Special Economic Zones may be too weak to compete with the Czechs

CzechInvest, the Czech equivalent to the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIIZ) has embarked on stealing foreign investors from Poland by trying to encourage them to move business just a short distance across the Polish border into the cheaper Czech Republic. Allegedly, CzechInvest agents have been meeting businessmen in the Katowice Special Economic Zone and presenting them with tempting offers. The news is strongly rejected by the Czech institution claiming this type of action would not make any sense. "Both countries have a similar investment climate with only a few marginal differences, which are not really big enough to make anybody move their business". However, in the brochures presented by the Czech agents to the businessmen the figures suggest the cost of labor in Poland is over two times higher than in our southern neighbor. The Czechs' other ace that they are vaunting is a higher percentage of technical school graduates (over 30%). PAIIZ fears the Czechs may succeed in dragging foreign investors away, as they have more to offer, including better infrastructure and tax relief. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) J.K.