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P oland’s exceptional business and investment opportunities attract investors from the Western Europe as well as from

the US and Asia. Poland attracts foreign investors with assets such as: investment potential, human capital and strategic location.

Human capital is the one of the most unique value in Poland. It is a market of several tens of millions of consumers with a significantpotential of 20 million young talented people and well-qualified labour force. We have427 centres of higher education located in 16 business academic areas. Polish working staff is known for its skill in solving hard problems. They are also loyal and flexible.

Its location at the very heart of Europe and one of the highest in the region economic growth makes Poland an exciting place for investors from around the world. Our country is situated between the highly developed Western European countries and Eastern Europe with such growing markets as Russia or Ukraine.

All these factors contribute to a fact that Poland is a trustworthy and reliable partner for international business and it is directly reflectedin the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments.The

value of the FDI inflow to Poland is constantlyincreasing and in 2006 the largest ever inflowof foreign capital to Poland was noted, passing the previous high of 2004. According to the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the level of

FDI inflow into Poland amounted to over Euro15,2 billion. This is the largest flow of FDI inPolish history. The GDP growth in 2006 reached 5,8%. Foreign investments not only serve to liven up and modernize the economy, they also have a major influence on Poland’s foreigntrade. It is reflected in many surveys that Polandis perceived as a very interesting and attractive place in which to locate business. According to the Ernst &Young European Attractiveness Survey 2007, Poland is currently ranked 7th in terms of planned investments globally. Over 90 billion Euro is available for development, infrastructure and human capital for the years 2007-2013. The business environment is friendly and provides many opportunities for success.

To ensure this high level of the FDI inflow,Poland offers foreign investors various investment incentives tailored to their needs. Poland is divided in to 14 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) - special designated areas where investors can conduct business activity on preferential terms. Poland proposes financialgrants for new investment, financial grants forcreation of new jobs, CIT exemption in Special Economic Zones and real estate tax exemption, as well as low corporate income tax (19%).

P oland is a large country of opportunities especially in the light of significant andconstant development of sectors. Worth

of notice are: chemical sector, electronics, high-tech, white-goods, BPO, logistics, construction, aviation and automotive sector. From the perspective of small and medium enterprises also sectors such as: food products, tourism, hospitality business, construction, health tourism and services centres, are of high importance. International corporations see Poland as an excellent location for transferring the non-productive functions of a company, such as their accounting departments or call centres. Poland is rapidly becoming the central European location for modern Business Offshoring Centre services.

R&D CentresScience, an important sector for the Polish economy. According to Polish Education Minis data, there are 253 research and development units registered in Poland. They conduct research for various economy sectors. Among those, Poland has over 50 R&D Centres belonging to the world recognized foreign companies such as: Motorola, Intell, IBM, Oracle, Google, Siemens, Pratt &Whitney, GE.

Automotive Poland ranked 14 among the world’s producers of cars and 10th among the car-producing countries of Europe. The dynamic growth in the production of cars observable in 2006 may allow Poland to win a higher position on the list of both world and European car producers. Automotive exports are dominated by passenger cars, spare parts, components and diesel engines. It is estimated that in 2006 the total value of automotive exports achieved around 14 billion Euro, 16% of total national exports.

Aviation Poland is famous for the production and maintenance of airplanes of all types. Manufacturing companies in Poland produce light sports, passenger, agricultural and training airplanes, as well as helicopters, gliders, and aircraft parts and accessories.Approximately 55 companies operate on the Polish aviation market. A significant share of theiroutput is exported, mainly to such countries as the USA, Venezuela, Italy, Greece, Canada, Spain, Germany, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam.

TelecommunicationTelecommunications is one of the most rapidly developing as well as most promising sectors of Polish industry. According to EITO (European Information Technology Observatory) forecasts for 2006 and 2007, the market is expected to grow at the rate of 5.1% (2005/2006) and 3.5% (2006/2007).

ITPoland noticed the biggest expenditures on IT investments and the permanent growth in this sector. The IT market in Poland in 2006 was worth 4,5 billion Euro. The growth in this branch in 2007 is expected to increase by 11% (average growth pace in recent years 13%). The Polish IT market structure presents itself as follows: Hardware 45%, Software 20 % and IT services 35%.

Fuel and energyPoland has substantial resources of electrical energy sources. Poland also possesses certain resources of hydrocarbon fuels; natural gas from domestic deposits accounts for more than a third of its total consumption, whereas crude oil extracted in Poland accounts for 4% of the total domestic consumption of this raw material.

Chemical The chemical industry is one of the most automated sectors. Chemical production is focused on semi-processed products which are then used in other industrial sectors.

BiotechnologyPolish biotechnology is at an early stage of development with the leading role played by the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. A strong tradition in science provides an opportunity for creation of a fully developed modern biotechnology industry in Poland. The knowledge and expertise of Polish scientists meet Western standards. Poland has a long-standing tradition of excellence in classical synthetic and mechanistic chemistry, theoretical physics, mathematics and informatics.

POLAND – AN EXCITING PLACE FOR INVESTORS

POLAND – IN THE LIGHT OF DEVELOPING SECTORS

W. Krynski, Shopping Mall in Warsaw

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Photo: Technology Park