Pole position
Fuelled by low wage costs and a favorable corporate tax regime, Poland has led development in post-accession Europe.
And the country can expect several years of significant growth and foreign investment, according to a weighty report by the Merrill Lynch investment banking group.
"Poland is likely to receive something like $5 [zł.15.4] billion in FDI [foreign direct investment] this year and we expect growth to be in the region of 3.5 to four percent a year over the next five years. This is much better than growth in the eurozone, which is predicted to be a much lower 1.8 percent," says Merrill's European equity strategist, Jacob de Tusch-Lec.
"When you compare Poland to markets like China it is not going to compete in producing something like cheap plastic toys, but when you consider labor costs and proximity to the rest of Europe we can expect that it will be a place where white-collar jobs are outsourced for the next 10 years."
The report, entitled 2005-The Year Ahead, details how investors can make the most of Poland and the CEE region's relative strengths. "To gain exposure to this trend we think investors should look at Western European equities with exposure to Eastern European demand."
The firm's European Enlargement Exposure basket, which contains 28 corporations, has significantly outperformed Europe over the last five years.
De Tusch-Lec concludes: "Poland is one of the pegs in the emerging markets that is doing very, very well."
And the country can expect several years of significant growth and foreign investment, according to a weighty report by the Merrill Lynch investment banking group.
"Poland is likely to receive something like $5 [zł.15.4] billion in FDI [foreign direct investment] this year and we expect growth to be in the region of 3.5 to four percent a year over the next five years. This is much better than growth in the eurozone, which is predicted to be a much lower 1.8 percent," says Merrill's European equity strategist, Jacob de Tusch-Lec.
"When you compare Poland to markets like China it is not going to compete in producing something like cheap plastic toys, but when you consider labor costs and proximity to the rest of Europe we can expect that it will be a place where white-collar jobs are outsourced for the next 10 years."
The report, entitled 2005-The Year Ahead, details how investors can make the most of Poland and the CEE region's relative strengths. "To gain exposure to this trend we think investors should look at Western European equities with exposure to Eastern European demand."
The firm's European Enlargement Exposure basket, which contains 28 corporations, has significantly outperformed Europe over the last five years.
De Tusch-Lec concludes: "Poland is one of the pegs in the emerging markets that is doing very, very well."
