E&Y report gives Poland top marks as FDI destination

Some 11% of executives surveyed by E&Y mentioned Poland as the most attractive country to invest in 2007. Poland ranked second, only behind China, as the preferred location for manufacturing investments and fifth for call centers. However, its ranking was poorer in terms of where to locate R&D centers and company seats, where the U.S., Germany and the UK were the clear leaders. "Poland could attract even more FDI", says Jan Rutkowski of the World Bank, adding, "France's FDI per capita is higher than in Poland so labor costs are not everything to investors". Rutkowski says that in order to attract more FDI, Poland needs to reform its tax regime and streamline regulation, as well as improve infrastructure and address the growing shortage of professionals. And the good news gets even better, as there are indications that Poland may improve its ranking even further: FDI will reach a record-breaking EUR 11 billion this year, Paweł Wojciechowski, the head of the government investment agency PAIiIZ, said earlier this week. (Dziennik, Wall Street Journal supplement, p. 4) R.M.