VOLUME 18, NUMBER 38 • SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

BBaallcceerroowwiicczz ssppeeaakkssPoland’s most famous economist rails against

calls for lower interest rates 18

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

The problems with thegovernment’s ReimbursementAct still haven’t been resolved.The consequences for patientsand businesses are disastrous

10-11

BBaannkkiinngg oonn ccoommpprroommiisseeCould a deal be reached to give Poland some say

in the EU’s proposed banking union? 3

SHUTTERSTOCK

A look inside this year’s editionof WBJ ’s popular guide forinvestors, including:

SPECIAL INVESTING IN POLAND SNEAK PEEK

12-17

• Voivodship analyses and contact details• City analyses and contact details• Special economic zones

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9

Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11

Investing in Poland Sneak Peek . .12-17

Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-21

The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

In this issue

• Penta eyes Poland

• Senator opens

• Tri-city offices

19-21

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LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

Plus• Poland-India investment

• Onet deal goes through

• The Vistula’s treasures

• Cyprus’ EU presidency

• Deadly bootlegging

• Interchange fees

• Polish cricket

fordisaster

WW

W.W

BJ.

PL

Prescription

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-9

-6

-3

0

3

6

Germany

Slovak

iaSw

eden

Austria

Czech R

epublic

PolandFra

nceSpainItal

yUK

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

E-government

tender

corruption

Plans to digitize key

government services

are set to be delayed

until 2016 due to alleged

corruption during the

bidding process and

fears of vendor lock-in.

It is hoped the planned

changes will reduce

bureaucracy by allowing

Polish citizens to apply

for services such as new

ID cards online instead

of at government

departments. Use of the

system was originally

due to start at the end of

2014.

Warsaw is

57th most-

expensive cityOslo, Tokyo and Zurich

are the most expensive

cities in the world,

according to the latest

edition of the “Prices

and Earnings” study

from Swiss bank UBS.

Warsaw was ranked 57th,

just below Jakarta and

above Kiev. The report

also shows that the

highest gross wages are

earned by workers in

Zurich, Geneva and

Copenhagen.

Over 40 people

for each job

An average of 44 people

have to compete for

each available job in

Poland, according to

figures from the Central

Statistical Office. In

2011, the average

number of people going

for every job was 41. The

worst situation is in the

Warmiƒsko-Mazurskie

voivodship, where there

are an average of 105

people vying for each

workplace. Silesia

offers the best

employment

opportunities, since

there are 23 people

applying for every job

vacancy.

Copper to last

40 years

Copper giant KGHM

estimates that if the

current pace of

production continues,

then copper deposits in

its Lower Silesia mines

will last for the next 30-

40 years, reported

Parkiet. The copper

miner estimates that

current and future

projects could expand its

copper-resource base by

some 17 million metric

tons. ●

ABB ............................................14

AIG Lincoln ................................14

Amazon ......................................27

Amcor ........................................14

Axel Springer ..............................5

Azoty Tarnów............................5, 6

Backer OBR................................17

Bank Millennium........................18

Bank Zachodni WBK..................18

Bayer ..........................................21

Blackstone ................................20

BPH ............................................11

BRE Bank ..................................20

Bridgestone Stargard ................17

Browary Polskie ........................10

BSH ............................................14

BSN-Gervais Danone ................14

Business Support Solutions......14

Capital Park ..............................21

Citi Financial ..............................14

Citi Handlowy ......................14, 24

Coko Kunststoffwerk ................14

Coloplast ....................................17

Corning Cable Systems ............14

Dell ............................................14

DHL ............................................14

Dom Development ....................20

Echo Investment ........................21

Eko Holding..................................6

Enea..............................................6

Ericpol ........................................14

Espersen Polska ........................17

Euronet ......................................20

Fujitsu ........................................14

Ghelamco Poland ......................20

Gillette ........................................14

Grupa Lotos ................................6

Gujarat Industrial Development

Corporation ..................................5

Hays Poland ..............................21

Hines ..........................................21

Hossa..........................................21

IBM ..............................................6

Invest in Pomerania ..................21

Jeronimo Martins Dystrybucja ..17

Jones Lang LaSalle ..................21

Kasama Investments ................20

KGHM ......................................2, 6

KPPD ..........................................17

Legg Mason................................20

LM Wind Power..........................17

MasterCard ..................................6

Mercedes....................................14

Mid Europa ..................................6

Multi Development ....................21

Netto ..........................................17

Penta Investments ....................19

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

PGE Zespó∏ Elektrowni Dolna

Odra............................................17

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

Philips ........................................14

PKN Orlen ..................................20

Polska ˚egluga Morska ............17

Procter & Gamble......................14

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

Raffles Hotels & Resorts ..........20

Ramirent ....................................17

Reas............................................21

Ringier..........................................5

Ringier Axel Springer ..................5

Robyg..........................................20

Royal Greenland Seafood ..........17

Soma ............................................5

Sud Architectes..........................20

Swedwood ..................................17

Takami Holding ..........................20

Tate & Lyle..................................14

Tauron ..........................................6

Tieto Poland ..............................17

Torus ..........................................21

TVN ..............................................5

UniCredit Process &

Administration ..........................17

Unity Line ..................................17

Visa Europe ..................................6

Vivendi ..........................................5

vsf creative ................................20

Warsaw Stock Exchange ......6, 14

X-Trade Brokers ..................18, 24

Zak∏ady Azotowe Pu∏awy ............6

The future of Poland’s easternneighbor, Ukraine, is now infocus after Polish PresidentBronis∏aw Komorowski visitedthe country and warned that itsEuropean aspirations depend-ed on the transparency of theOctober 28 parliamentary elec-tion and the fate of jailed oppo-sition leader Yulia Tymo-shenko.

“Poland has consistentlyand constantly expressed theposition that carrying out fairelections in Ukraine, regardlessof their outcome, should openthe way for further stepstowards the goal of signing andratifying the association agree-ment between the EU andUkraine,” Mr Komorowskitold reporters after his meetingwith Ukrainian President Vik-tor Yanukovych.

Speaking in Warsaw whilePresident Komorowski was inKiev, Polish Foreign Minister

Rados∏aw Sikorski was evenmore forthright. “Any doubtwhatsoever regarding the con-duct of October’s parliamen-tary elections in Ukraine willbury the country’s Europeanaspirations,” Mr Sikorski said.

Meanwhile, President Ko-morowski admitted that MsTymoshenko’s imprisonment isa “serious and significant obsta-cle on the path of Ukraine get-ting closer to the EU.”

Although Mr Yanukovychhas vowed he is committed tohis country’s closer integrationwith the EU, Kiev’s ties withBrussels have been strainedsince Ms Tymoshenko, theUkrainian president’s mainpolitical opponent, was sen-tenced to seven years in prisonlast October for an abuse ofoffice charge related to a 2009gas deal with Russia, which shenegotiated as then-prime min-ister.

The court agreed with theUkrainian government’s claimthat the deal had led to exorbi-tant prices for the country’s gassupplies from Russia.

Brussels claims Ms Tymo-shenko’s conviction was politi-cally motivated, while Presi-dent Yanukovych maintainsthat she was tried by an inde-pendent court.

EU-Ukraine negotiationshave since stalled, although MrYanukovych has said he ex-pects work on an AssociationAgreement to resume after theOctober 28 vote.

While in Kiev, Mr Komo-rowski said Ukraine mustdecide whether it wants to alignitself with the EU or join aRussian-led customs union.

“It is impossible to imple-ment those two scenarios at thesame time. A choice has to bemade,” he said.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

“If the RPP isn’t capable of controlling the situationwith inflation, then it should dissolve itself.”

Leszek Balcerowicz, former National Bank of Poland head and economist,regarded as the chief architect of Poland’s economic transformation, speakingout against an expected interest-rate cut by Poland’s Monetary Policy Council(RPP).

Quote of the Week

The Finnish-ed Houses?For decades the Finnish Houses have represented one ofWarsaw’s most captivating neighborhoods. Their futurethough, is far from bright. Read more on WBJ.pl this week.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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SEPTEMBER30 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. Par-ticipants are expected to be sponsored byfriends, family and colleagues for every kilo-meter they run. Organized by KompaniaWra˝eƒ, the marathon route will travelthrough Warsaw’s key landmarks, includingthe Old Town.

Location: WarsawWeb: kompaniawrazen.pl

OCTOBER4 ‘BUSINESS IS TALKING’Event: This congress, organized by Netia, is an

experience-exchange platform for new tech-nologies and their application in business. Itprovides knowledge of ICT solutions andinnovation technologies. Each year, the con-gress brings together over 1,000 partici-

pants, and is strongly supported by TVNCNBC. This year’s theme will be “Integra-tion, Innovation, Inspiration.”

Location: Multikino Z∏ote Tarasy, WarsawWeb: biznestorozmowy.pl

8-10 EXPO REAL 2012 Event: This commercial real estate trade fair – one

of the biggest in Europe – focuses on net-working, market orientation and cultivatingvaluable business contacts. Across the64,000-sqm site, 1,610 exhibitors presenttheir real estate product portfolios.

Location: Messe München, MunichWeb: Exporeal.net

10-11 INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON PUBLIC-PRIVATEPARTNERSHIPS

Event: Organized by the British Polish Chamber ofCommerce, this event will focus on interna-tional, municipal and regional infrastructure.

Location: Column Hall of the Ministry of Economy, Plac Trzech Krzy˝y 3/5, Warsaw

Web: bpcc.org.pl

September/October

DATELINE

Ukraine’s futureIN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focusStates of imbalanceSelected countries' international trade balance with China (in € bln), Jan-Jun 2012

Source: Eurostat

0.5%was the measly growth of industrial output y/y in

Poland in August. Economists said the numberindicated Poland was in slowdown mode, and expect

more negative figures to come.

500,000 sqm is the total surface area of solar panels installed onPolish roofs, the equivalent amount it would take to

cover 70 soccer stadiums the size of Warsaw’sNational Stadium.

48th

Was Poland’s rank in a report on global economicfreedom, a fall from 42nd in last year’s edition.

275% is how much the value of agricultural land in Poland

increased between 2004 and mid-2012.

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Illegal alcohol

Poland bans Czechalcohol following deathsIllegal alcohol salesare costing Polishfirms up to z∏.1.2billion a year

Poland has banned the sale ofstrong Czech alcohol followingrecent deaths attributed to ille-gally produced vodka containingthe toxic substance methanol.

As WBJ went to press, atotal of 23 people had died, and36 had been hospitalized in theCzech Republic after consum-ing bootleg spirits.

Poland’s chief health inspec-tor said in a statement last weekthat his job was, “to keep peo-ple safe from poisoning. That iswhy I have decided to suspendthe trading of alcohol above 20percent that was produced inthe Czech Republic.”

Authorities have outlawedthe sale of Czech spirits for onemonth starting from September15. The ban does not relate toCzech beer and wine, which willstill be available in Polish stores.

Following the outbreak ofthe crisis, customs officers insouthern Poland arrested twomen after the discovery of 194bottles of spirits in identical bot-tles to those linked to the Czechdeaths.

Customs officials in Kielcealso discovered some bottles ofillegal alcohol believed to befrom the Czech Republic, butwhich had Polish labels inattempt to disguise the realsource of the drinks.

In recent months two peoplehave died in Kielce after con-suming bootleg spirits. In lateAugust, a 58-year-old man diedand his wife lost her eyesight.Then, at the start of September,a 55-year-old woman passedaway two days after drinkingcontaminated vodka.

Poles currently spend somez∏.2 billion a year on illegal alco-hol, with 15 percent of spirit-

based drinks in Poland current-ly coming from illegal sources.And due to the ongoing eco-nomic crisis, producers and dis-tributors fear this figure will fur-ther increase demand for illegaldrinks in the future.

The growth in the illegaldrinks trade is losing the Polishalcohol industry up to z∏.1.2 bil-lion a year.

However, Polish alcoholfirms are now hoping that thealcohol-related deaths inPoland’s neighboring countrywill make people more aware ofthe dangers related to drinkingillegal alcohol.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

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Two Polish deaths have been linked to drinking illegal

vodka

Euro zone crisis

EU mulls giving non-eurozonestates a say in banking unionThe EC and ECB arereportedly working ona way to give non-eurocountries a voice inthe decision-makingprocess

After Polish Finance MinisterJacek Rostowski announced inmid-September that Polandwould not be joining the pro-posed euro zone banking

union in its current form,reports have emerged that theEU’s decision-makers areworking on a compromise toaccommodate non-euro mem-bers who might want to be apart of the process.

“At the current stage ofdevelopment, the proposal

presented by the EuropeanCommission is completelybeyond our interest. We justcan’t join a body in which wewould have no vote whilebeing subject to its decisions,”said Mr Rostowski at an infor-mal meeting of Europeanfinance ministers in Cyprus.

The creation of a bankingunion has been suggested as ameans to address the roots ofthe financial crisis and prevent

it from recurring. A detailed proposal for the

creation of such a union wasput forward by EuropeanCommission President JoséManuel Barroso earlier inSeptember.

The EC wants to give theEuropean Central Bank

supervisory power over allbanks in the euro zone, “with amechanism for non-eurocountries to join on a volun-tary basis,” it said in a state-ment.

However, EU BudgetCommissioner Janusz Lewan-dowski admitted later thatcountries outside the eurozone would only be allowed to“cooperate closely” with thebanking union but would notcount as full-fledged members.They would therefore not havethe right to vote.

Last week the Polish PressAgency (PAP) reported thatthe EC and the ECB were“checking whether non-euromembers could have a biggersay and more rights,” regard-ing the body that would be incharge of bank-supervision,“rights that would be close tovoting power.”

But EU sources also toldPAP that it is “out of the ques-tion” that non-euro memberswould have full-fledged vot-ing rights on the proposedECB bank-supervisory coun-cil.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

Poles want

KwaÊniewski

back

Some 21% of Poles

believe that Aleksander

KwaÊniewski, Poland’s

president between 1995

and 2005, would be the

best successor to

Donald Tusk once his

time as the country’s

prime minister comes to

an end, according to a

poll carried out by

Polish weekly Wprost.

“This is a very good

result, especially for a

politician who hasn’t

been participating in

politics for seven long

years,” the magazine

commented.

Government to

allow GMO

cropsThe Polish government

plans to allow the

cultivation of genetically

modified crops (GMOs)

despite the fact that

many EU countries

currently do not allow

such measures, reported

Rzeczpospolita.

Production of GMO crops

for research purposes is

the only exception to the

current ban on GMOs in

Poland. ●

“At the current stage of development,the proposal presented by the

European Commission is completelybeyond our interest”

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski

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FM Rostowski said Poland can’t join a body in which it

“would have no vote while being subject to its decisions”

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SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Historical artifacts

Vistula reveals hiddentreasures following droughtMarble pieces fromthe 17th century andWWII explosives wereamong the finds

Record low levels of water inthe Vistula River, caused bythis summer’s drought, haverevealed a treasure trove ofhistorical artifacts that werepreviously hidden from view.

Among the numerous findsare intricately carved pieces ofmarble which formed parts ofpillars, fountains, and staircas-es. The stonework is believedto have laid undiscovered forover 350 years, after beingstolen by 17th-century Swedishinvaders who looted Polishcastles. The Scandinavianinvaders lost their haul whenoverloaded barges, which werebeing used to transport thegoods to Gdaƒsk and thenback to Sweden, sunk underthe weight of the treasure.

The artifacts were takenduring the so-called SwedishDeluge, a series of raids on thePolish-Lithuanian Common-wealth, which took placebetween 1655 and 1660. Dur-ing this period Warsaw wasransacked on numerous occa-sions and its population was

reduced from 20,000 to just2,000.

“Now we have evidence, thebest material evidence of theSwedish invasion so far,”Hubert Kowalski, deputy direc-tor of the University of WarsawMuseum, told Reuters.

But along with these olderfinds, more recent historicalrelics from the capital’s violentpast have been discovered asthe Vistula’s water hasdropped to its lowest level in200 years.

Unexploded WWII ord-nance and a some pieces ofJewish gravestones have alsobeen found on the river bed.The fragments of gravestonewere used to pave the bottomof the river after it was dam-aged during the war.

But despite the importanceof the dry weather in findingthe missing artifacts, MrKowalski said that some of thepieces cannot be removeduntil water levels rise again.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Organized crime

Chinese-Vietnamese crimegang in z∏.2.6 bln fraudEight people havebeen charged inconnection with thefraud, whichreportedly led to a lossof z∏.1 billion for thestate budget

In one of the largest and mostserious cases of fraud inPoland in recent years, a crim-inal group from China andVietnam, which importedclothes, home appliances andelectronics to Poland wasfound to have transfered somez∏.2.6 billion out of the coun-try.

The group did not paytaxes and transferred theirprofits abroad, Puls Biznesureported, citing its ownsources. It is estimated thatlosses to the state resultingfrom the unpaid taxes may beas high as z∏.1 billion.

Charges have been filedagainst eight people, and anadditional five are still to bebrought into custody. Somez∏.3.5 million in cash hasreportedly been secured.

The Internal SecurityAgency (ABW) learned aboutthe group in April 2010,

thanks to information provid-ed by the Lithuanian state,which raised the alarm aboutthe frequent transportation oflarge amounts of money fromPoland.

The Polish security servicesalso cooperated with theircounterparts in the CzechRepublic, Germany andUkraine.

The ABW determined thatthe money being transportedcame from a criminal gang

selling goods at a shoppingcenter in Wólka Kosowska,near Warsaw, as well as fromsites in the Czech Republicand Germany. It also turnedout that large amounts ofmoney were transferred viabank accounts.

The money first went toUkraine, and from there tocompanies registered in Chinaand tax havens including Pana-ma and Belize.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

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Low water levels have revealed historical artifacts

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Electronics and home appliances were among the

illegally imported goods

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 5

Indian investment

Poland, India seek to improve business tiesThere remains plentyof room forimprovement in abusiness relationshipthat hasn’t yet trulygotten off the ground

Investing in India is often seenas an area of unfulfilled poten-tial for Polish firms, given thesize and development prospectsof India’s economy – theworld’s third-largest by pur-chasing power parity.

Total Polish FDI in Indiaamounted to just €9 million in2010, compared to €17 millionin Kazakhstan and €30 millionin Iran, according to NationalBank of Poland data. Althoughthat was a particularly lean year,experts still see plenty of roomfor improvement.

Two Indian organizationspaid visits to Warsaw earlier inSeptember to tout investmentopportunities and strengthenbusiness ties between Polandand India.

Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation, a govern-ment investment agency repre-senting the northwesternprovince of Gujarat, and thePHD Chamber of Commerceand Industry both led businessdelegations from India to the

Polish capital. Their visits alsofeatured business-to-businessmeetings between Polish andIndian companies.

Barriers to businessHowever, they face a tough taskin changing the mindset ofmany Polish companies. “Thereare historical reasons behindrelatively low levels of invest-ment by Polish firms in India,”said Marek Or∏owski, CEO ofSoma, a company that organiz-es business missions abroad for

Polish companies. “India was a dominion of

Great Britain, so many Polishmanagers see it as closed tothem. Moreover, it is difficult toestablish a company there sinceforeign firms have to establishjoint ventures with an Indianpartner in order to launch anenterprise,” he added.

The Indian market is also notthe most amenable to investors.According to the World Bank’slatest Ease of Doing Businessranking, India is ranked a lowly

132nd, compared to Poland, in62nd place.

Polish activityNevertheless, Polish companiesare active in India, with some ofthe more notable investmentsthere including ToruƒskieZak∏ady Materia∏ów Opatrunk-owych’s hygiene products facto-ry in Dindigul, and Can-PackPoland’s metal packaging plantin Aurangabad.

Moreover, according toPoland’s Economy Ministry,

chemical firm Azoty Tarnówhas considered establishing ajoint venture for the productionof caprolactam in Gujarat. Thecompany could not be reachedfor comment.

Poland’s Economy Ministrysays Polish firms are especiallywell-equipped to launch invest-ments in India in the mining,power and defense industries.

“The Indian market is grow-ing fast and we can expect verystrong growth in Polish invest-ments there over the next couple

of decades,” said Mr Or∏owski.

A noticeable increaseWhen it comes to Indian invest-ment activity in Poland, totalcumulative Indian FDI at theend of 2010 amounted to z∏.226million, compared to total Pol-ish FDI in India of z∏.524 mil-lion.

However, there has been arecent noticeable increase inIndian investments in Poland inthe IT and BPO sectors, withservices firm Zensar locating inGdaƒsk and HCL in Kraków.Heavy industry firms includingArcelorMittal are also presentin the Polish market, whilepackaging company Uflexmade a €65 million investmentin Poland last year.

Poland is expected to growin popularity among Indiancompanies, since it offers agateway to Western Europeanmarkets and has a robust, ifslowing, economy.

“Poland is a very good desti-nation for investment, it isdoing very well right now” saidShri B.B. Swain, managingdirector of the Gujarat Industri-al Development Corporation.

“It is a rare economy inEurope in that it has grownover the past few years,” headded. GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Gujarat: India’s industrial heartland

Representatives of the Gujarat Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (GIDC) visited Poland’s capital last week todrum up business.

“We are looking to forge a two-way business relation-ship between our two countries,” said Shri B.B. Swain,managing director of the GIDC. “We also hope to promotethe other provinces of India,” he added.

Gujarat is an important province for manufacturing,accounting for 17 percent of India’s industrial output.Moreover, companies located there account for a 30 per-cent share of the country’s stock market capitalization.

“Petrochemicals and diamonds are particularly strongindustries for Gujarat, as is the automotive industry,” saidMr Swain.

“Now is the very beginning of our involvement withPoland and we will try to grow it,” Mr Swain said. ●

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40

60

80

100

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tion

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Heavy industries Gujarat’s contribution to India’s manufacturing sector (in %)

Source: Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation

Media

Axel Springer to take overPoland’s top web portalUOKiK has given thego-ahead for the deal,worth over z∏.900million

Ringier Axel Springer, a jointventure between German pub-lisher Axel Springer and Swissfirm Ringier, has been giventhe green light from the Officeof Competition and ConsumerProtection (UOKiK) to buyPoland’s most popular webportal, Onet.pl.

Onet.pl has14 millionmonthly users,which is roughly72 percent of allinternet users inPoland. UOKiKdecided that thetakeover wouldnot limit marketc o m p e t i t i o n .Ringier Axel Sp-ringer also ownsPoland’s num-ber-one tabloidFakt, as well asthe Polish edi-tions of maga-zines Newsweekand Forbes.

The deal seesRingier Axel Sp-

ringer paying z∏.956 million for75 percent of Onet from TVbroadcaster TVN.

Ringer Axel Springer val-ued Onet at z∏.1.2 billion,below TVN’s own valuation,but more than analysts’expected, reported Reuters.

TVN suffered a Q2 net lossof z∏.230.6 million, worse thanthe z∏.214 million loss analystshad expected, and the Onet.plsale is likely part of a strategy

to shed non-core business.Two weeks ago, UOKiK alsoapproved a deal that will seeits pay-per-view TV unitmerged into a venture con-trolled by Vivendi’s Canal+.

Reuters also reportedthat the price for the 75 per-cent stake in Onet.pl couldstill increase to over z∏.1 bil-lion at the deal’s closing,expected at the turn of 2012.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

Onet.pl boasts 14 million monthly users

“India was a dominion of Great Britain, somany Polish managers see it as closed to

them”

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl

IBM security

centerIBM has opened a

security operations

center in Wroc∏aw.

“Companies are faced

with a constantly evolving

threat landscape, with

emerging technologies

making it increasingly

difficult to manage and

secure confidential data,”

said Kris Lovejoy,

general manager, IBM

Security Services.

Chemical

giants to

mergeChemicals firms Azoty

Tarnów and Zak∏ady

Azotowe Pu∏awy have

signed an agreement

which outlines a plan to

consolidate the two

companies under the

name Grupa Azoty. One of

the strategic goals of the

emerging group will be to

list Grupa Azoty on the

Warsaw Stock Exchange’s

blue-chip WIG20 index.

Eko rejects

Mid Europa

takeoverAnalysts thought that

Polish supermarket chain

Eko Holding would

almost certainly end up

in private equity firm Mid

Europa’s portfolio last

week, but they turned out

to be wrong. Even though

Mid Europa’s offer of

z∏.5.5 per share is much

higher than that of its

competitor, Advent

International, Eko

Holding’s majority

shareholders did not

even want to discuss the

offer. Regulators have

launched an investigation

into the matter. ●

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

ms@pnplaw.pl

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Legal red-tape reductionOn September 11, the Polish governmentaccepted an amendment to the Act on theNational Record of Convictions (NRC). Theproposed change is designed to speed upthe passage of documents from ordinarycourts to the NRC by replacing traditionalpaper documents, sent by post, with anelectronic system.

This means that documents will besent quicker and the amount of red taperelated to court procedures will bereduced. Moreover, the number of sub-jects that are entitled to obtain informationfrom the NRC is to be increased. Thisrefers to entities that are obliged toappoint officials who have a clean criminal

record, including members of manage-ment boards and supervisory boards ofcompanies.

Changes relating to intelligenttransportation systems On September 28, an amendment to theact on public roads relating to intelligenttransportation systems (ITS) in the field ofroad transport is due to come into force.The changes will make it possible for pub-lic road administrators to implement ITS todeal with traffic management on publicroads. The aim of the change is toimprove drivers’ security, to make thetransport system more efficient, and toprotect the environment. ●

Energy

LLoottooss aanndd PPGGNNiiGG tteeaamm uupp iinnsseeaarrcchh ffoorr ooiill aanndd ggaass iinn PPoollaannddThe two state-controlled entities areseeking to improvePoland’s energysecurity

State-controlled refiner GrupaLotos and Poland’s gas monop-oly PGNiG have reached astrategic agreement for thejoint exploration of convention-al and unconventional oil andgas. The deal has been struck tohelp increase domestic produc-tion of energy.

Under the agreement,Lotos will be given the optionof acquiring a share in each ofPGNiG’s seven explorationlicenses in Poland, some ofwhich cover unconventional oiland gas.

The agreement gives Lotosthe opportunity to acquirestakes in the concessions. ButPGNiG has reserved the rightto act as an operator in each ofthem.

“The theoretical and practi-

cal knowledge of geologists, ade-quate risk management and arobust financial base are key tosuccess in gas exploration proj-ects,” said Gra˝yna Piotrowska-Oliwa, president of the manage-ment board at PGNiG.

“I want to leverage theseassets the best I can and I amglad that for our prospectivelicenses in the north of Polandwe have acquired a partnerwhose business profile alignswell with our own capabilities,”she added.

Cooperation between thetwo companies is aimed atspeeding up exploration forhydrocarbons in Poland, as wellas to raise output of oil and gasproduced domestically. Polandcurrently relies heavily onRussian gas supplies, which areexpensive and whose reliabilityis questionable.

Poland’s average gas con-sumption is over 14.5 billioncubic meters a year, only one-third of which is covered bydomestic sources.

“The agreement we signed… is of material importance tonational energy security,” saidPawe∏ Olechnowicz, Lotos CEO.

“We expect that the jointeffort with help increase thevolumes of both oil and gas

produced in Poland and, conse-quently, further diversify thesources of supply for domesticcustomers,” he said, addingthat the door is also open forjoint offshore projects andprojects outside Poland, as well

as for commercial cooperation. Additionally, PGNiG recent-

ly signed an agreement for coop-eration with KGHM, Tauron,PGE and Enea regarding theprospecting for and productionof shale gas. GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

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Poland is trying to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas

Interchange fees

IInndduussttrryy ggiiaannttss lloowweerr tthheeiirr rraatteessLegislative limits forinterchange fees are inthe pipeline, butcutting too fast couldpose problems

Visa has joined MasterCard inannouncing plans to unilateral-ly lower interchange fees fortransactions with paymentcards in Poland. Interchangefees are small charges paid by a

merchant’s bank to the card-holder’s bank. Visa says it isseeking to put its rates in linewith what was provisionallyagreed at a round-table discus-sion headed by the NationalBank of Poland.

Earlier this year the NBPbrought stakeholders togetherin an attempt to broker a volun-tary, cross-industry agreementon interchange-fee limits, buttalks fell through. The central

bank had devised a programaimed at lowering fees gradual-ly, so as not to harm the growthof the domestic non-cash pay-ments market.

Rates in Poland are amongthe highest in Europe, and theNBP wanted to reduce themincrementally from the currentaverage of 1.6 percent to theEuropean average of 0.7 per-cent for debit cards and 0.84percent for credit cards in 2017.

The NBP blamed Master-Card for the breakdown intalks, since the company did notagree with the tabled proposal.

“In a situation where theNational Bank of Poland-spon-sored program to reduce cardfees in Poland cannot be turnedinto practice, we would like topursue as many of its goals aspossible,” said GosiaO’Shaughnessy, Visa Europesenior vice president.

With regard to Visa debitcards, the interchange fee willstand at 0.9 percent for micro-payments (up to z∏.20) and 1.25percent for transactions abovez∏.20. For Visa credit cards, therespective rates will be 1 per-cent and 1.3 percent. The rateswill come into effect in January.

MasterCard announced inMay that it would be unilateral-ly cutting interchange rates onsome of its products.

Legislative route“The cuts by MasterCard andVisa are very positive for us,

but the level of the cuts is notas deep as envisaged in ourprogram,” said RobertKlepacz, deputy director ofthe Payment System Depart-ment at the NBP.

The NBP has now forward-ed its proposal for cappinginterchange fees to theFinance Ministry, which is cur-rently also considering a num-ber of legislative proposalsfrom members of the Sejm(the lower house of parlia-ment) and industry groups.

Ma∏gorzata Brzoza, spo-kesperson for Finance Minis-ter Jacek Rostowski, said thatthe Ministry of Finance wouldlikely present a draft of thegovernment position to the

Council of Ministers for adop-tion.

The government’s draftposition, she said, would bebased on the proposals fromthe Sejm parliamentary cau-cuses. She added that theNBP’s proposal is being con-sidered as part of the commondiscussion on interchange fees.

“We are aware that some ofthe draft proposals containmuch sharper and quickerreductions than we proposed,”said Mr Klepacz of the NBP.

“If you reduce too fast anddeep, the costs could bepassed on to the cardholder –reductions should be step-by-step,” he added.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

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Polish interchange fees are some of the highest in

Europe

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 20128 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

Cyprus

TThhee ttrroouubblleedd pprreessiiddeennccyy

Ewa Boniecka: Cyprushas taken over the six-month rotating presiden-cy of the EU Council at atime when it is encoun-tering major financialproblems. How bad isCyprus’ financial situa-tion and what kind ofhelp are you hoping forfrom the EU?Andreas Zenonos: Cer-tainly Cyprus is facingsome financial and eco-nomic difficulties, but weare not in such a bad situ-ation as some foreign

media make us out to be. Letme point to the specific situa-tion of Cyprus in order [foryou] to understand the presenteconomic problems.

Stable and optimistic-look-ing economic growth whichbegan in the late 1960s wasabruptly interrupted in 1974,by the Republic of Turkey’smilitary invasion, occupationand forceful expulsion of theCypriot people from theirhomes, business and proper-ties. This invasion and occupa-tion of 36.2 percent of our ter-ritory resulted in a loss of 70percent of the country’s totalgross economic output, to thecreation of an overnightunemployment rate of 50 per-cent and, worst of all, to a situ-ation where one-third of thetotal population was homeless.

From the economic pointof view therefore, the areasthat Turkey has taken fromCyprus are the most fertileones. Under these circum-stances, it was imperative tohave a new economic strategyfor Cyprus, whereby moreemphasis was put on thedevelopment of the secondaryand tertiary sectors. Betweenthe late 1970s and 2007,Cyprus experienced a periodof high levels of economicgrowth. ... In 2007, the €17 bil-lion Cypriot economy closedwith a budget surplus of€505.5 million, representing asurplus of 3.5 percent in termsof gross domestic product,while public debt was below 60percent of GDP.

In addition to these soundpublic finances, Cypriot con-

sumers had at their service alarge banking sector, fromwhich they could easily acquirea loan. ... Unfortunately, thetwo largest Cypriot banksinvested more than €2 billionin Greek government bonds,which, following the “Greekhaircut,” they lost.

Being €2 billion shortovernight left Cypriot bankswith serious liquidity deficitsand, as a consequence, theirability to continue providingconsumer and business loanswas impaired. As a result,there has been a fall in thepurchasing power of Cypriotconsumers, a fall in economicactivity, an increase in thenumber of small and mediumbusinesses which have closeddown, a fall in consumptionand a rise in unemployment

from approximately 3 percentin 2007 to 11 percent today.

In order to re-capitalize thebanks and re-inject the econo-my with liquidity, the Cypriotgovernment has asked forfinancial assistance and hopesto receive it with conditionswhich will not be counter-pro-ductive to the objective of cre-ating economic growth andjobs. Now the Cypriot authori-ties are negotiating with theInternational Monetary Fund,the European Central Bankand the European Commis-sion about the amount of apossible loan.

Brussels is irritated thatCyprus has also turned toRussia for a credit line. Thereare accusations that yourbanks are helping Russians“to launder dirty money.”what is your reaction to theseclaims, and how you woulddefine Cyprus’ relations withRussia?Since Cyprus gained its inde-pendence in 1960, relationswith Russia have developedvery quickly in all spheres, justas they have done with manyother countries. Today, rela-tions with Russia are very closein all spheres: economic, edu-cational, cultural and political.

Cyprus is a tourist destina-tion for tens of thousands ofRussian citizens each yearwhile for the last five decades,Russian universities have pro-vided tertiary education tothousands of Cypriot citizens.Relations between Cyprus andRussia are characterized bypolitical trust and we areproud of that. Regarding thepotential Russian loan, Iwould like to reverse the ques-

Andreas Zenonos, Cyprus’ ambassador toPoland, talks with WBJ about the impact of theeuro zone crisis on his country, the priorities ofthe Cypriot presidency of the EU and relationsbetween Cyprus and Poland

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COURTESY OF THE EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 9

tion: If the Russian govern-ment is ready to grant a loan toCyprus with a lower interestrate than the EU, should theCypriot government rejectsuch a loan?

As regards the “dirtymoney” that you mentioned, itis not for me to comment onthe business activities of pri-vate individuals from othercountries. The Republic ofCyprus is a full member stateof the EU and on this issue, aswell as on all other issues, fol-lows and implements the val-ues and laws of the EU. Weare not a tax haven and we allknow which countries are taxhavens.

The Cypriot government hassaid that the problem of thedivision of the island andrelations with Turkey will notinterfere with the presidencyof the EU. Nonetheless, theissue remains, so what is theoutlook for solving it?

We treat the military occu-pation and criminal coloniza-tion of one-third of our coun-try by ... Turkey, as a separateissue from our EU presidency.Despite threats and state-ments by the leadership inAnkara about freezing rela-tions with the EU presidencyduring the second half of 2012,our policy will be to fully sup-port Turkey’s European aspi-rations provided that, as a can-didate country, it fully respectsand fulfills all of its obligationsvis-à-vis the EU. … It is impor-tant to remember that theefforts to solve the Cyprusproblem are undertaken with-in the framework of the Unit-ed Nations and not in theEuropean Union. We areready to continue negotiationsto reunite the island in parallelwith our EU presidency.

Let me point out that it isin our interest that Turkeytransforms itself into a trulydemocratic state that solves itsdifferences with other coun-tries through civilized dialogueand not through military inva-sions, occupations and ethniccleansing. However, at the endof the day, Turkey’s future is inits own hands and it will haveto end its military occupationof Cypriot territory if it wantsto accede to the EU.

Let’s turn to the priorities ofthe Cypriot presidency. Whatare they?First of all, our motto is“Towards a better Europe,”meaning a Europe closer to itscitizens, its neighbors and theworld.

In internal EU issues, themain priorities of the CypriotPresidency of the Council ofthe European Union include(a) successfully concluding

negotiations for the next EUMultiannual Financial Frame-work for the years 2014-2020with emphasis on economic,social and territorial cohesion,(b) reforming the CommonAgriculture Policy and theCommon Fisheries Policy, (c)promoting the issue of EUEnergy security, (d) reachingan integrated Maritime Policy,(e) achieving a Common Asy-lum System and (f) deepeningthe EU internal market andremoving its remaining barri-ers.

In external issues, the mainpriorities of the Cypriot presi-dency include (a) promotingthe EU’s relations with theSouthern Neighborhood, (b)enlargement and (c) foodsecurity.

Cyprus, as a big internationalmaritime center, wants topush forward the developmentof an integrated EU maritimepolicy. Also very important isthe development of a cohesionpolicy in the framework of thenext EU budget. What is yourperspective on these issues?On October 8, 2012, we will behosting an informal Ministeri-al Meeting on EU IntegratedMaritime Policy, in Cyprus.The EU Integrated MaritimePolicy is an important tool inmeeting the objectives of theEurope 2020 Strategy andCyprus is ready to contributeand cooperate with the Euro-pean Commission in thisdirection.

Cyprus sees potential for anEU Integrated Maritime Poli-cy. ... We believe that the mar-itime sector and maritime-related activities are veryimportant for the economy andcan add value to economicdevelopment and job creationin the European Union. Andthe cohesion policy is a veryimportant factor of the wholeEU budget and we have to dis-cuss how to maintain it.

Are you optimistic that allthese matters will be dealtwith successfully during thispresent financial crisis?I will rather use the word“realistic” towards setting theshape of the next EU budget.We are continuing discussionsabout it and, as president, wehave to present the report onongoing negotiations and thishas to be followed by the deci-sions of all member states atthe end of December.

In spite of the presentfinancial crisis, we have tohope for the best and to find aconsensus about the shape ofthe budget, gathering into it allof the required elements,including cohesion policy. It isnot a budget for one memberstate – richer or poorer – but

for the whole EuropeanUnion in the coming years.

I am not a prophet, but Ithink that if we deeply evalu-ate the roots of the economiccrisis and look at the Euro-pean situation in a globalframework and try to findsolutions without egoism, wewill mobilize all members andcitizens to participate in deci-sions leading us out of the cri-sis and look at the EU as ourcommon future not onlythrough the eyes of Europeantechnocrats but through theeyes and aspirations of ordi-nary people.

What political impact did lastApril’s visit of Prime MinisterDonald Tusk to Cyprus haveon bilateral relations betweenCyprus and Poland?The visit of Prime MinisterTusk to Cyprus last April gavean impetus to bilateral rela-tions and to [the examinationof] new areas of potentialcooperation.

The visit was an opportuni-ty for the two heads of govern-ment to discuss regional, inter-national and European issues.It also gave the two leaders aface-to-face meeting at whichthey discussed cooperationwithin the framework of ourcommon 18-month Trio Presi-dency Program. Generallyspeaking, our cooperation inthe Trio during the monthsprior to the preparation of theTrio Program brought us clos-er together and made us betterunderstand each other’s posi-tions and sensitivities.

Why is economic cooperationbetween Poland and Cyprusso small?It is true that our bilateral tradeis not as high as we would like itto be. It is for this reason that in2006, we set up a CommercialCenter in our Embassy and Iam pleased to say that sincethen the value of Cypriotexports to Poland haveincreased from €2.6 million in2007 to €3.7 million in 2011.

The main Cypriot exportsto Poland include potatoes,Halloumi Cheese, fruit, veg-etables, nuts and pharmaceuti-cals. In the context of ourefforts to increase exports evenmore, we organized twoCyprus-Poland businessforums in Poland last year andare planning to organize onemore this year.

Polish exports to Cyprus,on the other hand, were val-ued at €34.8 million in 2011and I think that is satisfactory,if you consider the small sizeof the Cypriot market. Polishexports to Cyprus include fur-niture, lamps, mattresses,tobacco, electrical productsand mechanical products. ●

“It is in our interest that Turkey transforms itself into atruly democratic state that solves its differences with other

countries through civilized dialogue”

The value of the Polishpharmaceuticalmarket took a steepdip in the first half of2012 – thanks to theintroduction of theReimbursement Act

Polish public health carereform has hit the headlinesthis year for all the wrong rea-sons. At the start of 2012, theReimbursement Act came intoforce, bringing with it a num-ber of unitended conse-quences, including restrictedaccess to medicines in the caseof seriously ill patients andfalling sales for pharmaceuti-cal companies.

Moreover, it has so far fall-en well short of its stated aimof increasing access to moreeffective, higher-cost innova-tive medicines, experts say.

Leading up to the Act’simplementation, market-watchers were particularlyconcerned with the plannedintroduction of the uniformpricing of reimbursed drugs,and the ban on any kind of dis-counts on them – one of themost significant changes intro-duced in the act.

Restricted accessThe Reimbursement Act hasalso reduced access to medi-cines in the outpatient sector,following the removal of a sig-nificant number of medicinesfrom the reimbursement list.Moreover, many have beenwithdrawn from reimburse-ment when used in treatmentsfor which they are not regis-tered (so-called “off-label”use) – another bugbear of doc-tors, who argue that what mat-ters is whether the drugs work.While changes have beenmade that mean reimburse-ment can now be provided fora large number of off-labeluses, stumbling blocks remain.

The Act has also resulted in

a decline in access to medicinesin the inpatient sector, withreports of commonly-usedchemotherapy drugs beingwithdrawn from conventionaltreatment programs and placedin a list of “non-standard”treatments, which involves con-siderable administrative restric-tions on patients qualifying fortreatment. Most recently, therehave been reports of patientshaving difficulties in accessinghigh-cost medicines included inso-called “drug programs,”including patients with multiplesclerosis and rheumatic dis-eases. These programsreplaced “therapeutic pro-grams” as the NFZ’s principalmechanism for managingexpenditure on high-cost medi-cines.

Sales declineThe changes haven’t onlyimpacted patients – they havehad a negative impact on the

bottom lines of companiesoperating in Poland’s pharma-ceutical market as well.According to data from healthcare information companyIMS Health, in the first sixmonths of 2012, the value ofsales at pharmacies (retail pre-scription and over-the-counterdrugs) was down by just over11.6 percent year-on-year, toz∏.9.6 billion. IMS Health ispredicting that in 2012 as awhole (retail and hospital), thevalue of the market willdecline by 5.2 percent y/y.

The stockpiling by patientsin the final quarter of 2011 inanticipation of the Reimburse-ment Act has certainly had animpact on the market in 2012,but the combination of the dis-

ruptions caused by the doc-tors’ disputes, together withthe cost-containment policiescontained in the Act, have alsoplayed a significant role. Andwithout the Reimbursement

Act, there would have been nostockpiling, anyway.

Pawe∏ Sztwiertnia, generaldirector of Infarma, the

Employers’ Union of Innova-tive Pharmaceutical Compa-nies, says the reasons for thedownturn are clear.

“These are big changes,caused exclusively by the newlegal regulations – there are noother causes which would haveresulted in the reduction in thedemand for medicines,” hesaid.

The cuts affect a wholeindustry, and not just produc-ers. “The law is so imprecise –and restrictive as well – that itgives rise to so many ques-tions; it affects not just phar-maceutical producers, but also

distributors, pharmacists andhospitals,” Mr Sztwiertniasaid.

Redundancies strikeThe changes are also forcingcompanies to change theirstrategies and reduce headcount – the natural responseto a shrinking market. In areport by Puls Biznesu, it isestimated that from mid-2011to the end of 2012, around1,800 jobs will be lost in thepharmaceutical industry as awhole.

The Reimbursement Acthas not just had an effect on

Doctors’ dispute

Rules brought in by the Reimbursement Actconcerning prescriptions dominated the dis-cussion following the Act’s implementation.

Doctors were strongly opposed to thefinancial penalties set down in law for fail-ure to write prescriptions in accordancewith the rules, which they said interferedwith their ability to treat patients properly.They also resented the rule which penalizedthem if they wrote a prescription for anuninsured person, arguing that they did nothave the means to check a patient’s insur-ance status effectively.

Protests followed, causing chaos and dis-ruption for many, and forcing the governmentto make amendments to the Act. But it didn’tend there. Recently dismissed NationalHealth Fund (NFZ) director JacekPaszkiewicz added regulations to the frame-work agreement between the NFZ and doc-tors which included more or less the samepenalties as those which had only just beenwithdrawn. Subsequently, the disputebetween doctors and the NFZ reached feverpitch, and Mr Paszkiewicz paid for the hulla-baloo with his job. ●

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY10 www.wbj.pl

Pharmaceutical industry

A bitter pill Brian Davies

Cigarette prices

to riseExcise tax on tobacco

products will increase by

5% from 2013, reported

Puls Biznesu. The Ministry

of Finance estimates the

tax increase will boost its

budget by z∏.359 million a

year.

Beer sales upBeer sales rose year-on-

year in the second quarter

but Euro 2012 failed to

provide the previously

predicted major sales

increases, according to a

report published by

Browary Polskie. During

Euro 2012 sales rose a

mere 1.8%, much less

than expected. In total

Polish breweries sold 19

million hectoliters of beer

during the first half of the

year, 7.9% more than in

H1 2011.

Men’s cosmetics

sales growth

Male-oriented products

are the fastest-growing

segment of the cosmetics

industry in Poland,

according to data from

Euromonitor

International. In 2011, the

value of the men’s

cosmetics market grew by

6.5%, reaching z∏.1.4

billion. In the upcoming

years, it will remain the

fastest-grower in the

cosmetics market with its

value expected to reach

z∏.1.6 billion by 2016.

Solar power on

the rise

Private households in

Poland have already

installed about 500,000

sqm of solar panels on

their roofs, according to

the Institute of Renewable

Energy. That is enough

panels to cover 70 soccer

stadiums the size of the

National Stadium in

Warsaw, reported Dziennik

Gazeta Prawna. ●

“The Polish government’s policy towardsinnovative drugs is one of the least

favorable in the CEE region”

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Poland’s Reimbursement Act has restricted access to medicines for many patients

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY www.wbj.pl 11

innovative pharmaceutical pro-ducers. The domestic, predom-inantly generic sector is alsobeing affected by the new regu-lations, which are forcing downthe prices of reimbursed drugsand eroding margins. They arealso likely to feel the effects ofthe payback system, which willrequire producers to pay back aproportion of any eventualstate overspend on reimbursedmedicines. This will come intoeffect if public spending ondrug reimbursement exceeds17 percent of total publichealth care spending.

However, the situationremains manageable, and loss-es bearable, according toMonika Stefaƒczyk, headpharmaceutical market analystat PMR.

“I believe all the playerswill adjust to the situation,”she said. “The worst thing isthat there are patients whosuffer – some reimburseddrugs are cheaper now, it’strue, but many have beenexcluded from the reimburse-ment list, and prices of over-the-counter medicines havegone up in 2012.”

The over-the-counter

(OTC) market – along with themarket for non-reimburseddrugs – is growing strongly,while the market for reim-bursed drugs declines, reflect-ing the lower spending onreimbursement by the NFZsince the beginning of the year.This means that patients arepaying more out of their ownpockets, because they can’t getall the medicines they needfrom the NFZ – or because theamount of reimbursementpaid by the NFZ has dropped.Moreover, there has been nochange in the rate of new,innovative drugs being addedto the reimbursement list.

Unfulfilled promisesThis is where the crux of thematter lies. The Reimburse-ment Act was publicized bythe government as a set ofmeasures intended to increaseaccess to more effective, high-er-cost innovative medicines.In many cases, new innovativedrugs offer patients relief fromoften chronic conditions whichthey could never have other-wise, and can even givepatients with the most seriousdiseases a few more months oryears of life. Poland has tradi-tionally been a very challeng-ing market for the innovativepharmaceutical industry, andthe declarations made aboutincreasing access to new drugsgave some hope that this situa-tion would improve.

“According to the declara-

tions of the Ministry of Health,the savings made thanks to theAct were due to be invested inincreasing access to new inno-vative drugs,” said Infarma’sPawe∏ Sztwiertnia.

“Up until now, only a cou-ple of new drugs have beenadded to the list, althoughamong these are the long-awaited long-acting insulinanalogues. But we’re still wait-ing for the promises madeabout the Act to be fulfilled,”he added.

Indeed, the most recentupdate to the reimbursementlist, which came into effect onSeptember 1, included nonew innovative medicines.This prompted Infarma tocall for the Ministry of Healthto use the savings fromreduced pharmacy reim-bursement spending onincreasing access to innova-tive medicines, in order tofulfill the stated aims of theReimbursement Act.

“A scandalously low num-ber of innovative substanceshave been added to the reim-bursement list in recentyears,” said PMR’s MonikaStefaƒczyk.

“The Polish government’spolicy towards innovativedrugs is one of the leastfavorable in the CEE region –only in Russia, Ukraine andother CIS countries is there aless favorable situation.”

Ms Stefaƒczyk went so faras to challenge the idea that

the purpose of the Reim-bursement Act was toincrease access to innovativemedicines.

“The Act was enacted as acost-containment policy, andits main purpose has been tocut spending on reimburse-ment – irrespective of the factthat the Ministry of Healthdeclared that it would spendthe money it saved on innova-

tive products,” she stated.It may be too early to

deliver a final verdict on theReimbursement Act. But sofar it has failed to deliverimprovements for patients,and has delivered benefitsmainly for the NFZ’s budget.It can only be hoped that inthe longer run, at least tosome extent, it will live up toits initial billing.●

More time off?

The Ministry of Labor is

contemplating reverting

back to regulations which

would entitle employees

to an additional day off if

a national holiday falls on

a non-working day. This

potential change hinges

to a large extent on the

verdict of the

Constitutional Tribunal,

which will decide by

October 2 whether the

current legislation in

place is in line with the

Polish constitution.

BPH to use

biometric

identificationBank BPH plans to

install biometric readers

to identify patterns

made by blood vessels in

its clients’ fingers,

replacing the need for

cards and PIN codes,

reported Puls Biznesu.

This technology

efficiently minimizes the

possibility of theft using

stolen cards, as each

individual client is

identified by the unique

biological makeup of

their body. The lender

expects that within two

years some 70% of its

clients will be making

use of the technology. ●

Poland’s pharmaceutical market

The pharmaceutical industry in Poland encompasses boththe local divisions of large multinationals and producers oforiginator drugs. Major multinationals such as Swiss Novar-tis, French Sanofi and the United Kingdom’s GlaxoSmithK-line have substantial production facilities in the country. Thedomestic industry, meanwhile, is mainly focused on the pro-duction of generics – copies of off-patent originator drugs,which are generally cheaper. Among the largest of thesedomestic firms are Polpharma and Adamed. ●

5.2%is the amount by which

the pharmaceuticalmarket in Poland isexpected to contract

this year

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

Pfizer

Corp.

Merck &

Co.

Servi

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Teva G

roup

Roch

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Sand

oz Corp

.

Novartis

Corp.

GSK Ph

arma

Polph

arma G

roup

Sano

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Tight at the topTop 10 pharmaceutical companies in Poland by share of totalsales, 2010

Source: IMS Health, National data (retail and hospital) EPhMRA A-V.

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012

WBJ previews content from Investing in Poland 2013, including: Zachodniopomorskie voivodship and Poland’s special economic zones

Located in the centerof Poland, ¸ódzkievoivodship boasts along tradition ofclothing and textileproduction

Now, alongside these twomainstays, the most importantindustries in the region areenergy, food processing andbeverages, as well as the pro-duction of medical equipmentand pharmaceuticals. Nearly70 percent of the domestic

production of ceramic tilesand terracotta is carried out inthe voivodship.

Currently the region isexpanding rapidly into otherbranches of industry, includinghousehold appliances produc-tion and biotechnology.Indeed, it was thanks to for-eign investment that Europe’slargest industrial cluster pro-ducing household applianceswas developed in the voivod-ship.

The local investmentauthority believes ¸ódzkie’sfuture development will relyon the following sectors: thepower industry, innovativetextiles, agriculture and food-stuffs, mechatronics, infor-mation and communicationtechnologies. To helpinvestors in these industries,the voivodship is offeringsupport from the state budg-

et in the form of subsidies,corporate income tax andlocal real estate tax exemp-tions.

Investors can also benefitfrom ¸ódzkie’s central loca-tion and good transport links.A junction of the A1 and A2

motorways, which facilitatesaccess to both EU marketsand those of Russia, Belarusand Ukraine, make it a con-

venient place for operatinglogistics enterprises.

In terms of energy pro-duction, the Be∏chatówpower plant is one of thebiggest of its kind in Europe,producing electricity frombrown coal, with other multi-billion-z∏oty investmentsexpected to increase its out-put in the future.

In thissupplementIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . .12

Łódzkie voivodship . .12, 14

Special economic zones . .16

Zachodniopomorskie

voivodship . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Continued on p. 14 ➡

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Voivodships

¸ódzkie voivodship

The Manufaktura mall in ¸ódê

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WBJ presents asupplement featuringcontent from itsInvesting in Poland2013 publication

Andrew KurethEditor-in-ChiefWarsaw Business JournalGroup

Warsaw Business Journal isproud to officially launch thefourth edition of Investing inPoland this week. Investing inPoland 2013 is intended toprovide all of the informationany potential investor mayneed to make a decisionabout locating his or her busi-ness in Poland.

Poland presents an attrac-tive combination of incen-tives for foreign investors.The country has a large,

young, ambitious and well-educated labor force. Itboasts both strong technologyclusters and agriculturalcapacity. It offers quality,low-cost manufacturing and acentral location from whichto ship production.

But on top of that, there is aplethora of tax breaks anddirect grants for investors totap into. Fourteen special eco-nomic zones and a myriad ofindustrial and technology parksmean there are plenty of attrac-tive locations with the right mixof transportation, potentialpartners, and resources.

Poland’s economy mean-while looks set to grow ataround 2 percent both in2012 and 2013 – a far cryfrom the heady days of over 6percent growth in 2006 and2007, but still better thanmost of its European peers.

Poland remains one of themost attractive investmentlocations not only in Europe,but globally.

Regional focusInvesting in Poland 2013 fea-tures profiles of Poland’s 16voivodships and its major cities,as well as their variousresources, investment incen-tives, major investors, local gov-ernment leaders, and the con-

tact details to investment officesif you want to learn more. Wealso profile each of the 14 spe-cial economic zonesand present a listingof all of Poland’smajor industrialand technologyparks.

We have alsoput together ananalysis of vari-ous trends thatare making a bigimpact on the -Polish economy– which can befound in thep u b l i c a t i o n ’ sTrendbook sec-tion. You’ll alsofind legal adviceand listings ofbusiness organi-zations andchambers ofcommerce (thenetworks you’llneed as you beginyour investment),as well as listingsof office spaceand consultanciesthat can helpinvestors applyfor the abundantEU funding head-ed Poland’s way.

Important ly ,

all of the information con-tained in the publicationcomes from fresh, originalresearch performed by the

editorial staff of Warsaw Busi-ness Journal, Poland’s most-trusted English-languagenewspaper. All of the articles

and analyses are also writ-

ten by the staff of WBJ and itspartners.

All in all, Investing inPoland is a one-stop shop forinformation on Poland’sinvestment landscape. Noother English-language guidecan claim the same.

WBJ continues to carryout this project each year

because we believe thatPoland is a great place to

do business and a fan-tastic location for

investment. Is it theright place for

your investment?We hope the

publicat ionwill help you

a n s w e rthat ques-

tion. ●

A prime location for investment

Major cities - ¸ódêLocated within a radius ofapproximately 300 km of allmajor Polish cities (130 kmfrom Warsaw), ¸ódê is a cen-tral point on the map ofPoland.

Its geographical positionmakes it a natural transporta-tion hub, with trans-Europeanroad and rail links convergingin or near the city. One majorongoing investment designedto capitalize on ¸ódê’s advan-tageous location is the rede-velopment of the ¸ódêFabryczna railway station intoa multimodal transportationhub. Meanwhile a new termi-nal at ¸ódê’s international air-port was opened recently, giv-ing the airport an annualcapacity of 2.5 million passen-gers.

¸ódê is the third-largestcity in Poland, with around730,000 inhabitants living inthe city itself and almost 3 mil-lion in the region. Of these 3million, 1.6 million are of

working age. With the unem-ployment rate high comparedto other large Polish cities,wages are around 20 percentlower than other major Polishcities. Still, the workforce ishighly trained.

Since its creation in 1997the ¸ódê Special EconomicZone has been stimulatinglocal entrepreneurship andattracting numerous domesticand foreign investors to thecity. In fDi Magazine’s GlobalFree Zones of the Future(2012/13) report, ¸ódê SpecialEconomic Zone was rankedthird in Europe.

Catering to different indus-tries and covering a variety offields, approximately 40 tradefairs and exhibitions are heldin ¸ódê every year.

The city has also beenhome to some of Poland’smost important cultural fig-ures. Pianist Arthur Rubin-stein learned to play pianothere while living on ul.Piotrkowska. There is also astrong film production her-itage in the city, with “Holly-

¸ódê” having long served as acenter of Poland’s filmmakingindustry, producing some ofPoland’s finest directorsincluding Andrzej Wajda,Krzysztof KieÊlowski andRoman Polanski.

Mayor: Hanna Zdanowska Area code: 42Area: 293.25 sq km Population (March 2011):728,892Working-age population(Dec. 2010): 474,127Unemployment rate (June2012): 11.4%Percentage of city covered byzoning plans: 5.36%, plannedto be 15-17% in 2014Recent major investors:Amcor, BSH, Citi Financial,Dell, DHL, Ericpol, Fujitsu,Gillette, Procter & Gamble,Tate & LyleLocal government contactdetails:Investor Relations Officeul. Piotrkowska 104a 90-926¸ódê, email: zoi@uml.lodz.pl,tel.: (+48) 42 638 59 39,(+48) 42 638 59 40

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012SSNNEEAAKK PPEEEEKK:: IINNVVEESSTTIINNGG IINN PPOOLLAANNDD14 www.wbj.pl

➡ Continued from p. 12 Key facts

Voivode: Jolanta Che∏miƒskaMarshall: Witold St´pieƒ Area: 18,219 sq kmPopulation (March 2011): 2,538,677Working-age population (Dec. 2010):1,616,227Unemployment rate (June 2012): 13.1%Average monthly wage (private sector,June 2012): z∏.3,195.17 GDP (2009): z∏.81.87 billion, up 3.4% y/y(6.1% of national GDP)Natural resources: brown coal, clay,foundry sands, gravel, gypsum, kaolinclays, lignite, limestone, marl, thermalwaters, quartz Number of students of higher education:110,000 Number of institutions of higher educa-tion: 27Major universities: University of ¸ódê,Medical University of ¸ódê, National FilmSchool in ¸ódê, Technical University of¸ódêMajor airport: W∏adys∏aw Reymont Air-port ¸ódêSpecial Economic Zones: ¸ódê SpecialEconomic Zone: 1,104 ha, “Starachowice”Special Economic Zone: 4.03 ha

Estimated investment:

Total (2010): z∏.13.70 billion (private sec-tor: z∏.6.92 billion; public sector: z∏.6.78billion)Of which:

• Industry: z∏.6.31 billion, of which: Manufacturing: z∏.2.35 billion

• Transportation and storage: z∏.1.99 bil-lion

• Real estate activities: z∏.1.71 billion• Trade; repair of motor vehicles: z∏.1.22

billion• Construction: z∏.322 millionNumber of new commercial and civil lawpartnerships registered (2011): 1,552,down 2.1% y/yNumber of new sole proprietorshipsregistered (2011): 18,909, down 16.3%y/yRecent major investors: ABB, AIG Lin-coln, BSH Bosch und Siemens Haus-geräte, BSN-Gervais Danone, BusinessSupport Solutions, Coko Kunststoffwerk,Corning Cable Systems, Citi Handlowy,Mercedes, PhilipsSources of major foreign investment:Austria, France, Germany, Ireland,Switzerland, UK, US

Military Propert Agency

BROUGHT TO YOU BY MILITARY PROPERTY AGENCY

Military Propert AgencyThe Military Property Agency (MPA) is a State Agency operating under the supervisionof the Minister of National Defence. The main tasks of MPA include management of realproperty and movables considered redundant to the Ministry of National Defence andMinistry of Interior. 93% of profits generated from the management of property is allo-cated by the MPA to the Armed Forces Mondernisation Fund and to the Public SecurityModernisation Fund. Since the beginning of its operations the MPA transferred overz∏.1.5 billion to the Funds referred to above. The MPA is a modern Agency operating under civilian management culture and in com-pliance with top standards, the statutory tasks of which are implemented by profession-al staff within the area of Poland.More than fifteen years of practice on the real property market and thousands of suc-cessful transactions confirm the status of the Military Property Agency as a credible andtrustworthy partner.

Military Property AgencyNowowiejska 26A00-911 Warszawa, Polandwww.amw.com.plph.: +48 (0) 22 314 97 00

President: Krzysztof MichalskiVice President Property Management: Ilona KowalskaDirector of Real Estate Managementand Marketing Department: Zbigniew Prokopczyk

The Warsaw Stock Exchange

BROUGHT TO YOU BY WSE

One of the most rapidlyexpanding equity markets inEuropeFor several years now the Warsaw StockExchange has been among the mostdynamic stock markets in Europe, while inCentral and Eastern Europe it is the undis-puted leader in terms of market growthindicators, such as capitalization, tradingvolumes and number of IPOs. As ofAugust 2012, WSE remains the largestnational stock exchange in CEE, withdomestic market capitalization of €117 bnand equity session turnover of €30,3 bn(ytd).

Investors have over 850 issuers tochoose from and despite turbulences onthe global financial markets, the WarsawStock Exchange attracts new companies.It consequently ranks no. 1 in Europe bythe number of IPOs and has a leadingposition by the value of IPOs. According tothe latest quarterly PwC ‘IPO WatchEurope’ report, in Q2 2012, there were 33public offerings on the WSE, which repre-sented more than 41 per cent of all IPOson European markets. By the value ofIPOs, the Warsaw Stock Exchange with €50 million ranked third in Europe after theLondon Stock Exchange Group and theOslo Stock Exchange.

The WSE creates attractive conditionsfor both domestic and foreign companieslooking for growth capital; as a result theexchange lists 48 foreign issuers from 20countries, with the largest group originat-ing from Ukraine and the Czech Republic.One of the decisive factors for them is asolid and varied investor base, includingforeign investors whose share in tradingvolumes reaches almost 50 per cent.

The Warsaw Stock Exchange owes itsdynamic development to modern infra-structure typical for a developed market,reliable regulations, high level of marketparticipant activity and varied productrange aimed at investors of different riskappetites. The WSE operates a regulated

market of shares and derivative instru-ments and the alternative stock marketNewConnect for growing companies. Theexchange is also developing Catalyst, amarket for issuers of corporate and munic-ipal bonds, as well as an energy market.

A symbolic moment, and crowningachievement of nearly twenty years ofdynamic expansion, was WSE’s own IPO.The aim of the Warsaw Stock Exchangeas a public company is to systematicallystrengthen its international positionthrough expanding its product range forinvestors and issuers, attracting new com-panies and intermediaries, as well as toimprove market organization, technologyand legal regulations.

The priorities for the WSE are tradingliquidity, security and effectiveness. From2011 its trading session is of the samelength as in Western European markets. Inorder to increase its competitiveness, theexchange is working with NYSE Technolo-gies on implementation of a new transac-tion system, the Universal Trading Plat-form (UTP), which will be more efficientand will feature expanded functionality,enabling further market growth. ●

DAILY EXECUTIVE DIGEST

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

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

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SEPTEMBER 24-30, 201216 www.wbj.pl

Poland’s diversespecial economiczones have plenty tooffer investors. Hereis some key data froma selection of thesezones

There are currently 14 specialeconomic zones in Poland,providing investors with a vari-ety of attractive incentivesincluding tax exemptions,good geographical locationwith close proximity to suppli-ers or customers, and invest-ment sites already developedwith infrastructure and utili-ties. All zones can remain openuntil December 31, 2020,which means that for rest ofthe decade they remain excel-lent places to do business inPoland. What is more, a pro-posal to extend the lifespan ofPoland’s SEZs was submittedto the lower house of the Pol-ish parliament earlier in 2012,by the Ministry of the Econo-my.

According to the ministry’scalculations, investors in Pol-ish SEZs saved over z∏.4.9 bil-lion in tax breaks between2007 and 2010.

Each SEZ is unique, withits own strengths and particu-lar focus. For example Kami-enna Góra SEZ for MediumBusiness specializes in servic-ing SMEs. Kraków TechnologyPark deals with innovativeservices and technologies.Other SEZs are located inparticularly attractive areas interms of lucrative foreign mar-kets to the east or west, or inthe case of the S∏upsk andPomeranian Special Economic

Zones, proximity to the BalticSea.

At the same time, regard-less of their dominant indus-tries or geographic locations,all of Poland’s special econom-ic zones remain open to a widerange of investments.

Investment regulationsvary in each SEZ but in gener-al, the investor needs to agreewith the specific authorities onhow many jobs will be createdthrough the investment andmust later fulfill this agree-ment. The minimum value ofan investment to be located ina special economic zone isusually €100,000. Regulationsgoverning investment varyaccording to each SEZ and thesize of the tax breaks availabledepends on the size of theinvesting entity and voivodshipwhere the subzone in questionresides. For specific details oninvestment regulations, pleasesee the zones’ individual web-sites, listed below.

EURO-PARK MIELECSpecial Economic ZoneThe firste c o n o m i czone to bec r e a t e d ,E U R O -P A R KMIELEC Special EconomicZone is located in both thesoutheast corner of Polandand in the northwest inZachodniopomorskie voivod-ship, meaning it has access toboth the German and EasternEuropean markets.

The maximum amount ofcorporate tax exemption(based on either investment orjob creation) is 50 percent ofthe total expenditures on new

investments for large firms, 60percent for medium-sizedfirms and 70 percent for smallfirms.Year established: 1995Total area: 1,246 ha (300 haavailable), further expansionexpectedDominant industries: auto-motive, aviation, metal work-ing, wood processingTotal number of investors:153 (225 permits issued)Total value of investments:z∏.5.17 billionContact: www.europark.com.pl

Kamienna Góra SpecialEconomic Zone for Medium Business As its nameimplies, theK a m i e n n aGóra SpecialE c o n o m i cZone forMedium Business is squarelyaimed at SMEs, offering “par-ticularly advantageous condi-tions for operating their busi-ness.” It is, however, open tolarger investors.

The zone is primarily locat-ed in the Lower Silesia voivod-ship, with a small presence inthe Wielkopolskie voivodship.Its location near the Czechand German borders is a clearasset, as is the presence ofwell-developed communica-tion and transportation infra-structure near its subzones.Year established: 1997Total area: 367.14 ha (139.30ha available)Dominant industries: Auto-motive, metal, paper, printingTotal number of investors: 46(53 permits issued)Total value of investments:z∏.1.73 billion

Contact: www.ssemp.pl

Katowice SpecialEconomic Zone The Katow-ice SpecialEconomicZ o n ed e s c r i b e sitself as theleader of Poland’s SEZs. The 9million people living within a100 km radius of Katowiceoffer huge labor and consumermarkets to investors, while thelocal area also offers some ofthe best transport links inPoland, with the partially com-pleted A4 and A1 highwaysrunning east-west and north-south respectively. It is alsolocated close to two interna-tional airports – Katowice-Pyr-zowice and Kraków-Balice. Year established: 1996Total area: 2,005 ha (942 haavailable)Dominant industries: auto-motive, construction, glass,steel Total number of investors:214 (over 335 permits issued)Total value of investments:€4.30 billion (about z∏.17.6billion)Contact: www.ksse.com.pl

Kostrzyn-S∏ubiceSpecial Economic Zone O f f i c i a l sfrom theK o s t r z y n -S∏ubice Spe-cial Eco-nomic Zonestress that the key advantagesof investing there include thewell-educated local workforceand location close to the Ger-man border. The SEZ has atleast one subzone within 90

km of Berlin. Low labor costsis another advantage forinvestors.

Land in the SEZ is readyfor investment, with full tech-nical infrastructure already inplace. According to officials,certain subzones provide thepossibility of a 100 percentexemption from local taxes inaddition to income tax oremployment cost reliefs. Year established: 1997Total area: 1,454.50 ha(726.23 ha available)Dominant industries: auto-motive, electronics, paper,metal and wood processing Total number of investors:110 (217 permits issued)Total value of investments:z∏.4.38 billionContact: www.kssse.pl

Kraków TechnologyPark Special EconomicZone T h eK r a k ó wTechnologyPark Spe-cial Eco-nomic Zone operates as bothan SEZ and a technologypark, supporting innovationand new technology, as wellas bringing together scien-tists, entrepreneurs andinvestors. The city of Krakówprovides it with a strong aca-demic base, with several uni-versities located within thevicinity of the technologypark, from which qualifiedstaff can be drawn. Officialssay public aid for investors inKraków Technology Park isthe highest in Poland. Year established: 1997Total area: 558.71 haDominant industries: auto-

motive, BPO, ITTotal number of investors:108Total value of investments:z∏.1.70 billionContact: www.sse.krakow.pl

Legnica SpecialEconomic Zone The Legni-ca SpecialEconomicZone is sit-uated in thesouthwest-ern part of Poland, in theLower Silesia voivodship. Itdescribes itself as a placewhere businesses canimprove their competitive-ness, technology and know-how. It also allows them todevelop national and inter-national business ties. Invest-ing in the Legnica SEZ alsogives firms access to exemp-tions on income and propertytax. The LSEZ describes itself asa high-quality investmentarea, since it is prepared forbusiness activity, is equippedwith technical infrastructure,subdivided to suit investorrequirements and located inwell-connected areas, closeto major roads such as the A4and A18 highways.Year established: 1997Total area: 1,042 ha (760 hais still available), expected toexpand by 29 haDominant industries: auto-motiveTotal number of investors:41 (103 permits issued) Total value of investments:z∏.5.07 billionTop investors in terms ofvalue:Contact: www.lsse.eu

Investment locations

Special Economic Zones

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SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 www.wbj.pl 17

Zachodniopomorskie has over3,000 lakes, as well as twonational parks, with the WolinNational Park being home tomany of the country’s famousbison. The region also boastsseven landscape parks andthree golf courses, making itan attractive destination forholidaymakers. Popular recre-ational activities includingwindsurfing, kayaking andfishing also continue to attracttourists to this picturesquecoastal region.

Natural features attractiveto investors

includea signifi-cant amount of forested areawhich can be used for woodprocessing or as agriculturalland after deforestation, withthe region’s soil being suitablefor growing crops. Increasinglythis includes organic food pro-duction.

Major sources of foreigninvestment include Germany,Sweden, Denmark and otherEU countries, although the

US, China, India, Japan andKorea also have a presence.

Among major investors inthe region are Danish firm LMWind Power and Swedish fur-niture giant Swedwood, whichis based in Goleta. Europe’slargest fish processor RoyalGreenland Seafood and Por-tuguese retailer JeronimoMartins Dystrybucja are bothlocated in Koszalin. Germanfirm Tognum is also currentlyplanning to build a new engineproduction factory in thePomeranian SEZ, worth some€90 million.

Added to the voivodship’sadvantageous land and sealinks, other positive featuresinclude modern public trans-port connections and a well-educated workforce, withmany in the region speak-ing both Germanand English.

The presenceof special econom-

ic zones, as well as theavailability of EU funds and

local tax exemptions are otherfactors which make Zachod-niopomorskie a good optionfor investors.

Major cities - SzczecinThe Zachodniopomorskieregion’s historic capital,Szczecin, lies just 12 km fromthe German border and is situ-ated at the mouth of the RiverOder. Located close to theBaltic Sea it is home to thelargest group of sea terminals

in Poland, with 47 percent oftranshipments in and out ofthe country occurring inSzczecin. Major internationaland Polish ship builders UnityLine and Polska ˚eglugaMorska are based there. Thearea is also well-known as amajor sailing hub, hosting anumber of races and maritimeevents throughout the year.

In terms of business, cityofficials are currently focusedon developing the BPO, logis-tics and renewable energy sec-tors, particularly wind energy,in addition to its more tradi-tional maritime industries.Major sources of FDI includeGermany, the Netherlands,Luxembourg and Sweden.

Szczecin offers varioustypes of public assistance forinvestors. Such assistance isavailable to companies startingor developing business activi-ties in Szczecin.

Major cities - KoszalinAs the second-largest econom-ic center inthe

r e g i o n ,Koszalin is an

attractive desti-nation for foreign

investors looking to locate inZachodniopomorskie. Locat-ed close to numerous lakes,including Lake Jamno, one ofthe largest in Poland, and just6 km from the coast, the cityprovides good access to themajor Baltic Sea ports. Itslocation also makes it an idealtourist destination, withalmost 40 percent of Koszalincovered by green space.

The city is well connected,with the E-28 highway whichconnects Berlin with Kalin-ingrad running through thecity, providing it with conven-ient access to both the Ger-man and Russian markets.

Major infrastructure proj-ects currently being imple-mented include the construc-tion of an external ring-roadsystem and the proposedreopening of the ZegrzePomorskie Airport. The costof the latter investment, whichis currently in the planningstage, is estimated at z∏.144.27million.

Koszalin’s main industriesinclude automotive produc-tion, electromechanical, foodprocessing and metal working.Foreign investments have

come from countries includingCanada, Denmark, theNetherlands, Norway, Spain,Sweden, Ukraine and the US,with a total of 18,400 business-es registered in the city in2011.

Along with trying to devel-op existing industries, the cityis also attempting to attractmore investments in BPO andR&D. In 2009 the Science andTechnology Park was openedin order to attract investorsfrom these sectors.

Major advantages cited by

City Hall, in addition to loca-tion and good transport con-nections, include the low costof labor, with the averagesalary 30 percent below thenational average, a youngand educated work force,and tax incentives for foreigninvestors. These include taxbreaks available in theKoszalin subzone of theS∏upsk Special EconomicZone, which comprises 115hectares and offers exemp-tions on income tax of up to60 percent. ●

Many of Zachodniopomorskie’s advantages asan investment destination stem from itslocation, situated as it is in the heart of Europe,bordering Germany to the east. The region alsohas 185 km of Baltic Sea coastline. Thesefactors afford it close proximity to WesternEurope as well as easy access to the lucrativeScandinavian markets, from where it alsoreceives a significant amount of FDI

Key facts

Voivode: Marcin Zydorowicz Marshall: Olgierd GeblewiczArea: 22,892 sq km Population (March 2011): 1,722,883Working-age population (Dec. 2010):1,112,013Unemployment rate (June 2012): 16.7%Average monthly wage (June 2012):z∏.3,326.26 GDP (2009): z∏.52.39 billion, up 2.6% y/y(3.9% of national GDP)Natural resources: 185 km of coastline,clay, forests, good conditions for renew-able energy production, limestone,national and landscape parks, oil, over300 lakesNumber of students of higher education:85,000 Number of institutions of higher educa-tion: 22Major universities: Academy of Art inSzczecin, Koszalin University of Technol-ogy, Maritime University of Szczecin,Pomeranian Medical University, Universi-ty of Szczecin, West Pomeranian Busi-ness School, West Pomeranian Universityof TechnologyMajor airport: Szczecin-Goleniów AirportSpecial Economic Zones: S∏upsk SpecialEconomic Zone: 412.24 ha, Kostrzyn-S∏ubice Special Economic Zone: 295.59

ha, Pomeranian Special Economic Zone:208 ha, EURO-PARK MIELEC Special Eco-nomic Zone: 73 ha

Estimated investment:

Total (2010): z∏.8.3 billion (private sector:z∏.3.5 billion; public sector: z∏.4.8 billion )

Of which:

• Industry: z∏.2.83 billion, of which:

Manufacturing: z∏.889 million

• Transportation and storage: z∏.1.55 bil-lion

• Trade; repair of motor vehicles: z∏.540million

• Construction: z∏.202 million

• Real estate activities: z∏.56 million

Number of new commercial and civil law

partnershipsregistered (2011): 1,304, up5.2% y/y

Number of new sole proprietorships

registered (2011): 16,793, down 8.7%

Recent major investors: Backer OBR,Bridgestone Stargard, Coloplast,Espersen Polska, KPPD, LM Wind PowerBlades, Netto, PGE Zespó∏ ElektrowniDolna Odra, Ramirent, Tieto Poland, Uni-Credit Process & Administration

Sources of major foreign investment:

Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Swe-den, UK, US

Voivodships

Zachodniopomorskie voivodship

The maritime industry is a key part of the local economy. Here, sea port cranes in

ÂwinoujÊcie

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Sianów

Darłowo

Mielno

Kołobrzeg

Karlino

Białogard

TychowoSławobrze

Gryfice

Płoty

Resko

Nowogard

Wolin

MiędzyzdrojeŚwinoujście

Trzebież

Stepnica

Police Goleniów

Chociwel

Recz

Mirosławiec

KaliszPomorski

Walcz

Toczno

Człopa

ChoszcznoPyrzyce

Gryfino

ChojnaMyślibórz

Trzczińsko-ZdrójLipiany Barlinek

Dębno

Węgorzyno Czaplinek

Barwice

Grzmiąca

Bobolice

Stepień

Polanów

Szczecinek

ZłocieniecDrawskoPomorskie

StargardSzczeciński

Łobez

ŚwidwinPołczyn-Zdrój

Mrzeżyno

TrzebiatówDziwnów

KamieńPomorski

Sławno

Szczecin

Koszalin

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SEPTEMBER 24-30, 201218 www.wbj.pl FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS

Labor market stagnatingIn the second quarter of 2012,nominal labor costs in Polandrose by 3.9 percent in compar-ison to the same period a yearearlier, Eurostat revealed lastMonday. The European sta-tistical agency said that theincrease was due largely topay rises, and not new over-head costs or taxes.

However, with inflation atnearly 4 percent for that peri-od, according to Poland’s sta-tistical office, in real terms,the country’s labor costs havenot risen.

In comparison, Eurostatfound that in the same periodreal labor costs grew by 1.2

percent in the Czech Republic,5.1 percent in Romania and 3percent in Bulgaria. Mean-while, in Hungary, real laborcosts decreased by 0.8 percentand in Slovakia by 0.6 percent.

Poland’s Central StatisticalOffice released data last Tues-day that showed that corpo-rate sector employment andwages dropped month-on-month in August (0.1 percentand 0.4 percent respectively)and that in year-on-yearterms, corporate employmentremained stable, while wagesrose by 2.7 percent. In theeight months to August,employment rose by just 0.3

percent over last year, whilewages grew by 3.9 percent.

“These data are in linewith our scenario of labormarket stagnation in theupcoming months,” wroteMaciej Reluga, chief econo-mist at Bank Zachodni WBKin an e-mail.

“In our view, [the] labormarket data, together withCPI figures and expected byus weak growth of output inindustry … should deliver suf-ficient arguments for most[Monetary Policy Council]members to cut interest ratesat October’s meeting.”

RRAA,, AAKK

Manufacturing

IInndduussttrriiaall pprroodduuccttiioonnsslloowwss sshhaarrppllyyIt’s a harbinger ofmore negativenumbers to come, aseconomic slowdownhits PolandPoland’s industrial productionin August grew at a pace of 0.5percent year-on-year, downfrom the 5.2 percent growth inJuly and slower than the mar-ket consensus forecast of 1.9percent.

The weakening of outputgrowth was “broad based andwas visible both in sectionsdependent on domesticdemand and export-oriented,”Piotr Bujak, chief economistfor Poland at Nordea Bank,said in an e-mailed statement.

Economists said the figureswere further confirmation thatPoland’s economy is experi-encing a steep slowdown, as anumber of recent macroeco-nomic figures have indicated.Poland’s economic growth forthe second quarter of this yearcame in at 2.4 percent y/y, asharp decrease from the 3.5percent seen in the first quar-ter – despite an influx oftourists for the Euro 2012tournament in Q2.

The Central StatisticalOffice, which released theindustrial production figureslast Wednesday, also releasedconstruction output figures.Here, the news was somewhatbetter, with output contractinga mere 5 percent y/y, ratherthan the 8 percent or so thatanalysts had expected. Thesector had contracted by 8.8percent y/y in July.

A detailed breakdown ofthe construction data showeda rebound in infrastructureconstruction, Mr Bujak said,“but in our view this is [a] tem-porary effect connected with

finishing some road works sus-pended due to Euro 2012.”

After the release of theworse-than-expected industri-al production data on Wednes-day, economists warned thatmacroeconomic indicators willcontinue to show that Polandis experiencing a slowdown.

“We expect to see confir-mation of negative tendenciesalso in retail sales data, whichwill fit into our scenario ofclear economic slowdown,”said Maciej Reluga, chiefeconomist at Bank ZachodniWBK, in an e-mail.

AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

0

2

4

6

8

10

Aug. '1

2Jul.

'12Jun

. '12

May '12

Apr. '1

2Mar.

'12Feb

. '12

Jan. '1

2Dec.

'11Nov.

'11Oct.

'11Sep

. '11

Aug. '1

1

Deep diveIndustrial output growth (in %) August 2011-August 2012

Source: Central Statistical Office

Poland’s headlineinterest rate is higherthan in mostdeveloped economies.That might be aboutto change

As the macroeconomic datareleased by Poland’s statisticaloffice continues to disappoint,more economists are becom-ing convinced that the Mone-tary Policy Council (RPP) willlower the country’s referenceinterest rate at its next meet-ing, at the beginning of Octo-ber. Any reduction in the rate,which currently stands at 4.75percent, would be the first inover three years. While manyeconomists think a rate cutwould be the right move, atleast one very influential for-mer rate-setter is calling forthe RPP to refrain from lower-ing rates.

Leszek Balcerowicz, a for-mer finance minister andNational Bank of Poland head,often called the architect ofPoland’s economic transfor-mation, has spoken out againstlowering interest rates. Mr

Balcerowicz, known for hishawkish views on monetarypolicy, spoke out last week,saying those who favor loosen-ing rates underestimate thedanger of inflation.

“How can the RPP reduceinterest rates when inflation isat 3.8 percent, much higherthan the set target of 2.5 per-cent? That would be irrespon-sible,” Mr Balcerowicz toldPuls Biznesu.

“If the RPP isn’t capable ofcontrolling the situation withinflation, then it should dis-solve itself. That is a seriousproposition,” he added.

The former NBP head alsosaid that if the RPP were tocut rates, it would be wronglybowing to pressure from a setof vocal economists.

Not just about inflationBut the economists that spokewith WBJ disagreed with MrBalcerowicz.

“I definitely think interestrates should be cut. One can’tapproach interest rates withsuch a narrow-minded viewthat focuses only on inflation,”said Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ,

chief economist at X-TradeBrokers.

Mr Kwiecieƒ added thatthe headline Consumer PriceIndex figure, which Mr Bal-cerowicz cited, needs to beseen in a more nuanced light.Factors which made the figurestand at 3.8 percent such asincreased energy prices have“nothing to do with monetarypolicy, as they are regulated,”he said.

Likewise, he said, increasedfood prices are largely a func-tion of global economictrends, as are higher fuelprices. “What monetary policyhas an effect on is discre-tionary spending, and that isalso very weak now,” he said.

Grzegorz Maliszewski,chief economist at Bank Mil-lennium, also thinks interestrates should be lowered.

“I think we should look atthe situation in the real econo-my. Polish interest rates areamong the highest in Europe,”he said. Mr Maliszewski saidhe expects interest rates to becut by around “75 basispoints” before the end of theyear. RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

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Leszek Balcerowicz opposes cutting interest rates at the moment

Interest rates

TToo ccuutt oorr nnoott ttoo ccuutt??

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 24-30, 2012, LI 17/38

Work on

Chopin Airport

terminal

The old part of Terminal

A at the Chopin Airport in

Warsaw has been closed

due to the launch of a

major refurbishment

process that will result in

its complete

transformation and

integration with the new

part of the terminal by

the end of 2014. The old

part of the terminal was

in poor technical

condition and its

throughput needed to be

increased. ●

Penta eyes Poland . . . . . . . . . . .19

Senator opening . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Hotel Europejski renovation . .20

Magnolia Park extension . . . . .20

Property-related stocks . . . . . .20

Tri-city offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Alchemia sports center . . . . . .21

Bayer in Gdańsk . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

In this issue

2120

Ghelamco Poland has officiallyopened its Senator officebuilding in Warsaw

International developers areincreasingly interested in theoffice market in Tri-city

Property investment

PPeennttaa IInnvveessttmmeennttss eeyyiinngg PPoolliisshhpprrooppeerrttyy mmaarrkkeettThe investment groupis targeting projectsvalued from €100-250million

Investment group PentaInvestments, which operatesin Slovakia and the CzechRepublic, is considering enter-ing the Polish property marketand investing in projects inWarsaw.

“We are intensively moni-toring the Polish market andconsidering potential invest-ment projects in the real estatesector in Warsaw,” JozefOravkin, managing partner atthe company’s Real EstatePenta division, said in a state-ment.

Martin Danko, PR manag-er and spokesperson at PentaInvestments, added that inPoland the company is mostly

focusing on the office sector.“We are targeting projectswith an ‘enterprise value’ offrom €100-250 million,” MrDanko said.

Projects that Penta Invest-ments is interested in and cur-rently reviewing in Polandinclude schemes which allowfor the construction of officeskyscrapers. “Compared toour presence in Prague andBratislava, the Polish markethas the biggest [growth]potential for us in real estate,”Mr Danko said.

To date, Penta has complet-ed two real estate projects andis now carrying out 12 schemesin Slovakia and the CzechRepublic. By 2018, the compa-ny plans to invest €1.1 billionin property and develop build-ings with a total area of some580,000 sqm.

Earlier this month, PentaInvestments acquired a169,000-sqm plot in Pragueon which it is planning a

mixed-use complex includ-ing approximately 45,000sqm of office space andapproximately 350 housing

units. The investment is val-ued at more than €200 mil-lion.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

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Penta Investments sees great potential in the Polish property market

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE20 www.wbj.pl

New Saska

estate phase

underway

Warsaw Stock Exchange-

listed developer Dom

Development has

launched construction on

a new phase of its Saska

multifamily housing

estate in Warsaw. The

new building will feature

from seven to eight floors

and will comprise 163

apartments. Homes in

the newly launched

phase of the project are

scheduled to be

completed in the first

quarter of 2014.

Robyg starts

new Warsaw

schemeWarsaw Stock Exchange-

listed developer Robyg

has obtained a building

permit for the first phase

of its Young City

multifamily residential

project in Warsaw.

Construction on the

scheme is scheduled to

launch later this month

and finish in December

next year. The new estate

is located in the capital’s

Bemowo district and its

first phase will comprise

a four-storey building

with 143 apartments. ●

Security Closing % change 52-week 52-week % change Total Marketprice (week) low high (year) shares value

on Sep 20 (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX 50.50 3.06 45.85 88.35 -28.77 25,530,098 1,289.27

CELTIC 8.41 -6.56 7.02 22.70 -57.42 34,231,466 287.89

DOMDEV 28.77 10.65 23.50 42.80 11.86 24,670,397 709.77

ECHO 4.32 7.73 3.05 4.45 16.13 420,000,000 1,814.40

ELBUDOWA 98.50 4.40 87.00 120.00 -1.50 4,747,608 467.64

ENERGOPLD 0.20 11.11 0.17 2.75 -93.06 70,972,001 14.19

ERBUD 12.42 4.46 11.33 23.20 -46.70 12,677,956 157.46

GANT 3.37 -2.32 3.37 9.85 -59.88 20,120,000 67.80

GTC 7.50 11.94 5.20 12.49 -25.74 319,372,990 2,395.30

HBPOLSKA 0.01 -66.67 0.02 1.43 -98.85 210,558,445 2.11

JWCONSTR 4.27 1.67 3.85 8.42 -40.20 54,073,280 230.89

LCCORP 1.19 29.35 0.85 1.48 20.20 447,558,311 532.59

MARVIPOL 10.00 -3.38 6.20 11.00 14.16 36,923,400 369.23

MIRBUD 1.00 -8.26 0.98 2.68 -59.18 75,000,000 75.00

MOSTALWAR 13.55 4.71 11.30 25.88 -38.41 20,000,000 271.00

MOSTALZAB 1.19 26.60 0.81 1.80 -12.50 149,130,538 177.47

ORCOGROUP 6.56 2.82 6.38 19.55 -68.75 99,992,889 655.95

PBG 4.40 10.55 3.36 92.00 -93.45 14,295,000 62.90

PLAZACNTR 2.25 12.50 1.80 2.94 -6.25 297,174,515 668.64

POLAQUA 3.40 -3.68 3.40 9.70 -66.00 27,500,100 93.50

POLIMEXMS 0.69 32.69 0.48 2.04 -50.71 521,154,076 359.60

POLNORD 12.29 4.15 10.49 19.85 2.42 23,798,439 292.48

RANKPROGR 7.70 -1.28 7.10 16.97 -24.58 37,145,050 286.02

ROBYG 1.24 8.77 1.04 1.75 11.71 257,935,500 319.84

RONSON 0.71 10.94 0.61 1.15 -29.00 272,360,000 193.38

TRAKCJA 0.73 4.29 0.65 1.87 -52.90 232,105,480 169.44

ULMA 38.80 -0.49 37.20 74.80 -34.79 5,255,632 203.92

UNIBEP 4.40 -1.79 3.60 6.61 -21.29 34,021,684 149.70

WARIMPEX 3.14 1.29 2.64 5.77 -41.31 54,000,000 169.56

ZUE 6.90 6.81 5.07 9.15 -25.00 22,000,000 151.80

Property-related stocks

Ghelamco opens Senatorbuilding in Warsaw

The project is sittingon the city’s historicPolish Bank site

Developer Ghelamco Polandhas officially opened its Sena-tor office building in Warsaw.The facility, which is locatedon ul. Bielaƒska in the capital’sÂródmieÊcie district, has deliv-ered 25,000 sqm of space.

“Senator is the most unique

investment of GhelamcoPoland and at the same time aunique place in Warsaw,” saidJeroen van der Toolen, Ghe-lamco’s managing director forCentral and Eastern Europe.

The Senator building wasbuilt on the site of the historicPolish Bank building and itsarchitecture is modeled afterthat of the pre-war structure.The investment’s tenants in-

clude PKN Orlen, Legg Mason,Euronet and BRE Bank.

Ghelamco Poland special-izes in the delivery of office andlogistics developments and hascompleted over 400,000 sqm ofoffice and warehouse spaceover the last 21 years. The com-pany is also, under its Ghelam-co Residential brand, presentin the Polish housing market.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Hotel Europejskirenovation tolaunch in 2013The historic Hotel Europejskibuilding in Warsaw will under-go thorough renovation thatwill launch in the first quarterof next year and cost approxi-mately €65 million. The presti-gious facility is expected to re-open for business in the firsthalf of 2015.

The planned refurbishmentof Hotel Europejski has be-come possible due to thesecuring of a new investor.Vera Michalski-Hoffmann, aSwiss citizen, has become amajority shareholder in thefirm that owns the facility.

Through a Swiss entitycalled Takami Holding, theinvestor has acquired a 66-percent stake in the firm. Theremaining 34 percent remainsin the hands of the heirs of thefamilies that established thehotel.

Takami Holding will coverapproximately one-third of therenovation cost, while theremaining two thirds will comefrom outside sources, JosephHannah, managing director ofHotel Europejski, said in astatement.

“We already have all the

documents that are needed tocarry out this undertaking. Weare planning to launch con-struction in the first quarter ofnext year and we expect thehotel to again open its doors inthe first half of 2015,” MrHannah added.

The renovation project,which has been accepted byWarsaw’s historic-buildingspreservation authorities andfor which a building permithas already been granted, wasdesigned by the Sud Archi-tectes studio. The refurbishedbuilding will comprise ap-proximately 100 hotel rooms,operated by Raffles Hotels &Resorts, as well as luxury bou-tiques and 6,500 sqm of class-A office space.

The portfolio of the Raf-fles Hotel & Resorts brandcurrently comprises eight lux-ury facilities in locations in-cluding Singapore, Dubai andParis. Hotel Europejski, whichthe investors intend to makethe most luxurious hospitalityproject in Poland, will be thebrand’s second hotel inEurope.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Magnolia Park extensiondesign presented

The vsf creative studio haspresented the architecturalconcept for the planned20,000-sqm extension of theMagnolia Park shopping cen-ter in Wroc∏aw. KasamaInvestments and Blackstoneare planning to launch con-struction on the project at thebeginning of 2013.

Following the extensionscheme, the size and range ofthe retail offer of Magnolia

Park will be increased, with anumber of new brands expect-ed to make a debut in theWroc∏aw market by setting upshop in the mall. The foodand entertainment facilitieswill be expanded and relocat-ed.

“A significant feature of thebuilding will be the revisedapproach from ul. Legnicka,where visitors will be intro-duced to a new shopping expe-

rience under a sweeping roofin the double-height entrancehall,” vsf creative said in astatement.

Opened in October 2007,Magnolia Park is the largestshopping and entertainmentcenter in Lower Silesia. Themall features 74,400 sqm ofleasable space and housesalmost 230 stores, restaurantsand points of service.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

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Construction on the 20,000-sqm project will launch at the beginning of 2013

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The Senator building has delivered 25,000 sqm of space

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 21

Office

TTrrii--cciittyy aattttrraaccttiinngg iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall ddeevveellooppeerrssThe agglomeration’soffice market is nolonger dominated bylocal players

Office supply in the Tri-cityagglomeration has nearly dou-bled since 2005 and is set to seefurther growth as internationaland large Polish developers areincreasingly discovering thelargest office market in north-ern Poland.

“Until recently, the marketwas dominated by local devel-opers. This has now started tochange with internationaldevelopers and developers withlarge-scale operations acrossPoland planning or undertakingoffice projects in the area,”

Magdalena Reƒska, head of theoffice agency at Jones LangLaSalle in Gdaƒsk, said in astatement.

Companies such as CapitalPark, Echo Investment, Hinesand Multi Development arenow all either building or plan-ning office projects in Tri-city,according to a recent study byJones Lang LaSalle, preparedin cooperation with Invest inPomerania, Hays Poland andReas.

Planned investments in-clude a 28,500-sqm office parkby Multi Development, a21,000-sqm office buildingcalled Tryton by Echo Invest-ment and an office buildingcalled Neptun House by Capi-

tal Park. Up to 150,000 sqm ofoffice space could be developedwithin Hossa’s Garnizon.bizscheme.

According to Jones LangLaSalle data, Tri-city is thefourth-largest office market inPoland, with its current stock ofapproximately 370,000 sqm.Over 50 percent of the volumeis located in Gdaƒsk, whileGdynia and Sopot account for40 percent and 10 percent ofthe figure, respectively.

Currently, approximately80,000 sqm of office space isunder construction in Tri-city,with major ongoing projectsincluding Olivia Point & Tower(21,000 sqm), Alchemia Phase I(16,500 sqm) and Centrum

Biurowe Neptun (15,300 sqm).As of the end of Q2 2012,

over 33,000 sqm of office spacein Tri-city remained unoccu-

pied, which meant a vacancyrate of 9.1 percent. “These fig-ures confirm the strong positionof tenants in Tri-city who can

choose from a selection of veryattractive office projects,” MsReƒska said.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Major sports center in Alchemia projectThe under-construction Alchemia mixed-useproject in Gdaƒsk will feature the largestsports facility in Poland located in an officebuilding, according to the scheme’s developer,Torus.

The almost 5,000-sqm sports and recreationcenter will be arranged in a four-floor base ofAlchemia whose high-rise sections will com-prise office space. The center will include a hallwith a climbing wall, a fitness facility, a largegym and three swimming pools.

“The sports and recreation part of

Alchemia will be an integral part of the wholebuilding. We hope that it will be actively usedby both the employees of our tenants and theinhabitants of Tri-city,” Monika Brzozowska, acommercialization expert at Torus, said in astatement.

The first phase of Alchemia will comprisetwo office buildings, featuring six and eightfloors above the shared base. They will offer atotal of almost 22,000 sqm of leasable spacethat is scheduled to be turned over to tenantson October 1, 2013.●

Bayer at Olivia Business Centre in Gdaƒsk

The Olivia Business Centre office project inthe Baltic Sea coast city of Gdaƒsk willhouse Bayer’s new finance and accountingcenter. Following a lease transaction bro-kered by Jones Lang LaSalle, the companywill occupy two floors in the project, whichis currently under construction.

Bayer will eventually occupy around2,500 sqm in the Olivia Tower part of thecomplex where it is expected to move by theend of 2014. Before that, the first employ-ees of the new center will temporarily occu-py 400 sqm of office space in the already-completed Olivia Gate building.

“The availability of modern office space,as well as access to qualified graduates andprofessionals, were some of the main rea-sons for locating our center in Tri-city,”Remigiusz Wojciechowski, head of Bayer’sService Center Gdaƒsk, said in a statement.

“It is a pleasure to cooperate with com-panies entering the Tri-city market. It iswith pride that we observe how office spacein this market finds tenants among some ofthe most renowned global companies,”stated Magdalena Reƒska, head of theoffice agency of Jones Lang LaSalle inGdaƒsk.●C

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SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012TTHHEE LLIISSTT22 www.wbj.pl

Construction & Real Estate

Warehouse Space in PolandRanked by existing rentable space www.bookoflists.pl

Notes: WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conductedin September 2012. Companies not responding to our survey are not listed.Footnotes: (1) Data on space rented (%) and selected clients is from 30.06.2012

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 typographical errors may occur. Cor-rections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Monika Brysiak, ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2011, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank Warehouse name

AddressWeb page

Existingrentable space

(sqm)

Spacerented

Included in price Charged seperately24-hoursecurity

Yearcompleted

Maximumstorage

height (m)Selected clients Contact person Owner

1Prologis Park Chorzów(1)

ul. Niedêwiedziniec 10, Chorzów Batorywww.prologiscee.com

234,672 93%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2006-2009 10-11

Aldi; ArchiDoc; Danone; FM Polska; HellmannWorldwide Logistics; Moto-Profil; Kuehne &

Nagel; Raben

Micha∏ Czarnecki:mczarnecki@prologis.com,

601-447-966

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

2

Tulipan Park Strykówul. Warszawska - Smolice 1, 95-010 Strykówwww.segro.pl/parki_segro/strykow

183,000 97.63% WND WND ✓ WND 10 Corning; Azymut; Sonoco; Komfort; Complex;CEI; SWM; Hellmann

Anna Leowska:anna.leowska@segro.com,

600-010-035; Aleksandra Kiciƒska:

aleksandra.kicinska@segro.com,692-053-181

Segro Poland: Bo˝ena Krawczyk,

warsaw@segro.com, 22 338-6617

3Europolis Park B∏oniePass, 05-870 B∏oniewww.caimmo.com

176,522 WND WND WND ✓ 1998-2010 10 Europapier; Delphi; TP; Nagel; Tajfun; WilshireHolding; IBM; Euromark

Agata Czerwiƒska:agata.czerwinska@caimmo.pl,

22 540-6540CA Immo

4Panattoni Park Poznaƒ Iul. Magazynowa 3; 4; 5A, 62 - 023 Gàdkiwww.panattoni.pl

171,300 98%

Class-A buildings; column grid 12m x25m; the floor load capacity - 5T/m2;ESFR sprinkler system; gas heating;light intensity; skylights and smokeflaps in accordance with Polish law

and the requirements of thecustomer; door and unloading ramp

with seals

WND ✓ 2008-2010 10 H&M; Piotr i Pawe∏; Gefco; Neuca; Dachser;NAVO; OST Sped; Hendi

Sylwia Wàsowska:swasowska@panattoni.com,

691-945-012

Panattoni Europe:plinfo@panattoni.com,

22 540-7171

5Panattoni Park Mys∏owiceul. Kosztowska 21, Mys∏owicewww.panattoni.pl

170,860 97%

Class-A buildings; column grid 12m x25m; the floor load capacity - 5T/m2;ESFR sprinkler system; gas heating;light intensity; skylights and smokeflaps in accordance with Polish law

and the requirements of thecustomer; door and unloading ramp

with seals

WND ✓ 2008-2009 10PartnerTech; Rohlig; Coca-Cola HBC;

Intermarche; Magneti Marelli; DPD; ManuliHydraulics; CAT

Patrycja Polaƒska:ppolanska@panattoni.com,

32 609-0870

Panattoni Europe:plinfo@panattoni.com,

22 540-7171

6

Prologis Park Wroc∏aw(1)

ul. Magazynowa 1-8, Kobierzyce, Bielany Wroc∏awskiewww.prologiscee.com

168,007 88%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2005-2007 10

Black Red White; Carlsberg Polska; DS SmithPolska; Geodis Calberson Polska; Healthy FoodProduction; Iron Mountain Polska; JAS-FBG;

Toyota Tsusho Polska

Ewa Zawadzka:ezawadzka@prologis.com,

692-436-714

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

7MLP Pruszków Iul. 3-go Maja 8, 05-800 Pruszkówwww.mlp.pl

165,000 96% Depending on the customer’s wishes Depending on the customer’s wishes ✓ 2000-2010 10.5 WND

Ma∏gorzata Âlusarczyk:m.slusarczyk@mlp.pl,

600-026-180

MLP Pruszków I:info@mlp.pl, 22 738-3010

8Prologis Park Teresin(1)

Al. 20-Lecia 23A-E, 96-515 Teresinwww.prologiscee.com

159,424 77%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2000-2005 10 DHL; International Automotive Comp; NTA;

Schenker; FIEGE; Viva Manufacturing

Emilia Szyszka:eszyszka@prologis.com,

664-194-607

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

9Prologis Park B∏onie(1)

Kopytów 44A, 05-870 B∏oniewww.prologiscee.com

159,146 75%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 1999-2008 10

Bertelsmann; Interchem; Iron Mountain;Mercedes-Benz; Papyrus; Procan; Raben;

Rhenus

Emilia Szyszka:eszyszka@prologis.com,

664-194-607

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

10

Prologis Park Dàbrowa(1)

ul. Roêdziejskiego 12, 41-303 Dàbrowa Górniczawww.prologiscee.com

146,017 97%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2004-2007 10

Abra; ANL; DHL; Euro-Pegaz Logistyka; Fiege;Magna Automotive; Rhenus Contract Logistic;

7R Solutions

Micha∏ Czarnecki:mczarnecki@prologis.com,

601-447-966

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

11

Tulipan Park GliwiceAl. Jana Nowaka Jezioraƒskiego 39, 44-102 Gliwicewww.segro.pl/parki_segro/gliwice

142,000 WND WND WND ✓ 2008-2011 10 Decathlon; General Motors; Kaufland; PlasticOmnium; Schenker; Stanley Black & Decker

Joanna Janiszewska:joanna.janiszewska@segro.com,

668-478-136

Segro Poland: Bo˝enaKrawczyk,

warsaw@segro.com, 22 338-6617

12Panattoni Park ¸ódê Eastul. Zak∏adowa 97/97B-99, 92-402 ¸ódêwww.panattoni.pl

132,342 100%

Class-A buildings; column grid 12m x25m; floor load capacity - 5T/m2;

ESFR sprinkler system; gas heating;light intensity; skylights and smokeflaps in accordance with Polish law

and the requirements of thecustomer; door and unloading ramp

with seals

WND ✓ 2008-2010 10TVAB; Compal Electronics; RR Donnelley;Lekkerland; Schenker; DSV; Flextronics;

Wincanton

Maciej Krawiecki:mkrawiecki@panattoni.com,

693-600-865

Panattoni Europe:plinfo@panattoni.com,

22 540-7171

13Prologis Park Wroc∏aw III(1)

ul. Graniczna 8A-8E, Wroc∏awwww.prologiscee.com

130,025 85%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2005-2008 10 ABB; Asplex; Deichmann Logistik Polska; DHL;

Inter Cars; Selena; Sonoco Poland; Tradis

Aleksandra Cods:acods@prologis.com,

602-552-378

Prologis: info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

14Tulipan Park Poznaƒul. Ks. Wawrzyniaka 2, 62-052 Komornikiwww.segro.pl/parki_segro/poznan/

126,000 96.14% WND WND ✓ 2008 10 Eurocash; Arjo Huntleigh; ˚abka; Inter Cars;CNOS Garden; DPD; ET Euroterminal; KDWT

Anna Leowska:anna.leowska@segro.com, 600-

010-035; Aleksandra Kiciƒska:

aleksandra.kicinska@segro.com,692-053-181

Segro Poland: Bo˝enaKrawczyk,

warsaw@segro.com, 22 338-6617

15

Prologis Park Poznaƒ II(1)

ul. Za Motelem 2A-E, 62-080 Tarnowo Podgórnewww.prologiscee.com

120,783 99%

ESFR sprinkler system; parkingspaces; corporate logo on thebuilding; automatic door and

unloading platforms; maneuverableareas

24h security; facility management;utilities; ISDN ✓ 2005-2007 10

Adam’s; FlexLink Engineering; GreenIntegrated Logistics; IBP Contex Limited; Igepa

Polska; ITM; Philip Morris Polska; SamsungElectronics Polska

Marcin Wronecki:mwronecki@prologis.com,

606-412-932

Prologis:info-pl@prologis.com,

22 218-3600

Amenities and equipment

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012MMAARRKKEETTSS24 www.wbj.pl

SO

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SE

PLN-EUR

4.05

84

4.0

887

4

.121

7

4

.121

7

4.1

635

4.1

340

14.0

9

17.0

9

18.0

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94.0

4.5 PLN-USD

14.0

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3.11

31

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207

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092

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3.5 PLN-GBP

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9

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637

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66

5.1

370

5.20

18

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8

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5.5 PLN-CHF

3.33

79

3.3

628

3.40

12

3.40

75

3.

4440

3.4

126

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93.0

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069

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083

4.1

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4.0

533

3

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currency rates

The z∏oty

retreats

Currency report

The z∏oty gave up all the gainsfrom the previous week asworse macroeconomic datain Poland and worldwide con-firmed a slowing economy.Despite the fact that anothermajor central bank decidedto add stimulus to the econo-my (the Bank of Japan will“print” an additional 10 tril-lion yen), the excitement isgone and now investors arerealizing that economies arestill struggling.

The EUR/USD, afterreaching a four-month highthe previous week, wasunable to continue the rallyand reached $1.32. Aftertraders began closing thoseprofitable long positions, theEUR/USD declined to $1.30throughout the week with alow of $1.2920. This weekthough, we can expect theeuro to regain ground andtrade at levels above $1.30

against the dollar. Macroeconomic data from

the local market were a nega-tive surprise for investors.Industrial production in-creased only by 0.5 percentyear-on-year in August whilecore CPI inflation dropped to2.1 percent from 2.3 percent.These are clear signals forPoland’s rate-setting Mone-tary Policy Council (RPP) tostrongly consider an interest-rate cut, which is now likely tohappen before the end of theyear. RPP members also sug-gested such a move in theirstatements.

As a result of this newsthe EUR/PLN climbed toz∏.4.13, while the USD/PLNincreased from z∏.3.09 toz∏.3.18. But it was a hardweek for Swiss franc creditholders, as the CHF/PLNrate increased again abovethe z∏.3.40 level. ●

Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA

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Major indices

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

HERKULES 1.10 340.00 1.23 0.16ELKOP 0.28 47.37 0.42 0.17WESTAISIC 0.76 38.18 8.65 0.42FON 0.16 33.33 0.42 0.11POLIMEXMS 0.69 32.69 2.09 0.46

WIG 43,737.02 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 1.60% 52-week high: 44,173.50

Change year to September 20: 14.14% 52-week low: 36,549.47

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

POLIMEXMS 0.69 32.69 2.09 0.46LOTOS 31.55 12.68 32.00 21.30GTC 7.50 11.94 12.75 5.13PBG 4.40 10.55 94.65 3.25GETIN 1.79 8.48 9.03 1.43

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

HBPOLSKA 0.01 -66.67 1.47 0.01ABMSOLID 0.12 -40.00 4.75 0.11IFCAPITAL 0.61 -36.46 14.97 0.45REMAK 14.20 -25.26 44.00 14.20ALTERCO 1.55 -23.65 47.98 1.35

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

CYFRPOLSAT 14.24 -1.79 15.85 12.25TPSA 16.57 -1.60 18.56 15.18PKOBP 36.84 -0.94 38.50 27.95CEZ 124.00 -0.40 141.50 111.90PZU 360.00 0.14 372.90 283.10

WIG20 2,387.45 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 1.44% 52-week high: 2,414.62

Change year to September 20: 8.81% 52-week low: 2,035.80

mWIG40 2,312.81 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 1.43% 52-week high: 2,561.94

Change year to September 20: 5.60% 52-week low: 2,076.52

sWIG80 9,672.08 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 2.67% 52-week high: 10,536.29

Change year to September 20: 12.41% 52-week low: 8,218.71

NewConnect 34.83 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 0.81% 52-week high: 43.83

Change year to September 20: -16.05% 52-week low: 33.69

WIG-Banki 6,398.94 (September 20 close)

Change for the week: 0.97% 52-week high: 6,398.94

Change year to September 20: 15.44% 52-week low: 4,944.19

DJIA13,596.936 (Sep 20 close)

0.42% (for the week)

CHANGE: 9.68%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 13,539.86

52-week low: 10,404.50

NASDAQ3,175.96 (Sep 20 close)

0.64% (for the week)

CHANGE: 19.91%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 3,195.67

52-week low: 2,298.89

S&P5001,460.26 (Sep 20 close)

0.02% (for the week)

CHANGE: 14.35%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 1,460.26

52-week low: 1,074.77

FTSE1005,854.6 (Sep 20 close)

0.60% (for the week)

CHANGE: 2.71%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 5,989.10

52-week low: 4,868.60

DAX7,389.49 (Sep 20 close)

1.08% (for the week)

CHANGE: 21.63%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 7,389.49

52-week low: 4,965.80

NIKKEI2259,086.98 (Sep 20 close)

1.02% (for the week)

CHANGE: 6.15%

(year to Sep 20)

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 8,560.11

world stock indices

24.0

8

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

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940,000

41,000

42,000

43,000

44,000

45,00024

.08

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

30.0

8

31.0

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03.0

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12.0

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13.0

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9

19.0

9

20.0

92,200

2,260

2,320

2,380

2,440

2,500

24.0

8

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

30.0

8

31.0

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03.0

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18.0

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19.0

9

20.0

92,200

2,240

2,280

2,320

2,360

2,400

24.0

8

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

30.0

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31.0

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20.0

99,200

9,300

9,400

9,500

9,600

9,700

24.0

8

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

30.0

8

31.0

8

03.0

9

04.0

9

05.0

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06.0

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07.0

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10.0

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11.0

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12.0

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13.0

9

14.0

9

17.0

9

18.0

9

19.0

9

20.0

933.0

33.6

34.2

34.8

35.4

36.0

24.0

8

27.0

8

28.0

8

29.0

8

30.0

8

31.0

8

03.0

9

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9

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11.0

9

12.0

9

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9

17.0

9

18.0

9

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9

20.0

95,900

6,020

6,140

6,260

6,380

6,500

Other indices

Stocks

cool off

Stocks report

With many equity marketssurging to five-year-high gainsjust two weeks ago, followingthe US Federal Reserve’sdecision to buy mortgagebonds indefinitely, stocksinevitably took a dip last week.Monday started off as expect-ed, with investors cashing inon the previous weeks’ gains.

Unsurprisingly, stocks onthe WIG20 took the biggesthit, after the blue-chip indexgained nearly 3 percent theprevious Friday. Only smallerstocks on the sWIG80 man-aged to post impressive gains,with the index posting a 0.40percent rise, while theWIG20 shed half a percentoverall.

Tuesday saw little action,with stocks trading sidewaysfor most of the day. Onceagain it was the sWIG80which managed to post a 0.58percent gain, while both the

WIG and WIG20 closed flat. Poor data concerning the

Polish industrial sectorhelped send Polish sharesfalling on Wednesday,though shares reboundedtowards the end of the dayafter strong housing data wasreleased in the US. Shares inCiti Handlowy did particu-larly well, gaining over 3 per-cent, with both the WIG20and WIG closing exactly 0.47percent higher.

Stocks dipped on Thurs-day, after data showed con-tractions in manufacturing inboth China and the eurozone. Indices throughoutEurope were littered withred tickers, though it was theWIG20 which ended the daywith the largest decline,shedding 1.2 percent.

On Friday, the WIG lost0.08 percent while theWIG20 fell 0.30 percent. ●

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 25

Soccer

Poles start ChampionsLeague campaigns

Robert Lewandowskistarred in Dortmund’svictory over Ajax

Poland’s top soccer starsbegan their ChampionsLeague campaigns with theirrespective European clubs lastweek. In total seven Polishplayers have a chance to beinvolved in this year’s competi-tion. These include the Borus-sia Dortmund trio of RobertLewandoski, ¸ukasz Piszcekand Jakub B∏aszczykowski,Arsenal goalkeepers WojciechSzcz´sny and ¸ukasz Fabiaƒs-ki, Celtic keeper ¸ukasz

Za∏uska, and Anderlechtdefender Marcin Wasilewski.

In the first round of match-es it was last season’s top Bun-desliga player – Robert Le-wandoski – who grabbed theheadlines. The 22-year-oldWarsaw-born striker scored 30goals last season for the Ger-man champions and it lookslike he is set to carry on wherehe left off, following his deadlyfinish in Borussia’s 1-0 victoryover Dutch champions Ajax.

Mr Lewandowski’s decidinggoal came after he turned in thepenalty area before firing a shotbeyond Ajax goalkeeper, Ken-

neth Vermeer, with just threeminutes left on the clock.

Elsewhere it was a badweek for the three Polish goal-keepers, as none of themmade it on to the pitch. BothMr Szcz´sny and Mr Fabiaƒskiwere injured for Arsenal’s 2-1away win over Montpellier,while Mr Za∏uska was anunused substitute in Celtic’sscoreless draw with Benfica.

But for Anderlecht’s Wasi-lewski it was a good night atthe office. He turned out tobe the star man as his sideearned a 0-0 draw against ACMilan at the San Siro. DDII

Cricket

PPoolliisshh tteeaamm wwiinnssiinntteerrnnaattiioonnaallccrriicckkeett ttoouurrnnaammeennttPoland defeatedRomania in the finalof the EasternEuropean Twenty 20tournament

A Polish cricket team made upof players from Bangladesh,India, New Zealand, Polandand Sri Lanka won the EasternEuropean Twenty 20 tourna-ment in the Bulgarian capitalSofia earlier this month.

The team, which containsplayers who represent eitherWarsaw Cricket Club or ¸ódêCricket Club in the domesticgame, defeated Romania inthe final. The Romanian sidewas bowled out 43 runs shortof Poland’s total of 150 for 9 in20 overs.

The tournament, which wasorganized by the CricketBoard of Wales, saw teamsfrom Bulgaria, Hungary,Macedonia, Romania, Russiaand Wales, as well as the twofinalists, competing to claimthe title of Eastern European

champions.On the way to the final the

Polish side beat Bulgaria, Rus-sia and Macedonia in thegroup stages before brushingaside the 2010 winners Hun-gary in the semifinals.

Poland also picked upnumerous team and individualawards at the end of the tour-nament, player manager NickSinha, who hails from Bom-bay, told WBJ.

Among those who wonawards, were Asif Iqbal, whowas ranked as the tournament’smost valuable player, TarunDaluja who was picked as bestbowler, and Vineet Sinha who

claimed the fastest bowleraward, averaging a speed of130 kph for each delivery.

Speaking about the gamein Poland, the team’s managersaid “the standard is reallyquite high now as this tourna-ment is supported by [cricket’sgoverning body] the ICC,which means it has to be at acertain level.”

Looking to the future, MrSinha said he hopes moreplayers will join Warsaw Crick-et Club, adding that anyoneinterested should get in touchvia the team’s website,warsawcricketclub.com.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

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Poland’s victorious cricket team

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Robert Lewandowski (far left) continued his goal-scoring form

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE26 www.wbj.pl

Festival

Singing the blues

Robert Cray (right)

Colours of Hope

Rawa BluesOctober 6, 11 amSpodek Hall,Katowice

The world’s biggest indoorblues festival returns toKatowice for the 32nd time thisOctober, and this year’s lineupensures that music fans canexpect some great guitar play-ing.

Just 20 Polish bands and200 fans went to the first everfestival back in 1981, but since

then the event has grown in toa major international success,with artists, from across theglobe descending on the cityevery year.

This year’s standout per-formers include five-timeGrammy winners the RobertCray Band, who will be per-forming classic hits as wellsongs from the new album“Nothin But Love.” Led byfront man Robert Cray, thegroup has performed along-side legendary blues player

Eric Clapton and singer TinaTurner, among others, duringits 35-year career.

Other artists set to gracethe stages include blues-rockband Eric Sardinas & BigMotor and blues-swing-jazzgroup Davina and theVagabonds, who are frontedby classically trained pianistDavina Sowers.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

For more information logon to rawblues.com

Colours of HopeOctober 4Sala KongresowaPalace of Culture andSciencePlac Defilad 1Warsaw

This show combines theater,dance, art photography, com-puter graphics and music fromgenres including rock, pop,classical and folk, to providetheatergoers with a thoroughly

entertaining spectacle.The performance tells the

story of a man who feels lostand is caught up in the prob-lems of everyday life. It detailshis fears and concerns, beforegoing on to illustrate how wecan overcome our weaknessesand find meaning in our lives.

As the name suggests, col-orful costumes and scenery area major part of the show, whichsees musicians and dancerscombine to show audiences

that you should never give upand to provide an insight in tohow to live a happier life.

Among the performers setto take the stage is Polish rocksinger Piotr Cugowski, a mem-ber of the group Brothers. MrCugowski has previously col-laborated with the late JohnLord of Deep Purple, amongnumerous others.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaammFor more information log

on to kolorynadziei.pl

Movies

CCaappiittaall cciinneemmaa

“Imagine”

28th Warsaw Film FestivalOctober 12-21Kinoteka and MultikinoWarsaw

Movie goers are once again infor a treat this autumn withthe return of the renownedWarsaw Film Festival (WFF).Since starting out as a small-scale student event, WFF hasdeveloped into a globallyrenowned movie festival,becoming one of only 14 suchevents endorsed by the Inter-national Federation of FilmProducers Associations.

The festival showcases thebest of Polish, European andinternational cinema, with amission to increase interna-tional awareness of Polishfilm and culture. “We still

have a lot of catching up todo culturally speaking,” saidStefan Laudyn, director ofthe WFF. “During the warsPoland was completely cut offfrom culture. Now it is ourchance to catch up with therest of the world and that issomething which is speedingright ahead.”

This year’s event, whichpromises to be the best yet,will be opened with a screen-ing of Andrzej Jakimowski’snew film “Imagine.”

The film, which starsAlexandra Maria Lara(“Downfall” by OliverHirschbiegel, “Control” byAnton Corbijn) and EdwardHogg (“White Lightnin’ ” byDominic Murphy,) tells the

story of Ian, a new instructorat a well-known Lisbon clinicfor the visually impaired.

“I wrote ‘Imagine’ afterseveral months’ research intospatial orientation tech-niques used by the blind,”said Mr Jakimowski. “I findsome of their methods poeticand absolutely cinematic atthe same time,” he added.

All movies will be dividedinto different competitioncategories, such as bestscreenplay, director, anddocumentary. The winnerswill be chosen by a specialjury.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

For more information and fulllistings log on to wff.pl

Concert

Technicolored spectacular

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Much like a fat man galumphing des-perately after a runaway McNugget,Techeye has been struggling to catchup recently. And sweating profusely.

September is always a busy month,you see, as gadget makers reveal newtoys and build hype to drive crucialfourth-quarter sales. Indeed, there hasbeen so much new tech this monththat we haven’t been able to cover allthe major reveals, leaving us feelingmore inadequate than a eunuchtasked with repopulating a post-apoc-alyptic world full of libidinous women.

Anyway, this week’s column is allabout rectifying that situation, at leastin part, so let’s start with the KindleFire HD from Amazon. You mayrecall that the original Kindle Fire, aseven-inch tablet introduced last year,sold respectably well, making it one ofthe few products to dent the iPad’smarket dominance.

For its part, the Kindle Fire HD isbeing released in both 7-inch and 8.9-inch variants. Amazon is pitting thelatter model almost directly againstthe 9.7-inch iPad, although nobody

would call it an even match – morelike David and iGoliath.

At $499, the Kindle Fire HD has32GB of storage and a dual-core1.5GHz processor (up from 1GHz inthe original Fire) powering an HD dis-play. The device runs a heavily modi-fied version of Android 4.0 and boastswireless and 4G LTE connectivity.

The comparable model of the iPadretails for $729, albeit with a better dis-play and more power. Long storyshort, consumers looking for high-endperformance (and ready to pay for it)will stick with the iPad; price-con-scious consumers may find Amazon’sproduct more attractive.

Meanwhile, at $199, the seven-inchFire HD – with 16GB of storage and a1.2GHz processor – is squared offagainst Google’s similarly sized Nexus7. The word on the street is thatGoogle’s is the better piece of hard-ware, but Amazon has the edge interms of service.

Both Fire HD models will ship inNovember.

These weren’t the only new toysunveiled by Amazon this month,either – there’s also the Kindle Paper-white, the latest iteration of its indus-try-leading e-reader series. This gener-ation sees Amazon playing catch up

too, but rather than coveringstale news or chasing run-away, processed foodstuffs,it’s trying to regain groundlost to a rival product.

To wit, that’s the NookSimple Touch from Barnes &Noble. Despite sounding likea dodgy pop song from 1984,the Simple Touch successfullycombines front lighting with atouch screen. And, much toAmazon’s chagrin, con-sumers bought it.

The Paperwhite intro-duces front-lighting technolo-gy to a Kindle product, andit’s obvious that Amazon hasput a lot of work into it. Theglow is certainly brightenough to read by, but it’s nothard on the eyes. Moreover,Amazon claims that you’ll still getaround eight weeks of battery time onthe device, even with the front lightingon all the time (keeping the wireless or3G active will tax the battery morethough).

Other updates include a 212-pixelper inch display (up 62 percent on thelast-gen Kindle), improved contrastand a slimmer design that, for betteror worse, does away with physical but-

tons on the device’s face. The softwarehas also gotten a bit of polish, addingfeatures like “Time to Read,” whichkeeps track of reading speed and esti-mates how long it will take you to fin-ish a chapter or book.

The Paperwhite will be available atthe start of October. It runs $119 forthe Wi-Fi version and $179 for the 3Gversion; add $20 to each price if youdon’t want “special deals” ads. ●

SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2012 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 27

Tech Eye

Ever ruined a perfectly good post-apocalyptic repopulation fantasy by adding a eunuch? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com

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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 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

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