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Warsaw Business Journal, vol. 18, #43, September 3-9, 2012
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VOLUME 18, NUMBER 35 • SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127
AAddiieeuu,,CCaarrrreeffoouurr??The company’s new CEO says
its presence in Poland “needs
reflection”5
Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English
WW
W.W
BJ.P
L
Finding the funding
WBJ presents a specialsection on investmentfinancing, including:
• EU funds• Private equity• EBRD-funded projects
10-13
FFooooll’’ss ggoollddOpposition parties have turned
the Amber Gold saga into
a political issue3, 8
SH
UT
TE
RS
TO
CK
6
Is Mexican tycoon Carlos Slimplanning on entering Poland’stelecoms market?
8
Opinion:Barrosoon Europeanintegration
News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6
Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . .7
Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Investment Financing . . . . . . .10-13
Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-19
Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21
The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-23
Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
In this issue
• HB Reavis’ new
Warsaw offices
• Developers’ H1 profits
• Real estate financing
15-19
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LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE
Interview:TomaszSiemoniakPoland’s defense
minister talks army
modernization and
Poland’s place in NATO
20-21
Special KrynicaEconomicForum Edition
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
US
Luxem
bourg
German
y
Franc
eUK
Czech R
epub
licPo
land
Hunga
ry
Greece
Latvia
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl
Poles live
longer Poles live on average six
years longer than 20
years ago, according to
data from the Central
Statistical Office. Men
now live up to 72.4 years
and women 80.9. That’s
respectively 6.5 years
and 5.8 years longer than
in 1991. Life expectancy
varies according to
regions, with residents of
the eastern Podkarpackie
voivodship, one of the
poorest in the country,
living longer than their
compatriots.
NFZ budget
approved
Health Minister Bartosz
Ar∏ukowicz has approved
the financial plan of the
National Health Fund
(NFZ) for 2013. The Fund’s
revenues will total z∏.66.7
billion, of which 96% will
come from state-run
social security fund ZUS
and health premiums
from the Agricultural
Social Insurance Fund
(KRUS). The NFZ will
allocate z∏.63 billion for
health services across the
country. In 2013, the
regional branches of the
Fund will have more
money available than last
year.
Textbooks still
paper
Despite numerous
announcements during
the past year regarding
e-books for schools, this
year textbooks will still
be made of traditional
paper. The Ministry of
Education is having a
hard time selecting a
partner to prepare 18 e-
textbooks for which it has
put aside z∏.45 million,
reports Puls Biznesu.
Wave of
Ukrainian
immigration?The Ukrainian
government is concerned
that a new law on
citizenship which took
effect in Poland on
August 15 may result in a
wave of emigration,
reports Rzeczpospolita.
The law allows dual
citizenship and simplifies
the procedure of
acquiring Polish
citizenship by foreigners.
According to
assessments made by
authorities in Kiev, there
are around 30,000
Ukrainians legally
working in Poland who
could apply for Polish
citizenship. ●
Acanthus ....................................12
Agora ..........................................13
AgustaWestland ..........................4
AIB PPM ....................................15
Allied Irish Banks ......................15
Amber Gold ..............................3, 8
America Movil ..............................6
Apple ..........................................27
Asseco ..........................................6
Aston Martin ..............................26
Bank Zachodni WBK..........3, 7, 12
BBI Development NFI................15
Biedecki........................................7
Brand Finance, America..............3
Brand Poland ..............................3
BRE Bank ....................................3
Carrefour......................................5
Carrier ........................................15
CBRE ..........................................15
Citi Handlowy ..........................3, 7
Citibank ........................................7
Cushman & Wakefield ..............16
DGA ............................................13
Dom Development ....................17
Euro Styl ....................................16
Famur ........................................13
Fiat..............................................13
GD&K Group ..............................15
Globe Trade Centre....................16
Hawe ............................................6
HB Reavis ..................................15
HB Reavis Poland ......................15
Hermanowicz
Rewski Architekci ......................15
Hilton ..........................................16
Isuzu ..........................................13
Jones Lang LaSalle ..................16
Keralla Research ........................5
KPMG..........................................10
KPN ..............................................6
Liebrecht & Wood ......................15
Marvipol......................................15
Maserati ....................................26
Mercedes....................................26
Mokate........................................13
Nordea........................................16
OLT Expres ..................................3
Opel ............................................13
OTIS ............................................15
Partners Group ..........................15
Peakside Capital ........................15
Peakside Polonia
Management ..............................15
Pekao..........................................16
Peter Nielsen & Partners ..........6
PKO BP ......................................16
Play ..............................................6
PMR..............................................5
PNO Consultants Poland ..........13
Polimex ........................................3
Polish State Railways ................15
Polonia Property Funds ............15
Robyg..........................................17
Russian ViS Construction Group 3
Samsung ....................................27
Sikorsky Aircrft ............................4
Syntaxis Capital..........................12
TK Telekom ..................................6
Union Investment Real Estate ..19
UTC Group..................................15
Virgin Group ................................6
Virgin Mobile Polska ....................6
X-Trade Brokers DM..................24
Between September 4 and 6,European politicians and busi-ness leaders will gather at the22nd Economic Forum in thespa resort town of KrynicaZdrój, in southern Poland.
Under the title, “NewVisions for Hard Times – Eu-rope and the World Con-fronting the Crisis,” leaderswill discuss current models ofintegration, the economic sys-tem, and the substantialreforms required to tackle theongoing economic crisis.
This year, Polish PresidentBronis∏aw Komorowski is setto open the forum, whilePrime Minister Donald Tuskwill close the event. MikulasDzurinda, the former PrimeMinister of Slovakia, will alsobe in attendance, as will for-
mer President of the Euro-pean Parliament Jerzy Buzek,former President of UkraineViktor Yushchenko, currentLithuanian President DaliaGrybauskaite and the highrepresentative of the Allianceof Civilizations at the UN,Jorge Sampaio.
Launched in 2000 by theFoundation Institute forEastern Studies, the KrynicaForum brings together deci-sion makers to address eco-nomic issues with a focus onCentral and Eastern Europeand its relationship with theEuropean Union. It offers in-depth analysis of regionaltrends made by leading busi-nesspeople, as well as top-tiernetworking opportunities.
The Economic Forum has
so far done a good job of put-ting the spotlight on Poland’sinformal leadership of theCEE region, and providing aforum for discussion of region-al economic issues.
Despite complaints in thepast about the conferencebeing both difficult to accessand it being located too faraway from Warsaw for a two-day conference, organizershave stuck with Krynica as thevenue. The town itself is a pic-turesque resort located in theBeskidy Mountains.
To access detailed informa-tion regarding the times, dates,and places of particular discus-sion panels, forums, and lec-tures, see forum-ekonom-iczne.pl.
IIzzaabbeellaa DDeeppcczzyykk
44thwas Poland’s position in the Global Innovation Index
2012. The country scored 0.3 on a scale of 0 to 1,where 1 is the most innovative.
z∏.60.2 millionwas the net profit earned by the Warsaw Stock
Exchange in the first half of 2012, down 15.7% year-on-year.
6that’s by how many years longer the average Pole
lives than he did 20 years ago, according to CentralStatistical Office data.
z∏.300 millionis the amount by which Poles’ savings fell in the first
quarter of 2012, according to the National Bank ofPoland.
“The atmosphere has changed.”President of the National Bank of Poland Marek Belka, explaining that theinterest-rate setting Monetary Policy Council, which he heads, is now consider-ing cutting rates rather than raising them. The comments followed a raft of woe-ful macroeconomic data. In May the council raised interest rates in response tohigh levels of inflation.
Quote of the Week
Rating PolandIn times of high volatility on global markets, credit rat-ings agencies’ opinions of national economies can makethe difference between prosperity and bankruptcy. Whatkind of impact do credit rating agencies have on the Pol-ish economy? Log on to WBJ.pl to find out.
Numbers in the News
Company index
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22nd Economic Forum in Krynica ZdrójIN THE SPOTLIGHT
Figures in focusPurchasing powersAdjusted net disposable income in purchasing power standard*per capita, selected countries
Correction: The article “Charity volleyball event a fundraising success” published on August 20, 2012, incor-rectly stated that the Friends of Litewska Children’s Hospital Foundation received z∏.4,000 of the money raisedduring the event. The foundation actually received a total of z∏.74,000 (z∏.72,000 of which came directly fromthe event).WBJ regrets the error.
4-6 ECONOMIC FORUM Event: The Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland, is
one of the most important economic confer-ences in Central and Eastern Europe. Eachyear the forum is attended by some 2,500guests – including leaders in the fields ofpolitics, economics and society.
Location: Krynica ZdrójWeb: forum-ekonomiczne.pl
9 DANONE NATIONS CUPEvent: Some of the best young (U-12) soccer play-
ers from 40 countries will play on the pitchof the National Stadium in Warsaw for the13th edition of the World Final of the DanoneNations Cup. The international ambassadorof the event, Zinedine Zidane, will also bepresent. All ticket sales proceeds will go tothe “Share Your Meal” program.
Location: National Stadium, WarsawWeb: danonenationscup.pl
20 POLISH OUTSOURCING FORUMEvent: Organized by Roadshow Poland and Aspire,
the Polish Outsourcing Forum will present thelatest trends in the outsourcing market inPoland and abroad and will feature representa-tives from business, government and media.
Location: Hyatt Hotel, WarsawWeb: roadshowpolska.pl
30 34TH WARSAW MARATHONEvent: The annual Warsaw Marathon will raise
funds for the Bátor Tábor Polska Foundation,an organization that offers therapeutic camp-ing opportunities to children with chronicdiseases in Central and Eastern Europe.Organized by Kompania Wra˝eƒ, themarathon route will travel through Warsaw’skey landmarks, including the Old Town.
Location: WarsawWeb: kompaniawrazen.pl
September
DATELINE
On WBJ.pl
*Note: The purchasing power standard (PPS) is the name given by Eurostat to the artificial currencyunit in which the purchasing power parities and real final expenditures for the EU 25 are expressed– namely, euros based on the EU 25 (Source: OECD).
Source: Eurostat
A series of negativedata, including Q2GDP growth wellbelow expectations,signals bleakprospects for Poland'seconomy
The Polish economy has startedshowing signs of a sharp slow-down, with most economic indi-cators offering plenty of reasonfor worry. Perhaps the mosttroubling sign came with therelease of second-quarter eco-nomic growth figures on August30, which showed Polish grossdomestic product grew at an
annualized rate of only 2.4 per-cent between April and Junethis year.
The number was well belowthe market consensus forecast of2.9 percent, and represented theworst reading since GDP grewby just 1.6 percent back in Q3 of2009. Poland’s economy grew4.3 percent in 2011 before slow-ing to 3.5 percent y/y in Q1 2012.
Domestic demand, fixedinvestments and individual con-sumption, also released onAugust 30, all confirmed a slow-down that looks set to bite hard.
Citi Handlowy chief econo-mist Piotr Kalisz said he expect-ed economic growth of below 2percent in the last quarter of theyear, and saw full-year growthcoming in at 2.6 percent.
Economists at BRE Bankwere more pessimistic, forecast-ing GDP growth below 1.5 per-cent in Q4, and just 2 percentfor the whole year.
The bleak Q2 data con-firmed that surprisingly high fig-ures for retail sales and manu-facturing output in July werenot representative of a trendtoward higher economicgrowth.
“In July the higher numberof working days was important.It was probably the best month
in Q3. August data will confirma slowdown, and September willbe worse,” said Bank ZachodniWBK chief economist MaciejReluga.
Similarly, the positive per-formance of the Warsaw StockExchange since June is notindicative of an upcomingrecovery, analysts said.
“The WSE is not a localstory. The markets haveswitched to what is happening inEurope. It doesn’t reflect thestrength of the Polish econo-my,” said BRE Bank chief econ-omist Ernest Pytlarczyk.
“There are no real growthengines and we will not escape aslowdown,” he added. As wageincreases stay below the rate ofconsumer price inflation, thez∏oty picks up and Germanexports slow down, the enginesthat sustained Polish growth in2010 and 2011 are lacking thistime around. Also, unlike in2009, there is no room for [thegovernment to stimulate themarket], said Mr Pytlarczyk.
Greece leaving the eurozone – a scenario which seemsto grow increasingly likely –would also have a hugely nega-tive effect on the Polish econo-my, economists said.
AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee
The economy
SSlloowwddoowwnn bbeeggiinnss ttoottaakkee hhoolldd
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3
Polish brand
strongAccording to a global
ranking of the top 100
national brands prepared
by consulting firm Brand
Finance, America, China
and Germany are the
countries perceived as
being the best brands
when it comes to finance,
production and tourism.
Poland is gaining
importance and has been
classified in the top 20,
while enjoying eighth
position in Europe.
Poland also recorded the
highest increase in brand
value in the world – by
75%.
Investors
interested in
PolimexA number of entities are
reportedly showing
interest in buying a stake
in troubled Polish
construction company
Polimex. Interested firms
include Russian ViS
Construction Group,
Sopot-based developer
NDI, and, unofficially,
investor Roman Karkosik.
Two other construction
companies – one from
France and the other from
Turkey – are also said to
be considering the deal. ●
2.4%GDP growth
-0.2%Individual consumption
1.9%Fixed investments
Ugly figures Second-quarter indicators(year-on-year growth)
Source: Central Statistical Office
Politics
Amber Gold saga becomes political issue
In an address to Poland’s par-liament last week, Prime Min-ister Donald Tusk criticizedprosecutors who had ignoredwarnings from the PolishFinancial Supervision Author-ity about Amber Gold, a nowinfamous “parabank,” thathad attracted clients withpromises of high returns oninvestments in gold-indexedinstruments.
Amber Gold went bank-rupt in August, and its presi-dent faces seven differentcharges, including fraud.Poland’s financial authorityhad issued warnings as early as2009 on the firm, now thoughtto have been a Ponzi scheme.
“We need to look into allthose [legal] institutions, intoall their commissions, and weneed to take definitive steps toreprimand all those peoplewho failed at carrying out theirjob correctly,” Prime MinisterTusk said.
Mr Tusk added that theProsecutor General’s positionneeds to be strengthened. “Wewill equip the Prosecutor Gen-
eral or another institution,maybe a court, with instru-ments that will be able toeffectively discipline prosecu-tors and force them to behaveproperly.”
His comments came afterProsecutor General AndrzejSeremet criticized prosecutorsin the city of Gdaƒsk, whereAmber Gold was headquar-tered, who failed to reactdespite numerous complaintsabout the company and itsbusiness activities.
The affair also took onadditional political overtoneswhen it emerged that theprime minister’s son, Micha∏Tusk, had held a position atOLT Express, a low-cost air-line that declared itself insol-vent in July and which wasbacked by Amber Gold.
Amber Gold’s owner,Marcin P. (Polish law forbidsthe release of the full names ofthose against whom chargeshave been brought), wasarrested on August 30 and willremain in detention for threemonths. The arrest followed a
request made by the Gdaƒskdistrict prosecutor’s office.Marcin P. was charged withdefrauding nearly 3,000 cus-tomers of at least z∏.180 mil-lion last week, in addition tothe previous list of six chargesof financial wrongdoing(including illegally providingbanking services) broughtagainst him earlier in August.
According to prosecutors,instead of investing customer’ssavings in gold, as AmberGold claimed it was doing, thecompany used funds from newclients to pay off previousclients.
You’re just fudgingJaros∏aw Kaczyƒski, leader ofPoland’s largest oppositionparty Law and Justice, wasn’tsatisfied with Mr Tusk’s takeon the matter. He said theprime minister didn’t answerthe most important questionsregarding Amber Gold andtried to “fudge” the affair,insisting that a special parlia-mentary commission be estab-lished to investigate the mat-ter.
“It is obvious that thereshould be a parliamentarycommission and those who areagainst will have simply admit-
ted guilt,” said Mr Kaczyƒski.“Why did the prosecutors, thefinancial institutions, not dotheir jobs? Was it an amazingcoincidence or maybe some-thing else is behind it?” saidMr Kaczyƒski.
The ruling coalition, head-ed by Mr Tusk, has alreadyvoted down a proposal for aparliamentary commissioninvestigation.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor
General Seremet has admittedthat the prosecution made mis-takes regarding Amber Gold.
“We are all aware that thisshould have never happened,we all know today that manypeople won’t be able to getback what they put into AmberGold. It is only natural to askwhat state authorities can do toprevent this from happeningagain in the future.”
RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa
The scandal surrounding the “parabank” hasforced the prime minister to addressparliament and given the opposition new toolsto criticize his government
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The opposition has put the heat on Mr Tusk over the
Amber Gold affair
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SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl
PZPN elections
Roman Kosecki enters PZPN election raceThe formerinternational player isaiming to replaceGrzegorz Lato as headof the Polish FootballAssociation
Civic Platform politician and
former Polish national soccerteam striker Roman Koseckihas entered the race to becomethe new president of the PolishFootball Association (PZPN).
“I’m going to claim the seatof the president of the PolishFootball Association,” MrKosecki said at a press confer-
ence last week.The former Legia Warszawa
player scored 16 goals forPoland during a successfulcareer that also saw him playfor Galatasaray, Osasuna,Atletico Madrid and the Chica-go Fire. But commenting on thefootballing ability of the man
currently in charge of PZPN,Grzegorz Lato, Mr Kosecki washappy to concede that the cur-rent PZPN president was by farthe better player.
“He [Mr Lato] was my idolas a player, I always wanted toimitate him. It did not work out,because he was a better soccer
player. But the image of whathe created at the Football Asso-ciation I do not want to [imi-tate], I’ll try to improve on it,”he added.
In order to compete in thepresidential elections which takeplace on October 26, Mr Kosec-ki will need to collect 15 votes
from members of the associa-tion by September 25, when thefinal shortlist will be decided.
“I have had many meetingsand it is unlikely to be a prob-lem. I have a plan that I will pres-ent … if I get the required sup-port,” Mr Kosecki added.
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
The aircraft will be“just enough” to meetthe army’s needs,experts say
The Polish army is planning tostrengthen its aviation capabil-
ities by purchasing 26 helicop-ters for the price of z∏.3 billion.The tender for the new heli-copters will be held thisautumn.
At least three major play-ers intend to bid for the con-
tract: American firm Siko-rsky Aircraft, Italian-BritishAgustaWestland and theFrench-German Eurocopter.The firms control about one-third of the market world-wide.
The army plans to order anadditional 100 helicoptersafter 2018, and experts say thatthe winner of this autumn’stender would be in a strongposition to provide those aswell.
Grzegorz Sobczak, editor-in-chief of Skrzydlata Polska,an aviation magazine, saidthe 26 helicopters will be“just enough to deal with thePolish army’s current needs.”He said the army needs“much more” and hopessome of those needs will be
addressed during the nextround of acquisitions.
As to who will win the con-tract for the 26 helicopters, MrSobczak said it depends on thebinding criteria.
“If the Defense Ministryis bent on the helicoptersbeing produced in Poland,then Sikorsky Aircraft andAgusta-Westland will befavorites, since they havefactories in Poland, whileEurocopter has a minimalpresence in Poland.”
He added that SikorskyAircraft’s Black Hawk helicop-ter was the best known and the“most tested” of the helicop-ters, but that AgustaWest-land’s AW149 boasted a“more modern” construction.
The ministry also
announced early this year thatit intends to spend aroundz∏.1.5 billion on additionalengines and equipment, plusammunition for its F-16s.
The purchase of the newhelicopters is part of the gov-ernment’s plan to modernizethe armed forces. DefenseMinister Tomasz Siemoniak
told WBJ (see interview, pp.20-21), “The Polish ArmedForces are in the process ofcomprehensive transforma-tion and modernization. Ouraim is to make them modernand ready to respond to thechallenges of today andtomorrow.”
RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa
zł.bln
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2012*201120102009
* Planned
Military spendingCapital investment in Poland's defense budget, 2009-2012
Source: Ministry of Defense
Defense spending
Army to spend z∏.3 bln on helicopters
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Sikorsky Aircraft will bid for a contract to provide 26
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SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 5
The majority of SMEsfailed to see thewindfalls that werepredicted before thetournament
The expected financial bene-fits of Euro 2012 did not mate-rialize for many businesses inPoland. In most cases the tour-nament did not have an influ-ence on businesses’ profits,and, when it did, in many casesthis influence was negative,according to a new survey ofbusiness owners by KerallaResearch.
The tournament did nothave an effect on 78 percent ofPolish SMEs, while Euro 2012improved the results of only 10percent, according to the poll.The championship caused 11percent to incur losses, theresearch institute found.
“Before the tournament,entrepreneurs announced thatthey expected a strong finan-cial impetus from the tourna-ment. Unfortunately, it turnsout they were disappointed,”Izabella M∏ynarczyk, develop-ment director at KerallaResearch, told Puls Biznesu.
In addition, 60 percent of
respondents said that they didnot expect the aftereffects ofEuro 2012 to have a benefi-cial impact on their futureexport levels. The same pro-portion also thought the eco-nomic situation in Poland hadworsened in the last threemonths.
Katarzyna Pydych, the gen-eral director at KerallaResearch, said that the disap-pointment is the result of athree-year-long campaign ledby the Polish government,which unduly raised SMEowners’ expectations.
“For the past three years,
small, micro and medium-sized businesses have beenrepeatedly told that the tour-nament would be an amazingopportunity for growth. Inreality many of these enter-prises remained unaffected bythe tournament, and someeven noted losses, due tomany locals leaving theircities and towns for the dura-tion of Euro 2012,” she said.
Some 4.7 percent of sur-veyed business owners saidthat they remained positiveabout the current economicsituation in Poland.
IIzzaabbeellaa DDeeppcczzyykk
Euro 2012
RReeppoorrtt ffiinnddss PPoolliisshh ffiirrmmss ddiiddnnoott bbeenneeffiitt ffrroomm EEuurroo 22001122
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The tournament had no effect on 78 percent of Polish
SMEs
The retailer laterreleased a statementsaying it wouldintensify its presencein Poland
Carrefour CEO Georges Plas-sat said the company will reviewits position in Poland, as itthinks of ways to reduce itscosts and debt.
At a press conference lastThursday during which he pre-sented the firm’s results, MrPlassat said that while Car-refour, the world’s second-largest retailer, must defend itspositions in mature markets, aswell as in China and LatinAmerica, the business inPoland, among others, will“need reflection,” due to thehigh levels of competition thatthe company faces from severalother large retailers. He addedthat in Poland eight retailershad about the same marketshare.
“We’re keeping the maturecountries, we’re going to defendthem, other important coun-tries are Brazil and China,” MrPlassat said. “In certain coun-tries, like Poland, we couldadjust our positions.”
Later that same day howev-er, Mr Plassat issued a state-ment that seemed to run count-er to his previous comments,saying “Poland, where the com-pany has a very strong position,will be one of the countries inwhich [the company] will inten-sify its presence in different for-mats.”
WBJ contacted Carrefour toclarify the company’s positionregarding the future of its Pol-ish operations.
“The latest statement by MrPlassat reflects the company’splans with regards to Poland, soyes, Carrefour will intensify its
presence in Poland,” the com-pany’s spokesperson confirmed.
However, Dominika Kubac-ka, retail analyst at marketresearch firm PMR, said that itis very possible that Carrefourwill leave Poland.
“Carrefour has halted itsdevelopment in Poland recent-ly, the only thing that it hasbeen investing in is CarrefourExpress which is more of a fran-chise network,” she said. “Wehaven’t seen any new super- orhypermarkets, so it wouldn’t besuch a big surprise if they decid-ed to exit Poland,” Ms Kubackasaid. IIzzaabbeellaa DDeeppcczzyykk
Retail market
Carrefour to ‘reflect’ onits future in Poland: CEO
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Carrefour is sending mixed signals regarding its
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SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl
Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik
Legal News
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE
Double taxation betweenPoland and CyprusOn August 17, the Polish president signeda protocol amending the Double TaxationAvoidance Agreement between Poland andCyprus. The protocol is aimed at removingfrom the agreement provisions relating toso-called tax sparing, namely tax incentiveswhich are disadvantageous from the pointof view of Polish national interests. Themechanism of tax sparing is widely used byPolish taxpayers in order to decrease thetax they pay on received dividends.
Moreover, the protocol decreases thelevel of tax charged on interest at sourcefrom 10 percent to 5 percent, introducespro rata deductions on profits earned bybusinesses, and changes the taxationrules applicable to the remuneration ofCypriot companies’ directors who, until
now, have paid taxes in Cyprus only. Afterthe protocol comes into force, thosedirectors who are not residents of Cypruswill be taxed in their country of residence.The changes will become binding fromSeptember 8.
Electronic confirmation ofright to health care benefitsOn August 27, the president signed into lawan amendment to the Act on HealthcareBenefits Financed with Public Funds. Thenew legislation introduces a rule underwhich the basic method of confirming apatient’s right to health care benefits will becarried out electronically, based on thePESEL personal identification number. Thenew rules will release a patient from theobligation of providing a document confirm-ing his/her health insurance. ●
Telecommunications
CCaarrllooss SSlliimm ttoo eenntteerr PPoolliisshhtteelleeccoommss mmaarrkkeett??The Mexicanbillionaire could beabout to join Britishtycoon RichardBranson, whose VirginMobile servicelaunched in Polandthis August
The world’s richest man, Mex-ican businessman Carlos Slim,could be set to enter Poland’stelecommunications marketby investing in Polish telecomsinfrastructure firm Hawe, aswell as mobile company P4.
Mr Slim’s firm, AmericaMovil, is one of four potentialinvestors in Hawe, Puls Biznesureported in August, citingunnamed sources. The otherinvestors are said to be a secondtelecommunications companyand two private equity firms.
Hawe has stated that itplans to issue between 50 to100 million new shares inorder to raise funds to financea takeover of state-owned rivalTK Telekom, which is current-ly being privatized.
America Movil has recentlypurchased stakes in Telekom
Austria and Dutch companyKPN as it looks to increase itsinfluence in European mar-kets. The telecommunicationsfirm is also reported to beinterested in P4, Poland’sfourth-largest mobile network,which operates services underthe Play brand.
If Mr Slim were to make amove into the Polish markethe would be the second high-profile foreign businessman toenter the country’s telecomsmarket this year.
In August, Britain’s RichardBranson, who heads the Virgin
Group, launched his phoneservice Virgin Mobile inPoland. Virgin Mobile Polska iscurrently offering prepaid serv-ices only, but the company hasplans to extend this service inthe future as it looks to gain afoothold in Poland.
Mr Slim has an estimatednet worth of $69 billion, rank-ing him at the top of the 2012Forbes rich list, ahead of BillGates and Warren Buffett.This fortune dwarfs that of MrBranson, estimated at $4.2 bil-lion.
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telecommunications firms Hawe and P4
IT market
Asseco Poland eyesRussia takeover targetThe Polish IT giant issuspending plans tolist in the US in favorof breaking into theRussian market
Polish software maker AssecoPoland said it intends to shelveplans to list on the Nasdaqstock exchange until next year,and has instead set its sights ontaking over an entity in Russia.
The Polish firm will com-plete the acquisition of amajority stake in an unnamedRussian company by October,Asseco’s founder and chiefexecutive, Adam Góral, told apress conference in lateAugust. He did not disclosethe potential value of the deal,but said it should not require
all of the company’s free cashreserves.
Asseco, Europe’s seventh-largest software vendor by 2010sales, had hoped to raisebetween $200 million and $300million from its Nasdaq debut,but financial-market volatilityand the complexities of a for-eign listing have forced it to lookfor other expansion options.
“Works are ongoing, weneed at least a year more. Ithas to be prepared carefully,”Mr Góral said.
Polish firms are almostnon-existent in Russia’s €14.3billion IT market but there issignificant room for expansionthere, since the market has anannual growth rate of roughly18 percent.
“We have signed a letter of
intent [with the Russian firm]after months of negotiations,”Mr Góral said.
“We target a majority stakein one of Russia’s biggest play-ers on the finance and bankingIT market, operating alsoaround the former SovietUnion,” he added.
Also in late August theAsseco Group (of whichAsseco Poland is a part)reported a better-than-expect-ed 11 percent annualizedincrease in second-half netprofit, posting a bottom line ofz∏.204 million. Sales revenuesover the period reached z∏.2.68billion, growing 14 percentyear-on-year thanks to take-overs in Israel and the US, anda weaker z∏oty.
GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS www.wbj.pl 7
Jaros∏aw Szewczyk, Associate
CChhiilllliinngg eeffffeeccttss ooff eennvviirroonnmmeennttaall rreegguullaattiioonn oonn ssmmaallll bbuussiinneesssseess
Legal Forum
Just a quick look at existing envi-ronmental regulations is sufficientto show that current ecologicalrequirements place unreasonableburdens on small businesses. Irre-spective of the size of an enter-prise, whether it is a dentist or alarge steel mill, almost the samerequirements apply to both.
Notwithstanding, only a tinygroup of small-scale entrepre-neurs is aware of their ecologicalduties. If knowledge of these obli-gations was more widespread,the chilling effects on small busi-nesses would certainly be evenmore significant.
Bureaucratic overreach The desire of Polish authorities toprotect the environment has led tothe adoption of solutions whichare neither reasonable nor worththe cost. Some obligations leviedon entrepreneurs seem to be evenmore burdensome than thoseconcerning settlements with thetax office.
Since the rules are often unclearand the drafting of reports requiresthe use of complex formulas, entre-preneurs have huge problems withabiding by the environmental rules.In a great number of cases, entrepre-neurs learn about their duties for thefirst time when fines are imposed on
them. Others deliberately avoidreporting. They just cannot afford towaste their time on calculatingamounts of pollution and fees whichthey could be charged (minusexemptions, in certain cases).
It should be added that theduty of reporting encumbers anentity even if it benefits from anexemption and thus, does nothave to pay any fees. It is one ofthe absurdities of the ecologicalregulatory system that even if acalculated fee is minimal, thepenalty for not reporting it can belarge indeed.
What to report, and who to addressEntrepreneurs must determine ontheir own which out of severalreports they are bound to submitto the relevant authorities. Themost important, and applicable toalmost all entities, are those con-cerning:•waste materials management
(listing of waste products andmeasures undertaken to dispose,recycle or neutralize them), and
• environmental user’s fees(statements on ways in whichan entity utilizes the natural envi-ronment).There are also reports concern-
ing the introduction of packaging
to Poland (products’ fee), state-ments on substances affectingthe ozone layer, and reports on ITequipment purchased abroad.
By and large, the reports aresent to the Voivodship Marshall’sOffice, but sometimes theyshould also be addressed to theEnvironmental Inspectorate, theChief Inspector of Environment orthe Central Statistical Office.
Reports on waste materials managementReporting on waste materialsmanagement does not result inany obligation to pay. Even so, it isimportant to prepare the reportand file it with the relevant Voivod-ship Marshall’s Office. Failure toreport often results in a fine ofz∏.500. Together with the fine, theVoivodship Marshall’s Officeissues a decision in which itdemands submission of thereport. Failure to comply with thedecision results in a fine of up toz∏.2,000. The fine can be adminis-tered several times, although theaggregate amount of all fines can-not exceed z∏.10,000.
The reports must be submittedby all waste holders who areobliged to conduct waste report-ing. This includes nearly all wasteholders. The reporting must be
carried out in line with informationcontained in the waste catalogand the list of hazardous waste.
Excluded from the obligation ofreporting are those who: • produce municipal waste (e.g.
waste products from house-holds);
• remove vehicles from use, butonly if a vehicle is transferred toan entrepreneur who runs a busi-ness for dismantling vehicles;
• are not entrepreneurs and usewaste products for their ownpurposes; and
• benefit from some qualitativeand quantitative exemptionsdetermined by the Minister ofEnvironment in a special regula-tion (some types and amounts ofwaste do not require reporting). Each company is obliged to
account for light bulbs, used tonerfor printers and all sorts of batter-ies. Those items are deemed tobe hazardous to the environmentand therefore no exceptions applyto them. The reports should befiled with the relevant authoritiesby March 15 of each year.
Environmental user’s feesThe report concerning the environ-mental user’s fee should be sub-mitted by the end of January. The
report should include, amongother things, statements on theemission of air pollutants, theamount of water consumed andsewage disposed of. Emissions tothe air include fumes from carsand heating furnaces.
Each user of the natural envi-ronment is obliged to calculate thefee by themselves. The fee shouldbe calculated on the basis of thereport which is submitted to theVoivodship Marshall’s Office. Thefees are payable by all users of theenvironment except for thosewhose fees do not exceed z∏.400(for half a year).
A vexing situation Undoubtedly, environmental regula-tions are imprecise and the level ofknowledge about them is low evenamong officials. Authorities can helponly in the most obvious cases. Inothers, entrepreneurs have tomeander among regulations ontheir own, which is obviously labori-ous and time consuming.
Ecological burdens are espe-cially taxing for small businesses,which do not have adequate toolsor sufficient number of employeesto take care of these duties. Unfor-tunately all they have left rightnow is to wait for changes to bemade to the regulations. ●
Legal Forum is a paid-for module which gives law firms in Poland an opportunity to discuss and inform readers about important developments in the market. The content is created in consultation with Warsaw Business Journal's editorial staff.
Retail sales rise, but slowdown loomsRetail sales in Poland increasedby 6.9 percent year-on-year inJuly. In real terms salesadvanced 3.4 percent y/y versusan increase of 2.6 percent y/y inJune. Analysts expect a slow-down in retail sales and con-sumption in the coming monthsdue to the deterioration inlabor market conditions.
“In July, wage growth fellbelow zero in real terms andemployment has not changed.In addition, both the FinancialSupervision Authority and the
banks have tightened creditrequirements, limiting thepotential positive impact oflending on consumption. Tak-ing into account a negative sav-ings rate of households and thefact that some members of the[rate-setting council] attachmore importance to the savingsrate and macroeconomic stabil-ity than GDP growth, weexpect a further decline in con-sumption in the next quarter,”Citibank analysts wrote in astatement. AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee
Savings shrinkPoles’ savings fell by z∏.300 mil-lion in the first quarter, as theytook money out of the bank touse on everyday spendingneeds. This is the first timePoles have faced such a situa-tion since 2000, according to areport by the National Bank ofPoland.
According to a 2011 study by
pollster TNS OBOP, almosthalf of surveyed Poles do nothave any savings at all.
Poles aren’t able to save forthe simple reason that theyaren’t earning enough, andprices are high. Although wagesare growing, they are not keep-ing up with inflation, which isnow at 4 percent. GGPP
Interest rates
Pressureintensifies for rate cutFollowing a worse-than-expected GDPreading for Q2, all eyesare now on Poland’smonetary policymakers
Following the announcement bythe Central Statistical Officethat the Polish economy grew by2.4 percent year-on-year in thesecond quarter of this year, com-pared to 3.5 percent in the firstquarter, economists have startedsuggesting that an interest-ratecut could be in the cards.
“[The] economic outlook forthe upcoming quarters is deterio-rating, so it seems that the Mone-tary Policy Council should notwait with monetary easing andmay withdraw from May’s con-troversial rate hike as early as in
September,” Bank ZachodniWBK wrote in a statement afterthe GDP announcement.
Citi Handlowy analystsmeanwhile wrote in a reportthat the GDP and other recentnegative data could lead to a“gradual softening of the[Monetary Policy Council’s]tone and it could even possiblyallow the Council to change itsofficial statement by signaling ashift towards neutral (or easing)bias as soon as in September.”
The bank added that thechange in the bias wouldn’t implyimminent rate cuts but wouldmake them “more likely,” addingthat it expected the first cut to bedelivered in January with a risk itcould happen “as soon as inNovember-December.”
It also predicts rates will fallby around 100 basis points over
the next 12 months. Marek Belka, the president
of the National Bank of Poland,said in late August that a reduc-tion in interest rates was morelikely than an intervention inthe currency market, which hasalso been suggested.
“The atmosphere haschanged, as has the attitude ofthe Monetary Policy Council …today we are talking about apossible lowering and not anurgent need to raise interestrates,” said Mr Belka.
On the matter of the z∏oty,
Mr Belka said the Polish cur-rency was “nearing its funda-mentals” and that there wouldbe no intervention on its behalfin the near future. But it isunclear for how long the NBPhead will maintain this stancesince the situation on theground has changed fast, withthe z∏oty depreciating in valuerapidly after the GDP numberswere announced.
On August 31, the Polishcurrency was worth 4.16 againstthe euro at the close of trade.
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SEPTEMBER 3-9, 20128 www.wbj.pl OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS
T he consequences of Europe’sdebt crisis are all too presentthroughout much of the Euro-
pean Union, as distressed economiesattempt to stabilize and grow at thesame time. Notwithstanding theimportant decisions taken over thelast couple of years, the reality is thatwe need to do more to tackle thechallenges facing the euro zone.
Reform and consolidation meas-ures are being implemented acrossthe EU. Joint financial backstopshave been put in place. And theEuropean Central Bank has consis-tently shown that it will stand by theeuro. Yet experts and partners oftenunderestimate our determination.
All of the steps taken so far haveresulted in more European integra-tion, not less. It is true that sometimesdecision-making in our democratic sys-tem takes time. But do not misjudgeus: the negotiations are about the
arrangements, not about the final out-come. There is sufficient political willin the EU to do whatever is necessaryto protect the euro, because the futureof the single currency will determinethat of European integration.
Unfinished businessThe additional measures that Europeneeds must be firmly rooted in a com-mitment to deeper integration. Highlevels of sovereign debt, togetherwith the behavior of parts of thefinancial sector, have amplified thecrisis in the euro zone and raisedimportant issues of confidence thatnow require a systemic answer.
That is why we must complete theunfinished business of economic andmonetary union – and why the Euro-pean Commission has long arguedfor the creation of a banking union asan indispensable step toward thatgoal. The Commission’s upcomingproposals are part of a broader pack-age leading to economic, fiscal, andpolitical union that will redefine theboundaries of European integration.
The crisis has starkly revealed theinsufficiencies of existing bankingsupervision. We must go beyondcooperation and establish an EU-wide supervisory authority, particu-larly in the euro zone. The linkbetween sovereign debt and bankdebt has to be broken once and forall. We must end the vicious circlewhereby the use of taxpayers’ funds –more than €4.5 trillion ($5.7 trillion)
so far – to rescue banks weakens gov-ernments’ budgets, while increasinglyrisk-averse banks stop lending tobusinesses that need funds, under-mining the economy further.
Single rulebookEurope can stop this negative dynam-ic now with bold action. A single rule-book for financial services is beingput in place for the single market.Building on this, a single Europeanbanking-supervision authority wouldopen the way to direct recapitaliza-tion of banks through the EuropeanStability Mechanism, as well as tocommon deposit insurance and a sin-gle resolution framework.
On September 12, the Commis-sion will present its proposals for aSingle Banking Supervisory Mecha-nism based on three key principles:
Single supervision: Within the eurozone, coordination between nationalsupervisory bodies is no longerenough. Risks that emerge in onecountry can affect the entire currencyarea. Common banking supervision isneeded for strengthening confidenceamong countries using commonfinancial backstops.
Credibility: The euro zone’s newbanking-supervision mechanism willhave the ECB at its heart. The choiceof tasks to be entrusted to the ECBwill ensure rigorous, high-quality, andequal prudential supervision of eurozone banks, thereby contributingdecisively to maintaining confidence
between the banks – and thusincreasing financial stability through-out the euro zone. Close cooperationwith national supervisors will be builtinto the framework.
The ECB’s supervisory role willbe fully separated from its mone-tary-policy responsibilities. In paral-lel, the European Banking Authori-ty will continue to perform its exist-ing tasks, namely developing thesingle rulebook for the entire singlemarket and ensuring convergentsupervisory practice throughout theEU.
Broad coverage: All banks in theeuro zone will be covered by the newEuropean supervisory system. Andwe will need to bridge the gapbetween euro zone members and EUmembers that remain outside themonetary union, some of which maywant to participate in the new super-visory mechanisms.
The road that we have decided tofollow will allow for swift action. TheSingle Banking Supervisory Mecha-nism does not require a treaty changeand should be in place by January2013.
Common and more integratedsupervision is the first step towardsa banking union. Next, the Com-mission will build on our currentproposals for deposit-guaranteeschemes and bank resolution mech-anisms to move toward a single res-olution fund and a single resolutionauthority. Once these proposals are
implemented, the banking unionwill be complete.
No magic wandEstablishing a banking union by 2013will not give Europe a magic wandwith which to wave away the econom-ic crisis overnight; but it is a majorand crucial step to restoring the con-fidence of Europe’s citizens, interna-tional partners, and investors. It willensure financial stability, increasetransparency, make the banking sec-tor accountable, and protect taxpay-ers’ money.
Moreover, it is the start of some-thing much bigger. Once again, Iwould like to stress that the eurozone is drawing lessons from the pastand defining a way forward, not back-wards, in terms of integration. That isgood news not only for the euro, butalso for the global economy.
José Manuel Barroso is Presidentof the European Commission.
Copyright: Project Syndicate,2012.
project-syndicate.org
T he scandal surrounding the“parabank” Amber Gold, abusiness which now seems to
have been little more than a Ponzischeme, has once again brought tothe forefront the debate over the roleof government in the lives of ordinaryPoles.
The arguments have been madealong predictable lines. Some say thePolish state failed its citizens by insuf-ficiently warning them about AmberGold and not telling them to keepaway from its promise of unusually
high returns. They say the affair proves that the
Polish state is weak, or worse, simplydoes not care enough about its citi-zens to protect them from financialpredators.
Others say all that is hogwashspouted by lefties yearning for a Pol-ish nanny state. They say that AmberGold’s clients are to blame – theywere either too greedy or too stupidnot to realize that an offer of 14 per-cent interest on savings is, by defini-tion, suspicious.
They believe Amber Gold’sclients, of whom some 7,000 have lostwell over z∏.100 million, should nowface the consequences of their folly.
Risk, reward and failurePeople should have the freedom todo dumb things with their ownmoney, but others shouldn’t have topay for their mistakes. Three key ele-
ments in capitalism are risk, rewardand failure. Unfortunately, these ele-ments have too often been skewedrecently, as governments bail outsbanks that are “too big to fail.”
National Bank of Poland presi-dent Marek Belka made a good pointwhen he said Polish prosecutors “areafraid to act in such cases [as AmberGold] because they are wary of beingaccused of limiting the economicfreedom of entrepreneurs who arethe engine of progress. And they are– but there are also cheats amongthem.”
Unfortunately, all too often, smalland medium-sized businesses areharangued by bureaucrats for thesmallest possible discrepancy in theirdocuments, while those same officialsquiver before big businesses evenwhen they openly break the rules.
That needs to change: the samerules need to be applied to all busi-
nesses, big and small. The prosecutors who were asked
by the Polish Financial SupervisionAuthority to investigate the schemeAmber Gold was running, and didn’tdo so, clearly failed at their jobs.Government officials need to learn,just like ordinary people, that all thatglitters is not gold.
The idea that the governmentcan eradicate all such scams is fanta-sy, but the notion that all people arecapable of making the best choicesfor themselves is fantasy as well.When it comes to financial deci-sions, most people simply don’tunderstand the market to a suffi-cient degree, and can be easily bam-boozled by a smooth-talker in asmart suit.
To those who say the governmentshould never interfere in such mat-ters: Would they maintain that opin-ion if, say, 50 percent of depositors in
traditional banks suddenly withdrewtheir savings and put them in shoddyinstitutions offering sky-high returns,thereby risking a collapse of thewhole financial system?
As a result of the Amber Goldaffair, Poles will surely become moreskeptical of institutions offering highreturns now, at least for a while. Butafter some time, they likely will for-get, and another slick operator willtell them he can make big money forthem in no time.
And the state will have no busi-ness telling Poles whether theyshould or should not take that risk.But it does have a role to play: name-ly, to make sure all businesses play bythe rules. �
Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Busi-ness Journal’s politics editor. Read his
blog, “The business of politics” onWBJ.pl
EEuurrooppee’’ss nneecceessssaarryy uunniioonn
HHaass tthhee PPoolliisshh ssttaattee ffaaiilleedd iittss cciittiizzeennss?? Remi Adekoya
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“All of the steps takenso far have resulted in
more Europeanintegration, not less”
“The same rules needto be applied to allbusinesses, big andsmall”
José Manuel Barroso
Fundraising for theregion has been strongso far this year, andattractiveopportunities for PEdeals continue topresent themselves
Despite clear signs the Polisheconomy is losing steam, evi-dence is building that the CEEprivate equity industry is aboutto swing back into action aftera post-2008 lull.
Recent figures from theEmerging Markets PrivateEquity Association (EMPEA)show strong growth in theamount of private equity cap-ital raised by Emerging Euro-pean funds in the first half ofthis year. Some $2.59 billionwas generated over the peri-od, significantly more thanthe $1.75 billion raised duringthe whole of last year, and themost raised since 2008.
“After about five years,fund managers are back tomarket: 2008 was the tail-endof the last cycle, this is now thestart of a new cycle,” saidJacek Korpala, co-managingpartner at Arx Equity, a mid-market private equity firmfocused on CEE.
“If the fundraising figuresare accurate, it is very positivefor the region,” he added.
Although much of the capi-tal raised is earmarked forTurkey, EMPEA says Polandis a co-leader in the EmergingEurope region. It is also theundoubted leader in CEE,where investment activity isexpected to pick up followingthe latest round of fundraising.
Consultancy KPMG foundin a recent poll that 18 percentof surveyed CEE private equi-ty funds expect “to focus mostof their time on raising newfunds – one of the highest pro-
portions in the history of thesurvey.” This “suggests thatmany professionals are plan-ning to build a war-chest forheightened investment activityin years to come.”
This is especially welcomenews since completed invest-ments were only at $973 mil-
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 e c t i o n o n s o u r c e s o f c a p i t a l a v a i l a b l e t o b u s i n e s s i n P o l a n d SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012
Alice Trudelle: Before the glob-al financial crisis hit in 2008,the EBRD was in the processof decreasing its funding toPoland. With the crisis threat-ening to set back the Polisheconomy’s transition process,in the following years EBRDinvestment in Poland went upsharply, growing to unprece-dented levels of €900 millionin 2011. What is the EBRD’scurrent strategy for Poland?Lucyna Staƒczak: Our widerstrategy across the region is to
shift gradually away from moreadvanced countries, such asPoland, to less advanced ones,such as Ukraine and countriesin Southeastern Europe.
Poland has always beenconsidered a well-developedcountry in our region, but thefinancial crises across theregion changed this picture. Asa result the EBRD has substan-tially increased its business inPoland and for this year we stillplan to invest between €500million and €600 million.
Do you see another wave of theEuropean financial crisis, andtherefore a renewed need forEBRD financing in Poland, asprobable?The influence of the euro zonefinancial crisis continues tohave an impact on our region.In Central Europe it may resultin the further slowdown ofgrowth. This year there will bea visible slowdown, also inPoland, with the EBRD fore-casting GDP growth for 2012 at2.9 percent. This is largelylinked with external factors, asign of the continued recessionin the EU.
This year we have a slow-down in investment and in
internal demand, and onemight say Poland’s tradelinks with the euro zone arenot so strong, but the rela-tionship is there and the Pol-ish economy is not immuneto the ongoing recession. Theeuro zone crisis may also fur-ther impact the Polish bank-ing sector. One of the keyrisks is lower appetite forcredit, in particular credit toindustry, and this has a directimpact on growth.
The EBRD is seeking to helpPoland reduce its dependenceon foreign private financing.What risks does too muchreliance on foreign financing
entail, and what are possiblesolutions?This is a conclusion that datesback to 2010, when the globalcrisis exposed weaknesses inthe economy, such as banksand consumer exposure tomortgages denominated inSwiss francs, uncertaintyregarding the strategies of for-eign banks in Poland andstronger volatility of non-FDI
capital flow in the region.These factors created strongvulnerabilities and risk for bor-rowers, consumers and the realeconomy, and they are stillvalid concerns.
We believe that in countriessuch as Poland, the local cur-rency capital market shouldconstitute a safe alternativewhere you are not so exposed
EU funds: businesses should start preparingright away for the next wave of money comingfrom Brussels
In thissupplementEBRD Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-12
Private Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-12
EU Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Continued on p. 12 ➡
Continued on p. 12 ➡
IINNVVEESSTTMMEENNTT FFIINNAANNCCIINNGG
Private equity
Back in action?
Lucyna Staƒczak, director for Poland at theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD), tells WBJ about herbank’s strategy for the country
$bln
3
6
9
12
15
H1 201220112010200920082007
Slow climbEmerging Europe private equity fundraising totals, 2007-H12012 (billion $)
Source: Emerging Markets Private Equity Association
Cumulative number of projects
299Total project value
€28.7 billionNet cumulative business volume
€5.5 billionPrivate portfolio sector
89%Portfolio
€2.4 billion
The EBRD in PolandEBRD in Poland
Strategicinvestments
13
to external shocks andexchange risk.
In 2012, the EBRD helpedconsolidate the Polish bankingsector when we invested z∏.332million in Bank ZachodniWBK to back its merger withKredyt Bank. However thekey EBRD objective inPoland is to support the devel-opment of the local currencycapital market. The bankwould like to support the Pol-ish banking sector in fundrais-ing on local capital markets,such markets being importantalternatives for addressingbanks’ medium-term liquidityneeds (either in the form ofunsecured bonds, cover bondsor securitization).
Another of the EBRD’sproposed solutions is to engagelocal institutional investorssuch as pension funds, mutualfunds and insurance companiesin the private equity industry.In particular, private equity inour region could act as animportant source of capital forsmall and medium-sized enter-prises (SMEs) and these areSMEs that provide a large con-tribution to the real economy incountries like Poland. Duringthe financial crisis they sawcredit availability slow down,and although we saw some
recovery, funding is not back topre-crisis levels yet.
The EBRD has been active inPoland’s privatization process,notably participating in thelandmark privatization of tele-coms operator Polkomtel.What are the next privatiza-tions and restructuringprocesses in which the bankplans to be involved?Private sector involvementremains the EBRD’s priority,and therefore privatizations con-tinue to be at the top of our agen-da in Poland. Our equity invest-ment of €200 million to facilitatethe privatization of Polkomtel inthe fall of 2011 was the EBRD’slargest equity investment inPoland at the time.
We also invested in the firststage of the privatization ofEnea in 2008, and at the timethe government declared thatthe company would be fully pri-vatized. Of course the marketwill have an impact on the righttime and the strategy for fur-ther privatization, but webelieve this will happen soon.
Any privatization decision,particularly today, is dependenton several factors: the macroenvironment, rights valuation,investors’ appetite and manyothers. They are also notimmune from politics, but we
see a strong commitment fromthe government to continueprivatizing key sectors, such asenergy, chemicals and othersand we are open to provide oursupport for those.
Energy efficiency and renew-ables are another importantsector of EBRD involvement inPoland. How do you view thegovernment’s latest draft billon renewable energy, whichsees significant cuts in fundingfor renewables starting fromnext year?The draft law remains to beanalyzed, but we are happy thelegislation has been definedand investors have new materi-al for revisiting their invest-ment decisions. Over the lastyear we have seen a substantialslowdown, if not a halt, ininvestments in the renewableenergy sector, becauseinvestors were cautious, notknowing the future regulatoryframework. Anything thatleads to stability in this area iswelcome.
It is too early for us to makea judgment, but we expect tohave a stable scheme that willunblock investments, and anapproach that is more econom-ic-oriented to promote a widervariety of renewable energysources. ●
lion in Emerging Europe inH1 this year, compared to$3.48 billion for the whole oflast year, according toEMPEA data.
Buyers’ market?Przemek Szczepaƒski, a part-ner at Syntaxis Capital, aprovider of mezzanine financein CEE, said his company isbecoming increasingly active.“Our second fund is now beingput to work in a much-improved investment environ-ment,” he said. “We haveclosed three deals and thereare more coming.”
With attractive deals hav-ing been hard to come by inthe years following the startof the crisis, market players
say opportunities are beingcreated by entrepreneurswho established businesses15 or 20 years ago and nowwant to cash out of theirinvestments.
“There are now somestrong local leaders,” said MrSzczepaƒski, adding that firmsin the health care, manufactur-ing and business services sec-tors are particularly attractiveat present.
Mr Korpala said that hiscompany is preparing to makeinvestments in the CzechRepublic and Poland. Headded that prices are nowmuch more “realistic” thanthey were just before the crisis.Many other firms are heavilyindebted or operating in slow-ing sectors, also offering
opportunities for good deals. “If you want to purchase
and improve a business thereare a number of interestingopportunities out there,” MrKorpala said.
However, market playersthat spoke to WBJ offeredwords of caution, saying thatconfidence had not returnedto pre-crisis levels.
“It is easier to invest whenthe economy is booming … ina slowing economy one needsto become more careful,” MrKorpala said.
Mr Szczepaƒski said that“although there has been anuptick compared to the lasttwo years, confidence levelsare not as strong as they werein the peak years.”
GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012IINNVVEESSTTMMEENNTT FFIINNAANNCCIINNGG12 www.wbj.pl
➡ Continued from p. 10
CEE part of the ‘basket case’?Many investors now group CEE, and espe-cially Poland, together with Emerged Europe,since the performance of many of its con-stituent economies is strongly linked to thefate of the rest of Europe.
“For US investors, being part of Europe,CEE is also a part of the basket case,” said Prze-mek Szczepaƒski, a partner at Syntaxis Capital.“They are looking elsewhere, in regions wherethere is still strong GDP growth.”
Nevertheless, being put in a basket withWestern European countries is not necessari-
ly bad news for Poland, the CEE’s preemi-nent destination for PE investment.
“Poland being increasingly viewed as partof Western Europe can be seen as a goodthing,” said Kanika Kumar, a principal atAcanthus, an advisory firm focused on privateequity fund placement.
“LPs tend to levy a risk premium onemerging markets, so benchmarking Polandagainst Western European countries is proba-bly fairer in light of the risk/reward potentialthere,” she added. ●
Back in action?Strategic investments➡ Continued from p. 10
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 IINNVVEESSTTMMEENNTT FFIINNAANNCCIINNGG www.wbj.pl 13
SSiilleessiiaa’’ss ggeenneess ffoorr ssuucccceessss
Advertorial Feature
The Silesia Voivodship (Âlàskie)is Poland’s most attractiveinvestment location. The Katow-ice Special Economic Zone, with50,000 jobs and €4.4 billion ininvestments, a working-agepopulation of over 3 million,nearly 200,000 students at 45universities and colleges, excel-lent connections to other partsof Poland and Europe, and astrong work ethic prove that wehave the genes for success.
For the seventh time in a row Silesiahas been ranked as the most attractiveinvestment location in Poland (that'saccording to the report “InvestmentAttractiveness of Polish Provinces andSubregions,” by the Gdaƒsk Institute for
Market Economics, 2011). The KatowiceSpecial Economic Zone has created tensof thousands of new jobs in 35 cities inthe voivodship. Opel, Fiat, Isuzu, Agora,Famur and Mokate, among otherinvestors, have come to value Silesia'shuman resources, attractive labor costs,as well as its best-in-the-country transportconnections and social infrastructure. Theregion, inhabited by 4.6 million people,has the highest population density inPoland and is the most urbanized area inCentral Europe.
A traditional work ethic is the hallmarkof the people who have worked here inindustry for generations. Silesia has aworking-age population of over 3 million.The voivodship's active business net-works and dynamic market are the prod-uct of true teamwork. The 45 universitiesand colleges of Silesia tutor almost200,000 students, with 60 percent of
them studying for degrees in engineeringand economics.
Silesia is one of Poland’s leading cen-ters for R&D. The first artificial heart, aswell as numerous design initiatives arethe showpieces of our creative potential.An innovative approach to business con-tributes to the success of the firms thatoperate in the region. There are 18 indus-try and technology parks operating in theenergy, automation, electronics and con-struction sectors. Over 2 million creativepeople living in 14 cities of the so-calledSilesia Metropolis create the region’s pos-itive energy.
Silesia’s densest network of express-ways and motorways in Poland completesthe offer. The cities of the conurbation areinterconnected by a multi-lane transitroad. Katowice Airport is the largestregional airport for cargo traffic in Poland.The railway terminal in S∏awków is the
westernmost point of the broad-gaugerailway line, which connects Silesia to theAsian and Far Eastern transport system.
The Silesia Voivodship has always beena strong pillar of Poland's economy. Makeuse of the potential of the region! Thirtyattractive sites for investment are waitingfor you: invest-in-silesia.pl ●
EU funding
Start preparing nowWBJ looks at thechanging impact ofEU funds and howbusinesses can bestacquire them in the2014-2020 financialperiod
Poland has benefited greatlyfrom European Union fund-ing since its accession to thebloc in 2004. The current EU
financial framework for theperiod 2007-2013 will see atotal of €67.3 billion madeavailable for businesses andentrepreneurs in Poland, themajority of which has alreadybeen allocated.
During this seven-yearperiod significant amounts ofmoney have been spent oninfrastructure projects asPoland continues to modern-ize its roads and railways in
order to bring itself up tospeed with many of its Euro-pean counterparts.
Other sectors which havebeen successful in gainingfinancing in recent years arethose concerning innovativetechnologies and the “e-econ-omy,” according to Miros∏awMarek, vice president atDGA, an EU funds consultan-cy.
“Highly innovative projectshave the best chance to receivefinancing, regardless of thesector,” he said.
Changing climateBut with the 2014-2020 budgetcurrently under consideration,it is still uncertain howPoland’s funding could beaffected in the future. Draftregulations for the new cohe-sion policy after 2013 –approved by the EuropeanCommission in 2011 – pre-sume the allocation of some€336 billion to cohesion policyin the next EU budget. ForPoland, this could translateinto an inflow of EU subsidiesworth €80 billion in 2014-2020.
In terms of advice for busi-nesses looking to gain fundingin the 2014-2020 period, theexperts that WBJ spoke withpredict that significantly lessmoney will be available forinfrastructure and construc-tion projects. However, sectorssuch as renewable energy andR&D are expected to see anincreased allocation of funds.
It has been suggested thatEU funds allocated to windfarm projects could increase asPoland looks to reduce itsreliance on coal as its mainsource of energy, and meetEU targets of producing 20percent of its energy fromrenewable sources by 2020.
However, Tomasz Hoff-mann, country manager forPNO Consultants Poland andmanaging partner for PNOCEE, which advises compa-nies on acquiring EU funds,said that while wind technolo-gy may receive a boost, otherrenewable energies are likelyto see the most benefits.
“We expect the budget forrenewable energy to beenlarged. But this increase
will most probably go in thedirection of small-sized biogasand photovoltaic [solar] ener-gy projects,” he said.
And for businesses lookingto cash in on the next EUwindfall, the advice fromPoland’s consultancy compa-nies is to start preparing now.
“Although EU financing isprogrammed on multi-annualbasis, in practice there are onlyshort windows of time for the
companies to submit theirapplications. Companiesshould not wait with prepara-tion of their developmentprojects until the window isopened, since usually it will betoo late to prepare a goodproject,” Mr Marek said.
“I think right now is a goodtime to start preparation ofprojects for the 2014-2020period.”
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
EU funds 2007-2013
As part of the EU’s financialframework for the period2007-2013, €67.3 billion wasmade available for businessesin Poland.
“EU funds allow Poles tofind a job, start their ownbusiness, participate in train-ing and develop professional-ly,”said Poland’s Minister ofRegional Development El˝-bieta Bieƒkowska in August.
And in comparison to theother Visegrad Group coun-tries, the Czech Republic(€26.7 billion,) Hungary
(€25.3 billion) and Slovakia(€11.6 billion), Poland willhave received significantlymore funding over this seven-year period by the end of2013.
So far, a total of 75.3percent of the 2007-2013funds have been allocated,with the value of the morethan 73,000 agreementsamounting to z∏.312.6 bil-lion of eligible expenditure,according to figures fromthe Ministry of RegionalDevelopment. ●
SH
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Small solar energy projects are expected to benefit
from the next wave of EU funds
LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAAW 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 l y s u p p l e m e n t o n r e 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 SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012, LI 17/35
Galeria
Miejska
BREEAM-
certifiedGaleria Miejska, the retail
section of the under-
construction Plac Unii
mixed-use complex in
Warsaw, has obtained a
BREEAM certificate of
energy efficiency and
environmental
performance. In May this
year, BREEAM
certification was also
given to the office section
of the investment. The
Plac Unii project is being
developed by Liebrecht &
Wood and BBI
Development NFI and is
scheduled to be
completed in the autumn
of 2013. It will offer
41,300 sqm of office
space and 15,500 sqm of
retail areas.
CBRE leases
Carpathia
officesDeveloper GD&K Group
has appointed CBRE as a
leasing agent for its
planned Carpathia office
building in Warsaw. The
project will be located in
the capital’s PowiÊle
neighborhood and will
provide approximately
4,700 sqm of office space.
GD&K has already
obtained a building
permit for the scheme,
construction on which is
expected to launch in the
last quarter of this year
and finish at the
beginning of 2014. The
company is now in the
process of selecting a
general contractor for
the investment. ●
HB Reavis offices . . . . . . . . . . . .15
New Marvipol homes . . . . . . . .15
Peakside acquisition . . . . . . . . .15
Property financing . . . . . . . .16-17
Property-related stocks . . . . . .16
Residential results . . . . . . . . . . .17
Lipiński Passage building . . . .19
In this issue
1716-17
Despite being more cautious,banks are still financing realestate projects in Poland
Two of Poland’s largest residen-tial developers have publishedgood H1 results
Office
HHBB RReeaavviiss PPoollaanndd ppllaannssnneeww ooffffiiccee pprroojjeecctt iinn WWaarrssaawwThe 33,000-sqmscheme will be locatedin the capital’sMokotów district
Developer HB Reavis Polandis planning to build a newoffice project in Warsaw thatwill be developed on approxi-mately one hectare of landwhich the company acquiredfrom OTIS earlier this year,said the company’s CEOStanislav Frnka.
The acquired plot is locat-ed at the intersection of ul.Marynarska and ul. Post´pu inthe capital’s Mokotów districtand currently houses a build-ing occupied by OTIS andCarrier, both of which belongto the UTC Group.
The entities have alreadyleased space in the under-con-struction KonstruktorskaBusiness Center developmentthat HB Reavis is now buildingin the same area. Once thatinvestment is completed, thebuilding on ul. Post´pu will bedemolished and construction
on the new scheme will com-mence.
The planned office build-ing has been designed by the
Hermanowicz RewskiArchitekci studio and willdeliver approximately 33,000sqm of leasable office space.
Work on the project, whichwill be BREEAM-certified, isexpected to launch in Q2 2013,Mr Frnka said.
Meanwhile, HB Reavis iscontinuing preparation workon an office complex locatednear the Warsaw West railwaystation, details of which will berevealed in upcoming weeks.“We hope to obtain all theadministrative permits for thisinvestment by the end of2013,” Mr Frnka said.
By the end of this year, HBReavis should also be able topresent the architectural con-cept for an investment that willbe developed on ul. Chmielnain downtown Warsaw, on landwhich the company won in apublic tender from Polish StateRailways in November last year.
Mr Frnka expects construc-tion on that development,which will include high-risebuildings, to launch in 2014.The company is now also look-ing for other office sites inWarsaw and is interested inthe development of retailspace, both in the Polish capi-tal and in regional cities, MrFrnka said.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
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Construction on the scheme is expected to launch in Q2 2013
Marvipol plans to launch new large-scale project in Warsaw’s Bia∏o∏´ka districtWarsaw Stock Exchange-listeddeveloper Marvipol plans tolaunch construction and salesof apartments in the firstphase of a new large-scale res-idential project in Warsawlater this, or early next year,said S∏awomir Horbaczewski,vice president of the compa-ny’s management board.
In July, Marvipolannounced the signing of apreliminary purchase agree-ment valued at z∏.37 millionnet and concerning approxi-mately eight hectares of land
located on ul. Marywilska inthe Polish capital’s Bia∏o∏´kadistrict.
Marvipol acquired the landalong with a planning decisionthat allows for the develop-ment of more than 70,000 sqmof usable residential space anda building permit for the firstphase of the planned scheme.Apartments in the project willbe priced below z∏.6,000 persqm, Mr Horbaczewski said.
Meanwhile, preparationwork is underway on anotherlarge-scale residential scheme
in the Polish capital thatMarvipol plans to develop on11 hectares of land located inthe area of ul. K∏obucka in theUrsynów district.
The investment, for whichthe company has alreadysecured a planning decision,will deliver some 140,000 sqmof usable residential space.Construction on the first phaseof the development is expect-ed to launch in the first quar-ter of 2013, Mr Horbaczewskisaid.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
Peakside acquires AIB’sPolish property-fundmanagement businessReal estate private equity firmPeakside Capital has complet-ed the acquisition of AlliedIrish Banks’ (AIB) Polishproperty fund managementsubsidiary, AIB PPM. More-over, in a 50:50 joint venturewith Partners Group, it hassnapped up AIB’s 9.87- and7.5-percent stakes in two Polo-nia Property Funds.
Following the acquisitionof PPM, Peakside added over€600 million in gross assetsunder management (AUM) toits business, with the compa-ny’s total AUM now amount-
ing to over €2 billion. PPM willbe renamed Peakside PoloniaManagement and its team isnow being integrated intoPeakside.
“We have long identifiedPoland as a market of strategicimportance for Peakside …and the completion of theacquisition of PPM is a signifi-cant step towards fulfilling ourambitious and long-term plansfor growth in this vibrant coreCEE market,” StefanAumann, partner at Peakside,said in a statement.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl
Security Closing % change 52-week 52-week % change Total Marketprice (week) low high (year) shares value
on Aug 30 (z∏. mln)
BUDIMEX 47.51 -6.57 45.85 88.35 -33.41 25,530,098 1,212.93
CELTIC 10.25 -5.62 7.02 22.70 -38.99 34,231,466 350.87
DOMDEV 25.69 6.95 23.50 42.80 -14.37 24,670,397 633.78
ECHO 3.70 5.71 3.05 4.40 1.65 420,000,000 1,554.00
ELBUDOWA 94.50 1.72 87.00 126.70 -22.29 4,747,608 448.65
ENERGOPLD 0.24 -7.69 0.21 3.05 -92.68 70,972,001 17.03
ERBUD 11.75 -8.49 11.75 23.30 -27.24 12,644,169 148.57
GANT 4.96 -0.80 4.79 9.85 -50.70 20,120,000 99.80
GTC 6.34 2.26 5.20 12.49 -44.34 319,372,990 2,024.82
HBPOLSKA 0.06 0.00 0.05 1.43 -94.92 210,558,445 12.63
JWCONSTR 3.96 0.25 3.86 8.70 -53.79 54,073,280 214.13
LCCORP 0.93 -12.26 0.85 1.48 2.20 447,558,311 416.23
MARVIPOL 10.52 -0.66 6.20 11.00 19.00 36,923,400 388.43
MIRBUD 1.08 3.85 0.98 2.69 -58.30 75,000,000 81.00
MOSTALWAR 13.00 -2.11 11.30 25.88 -44.44 20,000,000 260.00
MOSTALZAB 0.88 7.32 0.81 1.80 -46.67 149,130,538 131.23
ORCOGROUP 9.18 9.94 8.00 23.98 -65.49 35,415,406 325.11
PBG 5.71 -8.64 5.30 93.00 -94.07 14,295,000 81.62
PLAZACNTR 2.03 0.00 1.80 2.94 -27.76 297,174,515 603.26
POLAQUA 3.89 -1.02 3.60 13.10 -73.68 27,500,100 106.98
POLIMEXMS 0.48 -22.58 0.48 2.04 -75.13 521,154,076 250.15
POLNORD 12.50 -1.96 10.49 19.85 -17.55 23,798,439 297.48
RANKPROGR 7.24 -10.84 7.10 16.97 -30.98 37,145,050 268.93
ROBYG 1.24 -4.62 1.04 1.75 -0.80 257,935,500 319.84
RONSON 0.64 -7.25 0.69 1.15 -43.36 272,360,000 174.31
TRAKCJA 0.65 -2.99 0.65 1.87 -64.09 232,105,480 150.87
ULMA 38.15 2.55 37.20 74.80 -40.85 5,255,632 200.50
UNIBEP 4.40 7.32 3.60 6.61 -6.38 34,021,684 149.70
WARIMPEX 2.97 12.50 2.64 6.00 -50.91 54,000,000 160.38
ZUE 5.79 -2.85 5.07 10.00 -31.88 22,000,000 127.38
Property-related stocks
Real estate financing
More cautious, still activeBanks in Poland havecontinued to providefinancing for high-quality developerprojects
Bank real estate financing hasbeen harder to come by inPoland in recent years, butmarket analysts and develop-ers alike claim that lendinginstitutions have continued tobe active in providing creditfor prime assets.
“While banks remain cau-tious and highly selective,they have been actively lend-ing [this year] and we antici-pate that they will continue tolend in the coming months,”said Rory Mepham, head ofcorporate finance, Centraland Eastern Europe, at JonesLang LaSalle.
“In particular, a number ofPolish banks have relativelyhigh liquidity ratios, when com-pared to some of their interna-tional counterparts, meaningthat they have a greater capaci-ty for taking on new business,”Mr Mepham added.
Erez Boniel, member of themanagement board and finan-cial director of developer GlobeTrade Centre (GTC), stressed
that the situation in Poland ispositive in comparison withother European countries, butadded that even in Polandfinancial security is playing anincreasingly important role.
Conservative lendingJones Lang LaSalle’s Mepham
said that when it comes to high-quality, income-producingassets, both domestic and inter-national banks have beenactive, in Warsaw and regionalcities. Levels of leverage remainconservative, with banks reluc-tant to lend more than 65 per-cent of a project’s value.
“In terms of developmentfinancing, perceived with agreater degree of risk by thebanks, the majority of lendinghas been carried out by thePolish domestic banks. Devel-opment financing has beenmore limited and banks havegenerally chosen to fund only
the best-quality assets,” hesaid.
Boles∏aw Ko∏odziejczyk,from the valuation and adviso-ry department of Cushman &Wakefield, pointed out thatdevelopers can mostly counton obtaining financing fromcommercial banks, the most
CO
UR
TE
SY O
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BI
DE
VE
LO
PM
EN
T
Development financing has been largely limited to the best-quality assets such as the under-construction Plac Unii
complex in Warsaw, for which investors obtained a €105-million loan earlier this year
Opera Office
occupancy
permit
The Opera Office project
in Gdaƒsk has obtained
an occupancy permit. The
class-A development has
delivered approximately
7,600 sqm of office space,
over 95% of which has
already been
commercialized. Tenants
are expected to move into
the property in
September. Euro Styl is
currently involved in four
commercial projects,
including Euro Office
Park in Gdaƒsk,
Centaurus in Olsztyn and
an office building on ul.
Woronicza in Warsaw.
New Hilton
Garden Inn
openedThe Hilton Garden Inn
hotel brand has opened
its second facility in
Poland. The hotel is
located in Rzeszów, in
Podkarpackie voivodship,
and offers 101 rooms, as
well as over 650 sqm of
conference space. The
brand was introduced
into the Polish market
last year with the
opening of Holiday
Garden Inn in Kraków. ●
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17
Company results
Residential developersreport positive resultsDom Developmentand Robyg, two of thelargest residentialdevelopers in Poland,both did well in H1
Warsaw Stock Exchange-listedresidential developer DomDevelopment recorded z∏.308million in revenue and z∏.30.2million in net profit in the firsthalf of 2012, increases of 85.4percent and 360 percent respec-tively, over the same period oflast year.
In H1 2012, the developersold a total of 741 apartments,compared to 826 homesoffloaded in H1 last year.Despite the drop, board presi-dent Jaros∏aw Szanajca stressedthat sales have been stable inrecent months and that thecompany has won a record 15.3percent share of the Warsawmarket.
“Despite a difficult marketsituation, we have seen stablemonthly sales of about 100apartments and I hope that [thelevel] can be maintained untilthe end of the year,” Mr Szana-jca said. He added that DomDevelopment could launchsales of up to four new projects
by the end of 2012.As of the end of H1 2012,
Dom Development had 2,262apartments on its offer, whileconstruction was underway on2,939 of its homes. New proj-ects could add a total ofbetween 500 and 650 units bythe end of the year, Mr Szanaj-ca said.
Meanwhile, another War-saw Stock Exchange-listeddeveloper, Robyg, reportedz∏.207.6 million in revenue andz∏.20.8 million in profit for thefirst half of 2012, up 232 percentand 526 percent, respectively,on the same period of last year.
In the first two quarters ofthis year, Robyg sold 552 apart-ments, compared to 530 and
287 housing units offloaded inthe same periods of 2011 and2010. In H2 2012, the developerplans to launch construction onapproximately 900 homes.
“Robyg’s plans provide forthe sale of approximately 1,000apartments per year and webelieve that this [level] can beachieved,” Oscar Kazanelson,president of Robyg’s superviso-ry board, said in a statement.
“The position of a viceleader in the segment in termsof the number of apartmentssold and very good financialresults allow us to think posi-tively about the results for thewhole year,” Mr Kazanelsonsaid.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
0
125
250
375
500
Q2 2012Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011
Building ‘stability’ Dom Development apartment sales, Q1 2011-Q2 2012
Source: Dom Development
active of which now includePKO BP, Pekao and Nordea.
In the case of commercialprojects, banks mostly lend forschemes whose business plansindicate the possibility ofachieving a developer yield(the ratio of the revenues fromthe sale of a project to thatproject’s development cost) ofmore than nine percent.
Higher requirementsProperty market experts anddevelopers say that in recentyears banks have institutedhigher requirements forfinancing the construction ofnew buildings. They havebeen more selective and havedemanded higher equity andpre-lease levels of real estatedevelopers.
“Banks have been pre-pared to lend up to 70 percentof the projected developmentbudget for projects but, aswith income-producing assets,have a preference for lowerlevels of leverage,” JonesLang LaSalle’s Mepham said.
He added that the level ofpre-leasing that a bank is pre-pared to accept as a conditionfor providing developmentfinance varies between thesectors and also depends onthe location and market posi-tioning of the asset. It rangesbetween 30 percent and 70percent.
“Assets located in the corelocations with either a trackrecord or potential to be a
dominant asset in its respec-tive location, continue to besubstantially easier to financethan assets in fringe or non-core locations,” Mr Mephamsaid.
Unpromised land Cushman & Wakefield’sKo∏odziejczyk said that it isdifficult to say in which sec-tors financing is easier ormore difficult to obtain. It alldepends on the particularproject’s ability to generateprofit and this, in turn,depends on factors includinglocation, project size and thedeveloper’s experience.
However, he added thatbank financing for develop-ers’ purchases of investmentland has become almost non-existent. GTC’s Bonielagreed, saying that if suchfinancing takes place at all, itis subject to numerous restric-tions and involves high mar-gins.
Wojciech Zbigniew Okoƒ-ski, president of the manage-ment board of Robyg, one ofthe largest residential devel-opers in the Polish market,said that under the currentcircumstances, financing thepurchase of land is very diffi-cult, and only selected devel-opers are still able to do so.
However, he added that inJune this year his companyhad managed to get a bankloan that refinances theacquisition of a plot in War-
saw’s Bemowo district at alevel of 60 percent.
Financing alternativesWith bank financing harder toobtain than in the boom years,some developers have beentrying to turn to alternatives.Cushman & Wakefield’s Ko∏o-dziejczyk pointed to corporatebonds as a popular, but rela-tively expensive option, goodfor companies with a stablefinancial situation.
He also mentioned mezza-nine funds as another alterna-tive, while GTC’s Boniel saidthat the establishment of aspecial-purpose vehicle withanother entity, for examplewith one that has land to buildon, has become more popularof late.
Robyg is an example of adeveloper that has used cor-porate bonds to finance itsprojects in the past. In thefirst half of this year, the com-pany completed the issue ofbonds in the amount of z∏.30million that will help financeland purchases and otheractivities of the firm, MrOkoƒski said.
He added that Robygwould consider another bondissue if an attractive offer tobuy land appeared. GTCmostly relies on bank loansand equity, but has alsorecently raised €100 milliondue to the issue of new shares,Mr Boniel said.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 19
Historical property
Lipiƒski Passage hopes toattract tenants with mixof history and modernity
Adam Zdrodowski: When didUnion Investment acquire thebuilding and what was thetransaction price?Volker Noack: Union Invest-ment acquired the historicalbuilding in 2010 for its institu-tional fund DIFA-Fonds Nr. 3.As the property forms part ofan institutional fund the pur-chase price is confidential.
The building recently under-went renovation. When didthe process finish?After having received an occu-pancy permit, the Lipiƒski Passage on Aleje Jerozolim-skie was opened in October2011. In March 2012 we tookover the building into the port-folio of one of our specialproperty funds.
How much did the LipiƒskiPassage change during therenovation process?
Under the aegis of UnionInvestment, the buildingunderwent complete refur-bishment and is now operatingas a high-class office and retailscheme with some 6,000 sqmof leasable area. The propertyoriginally comprised two resi-dential buildings with a jointcourtyard.
During the process ofreconstruction the residentialspace was converted into per-fectly visible retail space, pre-mium office space and restau-rant facilities with an internalpatio. The facade was onlyslightly changed.
The facade on the streetside, including balconies anddecoration elements, wasrestored to the original pre-war state. The facade in thecourtyard was largely pre-served and restored. The bal-conies and staircases had tobe adapted to the new glass
roof.It was very
important forus to restorethe fin-de-sièclecharm of thebuilding and, atthe same time,to deliver ah i g h - q u a l i t ymodern officeproject.
How muchleasable spacedoes theLipiƒskiPassage offer?At the LipiƒskiPassage some1,950 sqm of
office space and
889 sqm of retail space areavailable. The leasable officespace ranges in size from 60sqm to 560 sqm, while theretail units are sized from 60sqm to 570 sqm.
The Lipiƒski Passage offersthe unique possibility in theWarsaw market to lease 60sqm of office space in an officebuilding of the highest stan-dard – most office buildingsoffer spaces sized from 250 to300 sqm.
At what stage is the process ofcommercializing the building?The Lipiƒski Passage is morethan 50 percent leased out,which is quite a good occupan-cy rate. Especially companiesfrom the financial sector,lawyers, tax advisors and con-sultancies are interested inoffice space in the building.
We are also targeting Euro-pean oil and gas companies.These kinds of premiumclients particularly appreciatethe discretion and comfort ofwork in smaller and presti-gious office buildings such asthe Lipiƒski Passage.
Is there a lot of demand forthis kind of office product inWarsaw, a city where there isnot much office space in reno-vated historical buildings?There are not so manyaddresses in Warsaw that com-bine high-class office spacewith the character of a histori-cal building, and most of theexisting buildings of this kindare located in the city’s OldTown area.
Lipiƒski Passage providestenants with office space in abuilding with a truly historicalcharacter that is located in thecentral business district, rightnext to the Warsaw Centralrailway station, the Z∏oteTarasy shopping mall and theMarriott Hotel. ●
Lokale Immobilia talks to Volker Noack,member of the management board of UnionInvestment Real Estate, about the company’sLipiƒski Passage building in Warsaw, which isnow in the process of being commercialized
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SEPTEMBER 3-9, 201220 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW
Defense
An active allyEwa Boniecka: How would youdescribe the condition of thePolish army?Tomasz Siemoniak: The PolishArmed Forces are in theprocess of comprehensivetransformation and modern-ization. Our aim is to makethem modern and ready torespond to the challenges oftoday and tomorrow. For thelast two decades we have madesignificant progress in thisregard. But this is a long-termcommitment, requiring astanding engagement andoverview from the politicallevel, as well as a predictablefinancial perspective.
As to the latter, we havebeen able to secure (since2001) in our state budget thesteady proportion of 1.95 per-cent of GDP annually fordefense. This achievementplaces us among those fewNATO and EU member statesthat keep their defense spend-ing at a level which allows[them] to increase [their] mili-tary capabilities.
Looking at the shape of ourarmed forces, I would say thatthere are domains in whichour army is relatively modern,up to the NATO standards.Our F-16s, onshore anti-shipmissiles or the ROSOMAKarmored personnel carriersare certainly positive exam-ples. But there are domainswhere we still have to under-take serious efforts to catchup. This applies first and fore-most to our air defense andour navy. The expectation tomodernize these capabilitieswas expressed by PresidentKomorowski and Prime Minis-ter Tusk. We are in the processof consolidation of specificplans [concerning] how todevelop [or] acquire thesecapabilities till 2030. A newmodernization plan for theyears 2013-22, partiallyresponding to these chal-lenges, should be finalized by
September this year. It is how-ever not possible to undertakeall these problems at the sametime, thus we sometimes facedifficult choices.
Do you think that in the worldtoday a state’s securitydepends mostly on its partici-pation in a strong militaryalliance or rather on having itsown large army with advancedequipment? Currently, countries likePoland cannot protect theirsecurity as sole players. The“defense autarky” is not anoption for us. This is not afford-able – and not necessary.Thanks to our membership inNATO, Poland and othermembers do not have to buildtheir own autonomous defens-es. We use NATO as a systemthat connects allies’ forces andmakes them much more effec-tive and cheaper. That is why somuch emphasis is nowadaysput on improving multinationalcooperation in the Alliance.From this perspective, NATOmembership is a matter of arational choice. It gives us rea-sons to believe that our allieswould be ready to effectivelyassist us, if such an assistance isrequired.
At the same time we needto do our homework andensure a substantial contribu-tion to NATO. We have to finda balance between relying onothers and counting on our-selves. The principle of a “fairburden-sharing” obliges everyally to contribute to the com-mon goals of the Alliance. If wewant to be an important mem-ber of the Euro-Atlantic com-munity we have to possessmodern and effective armedforces. To this aim, Poland isinvesting z∏.29 billion annuallyin its defense – we acquire newequipment and capabilities,transform structures and trainforces. Furthermore, we showsolidarity with other allies’
efforts around the world. Thatis why we were in Iraq, and stillare in Afghanistan. This is alsoa visible sign of our commit-ment to NATO.
During its latest summit inChicago, NATO formallyadopted the doctrine of SmartDefense. What does this meanin practice?It is an expected response toour common needs in the time
of financial austerity. The ini-tiative provides for more multi-national cooperation, special-ization and prioritization. Thismeans that certain militaryprojects oriented at acquiringnew capabilities could be real-ized jointly, in groups of inter-ested members, supporting theneeds of the whole Alliance.Such cooperation requires, ofcourse, a high level of politicalconfidence.
This is a new model. TheAlliance is still struggling tofinalize its conceptual frame-
work and use its potential tothe full. But it certainly pro-vides prospects for some newquality in capability develop-ment. Poland perceives it as apossibility to engage further inmultinational cooperation andget access to required capabili-ties. That is why we have volun-teered to join a dozen projectswith new options in sight.
We have to, however, berealistic and should not expect
miracles. Although this way ofincreasing military capabilitiesis important for us this shouldbe perceived as complementaryfor our routine planning activi-ties. Some aspects still have tofind clarity. For example, theissue of availability of capabili-ties acquired in this way forother allies and the Alliance isstill to be defined.
Also the European Unioncontinues with a similar initia-tive called Pooling and Sharing.There is an obvious need toensure consistency between
these efforts.
You recently paid a visit to theUS where you conductedextensive talks about the mis-sile defense program to bebuilt in Europe. Are you con-vinced that regardless of theoutcome of the US presidentialelection, that program will berealized and that the intercep-tor base will be installed inPoland in 2018?The legal agreement on theanti-missile interceptor basebetween the governments ofPoland and the US came intoforce last September. Thus thisis a legally binding commitment.The preparations for the workon the ground are also progress-ing. Hence I expect this projectto continue. After my talks inWashington, among others withthe Secretary [of Defense Leon]Panetta and the Head of theMissile Defense Agency, I amconfident that the program isnot in doubt.
The initial stage of the mis-sile shield in Europe has beenrecently accomplished – thereis an early warning radar locat-ed in Turkey and the anti-mis-sile AEGIS systems installedon ships in the MediterraneanSea. There is a timetable forthe completion of the second
stage of the system, which willbe located on the ground, inRomania. The following stage,on Polish soil, is expected to berealized in 2018. All thesestages have financial supportfrom the US Congress.
Furthermore, the wholeprogram of missile defense inEurope is realized within theframework of NATO, with thedecisive participation of the USand the political decisionsabout the missile defense sys-tem in Europe have been takenjointly by all allies.
As to the context of theAmerican presidential election,let me say that the current planrests on the decisions of Presi-dent Obama. One should bearin mind, however, that theRepublicans always wanted todevelop a similar program andwent even further in shapingthe content of this project.Thus I do not expect the pro-gram of missile defense to bedirectly dependent on theresults of the presidential elec-tion in November. I believe thelast stage of the system couldpose a political challenge in thefuture, providing the ability ofpreventing attacks from inter-continental ballistic missiles.Yet I am also optimistic aboutthe possibility of finding a com-
Tomasz Siemoniak, Minister of NationalDefense, talks with WBJ about the condition ofthe Polish Armed Forces, the meaning ofNATO’s Smart Defense initiative, therealization of the missile defense system inEurope and Poland’s security
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“We have to find a balance between relyingon others and counting on ourselves”
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 21
promise on the issue.
There is already firm Russianopposition to building theNATO missile defense systemin Europe. How do you see thissituation?The issue of NATO’s missileshield is a NATO decision andno other country should have aright of veto in this regard. Thisis a matter of principles forallies. Since this is a defensivesystem we continue to believethat the shield should be devel-oped regardless of any objec-tions by other countries.
By all means, there is aspace for cooperation with thirdpartners, especially Russia, onthe issue. As agreed during theprevious NATO summit in Lis-bon, NATO and Russian MDsystems could be interconnect-ed and could both contribute tothe security of a broadly under-stood Euro-Atlantic area.Poland supports such an option.We believe a compromise ispossible and desired.
This should not, however, beseen as a precondition for thedevelopment of an allied sys-tem – the work on NATO’s partshould continue despite thepolitical difficulties in the dis-cussion with the Russian side.
How is the process of establish-ing an American aviation basein Poland progressing? It hasalso aroused Russian protests.The process is on the righttrack. This project is being real-ized on the basis of a Polish-American bilateral agreement.According to the schedule anAmerican contingent, includ-ing F-16 multirole fighters andmilitary personnel will bedeployed on a rotational basisin Lask aviation base. From myperspective it is a symbolic andimportant event. For the firsttime US troops will be presenton Polish soil “almost perma-nently” serving as evidence ofclose cooperation and a realalliance between our countries.I want to underline that thepresence of the American Avi-ation Detachment should beperceived only in that way. Thisis a relatively small contingent.As such it cannot pose anythreat to any country.
One of the biggest tasks youare facing is connected withthe end of the NATO operationin Afghanistan and the with-drawal of troops by 2014.Poland accepts this end dateand is obligated to organizethe withdrawal of Polish sol-diers and equipment. Whatsteps have to be taken by theMinistry of Defense?At the beginning of this yearthe General Staff of the PolishArmed Forces prepared theconcept of the withdrawal ofour forces from Afghanistan.As to the equipment, some ofit will return to Poland. Therest, due to high transportcosts, will be utilized or donat-ed to the Afghan forces. Weare conducting negotiations to
do this safely and efficiently incooperation with our allies. Inaddition, thanks to multina-tional initiatives that Polandparticipates in, we have accessto some specific transportcapabilities. Of course we willalso use our own logistics[capabilities]. Given this, Idon’t expect to face significantproblems with the withdrawalof the equipment and person-nel.
Earlier this year, a bill con-cerning veterans was enactedinto law. It concerns soldierswho serve outside our coun-try. It is a desired step butI’ve come across many opin-ions claiming that your Min-istry is not efficientlyapplying the act and that theexperience gained by veteransduring their missions is notproperly used by our army.How do you respond to this? We have prepared two biginformational campaignsabout this [act] in which thepresident and prime ministerwere engaged. But of coursemore can always be done.What is important for me isthat veterans who were injuredin missions and operations canenjoy significant benefits, suchas rehabilitation and easieraccess to hospital treatment.These 500 to 600 veterans areour priority and we try toreach them in the first place.We do quite a lot to help themand their families. We alsowant to help as many of themas possible to return to ourarmed forces. I must say I donot agree with the opinionsexpressed by some media thatthe experience and abilities ofveterans are not adequatelyused. Thousands of our offi-cers and soldiers were partici-pating in operations outside ofour territory: in Afghanistan,Iraq or Chad. Many of themwere promoted and entrustedwith important duties. Theyare changing our forces whichare now significantly differentthan 10 years ago.
There are also critical opin-ions expressed by some mili-tary experts, even generalssuch as Roman Polko, that wehave very outdated structuresof command. According tosome American officers serv-ing in Afghanistan, middlelevel commanders are tied bybureaucracy and are afraid of
taking decisions during theircombat duties. Could youcomment on this?I agree with this opinion tosome extent. Since 1989 wehave reduced 400,000 soldiersto 100,000 and we havechanged the profile of thearmed forces from a conscrip-tion-based force to a profes-sional one.
However certain structuresof command and control at thestrategic level remainedunchanged. We are aware ofthe problem. A couple ofweeks ago legal amendmentsthat effect the central com-mand system were presented.They refer to the problem ofadjusting the command struc-tures to the size of our forces,reducing bureaucracy andimproper proportion betweenthe number of senior positionsat headquarters and in unitsdeployed. It applies also to themodel of the military career.My intention is to promote realprofessionals in all structures.We assume that the wholereform will start to be imple-mented from January 2015.
Your tenure comes during thesecond term of the Civic Plat-form-Polish People’s Partygovernment and it has beenone year since you wereappointed to the position ofMinister of National Defense.Which decisions, taken so far,do you consider to have beenthe most difficult? Certainly the decisions I madein reaction to the Miller Com-mission’s report on theSmolensk catastrophe werevery difficult. I decided to dis-solve the 36th Special AirTransport Regiment and dis-miss senior officers in the AirForce. I did it in a very difficultpolitical climate. I also madedecisions concerning transportmeans for top politicians andother VIPs, replacing militaryplanes with planes and crewshired from Polish Airlines. ●
Editor’s note: This interview,originally conducted in Polish,has been heavily redacted byPoland’s Ministry of NationalDefense. WBJ therefore choseonly to make light edits, mean-ing it doesn’t read as smoothlyas it might. The decision to pub-lish the text as it stands wasmade due to the significance ofthe issues it addresses.
Other services
Subsidies
O&M Central Support
Other O&M expenditures
Pensions
Capital Investment
Expenses on military and civilian personnel
26.3%
24.4%20.8%
12.9%
8.3%
4.0%3.3%
Defense spending Structure of Poland’s military budget, 2012
Source: Ministry of Defense
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012TTHHEE LLIISSTT22 www.wbj.pl
Top Investors in Special Economic ZonesListed alphabetically by name of zone
www.bookoflists.pl
Company nameAddress, Tel./Fax, E-mail, Web page
Capital invested inSEZ (z∏. mln)
Activity Selected investmentsEmployment in SEZ /
Year founded inPoland
Country of originTop local executive /
Title
EURO-PARK MIELEC SEZ
Kronospan Mielec Sp. z o.o.ul. Wojska Polskiego 3, 39-300 Mielec, 17 582-2200 /17 [email protected], www.kronospan.pl
968.1 Timber industry WND4401997
WND Tomasz JaƒczakPresident
BRW Sp. z o.o.ul. Wojska Polskiego 3, 39-300 Mielec, 17 788-0600/17 [email protected], www.brwmielec.pl
434.1 Furniture production WND1,2041996
WND Tomasz OstrowickiPresident
Kirchhoff Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Wojska Polskiego 3, 39-300 Mielec, 17 788-5600/17 788-5640www.kirchhoff.pl
266.4 Automotive industry WND7771998
WND Janusz SoboƒPresident
Polskie Zak∏ady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o.ul. Wojska Polskiego 3, 39-300 Mielec, 17 788-7921/17 [email protected], www.pzlmielec.pl
251.3 Production of aviation equipment WND2,1021999
WND Janusz Zakr´ckiPresident
MTU Aero Engines Polska Sp. z o.o.Taj´cina 108, 36-002 Jasionka, 17 771-0482/17 771-0240www.mtu-polska.com
248.5Production of components for aircraft
enginesWND
4182009
WND Krzysztof ZuzakBoard Member
KAMIENNA GÓRA SEZ
BDN Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.ul. Motorowa 1, 04-335 Warszawa, 22 517-0123
WND Printing house WND4052006
Germany WND
POLCOLORIT SAul. Jeleniogórska 7, 58-573 Piechowice, 75 754-7310
WND Ceramics WND1252006
Poland WND
TAKATA-PETRI PARTS POLSKA Sp. z o.o.ul. Betlejemska 16, 58-405 Krzeszów, 75 744-9110
WND Safety belts WND4592002
Japan WND
TBAI POLAND Sp. z o.o.ul. Wyzwolenia 56, Wykroty, 59-730 Nowogrodzieniec, 75 647-9900
WND Automotive industry WND1002010
Japan WND
WEPA PROFESSIONAL PIECHOWICE SAul. Tysiàclecia 49, 58-573 Piechowice, 75 754-7800/75 754-7855www.fpp.com.pl
WND Paper industry WND3062007
Germany WND
KATOWICE SEZ
General Motors Manufacturing Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. A. Opla 1, 44-100 Gliwice
2,832.0 Automotive industry WND2,8621996
US Andrzej Korpak
Fiat Powertrain Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Gra˝yƒskiego 141, 43-300 Bielsko-Bia∏a, 33 813-5766/33 813 24 51www.fiat-gm-pwt.com.pl
1,353.0 Automotive industry WND8432006
Italy Emanuele Lorenzin
NGK Ceramics Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Gutenberga 6, 44-109 Gliwice, 32 [email protected], www.ngk.com.pl
961.3 Automotive industry WND1,1952003
Japan Matsuda HirotoBoard Member
Fiat Powertrain Technologiesul. Gra˝yƒskiego 141, 43-300 Bielsko-Bia∏a
821.3 Automotive industry WND3052008
Italy Emanuele Lorenzin
Isuzu Motors Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Towarowa 50, 43-100 Tychy
648.5 Automotive industry WND5951997
Japan Grzegorz BuchalVice President
KOSTRZYN-S¸UBICE SEZ
Barlinek Inwestycje SAul. Przemys∏owa 1, 74-320 Barlinek, 95 747-1300/95 [email protected], www.barlinek.com.pl
426.7 Timber industry WND1,4222004
Poland WND
ICT Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. W∏oska 3, 66-470 Kostrzyƒ nad Odrà, 95 733-6800/95 733-6801www.foxy.com.pl
414.2 Paper industry WND3661999
Italy WND
Homanit-Polska Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.ul. Ko∏obrzeska 17-19, 78-230 Karlino, 94 310-0400/94 [email protected], www.homanit.pl
356.6 Timber industry WND3702004
Germany WND
Faurecia Gorzów Sp. z o.o.ul. Szczeciƒska 31, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski95 721-9300/95 721-9309, www.faurecia.com
275.0 Automotive industry WND7772002
Spain WND
TPV Displays Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Z∏otego Smoka 9, 66-400 Gorzów Wielkopolski, 95 739-1005
188.5 Electronics WND1,1872007
China WND
KRAKÓW TECHNOLOGY PARK
MAN Trucks Sp. z o.o.ul. Rudolfa Diesla 1, 32-005 Kraków, 12 253-0000/12 253-0001www.man.eu
463.6 Automotive industryConstruction of production plant in
Niepo∏omice4282007
Germany WND
R.R. Donnelley Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Igo∏omska 25, 31-983 Kraków, 12 652-6100/12 [email protected], www.rrdonnelley.eu.com
248.6 Printing Construction of printing house8502001
US WND
ComArch SAAl. Jana Paw∏a II 39A, 31-864 Kraków, 12 646-1000/12 [email protected], www.comarch.pl
213.5 Computer software WND2,3272000
Poland WND
Nidec Motors & Actuators (Poland) Sp. z o.o.ul. Skarbowa 36, 32-005 Niepo∏omice, 12 297-2700/12 297-2702
44.7 Automotive industry Construction of new facilities3682006
Japan WND
Shell Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Krakowska 280, 32-080 Zabierzów, 12 378-5000/12 392-0540
21.1 IT Construction of new facilities1,3482001
Netherlands WND
LEGNICA SEZ
Volkswagen Motor Polska Sp. z o.oul. Strefowa 1, 59-101 Polkowice, 76 848-3001/76 [email protected], www.vwmp.com.pl
1,531.5 Car engine production WND1,2361999
Netherlands Christian BleielPresident
Sitech Sp. z o.o.ul. Strefowa 2, 59-101 Polkowice, 76 726-7000/76 726-7070www.sitech-sitztechnik.de.pl/standore/polkowice-po
845.1 Car seat production WND1,4781999
Germany Hans Joachim SchreinerPresident
Winkelmann Sp. z o.o.ul. Jaworzyƒska 277, 59-220 Legnica, 76 850-8866/76 850-8905
574.1 Water heater production WND1,0551998
Germany Heinrich Winkelmann JRPresident
Sanden Manufacturing Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Fabryczna 11, 59-101 Polkowice, 76 724-9114 /76 724-9107www.sandensmp.pl
344.1 Air conditioning WND4812004
Japan Norio KanikuraPresident
Gates Polska Sp. z o.o.ul.Jaworzyƒska 301, 59-220 Legnica, 76 855-1000, www.gates.com
272.1 Belting WND5272000
US Adam Mrzyg∏ódBoard Member
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 23
Notes: Notes: WND = Would Not Disclose. Only the top five investors in every Special Eco-nomic Zone are listed here, ranked by amount of capital invested (where possible). Selectedreport data were provided by each SEZ individually. Investors in SEZs which haven’t discloseddata are listed alphabetically. Research for the list was conducted in February 2012.
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 typo-graphical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Monika Brysiak, ul. Elblàska15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to [email protected]. Copyright 2011, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproducedin whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.
Company nameAddress, Tel./Fax, E-mail, Web page
Capita invested inSEZ (z∏. mln)
Activity Selected investmentsEmployment in SEZ
Year founded inPoland
Country of originTop local executive
Title
¸ÓDè SEZ
Gillette Poland International Sp. z o.o.ul. Nowy Józefów 70, 94-460 ¸ódê, 22 678-5544/42 [email protected], www.gillette.pl
969.7 Electric shaver productionConstruction of production plant, packing
and distribution center1,2481992
Netherlands Ali GaniogluPresident
EUROGLAS Polska Sp. z o.o.os. Niewiadów 65, 97-225 Ujazd, 44 719-4000/44 [email protected], www.euroglas.com
832.4 Glassworks Flat glass plant310
WNDGermany Piotr Noga
General Director
Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Zabraniecka 20, 03-872 Warszawa, 22 678-5544/22 678-8664www.pg.pl
616.3 Cosmetic and hygienic goods production Construction of production plant1,1271991
Netherlands Marek KapuÊciƒskiPresident
Indesit Company Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Dàbrowskiego 216, 93-231 ¸ódê, 42 [email protected], www.indesit.pl
535.3 Home appliance production WND1,7021999
Italy Antonio MeloneGeneral Director
Ceramika Parady˝ Sp. z o.o.ul. Piotrkowska 61, 26-300 Opoczno, 44 736-4100/44 [email protected], www.paradyz.com
406.9 Ceramic tiles WND1,1181989
Poland Pawe∏ ¸uczkaPresident
POMERANIAN SEZ
Bridgestone Stargard Sp. z o.o.ul. Most Kamienny 7, 73-110 Stargard Szczeciƒskiwww.bridgestone.pl
WND Tire production Construction of production plantWND1998
Belgium Hiroyuki OsakiPresident
International Paper Kwidzyn Sp. z o.o.ul. Lotnicza 1, 82-500 Kwidzyn, www.ipaper.com.pl
WND Paper industry WNDWND1990
France Marek KrzykowskiPresident
Mondi Âwiecie SAul. Bydgoska 1, 86-100 Âwiecie, [email protected]
WND Paper industry Machinery acquisitionWNDWND
Netherlands Maciej KundaPresident
Sharp Manufacturing Poland Sp. z o.o.Ostaszewo 57B, 87-148 y̧somice, www.sharp.pl
WND LCD TVs and module production Construction of production plantWND2006
Japan Nobuo HaradaPresident
Zak∏ady Farmacuetyczne POLPHARMA SAul. Pelpliƒska 19, 83-200 Starogard Graƒski, www.polpharma.com
WND Pharmacueticals WNDWND1935
Netherlands Jacek GlinkaPresident
S¸UPSK SEZ
Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucjaul. Strefowa 9, 75-202 Koszalin, 94 732-2400, www.biedronka.pl
WND Distribution and logistics WNDWND2009
Portugal WND
Kronospan Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Waryƒskiego 1, 78-400 Szczecinek, 94 373-0100/94 [email protected], www.szczecinek.kronospan.pl
WND Timber industry WNDWND2005
WNDJoanna Jod∏owska;
Tomasz JaƒczakBoard Members
Nordglass II Sp. z o.o.ul. Strefowa 3, 75-950 Koszalin, 94 346-5731/94 [email protected], www.nordglass.pl
WND Car windows WNDWND2004
Poland Grzegorz ¸ajcaPresident
Ozen Plus Sp. z o.o.ul. Budowlanych 9, 78-600 Wa∏cz, 67 258-9680/67 [email protected], www.ecwalcz.eu
WND Green energy WNDWND2007
Poland Andrzej KowalczykPresident
Paula Trans Sp.j. Janina Gojdê & S∏awomir Gojdêul. Braci Staniuków 18, 76-200 S∏upsk, 59 848-9219www.paulatrans.pl
WND Transport WNDWND2005
Poland S∏awomir GojdêOwner
STARACHOWICE SEZ
Air Liquide Polska Sp. z o.o. Oddzia∏ w Pu∏awachul. Josepha Conrada 63, 31-357 Kraków, 12 627-9300/12 [email protected], www.pl.airliquide.com
WND Power engineering WNDWND1995
France Rui CoelhoPresident
Fabryka Kot∏ów SEFAKO SAul. Przemys∏owa 9, 28-340 S´dziszów, 41 381-1073/41 [email protected], www.sefako.com.pl
WND Metal industry WNDWND1974
Poland Jerzy ¸askawiecPresident
MAN Bus Sp. z o.o. Oddzia∏ w Starachowicachul. 1. Maja 12, 27-200 Starachowice, 41 273-4110/41 [email protected], www.man.eu
WND Automotive industry WNDWND1998
Germany Michael KobrigerPresident
R.R. Donnelley Starachowice Sp. z o.o.ul. Bema 2C, 27-200 Starachowice, 41 888-7600/41 [email protected], www.rrdonnelley.eu.com
WND Printing WNDWNDWND
US WND
Starpol II Sp. z o.o.ul. Radomska 39A, 27-200 Starachowice, 41 273-8120/41 [email protected], www.starpol.pl
WND Electrical engineering WNDWND1990
Poland Edward P∏usaPresident
TARNOBRZEG SEZ
Dongseo Display Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Wspó∏pracy 1, Biskupice Podgórne, 55-040 Kobierzyce71 774-8225/71 774-8279
WND LCD component production WNDWND2006
South Korea Sunhwa Jang
Heesung Electronics Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Innowacyjna 1, Biskupice Podgórne, 55-040 Kobierzyce71 771-1082/71 771-1084
WND LCD component production Construction of production plantWND2006
South Korea Jong dae Koo
LG Electronic Wroc∏aw Sp. z o.o.ul. LG Electronics 1-2, Biskupice Podgórne, 55-040 Kobierzyce71 792-9400/71 792-9405, [email protected], www.pl.lge.com
WND Electric household equipment production Construction of production plantWND2005
South Korea Jun Myeon Seong
LG PHILIPS LCD POLAND Sp. z o.o.ul. LG Electronics 1-2, Biskupice Podgorne, 55-040 Kobierzyce71 792-9400/71 792-9405, [email protected], www.pl.lge.com
WND Electric household equipment production WNDWND2005
South Korea Jung Ung Yeu
UPM RAFLATAC POLSKA Sp. z o.o.ul. Fiƒska 1, Biskupice Podgórne, 55-040 Kobierzyce71 776-5000/71 776-5001, www.upmraflatac.com
WND Adhesive laminates WNDWND2007
Finland Dirk Von Gehelen
WA¸BRZYCH SEZ
3M Wroc∏aw Sp. z o.o.ul. Kowalska 143, 51-424 Wroc∏aw
WND Plastics WNDWND2007
US Piotr FreybergPresident
Electrolux Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Kolejowa 5/7, 01-217 Warsaw22 434-7300/22 434-7302
WND Electric household equipment production WNDWND2004
Sweden Adam CichGeneral Director
Kraft Foods Polska Confectionery Production Sp. z o.o.ul. Smaków 1, 49-318 Skarbimierz
WND Food industry WNDWND2006
UK Ian O’tooleBoard Member
NSK Steering Systems Europe Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Jachimowicza 17, 58-306 Wa∏brzych
WND Automotive industry WNDWND2001
Japan Ichirou TerakawaPresident
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Uczniowska 26, 58-306 Wa∏brzych, 74 888-8000/74 [email protected], www.toyotapl.com/walbrzych/
WNDManual and semi-automatic gearbox and
petrol engine productionWND
WND2006
Japan Carl KlemmPresident
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012MMAARRKKEETTSS24 www.wbj.pl
SO
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: W
SE
PLN-EUR
4.10
12
4.0
783
4.09
50
4
.154
0
4.1
919
4.18
38
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
84.0
4.2 PLN-USD
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
8
3.2
680
3.25
70
3.2
685
3
.308
1
3.3
397
3.33
53
3.0
3.5 PLN-GBP
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
8
5.17
83
5.15
23
5.15
58
5.23
21
5.28
28
5.2
756
5.0
5.5 PLN-CHF
3.41
47
3.39
59
3.40
91
3.45
92
3.49
11
3.48
39
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
83.3
3.5 PLN-RUB
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
8
0.10
28
0.10
23
0.10
20
0.10
28
0.10
33
0.10
27
0.100
0.105
0.110 PLN-100JPY
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
9
31.0
8
4.16
11
4.13
85
4.15
93
4.21
28
4.24
73
4.24
60
4.0
4.5
currency rates
The z∏oty
tumbles
Currency report
The closer we get to the endof summer, the more inter-esting the situation on thecurrency markets becomes.What has been driving themarkets lately is hope thatcentral banks will interveneto provide stimulus to theireconomies. These hopes lift-ed the EUR/USD from$1.23 to $1.26 just before thebeginning of the US FederalReserve’s meeting in Jack-son Hole. The outcome ofthe meeting will have a bigeffect on markets – andemerging markets’ curren-cies – this week.
The z∏oty market experi-enced quite a shock lastweek. Much of this was dueto the release of disappoint-ing Polish GDP growth datafor the second quarter. At2.4 percent, it was well belowexpectations.
More damage was doneby National Bank of Polandpresident Marek Belka, who
stated that the interest-ratesetting Monetary PolicyCouncil, which he heads, ischanging its approach, andthat we should be expectingan interest rate cut ratherthan an interest rate increasein upcoming months. Thez∏oty tumbled, with theEUR/PLN breaking throughimportant resistance levelsand reaching z∏.4.20 last Fri-day. The USD/PLN climbedto z∏.3.36, but the dollar’sdepreciation at the end ofthe week helped the z∏oty toregain some ground.
The market’s reaction toMr Belka’s words comes as asurprise to me, since all signswere showing a slowdownand a possible interest ratecut would simply be the logi-cal course of action.
The z∏oty’s depreciationwill stop if global sentimentimproves, and that dependsgreatly on the decisionsmade by on central banks. ●
Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA
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Major indices
Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low
WILBO 0.31 55.00 1.07 0.09ONE2ONE 0.41 28.13 4.20 0.21OPTEAM 2.58 22.86 4.95 1.54PCGUARD 0.90 21.62 1.72 0.72KINOPOL 9.51 20.99 10.00 5.00
WIG 41,077.44 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -1.72% 52-week high: 42,408.41
Change year to August 30: 7.20% 52-week low: 36,549.47
Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low
PKNORLEN 38.72 3.92 41.68 30.33GTC 6.34 2.26 12.75 5.13CEZ 126.90 1.52 141.50 111.90BZWBK 232.60 1.13 237.00 207.80PGNIG 4.05 0.75 4.39 3.61
Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low
08OCTAVA 0.57 -83.85 3.95 0.55ECARD 0.19 -24.00 0.31 0.18BOMI 0.26 -23.53 4.65 0.25POLIMEXMS 0.48 -22.58 2.09 0.46EKOEXPORT 12.80 -20.00 24.95 4.28
Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low
POLMIEXMS 0.48 -22.58 2.09 0.46PBG 5.71 -8.64 98.30 5.21TVN 7.06 -6.74 15.98 7.01PZU 336.10 -6.09 372.90 283.10ASSECOPOL 44.27 -5.30 55.45 34.60
WIG20 2,227.08 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -2.24% 52-week high: 2,450.95
Change year to August 30: 1.50% 52-week low: 2,035.80
mWIG40 2,211.09 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -3.40% 52-week high: 2,561.94
Change year to July 30: 0.95% 52-week low: 2,076.52
sWIG80 9,283.99 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -1.18% 52-week high: 10,536.29
Change year to July 30: 7.90% 52-week low: 8,218.71
NewConnect 34.24 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -1.18% 52-week high: 43.99
Change year to July 30: -17.47% 52-week low: 33.90
WIG-Banki 5,943.43 (August 30 close)
Change for the week: -2.38% 52-week high: 6,237.06
Change year to July 30: 7.07% 52-week low: 4,944.19
DJIA13,000.71 (Aug 30 close)
-0.43% (for the week)
CHANGE: 4.87%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 13,279.32
52-week low: 10,655.30
NASDAQ3,048.71 (Aug 30 close)
-0.15% (for the week)
CHANGE: 15.10%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 3,120.00
52-week low: 2,335.83
S&P5001,399.48 (Aug 30 close)
-0.19% (for the week)
CHANGE: 9.59%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 1,419.04
52-week low: 1,099.23
FTSE1005,719.50 (Aug 30 close)
-0.99% (for the week)
CHANGE: 0.34%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 5,965.60
52-week low: 4,944.40
DAX6,895.49 (Aug 30 close)
-0.78% (for the week)
CHANGE: 13.50%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 7,157.82
52-week low: 5,072.33
NIKKEI2258,983.78 (Aug 30 close)
-2.12% (for the week)
CHANGE: 4.95%
(year to Aug 30)
52-week high: 10,255.20
52-week low: 8,165.00
world stock indices
02.0
8
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
839,000
39,800
40,600
41,400
42,200
43,00002
.08
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
82,100
2,160
2,220
2,280
2,340
2,400
02.0
8
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
82,200
2,220
2,240
2,260
2,280
2,300
02.0
8
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
89,200
9,260
9,320
9,380
9,440
9,500
02.0
8
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
833.0
33.4
33.8
34.2
34.6
35.0
02.0
8
03.0
8
06.0
8
07.0
8
08.0
8
09.0
8
10.0
8
13.0
8
14.0
8
16.0
8
17.0
8
20.0
8
21.0
8
22.0
8
23.0
8
24.0
8
27.0
8
28.0
8
29.0
8
30.0
85,600
5,740
5,880
6,020
6,160
6,300
Other indices
A strong finish
Stocks report
Last week started slowly onthe Warsaw Stock Exchange,largely due to a bank holidayin the UK and the lack of anymajor fluctuations in theAsian and European mar-kets. On Monday. both theoverall WIG and the blue-chip WIG20 lost 0.27 per-cent, with the turnover hav-ing amounted to just slightlyover z∏.360 million.
Sentiment improvedsomewhat on Tuesday, afterthe publication of theS&P/Case Shiller home-price index for 20 US cities.The turnover on the dayreached z∏.520 million andthe best performing blue-chip companies includedPKN Orlen, Citi Handlowy,PGE, BRE and Pekao.
Wednesday did not seethe publication of any majormacroeconomic data exceptfor a revision of US GDP forQ2 which, however, did not
have a major impact on themarket. In the end, theWIG20 shed 0.79 percent,while the turnover amountedto z∏.680 million.
Thursday saw the releaseof data which showed thatPoland’s economy had grownby 2.4 percent y/y in the sec-ond quarter, while analystshad expected an increase ofapproximately 3 percent. Thediscrepancy brought someunrest to the market and theWIG20 recorded anotherdrop, of 0.38 percent.
Despite discomfortingmacroeconomic data fromJapan and Germany, the Fri-day session was unexpectedlymarked by increased buyeractivity. The turnoverexceeded z∏.1.2 billion, a veryhigh volume considering thelevels of activity seen in pre-vious days, and the WIG20gained 1.4 percent.
AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 25
The Polish F1 driverhas been out of actionsince February 2011
Polish motorsport driverRobert Kubica has reportedlybeen involved in secret tests ofFord’s new rally car, leading tospeculation that he is prepar-ing to resume his FormulaOne career.
Ford’s technical directorChristian Loriaux said in astatement that Ford rally driv-ers Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala, as well as anunnamed driver who does notwant publicity, were involvedin testing the new car. Thethird driver was widely report-ed to be Mr Kubica, who hasbeen out of motor racing sincehe was involved in a horrificcrash that caused his rightforearm to be partially severedwhile competing at the Rondedi Andora rally, in February2011.
Speaking about theunnamed driver, Mr Loriauxsaid, “He arrived at his ownexpense and worked diligently.Before the tests, he told me hedid not know if he could do itphysically, but it turned outthat it was not a problem forhim.”
However even if Mr Kubicadid take part in the tests, two-time Formula 1 World Cham-pion Fernando Alonso said heis still unsure if the Polish driv-er will ever make a comeback.
“It’s very hard to saywhether Robert will return to100 percent fitness and be ableto race again in FormulaOne,” he told September’sedition of F1 Racing maga-
zine. “Now and again we speak
and I know how much it hurtshim to be so far away fromwhat has always been hisworld. He has to keep calmand think first and foremostabout recovering total func-tionality of his body, then hecan think again about rac-ing,” he added.
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko to fight Poland’sMariusz WachThe two men will gohead to head inHamburg thisNovemberPoland’s undefeated heavy-weight boxer Mariusz “The Vik-ing” Wach will take on currentWBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and TheRing heavyweight champion ofthe world Wladimir Klitschko(who spells his first name with aW, even in English), in Ham-burg on November 10, it wasannounced last week.
The 32-year-old Pole, whohas a record of 27 wins (includ-ing 15 KOs) and 0 losses, willface the toughest night of hisprofessional career when hecomes up against the manknown as Dr Steelhammer.
However Mr Wach’s size,standing as he does at 6 feet 7.5inches (2.02 meters), comparedto Mr Klitschko’s 6 feet and 6inches, means he is a genuineheavyweight whose heightcould trouble the champion.
“My fellow countrymenAdamek and Sosnowski didnot have what it takes to beat aKlitschko [brother]. I am not a
former cruiserweight but a realheavyweight. Klitschko willtake a lot of hard punchesbefore I knock him out,” MrWach said.
“I will be the first Polishworld heavyweight champion,”the challenger added.
For Mr Klitschko, who has arecord of 58 wins and 3 losses,including two victories in 2012against France’s Jean-MarcMormeck and American TonyThompson, the fight could
prove to be a genuine test.“The big challenge for me is
Wach’s height. It is the firsttime that I am facing an oppo-nent who is taller than me andhas a better reach. He isunbeaten, a big puncher andhas an irrepressible will,” MrKlitschko said.
His elder brother VitaliKlitschko will defend his WBCheavyweight title againstManuel Charr in Moscow, onSeptember 8. DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
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Motorsport
Robert Kubica test-drivesrally car: reports
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE26 www.wbj.pl
ColdplaySeptember 19National StadiumWarsaw
British band Coldplay willbecome the latest world-classact to play live at the NationalStadium in Warsaw this year,with an upcoming concert topromote their new album“Mylo Xylo.”
Since being formed bysinger Chris Martin and gui-tarist Jonny Buckland at
University College London in1996, the group, which alsoincludes Guy Berryman on bassand Will Champion on drums,have gone on to become one ofthe biggest bands in the world.Their debut album “Para-chutes” was released in 2000and the group have since soldmore than 55 million recordsworldwide.
Coldplay’s live performanc-es are known for their use ofaudience participation, and
those with tickets for the War-saw gig are set to be handedwrist bands which light up dur-ing the performance. And witha back catalog of hits including“Yellow,” “The Scientist,” “Fixyou” and “Viva la Vida,” thosein attendance can expect a clas-sic set of old and new songs.
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
Tickets are priced fromz∏.165 and can be purchased
from livenation.pl
Concert
Coldplay in the capital
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“Hollywood MarilynMonroe” by Milton GreeneUntil September 7Stara Galeria ZPAF,Plac Zamkowy 8Warsaw
Although “Hollywood MarilynMonroe” presents just a smallfragment of the vast amount ofwork shot by prolific photogra-pher Milton Greene, theimages on display detail theessence of Mr Greene’s talentfor capturing the private side
of some of the world's mosticonic stars.
Back in the 1960s hisimages adorned the covers oftitles including Harper’s Bazaarand Vogue, with Frank Sinatra,Audrey Hepburn, and Mar-lene Dietrich among thecountless stars to have posedfor him.
While this exhibition doesfeature some of Mr Greene’sother work, the core isanchored around Marilyn
Monroe. The Green/Monroeprofessional relationship wasrelatively short-lived, lastingfrom 1953-1957, but neverthe-less still proved extremely fruit-ful. This groundbreaking exhi-bition presents two sides ofMarilyn Monroe: the interna-tional sex symbol and the vul-nerable, tortured soul.
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
For more information log onto zpaf.waw.pl
Exhibition
The sex symboland the tortured soul
Verva Street RacingSeptember 15, 9 am - 6 pmPl. Pi∏sudskiegoWarsaw
For speed lovers and fans ofsome of the world's mostexpensive cars, this year’sVerva Street Racing eventoffers the perfect opportuni-ty to see adrenaline-chargedaction up close and personalon Warsaw’s streets.
This year’s show starts
with a pit party where fanscan meet the drivers before aclassic racing duel betweenmotorsport legends AndrzejJaroszewicz and DavidPiper.
There will also be otherracing events with currentpro drivers, including formerF1 champion Mika Häkki-nen who will be showcasingthe latest Mercedes A-classmodel, as well as a celebrity
race featuring movie starsand television personalities.
Added to this is theopportunity to see numerousclassic cars such as the AstonMartin Vanquish, and theMaserati MC12 being put tothe test at seriously highspeeds.
DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm
For more information log onto vervastreetracing.pl
Street racing
The need for speed
Techeye has learned some very important lessonsrecently. First: when harnessing a team of cats toa toy wagon, you should wear extremely thickgloves. Or sedate the cats. And second: thebiggest beneficiaries of today’s patent laws arelawyers.
If you blinked even once in the direction of anews outlet last week, then you’re probablyaware of the Apple v. Samsung verdict deliveredby a California jury. However, if you’re one ofthose creepy folk who never blink at anything,then here’s the gist of it: Samsung was foundguilty of “willfully” infringing a number of Applepatents, particularly those related to softwareand design; Apple was found not guilty ofinfringing Samsung’s patents.
The upshot is that Samsung now owes Appleat least $1 billion (a figure that may rise) andsales of the Galaxy S and SII smartphones willlikely be banned in the US.
Was it a fair decision? Depends who you ask.To some, the verdict is proof that intellectualproperty rights are respected in America. OrAmerican intellectual property rights, anyway.To others, the verdict is proof that patent law –at least as regards things like software anddesign – does more harm than good, encourag-ing litigiousness and stifling innovation, particu-larly among smaller companies which often fallvictim to “patent trolls” (firms that stockpilepatents in order to shakedown legitimately inno-vative SMEs).
Let’s face it, though – consumers are the
clear losers in this patent war, in the short tomedium term (admittedly, new features anddevices may be spurred in the longer term).Apple has had a taste of victory and may sueother companies; also, having to pay a tithe toApple will cut competitors’ margins, forcingthem to raise prices.
A richer, smugger Apple might be great forshareholders, but not necessarily for consumers.
The firm already has plenty of money for R&Dand new products. And, for all its reputation asan innovator, Apple has a bad record of stickingto cumbersome proprietary standards and tech-nologies long after they are outmoded. The 30-pin dock connector is one prime example(though rumors indicate Apple may have finallycapitulated on this, giving the iPhone 5 a newconnector). The purposely byzantine file organ-
ization system employed by iPods is another.This week Techeye is featuring one of Sam-
sung’s latest products. It won’t take the sting outof that $1 billion verdict, but the firm can consid-er this a consolation prize of sorts. A very cheap,hastily written consolation prize.
Know this: the Galaxy Note 10.1 doesn’tinfringe any patents. Probably. As its name indi-cates, this tablet has a 10.1-inch display. Also, itruns Android 4.0 and there’s a quad-coreExynos 4 chip under the hood. There are twostorage-size options: 16 GB ($499) and 32 GB($549).
The Galaxy Note 10.1 differentiates itselffrom competitors in two ways. First, it’s got awell-designed stylus, recognizing over 1,000 lev-els of pressure. And second, it offers a compe-tently executed split-screen function, allowingtrue multitasking for perhaps the first time on atablet. On the down side, the device costs aboutthe same as an iPad with worse screen resolu-tion and battery life.
Oh, one other thing – don’t expect photostaken with the Galaxy Note 10.1 to win aPulitzer. The tablet has a 5-MP rear-facingcamera and a 1.9-MP camera in the front, andboth are underwhelming performers.
So if you’re going to stage elaborate photosto impress your friends on Facebook – photosof, say, a bunch of cats strapped to a little redwagon filled with beer and ice – do yourself afavor and use a real camera. And wear thickgloves. ●
SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2012 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 27
Make love and cat pictures, not patent warTech Eye
Ever infringed a patent? Let us know: [email protected]
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Centre forContemporary Art atUjazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2www.csw.art.pl
Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4www.czarnagaleria.art.pl
Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11awww.owzpap.pl
Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65www.galeria65.com
Galeria Appendix 2ul. Bia∏ostocka 9www.appendix2.com
Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu
Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4www.galeriafoksal.pl
Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2Awww.milano.arts.pl
Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39www.galeriaschody.pl
Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36www.galeriaxx1.pl
Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8www.zoya.art.pl
Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4www.greengallery.pl
KatarzynaNapiórkowska Art Galleryul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul. KrakowskiePrzedmieÊcie 42/44and Old Town Square19/21www.napiorkowska.pl
Królikarnia NationalGalleryul. Pu∏awska 113awww.krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl
Le Guern Galleryul. Widok 8, www.leguern.pl
Museum ofIndependenceAleja SolidarnoÊci 62www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl
National Museum inWarsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3www.mnw.art.pl
Polish National Operaat Teatr WielkiPl. Teatralny 1www.teatrwielki.pl
Pracownia Galeriaul. Emilii Plater 14www.pracowniagaleria.pl
Rempex Art and Auction Houseul. Karowa 31www.rempex.com.pl
Royal CastlePl. Zamkowy 4www.zamek-krolewski.com.pl
Simonis Galleryul. Burakowska 9www.simonisgallery.com
State ArchaeologicalMuseum in Warsawul. D∏uga 52 (Arsena∏) www.pma.pl
State EthnographicMuseumul. Kredytowa 1www.ethnomuseum.website.pl
Historical Museum of Warsaw Old Town Square 28-42www.mhw.pl
History Meeting House of Warsaw ul. Karowa 20www.dsh.waw.pl
Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5www.filharmonia.pl
Warsaw RisingMuseum ul. Grzybowska 79www.1944.pl
Wilanów PalaceMuseum and WilanówPoster Museumul. St Kostki Potockiego10/16www.milanow-palac.plwww.postermuseum.pl
Zachęta National ArtGalleryPl. Ma∏achowskiego 3www.zacheta.art.pl
Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw
