Raiffeisen pours money into shopping centers

"The majority of the money (70%) will be invested in shopping malls and the remaining part will be earmarked for housing," revealed Maciej Krenek, an RE board member. The company is known in Poland for the construction of Ferio shopping centers operating in Wroclaw and Pulawy. Another Ferio center is currently being built in Legnica and will be opened in March 2007. "We want to open two or three facilities a year. It all depends on the possibility of obtaining land in attractive locations," said Krenek. The company's projects related to housing include the construction of 1,400 apartments in Warsaw, Kraków, Wroclaw and Poznan over the next three years. The company has also created a new brand called Residea specifically for marketing purposes, if this proves successful it may be transferred to other countries. (Puls Biznesu, p.8) E.B.