KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE PROVINCE – INVESTMENT OPENINGS

For the second time running Kujawsko-Pomorskie province took part in the Expo Real 2009 International Commercial Property Exhibition in Munich. The region’s most attractive investment openings were presented jointly by the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Investor Assistance Centre, an arm of the Province Chairman’s Office, and officials from commercial units in the town councils of Kujawsko-Pomorskie’s four main cities – Bydgoszcz, Toruń, Grudziądz and Włocławek.

The offer includea broad array of investor benefits, well-prepared industrial terrain and buildings.
In UNCTAD’s July-published World Investment Prospects Survey 2009-2011 Poland’s fast growth placed it among the world’s top 15 FDI sites despite the global crisis. Consequently, Kujawsko-Pomorskie counts on heightened interest in its investment opportunities at the Expo Real fair.

STRATEGIC CENTRAL LOCATION

Kujawsko-Pomorskie’s main natural asset is its accessibility. Located in the centre of the country close to seaports, it is also crossed by several major transit routes including stretches of the international motorways E75 (A1) and E28 (A2 from Szczecin). Good transport links are always a major point in choosing investment sites. Local authorities are taking great pains to keep the region’s roads on European standards and for years now have been investing large sums in their modernisation and expansion.

MAIN ECONOMIC SECTORS, FOREIGN INVESTMENT

In a report by the Regional Development Ministry and the Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR) the area around Kujawsko-Pomorskie’s twin capital cities of Bydgoszcz and Toruń placed a strong seventh in a 2008 investment-attractiveness ranking of Polish sub-regions. Among the ranking criteria were industrial tradition and the presence of well-developed construction, chemical, timber and paper industry. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services have perhaps the shortest tradition in Kujawsko-Pomorskie, however the branch shows the biggest growth potential, which is why Colliers International awarded Bydgoszcz and Toruń with the Rising BPO Star title.
At the close of December, 2008 Kujawsko-Pomorskie had 192.2 thousand registered enterprises including 1.6 thousand foreign companies. Most of the foreign investment was in industrial processing, trade, repairs, real estate and corporate consulting and electronics.
Already settled in the region are renowned companies like Sharp Corp., Orion Electric, Sumitomo Chemical, Mondi Group, Prettl Group, ThyssenKrupp AG, Frosta AG, Henkell&Sohnlein KG, Bunge Investment France, Lafarge, Atos Origin, Alcatel-Lucent, JP Morgan Chase LTD, and Nestle.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Against other Polish regions Kujawsko-Pomorskie offers really low labour costs and a highly-skilled workforce, including college-trained staff. The region has several renowned schools, among them Nicolas Copernicus University (Toruń), Kazimierz Wielki University (Bydgoszcz) and the University of Technology and Life Sciences (Bydgoszcz).

INFORMATION NETWORK

Kujawsko-Pomorskie has a modern telecom network. It was the first region in Poland to introduce broadband web access. Thanks to the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Information Network the region does not need to fear what is known as web exclusion and has no blank spots on its internet map.
INVESTMENT TERRAIN
Kujawsko-Pomorskie is among the very few Polish regions offering investment sites above 100 hectares. Available are infrastructurally developed land as well as industrial objects.

THE POMORSKIE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

Kujawsko-Pomorskie boasts four modern industrial parks and a technology park, as well as seven sectors of the Pomeranian Special Economic Zone, where investors are offered tax reliefs and preferential lease/purchase conditions. The benefits offered in the special zone have for years been a strong magnet for investors.

BUSINESS SUPPORT

Creating the best possible conditions for the region’s growth is a top priority with Kujawsko-Pomorskie authorities. One in every four PLN from the province’s 2007-2014 Regional Operational Programme goes into aiding enterprise, new technologies, brand promotion and upgrades on investment terrain. Enterpreneurs are also offered financial aid from government sectoral programmes. An important element here is that public aid for business is coupled with creating new jobs in a policy enabling growth for the entire region.
Another form of aiding business involves cooperation between local universities and the SME sector, especially in innovation and new technologies. Helpful in this respect are Kujawsko-Pomorskie’s Regional Innovation Centre and Technology Transfer Centre.

Polish Market

ECONOMIC MONITOR

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• ● In December 2009 and January 2010, as in previous months in the second half of 2009, the Polish economy stood out against other countries in terms of GDP growth. Poland’s economic growth was higher than projected and higher than in other European countries.
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• In 2009 construction output increased by 3.7%.
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• Retail sales increase in most product groups.
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• On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, stock prices were very volatile in January 2010.
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• At the end of December 2009 the registered unemployment rate (claimant count rate) amounted to 11.9% versus 11.4% in November.
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• At the end of January the president signed the 2010 budget bill into law. The bill was adopted by the parliament on December 18.
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• In the fourth quarter of 2009 the Polish economy turned out to be more resistant to the global crisis than had been projected and than the economies of Polish neighbours, something which boosts optimism in forecasts for 2010 and the next years.
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PODCAST

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• Poland’s new president Bronislaw Komorowski: a pragmatic, pro-business, euroenthusiast

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• How to make the Polish economy more innovative?

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WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS

Retail sales up again in June
Retail sales growth in nominal terms accelerated in June to 6.4% y-o-y from 4.3% y-o-y in May. The increase was higher than expected. In real terms, retail sales growth accelerated to 4.5% y-o-y from 2.0% y-o-y. June was a consecutive month with retail sales figures stronger than expected, which indicates that consumption is recovering after it slowed significantly at the beginning of the year. Private consumption is driven by an improvement on the labour market coupled with a rise in disposable incomes. In Q2 2010 retail sales grew by around 3% y-o-y in nominal terms and around 1% y-o-y in real terms. On the basis of retail sales and industrial production data, it can be estimated that the GDP growth rate was close to 3%.

MARKET INFO

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