IBM picks Poland

The investment, which will create 200 new jobs in the region, will be located in Kraków in the south of Poland. The laboratory will focus on designing and implementing software products and join IBM's network of 40 programming hubs.

"We have evaluated the personnel potential and investment costs and it turned out that Poland is the best location for the investment," said the general director of IBM Polska, Dariusz Fabiszewski. The venture was backed by a zł.800,000 subsidy from the state budget. It is estimated that the project could enrich the state budget as well as local governments to the tune of zł.16 million.

When asked about the investment costs, Fabiszewski was reluctant to reveal the details. The Minister of Economy and Labor, Jacek Piechota, says that a large capital investment is not the point here: "We want to invest in knowledge and huge investments are more desired by coal mines."

The IBM investment shows a growing confidence on behalf of international firms in the Polish research and development sector. "The IBM laboratory is another investment in the Polish R&D sector. Poland is becoming more and more attractive for such investments," said the vice president of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, Sebastain Mikosz. At the moment there are 20 R&D centers in Poland, in which 3,000 people will be employed by the end of this year. Next year looks to be even more prosperous, as R&D will receive extra support from the state budget. The budget plan is to increase spending on innovation and research by zł.1 billion.