Major foreign projects in the pipeline
Japanese Toshiba will invest some zł.167 million in a factory producing LCD TV sets in Wrocław's Kobierzyce, next door to the LG Philips factory. According to the Economy Ministry and the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), Toshiba is just one of a long list of companies planning to start operations in Poland.
"Among the investors we are currently negotiating with, there are 15 other companies that I expect to be signing letters of intent or contracts with in the next two or three months - [contracts] with equally important companies, in equally important sectors, and with an equally high number of new jobs," said Economy Minister Piotr Woniak at a press conference that followed the signing of the letter of intent for the Toshiba development.
In the meantime, Toshiba plans to hire 1,000 new employees for the Polish plant, which will be the company's second TV assembly factory in Europe. Toshiba plans to launch the plant in mid-2007 and aims to produce 1.5 to two million units a year by 2009, mainly 32-inch screens or larger units, for sale in Europe.
According to Toshio Yonezawa, deputy president of the Toshiba Corporation, Poland is the best location for the investment as it meets all the company's requirements - rich resources, a well-qualified labor force and excellent distribution channels to European markets. Although Toshiba's market share in Poland is very low, the company wants to increase it.
Toshiba will also benefit from Poland's system of financial support for large projects, such as tax rebates. The government will provide support worth some zł.26-28 million.
