ......................................................................12 Telekomunikacja Polska ..........................................6 Tristan Capital Partners ..........................................15 UniCredit ..................................................................17 Volkswagen ..............................................................12 Volvo ........................................................................11 Warsaw Stock Exchange ........................5, 13, 15, 20 Wrigley Company ....................................................12 X-Trade Brokers ......................................................20

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

www.wbj.pl

Syria crisis

Should Sikorski get credit for US-Russia deal on Syria?

Poland’s Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski has claimed at least partial credit for the potential deal that would see Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal handed over to the international community, likely averting a US-led military strike. “If my suggestions have helped someone change their mind, or prompted reflection, then we have cause for some small satisfaction,” Mr Sikorski told journalists.

Last week, the German daily Die Welt stated that Mr Sikorski played a pivotal role in the possible diplomatic resolution of the Syrian chemical weapons crisis. The newspaper stated that Mr Sikorski spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry on August 29, when he presented a plan to give Syria a 30-day ultimatum to hand over its chemical weapons to international inspectors, and to involve Russia in the initiative.

Meanwhile, in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Mr

Sikorski secured the support for the plan from Elmar Brok, head of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, and then presented it personally to Mr Kerry, wrote Die Welt.

Mr Brok confirmed to the German daily that he met with both Mr Sikorski and Mr Kerry on the Syria issue. The New York Times also reported that Mr Sikorski had spoken with the US Secretary of State on the issue.

Twitter diplomacy?

Mr Sikorski had indeed earlier raised the prospect of Russian involvement in dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. At the end of August, a post on his Twitter feed said, “Russia can possibly prevent war by declaring that it will secure Syria’s chemical arsenal, which the USSR created.”

However, in the same article where The New York Times mentioned Mr Sikorski, it also wrote that “while the [Syria] proposal appeared to come out of the blue when Russia made it public after a seemingly offhand comment

by Secretary of State John Kerry, it had actually grown out of conversations between [US President Barack] Obama and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin going

Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski back more than a year.”

The US daily said the two leaders returned to the idea at the recent G20 summit in St Petersburg, where a presentation by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, was “more detailed” than the Americans had expected.

Mr Sikorski, in an interview with the Financial Times last week, said US senator Richard Lugar had originally floated the idea of US-Russian coopera-

tion in securing the handover of Syria’s chemical weapons during a trip to Moscow in 2012.

“But it is true that I spoke it out maybe before others were ready to do so,” Mr Sikorski said.

Meanwhile, Mr Obama has announced that he will postpone a vote in the US congress on American military action against the Syrian government, which he accuses of launching chemical weapons

into a Damascus suburb controlled by rebels.

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV station last week, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad confirmed that his country would agree to place its chemical weapons under international control. He said his decision was a result of a Russian proposal and had “nothing” to do with US threats of an attack on his country.

Remi Adekoya

Unions march on capital time more flexibly.

They also appealed for a dialogue with the government.

The protesters set up camp outside the Polish parliament, where debates were held on the changes union members were calling for.

“Dialogue is possible, and since it is possible then it is our

SHUTTERSTOCK

Last week thousands of activists from several labor unions marched on Warsaw with a long list of demands, including more spending on

education and higher minimum wages. The union representatives also called for the government to stop firing teachers and closing schools, refrain from raising the retirement age and rescind its recently adopted labor code amendment which allows employers to calculate over-

The Solidarity trade union was one of the main organizers of the protest

Some 69% of Poles say that none of Poland’s political parties meet their expectations, according to a recent poll conducted by CBOS. Additionally, 37% of Poles would like to see a new political party formed. Those most interested in seeing the establishment of a new party are young people, between 18-34 (45%), those with a higher education (50%) and those who live in big cities (48%).

responsibility to sit down together: the government, labor unions and employers.

We are ready for such a dialogue within the Tripartite Commission,” said Labor Minister W∏adys∏aw KosiniakKamysz.

The Tripartite Commission is a Polish institutional organ responsible for social dialogue. It includes representatives of the government, private employers and labor unions. Issues such as the minimum wage and salary rises are discussed within the commission.

However, in June of this year, union leaders walked out of a meeting of the Tripartite Commission at which Prime Minister Donald Tusk was present. The labor union representatives demanded the dismissal of the labor minister, saying he was an obstacle to progress and that the prime minister had broken earlier promises made to them.

On September 13 the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, adopted a budget amendment for 2013 which raises the deficit from z∏.35.6 billion to z∏.51.6 billion. As many as 235 deputies voted in favor of the amendment, 73 were against and 3 abstained. The main opposition party Law and Justice failed to appear at the sitting. Apart from raising the deficit, government ministries have come up with z∏.7.7 billion in savings to make up for lower budget revenues this year.

Less money for roads in 2014

Protests

Warsaw saw four days of protests by thousands of labor union activists

Poles don’t identify with political parties

Parliament adopts budget amendment

COURTESY OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The German daily Die Welt reported that Poland’s foreign minister was behind the diplomatic proposal to end the dispute between the US and Syria

3

But Mr Tusk has so far refused to let Mr KosiniakKamysz go. The PM has said that he is ready for a discussion with the labor union leaders on their proposals, but only within the Tripartite Commission.

Politicians from Poland’s biggest opposition party, Law and Justice, boycotted voting on Poland’s budget amendment in order to show their solidarity with the protesters.

“We want to express our solidarity with those who have enough of a Poland without jobs, a Poland of excesses and in which there is no rule of law,” said Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski, leader of Law and Justice, while addressing the protesters. “This is not a country hospitable to all citizens, it is not a real democracy,” he added.

As of press time, the protests had been peaceful, with no incidents of violence being reported.

Remi Adekoya

The Polish government reduced its 2014 expenditure plans for road construction and maintenance by z∏.400 million. The budget cuts will mostly affect the maintenance and repairs of the network of national roads. The National Road Fund (KFD) also plans to spend z∏.12.6 billion on the construction of new roads, including expressways.

Poles sixthbiggest European spenders In 2012, shopping centers recorded gross sales of z∏.110.7 billion.

That puts Poland in sixth place in Europe, after France, the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy.

This also means that the average Pole spent z∏.2,860 in shopping centers in 2012. ●

4

NEWS

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SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Politics

Politics

Ruling party loses two more MPs

PiS Senate candidate wins by-election in landslide

Former Justice Minister Jaros∏aw Gowin and his ally Jacek ˚alek have decided to exit Civic Platform, further shrinking the government’s already razor-thin parliamentary majority

The Law and Justice (PiS) candidate won nearly 61 percent of the vote

Putting up a good fight Sure enough Mr Gowin subsequently announced he would run for the position of PO leader in the party’s leadership elections. He put up a spirited campaign, taunting the PM for having turned into a “social democrat.” But in reality, Mr Gowin never stood a chance against the formidable political machine that Donald Tusk has built up in his decade as party leader.

At the end of August, it was announced that Mr Tusk had won 80 percent of the votes in the election while Mr Gowin received 20 percent support.

The former minister had been expected to fare much worse and Mr Tusk made some initial noises about possible cooperation between them.

But Mr Gowin said he expected changes in government policy before he would consider future cooperation.

Last month, Mr Gowin’s conservative political ally John Godson, Poland’s first black MP, left PO. Then Mr Gowin was fined for breaking party discipline during parliamen-

COURTESY OF FLICKR/KPRM

Jaros∏aw Gowin, who was dismissed as justice minister in April this year, has spent the last few months dishing out harsh criticism to his former boss Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his now former party, Civic Platform (PO).

Mr Gowin, a staunch conservative who lost his ministerial post because of controversial statements he made on in vitro fertilization, accuses Mr Tusk of taking PO too far to the left on social and economic issues.

“Let’s once again be an [economically] liberal, [socially] conservative, republican party of great hope and serious reform,” Mr Gowin said at a press conference in June.

“Our roots were steeped in removing the barriers blocking Poles, and in common sense regarding family issues and social values,” he added.

Although the former justice minister said at the time that he was “not fighting for the party’s leadership but its identity, soul and program,” it was clear that he intended to mount an open challenge to Mr Tusk.

Jaros∏aw Gowin is the most high-profile politician to have quit Civic Platform since it won power in 2007 tary voting while another member of PO’s conservative camp, Jacek ˚alek, was suspended from the party for three months for the same reason.

Mr Gowin then voluntarily suspended his membership of PO before finally announcing he was quitting the party for good last week. “Today it has come to the stage whereby loyalty to the party is in conflict with loyalty towards Poles,” said Mr Gowin.

Four days later, Mr ˚alek announced he was leaving the party as well to become an independent.

What’s next?

Gowin has announced he will be touring Poland and will present his political plans for the future within the month. Some think he might assume the leadership of one of the many minor conservative parties that lack a high-profile leader.

Others say he will create his own socially conservative and economically liberal party.

Such a party led by Mr Gowin would be backed by 6.1 percent of Poles, according to a September Homo Homini survey. A party must receive 5 percent of the vote in elections in order to enter parliament.

Poland’s next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2015.

Still a popular politician, Mr

Remi Adekoya

Zdzis∏aw Pupa, a member of Poland’s largest opposition party Law and Justice, has been elected senator in a by-election to the Senate (Poland’s upper house of parliament) in the southeastern Podkarpackie voivodship. Mr Pupa received 60.84 percent of the vote.

The election was carried out in five counties of the Podkarpackie voivodship. Turnout was less than 16 percent.

Mr Pupa received nearly three times as many votes as the Polish People’s Party (PSL) candidate Mariusz Kawa (21.3 percent). An MP from minority party Solidarna Polska, Kazimierz Ziobro came in third with 11 percent of the vote.

Mr Pupa told Polish Radio that his party is ready to take over power in the entire country from the governing coalition.

“It is clear that the support for PiS is growing, which means that society is ready for a change. It has had enough of the incompetent and arrogant rule

of the ruling coalition,” leader of the PiS parliamentary caucus Mariusz B∏aszczak told Gazeta Wyborcza.

“The result for the ruling coalition is indeed far from ideal, but it was to be expected.

Podkarpackie is after all PiS’s bastion,” the government’s spokesperson Pawe∏ GraÊ said, commenting on the results.

The main opposition party has always had strong support from the voters in the southeastern voivodship. In the 2010 presidential election, PiS candidate Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski received 54.92 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the eventual winner, Bronis∏aw Komorowski, who is associated with the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party, received just 25.9 percent of the vote in the Podkarpackie voivodship.

The by-election was precipitated by the former senator W∏adys∏aw Ortyl (of PiS) taking over the position of marshall of the voivodship. Mr Ortyl stepped in for Miros∏aw Karapyta, a PSL member, who had been dismissed following corruption charges.

Beata Socha

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BUSINESS

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

www.wbj.pl

5

Jeronimo Martins plans z∏.6 bln expansion in Poland

Poland’s Opel plant to produce new Astra model in 2015

Jeronimo Martins wants to expand its top-earning chain to a total of 3,000 units

The Portuguese retailer wants to open 800 new Biedronka stores

Portuguese food distributor Jeronimo Martins will invest z∏.6 billion (€1.4 billion) over the next three years in Poland,

the group’s CEO Pedro Soares dos Santos told business daily Puls Biznesu. The group wants to expand its discount supermarket chain Biedronka by about 800 stores.

It currently operates over 2,200 Biedronka stores in Poland, which is the group’s biggest market. Biedronka alone accounted for 65.5 percent of the group’s sales in the first six months of the year.

“Today Poland is the most important market for us – it generates almost 70 percent of our group’s revenues and therefore we channel 70 percent of our investment outlays here,” Mr Soares said.

Jeronimo Martins has been present in Poland since 1995 and has already invested

z∏.8 billion in its stores in 800 Polish cities. The group employs more than 40,000 people in the country.

It recorded €165 million in profit from its worldwide operations in the first half of the year, 9 percent more than in the corresponding period of 2012. Its higher profit is mainly due to increased sales in Poland and Portugal.

For the first 11 years after its acquisition in 1997, the discount supermarket chain mainly brought losses. But for the past several years it has been increasingly profitable.

“We invest long-term … and we believe that we will be able to grow organically in Poland long after 2015,” Mr Soares said.

Beata Socha

Natural gas

LNG terminal delayed again Both the treasury minister and PGNiG claim it won’t affect other deals connected with the terminal

COURTESY OF THE TREASURY MINISTRY

Karpiƒski said in a statement last week.

“I am not happy with the delay, however, clinging to an unrealistic schedule is a riskier and costlier solution than accepting that it must be The new LNG terminal in pushed back,” Mr Karpiƒski ÂwinoujÊcie will be completed explained. He also added that by the end of 2014, six months postponing the delivery of the later than previously planned, gas terminal will “give us time Treasury Minister W∏odzimierz to complete all necessary projects, such as the north-south pipeline, allowing us to transport gas to our southern neighbors and to Balkan states, as well as finalize the contract with Qatargas.”

That last issue is probably the most controverSome 65 percent of the terminal has sial. The Qatari LNG supplier will already been completed

deliver 1 million tons of LNG per year starting from 2014. It’s practically impossible that the terminal will be completed on time to process next year’s delivery.

Take or pay The delay could actually be a blessing in disguise. Citing an anonymous source close to the deal, Reuters reported last week that Qatargas is calling on PGNiG to pay a rate of 16 percent of crude oil prices or higher, plus a fixed component of around $0.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). At current prices, that would put the cost of the Qatari gas at $20.50/mmBtu, while gas imported from Russia costs around $13.50/mmBtu. Altogether, for the 10 percent of Polish demand that the Qatari delivery would satisfy, PGNiG could end up paying an extra

Strip mall’s financing quest Polish billionaire Mariusz Âwitalski wants to expand his Czerwona Torebka chain of strip malls, but due to difficulties in obtaining funds has turned to a somewhat unorthodox financing model.

To raise sufficient capital for the investment Czerwona Torebka is looking for investors willing to buy individual units in the malls, whose prices start at z∏.350,000. The group would later lease them from the owner for a period of 15 years. The company guarantees investors annual return of 8 percent.

Czerwona Torebka would

later sublease the units to retailers. It is a business model not unlike the increasingly popular condo hotels.

“Purchasing a unit in Czerwona Torebka mall is an ideal alternative to investing in residential units and renting them out or in other financial and investment products, like deposits and bonds,” the company wrote in its internet ad.

This is the most recent in several attempts the company has made to raise capital for its expansion. Its WSE debut in December of last year brought the company a mere z∏.19 mil-

lion, far below its target of z∏.250 million. Its stock price has barely moved since the listing. In June the company’s board decided to issue bonds worth z∏.100 million. This plan fell through as well and the group managed to raise only a little over z∏.14.6 million.

The WSE-listed company, primarily engaged in the construction and management of strip malls, wants to open 1,900 new malls by 2021. By comparison, the largest retail chain in Poland, the ˚abka network of convenience stores, comprises BKS 2,800 units.

$325 million annually.

With PGNiG not having technical capabilities to receive the deliveries, it could be forced to pay just partially for the gas it was supposed to receive. Under the contract’s “take or pay” rules, PGNiG will have to pay for at least some of the gas, whether it has the technical capabilities to receive it or not. If it can’t take the gas, PGNiG will have to pay between 50 and 70 percent of the agreed price. However, earlier in September, Mr Karpiƒski said that Poland is unlikely to pay for supplies if the LNG terminal is delayed.

PGNiG itself didn’t want to reveal the details of the contract, citing a confidentiality clause. However, the company’s spokesperson Rafa∏ Pazura assured WBJ that “PGNiG’s interests are secured.”

Beata Socha, Jacek Ciesnowski

COURTESY OF OPEL

Automotive

COURTESY OF JERONIMO MARTINS

FMCG

Opel Cascade is the latest model being produced in the Gliwice factory

The factory in Gliwice will open a new hall to handle the output increase This year, Opel’s factory in Gliwice will make about 5 percent fewer cars than it did in 2012. But the future is bright for the plant in the Silesian city, as it received news last week that it will produce the latest Astra V model in 2015.

The facility, which at the end of August celebrated its 15th anniversary, has so far made some 1.8 million cars since it opened, and the 2 million threshold will likely be broken next year, when the production of the Astra IV hatchback model is moved to Gliwice after Opel’s plant in Bochum, Germany closes.

General Motors, owner of the Opel brand, has been bleeding money in Europe recently. Just in 2011 it recorded a $700 million loss and to cut costs it decided to close the factory in Bochum and concentrate its production at Opel’s headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany and at

Gliwice. Opel also has a Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port in the UK. The decision to produce the new Opel Astra V model in Gliwice is part of this plan.

Andrzej Kopiak, head of Opel’s Gliwice unit, said that the factory would construct a new welding hall for the increased production. He also expects that it will create new jobs in the factory, which currently employes some 3,000 people and hasn’t laid off any in recent years, despite dwindling production.

The Gliwice factory currently produces five different Astra models and the Opel Cascade convertible. Ninetyeight percent of the cars produced in the plant are exported.

In November this year, the Gliwice factory will merge with a large engine plant in Tychy.

General Motors recently took over full control of the Tychy plant, after buying up the 40 percent share of the factory it didn’t already own from Isuzu Motors.

Aleksandra S∏abisz, Jacek Ciesnowski

6

BUSINESS

www.wbj.pl

Financial services

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Tobacco

PKO BP and PZU near British American Tobacco to bancassurance partnership cut out the middleman

COURTESY OF PKO

COURTESY OF PZU

The tobacco producer will implement a new distribution strategy and create 700 new jobs

Will they reach a deal?

Poland’s biggest lender and insurer could create a joint venture unit After acquiring Nordea Bank Polska in a transaction worth z∏.2.83 billion, PKO BP is looking for a partner to operate Nordea’s insurance business, which it received as part of the deal.

“We are in the process of choosing our partner. We feel closest to PZU,” PKO’s CEO Zbigniew Jagie∏∏o said at a parliamentary commit-

tee sitting. He added, however, that there are many other interested entities that plan on submitting their bids.

“We’ll have to wait and see if PZU’s offer is in line with the others,” Mr Jagie∏∏o concluded.

Earlier in July, PKO BP’s spokesperson El˝bieta Anders said that the lender will choose the joint-venture partner in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2013.

The bank expects the potential investor to pay for the multiyear cooperation up front.

Poland’s Treasury Ministry

has controlling stakes in both PKO BP and PZU. If the partnership goes through, it will create a juggernaut in Poland’s financial services sector, which is currently dominated by foreign players.

PKO’s model is similar to the one undertaken by British insurer Aviva and Bank Zachodni WBK, owned by Spanish Banco Santander. The two firms created a joint-venture back in 2008 and currently insure some 1.3 million of BZ WBK customers.

Jacek Ciesnowski

British American Tobacco is set to introduce direct sales to retailers as part of the company’s new marketing and distribution model in Poland. It plans to create up to 700 new jobs in Poland, the company announced.

“There are nearly 120,000 outlets where tobacco products are sold in Poland. The new model will allow us to reach many of them directly,” said Antal Bekefi, the president of BAT’s Polish branch.

The new system will be

operational by the end of October 2013. Over the next few weeks the company will hire 500 new people, mostly in sales, finance and accounting.

New distribution centers all over the country, operated by an outside logistics firm, will provide jobs for another 200 people, according to BAT’s estimates.

The company had been preparing the new model for a year prior to implementing it, during which time it “designed and built the logistics network that will support the new distribution model, procured the necessary equipment for the new sales force and built the dedicated IT system,” the company wrote in a statement.

The new model may be the

company’s response to Poland’s ever-increasing taxes on cigarettes, which by inflating cigarette prices and encouraging illegal import of cheaper tobacco from eastern neighbors, have been driving the company’s sales down for years.

In early September the government announced its draft budget for 2014 which includes yet another hike in excise duty for cigarettes, which is set to go up by 5 percent (the same rise as in 2013).

Poland is scheduled to reach EU levels of excise duty on tobacco products, which stand at €90 for each 1,000 cigarettes, by 2018. Currently the levy in Poland amounts to Beata Socha €87.50.

TP to get new CEO this week Telekomunikacja Polska (TP), in which telecommunications giant Orange holds a majority stake, announced that Bruno Duthoit will step in for its longtime CEO Maciej Witucki on September 19. The move had already been announced in July, but the date when the

replacement would take place was officially confirmed last week.

On September 19 Orange will also convene an extraordinary general meeting and will name Mr Witucki, along with Jean-Marie Culpin, as candidates for the Polish operator’s

supervisory board.

Mr Witucki announced back in July that he would resign from his post in the upcoming months. He has led the telecommunications giant since 2006. In 2012, TP had a net profit of z∏.855 million, 55 perNK cent less than in 2011.

FINANCE & ECONOMICS

Local budgets

SHUTTERSTOCK

Outside of Warsaw, Mazowieckie is a poor, mostly rural region

Poland’s richest voivodship, Mazowieckie, which includes the capital Warsaw, is being pushed to the verge of bankruptcy by its requirement to pay a “solidarity tax,” widely referred to as “Janosikowe” (roughly translated as “Robin Hood” tax), Marek Miesztalski, the voivodship’s treasurer, told Gazeta Wyborcza.

Poland’s 16 voivodships are its largest local-government entities, and are akin to provinces. The “Robin Hood” tax is so-named because it is a tax that transfers money directly from rich regions to poor ones.

Out of Mazowieckie’s budget of z∏.3 billion for 2013, it must pay z∏.660 million in the tax. Such huge chunks being taken out of the budget make current spending nearly impossible, officials say.

“To pay the monthly rates

back to Poland’s budget in June, July and August we had to take out loans,” explained Mr Miesztalski. “We can’t take another one. In this case we have to decide whether to pay the bills or the solidarity tax,” he added.

The Mazowieckie authorities asked the Finance Ministry to remit the remaining four payments of 2013. While the ministry hadn’t officially responded as of press time, it sent a letter to Gazeta Wyborcza saying that “such remittances are impossible in the current state of the Polish budget and its deficit.”

Killing the goose The tax is paid by local government units at all administrative levels. The tax is calculated by comparing income per capita for each administrative unit with the national average.

Regions with income above the national average are subject to hefty levies.

The benchmark used to

determine which regions have to pay this year were established two years ago, when Poland enjoyed much higher GDP growth. Mazowieckie is in fact the only voivodship this year that is a net payer of the levy. For every two z∏oty it receives in tax, Mazowieckie transfers one z∏oty back to the state budget. That leaves very little for investment. Last year Mazowieckie’s expenditures per capita were the lowest out of all of Poland’s voivodships.

The region’s officials have long complained that the fee, introduced in 2003, places too great a strain on Mazowieckie, which has already been struggling amid the economic slowdown. In the first half of 2013, Mazowieckie received z∏.200 million less from corporate income tax than in the corresponding period of 2012. The region’s government announced it will officially suspend payment of the tax on September 16.

JC, BKS

Ratings agencies chime in on OFE reform plan Markets and economists were critical of the plan the government announced in early September to move some of the privately run open pension funds’ (OFE) assets to the state-run ZUS program. Ratings agencies, however, mostly said the reform would be neutral for Poland’s rating. Both Fitch and Moody’s saw shortterm positives in the reform, but worried about longer-term knock-on effects.

Ratings agency Fitch said the plan will not affect Poland’s credit rating, provided that the country makes appropriate changes in its legal system accounting for the drop in public debt. The country will have to lower its legal

limits for the debt-to-GDP ratio corresponding to the sums gained from the transfer of assets. The move will bring the country closer to the countries with an “A” rating, the agency explained. Fitch currently gives Poland an “A minus” rating.

In August the agency lowered Poland’s outlook from “positive” to “stable” following the government’s decision to suspend its cautionary rules, which required imposing fiscal sanctions for breaching the 50 percent debt-to-GDP threshold.

Ratings agency Moody’s also said the government’s proposal does not significantly change its assessment of Poland’s credit rating. Moody’s

7

Unemployment down, jobs outlook positive

‘Robin Hood’ tax drives Mazowieckie region to verge of bankruptcy

The voivodship is the only net payer of the tax out of Poland’s 16 voivodships

www.wbj.pl

analysts expect that the proposed changes to the pension funds will be introduced in mid-2014, taking the legislative process into account. If they are introduced before the end of this year, however, they will still affect finances in 2013, even if the transfer of bonds from OFEs to ZUS takes longer than a year. This will reduce the government’s debtto-GDP ratio to 50 percent.

Moody’s analysts believe that changes in the Polish pension system will indeed improve public finances in the short term, but will increase the payments tied to pensions and reduce liquidity in the capital market.

NK, AK

Poland’s unemployment rate fell to 13 percent in August 2013 from 13.1 percent in July, Labor Minister W∏adys∏aw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters on Monday. The figure is an estimate prepared by the Economy Ministry. The official unemployment figures for August will be released later this month by Poland’s statistics office, GUS. If the estimate turns out to be correct, August will be the sixth month in a row in which the unemployment rate declined.

According to the Labor Ministry, the number of jobless registered at the end of August 2013 totaled 2,085,000, down by 8,400 month-onmonth. In the same month, employers offered 74,400 new jobs, up by 10,000 or 16 percent from July and 4,200 from August 2012.

A report on Poland’s labor market by staffing firm Randstad found that 39 percent of Polish companies increased employment in the first half of the year, 40 percent left headcount unchanged and 20 percent scaled down employment.

Twenty-eight percent of firms plan to add jobs in the next six months. Commenting on the

report, Mr Kosiniak-Kamysz said, “We are back on the growth track.”

The labor minister expects Poland’s unemployment to remain below 14 percent at the end of the year. He said that if one summed up registered unemployment in the first half of the year, it would turn out that 250,000 people found jobs in the period, 50,000 more than in the same period of 2012.

Asked about the economic outlook for the next six months, 55 percent of companies surveyed by Randstad said they expected stagnation, 25 percent expected growth

and 12 percent expected a recession.

Most companies (58 percent) plan to leave their employment levels unchanged, 28 percent expect to employ more workers and 9 percent are considering job reductions.

The research also shows that 83 percent of companies recruited employees over the past year. The same percentage of firms claim that reducing employment costs could help reduce the number of jobless. Sixty-four percent believe that subsidizing employee training could increase employment.

AS, AK

Still inching downward Poland’s unemployment rate 15.0 14.5 14.0 13.5 13.0 12.5 12.0 11.5 11.0

* Economy Ministry estimate Aug. '11 Sep. '11 Oct. '11 Nov. '11 Dec. '11 Jan. '12 Feb. '12 Mar. '12 Apr. '12 May '12 Jun. '12 Jul. '12 Aug. '12 Sep. '12 Oct. '12 Nov. '12 Dec. '12 Jan. '13 Feb. '13 Mar. '13 Apr. '13 May '13 Jun. '13 Jul. '13 Aug. '13*

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Source: Central Statistical Office (GUS)

8

INTERVIEW

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

European Parliament

Policy above politics To find out what Polish members of the EP consider Poland’s policy priorities in the EU, WBJ spoke with MEPs from four major political parties: Civic Platform, the Democratic Left Alliance, Law and Justice and the Polish People’s Party Ewa Boniecka: What do you consider to be Poland’s most important interests and urgent issues in the EU?

Lena Kolarska-Bobiƒska (PO, EPP): The European Union is constantly changing.

The thing that is of utmost importance is the future shape of the EU. It is in Poland’s interest to have the European Union strong and promoting solidarity among its members.

At the same time Poland cannot afford to be a secondclass member in a two-speed Europe. So we have to have our own vision of a Europe of tomorrow, and we need to build our coalitions with that in mind.

When it comes to economic policy, a banking union, foreign and defense policy and industrial policy, we should be a part of the discussions and make sure the position of Poland is taken into account by all decision makers.

What is your main area of expertise in the European Parliament?

I deal with energy and climate policy, which is one of the pillars of EU policy. We have recently set forth its main directions for the years 20202030. That discussion will

continue in the future as well and Polish MEPs will have to put in a lot of work and effort to make the EU’s energy goals compatible with Polish reality.

Poles generally agree that we should do more to fight climate change and expand our energy networks to be more sustainable and efficient. But sometimes debates

“Poland cannot afford to be a second-class member in a twospeed Europe.” in Brussels ignore the fact that Poland is a unique country in Europe. While most member states have a wider mix of energy sources and import these sources from abroad, almost all of Poland’s energy is generated from domestic coal deposits.

Because of this, Poland will not be able to change its energy mix while maintaining

its energy security and social cohesion.

How can Polish MEPs help Poland maintain its energy security?

Later this year, the European Commission will propose its new energy and climate targets for 2030. It is here that Polish MEPs and society should work to find a balance which is good for both the environment and Polish energy consumers.

Also this fall and in the coming years, European priorities for energy infrastructure will be determined and later put into practice. We have to make sure that most of the projects proposed will support Poland’s energy security.

What kind of energy projects does Poland need the most?

We need a gas network independent of Russian sources and connected to the West.

Also our electricity networks need to be improved so we can support increased demand without experiencing blackouts. Finally, we have to make sure no administrative restraints hinder our right to explore and develop other Polish energy sources, such as

Ewa Boniecka: How do Polish MEPs from different political groupings handle matters which are particularly important for Poland and its interests?

Janusz Zemke (SLD, S&D): Members of the European Parliament are grouped in international political parties.

A majority of Polish MEPs belong to one of the two biggest factions – politicians from Civic Platform (PO) and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) are members of the European People’s Party (EPP) and deputies from SLD are members of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group.

This does not mean, however, that we don’t communicate and cooperate on issues which are considered key for Poland’s interests. We can present a common stand on such issues.

Major Polish political parties and their affiliation with European political groups Polish political party

European political affiliation

Civic Platform (PO)

European People’s Party (EPP)

Polish People’s Party (PSL)

European People’s Party (EPP)

Law and Justice (PiS)

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)

Democratic Left Alliance (SLD)

shale gas.

What other elements of EU policy do you think are most important for Poland?

We also have to make sure that Poland continues to receive cohesion policy funds and that we are free to use them to provide Poland with the kind of support it really needs. Cohesion policy funds are the biggest advantage from our membership in the EU. It allows us to change Poland for the better at a far smaller cost than if we did it on our own.

Thanks to the hard work of Polish MEPs and of the Polish government, we will continue to receive this funding in the coming period. But now we have to manage these funds and make sure that the projects we finance will help

We meet formally as members of the Polish Club, where we discuss the issues of utmost importance for Poland, and those debates can be very heated. But informal communication is much more frequent. In my view this system works quite well, so when we vote on matters crucial for Poland’s welfare, we vote in agreement, often against the position of the EP groupings to which we belong.

Is that not frowned upon by the group you are a member of, Socialists & Democrats?

My group allows this on the condition that we inform the chairman of the S&D before

“Decisive measures must be taken to increase spending on scientific research.” the vote that due to important national interests we will be voting differently from the rest. This often happens when we vote on restrictive regulations regarding environmental protection.

Our faction includes a big group of deputies who believe that these regulations should be even more restrictive, for

Socialists & Democrats (S&D)

our economy and the average Pole to increase his standard of living. Not all regions are the same and our role is to prevent any attempt to apply a “one-size-fits-all” administration with these funds.

What does cooperation with other Polish MEPs, those elected from different parties, look like?

We have a Polish Club in the European Parliament, which is a forum where Polish MEPs from all political groupings can meet. It exists but the meetings happen very rarely.

So in my view it does not play a big role in our work. Nevertheless, we communicate on the most important matters for Poland and we seek the support of our colleagues from other political groups in the EP. ●

instance when it comes to CO2 emissions limits. This is unacceptable for Poles because it would mean a significant increase in the costs of producing energy in our country.

What other areas of European policy do you consider fundamental?

An issue which poses fundamental questions right now is how Europe will develop after the crisis. In my view there are two important fields which the European Parliament should support.

The first one is the development of modern technology and creating so-called “intelligent workplaces.” Europe, including Poland, is beginning to lag behind other countries in the world in terms of scientific and technological development. EU funds should therefore be spent quite differently from the way they have been spent in recent years.

Decisive measures must be taken to increase spending on scientific research and the development of modern technologies.

The other important problem for which the European Parliament has to find a solution is the situation young Europeans have found themselves in, facing increasing difficulties in finding work and

INTERVIEW

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

achieving stability in life.

There is no simple way out of the problem, but it has to be dealt with.

How can the EU combat youth unemployment?

The European Union has to support courses of study that give their graduates better chances of finding a job in the future. It should also strengthen the ties between education, business and various institutions both on the local and European levels.

Ewa Boniecka: What in your view are the most important goals for Poland in shaping EU policy?

Konrad Szymaƒski (PiS, ECR): There are two fundamentally important challenges in the European Union today: climate reform-related policies which should take into account the competitiveness of our economy, as well as an effective common market.

At the moment, none of the proposals on climate policy are acceptable for countries with energy-intensive industries and specifically for Central Europe. This is not only about our energy output and electricity prices. The competitiveness of the entire Polish economy is at stake.

Central European members of the EU depend on coal in

Ewa Boniecka: What do you consider the most important area of EU policy as far as Poland is concerned?

Jaros∏aw Kalinowski (PSL, EPP): We are a country with great traditions and huge potential in agriculture, which is growing every year, both in terms of production and export. Polish food is valued not only in European markets, but also all around the world.

Therefore we have to do everything to support our agricultural produce.

We are currently about to complete work on reforming

Helping young Europeans also entails preparing laws that will make it easier for member states to acknowledge the degrees and qualifications obtained in other member states. Today, young Poles who leave our country have to obtain nostrification documents [granting recognition of a degree from Polish universities] confirming their education and qualifications. This is a form of discrimination.

Why do I stress that?

Because I want Europe to be

truly open, where it is possible for people not only to move freely to other countries, but also to get work on par with their qualifications and enjoy the same rights as the citizens of the host country.

Leftist parties want to strengthen the European Union, but this process doesn’t only mean strengthening EU institutions. It also has to mean more democracy within the EU and more democratic rights for all European citizens. ●

energy production and a compulsory shift towards renewable energy sources is too expensive for them – both because of their climate conditions and due to financial limitations.

Without a significant increase in our own gas reserves, a shift towards gas is troublesome. A growth of gas consumption cannot be carried out by increasing Poland’s dependency on gas imported

the driving force behind our economic growth. The economic crisis is a good excuse for some politicians to slow down the implementation of the common market and even to promote policies imposing new limitations on the free flow of labor, goods or services. We need to defend open and equal access to the common market for all our citizens and companies.

“None of the proposals on climate policy are acceptable for countries with energy-intensive industries.” from Russia. This is one of the reasons why we see unconventional gas production as our strategic goal. The EU can play a more or less constructive role in this field.

You also mentioned the common market as Poland’s main goal. Why is that?

The matter of the European common market is by no means less challenging. It is

the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy. We are doing everything to hammer out a compromise that will satisfy farmers all over Europe, including Polish farmers.

The arguments we present meet with understanding and many of them will become a part of the Common Agricultural Policy. Poland’s aim is to

“We have to do everything to support our agricultural produce.” adopt policies which will increase the competitiveness of Polish agriculture and in consequence will ensure a higher standard of living for Polish villages.

Which other areas do you believe are crucial for Poland?

Energy policy is also a fundamental issue. We have to

How do you see the cooperation of Polish MEPs from various political groups?

There is a long tradition of deep and pragmatic cooperation of Polish politicians in European institutions.

Still, as the main opposition party, we often disagree with the feeble and often late response of the Polish government to decisions made at the EU level. But in areas concerning climate, energy, budget or the common market we are ready to work together irrespective of political divisions.

The only problem we have is the position of the Polish left on climate issues. Their political group (S&D) supports policies dangerous for Poland’s economic position in Europe. ●

remember that the main source of energy in Poland is coal, which is considered by many MEPs as obsolete and ineffective.

Investing in renewable energy sources is a necessity as well. But for that Poland needs European support. EU regulations can lay the groundwork and create opportunities for Poland to explore renewable energy on a large scale. It is a complicated matter because there are a lot of conflicting interests here.

Our goal is to make every effort to work out a legal framework that will not harm Polish biofuels producers but instead will provide them with chances for development.

Building new biogas plants, using biomass produced in Poland could not only help us diversify our energy mix, but also bring the residents of Polish villages additional income.

Our current efforts will help stabilize our energy sector for years to come. ●

www.wbj.pl

9

10

OPINION & ANALYSIS

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

What’s next for Jaros∏aw Gowin?

Remi Adekoya

J

aros∏aw Gowin, a former justice minister and one of Poland’s best-known politicians, has quit the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party. Mr Gowin, a social conservative and economic liberal, lost the PO leadership election to Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month.

“I do not agree with the current policies of the government such as raising taxes and reaching into Poles’

“Mr Gowin is an intellectually impressive politician, a rarity in the mediocre world of Polish politics.” pockets. Today I have reached the limits whereby loyalty to party is in conflict with loyalty to the Polish people,” said Mr Gowin when announcing his exit from PO. Mr Gowin, who during the campagn for PO leader criticzied Mr Tusk

that within the next few days, he will embark on a tour of Poland where he will present his plans for the future and that in a month’s time he would announce “how and with whom” he intends to “change Poland.”

“We need to push back against the policy of increasing public debt, raising taxes and making entrepreneur’s lives difficult,” Mr Gowin said.

This is a message that will surely go down well with entrepreneurs in Poland. They have the right to feel neglected by PO, which wooed them during previous elections. Mr Tusk seems to have made a political calculation that irrespective of his actual policies, come the next elections Polish business will back him anyway.

for abandoning PO’s center-right, probusiness roots “in order to become a social democrat,” has continuously accused the PM of taking PO to the left. John Godson, Poland’s first black MP, who quit PO in late August to become an independent, has done likewise.

Razor-thin majority The governing coalition now has 231 votes in the 460-MP parliament. Jacek ˚alek, another staunch conservative PO MP and an ally of Messrs Gowin and Godson, also quit the party last week. Mr ˚alek had earlier had his party membership suspended for three months for breaking party discpline.

He also believes PO has gone too far to the left.

Mr Tusk now has a razor-thin majority of one MP in parliament.

However, there are four independent MPs who regularly support the government in key votes, so the PM shouldn’t be having too many sleepless nights.

The question is: What will Mr Gowin, a popular figure, do next?

The former justice minister has said

In between a rock and a hard place After all, what alternative do they have? PO’s biggest rival, Law and Justice (PiS), is openly hostile to businesspeople. Its leader, Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski, has talked of weeding out businesspeople with any connection to Poland’s former communist leaders.

In an interview with Rzeczpospolita in early September, Mr Kaczyƒski said the “negative selection practised during communism was unfortunately transferred to business and many former communists have found a safe hiding place in business.” The PiS leader also proposed punitive taxes against employers who don’t pay their workers well enough.

And so in Mr Tusk, Polish businesspeople have a prime minister who seems indifferent to them, while in Mr Kaczyƒski, they would have someone at the helm of government who believes their every dealing should be scrutinized closely. It’s a lose-lose situation, but with Mr Kaczyƒski, businesspeople risk losing more.

If Poland were the US, Mr Gowin could approach some sympathetic billionaire and ask him for the funds to establish an economically liberal party. Alas, in Poland political parties are financed mostly from the state budget (providing they get at least 3 percent of the vote in parliamentarty elections) and there are strict controls as to how much individuals can

donate.

And so there will be no Polish equivalent of the Koch brothers coming to Mr Gowin’s rescue.

The former justice minister has already been invited by various minor conservative parties to join their ranks as a leader, but even with Mr Gowin among them, those parties’ main problem remains the same: money.

Mr Gowin’s other choice would be to join the ranks of PiS, where he would likely be given a high-profile role. But while he would fit right in when it comes to social values, he would have to radically modify his rhetoric on economics, as PiS is a nationalist outfit with socialist leanings.

In the end, Mr Gowin may disappear from the political scene altogether, but that is unlikely, since he is an intellectually impressive politician, a rarity in the mediocre world of Polish politics. ● Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Business Journal’s politics editor. Read his blog, “The business of politics” on WBJ.pl

The other US-Russia proxy battle Stratfor

At

a time when the United States and Europe are focused on deciphering Russia’s position on Syria, Moscow has also been making significant moves much closer to its periphery in Europe. Last Thursday, a meeting of representatives from the Visegrad Group expressed “outrage” over increased pressure from Russia on the countries of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership initiative not to sign trade and association agreements with the European Union.

Mixed results What these two groups have in common is that all of their members were once part of the Soviet umbrella. The Visegrad Group consists of ex-satellites Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while the Eastern Partnership comprises Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The former are all members of the European Union and NATO, while the latter are not. Each of these states has complicated relationships with both Russia and Europe.

The Eastern Partnership program was designed to bring the latter group

closer to the European Union, both politically and economically, and it has produced mixed results since launching in 2009 at the initiative of Poland and Sweden. Some countries targeted by the program, such as Moldova, have forged closer bonds to the European Union through trade links and political reforms, while others, such as Belarus, have not. Still others, such as Ukraine, have tried to balance relations with the European Union and Russia without firmly committing to one or the other.

Overall, while the initiative has not been remarkable, it did mark some slow progress in Russia’s periphery over the past year.

This progress was expected to culminate in November at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The European Union had made strides in its negotiations on free trade and association agreements with most members and expected Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Armenia to move forward with their deals at the summit. While the agreements would fall far short of membership in the European Union, they would be important symbolically as steps toward long-term integration

with the European Union. More important, they would be incompatible with Russia’s own integration project, the Customs Union. The summit was to therefore give the appearance that the majority of the Eastern Partnership’s target states would be choosing Brussels over Moscow.

Worrying effect However, Russia has used a number of tactics to derail the European Union’s goals for the Eastern Partnership. In August, Russia temporarily tightened customs controls of Ukraine’s exports along the border, explicitly stating that Kiev can expect harsher and more permanent controls if it signs the EU agreements.

Moscow has also cut off Moldovan wine exports to Russia, ostensibly due to safety concerns but in reality to make Chisinau think twice about its turn toward Europe. Russia temporarily increased natural gas prices for Armenia, before reversing the decision after Yerevan announced that it would join the Customs Union.

As a result, plans for Armenia to initial the EU agreements have been withdrawn from the summit’s agenda.

Russia’s moves have had a worrying effect on the Eastern Partnership target states, as well as the European countries in the Visegrad Group trying to woo them. Due to their common experience under Soviet domination, these countries share a wariness of Russian power that has only grown as pressure from Moscow has risen.

In many ways, this wariness ties into the situation in Syria. While pressuring the countries along its periphery, Moscow has also maneuvered into a position of perceived parity with the United States in the Syrian theater. Russia can no longer match the United States militarily as it did in the Cold War, but Moscow has for now called US President Barack Obama’s bluff on plans to use military action to respond to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. Moscow’s recent plan to get Syria to agree to allow an international force to remove the chemical weapons has effectively delayed Mr Obama’s plans to strike.

It is unclear whether this will deter US military action altogether, given the logistical difficulties of removing the chemical weapons and

considering US reluctance to trust the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its Russian backers. But if it does, the Russians will appear to be on equal footing with the United States on what has become a major international issue.

This will make resisting Russian power and relying on US guarantees much harder for the countries on

“Moscow’s recent plan has effectively delayed Mr Obama’s plans to strike.”

Russia’s periphery that are already struggling to counter Moscow’s growing influence in the region. At the very least, it will ensure that the West remains focused on Syria and distracted from Russia’s activities in Eastern Europe. ● This edited version of “The other US-Russia proxy battle” is reprinted with permission of Stratfor Stratfor.com

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Destination Africa Special economic zones Wielkopolskie voivodship A quick look at all The west-central region profits from Poland looks beyond 14 12 Europe for new business 13 14 SEZs in Poland its proximity to Germany

INVESTING IN POLAND W a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s s p e c i a l s u p p l e m e n t o n i n v e s t m e n t t re n d s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Investment attractiveness

Why Poland? The top 5 reasons Ken Globerman senting my top five reasons answering: “Why Poland?”

COURTESY OF GLOBAL GROUP

#1: The value of human capital

Ken Globerman Global Group Ventures During the three years Global Group Ventures has been active in Central and Eastern Europe, one question repeats itself all the time: “Why Poland?” Frankly speaking, most “Westerners” misconceive Poland, while others lack awareness of even the most fundamental facts.

Poland is the sixth-largest country among the EU27 with a population of 38.5 million. It covers a territory equal to roughly half the size of Texas and sits directly in the center of Europe. Its “free economy” is only 23 years old and continues to grow at a steady pace. As an investment professional from the United States with almost 20 years of experience in private equity and media advertising, let me summarize what excites me about this country by pre-

The people are the foundation for what makes Poland particularly attractive. Poland has historically been seen as an enterprising nation with a highly qualified, hard-working labor force. This is in part due to a strong commitment to education, particularly strong in science and technology. Research facilities in Poland employ nearly 130,000 R&D specialists operating in a broad range of high-tech sectors. Polish mathematicians and information technology experts have been recognized at several prestigious competitions such as: the Microsoft Imagine Cup, European Merrill Lynch Investment Challenge, Google Code Jam, and the IBM-ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. Lastly, Poland’s youth is predominantly fluent in English – an attractive characteristic for international investors.

#2: Business-friendly environment An attractive business environment requires certain fundamental ingredients such as a commercially minded political system, swift administrative processes, effective regulatory and judicial system and limited corruption. Ernst & Young’s 2012 European “Attractiveness Survey”

suggests Poland will be Europe’s second-most attractive country for investment over the next three years, overtaking the UK, France and Russia. The report sites a “business friendly climate” and “transparent tax and legal systems.” Further, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) “World Investment Report 2012” ranks Poland as the 14th-most attractive investment location in the world for 2012-14.

Finally, the World Bank’s report, “Doing Business 2013,” which assesses countries by their regulatory environment, cites Poland as “Most Improved.”

#3: Public support for innovation and foreign direct investment Poland has been the net recipient of European Union and local state funds to help fuel innovation and the development of the country’s infrastructure, amounting to more than €10.2 billion since 2007. The outcome has been a large spike in startup businesses and the rapid development of a seed investment community. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to Poland reached the third-highest recorded level in 2011, amounting to $18.9 billion. While competitive labor costs and Poland’s strong internal market are critical factors leading to increased FDI, also important are favorable business

conditions set up in the form of special economic zones (SEZs) offering tax incentives and favorable business terms for companies setting up business in Poland. The program will continue through 2020.

#4: Stable economic profile Poland has a reputation for stability and fiscal responsibility. Delaying the switch to the euro has provided Poland with fiscal flexibility, which has helped keep its exports competitive. Further, the government’s fiscal conservativeness looks quite attractive in the shadow of the recent EU crisis. In 2011, Poland’s public debt amounted to 56.4 percent of GDP while the same figure for the EU27 was a staggering 82.5 percent.

Poland’s fiscal approach has paved the way for consistent growth, outpacing the European Union average.

In 2011, Poland’s economy grew at 4.3 percent while the combined EU27 grew 1.5 percent. This year, Poland’s growth is projected to be a more modest 1.5-2 percent, but still ahead of its peers.

#5: Poland has put itself on the map According to Warsaw Business Journal’s Investing in Poland 2013, “Poland is still often pigeon-holed as an emerging economy in Central Eastern Europe. But the reality is Poland is moving up in terms of global prestige.” According to Deloitte’s

2013 “Top 500” study, Poland ranked first, with 166 out of Central Europe’s 500 largest companies. General Electric, IBM, Motorola, Siemens, Oracle, Philips, HP and Volvo are among global organizations that have set up research and development centers in Poland. An entrepreneurial ecosystem is rapidly developing, with programs supported by marquee companies such as Google, Samsung and Deutsche Telekom. And while some characterize Poland with low-tech exports, the fact is technologically advanced equipment now makes up 50 percent of goods and services sold abroad.

The bottom line Poland is on the move. While acknowledging emerging opportunities in Asian and Latin American markets, companies with a particular interest in Europe should pay attention to Poland – a country full of intelligent, hard working talent and an economy that has emerged from its tenuous history. ● Ken Globerman has 15+ years of media and private equity experience, specializing in mature startups to small-to-midsize enterprises operating in high-growth sectors such as media, technology and energy. He splits his time between New York and Warsaw to explore and facilitate investment opportunities in and around Poland.

Contact him at ken.globerman@globalgroupventures.com

Investing in Poland

Keeping the investments coming The conference marking the launch of Investing in Poland 2014 will focus on Poland’s potential to maintain FDI inflows and its attractiveness as a BPO/SSC destination Warsaw Business Journal Group’s fifth annual Investing in Poland investment guide launches at a conference on September 17. The event, held at the picturesque Villa Foksal restaurant, features two discussion panels and a case study.

The first panel will discuss Poland’s investment landscape.

Experts from the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), PwC, the Lodz Special Economic Zone and Dentons will talk about methods used by local authorities to attract FDI, including the extension of the lifetime of spe-

cial economic zones until 2026.

They will also discuss whether Poland’s investment attractiveness will be in danger if the EU expands further to the east.

The second discussion panel will focus on outsourcing as the major investment trend in recent years and Poland’s potential to become a global outsourcing center.

“Many investors who decided to relocate and expand their business to our country appreciate the high quality of Polish employees’ qualifications and their efficiency, which marginalizes the importance of labor

costs, particularly when SSC centers move here from Western Europe,” Leszek Kurycyn, director at Randstad said. Apart from Randstad, experts from PAIiIZ, PwC, Impel and CBRE will offer their views on Poland’s outsourcing potential.

To hear a first-hand account of what Polish mid-sized cities can do to raise their odds as investment destinations, participants can attend a talk by Mariusz Sagan from the southeastern city of Lublin, who will present the city’s strategy and recent undertakings aimed at attracting FDI.

Multifaceted publication The Investing in Poland 2014 publication contains informa-

tion on macroeconomic conditions and outlook for Poland, as well as key data, analysis and contact details for all 16 of Poland’s voivodships and all of its major cities. It also includes detailed information on Poland’s special economic zones and technology parks, as well as the “Trendbook” section, which analyzes trends shaping Poland’s business environment. This year, topics include investment in Africa, consolidation in the banking market, changes in the pharmaceutical sector, investment in “smart city” solutions, increased spending on R&D, and many others.

Investing in Poland 2014 also provides lists of, and contact details to, major business

organizations and chambers of commerce, major office buildings (so investors can find appropriate office space) and EU funds consultancies.

The competition This year marks the second time Warsaw Business Journal Group, along with major chambers of commerce in Poland, will hand out the Investment of the Year awards, which this year will be given out in three categories – small, medium-sized and large investments. Each investment will be assessed based on amount invested, innovativeness and local impact.

The winners will be selected by a jury comprising one member from each chamber, as well

as high-ranking decision makers in Poland’s economy and government. The winners will be awarded at the gala, which will be held on October 23.

The Investing in Poland Project is organized by Warsaw Business Journal Group in cooperation with PAIiIZ, PwC, Bank Pekao, CBRE, Dentons and Randstad.

Beata Socha

In this supplement Why invest in Poland? . . . . . . . . . . .11 Investing in Poland project . . . . . .11 Wielkopolskie voivodship . . . . . . .12 “Go Africa” program . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Special Economic Zones . . . . . . . . .14

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Wielkopolskie Key facts Voivode: Piotr Florek Marshall: Marek Woêniak Area: 29,826 sq km Population (Dec. 2012): 3,462,196 Working-age population (Dec. 2012): 2,219,016 Unemployment rate (June 2013): 9.7% Average monthly wage (June 2013): z∏.3,487.61 GDP (2010): z∏.131.89 bln, up 3.4% y/y (9.3% of national GDP) Natural resources: forest, lignite, natural gas, oil, peat, water Number of students of higher education: 165,694 Number of institutions of higher education: 40 Major universities: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznaƒ, Poznaƒ University of Economics, Poznaƒ University of Life Sciences, Poznaƒ University of Medical Sciences, Poznaƒ University of Technology Major airport: Poznaƒ-¸awica International Airport Special Economic Zones: Kamienna Góra Special Economic Zone: 11.38 ha (6.6 ha available) Kostrzyn-S∏ubice Special Economic Zone: 247.91 ha (57.87 ha available) ¸ódê Special Economic Zone: 121 ha (50 ha available) Pomeranian Special Economic Zone: 21.88 ha (21.88 ha

available) Wa∏brzych Special Economoic Zone: 182.11 ha (58.2 ha available)

of these firms are in the sectors of food, chemicals, electric equipment production, transport vehicles, and paper production. The largest amount of capital invested in Wielkopolskie comes from German, British, American, Irish, Swedish, Japanese, Dutch and Swiss firms.

Examples of major investors in the region include Bridgestone, GlaxoSmithKline, MAN, Nestle, Philips, Volkswagen and Wrigley Company.

The A2 motorway, which runs through Poznaƒ, now

Złotów

Piła

Wyrzysk

Ujście

Trzcianka

Szamocin Chodzież

Krzyż Wielkopolski

Czarnków

Wieleń Drawsko

Estimated investment

Budzyń Wągrowiec

Wronki

Rogoźno

Sieraków Investment outlays (in 2011): z∏.20.83 bln Oborniki Kłecko (private sector: z∏.12.42 bln; Szamotuły Międzychód Gniezno public sector: z∏.8.41 bln) Pniewy Poznań Of which: Swarzędz Nowy Września Industry: z∏.7.7 bln Strzałkowo Luboń Tomyśl Kłodawa Golina Słupca Of which: manufacturing: z∏.4.69 bln Konin Koło Zbąszyn Środa Grodzisk Grzegorzew Wielkopolska WIelkopolski Miłosław Construction: z∏.464mln Czempiń Rakoniewice Dąbie Wolsztyn Real estate activities: z∏.2.51 bln Śrem Tuliszków Kościan Obra Turek Cielcza Trade and repair of motor vehicles: z∏.1.64 bln Śmigiel Jarocin Witaszyce Zbiersk Transportation and storage: z∏.4.03 bln Golina Pleszew Kotlin Gostyń Number of new partnerships and companies registered Koźminek Leszno Koźmin Wielkopolski Krobia Kalisz (2012): 4,115, up 14.5% y/y Opatówek Krotoszyn Number of new sole proprietorships registered (2012): 28,273, Ostrów Wielkopolski down 2.7% y/y Sulmierzyce Recent major investors: Bridgestone, Carl Zeiss, Detica BAE Ostrzeszów Systems, EXIDE, GlaxoSmithKline, HolidayCheck, Itella, Rule Financial, Samsung, Savvis, Sii, Unilever, Bralin Kępno Sources of major foreign investment: Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK, US

Wielkopolskie voivodship Wielkopolskie, one of Poland’s largest and most populous voivodships, is situated in west-central Poland. Officials say that the region is characterized by an openness to commerce and entrepreneurship. The Poznaƒ International Fair, which takes place annually in the voivodship’s capital, is one of the largest trade fairs in the CEE region and is evidence of this business-friendly approach.

There are currently over 4,500 companies operating in the voivodship, having invested over $7 billion there. Most

Okonek Jastrowie

connects Poland’s capital Warsaw to the border of Poland’s largest trading partner, namely Germany. Trains also connect Poznaƒ with Berlin in the west and Warsaw in the east.

Meanwhile, Poznaƒ’s ¸awica International Airport connects the voivodship with European cities such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Liverpool, London, Munich, Paris and Rome.

Further proof of Wielkopolskie’s economic dynamism is the fact that in June 2013, the region had the country’s lowest unemployment rate,

which at 9.7 percent was well under the national average of 13.2 percent.

Wielkopolskie also hosts highly innovative industries, with firms there including hybrid bus manufacturer Solaris, the first Microsoft Innovation Center in Poland, the Poznaƒ Supercomputing and Networking Center, and the DNA Research Center, one of the country’s main providers of services in the area of medical genetics for clinics, medical centers, hospitals and operating rooms. ●

Voivodship budget 2012:

2013 (projected):

Revenues: z∏.1.1 bln Expenditures: z∏.1.136 bln Deficit: z∏.36.4 mln

Revenues: z∏.1.121 bln Expenditures: z∏.1.387 bln Deficit: z∏.266 mln

Key contacts Wielkopolskie Investor Assistance Centre investinwielkopolska.pl Al. Niepodleg∏oÊci 16/18, 61-713 Poznaƒ ☎ +48 61 854-1973 +48 61 851-5395 office@sgipw.wlkp.pl ¸ukasz Filipiak, manager, English and German speaker: l.filipiak@sgipw.wlkp.pl Tomasz Telesiƒski, English and German speaker: t.telesinski@sgipw.wlkp.pl Anna ¸ohunko, English and Russian speaker: a.lohunko@sgipw.wlkp.pl

Major city

Poznaƒ Poznaƒ stands out among other Polish cities for its labor market – the unemployment rate in the Wielkopolskie voivodship’s capital and largest city is 4.4 percent (June 2013), one of the lowest in Poland.

Officials say the figures are indicative of the city’s economic potential and dynamism.

Indeed, people from Poznaƒ are well-known in Poland for their high level of entrepreneurship, education and skills.

Roughly 130,000 students study at the 27 tertiary institutions in the city, with around 40,000 of them graduating each year, thus supplying the local labor market with ample wellskilled labor.

In the run-up to the Euro 2012 soccer championships, of

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the city in 2013. which Poznaƒ was one of Investors can count on the the hosts, the city undersupport of local administrawent an extensive moderntion authorities when ization of its infrastrucembarking on a project. All ture. investors receive advice from And so the well-develthe Investor Relations oped infrastructure of the Department and the assiscity, its business-friendly tance of an “investor’s pilot” environment, transport who is responsible for a speaccessibility, particularly cific investment project. regarding international air Investor incentives include connections and the A2 exemption from property tax motorway, which links as well as subsidies aimed at Poland with Western Poznaƒ’s Old Town SHUTTERSTOCK helping to create jobs for the Europe’s network of However, Poznaƒ’s authorities unemployed. Special support promotorways, all help make the city have currently prioritized developing grams are in place for those pursuing attractive for investors.

Poznaƒ’s direct transport links to its prowess in the areas of BPO/SSC, investments in highly specialized Germany, meanwhile, help explain IT, R&D and advanced technology service sectors and innovative investments. The city also has a program why roughly 34 percent of FDI flow- production.

The effects are already visible, as financing the internships of young ing into the city comes from Europe’s recent major investors from these workers working for employers biggest economy.

The city’s main industries are cur- sectors who have located their busi- investing in Poznaƒ.

There are also several major busirently engineering/machine-building, nesses in Poznaƒ include Carl Zeiss, the automotive industry, the chemi- Detica BAE Systems, HolidayCheck ness associations in Poznaƒ such as and Rule Financial, which came to the Polish-German Chamber of cal sector and the food industry.

Commerce, the Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce and the Polish-Indian Chamber of Commerce. ● Mayor: Ryszard Grobelny Area code: 61 Area: 261.91 sq km Population (Dec. 2012): 550,742 Working-age population (Dec. 2011): 359,132 Unemployment rate (June 2013): 4.4% Percentage of city covered by zoning plans: 35% Recent major investors: Bridgestone, Carl Zeiss, Detica BAE Systems, EXIDE, GlaxoSmithKline, HolidayCheck, Rule Financial, Savvis, Sii, Unilever Contacts: City of Poznaƒ Investors Relations Department poznan.pl Pl. Kolegiacki 17, 61-841 Poznaƒ inwestor@um.poznan.pl ☎ +48 61 878-5428 +48 61 878-5500

Find this content and more in Investing in Poland 2014. Information and key data about all of Poland’s voivodships can be found inside. Also, find analyses of major trends moving Poland’s economy. Want more?

Pick up the publication or visit WBJ.pl for more information.

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13

Poland looks to Africa

Remi Adekoya

As Europe gasps for growth and with even the once-reliable BRICS now showing clear signs of an economic slowdown, the Polish government is reaching out in a concerted effort to boost business ties with Africa’s fast-growing economies.

In the first decade of the 21st century (2001-2010), six out of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world were in Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is now the second-fastest growing region in the world behind emerging Asia, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF also forecasts that SubSaharan Africa will grow at a rate of 5.4 percent this year, about 50 percent faster than Latin America, and significantly more than Europe, which is expected to stagnate or even contract.

Moreover, according to data compiled by The Economist and the IMF, seven of the fastest growing economies in the world in the years 20112015 will be located in Africa.

The ranking excluded countries with fewer than 10 million people, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, which are experiencing a significant but unsustainable post-war economic boom.

And it is worth noting that Africa’s growth is no longer from a small base. Today it is a $2 trillion economy, roughly the same size as India’s, which has a bigger population. Africa of course is not a single country and its many individual nations mean the growth, risks and opportunities vary widely.

This is why the Polish government’s “Go-Africa” program, meant to provide information to Polish businesses about investing in the continent and facilitate business ties between Polish entrepreneurs and their African counterparts, has selected five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to focus on. These include Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa.

First stop: Nigeria In April of 2013, Prime Minister Donald Tusk took the first step in realizing the “Go Africa” program by visiting Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its secondlargest economy. Nigeria is expected to grow by 7.2 percent this year and 7 percent in 2014, according to the IMF.

“Nigeria is one of the most important partners of Poland on the African continent and the potential for the development of bilateral economic cooperation is huge,” said Mr Tusk while in the country’s capital, Abuja.

“It is time for a major change that would reflect the potential of our countries and nations. Polish and Nigerian entrepreneurs must face up to the task of creating serious joint ventures and joint investment projects. It is time for the presence of Polish firms in Nigeria,” he added.

There is a lot of work to do when it comes to improving bilateral trade: According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Economy, Polish exports to Nigeria amounted to €74.7 million in 2012, just 0.005 percent of Poland’s total export value. Imports from Nigeria stood at €14.6 million, 0.001 percent of total import value.

Energy, number one Energy was a major topic on the agenda during the meeting

between the Polish prime minister and Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil exporter.

As the Polish government states on its Go Africa website, “in connection with our strategy of diversifying our energy sources, one of the biggest potentials for imports from Africa are energy resources and rare minerals.”

Poland also sees Africa as a potentially lucrative export destination.

“Poland can become an important partner for Africa as a

reached whereby Nigerian investment agencies would help Polish firms access the Nigerian market and establish trade ties. Nigeria, with its population of 170 million people, offers huge opportunities for Polish firms willing to sell their products and services there.

The investment agency will provide information about investment conditions and eventual public aid. The two countries also agreed to hold yearly ministerial consultations on investment issues.

Furthermore, the Polish and Nigerian foreign ministries signed an agreement for strategic partnership.

SHUTTERSTOCK

With EU economies stagnant, the Polish government has decided to embark on an ambitious program to increase business ties with booming African nations

Sub-Saharan African countries which are part of the “Go Africa” program

leader in the CEE region and one of the six largest countries in the European Union. The competitive advantage of Polish firms is on the one hand high-quality goods and services and on the other lower prices than in some of our Western European partner countries,” the government website reads.

During Mr Tusk’s visit to Nigeria, an agreement was

The Africa push In other government efforts to boost ties with Africa, Beata Stelmach, an undersecretary of state in Poland’s Foreign Ministry, visited Angola, the continent’s second-largest oil exporter.

Angola’s economy grew by some 8 percent last year.

Ms Stelmach was likewise accompanied by a delegation

of Polish businesspeople.

“There are no accidental firms here. We always want the delegations to be made up of firms which have a concrete idea for entering a market, who have well thoughtout offers, a strategy,” said Ms Stelmach.

Ms Stelmach said she also saw opportunities for Polish luxury goods such as jewelry, cosmetics and leather products on the Angolan market.

She added that Angola is “not a completely new market for Poland,” pointing to Navimor, a maritime firm which has been on the Angolan market for 20 years now.

Indeed, Navimor International is currently carrying out a contract for the Ministry of Fisheries of Angola to coestablish the Namibe Fishery Academy, which will be a public high school educating specialists on four-year courses in fishery, fishing processing and aquatic exploration.

The Gdynia Maritime University is also a partner in the project.

During Ms Stelmach’s visit, agreements were also signed for cooperation between the two countries. The Polish delegation was met by Angolan ministers of mining, agriculture and maritime economy.

Angolans remember t h a t Poland was

one of the first countries which recognized it as an independent nation and Ms Stelmach said she felt the goodwill during her visit there.

“Every step of the way I see how great the potential is for the development of economic relations, and that is why I will strongly encourage Polish entrepreneurs to fully engage in preparing complex offers for our Angolan partners,” Ms Stelmach said in an interview on Angolan radio.

First results Since May of this year, 26 Polish firms have registered their

Find this content and more in Investing in Poland 2014. Information and key data about all of Poland’s voivodships can be found inside. Also, find analyses of major trends moving Poland’s economy. Want more?

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entities in Senegal, where Grupa Azoty recently signed an agreement to acquire a 55 percent stake in Senegalese firm African Investment Group for $28.85 million. As a result of the deal, ZCh Police will acquire rights to the exploration and extraction of phosphorite reserves estimated at 56 million metric tons and ilmenite reserves estimated at 1.5 million tons.

There are reportedly plans to open a special economic zone some 40 km from Dakar, the Senegalese capital, where Polish firms would be present, Artur Zdybicki, head of Fair Minds Consulting Group, which helps companies wishing to expand into West Africa, told Puls Biznesu.

Mr Zdybicki added that “presently one big firm listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange is about to sign a very big distribution contract in Senegal. There is also due dilligence being carried out by a large Polish company interested in the acquisition of 3 Senegalese companies.”

Meanwhile in late August, Nigerian daily This Day reported that Nigeria’s Minister of Power Chinedu Nebo told the Polish ambassador to Nigeria, Przemys∏aw Niesio∏owski, during a meeting that his country would welcome companies from Poland that are interested in participating in Nigeria’s fledging coal to power initiative.

“The Nigerian government is ready to concession large acreages of coal deposits to genuine Polish companies with guaranteed yields for between 25 to 30 years as it would provide coal for the power plant to be built,” said Mr Nebo.

Next stop: South Africa Mr Tusk is now expected to visit South Africa, currently Africa’s biggest and bestdeveloped economy, in autumn of this year, according to the Polish Foreign Ministry. The Polish PM will also be accompanied by a business delegation to the 50-millionstrong nation.

It is now up to Polish and African entrepreneurs to do their part. It will take a few years to see the fruits of the Go Africa program. But Poland has taken the right first steps. ●

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Special economic zones Profiles of all 14 of Poland’s special economic zones. Find additional information in Investing in Poland 2014 EURO-PARK MIELEC Special Economic Zone europark.com.pl Year established: 1995 Total area: 1,299 ha (375 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, aviation, metals, wood processing Total number of investors: 145 (246 permits issued, of which 178 remain valid) Total value of investments: z∏.5.9 bln Top investors in terms of value: Polskie Zak∏ady Lotnicze (US), aviation MTU Aero Engines Polska (Germany), aviation BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions Systems (US), automotive Lear Corporation (US), automotive Kirchhoff Polska (Germany), automotive

Kamienna Góra Special Economic Zone for Medium Business ssemp.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 367.14 ha (131.40 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, metal, paper, printing Total number of investors: 43 (51 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.1.89 bln Top investors in terms of value: BDN Sp. z o.o. Sp. k. (Germany), printing Tbai Poland (Japan), automotive Takata Parts Polska (Japan), automotive Polcolorit (Poland), ceramics Dr Schneider Automotive Polska (Germany), automotive Wepa Professional Piechowice (Germany), paper

Katowice Special Economic Zone ksse.com.pl Year established: 1996 Total area: 2,005 ha (942 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, construction, glass, food processing, steel Total number of investors: 208 (359 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.20 bln Top investors in terms of value: General Motors Manufacturing Poland (US), automotive Fiat GM Powertrain Polska (Italy), automotive NGK Ceramics Polska (Japan), automotive Nexteer Automotive Poland (US), automotive Duda Bis (Poland), food processing Brembo Poland (Italy), automotive Isuzu Motors Polska (Japan), automotive Guardian Cz´stochowa (US), glass

Kostrzyn-S∏ubice Special Economic Zone kssse.com.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 1,563.9 ha (841 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, electronics, paper, metal and wood processing Total number of investors: 110 (226 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.4.83 bln Top investors in terms of value: ICT Poland (Italy), paper Faurecia Gorzów (France), automotive TPV Displays Polska (China), electronics Arctic Paper Kostrzyn (Sweden), paper Barlinek Inwestycje (Poland), wood Volkswagen Poznaƒ (Germany), automotive

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Kraków Technology Park Special Economic Zone

“Starachowice” Special Economic Zone

sse.krakow.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 628 ha Dominant industries: automotive, BPO, IT Total number of investors: 127 Total value of investments: z∏.1.80 bln Top investors in terms of value: Comarch (Poland), IT RR Donnelley Europe (US), printing

sse.com.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 613 ha (208 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, ceramics, chemicals and construction chemicals, construction materials, metal and machinery, printing industry Total number of investors: 59 (68 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.1.6 bln Top investors in terms of value: RR Donnelley Starachowice (US), printing MAN Truck & Bus (Germany), automotive Air Liquide Polska (France), chemicals

Legnica Special Economic Zone lsse.eu Year established: 1997 Total area: 1,071 ha (756 ha available), planned 123 ha Dominant industries: automotive Total number of investors: 43 (109 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.5.6 bln Top investors in terms of value: Volkswagen Motor Polska (Germany), automotive Sitech (Germany), automotive Winkelman (Germany), metal

¸ódê Special Economic Zone sse.lodz.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 1,290 ha (345.7 ha available) Dominant industries: construction materials, packaging, pharmaceuticals, plastics, white goods Total number of investors: 224 (228 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.9.8 bln Top investors in terms of value: Dell Products Poland (US), IT Gillette Poland International (US), consumer goods Procter & Gamble (US), consumer goods Indesit (Italy), white goods

Pomeranian Special Economic Zone strefa.gda.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 1380.6 ha (294.3 ha) Dominant industries: automotive, biopharmaceuticals, construction components, electronics, high-tech electronics assembly, machinery, packaging, paper production Total number of investors: 85 (100 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.7.38 bln Top investors in terms of value: Bridgestone Stargard (Japan), automotive Cargotec Poland (Finland), metals Flextronics International Poland (Singapore), electronics International Paper (US), paper

S∏upsk Special Economic Zone parr.slupsk.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 824 ha (580 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, construction materials, fish and food processing, glass manufacturing, metals, plastic, transport and logistics, warehousing, wood processing Total number of investors: 50 (91 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.1.2 bln Top investors in terms of value: Kronospan Polska (Austria), wood manufacturing Paula-Trans (Poland), logistics, warehousing Nordglass II (Poland), glass Q4Glass, ABJ Investors (Poland), glass manufacturing

Suwa∏ki Special Economic Zone ssse.com.pl Year established: 1996 Total area: 342.8 ha (83 ha available) Dominant industries: construction materials, clothing, electronics, food processing, machinery, metals, plastic, precision mechanics, printing, wood processing Total number of investors: 70 (179 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.1.8 bln Top investors in terms of value: Pfleiderer (Germany), wood and construction materials Rockwool Polska (Denmark), construction materials

Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone “EURO-PARK WIS¸OSAN” tsse.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 1,632.3 ha (596.9 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, aluminum, construction, electronics, metal, paper and timber, printing, chemicals Total number of investors: 236 Total value of investments: z∏.7.3 bln Top investors in terms of value: LG Philips LCD (South Korea), electronics LG Electronics (South Korea), electronics Heesung Electronics Poland (South Korea), electronics

Wa∏brzych Special Economic Zone “INVEST-PARK” invest-park.com.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 2,212.23 ha (870 ha available) Dominant industries: automotive, electronics, engineering, food, white goods Total number of investors: 149 (198 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.15.2 bln Top investors in terms of value: Electrolux Poland (Sweden), white goods Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland (Japan), automotive Mondelez Polska Production (US), food

S∏upsk Special Economic Zone wmsse.com.pl Year established: 1997 Total area: 914.5 ha (287.3 ha available) Dominant industries: construction, furniture, electronics, tire manufacturing, wood processing Total number of investors: 77 (137 permits issued) Total value of investments: z∏.3.2 bln Top investors in terms of value: Michelin (France), tire manufacturing LG Electronics (South Korea), electronics Bauer (Germany), printing

Find this content and more in Investing in Poland 2014. Information and key data about all of Poland’s voivodships can be found inside. Also, find analyses of major trends moving Poland’s economy. Want more?

Pick up the publication or visit WBJ.pl for more information.

The northwestern city of Szczecin is attracting investment due to its labor force and proximity to Germany

Poland’s regional cities will soon see large amounts of office space delivered

17

18

LOKALE IMMOBILIA

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

BREEAM for Factory Annopol Developer Neinver Poland has been granted a BREEAM Final Certificate of energy efficiency for its Factory Outlet Annopol retail center in the northern part of Warsaw. It is the first retail development in Poland to be granted the certification.

New mall in Stalowa Wola Immofinanz Group will build a new retail center in Stalowa Wola, in the Podkarpackie voivodship in southern Poland, entering a catchment area of nearly 400,000 residents. Construction on the scheme is scheduled to be launched in Q1 2014 and completed a year later.

The investment is expected to total €50 million. ●

In this issue Mokotów Nova sale . . . . . . . . .15 Dworzec Gdański revamp . . . .15 Szczecin office investments . .17 Regional office market . . . . . . .18

Mokotów Nova sold for €121 million CCPIII has bought the office scheme in the capital’s Mokotów district from Ghelamco Investment fund Curzon Capital Partners III has acquired the Mokotów Nova office scheme from developer Ghelamco. The complex is located on ul. Wo∏oska in S∏u˝ewiec Przemys∏owy, a part of the Mokotów business district.

The transaction’s value is €121 million, which makes it one of the biggest office deals this year.

CCPIII is managed by Tristan Capital Partners, an investment management company specializing in the public and private real estate market in the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Ghelamco’s advisors on the deal were Hogan Lovells and Jones Lang LaSalle.

The U-shaped office scheme comprises two build-

ings divided into four separate sections providing a total of 43,750 sqm of class-A office space. The buildings range from seven to 12 storeys. A three-storey underground garage and a parking lot adjacent to the building offer more than 1,000 parking spaces.

The scheme is 95 percent occupied and its tenants include Oriflame, Hyundai Motor Poland, BMW, Medicover, LG Electronics Polska, Reckitt Benckiser and Lego Poland.

“Mokotów Nova, located at the very heart of Mokotów, Warsaw’s business district, has attracted significant interest of both tenants and investors from the start,” said Jeroen Van der Toolen, Ghelamco’s managing director for Central and Eastern Europe in a statement. “The agreement with CCPIII fund is very satisfying and it confirms the quality of our investment,” Mr Van der Toolen added.

Mokotów Nova comprises two office schemes with a total of 43,750 sqm of class-A office space located outside a city centre,” added Daniel Harris, managing director at Tristan Capital Partners. “This takes the CCPIII fund closer to being fully invested,” Mr Harris added.

“Poland has been a favorite market for the fund and we are delighted to have acquired this asset at an attractive price in one of Europe’s most prestigious and largest business districts

The sale of Mokotów Nova is Ghelamco’s second major sale transaction this year after its sale of the Senator office building in the center of Warsaw in May. Karolina Kowalska

Mixed-use

Six bidders for Dworzec Gdaƒski revamp The railway station is one of Warsaw’s most important Six developers submitted bids in a tender for the redevelopment of Warsaw’s Dworzec Gdaƒski railway station and its surroundings, which are owned by Polish State Railways (PKP). PKP has until the end of the year to negotiate the conditions and price with the bidders and select the winner from among six developers: Ghelamco, HB Reavis, Echo Investment, Penta Investment, Immobel and Marvipol. The list of criteria will also include the financial standing of the developers.

The five-hectare plot PKP

wants to redevelop is situated between ul. S∏omiƒskiego, the overpass over ul. Andersa and some railway tracks. Located in the northern part of Warsaw’s downtown, Dworzec Gdaƒski is one of the most important railway stations in the capital. It is located near an eponymous subway station, bus and tram lines as well as the Arkadia shopping mall.

One of the bidders, WSElisted Marvipol, has disclosed the design it submitted as part of its bid. It was prepared by the JSK architectural studio. The studio’s portfolio includes two stadiums in Warsaw, including the National Stadium, and several railway stations in Berlin.

The design comprises a

modern triangular station building with a wing-shaped roof, two 24-storey 85-meter office buildings and two 16storey 55-meter apartment schemes.

Altogether the buildings designed by JSK architects for Marvipol comprise a total of 55,000 sqm of office space and 700 residential units. The new station building will be situated closer to ul.

S∏omiƒskiego than the current one and will open to a new city square. The design was developed in cooperation with Tomasz Smola, a young architect who wrote his master’s thesis on the redevelopment of another of Warsaw’s railway stations.

Karolina Kowalska

COURTESY OF MARVIPOL

Austrian developer Immofinanz Group has completed the sale of the Silesia City Center shopping center in Katowice to a consortium of investors headed by German financial services group Allianz for €412 million.

The Silesia City Center is the biggest shopping mall in Poland’s southern Silesia voivodship, comprising some 90,000 sqm of retail space and housing 340 stores.

Office

COURTESY OF GHELAMCO

Silesia City Center sale closed

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013, LI 18/36

Marvipol’s design includes a modern station, two office projects with a total of 55,000 sqm and two residential schemes with 700 apartments

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

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

City investment

COURTESY OF CBRE

Szczecin capitalizes on location and labor force

Total modern office stock in Szczecin is estimated at 145,000 sqm

Commercial real estate is seeing increased demand in the northwestern city, due to well-qualified labor and proximity to Germany Location and labor are powering investment in the BPO sector in Poland’s northwestern border city of Szczecin, according to a new report by CBRE. This in turn is fueling growing demand for modern office space.

“A substantial and wellqualified labor force, coupled with a convenient location in close vicinity of the German border are the city’s key assets,” underlined Joanna Mroczek, head of consultancy and research at CBRE in Poland. “We expect that the BPO and R&D sectors in particular will generate employment growth in the city,” Ms Mroczek added.

There are over a dozen companies from the BPO sector in Szczecin, including Bertelsmann, Genpact and Metro Services, and demand for modern office space is generated mainly by foreign investors. The most active tenants come from the IT and banking sectors as well as the SSC/BPO market. The largest lease contracts in Szczecin were signed by UniCredit, BLStream and Genpact.

Total modern office stock is estimated at 145,000 sqm, with class-A buildings accounting for an increasingly large share.

Currently, there are five office projects under construction with a total area of over 60,000 sqm to be delivered in 20132015, and there are plans to construct a further 200,000 sqm. Prime rental rates are around €14/sqm/month. The vacancy rate has risen this year to 13.6 percent, due to the fact that almost 18,000 sqm of new office space has been delivered to the market.

In 2011 and 2012 the vacancy rate was around 8 percent.

Retail driven

by Germans The city is a popular shopping destination among Germans, which increases its attractiveness for retail chains. In terms of density, Szczecin can claim about 600 sqm of modern retail space for every 1,000 residents, while among Poland’s seven largest cities the average density stands at about 730 sqm for every 1,000 residents.

There is high demand for retail space in the city: the vacancy rate has been low over the past few years, at 1-2 percent.

More space is coming online. The 14,000-sqm Marcredo Szczecin retail park is currently under construction in the city and there are plans to extend the Galaxy (17,000 sqm) and Aleja S∏oƒca (35,000 sqm) shopping centers.

Prime retail rates are €4045/sqm/month and rental rates for premises situated along the city’s high street are

more diversified, mostly due to varied fit-out standards and ownership structure, and range between €25 and €40/sqm/month.

Logistics mainly local Among the country’s largest metropolitan areas, Szczecin is one of Poland’s smallest logistics markets, partially because the region is situated a relatively long distance from the A2 highway, which connects Berlin and Warsaw. The warehouses around the city mainly serve the local market.

Nevertheless, the region is exceptionally attractive in terms of logistics, since it is conveniently located close to the German border and Scandinavian countries. Its status as a port city means that seaborne transportation is relatively easy as well. Industrial stock amounts to nearly 50,000 sqm while the vacancy rate is close to zero.

The recently built NorthWest Logistic Park was 100percent leased as soon as it was delivered, part of that even before construction had been completed. Twenty hectares remain to be developed along the S10 express road in the former Port Szczecin. As the effective rents range between €2.502.90/month/sqm and are competitive in relation to other Polish regional markets, they might encourage tenants to locate their resources in schemes situated in the region.

Karolina Kowalska

www.wbj.pl

17

18

LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Office

As regional markets become more popular for office investment, the number of new projects is growing Poland’s regional office markets offer a fairly varied picture, especially when it comes to the amount of office space delivered in Q2, but also regarding vacancy rates, some of which decreased and some of which rose. One theme is common though – there is plenty of space coming online in the near future. Property advisory Knight Frank examined the office market after Q2, and the following are the conclusions it came to in a new report.

Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Tri-City With office stock estimated at 519,400 sqm, Kraków remains the leader among regional office markets in Poland.

Some 58,000 sqm in seven office schemes is currently under construction in the city, with 42 percent of this volume scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2013.

In Q2 29,700 sqm was leased, of which over 25 percent

were pre-let transactions. The vacancy rate now stands at just 2.9 percent, making Kraków the office market in Poland with the lowest vacancy rate.

Wroc∏aw’s office stock reached 438,700 sqm in Q2, with only one new office delivery of 2,800 sqm. By the end of 2013, total modern office stock in the city should exceed 460,000 sqm. In the second quarter of the year, 23,000 sqm of modern office space was leased and some 3,000 sqm was sub-leased – an increase of over 100 percent when compared to Q1. The vacancy level stood at 12.8 percent, up 3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

Total rentable stock in the third-biggest regional market, the northern Tri-City region, reached 318,300 sqm in Q2 2013 after the delivery of approximately 21,000 sqm of office space. There is close to 50,000 sqm currently underway in several office schemes and by the end of the year there total stock will reach 339,000 sqm. In Q2, only 6,600 sqm of space was leased, making for a drop of nearly 100 percent compared to the previous quarter. Resulting from

SHUTTERSTOCK

Poland’s regional office markets: plenty of space in the pipeline

The vacancy rate for office space in Kraków has shrunk to just 2.9 percent the delivery of new office schemes, availability increased over the quarter, up to 17.5 percent.

¸ódê, Poznaƒ, Katowice In ¸ódê total office stock amounted to 277,200 sqm, as Q2 2013 saw completion of four new office schemes totaling 18,100 sqm, which was the

third-largest amount of new supply observed in major Polish markets, after Warsaw and TriCity. There are no new office schemes in the pipeline that are expected to be completed by the end of the year. ¸ódê has emerged as the most oversupplied office market in Poland.

In June 2013 some 70,400 sqm was available for lease (a

Going to work

Space for lease

Selected regional office-market transactions, H1 2013

Vacancy rate after Q2, 2013 in Poland’s regional office markets

City

property

tenant

space (sqm) type of deal

Kraków

Enterprise Park C

Cisco

7,000

pre-let

Wroc∏aw

West Forum 1B

Netia

3,500

pre-let

Poznaƒ

Malta House

Franklin Templeton

3,200

pre-let

IBM

3,200

new

Accenture

1,400

new

30% 25% 20%

Katowice Centrum Biurowe Francuska

15 10 5 0

¸ódê

University Business Park

Kraków

Katowice

Wroc∏aw

Poznań

Source: Knight Frank

Tri-City

Łódź

Source: Knight Frank

vacancy level of 25 percent). In Q2 2013 approximately 9,100 sqm was leased, a 20 percent increase compared to Q1.

With no new developments completed in Q2 2013, the existing supply in Poznaƒ, the fifth-largest regional market in Poland, stood at some 251,100 sqm at the end of June. Three office projects totaling 61,100 sqm were identified at the construction stage, of which some 30 percent is expected to be delivered by the end of 2013.

Take-up volume reached a level of 9,100 sqm in Q2, 34 percent up on the previous quarter. Partly resulting from the lack of new buildings introduced to the market, the vacancy level dropped to 16.9 percent in Q2, from 17.8 percent in Q1.

With modern office stock estimated at 205,500 sqm, Katowice remains the smallest

of the major regional office markets in Poland. In Q2 2013 only one office scheme was introduced to the local market, increasing the existing stock by approximately 600 sqm.

In June 2013 four new office schemes were identified in the development pipeline offering some 28,200 sqm of prospective space, of which only 3,600 sqm is scheduled for delivery in 2013.

Between April and the end of June approximately 8,200 sqm of office space was leased in Katowice, over 55 percent down on the previous three months. A negligible amount of new supply introduced to the market this year has led to the gradual absorption of existing vacancies, which was reflected in a drop in vacancy from 10 percent in Q1 2013 to some 7.8 percent KEK in Q2 2013.

Expert view

Kraków, Warsaw and Wroc∏aw are the top three outsourcing cities in Poland Over the past seven years Poland has become one of the most attractive locations for business services in the CEE region. The strong economic and market foundations for the existing office stock in Poland were confirmed during the credit crunch years. A large stream of new office supply each year continues to be absorbed by the market with no permanent negative effects on vacancy rates. Due to a favorable investment climate and an abundance of highly qualified workers, Poland has also attracted over 400 business services

centers with foreign capital employing over 110,000 people.

Kraków, Warsaw and Wroc∏aw have eagerly taken advantage of their potential and are still strengthening their position in Europe. With employment figures in the BPO sector ranging between 18,400 (Wroc∏aw) and 25,400 (Kraków) these cities have become employment leaders in business services.

Investment inflow has stimulated the rapid development of their office stock, which almost doubled over the last seven years. A significant increase in supply has been well-balanced with robust office demand. At present, Warsaw, Kraków and Wroc∏aw are the most developed office hubs in Poland, offering some 3.29 million

sqm, 519,000 sqm and 439,000 sqm of leasable office space respectively.

It seems that some Polish cities, including Tri-City and Poznaƒ, are still waiting for a major development boost from the BPO sector. With employment in business services at 10,000 and 6,200 respectively, the size and growth pace of their BPO sector seem inadequate to the economic status and potential of the cities. This also applies to these cities’ local office markets.

The increased volume of office area under construction corresponds to higher demand from investors looking to acquire assets in Poland. In the first half of 2013 office investment volume in Poland reached more than €600 million, which is a substantial increase compared to the same

COURTESY OF KNIGHT FRANK

BPO sector feeds office demand Ma∏gorzata Liszewska, Senior Research Consultant at Knight Frank

Micha∏ Grabara, Manager Capital Markets at Knight Frank

period of 2012 and represents 64 percent of the office investment volume for all of 2012. Taking into account the strong pipeline and pending transactions, the total volume in 2013 is likely to be much higher than in 2012. ●

20

MARKETS

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Stocks report

world stock indices DJIA

NASDAQ

15,300.64 (Sep 12 close)

S&P500

3,715.97 (Sep 12 close)

2.43% (for the week)

FTSE100

1,683.42 (Sep 12 close)

1.56% (for the week)

DAX

6,583.80 (Sep 13 close)

1.71% (for the week)

0.56% (for the week)

Return to form

NIKKEI 8,509.42 (Sep 13 close)

14,404.67 (Sep 13 close)

2.82% (for the week)

3.92% (for the week)

CHANGE: 14.08% (year to Sep 12)

CHANGE: 19.40% (year to Sep 12)

CHANGE: 15.11% (year to Sep 12)

CHANGE: 9.23% (year to Sep 13)

CHANGE: 9.39% (year to Sep 13)

CHANGE: 34.77% (year to Sep 13)

52-week high: 15,658.43

52-week high: 3,731.84

52-week high: 1,709.67

52-week high: 6,875.60

52-week high: 8,553.74

52-week high: 15,942.60

52-week low: 12,471.49

52-week low: 2,810.80

52-week low: 1,343.35

52-week low: 5,605.60

52-week low: 6,950.53

52-week low: 8,488.14

Omar Arnaout Noble Securities SA Last week on the Warsaw Stock Exchange showed how strongly emotions can influence financial markets.

Traders quickly forgot about the government’s proposed changes to open pension funds (OFEs), and started buying shares again, which resulted in the strong rebound of indices. The WIG20 Futures rocketed from the level of 2,226 points to as high as 2,380. Markets tend to return to their initial trends after emotions fade and this was exactly the case on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

This movement was surely aided by the fact that US intervention in Syria seems to have been avoided after the regime of Bashar al-Assad agreed to hand over all of its chemical weapons. The rises in Warsaw followed those on US stock exchanges as well.

Major indices WIG

49,348.61 (September 13 close)

WIG20

2,375.44 (September 13 close)

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

02.09

30.08

29.08

28.08

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

2,100

02.09

45,000

30.08

2,180 29.08

46,000

28.08

2,260

27.08

47,000

26.08

2,340

23.08

48,000

22.08

2,420

21.08

49,000

20.08

2,500

19.08

50,000

27.08

52-week low: 2,177.02

26.08

Change year to September 13: -9.55%

23.08

52-week low: 42,982.12

22.08

52-week high: 2,628.36

Change year to September 13: 2.58%

21.08

Change for the week: 6.09%

20.08

52-week high: 50,223.95

19.08

Change for the week: 5.63%

Top 5 FOTA POLIMEXMS EKOEXPORT IDEON KBDOM

Closing 1.21 0.16 46.27 0.05 0.05

% change (week) 52-week high 57.14 6.20 45.45 0.90 28.31 46.89 25.00 0.20 25.00 0.19

52-week low 0.30 0.09 11.31 0.03 0.02

Top 5 SYNTHOS JSW EUROCASH KERNEL TAURONPE

Closing 5.22 76.85 50.95 52.40 4.66

% change (week) 18.64 16.09 12.00 11.02 10.43

52-week high 6.00 97.13 66.56 72.35 4.87

52-week low 4.12 57.70 36.48 45.10 3.67

Bottom 5 CALATRAVA BBIZEN NOKAUT DREWEX EUIMPLANT

Closing 0.02 0.06 2.42 0.26 0.08

% change (week) -33.33 -25.00 -17.12 -16.13 -11.11

52-week low 0.02 0.05 2.42 0.10 0.07

Bottom 5 BOGDANKA LOTOS BRE KGHM PEKAO

Closing 110.20 36.50 431.40 124.00 171.00

% change (week) 1.38 1.39 3.29 3.33 4.59

52-week high 136.74 45.45 475.00 179.15 181.20

52-week low 92.95 28.80 282.79 106.90 139.00

52-week high 0.53 0.30 8.15 0.62 0.14

Currency report

Strong week for the z∏oty

Other indices sWIG80

12,998.59 (September 13 close)

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

52-week low: 9,404.86

29.08

28.08

27.08

52-week high: 13,056.86

26.08

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

12,100

02.09

2,900

30.08

12,300 29.08

2,980 28.08

12,500

27.08

3,060

26.08

12,700

23.08

3,140

22.08

12,900

21.08

3,220

20.08

13,100

19.08

3,300

23.08

Change year to September 13: 23.43%

22.08

52-week low: 2,274.23

21.08

Change year to September 13: 23.95%

20.08

Change for the week: 4.35%

19.08

52-week high: 3,253.52

02.09

3,183.67 (September 13 close)

30.08

mWIG40 Change for the week: 4.61%

13 100

317.40 (September 13 close)

WIG-Banki

7,396.99 (September 13 close)

52-week high: 353.60

Change for the week: 5.90%

52-week high: 7,754.29

Change year to September 13: -4.46%

52-week low: 296.29

Change year to September 13: 10.02%

52-week low: 6,108.94

318

7,700

316

7,520

314

7,340

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

02.09

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

26.08

23.08

22.08

21.08

13.09

12.09

11.09

10.09

09.09

06.09

05.09

04.09

03.09

02.09

30.08

29.08

28.08

27.08

26.08

23.08

22.08

6,800 21.08

308

20.08

6,980

19.08

310

20.08

7,160

Ne

19.08

312

SOURCE: WSE

NewConnect Change for the week: 1.75%

Still, it has to be emphasized that neither the S&P 500 nor the WIG20 Futures have broken the last significant tops that were created before the decrease movement started. On the WIG20 Futures this level is 2,432, and only breaking this threshold would indicate that the market is returning to the increase trend, at least in the medium term.

From the technical point of view, the market has currently stopped within a strong level of resistance and a corrective movement could be expected. Investors eyes will however be set on next week’s meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee, where investors will find out whether the quantitative easing program will be cut or not. The former is more likely. ●

Last week lacked in significant macroeconomic data from the most important economies, but that does not mean it was boring. The fallout from the changes to private pension funds (OFEs) cooled down and the situation in Syria is back in the spotlight. It seems diplomacy is taking over and a strike by Western countries is on hold.

All of this caused major turnarounds in the currency market.

The EUR/USD shot up to reach levels just above $1.33, a two-week high. It was also a tremendous week for the z∏oty, which reacted to global factors. From the local economy, we learned that CPI inflation remained at 1.1 percent, in line with forecasts. Such news had little effect on the market, which reacted strongly to a possible peaceful solu-

tion to the chemical weapons crisis in Syria. The EUR/PLN tumbled from almost z∏.4.30 (a strong resistance level) all the way to z∏.4.21 while the USD/PLN declined from z∏.3.28 to z∏.3.16.

This week can completely change the view on currencies for the upcoming months. On September 18 the FOMC will decide on how much it will reduce its asset repurchase program. I expect a $10 billion cut, and any other number will be a surprise. If it is higher, the z∏oty, as well as the euro, will tumble quickly.

The EUR/USD could reach levels below $1.30 while the EUR/PLN could test z∏.4.30 again. It is hard to forecast what the Fed will do, but certainly we can expect increased volatility in the currency markets. ●

currency rates 3.1944 12.09

3.1796

3.1864

13.09

SOURCE: NBP

3.2833

11.09

3.2156 10.09

09.09

3.1

06.09

0.0968 13.09

0.0970

3.2

3.2552

100JPY/PLN

3.3

12.09

0.0972

0.0976 11.09

10.09

09.09

0.0979 06.09

3.4128

3.4024 13.09

0.09

0.0970

RUB/PLN

0.10

12.09

3.4211 11.09

3.4465 10.09

09.09

3.4673 06.09

5.0194

5.0104 13.09

3.3

3.4543

CHF/PLN

3.5

12.09

5.0441 11.09

5.0551 10.09

09.09

06.09

5.0970

3.1696 13.09

4.8

5.0710

GBP/PLN

5.2

12.09 3.1782

11.09

3.1955

3.2181 10.09

09.09

3.2732 06.09

4.2238

4.2110 13.09

3.1

3.2357

USD/PLN

3.3

12.09

4.2408 11.09

4.2637 10.09

09.09

4.2975 06.09

4.2

4.2700

EUR/PLN

4.4

THE LIST

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

www.wbj.pl

21

Construction & Real Estate

General Contractors Ranked by revenue from general contracting in 2012

Rank

A guide to Polish business and industry

www.bookoflists.pl

Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

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

Revenue from general contracting (z∏. mln)

Construction speciality Total revenue (z∏. mln)

General / Public / Residential

Industrial / Civil engineering

Services other than general contracting

Major projects under construction

2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

Total number of / Major projects recently completed employees Year founded in Poland

Top local executive / Title

Grupa Budimex SA ul. Stawki 40, 01-040 Warsaw 1 22 623-6000/22 623-6001 info@budimex.pl www.budimex.pl

5,441.0 5,038.0 3,692.0 2,824.0

6,228.0 5,664.0 4,555.0 3,404.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

WND

Access road to Dàbrowica-Lublin ring road junction; design and construction of Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway - 1st phase; Centrum Spotkania Kultur in Lublin; modernization of Music Theatre in Lublin; Municipal Waste Disposal Plant in Bia∏ystok

A1 highway Pyrzowice-Piekary Âlàskie; A2 highway Stryków-Konotopa; 2nd Terminal in Gdaƒsk Lech Wa∏´sa Airport; reconstruction of Wroc∏aw Central Station

5,047 1968

Dariusz Blocher

Strabag Sp. z o.o. ul. Parzniewska 10, 05-800 Pruszków 2 22 714-4800/22 714-4900 pl_office.strabag@strabag.com www.strabag.pl

3,714.0 5,926.0 4,019.0 3,143.0

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Production of bituminous mixtures; subcontracting; equipment rental

S3 express road Gorzów Wielkopolski-Mi´dzyrzecz Pó∏noc junction; S8 express road WalichnowyWroc∏aw junction; brigde over the Vistula River in Toruƒ; Center for Communication and Sales at Katowice Central Station

A2 highway Nowy TomyÊl-Âwiecko; A2 highway Stryków-Konotopa; S8 express road Bia∏ystokJe˝ewo; Poznaƒ ring road

3,253 1985

Alfred Watzl; Wojciech Trojanowski

Mota-Engil Central Europe SA ul. Wadowicka 8W, 30-415 Kraków 3 12 664-8000/12 664-8001 contact@mota-engil-ce.pl www.mota-engil-ce.pl

1,714.6 1,468.1 688.7 624.7

1,737.8 1,484.1 704.9 632.9

✓ ✓ ✓

✓

Production of bituminous S17 express road Kurów-Bogucin; S3 express road S8 express road Wroc∏aw-OleÊnica - 1st phase; mixtures and road aggregates, Mi´dzyrzecz Po∏udnie junction-Sulechów junction; S3 prefabritacetd concrete, Bia∏ystok-Je˝ewo; PrzemyÊl ring express road Gorzów Wielkopolski-Mi´dzyrzecz Pó∏noc S3 express road reinforced and prestressed road; Dobczyce ring road junction; City Island in Wroc∏aw concrete elements

2,414 1997

Manuel Antonio Mota

Warbud SA Al. Jerozolimskie 162A, 02-342 Warsaw 4 22 567-6000/22 567-6001 warbud@warbud.pl www.warbud.pl

1,100.0 1,136.0 1,315.0 1,525.0

1,345.0 1,412.0 1,330.0 1,538.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Children’s Hospital for Medical University of Warsaw; “Czajka” wastewater treatment plant in Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Warsaw; CH Nova Park in Gorzów Wielkopolski; headquarters in Katowice; Szczecin Philharmonic; Hotel Reduta in Warsaw Nowy Plac Unii in Warsaw

1,038 1992

W∏odzimierz W∏odarczyk

HOCHTIEF Polska SA ul. Elblàska 14, 01-737 Warsaw 5 22 560-0800/22 633-9786 info@hochtief.pl www.hochtief-polska.pl

840.8 874.0 881.4 912.4

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Rebuilding and modernization of T1 passenger terminal Brama Portowa I, II in Szczecin; Wroc∏aw Warsaw Chopin Airport; design and construction of Academy Organization of the investment inFaculty of Fine Arts facilities; new terminal in of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Wroc∏aw Nicolaus process for residential buildings Copernicus Airport; rebuilding Science facilities of the Jagiellonian University; development and modernization of C level in hall No. 15 in Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4 in Warsaw; installation of Poznaƒ International Fair building municipal waste incineration plant in Poznaƒ

776 1996

Henryk Liszka

MIRBUD SA ul. Unii Europejskiej 18, 96-100 Skierniewice 6 46 833-9828/46 833-9732 sekretariat@mirbud.com.pl www.mirbud.com.pl

452.0 409.0 301.0 266.0

452.0 409.0 302.0 272.0

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

WND

290 2002

Jerzy Mirgos

Henpol Sp. z o.o. ul. Gospodarcza 23, 20-211 Lublin 7 81 745-1051/81 749-6107 biuro@henpol.com.pl www.henpol.com.pl

425.5 349.5 190.2 188.9

425.5 349.5 190.2 189.7

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

NA

Praktiker in Lublin; Galeria Venus in Âwidnik; Galeria D´biec in Poznaƒ; warehouse in Leszno; Rezydencja Bia∏a in Osiedle M∏yny Królewskie in Warsaw; Na Fali in Sopot Golden Tulip in Mi´dzyzdroje; Warsaw

537 2004

Henryk Polak

AWBUD SA ul. Reja 4, Fugasówka, 42-440 Ogrodzieniec 8 32 671-5201/32 672-2280 biuro@awbud.pl www.awbud.pl

318.2 315.7 222.0 280.0

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

Asseco Poland office building in Warsaw; Design; project management; Extension of Galeria Mokotów in Warsaw; Diamond production and warehousing facilities for concrete work and installation; Business Park Ursus in Warsaw; Orlen P∏ock Science Konsorcjum Stali in Kraków; conference center production of concrete elements and Industry Park; Trigranit - Poznaƒ City Center in Haston Hotel in Wroc∏aw; Poziom 511 Hotel & SPA in Ogrodzieniec

756 1989

Micha∏ Wuczyƒski

RD bud Sp. z o.o. ul. Ry˝owa 33B, 02-495 Warsaw 9 22 534-9000/22 863-4360 contact@rdbud.com www.rdbud.com

220.5 128.8 103.7 143.4

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ -

NA

Oxygen Park in Warsaw; CH Wzgórze in Gdynia; Hotel Rezydencja Eliza in Warsaw; Castorama in B&B in Wroc∏aw; extension of Woodward in Swarz´dz; Boles∏awiec City Center; extension of Niepo∏omice; extension of Royal Canin in Niepo∏omice Royal Canin in Niepo∏omice

81 1997

Eric Agnello

Przedsi´biorstwo Budowlane Dombud SA ul. Drzyma∏y 15, 40-059 Katowice 10 32 721-9219/32 721-9200 zarzad@dombud.pl www.dombud.pl

183.0 175.0 170.0 150.0

183.0 175.0 170.0 150.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓

Developer; TBS; installation

Residential and retail building on ul. Jana Paw∏a Redevelopment of a sports hall into a cultural and Gliwice; modernization of in-patient wards in educational center in Czerwionka-Leszczyny; primary II in Voivodship Specialist Hospital in Sosnowiec; school gym in Kopienica; cultural and sports center in the customer service facilities for SUW Zasole in Gliwice; modernization of Pa∏ac M∏odzie˝y in Katowice OÊwi´cim

752 1945

Lubomir Rosiek

Prochem SA ul. Powàzkowska 44C, 01-797 Warsaw 11 22 326-0100/22 326-0101 prochem@prochem.com.pl www.prochem.com.pl

95.6 99.2 58.3 80.4

140.0 186.0 119.0 183.0

✓ ✓ -

✓ ✓

Design; substitution investing; investment supervision; delivery completion

for the production of aircraft components Technological infrastructure for production wells in IKS Plant for Goodrich Aerospace Poland in Taj´cina; Solino in Inowroclaw; Wydawnictwo Bauer printing epichlorohydrin production plant for ZACHEM in house in Ciechanów; parafine wax, grease and oil Bydgoszcz; fragrance production plant for production facilities for Mineral Wax Plant in Svislach Pollena-Aroma in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki; BDN (Belarus) printing house extension in Wykroty

217 1947

Jaros∏aw St´pniewski

MCKB Sp. z o.o. ul. Rogowska 3, 91-519 ¸ódê 12 42 658-8444/42 658-2202 mckb@mckb.pl www.mckb.pl

95.1 40.0 54.4 105.0

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ -

✓ -

Design

Extension of industrial and warehouse facility in Extension of industrial and warehouse facility in ¸ódê; Aleksandrów ¸ódzki for ABB; construction of extension of 3M production plant in Wroc∏aw; production and warehouse hall for Losette extension and rebuilding of factory buildings for the Investments in ¸ódê; redevelopment of ¸ódê Special Economic Zone; office building for Takeda production facility and warehouse hall for SWM Pharma in ¸yszkiwice Poland in Stryków; warehouse for Wilo Poland in Lesznowola

WND 1991

Piotr Grabowicz

HARTBEX Przedsi´biorstwo Budowlane Sp. z o.o.

Trzebownisko 22, 36-001 Trzebownisko 13 17 771-3600/17 771-3601 hartbex@hartbex.pl www.hartbex.pl

90.3 110.0 94.4 90.1

107.0 123.0 95.1 96.6

✓ ✓

✓ ✓

WND

Meat processing facility in Ruda Âlàska; technical center, assembly hall and warehouse in Jasionka; fiber optic technology laboratory and manufacturing facility in Taj´cina

Educational facilities for School of Law and Administration in Rzeszów; Garden Palace in Rzeszów; multifamily residential buildings in Kraków - 2nd phase

271 1992

Pawe∏ Bàcal

Mostostal Pu∏awy SA ul. Budowlanych 5, 24-110 Pu∏awy-Azoty 14 81 473-1240/81 473-1244 info@mostostal-pulawy.com.pl www.mostostal-pulawy.com.pl

21.4 35.4 20.1 36.6

241.6 208.6 195.7 246.7

-

✓ ✓

Steel structures; assembly of technology installations, machinery in industrial plants; pipeline construction and assembly; design of steel construction and technological installations

Installation of heat recovery steam generator in Frantschach (Austria); assembly and insulation of flue gas cleaning installation in Vasteras (Sweden); extension of the flue gas desulphurization system in ZCh Police; construction of waste management plant in Pu∏awy

Construction of plant for ferrous sulfate monohydrate neutralization in ZCh Police; construction of shafts in a flue gas desulphurization system in ZA Pu∏awy; storage tanks B1A and B1B for urea ammonium nitrate solution at ZA Pu∏awy

690 1963

Tadeusz Rybak

Ghelamco Poland Sp. z o.o. ul. Wo∏oska 22, 22-675 Warsaw NR 22 455-1600/22 455-1610 ghelamco@ghelamco.com www.ghelamco.com

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓

-

Build-to-suit; real estate agent

WND

WND

157 1991

Jeroen van der Toolen

NDI SA ul. Powstaƒców Warszawy 19, 81-718 Sopot NR 58 771-7700/58 771-7701 ndi@ndi.com.pl www.ndi.com.pl

WND WND 486.0 298.0

WND WND 544.0 363.0

✓ ✓ ✓

✓

Developer; co-investing; investment consulting; investment supervision

95 1991

Jerzy Gajewski

Neo-Âwiat Rajmund W´grzynek Pawe∏ Brodzik Sp.j. ul. Pu∏awska 597, 02-885 Warsaw NR 22 844-9697/22 848-6682 sekretariat@neo-swiat.com.pl www.neo-swiat.com.pl

WND WND WND WND

WND WND WND WND

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓

WND

WND WND

Rajmund W´grzynek; Pawe∏ Brodzik

Notes: NA = Not Applicable, NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in April 2013. Number of employees is as of April 2013. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.

WND

Hilton conference center and hotel in Warsaw; Sukcesja; Podium sports and entertainment hall in Gliwice

Center for Biological and Chemical Studies for University of Warsaw; E∏k ring road; Arena Ostróda

Improving the technical condition of the Inowroc∏awJab∏onowo Pomorskie railway line (excluding the Toruƒ G∏ówny-Toruƒ Wschodni section) rebuilding of Modernization of T∏uszcz-Ostro∏´ka railway line Katowice inner city area - 2nd phase; Gdaƒsk Shakespeare Theatre; sports and recreation infrastructure at Krzywe lake in Olsztyn

WND

WND

General Director

Board Memebers

CEO

President

President

President

President

President

General Director

President

President

President

President

President

Managing Director CEE

President

Owners

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

22

SPORTS

www.wbj.pl

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

Soccer

International competition

Is it over?

Polish teams slump in European championships

After drawing 1-1 with Montenegro, it is only mathematically possible for the Polish national team to advance to the 2014 World Cup

Robert Lewandowski responsibility for the loss falls squarely on the Polish players.

Besides a few moments in which they dominated the opposition, the Polish side looked listless, unable to score the winning goal.

In their second September qualifying game, Poland easily beat San Marino 5-1. Goals were scored by Piort Zieliƒski (twice), Jakub B∏aszczykowski, Waldemar Sobota and Adrian Mierzejewski. Still, Polish fans had reason to be angry: San Marino was allowed to score its

first competitive goal in over four years. Alessandro Della Valle was the lucky goal-scorer.

Currently, after eight rounds of games played, Poland sits in fourth place in its group, with 13 points. England is in the lead with 16 points, and is trailed by Ukraine and Montenegro with 15 points each. Poland needs to win its last two group games – away at England and Ukraine – and hope for some very surprising results in other games if they are to advance further.

Jacek Ciesnowski

September hasn’t been a good month for Poland’s national men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams, both of which competed in recent European championship tournaments.

Poland’s men’s basketball team won only its last group game, against the host country, Slovenia, 71-61. The team lost games against Georgia, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Spain.

The last defeat was particularly

painful – Spain crushed Poland by 36 points, 53-89.

Given the high hopes of both fans and pundits before the tournament, two questions remain: What went wrong, and should German coach Dirk Bauermann keep his job? The players support the coach, with the best Polish player of the tournament, Micha∏ Ignerski, stating that if Mr Bauermann stays, he will continue playing for the national team. Previously, Mr Ignerski had announced that this year’s Eurobasket tournament would be his last.

While the Polish women’s volleyball team also only won one game, they at least man-

SHUTTERSTOCK/WOJTEK JARCO

SHUTTERSTOCK

Fans of Poland’s national soccer team are used to must-win games. Unfortunately, this year such matches are coming far earlier in the World Cup qualifying stage than they should. In early September, with four matches still left for the Polish team in their qualifying campaign, Poland needed to beat Montenegro to keep alive any realistic hope of advancing to next year’s tournament.

Things looked bad early on, when in the 11th minute Dejan Damjanovic scored for Montenegro. Poland replied five minutes later with Robert Lewandowski equalizing, but those two goals were the only ones scored during the game.

While Poland managed to put the ball in the net in the last minute, the referee disallowed the goal, since one of the Polish players was offside.

Though the game did see a few controversial calls, mostly against the Polish side, the

Poland’s national teams in men’s basketball and women’s volleyball won just one game each in recent tournaments

Poland’s national women’s volleyball team didn’t have their best year in 2013

aged to qualify for the next stage of competition. This year’s tournament format was more complicated than usual.

The teams were divided into four groups, with the top team advancing to the quarterfinal and the next two teams playing in a playoff round for the four remaining quarterfinal spots. Poland beat Bulgaria 3-1, but lost to the Czech Republic 2-3 and Serbia 1-3. That meant Poland finished third in its group and had to play Italy in the playoff round. Poland lost in three straight sets.

The women’s volleyball team recently brought on an influx of young, inexperienced players to replace a group of older stars, many of whom had competed on teams that won European championship tournaments in 2003 and 2005.

The new players are still too green to follow into their older colleagues’ footsteps.

They will have the chance to redeem themselves in next year’s World Championships, to be held in Italy, provided they qualify there.

Jacek Ciesnowski

LIFESTYLE

SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2013

www.wbj.pl

23

Exhibition

Concert

Art from Europe’s edges

The best worst band in the world?

Nickelback November 2 Torwar, ¸azienkowska 6 Warsaw

British British Polish Polish September 7 – November 15 Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle Warsaw

will also be on display.

Notable names include Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Pawe∏ Althamer and Katarzyna Kozyra.

“The presence of this new generation of artists in the exhibition prompts a set of questions: Do today’s emergent artists relate to, or react against, or simply ignore the

legacy left by their predecessors? Is this an artistic legacy, or is it something broader: a context in which the public might experience, and consume, the work of art? Are we still in the ‘long 1990s’, or do we live in new, and uncharted, times?” the exhibition organizers ask in a press release.

Jacek Ciesnowski

SHUTTERSTOCK

COURTESY OF THE BRITISH COUNCIL

The exhibition “British British Polish Polish” brings together Polish and British contemporary artists from the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. This was an important period for modern art in these countries with the Young British Artists in the UK and the Polish Critical Art group in Poland being the most prominent artist collectives in their respective countries.

Artwork from both countries will be exhibited together to show the difference in how simple human concerns such as death, love, violence and politics are viewed in two completely different places in Europe. In the late 1980s both countries experienced dynamic changes in their economy and politics.

In the UK it was the “Big Bang” deregulation of financial markets, while in Poland it was the fall of communism.

Some 140 works from the most influential artists from both countries will be exhibited. In addition to pieces from the aforementioned period, works by contemporary artists from after the onset of the recent global economic crisis

For all of its relatively anodyne pop-rock sounds, Canadian band Nickelback is one of the most controversial musical acts in the world. When the band was scheduled to perform during halftime of an NFL game on Thanksgiving in 2011 in Detroit, tens of thousands of fans (who preferred that organizers showcase talent from the city’s deep and varied music history) petitioned to remove them from the show. Despite the controversy, the band got up on stage

Nickelback

at Ford Field and played one track.

Though there are reams of Nickelback jokes to be found out there, the truth is that fans have bought some 50 million copies of their albums worldwide. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning the definition of Nickelbacking (via Urban Dictionary) – “A game in which, upon hearing a Nickelback song on the radio, a person immediately calls a friend, cranks up the volume, and forces them to listen to Nickelback without saying anything else. The answerer of the phone must listen to Nickelback as long as can be tolerat-

ed before hanging up.”

Fortunately, fans in Poland don’t have to rely on their friends “Nickelbacking” them.

Now they will have the chance to see and hear them live.

They will play in Warsaw as part of their aptly titled “The Hits” tour. The band has plenty of those in their back catalog to choose from, with “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph,” arguably the biggest.

It’s the band’s first visit to Poland, so act fast, as their last European tour was sold out and it could take them a while to come back. Tickets start at z∏.161 Jacek Ciesnowski