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Economic News
Largest foreign investments in Poland in 2011 and outlook for 2012
General data on foreign direct investments in 2011
The 2011 inflow of foreign direct investments to Poland amounted to EUR 9,929 mln and was EUR 3,193 mln or over 47% higher than in the year prior, according to the newest data from the Economy Ministry, as reported on February 16, 2012.
According to data from UNCTAD, quoted by the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), in turn, the FDI inflow to Poland increased by 46.7% y/y and amounted to USD 14.2 bln in 2011.
Inflow of foreign direct investments in the period between January 2008 and December 2011 (mln EUR)
source: Economy Ministry’s Information on the situation in foreign trade in December 2011 and the year 2011
PAIiIZ alone in 2011 saw through 53 foreign investment projects of the pooled worth of EUR 1,170.6 mln, which is 173% of the total value of the projects finalized in 2010. The 2011 investments are to create 10,284 jobs, PAIiIZ says.
Largest foreign investment projects in 2011
Even though PAIiIZ services only 10-15% (value-wise) of foreign investments flowing to Poland, the PAIiIZ-serviced investments are very often among Poland’s largest foreign investments in general – investors planning large-scale projects are the ones who are most likely to obtain government subsidies and tax reliefs, and it is precisely PAIiIZ that helps investors at obtaining them. Therefore, a closer look at the largest investments finalized by PAIiIZ in 2011 may give one a good insight into the general inflow of FDI to Poland last year.
The biggest investment project that got a positive investment decision from PAIiIZ in 2011 was the EUR 353.75 mln investment of car producer Fiat Auto Poland in a new production line in its plant in the city of Tychy. Due to the investment’s character, it is not expected to create any new jobs. As many as 400 jobs, in turn, are to be created by the second largest investment prepared by PAIiIZ last year: Japanese glass maker Pilkington’s EUR 96 mln construction of a new car windows producing plant in the town of Chmielów (Eastern Poland). The third place in the ranking goes to India’s firm Uflex, global player on the flexible packaging market, which decided to build a plant in the town of Września, within the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone, for EUR 65 mln. The next two places on the list of the largest PAIiIZ-mediated foreign investments in 2011 are occupied by the projects of Chinese machinery producer Liu Gong and German car maker Volkswagen, with each of the projects worth EUR 62.5 mln.
It is worth noticing that the most numerous group among the largest investment projects secured by PAIiIZ in 2011 are automotive industry projects – four such projects qualified for the top ten of the most valuable investments last year, while six automotive projects made its way to the ranking’s top twenty.
As regards the number of jobs to be created, the last year’s leading project by PAIiIZ is the investment of Chinese company BriVictory TPV/AU, which is to build up its technological campus in the city of Gorzów Wielkopolski, extending the scope of its operations by production of liquid crystal display panels, and thus secure jobs for nearly 2,000 persons. The project is to consume EUR 14 mln and will be completed by 2014, according to PAIiIZ and local press. The second and the third place in the ranking belong respectively to American BPO services firm State Street, which plans to create 600 jobs in the city of Krakow, spending on it EUR 2 mln, and the already mentioned Chinese company Liu Gong, which promised to employ 500 persons.
Plans and expectations for FDI in 2012
Even though PAIiIZ cannot disclose detailed information on ongoing negotiations with potential investors, its aggregated data indicates that the beginning of 2012 looks promising. According to the newest report by the agency from February 6, PAIiIZ is currently conducting 154 investment projects, the number being by 10 projects higher than the one seen at the same time last year. The pooled worth of the projects amounts to EUR 5,591 mln, while the number of jobs the projects might create, stands at 38,469.
What will the year 2012 be like, investments-wise? The representatives of consultancies cooperating with foreign investors that took part in PAIiIZ’s January conference were moderately optimistic. Adam Żołnowski, a director in PwC, claimed the year 2012 will be not worse than the previous one, seeing some positive sides of the present crisis. “An American investor with whom we have been cooperating for some time may presently purchase an investment lot for a price 20-30% lower than a few months ago,” Żołnowski said, quoted by PAIiIZ. Paweł Tynel, director of the grants and incentives advisory services department at Ernst & Young, in turn, did not exclude a certain weakening – but only after 2014.
Good prospects for investment inflow from China
Some hopes may be tied to an expected increase in the inflow of Chinese investments. Commentators positively assess President Bronisław Komorowski’s December visit to China, the first visit of the Polish head of state in the country in 14 years, which, in the shared opinion of the head of the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) Andrzej Arendarski and economist Prof. Marek Ratajczak, was economically fruitful. As Arendarski pointed out in his interview for PAP, the Chinese and Polish presidents’ joint statement about the strategic partnership was very important as it officially recognized Poland as a member of the first, most significant group of the partners of the Peoples’ Republic of China. Such status of Poland “is a hint for [the Chinese] administration but also business, which – at least when larger contracts are concerned – will not do anything without the authorities’ consent,” KIG chairman underscored.
According to Arendarski, a factor of a first-rank importance for stepping up of mutual economic contacts between the two countries is the announcement of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) that it is going to open its branch in Poland. A co-owner of ICBC, one of the world’s largest players, is the Chinese state.
Source - Polish Press Agency, Economic Service
Author : Investor Relations Department
Statystyka strony: 151 wizyt
