Last year was very good for Poland in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a report by UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. FDI inflow jumped by 79.4 percent to $24.8 billion. Poland jumped from 19th place in the world to 17th with the same level of investment as Australia and Japan. International mergers and acquisitions in Poland in 2021 were four times higher than the year before and reached $2.4 billion. The value of greenfield projects, i.e. building a plant from scratch, fell slightly – by 3.9 percent to just under $21.9 billion. Polish investments abroad were down by nearly 90 percent, but the higher value was attributed to M&A transactions completed by Polish companies – nearly $1.7 billion compared with minus $91 million in the previous year (meaning divestments), as well as greenfield projects announced by Polish companies.

Unfortunately: slow growth in manufacturing investment is likely to continue into 2022. The war in Ukraine with its triple crisis: food, fuel, and financial, plus the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic create an unfavorable climate for investment. They have lowered the global growth forecast by 1 percentage point. 

"After the stagnation, we suffered at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, last year saw a definite increase (by almost 80 percent) in the value of attracted investments. The statistics presented by UNCTAD are reflected in Polish Investment and Trade Agency’s (PAIH) results. Also, other reports, such as the FDI Intelligence report, show an increase in the number of foreign direct projects in Poland," Krzysztof Drynda, President of PAIH, assessed.

(Puls Biznesu)