Flowing over the Oder
In 2004, the value of foreign capital inflow to Poland already reached a record high figure of $7.86 (zł.25.55) billion, but the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) estimates that in the coming years the market is going to benefit from even more interest from foreign businesses. Poland is especially attractive for its western neighbor - Germany.
Since Poland's accession to the EU, the country has become one of the top choices for the location of German investments. According to a report prepared by the Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR) - 'Poland as a location for German investments', reasons for German investors choosing Poland include: an interesting market (62 percent of responses), low labor costs (26 percent) and a highly qualified workforce (14 percent). Other important factors include tax advantages (13 percent), customer pressure (13 percent) and geographic proximity (seven percent).
"Poland should intensify its promotional activities targeting German investors. This report shows, in a completely different perspective, Poland's advantages over Germany. Let's remember, that only one percent of German foreign investments are being located in Poland," said Maciej Grabowski, vice president of IBnGR.
Tomasz Kalinowski, an IBnGR expert and author of the report, added: "Poland leads over Germany in many areas of business activity such as shorter time for setting up a company, more favorable legal regulations for the employers when it comes to hiring and firing workers, lower real estate prices, lower costs for debt recovery and better conditions for closing a business. These are the conclusions you can draw when comparing the World Bank's information about the two countries in their publication on doing business in 2005."
The accumulated value of all German investments in Poland to the end of 2004 came to $10.15 (zł.33) billion. On the PAIiIZ list of the largest foreign investors there are 258 German entities, the biggest ones being Metro Group AG, HVB, Volkswagen AG, Commerzbank, RWE Plus and Siemens.
