POLAND – A SAFE HARBOR FOR NEW INVESTMENTS

Investing in Poland should be analyzed through the success stories of thousands of companies that have made new investments in the last 27 years – a new era after the fall of communism. Since 1989, Poland has become a central point of interest to investors, not only for Central and Eastern Europe, but also for the whole of Europe and the world. Its large and attractive internal market – with more than 16 cities with over 200,000 inhabitants from which investors can source people for their operations – has become the initial factor for the selection of Poland as a home for new projects.

For those last 27 years, Poland has experienced only growth in terms of GDP. This remarkable achievement, unheard of anywhere else in the world, has not been missed by investors and it has increased the level of confdence and stability.

Confidence is one the of most critical  aspects that companies are looking for. In Poland it is understood that by selecting a country, investors are speculating on their own business cases, their own future income, and also on their own careers. We understand how

important these decisions are. Therefore, the experiences and recommendations of actual investors are always the best indicators in these discussions.

Poland has been a leader of change in the region for the last 27 years and has also been a leader in attracting investors. EY conduct “EY Attractiveness Survey” annually and this year’s results proved that Poland is still highly regarded by investors. Some

211 new projects, and almost 20,000 jobs have been created, and Poland has reached 5th position in the ranking of all European countries perceived as the best places to make a new investment.

These are some of the reasons why Poland ranks among the top European countries, and on pole position in CEE. At the same time, we understand that this should not be taken for granted. This competition is like in sport – you are only as good as your last game. New investors are the best examples of Poland’s position on the investor map.

Governments are changing but one may be clear and confident about one thing – that in Poland there has been, there is, and there will be a government willing to attract new businesses and open for discussion about how to convince you to select Poland.

In the last decade, a lot has been done in terms of infrastructure, accessibility and telecommunications, but nowadays great pressure is placed on the availability of skilled people. There are a lot of activities targeted at supporting technical schools and cooperation between high-schools and business. And this is done in order to help investors and people with the necessary skills and motivation.

EY strongly believe that next to the experiences of the last 27 years, our talent pool and availability of people constitute one of Poland’s greatest assets that can be offered to new investors. Undoubtedly, it is a reason for the success and strong presence of SSC/BPO centers in Poland. It has become a critical industry segment for thousands of people employed there.

Nowadays, the world does not offer many opportunities with perfect stability, availability of people, and a good mix of costs. There are always some challenges, but Poland can be perceived as a safe choice and a safe harbor for new investments. Experiences from the most important players on this market – investors – are the best justification and confirmation of this statement.

Source: INVESTING IN POLAND 2017

Doing business in Poland

Poland has impressed the world. According to the reports on emerging markets Poland is offering one of the largest in the region increase of the revenues. Many companies are doing business in Poland because of the strong and attractive consumers market, strategic location and well educated workforce. According to the recent prognosis of the European Commission Poland’s GDP growth will reach 2.5% this year – the highest in the EU. Investors can choose to establish a company in Poland and sell product as well as gain numerous export opportunities and export to large markets situated in West and East of the continent and thanks to Poland’s central location – always within easy reach. LLC in Poland, branch in Poland  – please check how we help you to invest in Poland’s unique business climate and potential. Contact us for further details. Do not miss out on the opportunities.

Introduction

In the times of economic turmoil, the ship sailing under the Polish flag has remained stable. For the year 2016, the growth forecast for Poland’s GDP is 3.5 percent. The Polish economy has grown continuously for 23 years, successfully overcoming the global recession, and it will continue to grow in 2017. Polish public debt is among the lowest in the whole of the European Union at 52.5 percent of GDP, the deficit is 2.8 percent, while the unemployment rate is at 7 percent – slightly higher than that of Germany.

For the very first time in three years, research points out to an improvement in Poland’s investment climate. Investors have best assessed political and economic stability, availability of materials and workforce as well as levels of fiscal charges. Investments pursued in Poland feature a declining number of projects focused on simple repeatable activities by the production line to give way to those requiring technical knowledge, fluency in foreign languages and marketing culture. Over one third of the Polish investment portfolio in 2009 accounts for business service centers and R&D projects. Poland boasts enormous educational potential: every tenth European student comes from Poland.

Poland has a higher percentage of households which have boosted their expenditures against last year than those which spend less. Growing demand is only one of many factors which have safeguarded Poland against consequences of the down-turn. In addition, Polish economists point out to such factors as more restrictive than elsewhere banking policy, stable foreign debt level, a decline in prices of natural raw materials and smaller dependence of the economy upon stock exchange performance than, for example, in the US.

Paradoxically, in the year of crisis, set against its European partners, Poland has boosted its appeal. Its charm will become even more intensive, as until 2013 the Polish economy will be reinforced with an injection of EUR 67 billion. In fact, Poland is already the biggest beneficiary of EU funding.

The traditional Polish way of approaching the crisis – material, realistic and conservative has created new prospects not only for Poles. It also created them for foreign investors willing to invest in Poland.

Poland is the biggest politically and economically stable country in Central & Eastern Europe and that creates chances for successful long-term investment. Poles account for 24 percent of the region’s population, and produce nearly 40 percent of its GDP. That is an indicator of the Polish economy’s potential.

Thousands of foreign companies already profit from investments in different sectors on the Polish market. The key reasons why they have decided to do business here are: strategic location, investment potential and human resources. Another important factor that increases the competitiveness of the Polish economy are investment incentives. Poland is a great country full of opportunities. Rich culture, traditions and lifestyle make Poland a fascinating, interesting and enjoyable country to live in.

Geography

Poland is located in the centre of Europe, and this factor alone should be enough to demonstrate the great potential of our country. Poland borders on Germany to the west (with a long border on the Oder River), the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south (mountain borders), and Ukraine, Belarus and a bit of Lithuania to the east (romantic landscapes!) A small, separate fragment of Russia known as the Kaliningrad Oblast borders part of Poland to the north. The rest of the northern border comprises of the golden beaches of the Baltic Sea.

Government

Poland is a country with a well-founded system of democratic government. Our republic is a multiparty democracy with a two chamber parliament. The Head of State is the President, elected by a majority of the voters for a 5 year term. The upper parliamentary chamber is the Senate, with 100 senators; whereas in the lower chamber the Sejm, there are 460 members. Parliament is chosen by a majority of the electorate for a 4 year term.

The state’s internal and foreign policy is decided by the government, i.e. the Council of Ministers, whose activities are directed by the president of the Council of Ministers, i.e. the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is chosen by the President, as are the ministers upon his recommendation.

People

There are more than 38 million Polish citizens. The majority of population lives in cities. By European standards, it is a relatively young society – 50% of citizens are under the age of 35 – with about half of the population professionally active (with the greatest number, 8 million, in the service sector, followed by industry and construction, 4 million, and agriculture and forestry with 2 million).

Stable economy

During the whole year 2009 Poland remained a bright spot on the economic map of Europe. While the GDP of all European countries has fallen by an estimated -5% in 2009, Poland’s GDP increased by 1.7%. When the whole Central and Eastern Europe suffered the most dramatic recession in the world with the huge drop of output, skyrocketing unemployment, a nearly paralyzed banking sector, and several countries facing a prospect of an open bankruptcy, Poland survived the global turmoil in good shape. The increase in unemployment was very limited, after some initial weakening the currency stabilized, the banking sector remained profitable without any governmental assistance, and the public debt, albeit growing, remains well below the threshold of 60% of GDP. Altogether, Poland successfully passed the most serious test of its economic fundamentals, showing an astonishing resilience to the global financial crisis and remaining the oasis of the growth and stability in the region.

Why the situation in Poland differs so significantly from the situation in other countries of the region? One may quote several important reasons.

Firstly, Poland still enjoys a good competitive position and a high attractiveness as a production site. On the one hand, the producers have unlimited access to the whole European market, on the other the costs of skilled labor represent a fraction of West European levels. During the pre-crisis boom such a combination of factors led to huge FDI inflows. During a recession, investments go down everywhere, but the shifting of activity is probably still taking place: multinational companies cut more output in Western Europe than in Poland. As a result, after an initial drop, by the autumn 2009 the industrial output of Poland was already topping the pre-crisis levels.

Secondly, compared with all those countries of the region which could enjoy the same cost advantage, Poland has much bigger domestic market. Consequently, Poland is less dependent on exports than, for instance, the Czech, Hungarian or Slovak economy.

Thirdly, Poland’s macroeconomic policy before the crisis, even though sometimes criticized by economists as not optimal, was much more prudent than in many countries of the region, especially in the Baltic and Balkan states. The government deficit and debt were on a moderate level, and the central bank was pursuing a careful monetary policy, not allowing for a built-up of the disequilibrium.

 Fourthly, the Polish banking sector proved to be basically healthy, profitable and resilient to global financial turbulences, while Polish firms and households are only moderately indebted. The praise for this should go partly to the remarkably prudent banking supervision in Poland. Further, the stabilizing role played by the foreign owners of the banks that control over 70% of the banking assets of Poland should be noted as well. Despite some initial fears, the foreign holding companies were ready to extend additional short-term loans to their Polish subsidiaries at the moment of the global turmoil rather than trying to transfer the liquidity abroad.

Fifthly, Poland also benefited from the growing inflow of the EU funds that helped in increasing the scale of the public investment. As the biggest beneficiary of the EU structural policy, Poland receives a growing amount of the EU transfers every year – in 2009 it has been over 2% of GDP already.

Sixthly, the policy of the flexible exchange rate used by Poland proved to be a good protection shield during the financial crisis. Once the risk of the instability of the exchange rate evaporated, Polish exporters started benefiting from a reasonably weakened currency. With a weaker złoty, the Polish exports became more profitable, and imports more costly. Altogether, it improved the financial situation of the Polish firms and led to a smaller increase in unemployment.

However, the most important factor is the seventh one. Shortly before joining the EU in 2004, Poland went through a 4-year period of the most painful and deep restructuring of banks and enterprises, caused by a combination of the extremely tight macroeconomic policy, very strong currency, and the growing external competition. In 2000-2003, the unemployment increased from 10% to over 20%, productivity dramatically increased, the firms underwent the process of drastic cost reductions, and the banks made a huge effort to increase the quality of their asset portfolio. All the economic fundamentals of the country, connected with the macroeconomic equilibrium, safety and stability of the financial sector and the competitiveness of firms have been greatly strengthened. As a result, Poland was perfectly able to face the global crisis and withstand both the financial storm and the deep worldwide recession in an astonishingly good shape. One of the key factors that should also be mentioned was the high flexibility of the Polish economy. The employers and employees were able to reach compromises which resulted in the cuts in labour costs rather than in increased unemployment. Companies were able to adjust their operation in a way that allowed increasing the profitability of the enterprise sector in 2009, despite low dynamics of sales. Meanwhile, the banks, even though they suffered reduction of the profitability, were able to avoid losses and any need for a public assistance.

In a nutshell, the test has been passed. A major slowdown recorded in 2009 is likely to be only temporary. With the high level of competitiveness, strong economic fundamentals and high flexibility, Poland is perfectly able to benefit from the global recovery over the next years. Despite many problems that may still appear, the Polish economy is set to grow at a high rate.

Significant European Market

Poland is attractive to investors for many reasons, but at the top of the list is its 38 million domestic consumer market.

Poles form over one third of the citizens of the new EU member countries. Our country is the 20th largest market in the world, with its position being strengthened year after year by rapid economic growth and the subsequent increases in rates of pay.

The retail sales rate in September grew by 5.4% comparing to previous year and was the highest in the whole of the European Union.

According to the survey on investment climate in Poland, the size of the Polish market constitutes the biggest advantage of the country’s investment attractiveness. This factor was evaluated as good or very good by foreign entrepreneurs.

The report by the Ministry of Economy shows that small and medium-sized enterprises want to develop. More enterprises declare eagerness to start new investments and create jobs. Also a greater number of the enterprises expect their revenues to increase.

This all shows that investments in Poland are profitable, not only from the point of view of the export potential, but also, and perhaps primarily due to, the very large domestic market.

A state of growing influence

Poland’s turn at the European Union’s rotating presidency were set for the latter half of 2011. Poland co-hosting of the Euro 2012 soccer championship with Ukraine  put the two countries firmly in the spotlight, providing opportunities to improve relations with one of the EU’s biggest and most fragile neighbors. Meanwhile, Poland’s economic strength during the global financial crisis has won the respect of its European peers. In short, Poland’s star is on the rise and its influence on European politics is growing, albeit slowly.

Some macroeconomic data on Poland:

LAND AND PEOPLE

AREA 312 000 km2

POPULATION 38.5 million inhabitants (or 40% more than the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary combined).

RELIGION Catholics (94%)

CAPITAL Warsaw: 1,700,000 people

MAIN CITIES Łódź, Krakow, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Katowice

POLICY

HEAD OF STATE Andrzej Duda
Party: Law and Justice

Prime Minister: Mateusz Morawiecki

Party: Law and Justice

TYPE OF SYSTEM: Parliamentary Republic

PARLIAMENT: Diet consisting of 460 deputies elected for four years by universal suffrage

Senate consists of 100 senators elected for four years by universal suffrage.

ECONOMY

CURRENCY The zloty (PLN), 1 € = + / – 4.20 PLN (December 2017) Current price (National Bank of Poland)

GROWTH + 4.7% (November 2017)

INFLATION + 1.3% in 2017

GDP 360 000 million euros in 2011

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 6.6% of the labor force (December 2017)

MINIMUM MONTHLY SALARY: 2000 PLN (about 500 €) since January 2017

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY: 4500 PLN (about € 1070) in January 2017