VOLUME 17, NUMBER 27-28 • JULY 11-24, 2011 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

RRoocckkyy ssttaarrttSome praise, some criticism, and much

controversy marked Prime Minister

Donald Tusk’s first speech before the

European Parliament 3

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Poles are some of the

most active users of

social media in Europe.

Is your business

engaging them?8-9

MMiilllleerr iinntteerrvviieewwIn an exclusive interview with WBJ,

former PM Leszek Miller talks CIA black

sites, the Blida case and his potential

future in parliament 6-7

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SPECIAL PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT:

POLAND’S PRESIDENCY

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4

Industry News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7

Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9

Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . .10-11

Listed Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .13-17

Business Environment . . . . . . . . .18

Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-21

Arts & Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

In this issue

A guide to Polish business and industry Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Property & facility

management firms

20-21

Rados∏aw Sikorskion Polish optimism

A SPECIAL PULL-OUT SUPPLEMENT FEATURING:

Why so few Polishfirms lobby in Brussels

Environmental policyduring the presidency

Make the connection• Agents, developers

and foreign clients

• The world’s

narrowest home

• Top residential

brands 13-17

Big dealPolkomtel has been

bought in Poland’s

biggest-ever takeover 5

%

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20

30

40

50

LatviaSlovakiaPolandUKGermanyFranceBelgiumSwedenDenmark

JULY 11-24, 2011NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Poland blamed

for emissions

law failure

At the begining of July,

the European Parliament

voted against a draft

resolution to increase the

targeted EU-wide

reduction in CO2

emissions from 20% to

30% by 2020, based on

1990 levels. Some MEPs

suggested Poland held

the lion’s share of the

blame. Dutch Green MEP

Bas Eickout said that a

“Polish focus” might have

swayed the vote.

Search for new

A2 contractors

Poland’s motorways

directorate has finished

collecting offers from

companies interested in

building the sections of

the A2 highway left

uncompleted by Chinese

firm COVEC. The two

stretches of road, at a

combined length of 50

kilometers, will form part

of the section that will

connect Warsaw and

¸ódê. The Polish

government canceled its

contract with COVEC after

subcontractors employed

by the Chinese firm went

on strike, saying they

hadn’t received payments

on time.

Poland wants

Romania,

Bulgaria in

Schengen zone

During its presidency,

Poland will push for

Romania and Bulgaria’s

quick accession to the

EU’s passport-free

Schengen area. Interior

Affairs Minister Jerzy

Miller wants the

accession decision to be

made during the

September Justice and

Home Affairs summit it

Brussels. However, some

Western European

countries are reluctant to

open their borders to the

fellow EU members. They

want Bulgaria and

Romania to beef up their

fight against corruption

and organized crime first.

Polish ambas-

sador now in

BenghaziPoland’s ambassador to

Libya, Wojciech Bo˝ek,

now resides in Benghazi.

“We believe the

provisional government

in Benghazi to be our

only credible partner,”

said Foreign Minister

Rados∏aw Sikorski. ●

AD Dràgowski agency................16

AIB Polonia Property Fund........13

Apax..............................................5

Ataner ........................................16

Attention ......................................8

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego12

Bank Pocztowy ............................8

Bank Zachodni WBK..................13

Bertelsmann ................................3

Biedecki,

Biedecki, Olejnik ....Supplement 6

Boeing ........................................18

Bouygues Immobilier ................15

Bracia Strzelczyk NieruchomoÊci16

BZ WBK ........................................3

C&A ............................................13

Central European

Media Enterprises ......................3

Coca-Cola ..............Supplement 7

Coface ........................................18

COVEC ..........................................2

Credit Agricole CIB ......................5

DEKA Immobilien ......................13

Deutsche Bank ......................5, 12

Dom Development ..............14, 16

Dun & Bradstreet ......................18

Facebook ......................................8

FedEx..........................................18

Fox Broadcasting Company ........3

Gant Development ....................16

Gaz System ............Supplement 1

Goodman ....................................16

Google ......................................5, 8

gowebtrade.com ........................19

Gremi Media ................................5

Grupa Inwestycyjna Hossa ........16

HB Reavis ..................................17

Henpol ........................................13

Home Broker..............................15

ITI..................................................3

J.P. Morgan ..................................3

JOT-BE NieruchomoÊci ............16

JSW ............................................12

JW Construction ............14, 15, 16

KGHM ..........................................5

Knight Frank ..............................13

KPMG..........................................18

Kropla Beskidu ......Supplement 7

Loco ............................................15

Lubelski W´giel Bogdanka........12

Martinisation London ................14

McDonald’s Polska ....................18

Mecom Group ..............................5

Mecom Poland Holdings ............5

Metrohouse & Partnerzy ..........16

Microsoft ................Supplement 7

Millward Brown SMG/KRC ....8, 16

Neinver Polska ..........................13

New World Resources ..............12

News Corp ..................................3

Nomura ........................................3

Orange ....................Supplement 7

Orlen....................5, Supplement 7

Panattoni Europe ......................16

Peugeot ..................Supplement 7

PGE ..............................................5

PGE Energia Odnawialna ............8

PGNiG ........5, 18, Supplement 1,6

PKO ............................................16

PKO Bank Polski..........................5

PKO BP ..................................8, 12

PKP ............................................17

Point Group Business Unit ........18

Polfa Tarchomin ........................16

Polish Post..............Supplement 1

PKP ........................Supplement 1

Polish Travel ..........Supplement 6

Polkomtel ................................2, 5

Polski Holding Farmaceutyczny ..16

Pó∏noc NieruchomoÊci ..............16

Praktycy.com................................8

Presspublica ................................5

PricewaterhouseCoopers ..........18

Progres ......................................16

Qualcomm Poland ....................18

Royal Bank of Scotland ..............5

S.a.r.l...........................................13

Sadovaya Group ........................12

Scania......................Supplement 7

SM Salwator ..............................16

Societe Generale..........................5

Stock Spirits ................................8

Takaratomy ................................23

Tauron ..........................................8

Telenor..........................................5

Time Warner ................................3

Troika Dialog ..............................12

TVN ..............................................3

TVP ..............................................3

Valinor ........................................12

ViOil ..............................................8

Vodafone ......................................5

Von der Heyden Group ..............13

Warsaw Stock Exchange ............5

Weglokoks ....................................5

WSE ........................................8, 12

X-Trade Brokers

Dom Maklerski SA ....................19

Yandex ..........................................5

Yareal Polska..............................13

Abortion is once again a topicof debate in Poland. In earlyJuly, lawmakers in the Sejmvoted in favor of sending adraft bill that would ban allabortions outright (withoutprovisions for rape, incest orthe health of the mother) to thecommittee stage. Parliamentar-ians decided against the Demo-cratic Left Alliance Party’smotion to dismiss the proposalafter the first reading, with 254voting in favor of the draftbeing passed on to parliamen-tary committees for further dis-cussion, 151 voting against, and11 abstaining.

The draft law, which aims toeliminate all exceptions thatcurrently allow women to ter-minate pregnancies, was sub-mitted to parliament by anti-abortion activists at the founda-tion PRO - Right to Life, whichhas gathered some 600,000 sig-

natures in favor of its proposal.In a statement, the founda-

tion said it will now continue tolobby political parties and MPs,and hopes that protection oflife becomes one of the leadingthemes when parties campaignin the run-up to this autumn’sparliamentary elections.

The Parliamentary Com-mittee for Social Policy andFamily and the ParliamentaryCommittee on Health haveuntil September 1 to presenttheir conclusions about theproposed amendment, Rzecz-pospolita reported.

Polish President Bronis∏awKomorowski announced thathe would oppose the legisla-tion. The current provisions inPoland’s family planning laware the “best politically avail-able to protect unborn life,while not forcing people toheroism, because heroism – for

example in the case of babiesconceived from rape or incest –is a matter of individual deci-sion and should not be imposedby law,” the Polish PressAgency quoted him as saying.

Poland’s anti-abortion law,in place since 1993, is one ofthe strictest in Europe. Abor-tions in Poland can only be per-formed in three situations:when the life or health of themother is at risk, if the fetus isdamaged, or if the pregnancy isthe result of a criminal act.

While official data saysthere are only a few hundredabortions in Poland annually,non-government sources putthe number at over 150,000,meaning more abortions takeplace now illegally than in hos-pitals in the early 1980s, beforethe original ban.

TThhoommaass KKoollaassaa,,

AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

z∏.18.1 billionis the size of the deal in tycoon Zygmunt Solorz-˚ak’s

takeover of Polkomtel, the largest in Poland’s history.

€3.6 billionis the size of the leveraged loan Mr Solorz-˚ak took

out to finance his purchase, reportedly the largest in

Europe since 2009.

650,000is how many Polish households have loans taken out

in the Swiss franc

€133 millionis the amount that Poland’s contributions to the EU

will be reduced by, as a result of the EU’s 2010 budget

surplus

“The most important task is to rebuild trustand faith in the idea that Europe makes sense– that the EU is truly a worthwhile invention.”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk in an interview with the Financial Times

Quote of the Week

Follow the EU presidency

As Poland takes the reins of the presidency of theCouncil of the European Union for the first time, stayup to date with all the major stories from Brussels toWarsaw. Whether news, analysis or multimedia,WBJ.pl follows every twist and turn. Log on to followthis historic journey.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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JULY14 BASTILLE DAYEvent: Organized by CCIFP annual event to

celebrate France’s national holiday.Location: Endorfina Restaurant, Warsaw

14 ECONOMIC DATAEvent: The National Bank of Poland releases money

supply data for June.

15 ECONOMIC DATAEvent: The National Bank of Poland releases

balance of payments data for May.

15 SOCIAL MEDIA – IS YOUR COMPANY PREPARED?

Event: Conference for CEOs, CMOs or heads of digital marketing.Location: Adgar Plaza, Warsaw

19 ACCA PRESIDENT'S DEBATEEvent: “Marketing the Polish presidency

of the EU Council” This conference will focus on factors influencing economic growth and regional development.Location: Hotel Intercontinentalwww.accaglobal.com/presidentsdebate

AUGUST5-7 ARABIAN HORSE DAYSEvent: The Polish National Show is one of the most

competitive displays of superlative qualityequines in the world. Location: Janow Podlaski Studwww.prideofpoland.pl

July/August

DATELINE

Polish abortion law

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focus

A taxing issue

Tax revenue for 2009 in % of 2009 GDP, selected EU countries

Source: Eurostat

JULY 11-24, 2011 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Agriculture

Polish vegetables stillbanned in RussiaThe governmentbelieves the ban ispolitically motivated

Despite reopening its marketto some European vegetableimports after the recent E. colioutbreak, Russia has main-tained its ban on Polish veg-etables.

The head of Russia’s stateconsumer protection watch-dog, Gennady Onishchenko,said that Poland had providedincorrect data regarding itsvegetables, and until a fullexplanation is provided, theywould continue to be bannedfrom the Russian market.

Mr Onishchenko alsoadded that he does not trustPoland, which he claims has a“poor credit history” and hasbeen involved in re-exportschemes on “many occasions,”according to Russian newsagency RIA Novosti.

Polish Minister of Agricul-ture Marek Sawicki said hebelieves Poland has fulfilled allthe necessary obligations andthat he sees “no basis” formaintaining the ban againstPoland. He added during aradio interview that hebelieved Russia was using theban as a tool in its accessionnegotiations to the World

Trade Organization.Deputy Minister of Agri-

culture Jaros∏aw Wojtowiczwas sent to Moscow to discussthe matter.

The European Commis-sion has thrown its supportbehind Poland. Paola TestoriCoggi, head of the EC’s Direc-torate-General for Health andConsumers, said that the banwas unjustified, and that theEC was putting pressure onthe authorities in Moscow tolift it.

On June 2, in the wake ofthe European E. coli outbreak,Russia banned all vegetableimports from European coun-tries. The country committeditself to resuming vegetableimports from the EU in mid-June on the proviso that theywere accompanied by a guar-antee of safety.

The Netherlands and Bel-gium were the first countries tosee the ban lifted at the end ofJune. They were followed byDenmark and Spain on July 1.

On June 22 Minister Sawic-ki said that Russia’s embargohad already cost Polishexporters z∏.25 million. Russ-ian vegetable imports fromPoland totaled z∏.75.8 millionlast year.

TTaarraa TTaayylloorr

Poland’s EU presidency

TTuusskk ggeettss mmiixxeedd rreecceeppttiioonn iinn SSttrraassbboouurrggThe inauguration ofthe Polish presidencyof the EU Council gotoff to a rocky start inthe EuropeanParliament

Controversy followed PrimeMinister Donald Tusk’s speechat the European Parliament inStrasbourg, where he present-ed Poland’s priorities for itssix-month presidency of theEU Council. Mr Tusk stressedthe need for continued Euro-pean integration and solidari-ty.

“The answer to the crisis ismore Europe and more inte-gration … the European Par-liament is first and foremostan institution and place wherethere has never been a lack ofbelief in a united Europe,” thePolish PM said.

Mr Tusk said the bloc wasbased on solidarity and thatthe reason for the current cri-sis in Europe was not the EU,its institutions or its budget.He also appealed to the audi-ence to be more grateful forEurope’s achievements.

“It cannot be so that here in

Europe, there arerising doubts in[Europe’s] sense,while outside[Europe], every-body wishes to livein conditions simi-lar to those wehave,” he said.

The Polish PMstrongly defendedthe principle ofthe free move-ment of labor inEurope, sayingthe best way toprotect the EUdoes not lie in cre-ating barrierswithin the bloc.

Friendand foesMr Tusk’s speechwas warmlyreceived by thepresident of theEuropean Coun-cil, José ManuelBarroso, who said that Europenow required “historic leader-ship,” which he believes thePolish PM and Poland can pro-vide.

But not everyone was won

over by the Polish prime minis-ter’s optimistic tone.

“We have just heard theworst speech ever given by anew president of the EUCouncil. He doesn’t seem to

realize what is going on. Wedon’t want jobless Poles,Romanian beggars and peoplefrom North Africa or Turkeyin Europe,” said Dutch MEPBarry Madlener, adding that

those Poles wholive in theN e t h e r l a n d sshould be sentback to theircountry.

Mr Tusk wasalso taken to taskby Nigel Farage,leader of the UKIndependenceParty.

Referring toDenmark’s deci-sion to reinstatecustoms controlsat its borders, MrFarage asked:“Why are youpretending thateverything isgoing well, whenEurope is in adeep structuralcrisis? Greece,Portugal andSpain will not lastin the euro zone,and Denmark has

quite rightly broken off fromthe Schengen Agreement.”

Home frontIn addition, Mr Tusk was criti-cized by some Polish MEPs,

including former justice minis-ter Zbigniew Ziobro, a mem-ber of the opposition Law andJustice party (PiS).

“You spoke beautifully ofthe values of the Polish presi-dency but I would like you todefend values like freedom ofspeech and freedom of themedia in practice, not only intheory. It is your governmentwhich moved to liquidate thedaily Rzeczpospolita because itwas critical of the govern-ment,” Mr Ziobro said in ref-erence to the sale of a majoritystake in Presspublica, Rzecz-pospolita’s holding company(see article, p. 5).

Mr Ziobro was also criticalof a recent incident in whichInternal Security Agency(ABW) officers, armed withlive weapons, entered studentRobert Frycz’s flat and confis-cated his laptop and hard disksbecause a website he ran wasthought to contain “materialsthat insult the president ofPoland, and which may incitepeople to commit a crime.”

Under Polish law insultingthe president is punishable byup to three years in prison.

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Prime Minister Tusk’s speech in Strasbourg was met with some strong criticism

Broadcasting

ITI could sell $1.3 billioncontrolling stake in TVNTime Warner is viewedas one of the likelybidders, but ITI iskeeping tight-lippedon the matter

Polish media and entertain-ment group ITI is looking forpotential buyers for its 56 per-cent stake in popular Polishbroadcaster TVN, Reutersreported. The stake is valued at$1.3 billion according to TVN’sshare price at the time WBJwent to press.

Investment banking giantsJ.P. Morgan and Nomura arehelping ITI to “review strategicoptions regarding its controllingstake in TVN,” the group saidin a statement. The announce-ment led TVN’s share price tojump 7.3 percent, although ITIitself wrote that “no decisionhas yet been taken with regardto any potential sale.”

Citing unnamed sources,however, Reuters wrote thatITI has approached five possi-ble buyers, including TimeWarner, Bertelsmann and FoxBroadcasting Company, the lat-ter of which is part of RupertMurdoch’s under-fire NewsCorp. Neither ITI or TVN haveconfirmed the names of anypotential buyers.

Dariusz Górski, an analystat BZ WBK, said it would make

good business sense for ITI tosell TVN.

“It is not a surprise with thecurrent restructuring andstreamlining of the company,and with issues regarding com-petition in the Central andEastern European market it is areally a good time to sell,” hesaid. “I’m sure there will be lotsof potential buyers.”

Time Warner is viewed bysome analysts as the most likelybidder, as it increased its stakein TVN’s regional rival CentralEuropean Media Enterprises(CME) to 31 percent in March.Polish media company Agoramay also be one potential suit-or, according to Mr Górski.

TVN recently dethronedpublic broadcaster TVP asthe largest television pro-gramming provider in Polandin terms of revenues, but ana-

lysts have speculated thatITI’s willingness to sell maybe related to the group’s debtburden.

In the fourth-quarter of2010 TVN’s net profitdropped by 93 percent year-on-year to stand at z∏.15.8 mil-lion. The broadcaster made anet profit of z∏.43 million forthe full year, compared toz∏.346 million the year before,partially because it wasweighed down by loan costs.

The TVN Group, to whichTVN belongs, also holdsassets such as internet portalOnet.pl. The group launchedits first television network in1997. The most popularshows aired on some of itsstations include Polish ver-sions of “X Factor” and“Dancing with the Stars.”

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

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ITI is reportedly looking to sell its stake in TVN

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Russia’s embargo has cost Polish exporters more than

z∏.25 million

JULY 11-24, 2011NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Journalist and human rightsactivist Andrzej Poczobut washanded a suspended three-yearsentence by a Belarusian courtin early July for libeling andinsulting authoritarian Belaru-sian President AlexanderLukashenko.

Mr Poczobut, who writes forPolish daily Gazeta Wyborczaand is one of the leaders of theUnion of Poles in Belarus, wasoriginally arrested and detainedon April 6, after Belarusian offi-cials took issue with articles hewrote about Mr Lukashenko.These articles were published inWyborcza and then linked onopposition web portal theBelarus Partisan and on MrPoczobut’s personal blog.

Speaking to radio stationTOK FM just after he receivedhis sentence, which included atwo-year probationary period,Mr Poczobut was in defiantmood. “The authorities’ mainaim was to get me to renouncewhat I believe in. But I do nottrade with the values in which Ibelieve,” he said.

Mr Poczobut now plans toappeal the decision and has saidhe will not stop his critical cov-erage of Mr Lukashenko’sregime.

Poland’s Ministry of ForeignAffairs has come out strongly

against the court’s decision.Ministry spokesperson MarcinBosacki said in a statement thatalthough it was a good thing MrPoczobut would be able toreturn home to his family afterhis recent period of arrest, thesentence was unjust and thetrial unfair.

“No return to a normal dia-logue will be possible betweenBelarus and Poland and theEuropean Union unless Bela-rusian authorities release andrehabilitate all political prison-ers and stop repressions,” MrBosacki added.

The verdict against MrPoczobut came at a time whenBelarusian courts were issuingsentences to the more than300 pro-democracy activistswho were arrested by Belaru-sian police following protestsheld during the country’sIndependence Day celebra-tions on July 3.

President Lukashenko hadearlier warned that he wouldnot tolerate any form of protest.“I’ve never witnessed anythinglike this in all the demonstra-tions I’ve covered,” reporterHalina Abakunchyk was quot-ed as saying on Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty’s web-site.

TTaarraa TTaayylloorr,, AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

“The Polish pilotswere knowingly led totheir death,” says theopposition’s report

A white paper on last April’sSmolensk tragedy, put togetherby the opposition Law and Jus-tice (PiS) party, states that Rus-sia bears most of the responsi-bility for the air crash that killedthen-President Lech Kaczyƒskialong with 95 others.

The findings were present-ed at a press conference inWarsaw by former Prime Min-ister Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski andthe head of the PiS investiga-tion into the tragedy, AntoniMacierewicz. The white pa-per’s conclusions contradict areport by the Russian Inter-state Aviation Committee(MAK), released in January,which placed the blame for thecrash squarely on the Polishside. The MAK report saidpilot error was the main reasonthat the Tupolev Tu-154Mclipped trees on its descent intoSmolensk North Airport, caus-ing it to slam into the forest,killing everyone on board.

Citing PiS’s report, MrMacierewicz told journalists,“Given the [foggy] weather con-

ditions, the Russians shouldhave closed the airport. ThePolish pilots were knowingly ledto their death.”

He said that Russian air traf-fic controllers had begged theirsuperiors to allow the Polishplane to land at an alternative,safer airport. “But their HQrefused and ordered them toland the plane,” Mr Macie-rewicz said.

PiS’s report also states thatRussian authorities had brokenprotocol by not giving a weatherforecast to the Polish pilots priorto the flight. The report addsthat authorities failed to notifyemergency services immediatelyafter the incident: the firstambulances did not arrive until17 minutes after the plane hitthe ground, the report says.

Moreover, the report allegesthat autopsies were performedon victims without the consentor presence of representativesfrom the Polish side.

“The key conclusion is thatthe main burden of guilt forwhat happened lies with theRussians, though some share ofthe guilt, related to the proce-dures after the crash, also lieson the Polish side,” Mr Ka-czyƒski said.

Polish Defense MinisterBogdan Klich also came in forcriticism for his alleged failureto buy new, more modern air-craft for the state, despite Presi-dent Lech Kaczyƒski’s requestthat he do so.

Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski, howev-er, reiterated his belief thatdespite mistakes made by MrTusk’s government, if it had notbeen for mistakes on the Russ-ian side, the disaster wouldnever have occurred.

With Poland holding the EUpresidency until the end ofDecember, and with politicalcampaigns already underwayahead of this fall’s elections,debate over the circumstancesof last year’s tragedy continuesto loom large over the country’smain political parties.

This will likely become a keycampaign issue for PiS as theylook to overcome Civic Plat-form (PO) as the Sejm’s major-ity party. DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Smolensk tragedy

PiS blames Russia, government for Smolensk disaster

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Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski says Russia is at fault

Belarusian courtconvicts journalist

JULY 11-24, 2011 IINNDDUUSSTTRRYY NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 5

Control over thepublisher of influentialdaily Rzeczpospolita hasbeen sold for z∏.80million

Poland’s Gremi Media hasbought London-based MecomPoland Holdings, which owns51 percent of Presspublica, pub-lisher of titles including Rzecz-pospolita, ˚ycie Warszawy andParkiet.

The z∏.80 million transactionnow has to be approved by theOffice of Competition andConsumer Protection before itcan be finalized. A decision isexpected to be made bySeptember this year.

In an official statementGremi Media said, “Rzecz-pospolita is not only one of theleading daily newspapers inPoland. It is, first of all, an influ-ential paper which the majorityof executives, managers andpoliticians start their day with.”The paper has a circulation ofabout 140,000.

The founder and owner ofGremi Media, Krakow-bornentrepreneur Grzegorz Haj-darowicz, said the transaction isa part of his company’s overalldevelopment strategy.

“Based on the titles we ownwe will develop the grouptowards the most modern mediaconcern in Poland, usingadvanced technologies,” he said.

This is not the first such

transaction that Mr Hajdarow-icz has been involved in. InOctober 2001 he bought weeklyPrzekrój and monthly Sukces.

In 2010 Presspublica report-ed a net profit of z∏.8.1 millionon revenues of z∏.220.9 million,Rzeczpospolita reported.

Mecom Poland Holdings isa subsidiary of Mecom Group,a European content and con-sumer business, which ownsover 300 printed titles and 200internet sites. The parent com-pany has substantial operationsin Denmark, the Netherlands,Norway and Poland.

In a statement the companysaid, “Mecom has taken theopportunity of an unsolicitedproposal for its holding inPresspublica to sell this opera-tion for cash on terms which it

views as attractive, havingregard to the trading outlook ofPresspublica and a lack of align-ment with Presspublica’s minor-ity shareholder which Mecombelieves may act as a constrainton the future development ofthe business.”

The minority shareholder isthe Polish State Treasury, whichowns 49 percent. Mr Hajdarow-icz has said he will look to buythat share from the govern-ment. He hopes to repackagehis media group, eventuallyfloating it on the Warsaw StockExchange.

Despite being 49 percentowned by the Treasury, Rzecz-pospolita’s editorial page takes aright-wing line that is often atodds with the government.

BBaarrbbaarraa GG´́ddeekk

Press

Gremi Media purchasesPresspublica majority stake

Russian

competition

for Google?

Russia’s Yandex, an

internet technologies

firm, is looking to join the

online advertising

market by launching a

new search engine in

Poland, Puls Biznesu

reported. The goal would

be to establish a strong

second-place position in

the market. Google

enjoys a near monopoly

when it comes to

handling Polish web

searches, taking an

estimated 97% of all

queries. Google reports

annual earnings of z∏.700

million in Poland.

Vodka exports

to increase

The Polish Spirits

Industry organization

(ZP PPS) believes the

total value of vodka

exported this year will

exceed €130 million.

That’s 10% higher than

in 2010. Exports of

liqueurs and flavored

vodkas will continue to

grow at the fastest pace,

although pure vodkas

will still have the

largest share of total

foreign sales. ●

WIK

IME

DIA

CO

MM

ON

S

Rzeczpospolita has a circulation of around 140,000

PGNiG investigatedfor possible abuseof market positionPoland’s competition regula-tor announced that it haslaunched an investigation intowhether gas monopolistPGNiG has abused its positionon the Polish market.

Citing a recent analysis itdid of the company, Poland’sOffice of Competition andConsumer Protection (UOKiK)said on July 5 that PGNiG wasmaking it difficult for its

biggest customers to cancelsupply contracts.

UOKiK said that PGNiGhad stipulated in a number ofdifferent supply contracts that itshould be given up to 15months’ notice if a customerwished to terminate the con-tract. This clause, the watchdoghas decided, means that ineffect the client cannot breakthe contract. BBGG

Telecoms

Solorz wins Polkomtel bid, secures huge loanThe tycoon hasnabbed Poland’snumber-two mobileoperator in thebiggest buyout inPolish history

Polish business mogul Zyg-munt Solorz-˚ak has secured a€3.6 billion leveraged loan thathe will use in the purchase of

Polish telecommunicationsfirm Polkomtel. The z∏.18 bil-lion deal is the biggest in Polishtakeover history.

The leveraged loan deal isreportedly the largest inEurope in two years. Themoney will be paid out in anumber of different tranches,each with their own pay-backperiods.

Credit Agricole CIB, Deu-

tsche Bank, Royal Bank ofScotland, Societe Generaleand PKO Bank Polski are theunderwriters.

Polkomtel was sold byVodafone and a number ofPolish state-linked compa-nies, including metals minerKGHM, oil refiner Orlen andcoal exporter Weglokoks. Thedeal is subject to approvalfrom regulators.

Private equity firm Apaxand Norway’s Telenor werealso in the running, but MrSolorz-˚ak lodged the high-est bid in late June.

Polkomtel, the owner ofthe Plus brand, has nearly 14million telephone and inter-net users. Mr Solorz-˚ak isexpected to use the newlyacquired company to expandhis current cellular and televi-sion holdings, and to create asuper-fast 4G LTE networkacross Poland.

The Polish treasury has not

yet said how much it expectsto earn from the sale. Statecompanies, including KGHM,Orlen and PGE, are set toreceive over z∏.10 billion fortheir stakes, in addition to adividend of z∏.724 millionfrom Polkomtel.

As things stand, the treas-ury will receive almost z∏.1.53billion in taxes, although itsearnings would rise signifi-cantly if it receives special div-idend payouts from the firms.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee,,

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

RE

PO

RT

ER

Mr Solorz-˚ak’s z∏.18 billion deal is the biggest in Polish takeover history

JULY 11-24, 2011IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW6 www.wbj.pl

Politics

Leszek Miller: a view from the leftFormer PrimeMinister and leader ofthe Democratic LeftAlliance (SLD), LeszekMiller, talks to WBJabout Europe, Polishpolitics and his viewson the War on Terror

Ewa Boniecka: How do youassess the report drawn-up bythe parliamentary commis-sion, led by Ryszard Kalisz,on the circumstances of SLDpolitician Barbara Blida’sdeath, and the view that for-mer Prime Minister Jaros∏awKaczyƒski and former JusticeMinister Zbignew Ziobroshould go before the Constitu-tional Tribunal for theiralleged misuse of politicalpower in the lead-up to thetragedy?Leszek Miller: If the reportpresents evidence of a viola-tion of the Constitution bythese politicians, then effortsshould be taken to execute thereport’s conclusions. But theparliamentary commission hasto finish its work and, apartfrom the Kalisz report, thereare other reports by membersof the commission that maypresent conflicting conclu-sions. Only after obtaining thesupport of 115 members of

parliament can Kalisz’s reportbe turned in to the Commis-sion of Constitutional Respon-sibility, which would make thefinal decision on whetherthere are conditions for plac-ing Jaros∏aw Kaczynski andZbigniew Ziobro before thetribunal.

So far, only SLD hasbacked the report. It is, howev-er, a very troublesome matterfor the ruling Civic Platform(PO) party, which has to pres-ent its stance on the issue. Aspast events have shown, PrimeMinister Donald Tusk and POdo not like to present definitestands on any issue.

Allegations about so-calledCIA “black sites” in Polandare not going away: a numberof media sources have report-ed that these prisons existedwhen Aleksander KwaÊniews-ki was president and you wereprime minister. Some of thesesources also allege that tor-ture was perpetrated at thesesites. How do you view thissituation? I cannot give you an answer tothis question, since I amobliged to respect confiden-tiality on issues relating toPoland’s national security.What I can tell you is thatthere is, and has been, cooper-ation between Polish and

American intelligence servic-es, and that this has certainlybeen the case all the moresince the attacks on the WorldTrade Center in 2001.

However, if CIA officerswere transporting people sus-pected of terrorist attacksthrough Poland, they were notunder the control of the Polishauthorities, so any burden

regarding this issue lies withthe American authorities andnot with Poland.

I would add that during USPresident Obama’s recent visitto Poland, the Polish journal-ists who are now so eagerlyinvestigating this matter didnot question the Americanpresident on this issue. It wasan excellent opportunity, sowhy didn’t they ask him anyquestions about it?

Do you think the investigationinto the alleged CIA sites willremain confidential despitethe fact that it is being headedby the Polish prosecutor’soffice?

I expect the investigation toremain confidential. In addi-tion, I cannot hide my viewthat the whole matter can beseen from two perspectives:from that of the person who,on September 11, 2001 wasstanding on the 40th floor ofthe World Trade Center, andhad the choice to either stayand be engulfed by the flamesor to jump to his or her death,or from the perspective ofsomeone who observed the sit-uation from afar with curiosity,yet with an ambivalent atti-tude.

Personally, I am on the sideof the person who only hadtwo equally tragic choices.This is why I believe that oneshould feel indignant towardsterrorism and not the War onTerror.

As a member of the EuropeanInstitute, a public policy

organization, do you feel thatthere is a lack of considera-tion in Poland about Europeand the future of the Euro-pean Union?Yes, in my opinion, in Polandwe lack a broader considera-tion about the future ofEurope and relations betweenthe European Union andother countries in a changing

and globalized world. I amconvinced that the problemsof European integrationdemand more substantialattention and probing on apolitical and public level thanwe currently have. I hope thismight change slightly with ourpresidency of the EU Council.However, the presidency isusually concentrated on moreimmediate problems.

Thus, I will not alter myview that European issuesrequire a deeper discussionand also some new ideas andapproaches on our part, ifPoland wants to have influ-ence on the future develop-ment of the EU.

I hope that we can inspire adeeper analysis of variousaspects and consequences ofEU integration. I would like toprovide SLD with such ananalysis, which is why we at theinstitute are preparing studiesdealing with all aspects of inte-gration – economic, politicaland social, as well as in thefield of ethics – and we arepaying a lot of attention to theposition of European socialdemocratic parties with regardto this process.

In Europe, most parties onthe left are in a weak position,while rightist parties are inpower in the majority of coun-tries. What influence do youbelieve the left can still haveon European policy? It is a fact that the Europeanleft is now on the defensive,and I see it as a paradoxbecause the financial and

economic crisis, which hasbrought hardship to so manypeople, should haveincreased the number of vot-ers for the left, yet this hasnot been the case.

In my opinion there aretwo main reasons for this.Firstly, the most fundamentalissue is that the European lefthas departed from the mani-festos of former British PrimeMinister Tony Blair and Chan-cellor of Germany GerhardSchroder, which set out a so-called “third way” for demo-cratic leftist parties. Treated asthe alternative to the conser-vatisms and populism of theright and the orthodox social-ism of the radical left, the cen-ter-left’s agenda, whichstressed a progressive strategyfor growth and a free-marketeconomy, brought major suc-cess for European parties onthe left. Ten years ago theywere in government in 12 ofthe 15 EU member states, andit is no coincidence that thebiggest enlargement of theEuropean Union, whichincluded Poland, occurred at atime when center-left partieswere in power across most ofEurope.

A second reason for thepresent defensive position ofthe European left is itsambivalent stance on somenewly emerging social andpolitical issues, such as thegrowing flow of immigrantsfrom extra-European coun-tries to the EU. While govern-ments on the conservativeright react chaotically to thissituation, opting for severemeasures to stop the flow ofimmigrants, the left takes an

uncritical position towards theproblems relating to immigra-tion which are now causing somuch concern in Europeancountries. European leftistparties often seem hesitant toexpress their views on certainproblems, thereby limitingtheir possibilities of influenc-ing European policy. Howev-er, I expect to see center-leftparties helping to revive Euro-pean energy, solidarity andenthusiasm, and helping tostrengthen values such as tol-erance towards all minorities.

I also expect to see thempushing for the next enlarge-ment of the EU. There is alarge space where the left canexercise its influence on theEU’s policy and I believe thatsuch influence will becomemore visible in the future.

Do you agree that in theirapproach to the most pressingcurrent European problem –the financial crisis – there isno differences between partieson the right and the left?In the economic domain, thedifferences between parties onthe right and the left areindeed disappearing becausethere is no such thing as right-ist and leftist economics. Thetime of long-lasting rivalrybetween the free-market econ-omy and the economy of cen-tral planning, between social-ism and capitalism, has ended,because the free market haswon. So now the Europeaneconomy is only one free-mar-ket economy.

Therefore, while the par-ties on the right and left couldpropose somewhat differenteconomic policies in regard to

“As past events have shown, Prime MinisterDonald Tusk and PO do not like to present

definite stands on any issue”

Leszek Miller

• Began his political journey as an activist in the SocialistYouth Union. Later joined the Polish United Workers Party(PZPR) and studied political science at the Party's HigherSchool of Social Sciences, graduating in 1977

• Took part in the Polish Round Table talks in 1989

• Became minister in charge of the Office of the Council ofMinisters and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Admin-istration in Prime Minister W∏odzimierz Cimoszewicz'sgovernment

• Was elected chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance(SLD) in December 1999, at the party's founding confer-ence

• Became prime minister on October 19, 2001

• Was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Accession onApril 16, 2003, which brought Poland into the EuropeanUnion. Helped organize a successful referendum on theissue

• Resigned as prime minister on May 2, 2004, following anunpopular period in office that was marked by high unem-ployment and corruption scandals. Earlier that year hehad stepped down as leader of SLD

• In 2005, was not registered on SLD's parliamentary elec-tions list and declined an offer to run for a seat in the Sen-ate. Became active in journalism

Barbara Blida case

Former Democratic Left Alliance Construction Minister Bar-bara Blida allegedly shot herself on April 25, 2007, wheninternal security forces entered her house to arrest her oncorruption charges. Law and Justice’s Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski wasprime minister at the time of the incident.

A parliamentary commission headed by Democratic LeftAlliance (SLD) MP Ryszard Kalisz recently drew up a pre-liminary report which says that Mr Kaczyƒski and the then-justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, had acted unconstitution-ally prior to Ms Blida's death.

The document alleges that the pair misused their powerwhen investigating crimes against corruption, and pursued apolicy of “eliminating” groups they believed were corrupt.

“Barbara Blida would be alive if the PiS state had notexisted ... We were governed by people who believed that a[corrupt] ‘clique’ existed,” the report reads. ●

JULY 11-24, 2011 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 7

the conditions of the free mar-ket, the basic rivalry betweenthe two is moving towards eth-ical and cultural matters: rela-tions between church andstate, and relations betweencitizens and the state. Here,those differences are substan-tial and they should be high-lighted.

Looking at the European poli-cies of the ruling Civic Plat-form party and SLD, theredoes not seem to be much dif-ference as both parties arestrongly pro-European. Howdo you see the situation?SLD is more decisive than POin its European policy andthere are differences in thetwo parties’ positions in cer-tain areas. It amazes me thatin the lead up to Poland’s pres-idency of the EU Council,Prime Minister Donald Tuskhas not said a word aboutthree major issues.

Firstly, he has not men-tioned that Poland would with-draw from the so-called “Bri-tish protocol,” which weagreed to during the govern-ment of PiS, in order not toratify the Charter of Funda-mental Rights of the Euro-pean Union. SLD alwaysdemanded Poland’s ratifica-tion of that important docu-ment, and it should be done.

Secondly, Poland has notexpressed a desire to adopt thearticle which obliges all mem-bers to observe the EuropeanUnion’s symbols – the flag andthe hymn – and I have to ques-tion our reasons for not for-mally adopting the signs of EUunity.

Finally, the governmenthas not presented a reliableroadmap for Poland’s acces-sion to the euro zone. PrimeMinister Tusk once talkedabout Poland entering it in2011. It is currently 2011 andnothing is being said about ourtiming and preparations withregard to the euro zone.

But Prime Minister Tuskrecently led Poland into theEuro-Plus Pact, a plan underwhich countries make com-mitments to improve theirrespective fiscal situations. Doyou not think this highlightshis determination to seePoland meet euro-adoptioncriteria and generally bringthe country closer to the sin-

gle currency?That was an empty PR ges-ture. Poland is the onlyobserver in that group with-out any voice. I regardPoland’s acceptance of a com-mon EU currency as a strate-gic task, yet during nearly fouryears in power, the govern-ment did nothing to prepareour finances and economy tomeet the criteria for joiningthe euro, which would allowus to have real influence onthe economic integration ofthe EU.

How do you assess Poland’sEastern policy and the coun-try’s role in shaping it withinthe EU?The Eastern Partnership,which Poland and Sweden ini-tiated, is a good project andshould be realized, but to playa significant role in shapingthe Eastern policy of the EUwe first need to have a strongeconomic position.

To play the leadership rolein our part of Europe is notenough – we have to make oureconomy the leader in Centraland Eastern Europe. It is notan accident that Germanyplays such a strong role in theEastern policy of the EU; itseconomy is the strongest in thebloc.

How do you view the Polishgovernment’s policy towardsRussia?I think that it has evolved pos-itively under the current gov-ernment, and there is a cleardifference between the currentpolicy and that of former Pres-ident Lech Kaczyƒski and hisPiS government. The latterwas based on the principle ofcordoning off Russia. This pol-icy was not good for Polandnor for the EU. We shouldconduct a policy which willbring Russia closer to Europeand not push it away.

Global security systems haveto be built together with Russia,not without it. During his visitto Poland, President Obamamade this view clear and it wasa wake-up call for those hot-heads in Poland who think thesituation should be different –namely that Poland shouldmobilize NATO and the Euro-pean Union against Russia.

The leader of the strongestpower in the world, the US,put his cards on the table

about the need for close coop-eration with Russia. Thisshould now be taken into seri-ous consideration by Polishpoliticians.

I have the impression thatsome leaders on the Polishleft, while advocating theimprovement of Polish-Russ-ian relations, are afraid to belabeled as being pro-Russian.What is your opinion?SLD is neither pro-Russian, nordoes it have any anti-Russianphobias.We are looking here atthe interests of Poland andEurope and it is clear that draw-ing Russia closer to Europeanstructures is a rational policy.

Do you think that after theparliamentary elections thisfall, the conditions could be

right for the creation of a coali-tion between SLD and PO?It all depends on the voters’verdict. If the coalitionbetween PO and the PolishPeople’s Party (PSL) still car-ries a sufficient majority inparliament, a third partnerwould not be needed and SLDwould remain in opposition.SLD could enter the govern-ment structures only if PO andPSL do not have a suitablemajority to govern with.

From my point of view,including SLD in a governingcoalition would be very favor-able for Poland because itwould strengthen Polish mod-ernization tendencies and ourEuropean policy. It would bea coalition of reason againstPiS leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒs-ki’s policy of folly. Mr.

Kaczyƒski does not respectthe democratic institutions ofour country and is in opposi-tion not only towards DonaldTusk, but also the Polish state.

Finally, there is a lot of specu-lation over whether you willappear on SLD’s election list.Can you confirm whether ornot you plan to take part inthe upcoming parliamentaryelections? At this time I have notreceived any official proposalto take part in the next elec-tion. I have only read specula-tion in various newspapersabout possible places where Icould run; one time it wasGdynia, the next Siedlce, andthen later some other place. Icannot answer your questionbecause I do not know

whether I will be a candidatefor the Sejm.

Would you like to be in parlia-ment after the next election? From my point of view, I couldbe in the Sejm and I could notbe; it is not a must for me. For along time it seemed to me thatthere was no life outside parlia-ment, but now I know thatthere is because for six years Ihave been out of parliamentand have led a very active life.

However, if a suitableopportunity were to presentitself and I were to receive aninteresting proposal to run forparliament on SLD’s list, then Iwould accept it because I wouldwant to use my knowledge andexperience for the benefit of myparty and also, I think, for thebenefit of the Sejm. ●

RE

PO

RT

ER

“To play the leadership role in our part ofEurope is not enough – we have to make our

economy the leader in Central and Eastern Europe”

Leszek Miller thinks there is little difference between rightist and leftist economics: “the free market has won,” he said

Social media and business

CCaasshhiinngg iinn oonn tthhee ssoocciiaallmmeeddiiaa pphheennoommeennoonn

Polish internet users are theseventh-most active users ofsocial media in Europe, with63 percent of them now loggedon to networks like Facebook,YouTube and Twitter, accord-ing to a Eurobarometer reportpublished in June this year.This number is expected torise, making social media anattractive ready-made plat-form from which companiescan reach out to potential cus-tomers and advertise theirproducts.

Firms that interact withtheir customers through socialmedia can provide addedvalue to their clients by keep-ing them abreast of news andevents, new products and serv-ices, and with special offers. Inreturn, consumers can thencomment, link or tweet about

their experiences with thefirm, giving companies thebrand exposure they are look-ing for.

A growing marketAccording to statistics websiteInternet World Stats, therewere some 22.5 million inter-net users in Poland as ofMarch 31 this year. That’s 58.4percent of the country’s popu-lation. With broadband accessbeing expanded and smart-phones gaining in popularity,internet use in Poland is set toincrease and interest in socialmedia will likely follow suit.Pyramid Research, moreover,recently predicted that smart-phones will account for 35 per-cent of total handset sell-

through in Poland for full-year2011.

Smartphones make socialnetworking easier by providingusers with internet accesswherever they are. Applica-tions (or apps) – the hallmarkof smartphones – can also beused to engage in e-com-merce.

For example, bar-codescanner apps allow consumersto scan products to find outinformation such as cost. InPoland, mobile operatorOrange is launching technolo-gy that will allow its Polishclients to utilize Near FieldCommunications (NFC) tech-nology to pay for purchasesdirectly using their smart-phones.

Smartphones have fueledthe rise of location-basedsocial networks, such asFoursquare and Gowalla,through which users sharetheir location with friends. Theservices have taken off incountries like the UK and theUS, and are expected to catchon in Poland relatively quickly.These services allow business-es to offer users special dealsas soon as they walk throughthe door.

“Basically, you could walkinto a Gap shop in Poland,register your presence there bychecking in and then you canget a reply offering you a dis-count or giving you advice onwhat kind of shirt or blazerwould go with the black jeansyou intend to purchase,” saidCurtis Hougland, founder of

Attention, a New York-basedsocial media marketing firm.

New orderSo how aware are Polish firmsof the power of social media?

“It is already the norm inPoland that firms want to bepresent on Facebook andother social media to showthat they are modern andactive. It is a normal part ofadvertising today, as obviousas being in the yellow pages 10years ago,” said IzabellaAnuszewska, an internet mar-ket expert at advertisingresearch agency MillwardBrown SMG/KRC.

“Most firms just use thesemedia to keep their clientsinformed of the latest happen-ings concerning their companyand their products, but someare more inventive and holdcontests or online surveyswhere you can win something– [firms do] anything just toinvolve the client,” she added.

Recent data suggest Polishfirms are becoming increasing-ly aware of the commercialpotential of social media.

In 2010, PR and marketingexperts representing 71 Polishcompanies from various indus-tries took part in a surveycalled the “Social MediaBrand Index.” Eighty-six per-cent of those polled said theyused Facebook as a promo-tional tool; 60 percent saidthat thanks to social mediathey had strengthened dia-

logue with their customers,and 67 percent said that socialmedia had helped them buildgreater brand loyalty amongtheir customers.

“An increasing number ofmarketers see real benefits inusing social media: an increasein brand awareness, in brandloyalty and increased traffic ontheir website. I think the sur-vey conducted in 2011 willshow further growth of thetrend in this direction,” saidPiotr Krawiec, head of Prakty-cy.com, a public relations andmarketing company.

Top sitesWhen it comes to social net-working sites in Poland, NK(formerly Nasza-Klasa) stilltops the rankings, with nearly14 million monthly activeusers, while Facebook hasaround 9.9 million, accordingto the latest available data.

Though ostensibly used toreconnect old classmates, NKworks in much the same wayas Facebook, allowing itsmembers to join groups,reconnect and leave messagesfor friends, as well as sharelinks and post photos. InPoland, in addition to NK andFacebook, the most popularwebsites include Onet.pl,which has 12.1 million activemonthly users, and Wp.pl(10.9 million).

Google, however, still leadsthe pack among services web-sites; it was visited by 15.9 mil-

Poles are among the most active social networkusers in Europe. Are Polish businesses in aposition to make the most of the phenomenon?

JULY 11-24, 20118 www.wbj.pl CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY

WSE IPOs

worth z∏.11

billion?

The value of all initial

public offerings on the

Warsaw Stock Exchange

may exceed z∏.11 billion

in 2011. That is what a

summary of H1 activity

and an analysis of

declarations made by

companies that are

planning to enter the

WSE in H2 indicates,

reports Parkiet. Among

the largest potential IPOs

in H2 this year are that of

vodka producer Stock

Spirits, estimated at

z∏.1.4 billion, and of

energy company PGE

Energia Odnawialna (z∏.1

billion).

Ukrainian ViOil

to enter WSE

Ukraine’s ViOil, a

sunflower oil and colza

oil producer, aims to

raise between z∏.390

million and z∏.507 million

when it enters the

Warsaw Stock Exchange

before the end of July,

reports Bloomberg. The

company will issue up to

26 million new shares,

with the firm confirming

that the issue price,

which will be announced

on July 13, ranges from

z∏.15 to z∏.19.50 per

share.

Bank Pocztowy

submits issue

prospectusPoland’s Bank Pocztowy,

a unit of bank PKO BP

and national postal

carrier Poczta Polska, is

moving forward with its

plan to debut on the WSE.

The company filed its

prospectus in early July.

The bank had earlier

announced it was looking

to hold its IPO in the

second half of 2011, and

hoped to make z∏.250-350

million from the

accompanying share

issue.

Tauron, PGNiG

await

EBRD loan

decision

As WBJ went to press,

Poland’s second-largest

utility Tauron and gas

giant PGNiG were waiting

on the European Bank for

Reconstruction and

Development to reach a

final decision on a z∏.700

million loan. The money

would be devoted to

building a new joint gas-

and biomass-fired power

unit. ●

Remi Adekoya, Ella Palka

“Using social media is a normalpart of advertising today, as obvious

as being in the yellow pages 10years ago”

“An increasing number of marketers see real benefits in using social media:

an increase in brand awareness, inbrand loyalty and increased traffic

on their website”

Google vs. Facebook

With over 500 million usersworldwide, Facebook is stillthe largest social media net-work in the world. Its stayingpower and ability to competewill, however, be tested byGoogle’s new social network-ing site, Google+, which wasrecently unveiled to selectusers. After its trial periodhas been completed, theGoogle+ platform will auto-matically activate for all userswho hold an active Gmailaccount.

Google has the potentialto integrate all of its servicesunder one umbrella, whichwould in turn create serious

competition for Facebook.However, as The New YorkTimes recently reported,there is a different level ofengagement between the twoonline organizations.

“In May, 180 million peo-ple visited Google sites,including YouTube, com-pared with 157.2 million onFacebook, according tocomScore. But Facebookusers looked at [a combined]103 billion pages and spentan average of 375 minutes onthe site, while Google usersviewed 46.3 billion pages andspent 231 minutes,” thenewspaper reported. ●

Super searchers

Top 10 European countriesby searches per searcher,August 2010 (total Europe,age 15+, home and worklocations)

1. Poland 156.8

2. UK 143.8

3. Finland 140.8

4. Turkey 138.3

5. Ireland 129.9

6. Belgium 129.9

7. France 129.4

8. Portugal 118.0

9. Italy 114.8

10. Sweden 112.3

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

Poland has around 22.5 million internet users, almost 60 percent of the population

Source: comScore

JULY 11-24, 2011 CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY www.wbj.pl 9

lion people in January 2011.Statistics from comScorereveal a strong reliance on theweb as a source of informationin Poland. The country rankedhighest in Europe, with 157searches per searcher inAugust 2010, followed by theUK (144) and Finland (141).

This level of web browsingmakes for good business:around 10 percent of Polesshop online, compared to a 7percent average across theEU, New Media Trend Watchsaid.

Future trendsIn the coming years, however,it will not be enough for firmsto merely be present on socialmedia networks. Even the actsof publicizing company com-muniques and announcingupcoming events and promo-tions won’t be sufficient toallow a company to stay aheadof the competition, expertswarn. Companies will need todo much more if they reallywant to maintain the interestand loyalty of their customers.They will need to work oninnovative ways to engagepotential clients, to give thema sense that they are beingtreated individually. Somefirms are already doing this byorganizing online quizzes, lot-teries and surveys.

Attention’s Mr Houglandsays Polish firms will have tocreate more compelling con-tent in the future in order towin clients.

“I also expect more trans-parency and authenticity willsurface in Poland. Right now,a lot of firms are just payingbloggers and paying for expo-sure in social media. That usedto be the case in the US, butrecently there has been a trendtowards more authenticity andless brazen paid-for market-ing. This will also happen inPoland,” he said.

Another trend Mr Houg-land foresees is a shift towardsmore online video-basedadvertising.

“Today, YouTube is the sec-ond-largest search engine inthe world. There will be amove towards it and othersuch platforms where compa-nies can post promotionalvideos and establish a moreemotional connection withviewers and potential clients,”he said.

All in all, it seems theexpansion of social media inthe business sphere will befar-reaching, fast-moving andfast-changing.

“We can expect that theuse of social media as a busi-ness tool will increase for aslong as those media continueto enjoy the interest of inter-net users. But there will alsobe a professionalization ofthis sphere, and only firmsthat keep up with the latestinnovations will be able tosuccessfully use these net-works to advance their busi-ness interests,” said Praktycy’sMr Krawiec. ●

The big players

The major social media web-sites have each becomehousehold names within justa few years and each offersomething different forusers. Twitter, which hadaround 200 million usersworldwide as of March 2011,allows its members to accessand communicate with any-one on its network, includingbusiness leaders, politicians,artists, writers, blog-gers and celebri-ties.

Userscan tweet(send amessage), re-tweet (re-sendsomeone else’s mes-sage), share links, providefeedback and alert others ofnews and information, aswell as comment about prod-ucts and services. The great-est benefit provided by Twit-ter is that it allows users toreach others with just a fewlines of text.

Unlike Facebook, whichfocuses on friends and fami-ly, Twitter postings go in tothe public domain. Thispotential for global reach iswhat makes it so attractive:the greater the number offollowers, the greater theimpact. There are many waysto attract followers to a Twit-ter account; businesses rec-ognize this and, in addition

to having a Twitter accountof their own, many try toactively engage other users,including bloggers, so thatthey write or tweet abouttheir products.

For career-oriented webusers, LinkedIn allows mem-bers to post online profiles oftheir work experience, and tonetwork with other profes-sionals and employers. Thesite, which has around 100million users, essentiallyworks as an online CV forumwhere potential employers

and members canvet eachother’s pro-files and cre-

d e n -t i a l s .

A l e r t scan be

sent to userswhenever there are new jobopportunities or when a fel-low professional wishes tomake online contact.

Approximately one halfof LinkedIn users reside inthe United States, althoughthere is a growing commu-nity of users in India.Recently, the number ofusers in that country passedthe three million mark.There are a relatively low396,000 LinkedIn users inPoland, but most of thoseare plugged-in profession-als. GoldenLine, Poland'shome-grown professionalsocial networking site, isalso popular among thecareer-driven. ●

The blogosphere

Blogs, of which there wereover 156 million worldwideas of February this year, are amore personal form of socialmedia, which businesses canuse as an extension of theirwebsites. They are easy to setup and offer a great platformfor feedback, commentaryand interaction. Bloggerscan also post news, infor-mation and photos, muchlike Twitter users, but ingreater depth. One advan-tage bloggers have is thatthey can easily post videosto bring greater exposure to

their blogs. Bloggers canalso link out to others sitesand blogs, thereby encour-aging the type of informa-tion sharing that hasbecome the hallmark ofsocial media.

Polish politicians arealso warming to the idea ofusing blogs, with major fig-ures like opposition leaderJaros∏aw Kaczyƒski activein the blogosphere. DeputyPrime Minister WaldemarPawlak and presidentialadviser Tomasz Na∏´cz alsohave their own blogs. ●

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W hen in July 1991 the WarsawPact was dissolved, a deepsense of relief was mixed

with anxiety about the continent’sfuture. Few then could have imag-ined how Europe’s security environ-ment would evolve. Now, as Polandtakes on the presidency of the EU

council, the “winds of change” haveblown a former Soviet satellite to aposition from which it will leadWestern European nations.

Although today’s Europe is saferand richer than at the beginning ofthe 1990s, it is also facing complexsecurity threats. Cyber attacks, ener-gy-supply disruptions, piracy, terror-ism, illegal trafficking of nuclear, bio-logical and chemical materials andorganized crime – all originatingoften in dysfunctional states – maynot threaten the very existence of

EU, but they have serious potentialto cause instability, turmoil and eco-nomic hardship.

These are not merely theoreticalconcepts, but imminent challenges.

Much to be doneThe “Arab Spring,” the crackdown onthe opposition in Belarus and hightensions in the Caucasus all provethat there is much to be done inEurope’s neighborhood. The EU, sofar predominately occupied with itsinternal issues, has failed to plan forcontingencies or to be proactivetowards perceived security chal-lenges. The results are worrisome –the EU may soon need to tackle seri-ous threats from sources using unsta-ble and inefficient states as safehavens.

At the same time, new global pow-ers are emerging and alreadyattempting to dominate noveldomains of conflict – such as cyber-space. While they, and many othercountries, increase defense spending,EU members continue to reducetheir militaries’ financial resources.This trend is accompanied by a waveof mistrust and disappointment in

common European policies andactions, best epitomized by recentexamples of sub-regional – ratherthan European – defense coopera-tion, and a row over the Libyan oper-ation. The pacifist attitude of soci-eties, perceiving military and securityas uncomfortable topics, doesn’t helpeither.

All these recent developments area wake-up call for the EU. They leaveit no option but to reconsider its phi-losophy of managing security-relatedproblems in both external and inter-nal relations. And it is the Polish EUpresidency that offers a chance forsuch reconsideration.

Re-invigorating the CSDPNotwithstanding crucial economicissues, the future of the euro currencyand budgetary negotiations, theprime task of the Polish presidencywill be to streamline the EU’sanswers to challenges facing its secu-rity. To these discussions Polandbrings in its unique perspective, expe-rience with transformation and alsocertain proposals.

One of the Polish presidency’saims is to re-invigorate the EU’s

Common Security and Defence Poli-cy (CSDP). Established a decade agoto help the bloc stabilize post-conflictstates, it lives up neither to EU ambi-tions nor to goals set forth in itsstrategic documents. Despite arecord of over 20 operations, CSDPeffectiveness is hampered by the con-flicting security interests of EU mem-bers and a lack of willingness to moveforward in European defense cooper-ation.

Poland, together with its WeimarTriangle partners Germany andFrance, is calling on the EU to endowCSDP with a proper system of plan-ning, preparing and commandingmissions, to improve the Union’spartnership with NATO, and toupdate the concept of EU battlegroups (a key military asset of theEU, albeit never used).

Using a reinforced CSDP, the EUcould react more swiftly and proac-tively to further crises which mightoccur in its vicinity. Since the CSDP isnot only about military, but also civil-ian matters, it could also help in secu-rity sector reforms or building civicinstitutions in states undergoingtransformation.

Pay the billAs the traditional boundariesbetween internal and external secu-rity dimensions, as well as betweencivilian and military instruments,become irrelevant, Poland shouldseek broader security context also inother policy areas.

An update of the Schengen systemand reform of the Frontex bordersecurity agency are issues of utmostimportance. So is the EuropeanNeighborhood Policy, which shouldfinally allow the EU to approach itsneighbors with concrete tools aimedat stabilizing their political, social andeconomic systems. Undeniably NorthAfrica needs particular assistancewith democratization and transforma-tion, but the eastern EU neighborsalso mustn’t be forgotten.

Security is an expensive publicgood and its price tends to rise in tur-bulent moments. Now, the time hascome for the EU to finally pay the billfor assuring itself welfare and stabili-ty – not for today, but for the future.

Marcin Terlikowski is a research fellowat the,Polish Institute of InternationalAffairs (PISM). www.pism.pl

A key focus of Poland’s presiden-cy will be bringing Ukrainecloser to the European Union

through the signing of associationand free trade agreements. The out-come of Warsaw’s effort regardingUkraine will have significant implica-tions for Poland’s status as a regionalleader as well as for the geo-politicalorientation of Kiev.

Fostering integrationUkrainian Foreign Minister Kostyan-tyn Gryshchenko visited Poland onJuly 6 to meet with his Polish coun-terpart, Rados∏aw Sikorski, with oneof the key topics being Poland’s EUpresidency from July to December2011. A week into its presidency,Poland had begun addressing theissue of bringing Ukraine closer tothe European Union. Specifically,Poland wants to facilitate the signingof an association agreement and afree trade agreement between Kievand Brussels before its EU presiden-cy comes to an end.

Poland has become one of themain drivers bringing former Sovietstates in Eastern Europe closer toEuropean institutions in response toRussia’s resurgence into the region,and one of the key points of focus forPoland’s EU presidency is fosteringUkraine’s integration with the Euro-pean Union. Over the past couple ofyears, the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency has nothad significant influence on the bloc’sdecision making, especially since theadoption of the Lisbon Treaty, whichcreated the European Council with a

permanent officeof president, cur-rently held byHerman VanRompuy.

However, Po-land was alreadyan active player inthe EuropeanUnion and theregion, so the EUpresidency couldserve as a formatfor Poland to fur-ther its priorities.

A crucialmomentPoland’s EU presi-dency comes at a key time, especiallyin terms of the Ukraine question. EUand Ukrainian leaders have setDecember 2011 – the final month ofPoland’s term in the rotating presi-dency – as the unofficial deadline tocomplete an association agreementand a free trade agreement. One ofthe main reasons for this self-imposed deadline is related to elec-tions. Poland will hold parliamentaryelections in October 2011, and help-ing to foster Ukraine’s EU integra-tion is a popular issue that PolishPrime Minister Donald Tusk can useto gain support.

Ukraine will hold its own parlia-mentary elections in October 2012,and due to the country’s routinepolitical instability during electionseason, the chances that the EU dealswill pass will be severely diminishedafter the end of 2011.

Understanding the time con-straints, Poland has already begun tomake moves on the Ukraine issue. AtPoland’s request, the European Par-liament announced on July 5 that ithad created a support group dedicat-ed to the European integration ofUkraine, with Polish member of theEuropean Parliament Pawe∏ Zalews-ki appointed as coordinator of thegroup. The purpose of this group willbe to facilitate the preparations need-ed to form the association and freetrade agreements between Ukraineand the European Union.

RoadblocksThere are still many obstacles thatcould prevent these deals from mate-rializing. Several details on the EUassociation and free trade agree-ments need to be worked out, such asprotecting some Ukrainian industries

like truckingand metals fromtheir more com-petitive EUcounterparts, atleast initially.But both partiesseem open toleaving some ofthe tougherquestions asideuntil after theagreements aresigned.

Additionally,there are exter-nal players thatcould serve as

significant road-blocks to the deals. After all, Polandis just one country in the 27-memberEuropean Union, and an associationagreement needs approval from allEU member states as well as theEuropean Commission. An even big-ger potential obstacle is Russia, whichis trying to strengthen ties withUkraine through its own customsunion.

Moscow is not as concerned withbringing Kiev into the customs union,which lists Belarus and Kazakhstan asmembers, as it is with dissuadingUkraine from getting closer to theEuropean Union. Russia has threat-ened to enact trade barriers againstPoland’s eastern neighbor if it signedthe EU free trade agreement and haspromised benefits if it were to movecloser to the customs union. WhileKiev has publicly remained commit-ted to the EU free trade agreement

and has said membership in the cus-toms union is off the table, Ukrainemaintains a strategic economic andpolitical relationship with Russia anddoes not take such statements fromMoscow lightly.

The role of GermanyPerhaps the most important countryin the EU-Ukraine issue other thanPoland will be Germany. Berlin is thepolitical and economic leader of theEuropean Union, but it also has a

strong relationship with Moscow.Germany has significant influencewith both entities – though its role asan EU member is currently moreentrenched than its relationship withRussia – and could serve as either afacilitator or spoiler to the issue.Therefore, Berlin’s commitment tothe realization of the Ukrainian asso-ciation and free trade agreements bythe end of the year will be crucial.

Poland understands this, and alsothat its reputation as a regional leaderthat can produce results depends onthe realization of this goal. ●

This edited version of “Poland’s EUbid to draw Ukraine closer” is reprint-ed with permission of STRATFOR

Foreign policy focus

AA sseeccuurriittyy--oorriieenntteedd pprreessiiddeennccyy

“Security is expensive.The time has comefor the EU to pay the bill”

“Poland’s reputation as aregional leader depends

on the realizationof this goal”

Analysis

PPoollaanndd’’ss EEUU bbiidd ttoo ddrraaww UUkkrraaiinnee cclloosseerr

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The Ukrainian (left) and Polish presidents in Warsaw in February

Marcin Trelikowski

JULY 11-24, 2011 OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS www.wbj.pl 11

B elarusian President AlexanderLukashenko is, as has oft beensaid, Europe’s last dictator. His

increasingly violent crackdowns onthe opposition have made that abun-dantly clear. Belarusians have suf-fered enough: along with the govern-ment’s blatant disregard for humanrights, the country’s economic crisis is

deepening, piling hardship upon analready oppressed people. It is timenow for the West – especiallyWestern Europe – to act.

The countries of Western Europe –which so often purport to be the stan-dard bearers for freedom and humanrights across the world – huff and puffabout human rights abuses in Asia andAfrica, but show far less concern at thegross violations occurring on theirdoorstep. Over just the past year, Mr

Lukashenko has rigged anelection, smothered theprotests that followed,jailed political prisonersand, at the beginning ofJuly, violently crackeddown on those who daredto show their dissent sim-ply by collectively clappingtheir hands (see story, p. 4).Europe has respondedwith verbal condemna-tions and feeble sanc-tions.

Closer to MoscowThat’s a shame, becausewhile Mr Lukashenko’sregime may seem to betottering, the reality isthat it will survive as longas it continues to receivesupport from Moscow.Belarus recently receivedan $800 million trancheof a $3 billion bailoutfrom a Russian-led fund,and the Kremlin hasturned a blind eye to therepression going on inBelarus, knowing that the

more of a pariah thecountry becomes, themore it will be forced intoMoscow’s geopoliticalsphere.

Indeed, Moscow hasbeen pressing to bringBelarus closer economi-cally, first by pushing it tojoin its customs unionwith Kazakhstan. Now, itis maneuvering to obtainsome of Belarus’ mostlucrative assets, requiringthat Minsk commit to atotal of $7.5 billion insales of state-owned com-panies in exchange for thebailout. These assets willfall cheaply and effort-lessly into Moscow’s lap,where it can use themlater as political tools.

Time to do moreThe last two decades haveseen countries such asGermany and Francegrow increasingly friendlywith Russia, despite itspoor record on human

rights. But if they want to be rid of thedictator in their back yard, they mustnow take a much firmer line, makingit clear that closer relations willdepend on Russia withdrawing itssupport for the Lukashenko regime.Russia’s entry into the World TradeOrganization would be a useful cardfor these countries, in partnershipwith the US, to play.

But Western Europe could domore, such as backing more generousEU funding for the Belarusian oppo-sition, and making it clear to theBelarusian people that a transition todemocracy will open a path to EUmembership. Too often such meas-ures are scuttled for fear of irking theKremlin.

Mr Lukashenko is weaker than hehas ever been, and his flailingattempts to hang on to power haveled to ever more extreme measuresagainst his own people. Economicdisaster looms. Belarusians deservebetter, and can have it, if richWestern European nations put theirfull weight behind freeing it fromtyranny. They must overcome theirfear of upsetting their relationshipwith Moscow, and act. ●

How will Poland lead the Euro-pean Union as it takes overthe rotating presidency? To

answer this question, we have to getinside the head of the man at the top:Prime Minister Donald Tusk. If weunderstand how he thinks, it will beeasier to predict how the Polish pres-idency will proceed.

Gdaƒsk and EuropeWhat Prime Minister Tusk calls his“homeland” has evolved over severalyears. Fifteen years ago he passion-ately stated that his homeland wasGdaƒsk. A few years later he addedthe region of Kashubia to Gdaƒskand emphasized that he was a nativeof Gdaƒsk with Kashubian minorityethnicity. Soon he added Poland tothe list. Since he became prime minis-ter, he has managed to say in a singlebreath that his homeland is Gdaƒsk,Kashubia, Poland and Europe.

Of course he never favoredGdaƒsk at the cost of Kashubia, noracted in the interests of the Kashu-

bians to the detriment of Poland. Inthis we can glean a sense of how hesees his European homeland – he willunite, not divide; he will expand, notclose it up, he will look for allies for itthroughout the world, and not seekconfrontation with other economicand political powers.

Mr Tusk understands that the EUis strong only when it is united andhas a common supranational interest.Otherwise it will fall into being aninsignificant player in internationalpolitics, a politically and economical-ly weak statelet.

Silence in AachenOn May 13, 2010, in Aachen, Ger-many, Donald Tusk received theCharlemagne Prize, which is awardedfor distinguished service on behalf ofEuropean unification. As usual hespoke without notes. After his speecha profound silence fell over the hall.Mr Tusk, hitherto a provincial politi-cian, had, without inhibition, lecturedpeople experienced in the salons of

Western Europe, telling them howEurope should be if it intended to bestrong and prosperous. They werefrozen by surprise, or, perhaps, byoutrage at his impudence. But after afew moments, they began to applaud.

“We are convinced that the coreof Europe is the capacity to overcomeall turmoil and crisis. How much wetalk about Greece these days. It is dif-ficult not to discuss Greece todaywhen speaking about Europe’sfuture. But is the euro zone’s turbu-lence Europe’s only Greek experi-ence? At such a moment, is not thelesson drawn from the history ofHerodotus a more important Greekexperience? Is not Europe to a cer-tain extent in the position of thatGreece, that Ancient Greece, whengreat leaders, people endowed withwill, imagination and energy wereneeded to say – possibly for the firsttime in history – that we are different,but we must be one?” the Prime Min-ister asked the audience in Aachen.

“Europe’s time is still to come.

The capacity to overcome crises willbe its best proof,” Mr Tusk conclud-ed. Over the last few months he hasrepeated this refrain with ever-grow-ing conviction.

Ambitious visionThough he is aware of the EU’s cur-rent weaknesses, Mr Tusk has anambitious vision for Europe – not insix months’ time or a year’s time, butin a decade’s time: It must be an eco-nomic area with the free flow ofgoods, people, services and capital; itmust be bigger, ever wealthier andwithout a rival on the world stage.

To achieve this, if necessary, he isprepared to sacrifice the prioritiesthat the average Pole might findmore important. To avoid a euro-zone crisis he is ready to contributePolish funds to a stabilization mecha-nism. If diplomatic activity in NorthAfrica will constitute the most impor-tant part of European neighborhoodpolicy, he will be ready to move theleading Polish project – the Eastern

Partnership – to second place. IfUkraine meets the criteria to enterthe EU, then he will try to haveEurope conclude an associationagreement with it, even if it means

being attacked by his opponents forsupporting the pro-Kremlin govern-ment in Kiev.

And so, we have the answer to ourquestion of how the Polish presidencywill look: it will put the Union first. ●

Joanna Wóycicka is the former headof the foreign sections of the ˚ycieWarszawy and ˚ycie newspapers andthe former head of the foreign depart-ment at the Polish Press Agency(PAP). j.woycicka@hotmail.com

Editorial

Western Europe must act to end Europe’s last dictatorship

“Mr Tusk has anambitious vision for

Europe”

“Mr Lukashenko isweaker than he hasever been”

Opinion

Tusk leads Europe by putting the Union first

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

GARETH PRICE(GPRICE@WBJ.PL)

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

ALICE TRUDELLE(ATRUDELLE@WBJ.PL)

POLITICS EDITOR

REMI ADEKOYA(RADEKOYA@WBJ.PL)

REAL ESTATE EDITORADAM ZDRODOWSKI(AZDRODOWSKI@WBJ.PL)

COPY EDITORDAVID INGHAM

JOURNALISTKATARZYNA PIASECKA

INTERNSTHOMAS KOLASABARBARA G¢DEK

TARA TAYLORCONTRIBUTORSE. BLAKE BERRYEWA BONIECKABRENDAN MELCKELLA PALKARICHARD WERNICKJOANNA WÓYCICKA

COLUMNISTSPAUL FOGOJUDITH GLINIECKI

ADAM NARCZEWSKIANDREW NAWROCKI

PRODUCTION MANAGERPIOTR WYSKOK

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CARTOONSPIOTR WYSKOK

MARKETING &SALES

AGNIESZKA BREJWO MARKETING &SALES DIRECTOR(ABREJWO@WBJ.PL)

KATARZYNA PINKIEWICZ(KPINKIEWICZ@WBJ.PL)

JOWITA MALICH(JMALICH@WBJ.PL)

MAGDALENA KARPI¡SKA(MKARPINSKA@WBJ.PL)

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PUBLISHER VALKEA MEDIA SA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANDREW KURETH (AKURETH@WBJ.PL) MANAGING DIRECTOR MONIKA STAWICKA

Where no author is listed, the opinions are those of Warsaw Business Journal. Readers’ comments, opinions and letters should be sent to editor@wbj.pl. Please include a name and contact information and clearly indicate if they are to be considered for publication.

Joanna Wóycicka

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21st

ECONOMICFORUMKrynica, Poland, September 7-9, 2011“European Dilemmas - Partnership or Rivalry?”

www.economic-forum.pl contact: forum@isw.org.pl

The Economic Forum in Krynica has become an important spot onthe political map of the world and probably the only one, whereEast meets West on such a large scale

» More than 120 plenary sessions and panel discussions, lecturesfrom personalities of the public sphere, workshops and roundtable discussions;

» 2 000 invitees from Europe, Asia, USA and Middle East countries

Under the Honorary Patronage of Mr Aleksander Grad, Minister of the TreasuryThe 4th Investments Forum in Tarnów is a two-day conferenceorganised within the scope of the 21st Economic Forum.

Under the Honorary Patronage of Minister of RegionalDevelopment of the Republic of Poland Elżbieta BieńkowskaThe most important meeting of the representatives of regionalauthorities from European countries with representatives ofpublic administration and the European Union.

4th Investment Forum Tarnów, September 6-7, 2011

5th Forum of Regions Krynica, Muszyna, September 7-9, 2011

Privatization

JSW shares disappointfollowing successful debut While the miner’s IPOearned Poland z∏.5.37billion, its stock hasperformed belowexpectations

The Polish government float-ed 33.1 percent in coking coalminer Jastrz´bska Spó∏kaW´glowa (JSW) at the start ofJuly in an initial public offer-ing that earned it z∏.5.37 bil-lion. The IPO is the largestseen on the Warsaw StockExchange so far in 2011.

Analysts expected JSW’sshare price to increase by asmuch as 10 percent after itsdebut. However, the first dayof trading saw its stock rise toz∏.140.5, only 3.31 percentabove the original price ofz∏.136. The stock price evenbriefly fell below the originaldebut price. After its firstthree days on the bourse,JSW’s share price rose by 3.6percent to z∏.141.

WSE president LudwikSobolewski set an optimistictone on the morning of thedebut, saying it demonstratedthe strength of Poland’s capitalmarket.

“JSW is the 26th debut onthe main market this year. InEurope, IPOs are gettingcalled off, but in Poland they

can apparently be carriedout,” he told reporters.

Treasury Minister Alek-sander Grad, meanwhile,argued that JSW’s debut pro-vided strong evidence againstmany of the negative “myths”that surround Poland’s coalmining industry. “This debutputs to rest the myth that thestate has to be the owner ofcoal companies in Poland untilthe end of days. It also opensthe door for flotations of otherstate-owned coal miners in thefuture,” Reuters reported MrGrad as saying.

The IPO is the latest inPoland’s plan to finance itsbudget deficit by raising z∏.15million from asset sales this

year.JSW expects its 2011 finan-

cial results to be comparableto last year’s, or slightly better,company CEO Jaros∏awZagórowski told reporters.

“We hope that the [2010]result will be improved asthere are higher [coking coal]prices and we are also main-taining production at anappropriate level,” he said.

JSW is the fourth coal pro-ducer to be listed on the War-saw bourse and the largest bymarket value, ahead of theCzech Republic’s New WorldResources, Poland’s LubelskiW´giel Bogdanka (LWB) andUkraine’s Sadovaya Group.

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JSW’s debut was this year’s biggest so far on the WSE

PKO BP to pay z∏.2.48billion in dividendsShareholders in Poland’slargest bank, PKO Bank Polski(PKO BP), have agreed to theTreasury Ministry’s proposal toincrease the value of the divi-dend that will be paid out fromthe lender’s 2010 net profit.

At a recent AGM, thestate-owned bank finalizedplans to pay out z∏.2.48 billionfrom its 2010 takings.

The lender’s managementboard had originally planned

to pay out z∏.1.1 per share, butthis will now rise to z∏.1.98.This means that 75 percent ofthe lender’s 2011 net profit willbe paid out in dividends, com-pared to the 41 percent(z∏.1.37 billion) originally pro-posed.

“The higher dividend willnot affect the bank’s develop-ment strategy. Although thecapital adequacy ratio will falla bit more than it would have

under the dividend recom-mended by the board, it willstill remain at a high level,”Zbigniew Jagie∏∏o, presidentof PKO BP, told reporters.

The Treasury Ministry cur-rently holds a 40.99 percentstake in the lender, whilestate-owned Bank Gospo-darstwa Krajowego is the sec-ond-largest shareholder, with10 percent.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Russian Valinor sets maximumIPO price at z∏.948 millionRussian agro-group Valinorhas set its maximum shareprice at z∏.39.5, valuing itsupcoming IPO on the WarsawStock Exchange at up to z∏.948million.

The company is expected tofloat approximately 40 percentof its stock on the WSE, put-ting its maximum value atabout z∏.1.7 billion. The officialprice is set to be announced inmid-July.

The money Valinor gainswill be used for land acquisi-

tions and investment in pro-duction. The firm currentlycontrols some 358,000 hectaresof land in the fertile “blackearth” regions of Russia andUkraine, mostly cultivatinggrains and oil seeds, with lastyear’s harvest totaling 1.2 mil-lion metric tons.

The company also intendsto invest in new machinery andstorage areas, as well as thereconstruction and moderniza-tion of irrigation systems toallow the cultivation of pota-

toes and soybeans. A source quoted by the

Moscow Times said Valinor’snet debt was more than $220million, or higher than twice2010 earnings before interest,tax, depreciation and amorti-zation.

The firm’s parent company,Valars Management Ltd, isselling the shares, whileDeutsche Bank and TroikaDialog are carrying out thebook-building.

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PPOOLLAANNDD’’SS PPRREESSIIDDEENNCCYYWarsaw Business Journal ’s special supplement on Poland’s presidency of the Counci l o f the European Union • JULY 11-24, 2011

Lobbying

Polish firms missing agolden opportunity?Few Polish companieshave the money orexperience to influencethe decision-makingduring Poland’s EUpresidency. But theycould learn a lot

Piotr Nowiƒski, account man-ager at public relations firmEdelman The Centre, hasbeen advising companies thatlobby the EU in Brussels forthe past five years. Before that,he wrote an MA thesis on Pol-ish lobbying in Brussels. But,he said, “basically, there wasnot enough material to writeabout, since Polish companiesfive years ago didn’t havemuch experience to share.”

As Poland takes up thepresidency of the EU Council,have things changed? “It hasdeveloped slightly, but notmuch,” Mr Nowiƒski said.

EU institutions legislateon issues that affect thelargest economic union in theworld, and are thus prime tar-gets for lobbyists. Accordingto organizations such as theAlliance for Lobbying Trans-parency and Ethics Regula-tion and the CorporateEurope Observatory, thereare over 15,000 professionallobbyists in Brussels.

New to the game About 3,800 entities and indi-viduals are listed on the EU’sTransparency Register, which

comprises “organizations andself-employed individualsengaged in EU policy-makingand policy implementation,”

according to the EU. Out ofthose entities, only 48 arebased in Poland.

They include NGOs, think

tanks, professional and tradeassociations, as well as busi-ness groups. Interestingly,however, there are very few

private Polish company fea-tured on the EU’s register –less than five.

Many Polish companiesmay simply lack the money tomaintain a presence in Brus-sels. This could go some waytowards explaining why themost prominent Polish busi-nesses that lobby in Brusselsare state-owned giants such asPolish Post, Polish State Rail-ways, gas monopoly PGNiGand natural gas infrastructureoperator Gaz System.

Moreover, firms need totake a long-term perspectivewhen they begin lobbyingactivities, and that’s not some-thing Polish companies tend todo, said Mr Nowiƒski.

A delicate issue Because lobbying usually aimsat long-term objectives,Boles∏aw Rey, representativefor PGNiG in Brussels, saidhis company won’t pursue anyparticular goals during thePolish presidency.

Although PGNiG doessupport the presidency and itspolicy goals – including thoserelated to the exploitation ofPoland’s shale gas reserves,the presidency is politically –and not business – oriented,Mr Rey explained.

Continued on p. 6 ➡

734-5

Rados∏aw Sikorski:

“Europe needs

Poland’s optimism”

Henryka Bochniarz on

businesses’ priorities

for the presidency

The six official partners

of the presidency and

how they will profit

These European Parliamentarians don’t have many Polish firms trying to influence their decisions

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Hotels, conferencecenters, airlines andrailway firms are setto benefit fromPoland’s EUpresidency

The travel, tourism and hospi-tality sectors of the Polisheconomy are set to enjoy awindfall of spending duringPoland’s EU presidency.

Poland’s government esti-mates the total cost of thepresidency at around z∏.430million, much of which will be

spent in the country on accom-modating guests and ferryingthem around Poland.

Some 30,000 EU adminis-trative officials (who will allneed accommodation) areexpected to attend roughly2,000 meetings (which will allneed conference space) duringthe six-month period.

“With so many meetings ofpolitical officials and so manyEuropean experts, this will nodoubt influence the develop-ment of the tourism industryin Poland,” said WitoldMicha∏ek, an economic expert

at the Business Center Club(BCC). “Not only hotels, but

also museums, concerts hallsand the like.”

To illustrate how much wasbeing spent on travel forevents surrounding the presi-dency, Mr Micha∏ek men-

tioned that at a recent confer-ence he had attended, a whole

train had been rented to trans-port people from Warsaw to¸ód˝.

Polish hospitalityExperts say the next several

months should be particularlygood for the hospitality indus-try, since the presidency will befollowed up next summer byanother event sure to bring invisitors – the Euro 2012 soccertournament.

“Good times are aheadfor the hospitality industry.Euro 2012 next summer willbe another period ofincreased business for[hotels],” said KatarzynaGrzejszczyk from the PolishChamber of Commerce(KIG).

Continued on p. 6 ➡

“This will no doubt influencethe development of the tourism

industry in Poland”

Economic impact

Presidency to boost hospitality, travel industries

In thissupplementLobbying in the EU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 6

Economic impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1, 6

Environmental policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Interview with Henryka Bochniarz . . . . . . . . .3

Ministries’ goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Interview with Radosław Sikorski . . . . . . . . 4-5

Official partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Profile of Jerzy Buzek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Calendar of important events . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

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www.wbj.pl 3PPOOLLAANNDD’’SS PPRREESSIIDDEENNCCYYJULY 11-24, 2011

Environment policy

GGrreeeenn cchhaalllleennggeess aahheeaadd ffoorr PPoollaannddThe way Polandhandles environmentalissues could be adefining element of itsEU presidency Environmental issues are allbut absent from the prioritiesset by the Polish governmentfor the six months it will spendat the head of the Council ofthe European Union.

According to HenrykaBochniarz, President of the Pol-ish Confederation of PrivateEmployers Lewiatan, when itcomes to the Polish presidencyprogram, businesses seem to bemuch more focused on EU

energy and climate policiesthan the government.

“For European industry, thedecisions in this area are cru-cially important,” she said.“They influence our presence inthe global market.”

But as Poland began itspresidency, environmentalissues were nevertheless com-ing to the fore – for reasons thatdidn’t necessarily paint Polandin a good light.

First, the country caused astir at an EU environment min-isters meeting where it single-handedly blocked the approvalof higher CO2 emission reduc-tion targets.

“We simply can’t afford it,”argued Prime Minister DonaldTusk in the pages of NewsweekPolska.

“Poland produces 95 per-cent of its electricity from high[CO2] emitting coal and ourEuropean partners mustremember this,” he said, addingthat the country will continue tooppose higher emissions reduc-tion targets.

The 50,000 Solidarity tradeunion members who protestedin Warsaw a day before the startof the presidency also present-ed a view that is popular amongboth Polish businesses andpoliticians, arguing that the

EU’s climate-energy packagewould be “a disaster for socie-ty,” increasing energy pricesand translating into job lossesfor thousands.

Politicians in the spotlightEnvironmental advocacy groupGreenpeace says it will be close-ly watching the work of fourpoliticians: Prime MinisterTusk, Deputy Prime MinisterWaldemar Pawlak, Environ-ment Minister AndrzejKraszewski, and AgricultureMinister Marek Sawicki, all ofwhom are set to lead EU talkson crucial environmental issuesover the next few months.

Deputy Prime MinisterPawlak will be leading talks onenergy efficiency, somethingboth Poland and the CEEregion as a whole have a poorhistory of, while MinisterKraszewski will lead discussionson new legislation for genetical-ly modified crops, an issue overwhich Poland has previously ruf-fled EU feathers. Minister Saw-icki will also be in the spotlightas he leads talks on the bloc’sfirst Common Fisheries Policy.

At the same time, PrimeMinister Tusk will be coordinat-ing the EU’s position at the UNclimate change conference inDurban, South Africa and par-

ticipating in EU discussions onsustainable economic growthand the modernization of Cen-tral and Eastern Europe’s ener-gy sector.

The government will also bechairing new EU negotiationson increasing CO2 emission-reduction targets for 2050. Onthis issue however, RobertCyglicki, program director forGreenpeace in Poland, said hisorganization didn’t expectambitious targets to be set.

“We all know that Poland isnot a big fan of the Europeanclimate policy. What we ask ofthe government is to be neutraland fair.” AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

The voice of business

Alice Trudelle: How much do busi-ness priorities match with those ofthe government, where do they differ,and why?Henryka Bochniarz: In its presidencyprogram, the government wants todeal with issues concerning the com-mon EU market, particularly thoserelated to e-trade and digital markets.

Everybody agreesthat the EU needs anew opening in thoseareas (and quick). Wehave to solve theproblem of differentconsumer-rights pro-tection systems,which prevent theEU’s internet econo-my from developing,and we have to tacklefragmentation in thefield of copyright pro-tection and intellectu-al property manage-ment. If we don’t suc-ceed, there’s no waywe can improve the

exchange of digital content. As far as the next financial per-

spective is concerned, we have a simi-lar approach towards defining themost urgent tasks for the subsequentsix months. This subject matter needsto be handled by our presidency ex-officio, but we do know that the gov-ernment is quite determined to pre-

pare the negotiations well and com-mence them effectively.

As for the differences – business-es speak up for integrated climateand industry policies based on high-quality impact assessments for Euro-pean industry, the decisions to bemade in this area are crucial. Theyinfluence our presence in the globalmarket. Over the next six months wewould also like more attention to bepaid to labor-market reforms such asflexicurity, migration from thirdcountries and pension-system mod-ernization. These are sensitive anddifficult issues which aren’t visibleenough in the Polish government’sagenda. In our opinion, they shouldnot be sidelined.

The differences also stem fromthe fact that our postulates are pre-sented not only to the Polish govern-ment, but also to the European Com-mission and Parliament. A numberof issues important for entrepreneursshould be handled by those institu-tions. A lot depends on their deter-mination. The Polish presidency –even if it’s prepared and carried outperfectly – won’t tackle those prob-lems on its own.

How realistic are the business priori-ties and are they compatible with theEU agenda?Lewiatan and BUSINESSEUROPE,along with all the other 40 associatedfederations, will spare no effort tohave them executed. The process islikely to take much more than a fewmonths. In today’s European Union,most of the strategic guidelines areknown (Europe 2020, the Single Mar-ket Act, the Lisbon Treaty). It’s hightime they were implemented. We’renot trying to reinvent the wheel orfind a new recipe for prosperity. Weall know the recipe. What we’re tryingto say is that everybody should stick tothe arrangements, thinking about thewell-being of the whole Union, notonly of particular interests.

What’s the measure of success?[Success will include] the implementa-tion of the key initiatives delineated inthe Common Market Law – pursuantto the plan drawn up by the EuropeanCommission. This will not be a suc-cess of the Polish presidency [only],but of all the institutions participatingin the decision-making process. Inaddition, it will not be a successannounced in December 2011, but a

year later. If Europe is successful, thePolish presidency will have con-tributed to it.

If the negotiations on the futurelong-term EU budget are conduciveto better and more effective spending,combined with increased outlays intodevelopment and competitiveness, itwill be a real measure of success.

Another will be if the SingleMarket Act is constantly imple-mented, taking into considerationeconomic growth rather than pro-tectionism.

If we manage to agree that thefuture energy policy in Europe shouldreally be common and find a sustain-able way to transform to low carboneconomy while protecting growth inEurope and the competitiveness ofthe European industry, then the cre-ation of a single European energymarket and network connections, theimprovement of energy efficiency,and activation of new sources of ener-gy will mark a huge step forward.

If we manage to realize that amodern labor market is a powerfulengine for all European states, driv-ing their development, then thatwill encourage the proper politicaldecisions. ●

Ministry goals

TTaakkiinngg ccoonnttrrooll ooff EEuurrooppeeaann ppoolliiccyyFrom strengthening theEU’s defensecapabilities to helpingit adapt to climatechange, Polishministries have setthemselves some loftyaims

Poland’s various ministries willeach take on some of the bur-den of running the Council ofthe European Union, with theMinistry of Foreign Affairs setto organize and coordinatePoland’s overall effort.

The Ministry of NationalDefense says it wants tostrengthen the bloc’s ability toplan and conduct military andcivilian operations by increas-ing the capabilities of the EU’sbattle groups and developingthe capacity of the EU’s Com-mon Security and DefencePolicy. It plans to implement anumber of “pooling and shar-ing” initiatives, aimed atenhancing multinational coop-eration in the development ofjoint defense capabilities. Italso aims to deepen EU coop-eration on security and

defense with its eastern neigh-bors.

The Ministry of Environ-ment has charged itself withhelping Europe to adapt to theadverse effects of climatechange. It will also focus onmaking the use of resourcesmore efficient and on protect-ing environmental diversity.The ministry will also preparethe EU’s official position onglobal sustainable develop-ment in preparation for theRIO+20 Earth Summit, whichwill take place in June 2012.

The Ministry of Agricul-

ture and Rural Developmentsays that food security is itsmain priority. Minister MarekSawicki said during recenttalks at the European Parlia-ment that his ministry wantedto reform the system of directpayments to farmers, as well asthe EU’s rural developmentpolicy.

The Ministry of Infrastruc-ture will work on developingthe European Network andInformation Security Agency.It also plans to increase accessto wireless broadband internetas part of the European Com-

mission’s Radio Spectrum Pol-icy Programme.

The Ministry of Cultureand National Heritage will

focus strongly on the issue ofcopyright-related to audiovisu-al matters.

BBaarrbbaarraa GG´́ddeekk

Budgeting for the presidency

Under a long-term pro-gram entitled “Preparationfor and holding of the PolishPresidency of the Council ofthe European Union in thesecond half of 2011,” Polandwill spend a total of z∏.429.4million.

Some z∏.104 million wasearmarked for 2010, z∏.299.6

million for 2011 and z∏.25.6million for 2012.

In an email sent to WBJ,the Ministry of NationalDefense said it was planningto spend z∏.3.24 million intotal. All other ministriesdeclined to reveal detailsabout their individual spend-ing plans. ● BBGG

Henryka Bochniarz, president of the Polish Confederationof Private Employers Lewiatan, explains the priorities ofPolish businesses regarding the EU presidency

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Information: POLTURFAl. Wyścigowa 4-B/84, 02-681 Warsaw, Polandphone (48 22) 857 76 44, fax (48 22) 857 76 47

biuro@polturf.pl

VESTY photo

Janów Podlaski Stud, 5-7th of August, 2011

ARABIAN HORSE DAYS POLAND 2011

www.prideofpoland.pl

Interview

Sikorski: Europe needsPoland’s optimism

With Poland having taken overthe Presidency of the Councilof the EU on July 1, ForeignMinister Rados∏aw Sikorskiwill be at the center of much ofthe country’s inter-EU poli-ticking over the next sixmonths. In a recent interviewwith foreign journalists, theOxford-educated former warcorrespondent talked exten-sively on all of the major issuesthat Poland will be faced withas it takes on this position ofinfluence within the bloc.

Priority number one:economic growthAt the beginning of the discus-sion, Mr Sikorski made it clearthat putting Europe back onthe path of economic growthwas at the top of the agenda.

“Poland’s first priority is torestore growth in Europe.From that, much else will fol-low,” Mr Sikorski said.“There would be greater soli-darity, a greater openness toenlargement and greater gen-erosity to its [Europe’s] neigh-bors.”

Mr Sikorski talked up theidea of a “complete” Euro-pean single market, particular-ly when it comes to servicesand the internet. He empha-sized Poland’s optimism as aproductive force, echoingPrime Minister Donald Tusk’swords that Poland “believes inEurope.” Indeed Mr Tusk hasstated that one of Poland’saims during this presidency isto restore “faith and energy”to Europe.

Mr Sikorski insisted that itwas Poles’ optimism thathelped the Polish economyweather the 2008-2009 eco-nomic crisis without going intorecession.

“Of course there wereother factors, like tax cuts, thedepreciation of the z∏oty,remittances from Poles abroad

and some other things. But thesingle most important reasonwe came through the crisiswell was the unflappability ofthe Polish consumer,” he said.“We Poles have seen muchworse, so we were not fazed bythe crisis and that helped keepthe economy rolling.”

Budget battleA key issue for Poland duringits presidency will be talks onthe EU’s 2014-20 budget. It’sno secret that squeezednational budgets and the cli-mate of economic instabilityaround the continent havemade the biggest net payersinto the EU budget deter-mined to reduce their contri-butions.

Poland, as the largest bene-ficiary of EU funds, stands tolose the most if that were tohappen. Mr Sikorski said heknows the negotiations will bedifficult, but he doesn’t seemto be losing sleep over theprospect.

“Budget talks are always afight, this one will be no differ-ent,” he said.

He added that the real divi-sion in the budget debate isbetween those member statesthat want to wait on the nego-tiations until they see theirfirst, concrete, net paymentfigures, and a second group ofcountries that want to pre-judge the outcome evenbefore the process has started.

Greek tragedyConcerning the current Greekcrisis and Poland’s take on it,Mr Sikorski said that whilePoland was not a member ofthe euro zone, the country wastrying to be part of the solu-tion. He pointed to the factthat the country had “chippedin” $200 million for Iceland, aswell as for Latvia, and was nowready to put up €250 million

for Greece. But on this matter the for-

eign minister couldn’t resisttaking a jab at some euro zonemembers.

“Sometimes I wish some inthe euro zone had done whatPoland did. That is, put a con-stitutional limit on publicdeficit. Remember it was notonly Greece who broke theStability and Growth Pact, butso did the big boys [in theeuro zone].” Germany,France and Italy all exceededthe 60 percent public debt-to-GDP ratios allowed by thepact last year.

A bigger EUPoland strongly supports con-tinued EU enlargement and iskeen to see Croatia sign anaccession agreement at somepoint over the next six months.It would also like to see itsEastern neighbor, Ukraine, inthe EU some day. Right nowthat seems a distant possibility,but it may be coming some-what closer. Ukraine will soonhave to choose between offersto join a free-trade zone withthe EU and Moscow’s invita-tion to join its customs unionwith Belarus and Kazakhstan.Indications are that it will optfor the EU plan.

Poland hopes that EU-Ukraine negotiations on thefree-trade zone will be final-ized before the SeptemberEastern Partnership summitscheduled to take place inWarsaw. WBJ asked Mr Siko-rski how likely it was that thisdeadline would be met.

“Last week I spoke with theDeputy Prime Minister ofUkraine in charge of the nego-tiations and also with the Ger-man EU negotiator there. Weare on schedule. If we proceedat the pace we are at rightnow, it should happen inSeptember,” Mr Sikorski said.

European securityPoland has long been in favorof increased EU-NATO coop-eration, but factors includingthe seemingly intractableTurkey-Cyprus issue have longbeen a stumbling block. MrSikorski acknowledged theproblems but said that Polandwill focus on what is “doable.”

He also lamented the lackof a comprehensive EU-NATO cooperation agree-ment, saying it was “tragic andunacceptable.”

Mr Sikorski recalled how, a

“Sometimes I wish some in theeuro zone had done whatPoland did. That is, put aconstitutional limit on publicdeficit”

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few years ago, he had pro-posed that the EU send fivePersonal Rapid Transit (PRT)vehicles to key areas in south-ern Afghanistan.

These non-combat vehicles,also called “podcars”, which areused for transporting the sickand injured or for public trans-portation, “would have made adifference there,” said Mr Siko-rski, “but to do it, we neededeither a EU military mission,for which there was no consen-sus, or for NATO to protect thePRTs, for which there was noEU-NATO agreement to basesuch cooperation on.”

Poland is also pushing theEU itself to increase itsdefense capabilities. Mr Siko-rski said the situation in Libyawas a good argument for amore joined-up EU logisticsnetwork, increased burdensharing, the establishment ofan operations HQ and gener-ally increased European plan-ning capability.

Some headway has beenmade on the security issue,thanks in part to Poland. InDecember of 2010, theWeimar Triangle (France,Germany and Poland) sub-mitted a letter to the EU’sForeign Affairs Council call-ing for the development of acommon security and defensepolicy, with a view tostrengthening military andcivilian capabilities inEurope. The suggestionswere accepted by the Coun-cil, and the EU’s High Repre-sentative, Catherine Ashton,was tasked with working withmember states to achieveconcrete results by the end ofthis year.

But since Poland hasplaced so much emphasis ongreater European militaryactivity, WBJ asked whether itwas not hypocritical for thecountry to refuse to play anactive military role in theongoing Libyan operation.

In response, Mr Sikorskipointed out that Poland hadtaken an active military role ina number of other conflictregions.

“We are already in missionsin Bosnia, Kosovo and inAfghanistan. We were in Iraq.Britain is in Iraq, Afghanistanand Libya. France is inAfghanistan and Libya butpassed on Iraq. These are indi-vidual choices which eachcountry makes, that’s just theway it goes,” he said.

Promoting democracyBeyond that, Mr Sikorski waskeen to emphasize that Polandwas taking an active role in theLibya crisis, though not mili-tarily.

“I was the first EU ForeignMinister to visit Benghazi,”Mr Sikorski said. He also visit-ed Tunisia and Egypt in thewake of the revolutions there.However, he has mixed feel-ings about the chances each ofthe countries have in intro-ducing full-fledged democra-cy.

“Personally I think Tunisiais the most likely to succeed. Iwas really impressed that theyintroduced 50-50 [gender]parity for the next elections,”he said, adding that theTunisians had an educatedpopulation, had “liberated”their women, were closely tiedto France and Europe and hada sophisticated intellectualand political elite.

“Egypt is different,” hesaid. “They have a high rate ofilliteracy, radicals with strongfollowings and they also havea diverse ethnic mix. It will bemuch harder for them.”

Mr Sikorski said thatthough the Arab Spring hasbeen compared to the transi-tions in Eastern Europe in1989, he would rather liken itto the machinations of 1980,when Solidarity was just tak-ing off in Poland.

“There will be be steps for-ward and steps backward, likeafter the heady beginning ofSolidarity, after which martiallaw was introduced in Poland.We should be ready for thelong haul,” he said, addingthat the transformation ofArab countries, which have acombined population of some500 million, would not take afew years, but decades.

For this reason, he said,Poland has proposed the cre-ation of a European Endow-ment for Democracy – anautonomous body that wouldaid North African and MiddleEastern countries in theirtransitions to democracy,regardless of governmentalchanges either in the Arabworld or in Europe.

Palestine voteDiscussion moved from theArab Spring’s democracymovements to the issue ofPalestine. In September – inthe middle of Poland’s EUpresidency – a UN vote on the

recognition of Palestine as anindependent state is likely tooccur and has the potential tobe an explosive point of con-tention worldwide.

Mr Sikorski said the EU isworking to forge a commonposition, but stressed that anycommon European stancewould depend on the resolu-tion’s final wording.

“Meanwhile, the EU mem-ber states have agreed to refrainfrom revealing their individualpositions while consensus issought, “ Mr Sikorski said.

Ashton’s allyWhen it comes to EU foreignpolicy, both the recentlylaunched diplomatic arm ofthe EU, the External ActionService (EAS) and its head,Catherine Ashton, have comeunder heavy criticism, accusedof inefficacy in the face ofcrises such as those in NorthAfrica. But while she mayhave many detractors in theEU, Ms Ashton appears to

have an ally in Warsaw.“There are two types of

criticism: the first kind wantswhat is being criticized towork and the second kindwants what is being criticizedto fail. Sometimes I get thefeeling that much of the criti-cism of the EAS is the secondkind,” Mr Sikorski said,adding that the diplomaticcorps was still in its earlystages and needed to be giventime to develop. He alsoexpressed admiration for MsAshton regarding her abilityto handle a jam-packed sched-ule.

Vetoing carbon emissions reductionsJust a few days before assum-ing the presidency, all but oneEU country – Poland – hadagreed in principle to theEuropean Commission’s 2050Low-carbon Roadmap, whichcalls for cuts in carbon emis-sions from 1990 levels of 40percent by 2030, 60 percent by

2040 and 80 percent by 2050. Poland’s stance brought it

some heavy criticism just as itwas launching its EU presi-dency. Had Poland started offon the wrong foot? Mr Sikors-ki was not apologetic.

“Poland has been consis-tent in its policy. God gave uscoal and we will exploit thisbefore we are able to developand exploit our shale gasreserves. Till then we have torely on coal for our electrici-ty,” he said.

Mr Sikorski added theclaim that Poland was in fact aleader in cutting carbon emis-sions, saying the country hadreduced its CO2 emissionslevels by 30 percent since1990.

“We started this processearlier, while others are juststarting now,” he said.

Will elections spoil the party?Mr Sikorski also weighed inon Poland’s parliamentary

elections set to take placethis fall, which many worrycould disrupt Poland’s presi-dency.

“If we [Civic Platform]win the elections,” he said,“then that would mean thepresidency will be run byministers who have three-and-a-half years’ experiencein ruling and in preparing forthe presidency. If we lose, wewill still be in charge tillDecember, because coalitiontalks and the formalities oftaking over government willtake weeks.”

Optimism justified?Prime Minister Tusk has madeit clear that optimism will bethe buzzword for Poland’spresidency, and certainly MrSikorski exuded confidencethat the country would meetall of the challenges it faces.Whether that optimism is jus-tified will be clear at the endof December.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

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Mr Sikorski played down the fact that Poland has not intervened militarily in Libya

“Personally I think Tunisia is the most

likely to succeed”

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Rados∏aw BiedeckiPartner

Class action law: what it means for Poland

Legal Forum

Last year, for the first time, itbecame possible to bring a classaction law suit in Poland, meaningaccess to justice has been broad-ened.

The institution of class action isaimed at giving access to thecourts for those who cannotafford to launch individual law-suits. Above all, class action lawhelps individual consumers to takeaction against corporations. Con-sumers, however, are not the onlyones who stand to benefit: classaction law can also be advanta-geous for entrepreneurs.

Class actions can be brought incases related to consumer protec-tion, responsibility for damagecaused by dangerous products,and tortious acts (but excludingprotection of personal rights).Unlawful competition practicesare classified under the categoryof tortious acts, meaning classactions can be brought by entre-preneurs who suffer as the resultof such practices.

How does it work?A group of at least 10 people havethe right to pursue claims underthe aegis of class action legisla-tion. The fee paid in a group pro-ceeding amounts to 2 percent ofthe value of the subject of the liti-gation, but it may not exceedz∏.100,000. All members of thegroup participate in paying thefee, thus making this type of pro-ceeding much cheaper than indi-vidual cases (which cost 5 percentof the value of the subject of thelitigation).

Moreover, to make access tocourt easier for those who want tolaunch a class action suit, the insti-tution of a contingency fee hasbeen implemented. This meansthat the fee paid to the attorney atlaw who represents the claimantscomes in the form of an agreedpercentage of the sum awardedas a result of the judgment.Claimants do not, therefore, haveto incur any costs related to theirattorneys’ remuneration before

the court has made its decision. Unlike under US regulations,

Polish class actions are based on a“opt-in” model of participation,which requires that (i) claimantsdeclare themselves, so that theyare not anonymous and that (ii)each claimant declares his will toparticipate in the class action suit.

Once a statement of claim isfiled, it is announced in the pressso that all those who may poten-tially be interested in joining thecase (the “group”) can do so.Those who do not join the originalgroup may launch a class actionsuit on the same matter in theevent that the first group receivesa favorable verdict.

This possibility increases therisk that a successful class actionby a moderately sized group willprovoke a wave of new classactions, or an avalanche of furtherindividual claims by persons whowould be almost certain of win-ning.

It should be noted that a class

action does not exclude individu-als from making claims under thegeneral regime of liability currentlyin force in Poland. Moreover, it ispossible to file a class action suitjust to establish the compensationliability of a defendant. After ajudgment that confirms the legalresponsibility of the defendant,the claimants may file their ownindividual claims for payment.That solution is most convenientin cases where individualclaimants have compensationclaims that differ greatly from oneanother.

A new legal landscape Announcing a class action suit inthe press may have a negativeimpact on the value of the defen-dant’s brand. The claims musttherefore first be addressed to thedefendant, which then has achance to conclude an unfavor-able pre-litigation amicable settle-ment, instead of bearing the heav-ier costs related to the public

announcement that a class actionsuit has been filed against it.

The introduction of class actionin Poland means new risks have tobe taken by firms operating in sec-tors susceptible to damagescaused by hazardous products(e.g. the tobacco and pharmaceu-tical industries), or where relationswith consumers are standardizedon a mass scale (banks, insurancecompanies, developers, tourism).

At present a group of 876clients are suing a bank that intro-duced unfavorable provisions con-cerning interest rates in their loanagreements. In June, the courtagreed that a class action lawsuitcould be filed in this case.

It must be emphasized, howev-er, that despite widespread antici-pation about class action inPoland, its introduction hasn’t yetbrought about a flood of civil suitsfrom consumers. Perhaps peopleneed to be encouraged by suc-cessful proceedings initiated bythe more daring. ●

Legal Forum is a paid-for module which gives law firms in Poland an opportunity to discuss and inform readers about important developments in the market. The content is created in consultation with Warsaw Business Journal's editorial staff.

Polish firms missing a golden opportunity?➡ Continued from p. 1

PGNiG, he said, is thereforemore concerned with legisla-tion and with the daily activi-ties of the European Commis-sion.

Agnieszka Cianciara, anexpert on lobbying at the Col-lege of Europe, pointed outthat since the country thatholds the EU presidency playsthe role of a consensus-

builder, opportunities forpushing national businessinterests are limited.

However, Polish officials,who will be leading discussiongroups on a range of topicsduring the presidency, canpromote certain aspects of leg-islative issues being discussedat the council level – but theymust do so subtely.

“There is very little leeway

for the presidency to stronglyinfluence any legislative out-come,” explained Mr Nowiƒs-ki. “They are the deal brokers,but they need to appear asimpartial as possible.”

Negative associationsLobbying tends to have neg-ative associations and iswidely linked with corrup-tion in Poland, presenting

further disincentive for com-panies to get involved. A2009 survey by global publicrelations and communica-tions consultancy Burson-Marsteller found that only 3percent of Polish leadersconsidered lobbying to be alegitimate part of the deci-sion-making process, com-pared to the European aver-age of 48 percent.

Meanwhile, 90 percent ofPolish respondents said that alack of transparency was themost prevalent weakness inlobbying practices, comparedto a European average of 57percent.

Both Ms Cianciara and MrNowiƒski agreed, however,that one of the biggest oppor-tunities the presidency couldprovide for Polish companies

is the chance to learn moreabout Brussels and how thingsare done there.

Polish businesses wouldprofit from a better under-standing of what exactly eachinstitution is responsible for,and from grasping the long-term nature of the legislativeissues the EU is working on,they said.

AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

Presidency to boosthospitality,travel industries➡ Continued from p. 1

“Apart from that, this isalso a good time for Polishcities to promote themselves,first during the presidencyand then during the soccerchampionships,” she added.

Polish Travel, a touristagency, was selected by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs toorganize the booking andaccommodation for the offi-cials who will be visitingPoland.

“All in all, the ForeignMinistry anticipates about30,000 to 45,000 room book-

ings, so that can give you anidea of the scale of theendeavor,” said DariuszPa∏´cki, head of Polish Travel.

Not only hotelsWith the number of officialsset to descend on Polandfrom now till December, air-lines will also see increasedbusiness, especially thoseservicing the Warsaw-Brus-sels route. Taxi-drivers arealso sure to transport morepassengers and translationagencies should also be ableto get a piece of the pie.

“Not only will the tourismindustry benefit,” said theBCC’s Witold Micha∏ek, “sowill security agencies andeven the Polish police. Thereis a marked increase in thepolice presence on the streets.They must have received abigger budget for this.”

Precisely how much Polishbusinesses will gain from thepresidency and what its totaleconomic impact will be isanybody’s guess. But there’sno doubting that plenty ofsectors will see a much-need-ed boost. RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

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The foreign ministry predicts between 30,000 to 45,000 bookings at hotels

such as the Bristol in Warsaw

JULY 11-24, 2011 www.wbj.pl 7PPOOLLAANNDD’’SS PPRREESSIIDDEENNCCYY

EU presidency

SSiixx ffiirrmmss sseeee pprreessttiiggee,, pprrooffiittffrroomm ooffffiicciiaall ppaarrttnneerrsshhiipp

Poland’s presidency of theCouncil of the EuropeanUnion is set to be an expen-sive affair, with total spendingfor the period 2010-2012expected to be in the regionof z∏.430 million.

To help with the cost ofhosting the presidency, inAugust last year the ministrylaunched a process to find sixmain partners from sectorssuch as transport, telecommu-nications and technology.

The main criterion forselection was simply the abili-ty to provide a beneficial serv-ice. Though the firms did nothave to be Polish, they werealso required to have alreadyhad a presence in the localmarket.

Select sixThe six companies to havewon partnership are Frenchcar manufacturer Peugeot,telephone operator Orange,mineral water producer Kro-pla Beskidu, Polish oil refinerPKN Orlen, computer giantMicrosoft and Swedish busmanufacturer Scania.

“The main aim of theagreements is to save publicfunds, as the companies cancontribute free of charge,”said Magdalena Lumiƒska, ofthe Department of Coordina-tion of Poland’s Presidency ofthe EU Council at the Min-istry of Foreign Affairs.

“These agreements couldsave [the state] around z∏.10million,” she added.

Concrete incomeAlthough none of the firmswill receive any financialreimbursement for providinggoods or services duringPoland’s six-month term, theywill enjoy the prestige associ-ated with supporting the pres-idency.

“It will definitely bringabout concrete income forcompanies providing servicesneeded during numerousmeetings to be organizedwithin the next six months,”said Marzena Chmielewska,director of PKPP Lewiatan’sEuropean department.

One of the key sectorswhich needs support is trans-

port, with car manufacturerPeugeot providing the use of117 passenger vehicles,including the lease of 52 new508 model cars and three iOnelectric cars. In addition, Sca-nia has lent six Scania TouringHD coaches, with the com-bined fleet to be used to trans-port the 30,000 participants tomeetings across Poland.

These vehicles will be refu-eled by oil giant PKN Orlen,which has offered prepaid fuelcards worth a total of nearlyz∏.1 million. Microsoft, Oran-ge, as well as Coca-Cola-owned Kropla Beskidu com-plete the lineup, providingsoftware, mobile services andwater respectively.

But while the official part-ners are sure to benefit interms of publicity, the econo-my as a whole could berewarded by Poland being inthe European spotlight.

According to Ms Chmie-lewska, a well-organized, pro-fessional and welcoming pres-idency will help strengthenpositive perceptions of Polandas a good place to do business.

“This kind of advertise-ment – largely based on per-sonal experience and visitors’opinions – is invaluable toeach country,” she said.

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Peugeot is providing 117 vehicles to transport EU delegates, including 52 new 508s

Six firms have been chosen as officialpartners for Poland’s EU presidency. Theexposure they will get could translate intosignificant profit

PPOOLLAANNDD’’SS PPRREESSIIDDEENNCCYY JULY 11-24, 20118 www.wbj.pl

European politicians and bureaucrats will descend on Poland during its presidency ofthe Council of the European Union, whether to Warsaw, Wroc∏aw, Poznaƒ or Sopot.Nevertheless, some essential meetings to watch out for will also take place in Brus-sels, Luxembourg and even Washington, DC.

JULY12 THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (ECOFIN), BRUSSELS

Economic and finance ministers from the 27 states will meet, along with budget ministers

18-19 GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GAC) AND THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL (FAC), BRUSSELS The councils prepare the budgetary perspective, debate EU enlargement and execute administrativefunctions

SEPTEMBER26 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOR ON SOCIAL PRIORITIES, “THE SOCIAL IMPACT

OF ECONOMIC CRISIS: SHORT AND LONG-TERM ACTION UNDER THE ANTI-CRISIS POLICY,” WROCŁAW With protests against austerity measures flaring up all over Europe, the meeting will be a test ofhow much Europe can tighten its belt

29-30 EASTERN PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT, WARSAW In one of the most important events of the Polish presidency, member states will discuss democra-cy, development, and visas with the former post-Soviet states to Poland’s east and in the Caucuses

OCTOBER3-4 SINGLE MARKET FORUM (SIMFO), KRAKÓW

Businesses, social partners and NGOs will meet government officials to discuss continued unifica-tion of the EU’s single common market

4 THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (ECOFIN), LUXEMBOURG

10 THE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL (ENVI), LUXEMBOURG All eyes will be on Poland since it was recently the sole voice opposing higher EU CO2 emissionsreduction targets

13 GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GAC) AND THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL (FAC), LUXEMBOURG

17-18 EUROPEAN COUNCIL, BRUSSELS

NOVEMBER14-15 MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE EU AND US INVOLVING INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND JUSTICE,

WASHINGTON DCPresident Obama’s visit to Poland was a test of the Poland-US relationship, but the EU-US partner-ship will force Europe to harmonize its many voices and opinions

18 THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL BUDGET (BUDGET ECOFIN) MEETING, BRUSSELS Poland receives extensive funding from the EU, but the crisis may threaten this

21-22 MEETING OF MINISTERS OF DEFENSE AND OF FOREIGN MINISTERS (FAC) AND GENERAL AFFAIRSCOUNCIL (GAC), BRUSSELS

DECEMBER5-6 GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GAC) AND THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL (FAC), BRUSSELS

9 EUROPEAN COUNCIL, BRUSSELS

JANUARY 1 DENMARK TAKES OVER THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FROM POLAND

EU Presidency CalendarPolitics

Jerzy Buzek

WBJ takes abiographical look atthe EU’s mostprominent Pole

No Polish politician has playeda more prominent role in theEuropean Union than JerzyBuzek, a former prime minis-ter of Poland and now thepresident of the EuropeanParliament (EP). The EPshares legislative power withthe Council of the EuropeanUnion, which Poland nowheads. Having this ally in Brus-sels could make it easier forPoland to push its priorities onissues such as the EU budget.Mr Buzek is well liked inEuropean circles, and histenure has widely been consid-ered successful.

Mr Buzek was appointedEuropean Parliament presi-dent in July 2009, becomingthe first person from the for-mer Eastern Bloc to hold theposition. Coincidentally, MrBuzek’s term of two-and-a-half years will come to an endin January of next year, justafter Poland hands over itscurrent EU presidency toDenmark.

One of Mr Buzek’s biggestheadaches as EP president hasbeen dealing with the allega-tions of corruption, illegal lob-bying and mismanagement ofpublic funds that have beenleveled against several mem-bers of the European Parlia-ment (MEPs).

Code of conductOn July 7 this year, the Con-ference of Presidents (madeup of the EP President and theleaders of political groupings

in the EP), approved a newcode of conduct for MEPs.The code, which is awaitingpassage by the European Par-liament, sets out rules andprinciples that MEPs wouldhave to follow in their contactswith outside parties in order toavoid conflicts of interest.

“We now have a strong pro-posal for the first-ever code ofconduct for the European Par-liament. The proposals set

high standards [for us],” MrBuzek said.

According to the code,MEPs would have to provideclear declarations of their paidactivities outside parliament,as well as the remunerationthey receive. They would alsohave to declare all other activ-ities which might constitute aconflict of interest. The codecontains an explicit ban onMEPs receiving payments orother rewards in exchange forinfluencing parliamentarydecisions.

It also sets out clear ruleson the acceptance of gifts andon the issue of former MEPsworking as lobbyists.

Before the EUBorn on July 3, 1940 in what isnow Smilovice, in the CzechRepublic, Mr Buzek movedwith his family after WorldWar II to Chorzów in the Sile-

sian region of Poland. In 1963,he graduated from themechanics and energy depart-ment of the Silesian Universityof Technology, specializing inchemical engineering. He laterworked as a scientist at thePolish Academy of Sciences.

Mr Buzek was a member ofthe opposition Solidarity move-ment in the 1980s and was anactive organizer of the tradeunion’s regional and nationalunderground authorities.

In 1996, Solidarity ElectionAction (AWS), a coalition ofover 30 parties which broughttogether liberal, conservativeand Christian Democraticpoliticians, was established asa political party. Mr Buzek co-wrote the AWS’s economicprogram and was appointedPrime Minister after it won theparliamentary elections in1997.

His cabinet’s majorachievements included theintroduction of four significantpolitical and economicreforms. These reforms, sepa-rately, established new admin-istrative divisions in Poland,overhauled the pension sys-tem, reformed the educationsystem, and revamped thehealth-care system. Addition-ally, it was under Mr Buzek’swatch that Poland startedaccession negotiations withthe EU (1998) and was accept-ed as a full-fledged member ofNATO (1999).

Mr Buzek remained PMfor four years until the nextelections in 2001, in whichAWS failed to garner enoughvotes to make it into parlia-ment.

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Mr Buzek is the first former Eastern Bloc politician to become president of the EP

“Having this ally inBrussels could makeit easier for Poland”

Source: pl2011.eu

LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAAW a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s w e e k l y s u p p l e m e n t o n r e a l e s t a t e , c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t • JULY 11-24, 2011, LI 16/27-28

1614-15

In this week’s Residential in Focus, we look at

how good developers and agents in Poland

are at dealing with foreign clients

Warsaw is set to get what will

probably be the narrowest

house in the world

Ho˝a 55 con-

tractor chosen

Developer Yareal Polska

has selected Henpol as

the general contractor for

its Ho˝a 55 upmarket

residential project in

Warsaw. Construction on

the development, which

will be located on ul. Ho˝a

in the capital’s central

district is expected to

start later this summer.

The Ho˝a 55 project will

comprise two buildings

which will offer a total of

61 exclusive apartments

sized from 30-177 sqm.

The scheme will also

include 78 underground

parking spaces.

C&A in

Futura Park

Developer Neinver Polska

has secured clothing

retailer C&A for its

under-construction

Futura Park Kraków retail

project in Modlniczka near

Kraków. The company has

leased 1,455 sqm of space

on the ground floor of the

development. Futura

Park Kraków will

combine a retail park and

an outlet center, offering

42,000 sqm of retail

space. ●

Andersia Business Centre . . . .13Nowa Dana in Szczecin . . . . . .13Residential offers . . . . . . . . . . . .14Foreign client services . . . .14-15List of developers . . . . . . . . . . .15List of brokers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15New Warsaw mall . . . . . . . . . . .16Residential brands of the year .16World's narrowest house . . . .16PKP properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Property-related stocks . . . . . .17

In this issue

Office space

Building on Andersia Business Centre set to beginThe scheme’sdevelopers haverecently securedfinancing for theproject

Construction is expected tocommence this month on theabove-ground section of theAndersia Business Centre(ABC) office project in down-town Poznaƒ. The scheme,which is being jointly devel-oped by the City of Poznaƒand Von der Heyden Group,has just obtained financingfrom Bank Zachodni WBK.

“I am particularly proudand relieved to have been ableto strengthen our ties with BZWBK, which, even during adifficult time in the market,has at all times during the lastfew years been a reliable andalso commercially thoughtfulpartner. Getting projects ofthis size financed is not thateasy these days,” Sven von derHeyden, chairman of Von der

Heyden Group, said in a state-ment.

Located at Poznaƒ’sAndersa Square and valuedat €33 million, the AndersiaBusiness Centre scheme willdeliver 11,200 sqm of officespace on four floors and2,300 sqm of retail space onthe ground floor. The devel-opment, which is being builtby Porr Polska and commer-cialized by Knight Frank, isscheduled for completion inSeptember 2012.

The ABC project is thethird phase of an investmentwhich has to date seen theconstruction of the PoznaƒFinancial Centre and Ander-sia Tower schemes at Ander-sa Square. Those develop-ments were sold in 2004 and2008, to AIB Polonia Proper-ty Fund S.a.r.l. and DEKAImmobilien, respectively.Two towers are in thepipeline with a total of35,000 sqm of GLA.

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Andersia Business Centre has been valued at €33 million

Nowa Dana kicks off in SzczecinJW Construction Holding haslaunched construction on itsNowa Dana office project inSzczecin. The 125-meter high-rise scheme will offer approxi-mately 34,000 sqm of usablespace on a plot formerly occu-pied by the Dana clothing fac-tory on the city’s Al. Wyzwole-nia and ul. Odzie˝owa.

“In accordance with ourprevious announcements, weare expanding our portfolio ofcommercial investments. Thistime, we are launching a pres-tigious project which, due to

its modern nature and impos-ing size, will become a callingcard of not only our companybut also of the city and thewhole region,” Tomasz Pan-aba˝ys, vice president of themanagement board of JWConstruction Holding, said ina statement.

Apart from office space,the Nowa Dana developmentwill also host retail units on itslower floors. These units willoffer prestigious brands whichare not yet present in theSzczecin market. A number of

conference rooms, as well asan underground parking lotfor almost 400 cars, will alsomake up the offer. The invest-ment is scheduled for comple-tion in 2014.

One of Poland’s largest res-idential developers, J.W. Con-struction Holding is present inthe Warsaw, ¸ódê and Gdyniamarkets, as well as abroad. Thecompany also conducts con-struction activity. The firm hasbeen listed on the WarsawStock Exchange since June2007. AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

JULY 25Finance and financial advisories – the mortgage market and residential property as a financial investment. Featuring profiles ofkey companies in the sector

AUGUST 8Legal & insurance matters – pitfalls and solutions. Plus: how do Polish regulations compare with those in other European countries?

AUGUST 22Design & innovation – trends in building, architecture and interior design

Coming up:

JULY 11-24, 2011LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE14 www.wbj.pl

Developers and estate agents

SSppeeaakkiinngg tthhee ssaammee llaanngguuaaggee??

Polish firms know thatforeign investors wantwell-located, luxuryresidences – but howgood are they atproviding the servicesforeigners need?

While it can appear flush withinvestment opportunities, thePolish residential real estatemarket can also be a bewilder-ing place for potential foreigninvestors, who have to deal withlegal, language and cultural bar-riers, and who often need localpartners to help them managetheir properties.

Non-Polish speakers, unableto navigate their way around aPolish-language website, andmuch less through Polish legaldocuments, therefore requiresignificant levels of help fromdevelopers and real estateagents before they are able tochart a profitable coursethrough the market.

But how well are Poland-based developers and agenciesprepared to meet the needs offoreign clients? Lokale Immo-bilia talked with developers, allof whom seemed to know whatkind of investments foreignersare looking for, but a deeperlook showed that the serviceson offer leave much for theinternational investor to desire.

Luxury and locationIn the wake of the economiccrisis, foreign activity inPoland’s residential real estatemarket took a huge hit. As itstarts to come back, developersand agents say it’s clear that for-eign investors are focusing onluxury residences in centrallocations.

“At present, foreign clients’interest in the Polish real estatemarket is diminished,” saidTomasz Panaba˝ys, vice presi-dent of the management boardat developer JW ConstructionHolding. “Interest tends to belimited to prestigious invest-ments in the city center.”

Jerzy W´glarz, PR managerat real estate agency HomeBroker, agreed. “Well-locatedapartments purchased to berented out are definitely themost popular residential invest-ments among foreigners,” hesaid.

However, Rados∏aw Bieliƒs-ki, communications and mar-keting specialist at developerDom Development, said thatforeign clients who come to hiscompany’s sales departmentare interested in apartmentsfrom the popular segment aswell, although he admitted thata central location is still themain draw for the foreignbuyer.

“Most often they ask about

apartments located in the areaof the city center and with con-venient public transport con-nections,” he said.

Home comforts In addition to location andprestige, foreign home-buyersalso put a premium on resi-dences that offer large amountsof space.

“An important aspect of adwelling is [the amount of]space, because foreigners – incontrast to Poles – are accus-tomed to living in a largerspace,” said Martin Gutaj, co-founder of Martinisation Lon-don, a development firm.

Foreign clients also look forpartners that can manage theirproperties during periods whenthey aren’t in the country.

“Because a significant num-ber of foreign investors do notlive in Poland, these services areespecially popular,” said Ma∏-gorzata Pajor, director of theresidential department at Ober-Haus, a real estate agency.

Language barriersMany companies operating inPoland’s residential real estatemarket have specially designedstrategies to attract foreignclients to the properties onoffer that fit the bill. Firstthough, these firms need to beable to communicate their

Katarzyna Piasecka

Name of project Developer Location Apartmentsize Gross price Standard/

amenities

Pi´kna Nova Magnus ul. Pi´kna 13/15, Warsaw 202.1 sqm z∏.5,053,250Glass and stone finishing of the

building’s facades, reception withconcierge

Rezydencja FoksalBBI

DevelopmentNFI SA

ul. Kopernika 5, Warsaw 126.4 sqm z∏.3,492,936

High-quality finishing materials, view ofthe Âwi´tokrzyski Bridge and the NationalStadium from the apartment, conciergeservices, swimming pool, jacuzzi and

sauna available in the building

Pu∏awska 111 ECC RealEstate ul. Pu∏awska 111, Warsaw 98.6 sqm z∏.1,587,300

Location in an old part of Mokotów,close to green areas and transportinfrastructure, concierge services

Grzybowska 4 DomDevelopment ul. Grzybowska 4, Warsaw 83.2 sqm z∏.1,646,944

Location in the Central BusinessDistrict, close to transport infrastructure

and a number of green areas

Nowe PowiÊle MenollyPoland

between ul. Lipowa, ul. Dobra, ul. Zaj´cza and

ul. Wybrze˝eKoÊciuszkowskie, Warsaw

82.4 sqm z∏.1,154,300

High-quality finishing materials, designby APA Kury∏owicz & Associates,

location close to the Vistula River and aplanned subway station

Oxygen J.W. Wronia ul. Wronia 45, Warsaw 77.7 sqm z∏.761,852

Central location, building designed byrenowned Spanish architectural studio(architect Rafael De La-Hoz), 12.6 sqm

loggia

Ho˝a 55 YarealPolska ul. Ho˝a 55, Warsaw 63.5 sqm z∏.864,000

Central location, historic architecture inthe neighborhood, high-quality finishing

materials, green patio

Selected upmarket apartments currently onoffer in Warsaw

Advertorial

Houses and residences in Konstancja estate blend perfectly intothe green landscape of Konstancin. The project is located in closeproximity to Warsaw, near the entry road to Konstancin-Jeziorna –a charming enclave, traditionally inhabited by the representativesof the media, business, arts and the diplomatic world. Konstancjais also located in an immediate vicinity to the American School ofWarsaw. Stylish architectural details, unique design and bestmaterials – this is what characterized the local buildings over 100years ago and still remains as an inherent feature of Konstancja.

All new residents of Konstancja can also purchase a limitededition MINI Cooper car, at a price of 19 900 PLN.

The investor of Konstancja estate is Globe Trade Centre S.A.(GTC S.A.) – one of the leading developers in the New Europe withover 15 years of experience, operating in 10 countries.

GTC develops projects and manages completed properties inthree key sectors of real estate: office buildings and parks, retailand entertainment centers and residential sector, realized morethan 130 projects in Europe.

You can find more information on the project at: www.konstancja.pl

Sales office:tel: +48 22 716 01 77

+48 22 716 01 74email: konstancja@gtc.com.pl

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Apartments in high-end residential developments like Pi´kna Nova are highly

sought-after by foreign clients

JULY 11-24, 2011 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 15

offers with foreign clients. According to Ms Pajor, every

reputable Polish real estateagent or company has an Eng-lish-language version of its web-site. Moreover, all the majoragencies have at least one Eng-lish-language speaker at each oftheir offices, she said.

Home Broker’s Jerzy W´-glarz, however, sees the situa-tion differently, decrying thepaltry number of documentsthat developers translate for for-eign clients.

“Polish developers usuallydon’t provide their clients withEnglish-language versions ofthe descriptions of the proper-ties they have on offer. Only asmall number of developershave an English version of theirwebsites,” he said.

Perhaps it’s in the hope thatthey will find, at the very least,someone who speaks their lan-guage, that foreign buyers alsoprefer to do business in Polandwith companies that come fromtheir home countries.

“We have observed that themajority of clients who invest inapartments offered by Frenchdeveloper Bouygues Immobili-er are themselves French, whilea Chinese developer has built aninvestment in Warsaw’s Ochotadistrict, where a large number ofAsians live,” said Mr W´glarz.

Tangled webWhen it comes to websites, Pol-ish residential firms offer some-thing of a mixed bag, although

most of the largest firms do pro-vide at least partial English-lan-guage translations of the mostimportant sections. Few, howev-er, offer translations in otherlanguages.

There are but a few Polishreal estate agencies that spe-cialize in providing services toclients from abroad. Loco,active on the Polish market fortwo years, is one. The companysays it specializes in high-endapartments in the top locationsin Warsaw, and that it offersservices in six languages.

“We decided to focus on for-eign consumers because provid-ing such services constitutes aniche in the market and is bene-ficial from the point of view ofcompetition,” company repre-sentative Patrick Pi´ta said.

“A foreign client in the Polishmarket is a little bit lost andneeds more protection, whichwe try to provide him with,” headded.

A look at Loco’s websitehowever, shows a strange mix ofPolish and English, with noclearly labeled translation but-ton. You’ll find English descrip-tions of their offers below thePolish descriptions – if youknow to scroll down that far.

Market set to grow? Experts say that foreign clients’current focus on the relativelylimited supply of high-end resi-dential real estate has so farkept the size of the foreign-buy-ers market limited. However,

Company Website (in English? Y/N) Phone number E-mail address

AD. Dràgowski dragowski.pl (N) +48 22 827 99 50 ad@dragowski.pl

Bracia Strzelczyk NieruchomoÊci strzelczyk.pl (Y – scroll down, button on left side) +48 22 625 15 15 bracia@strzelczyk.pl

Emmerson emmerson.pl (Y) +48 22 828 92 96 emmerson@emmerson.pl

Home Broker homebroker.pl (N) +48 22 288 80 46 kontakt@homebroker.pl

Krupa NieruchomoÊci krupa.pl (N) +48 22 834 58 58 jerzy@krupa.pl

Maxon NieruchomoÊci maxon.pl (Y) +48 22 530 60 00 maxon@maxon.pl

Meritum NieruchomoÊci meritum.waw.pl (N) +48 22 654 48 88 meritum@meritum.waw.pl

Metrohouse & Partnerzy metrohouse.pl (Y) +48 22 829 90 40 metrohouse@metrohouse.pl

Ober-Haus ober-haus.pl (N) +48 22 528 54 54 warszawa@ober-haus.pl

Polanowscy NieruchomoÊci polanowscy.pl (N) +48 22 850 95 95 office@polanowscy.plx

Selected residential real estate brokers in Warsaw

Company name Total number of completed housing units Phone number E-mail address

JW Construction over 20,000 +48 22 777 90 00 sprzedaz@jwconstruction.com.pl

Dom Development over 15,000 +48 22 351 66 33 sprzedaz@domdevelopment.com.pl

Budimex NieruchomoÊci 5,922 +48 22 623 65 55 ninfo@budimex.com.pl

Dolcan 4,000 +48 22 512 33 11 biuro@dolcan.com.pl

Gant Development 3,000 +48 22 550 56 00 warszawa@gant.pl

Echo Investment 2,640 +48 22 430 03 00 info-warszawa@echo.com.pl

Inpro 2,495 +48 58 340 03 81 developing@inpro.com.pl

Robyg 1,832 +48 22 419 11 00 sekretariat@robyg.com.pl

Ronson 1,778 +48 22 822 32 18 sprzedaz@ronson.pl

Marvipol 1,744 +48 22 536 50 50 sprzedaz@marvipol.pl

Selected residential developers in Poland

this is expected to change in thenear future.

“I am convinced that this sit-uation will gradually change,since more and more interestingprojects have been appearingon the market and the pricesremain very advantageous,which is encouraging for

investors,” JW Construction’sTomasz Panaba˝ys said.

This view is shared by MrW´glarz of Home Broker, whosaid luxury apartments still havethe most potential in terms ofattracting interest from abroad.

Martin Gutaj, from Martini-sation London, sees huge

potential in the Polish capital,but said it has a long way to gobefore it reaches the standardsset by Western cities.

“Comparing Warsaw toLondon we still see the Polishcapital needs to catch up … butthere is potential in the city.Clients are becoming more and

more demanding and are look-ing for more original projects,”he said.

Perhaps that higher demandwill create competition that willlead to a higher standard ofservice for foreign investors. Nodoubt that’s what they’re hopingfor. ●

JULY 11-24, 2011LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl

Panattoni

builds two new

warehouses

Panattoni Europe last

month launched

construction on two new

warehouse buildings,

both of which will be

located within its

Panattoni Park Gdaƒsk

and Panattoni Business

Center ¸ódê logistics

sites. The new

developments will

provide a combined

18,100 sqm of new

space. A press

distribution company

has already leased 5,300

sqm and 5,400 sqm in

the developments.

“Panattoni Europe’s

experience and portfolio

contributed to the fact

that the Polish leader in

the press distribution

market decided to go

with the same developer

in both locations,”

Bart∏omiej Krawiecki,

managing partner –

Eastern Poland at

Panattoni Europe, said in

a statement.

EBRD loans

z∏.31 million to

Immo ParkThe European Bank for

Reconstruction and

Development (EBRD) has

provided a z∏.31.3

million loan to Immo

Park, a special-purpose

company which will

finance the construction

and operation of one of

the first public-private

partnership projects in

Wroc∏aw – a planned

underground parking lot

which is to be located

under the city’s historic

Nowy Targ Square.The

planned investment will

involve the delivery of

331 parking spaces, as

well as the

refurbishment of the

square through the

provision of new

lighting, benches and

trees.

Goodman

expands

Kraków projectIndustrial space

provider Goodman has

launched construction

on a second building in

its Kraków Airport

Logistics Centre

development in

Ma∏opolskie voivodship.

The 22,500 sqm facility

has already been 75%

leased out, with Valeo

Service Eastern Europe

having taken up 16,700

sqm of warehouse and

700 sqm of office space

in the scheme. ●

Residential companies

BBeesstt--rreeccooggnniizzeedd bbrraannddssJW Construction wasthe best-recognizeddeveloper in Warsaw,according to a recentstudy A plethora of developers,estate agents and financiersoperate in Poland’s residentialreal estate market, leaving theinexperienced would-be for-eign investor in a state of con-fusion as to who they shouldturn to. Real estate servicesprovider Nowy Adres’s recent-ly-published “ResidentialBrand of the Year” surveydoes, however, serve to indi-cate those brands which arethe best-known in the market.

Research institute Millward

Brown SMG/KRC carried outthe survey on behalf of NowyAdres. The report’s researchersinterviewed over 1,500 inhabi-tants of five large Polish citiesand agglomerations: Warsaw,Kraków, Poznaƒ, Wroc∏aw andTri-city. The interviewees, agedfrom 25 to 60, were asked tosay which, for them, are themost recognizable brands onthe domestic real estate mar-ket.

According to 55 percent ofthe respondents in Warsaw,Warsaw Stock Exchange-listedJW Construction Holding isthe most recognizable devel-oper in the Polish capital’smarket. JWC is followed byDom Development (37 per-

cent) and then by BudimexNieruchomoÊci (17 percent).

Bracia Strzelczyk Nieru-chomoÊci, meanwhile, is thebest-known real estate agent inWarsaw, according to 42 per-cent of respondents. The ADDràgowski agency was ratedsecond (26.1 percent), whileMetrohouse & Partnerzy camein third (16.5 percent).

PKO Bank Polski andOpen Finance were rated,respectively, as the best-knownmortgage-provider and loan-broker on the Warsaw market.

The best-known developersin Tri-city, Poznaƒ, Wroc∏awand Kraków are, respectively,Grupa Inwestycyjna Hossa (57percent), Ataner (48 percent),

Gant Development (41 per-cent) and SM Salwator (21.17percent).

In Tri-city, the best-knownreal estate agency wasTyszkiewicz NieruchomoÊci(40 percent). In Poznaƒ,

Wroc∏aw and Kraków, the topspots were taken, respectively,by Progres (20 percent), JOT-BE NieruchomoÊci (26 per-cent) and Pó∏noc Nieru-chomoÊci (19 percent).

KKaattaarrzzyynnaa PPiiaasseecckkaa

Retail properties

YYeett aannootthheerr mmaallll ffoorr WWaarrssaaww??Polfa Tarchomin islooking for an investorfor land in thecapital’s Bia∏o∏´kadistrict

Warsaw could see yet anothershopping center go up in thenext few years, now that phar-maceutical company Polfa Tar-chomin is gearing up to sellmore than eight hectares ofland in Warsaw’s Bia∏o∏´kadistrict. The state-owned firm,which is selling the land aheadof an expected privatization,believes it could house a majorshopping-center project.

Polfa Tarchomin and PolskiHolding Farmaceutyczny(PHF) – the firm’s parentcompany – have already dis-cussed the issue with Bia∏o∏´-ka’s authorities, and say thedistrict would welcome such

an investment. There is cur-rently no large, modern shop-ping center located there, andsome of the most popularmalls in the capital are locatedmore than 10 kilometers fromthe area.

The district is one of thefastest-developing in Warsaw,in terms of the number of newresidential units completedeach year. Completion of newinfrastructure projects includ-ing Most Pó∏nocny (the North

Bridge) and a new tram linewhich will connect Bia∏o∏´kawith the capital’s subway linewill likely boost the attractive-ness of Polfa’s plot, which isnestled between ul. Modliƒs-ka, ul. P∏ochociƒska and ul.Ekspresowa.

“These investments willmake Polfa properties gain invalue. This is why the compa-ny, not waiting for the processof its privatization to finish, islooking for buyers for some ofits most attractive real estate,”reads a statement posted onthe PHF website.

“It is also counting onobtaining an equally attractiveprice per square meter,” PHFsaid in the statement, pointingout that a recent transaction inWarsaw involved the sale of asimilarly sized plot in the Woladistrict for z∏.170 million.

However, real estate

experts are more skeptical.According to MagdalenaFràtczak, retail director at CBRichard Ellis Poland, there area number of retail projects inthe capital whose catchmentsareas will, to some extent,overlap with that of a potentialshopping center that could bebuilt on the Polfa plot. It istherefore crucial that any newmall differs in format and offerfrom those already in exis-tence.

“The location of the plot isvery attractive, but one shouldnot forget about already-exist-ing retail facilities such asAuchan, Centrum Targówekand IKEA Targówek. One alsohas to take into account otherplanned investments, amongthem that of Neinver, whichwill be located in the neighbor-hood,” Ms Fràtczak said.

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JW Construction Holding is the best-known in Warsaw

World’s narrowest house to be built in WarsawWarsaw could soon see theconstruction of what willarguably be the narrowesthouse in the world. Designedby architect Jakub Szcz´snyand tucked between a pre-wartenement bloc and a Commu-nist-era tower bloc in the capi-tal’s Wola district, the structurewould be just 92-152 centime-ters wide and 12 meters long.

The project will include allthe basic amenities found inregular homes, such as a bed-room, bathroom and smallcooking area. However, as thedimensions of the house do notconform to the norms spelledout in Polish construction andfire protection regulations, itwill not serve as a place of per-

manent residence, but ratheras an artistic installation.

The idea is that people rep-resenting various fields of artand culture could reside andwork in the property for sometime. The first occupier of thehouse, which will be locatednear the place where a bridgelinked two parts of Warsaw’sJewish ghetto during WorldWar II, will be Etgar Keret, anIsraeli writer of Polish originwhose parents met in Warsaw.

The planned development isbeing realized by the PolishModern Art Foundation (Fun-dacja Polskiej Sztuki Nowoczes-nej) and is scheduled for com-pletion in mid-November.

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JULY 11-24, 2011 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17

Property-related stocks

Security Closing % change 52-week 52-week % change Total Marketprice (week) low high (year) shares value

on July 7 (z∏.mln)

BUDIMEX 90.50 -1.09 83.80 109.20 2.26 25,530,098 2,310.47

CELTIC 20.00 -2.44 17.00 60.55 N/A 34,068,252 681.37

DOMDEV 48.99 -0.02 38.52 50.80 11.47 24,560,222 1,203.21

ECHO 5.15 4.04 4.25 5.55 22.33 420,000,000 2,163.00

ELBUDOWA 165.00 2.17 149.00 188.40 -2.94 4,747,608 783.36

ENERGOPLD 3.90 4.56 3.57 4.10 -3.94 70,972,001 276.79

ERBUD 30.47 3.29 24.95 61.00 -39.04 12,602,711 384.00

GANT 11.44 -3.05 11.44 23.38 -45.45 20,499,953 234.52

GTC 17.39 -6.51 17.11 24.98 -24.39 219,372,990 3,814.90

HBPOLSKA 2.11 -7.05 2.02 3.90 -33.23 210,558,445 444.28

JWCONSTR 14.98 -1.45 13.50 18.35 -6.61 54,073,280 810.02

LCCORP 1.38 0.00 1.35 1.72 -6.12 447,558,311 617.63

MARVIPOL 9.85 1.03 7.40 16.18 -38.44 36,923,400 363.70

MIRBUD 3.86 0.26 2.89 4.75 33.10 75,000,000 289.50

MOSTALWAR 31.39 -0.48 29.05 69.40 -51.11 20,000,000 627.80

MOSTALZAB 2.65 0.38 2.54 3.82 -24.72 149,130,538 395.20

ORCOGROUP 31.50 2.24 19.20 40.00 64.92 14,053,866 442.70

PBG 150.80 8.88 134.70 252.00 -27.50 14,295,000 2,155.69

PLAZACNTR 3.95 -2.23 3.70 5.59 -21.00 296,738,962 1,172.12

POLAQUA 18.70 2.19 16.10 20.60 16.88 27,500,100 514.25

POLIMEXMS 3.52 9.32 2.91 4.84 -22.98 521,154,076 1,834.46

POLNORD 26.50 3.31 25.00 39.41 -20.18 23,798,439 630.66

RANKPROGR 12.30 -1.60 9.59 13.60 N/A 37,145,050 456.88

ROBYG 1.92 0.00 1.70 2.13 N/A 257,390,000 494.19

RONSON 1.39 -1.42 1.36 1.78 -17.26 272,360,000 378.58

TRAKCJA 3.10 6.90 2.49 4.97 -24.76 232,105,480 719.53

ULMA 80.90 2.47 70.00 88.00 15.16 5,255,632 425.18

UNIBEP 6.50 0.00 6.38 10.30 -19.75 33,927,184 220.53

WARIMPEX 8.50 3.66 7.77 10.89 9.11 54,000,000 459.00

ZUE 10.25 -0.39 9.91 15.14 N/A 22,000,000 225.50

Investment land

PPKKPP llooookkss ttoo rreevvaammpp WWaarrssaaww ttrraaiinn ssttaattiioonnssThe state railwayplans a raft of privateinvestments aroundsome of the capital’slargest rail stops

Several of Warsaw’s train sta-tions could be getting a seriousfacelift over the next few years.

Polish State Railways(PKP) and international realestate investor and developerHB Reavis last month inked adeal for the development of anew Warszawa Zachodnia(Warsaw West) railway stationin the capital. A complex ofseven office buildings totalingsome 54,000 sqm of space willbe built alongside the rail facil-ity as part of the development.

The agreement could markthe beginning of majorchanges in the neglectedneighborhood, in which PKPalso owns other plots thatcould potentially lend them-selves to large real estateinvestments, Pawe∏ Olczyk, thePKP board member responsi-ble for the management of thecompany’s properties, toldLokale Immobilia.

The company hopes War-saw City Hall will enact a zon-ing plan for the area locatedjust north of the station, which

could facilitate further invest-ment there. For the timebeing, PKP is consideringmoving its own headquartersto one of the office buildingsplanned at Warszawa Zachod-nia.

If this comes to fruition,PKP would have its currentheadquarters demolished andre-developed.

The central dilemmaThe company is already think-ing of having plots developedat several other major trainstations in Warsaw. The capi-tal’s iconic – and some sayhideous – Warszawa Centralna(Warsaw Central) buildingposes a major dilemma: itcould be demolished andreplaced, but that would likelylead to vocal protests fromthose who see the station as avaluable piece of modernistarchitecture.

“Half of the public wouldlike Warszawa Centralna togo, while the other half wouldrather have it preserved, withthe latter group usually beingmuch louder and better heardin the media,” Mr Olczyk said.

So at this moment the mostlikely scenario is that thebuilding will stay and that twonew structures will be devel-

oped on the parking lots whichcurrently surround it.

PKP is planning toannounce an internationalarchitectural competition forthe design of the planneddevelopment. This could makethe plot more attractive forpotential development part-ners.

Still, it will take some timebefore construction starts, MrOlczyk admitted, since theinvestment will have to be syn-chronized with the plannedrenovation of the railwayinfrastructure beneath it.

Moreover, if a developerwere to take over the land,new legislation would be need-ed to allow for separate own-ership of the land itself and ofwhat is above and below it.

Under Polish law, theowner of a piece of real estateowns everything above andbelow (to a certain height anddepth), meaning PKP cannotcurrently sell land locatedabove real estate it ownsunderground, where sometrain tracks and platforms arelocated.

Much less problematicshould be the development ofthree plots located nearWarszawa Centralna that PKPplans to sell later this year and

which could house high-riseschemes in the near future.

Attractive locationFor its part, WarszawaWschodnia (Warsaw East), iscurrently being revamped.New schemes could, in thefuture, be developed on neigh-boring land on ul. Kijowskaand ul. Lubelska. The area isbecoming increasingly attrac-tive due to Euro 2012-relatedinvestments and the ongoingconstruction of Warsaw’s sec-ond subway line.

PKP, which owns a numberof narrow plots in the neigh-

borhood, also hopes toacquire adjacent municipalland for development.

The company is in talkswith Warsaw City Hall aboutthe possibility of swappingland it needs for its own devel-opment projects with land thecity could use for purposessuch as road construction.

A well-connected hotelLast but not least, the Warsza-wa Gdaƒska railway station onthe border of the capital’s cen-tral and ˚oliborz districts willlikely get a new station buildingas well as commercial space.

Warszawa Gdaƒska may seeless footfall than the threelargest train stations in Warsaw,but it has direct access to a sub-way station, as well as severalbus and tram lines.

The new station building,Mr Olczyk explained, would bemoved slightly to the west of theexisting structure which, sittingjust next to the DworzecGdaƒski subway station, wouldin turn give way to a commer-cial project, most likely a hotel.

“This would be one of thebest-connected hotels in War-saw,” Mr Olczyk said.

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Public opinion is divided over what should become of Warszawa Centralna

JULY 11-24, 2011BBUUSSIINNEESSSS EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT18 www.wbj.pl

AmCham’s 4th of July Picnic On July 2, the American Chamber of Commercein Poland held its annual picnic celebrating theUnited States’ independence day at KrólikarniaPalace and the surrounding Arkadia park. Around600 people attended the festivities.

Famous guests included Henryka Bochniarz,the president of the Polish Confederation of Pri-vate Employers Lewiatan; Olympian RobertKorzeniowski, women’s rights activist MagdalenaÂroda, and former national soccer team playerDariusz Dziekanowski.

The United States Marine Corps presented thecolors, a raffle was held and the younger guestsenjoyed a play area where they were able to havetheir faces painted.

A buffet was provided by the Sheraton WarsawHotel; McDonald’s Polska also helped with thecatering, along with Sofitel Warsaw Victoria and

the InterContinental Hotel Warszawa, which pro-vided the desserts.

The event’s Platinum Sponsor was McDon-ald’s; the Gold Sponsors were Boeing, FedEx andKPMG. ●

The American Chamber of Commerce inPoland held a CEO forum in mid-June,under the theme: “Encouraging innova-tion – the CEO’s perspective.”

The event’s major presentation wasbased on PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 14th

Annual Global CEO Survey MainReport, and focused on the role of inno-vation and innovative culture in business

organizations. The three panelists were Olga Grygi-

er-Siddons from PricewaterhouseCoop-ers, Bogus∏aw Ku∏akowski from Qual-comm Poland and Micha∏ Kobosko fromPoint Group Business Unit.

The CEO Forum was sponsored byPricewaterhouseCoopers and MamaisonLe Regina Hotel. ●

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Media patronage

Economy

Public finance deficitto shrink over nextfour years: officialThe 2011 deficit is setto come in at 5.6percent of GDP – farlower than the 6.5percent forecast

Deputy Finance Minister Lud-wik Kotecki said Poland is ontrack to slash its budget deficitto 5.6 percent of GDP, a fallcompared to the 2010 figure of7.9 percent.

“Our forecast of the publicfinance sector deficit in 2011at the level of 5.6 percent ofGDP is a safe figure which isnot threatened in any way,”Mr Kotecki told the PolishPress Agency (PAP).

Earlier this year, Polandhad forecast its public financesector debt at 6.5 percent ofGDP. In late June, the govern-

ment announced that thedeficit would come in somez∏.10.2 billion, or 25 percent,smaller than had beenplanned. At the end of lastyear, Poland’s public debt loadhad ballooned to z∏.747.91 bil-lion or 52.8 percent of GDP.

Mr Kotecki added that thecurrent problems plaguing theeuro zone would not damagethe z∏oty.

“There are no concernsabout the condition of the Pol-ish currency or the impact ofeuro-zone problems on thez∏oty,” Mr Kotecki said.

As the euro has weakenedin the wake of the Greek finan-cial crisis, the z∏oty has alsosoftened, as investors flock tocurrencies perceived as “lessrisky,” such as the US dollar.

AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

Bankruptcies on the wane

From the beginning of theyear, 307 firms went bankruptin Poland. That’s a 14 percentdecrease from last year, when358 firms went bankrupt overthe same period, according toDziennik Gazeta Prawna. Thedaily cited the latest report by

economic intelligence agencyDun & Bradstreet. Anotherbusiness information provider,Coface, has this year’s numberat 333 bankruptcies so far.Both reports show a down-ward trend in the number offirms going bust. RRAA

Natural gas

Gas prices set to rise

Regulators haveapproved PGNiG’stariff-hike request,citing the high cost ofoil Individual consumers andindustry players will now have topay more for gas thanks to theEnergy Regulatory Office’s(URE) recent decision toapprove gas-delivery monopo-list PGNIG’s tariff-hike request.

The decision, set to beimplemented in mid-July,means household customerswill see an average priceincrease of 5-7 percent. State-owned PGNiG had asked forprices to be increased byaround 10 percent.

PGNiG imports two-thirdsof the natural gas used byPoland from Russia. It pays

market prices but must sell theproduct in Poland at prices setby the regulator. The URE usu-ally doesn’t raise prices by asmuch as PGNiG says is needed,and so the gas monopolist oftenfeels pressed by the price ofimports.

The introduction of the newtariffs is a consequence of thesignificant increase in oil pricesglobally, due to the unstable sit-uation in North African coun-tries, both PGNiG and theURE said. Oil is one of themain raw materials used in theextraction and processing ofnatural gas.

The higher prices are likelyto mean a drop in profitabilityfor the chemical sector, whichuses 2.5 billion square meters ofgas a year.

“In many cases, gas accounts

for 40-60 percent of productioncosts. The current increasesmay decrease profitability by upto three percent,” JerzyMajchrzak, head of the PolishChamber of Chemical Industry,told daily Parkiet.

The price increases willremain in effect until the end ofthe year, at which point PGNiGhas the right to request anotherround of price hikes. It expectsto do so, since the price of buy-ing Russian gas has risenrecently, the company said in astatement.

Higher tariffs will enablePGNiG to continue its costlyprogram of exploration of newgas deposits in Poland, includ-ing shale gas, which it hopes willlead to more stable gas prices inthe future.

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Gas prices will increase by an average of 5-7 percent for individual consumers

Interest rate

unchangedAs expected, Poland’s

Monetary Policy Council

left interest rates

unchanged in early July.

The decision means that

the National Bank of

Poland’s main reference

rate will remain at 4.5%.

Inflation rose to 5%

year-on-year in May as

food and fuel prices

increased rapidly.

However, central

bankers indicated after

June’s rate hike that

they would pause their

cycle of monetary policy

tightening, to see if

inflation began to

decline.

Production

slows,

jobs uncertainPoland’s manufacturing

PMI shrunk in June to

51.2 points from 52.6

points in May, marking

the most significant

decline since September

2009. The rate of growth

in June disappointed as

the number of new

orders declined. This

could indicate that

economic growth is

about to slow down.

According to experts at

PKPP Lewiatan, the

outlook for the Polish job

market is uncertain. ●

From left to right: Bogus∏aw Ku∏akowski, Qualcomm Poland; Olga Grygier-

Siddons, PwC; Micha∏ Kobosko, Point Group Business Unit

AmCham CEO Forum: “Encouraging innovation – the CEO’s perspective”

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currency rates

Europe news

moves markets

Currency report

Despite the summer vaca-tion period, the last twoweeks have brought impor-tant news from Greece thathas increased currencyvolatility. The Greek parlia-ment approved a drastic sav-ings plan, which causedwidespread protests in thecountry. This calmedinvestors for some time andbrought optimism back,although the S&P ratingsagency stated that it wouldtreat any rollover of theGreek debt as a technicalbankruptcy.

The optimistic moodheld until Moody’s an-nounced its ratings cut ofPortuguese debt to junk sta-tus. Many European offi-cials disagreed, attackingMoody’s for the move, butthe damage had alreadybeen done.

In the middle of all thisturmoil, the European Cen-tral Bank hiked interest ratesin the euro zone by 25bp to1.5 percent, as expected.

At a press conferenceafter the decision wasannounced, ECB presidentJean-Claude Trichet saidthat while the PIIGS coun-tries were in a difficult eco-nomic situation, the bank’smain goal was to keep infla-tion low, and that it wouldtherefore act accordingly.

At the end of June andstart of July, the EUR/USDclimbed all the way to $1.45to finish at $1.43 on July 7.

The z∏oty reboundedafter the last period ofdepreciation and finishedthe week at z∏.3.95 againstthe euro, z∏.2.76 against theUS dollar, and z∏.3.29 againstthe Swiss franc.●

Adam Narczewski, X-TradeBrokers Dom Maklerski SA

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Major indices

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowATLANTAPL 16.30 25.38 16.30 6.96IZOLACJA 1.35 23.85 2.08 1.09BNPPL 126.90 16.42 157.00 109.00WISTIL 18.95 14.85 30.90 16.01LUBAWA 1.48 10.45 1.73 1.00

WIG 49,057.05 (July 7 close)

Change for the week:1.33% 52-week high: 50,371.74

Change year to July 7: 2.95% 52-week low: 40,273.99

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowPGNIG 4.64 10.21 4.64 3.35POLIMEXMS 3.52 9.32 4.84 2.91PBG 150.8 8.88 252.00 134.70PEKAO 169.7 4.62 196.50 153.00BRE 338.00 3.71 349.00 242.20

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowBEST 5.65 -19.97 16.50 4.60EMCINSMED 10.51 -17.89 23.00 10.51ATLASEST 2.32 -17.73 4.57 2.32WIKANA 0.10 -16.67 0.13 0.10SKYLINE 3.40 -16.46 7.21 3.38

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowGTC 17.39 -6.51 24.98 17.11KGHM 191.00 -3.05 198.40 93.85TPSA 16.30 -2.16 19.01 15.20PGE 23.5 -2.00 24.90 21.15CYFRPOLSAT 16.38 -0.73 17.35 13.36

WIG20 2,820.08 (July 7 close)

Change for the week: 0.64% 52-week high: 2,932.62

Change year to July 7: 2.37% 52-week low: 2,329.15

mWIG40 2,879.54 (July 7 close)

Change for the week: 1.02% 52-week high: 2,987.72

Change year to July 7: 2.56% 52-week low: 2,398.21

sWIG80 11,982.97 (July 7 close)

Change for the week: -0.85% 52-week high: 12,932.00

Change year to July 7: -2.17% 52-week low: 11,161.00

NewConnect 54.29 (July 7 close)

Change for the week: -1.06% 52-week high: 64.39

Change year to July 7: -14.38% 52-week low: 54.51

WIG-Banki 6,935.58 (July 7 close)

Change for the week: 1.97% 52-week high: 7,387.49

Change year to July 7: -0.38% 52-week low: 5,830.96

DJIA12,719.49 (July 7 close)

2.46% (for the week)

CHANGE: 7.23%

(year to July 7)

52-week high:12,928.50

52-week low: 9,915.73

NASDAQ2,872.66 (July 7 close)

3.57% (for the week)

CHANGE: 7.32%

(year to July 7)

52-week high: 2,887.75

52-week low: 2,099.29

S&P5001,353.22 (July 7 close)

2.47% (for the week)

CHANGE: 5.01%

(year to July 7)

52-week high: 1,370.58

52-week low: 1,039.70

FTSE1006,054.50 (July 7 close)

1.83% (for the week)

CHANGE: 2.62%

(year to July 7)

52-week high: 6,105.80

52-week low: 5,014.80

DAX7,471.44 (July 7 close)

1.29% (for the week)

CHANGE: 7.14%

(year to July 7)

52-week high: 7,600.41

52-week low: 5,833.51

NIKKEI22510,071.14 (July 7 close)

2.60% (for the week)

CHANGE: -2.71%

(year to July 7)

52-week high: 10,891.60

52-week low: 8,227.63

world stock indices

09.0

6

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

747,000

47,600

48,200

48,800

49,400

50,00009

.06

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

72,700

2,740

2,780

2,820

2,860

2,900

09.0

6

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

72,800

2,840

2,880

2,920

2,960

3,000

09.0

6

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

711,800

11,940

12,080

12,220

12,360

12,500

09.0

6

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

754.0

54.8

55.6

56.4

57.2

58.0

09.0

6

10.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

16.0

6

17.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

24.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

30.0

6

01.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

07.0

76,700

6,800

6,900

7,000

7,100

7,200

Other indices

Mixed data,market volatility

Stocks report

The week of July 4 beganwith little activity on theWarsaw Stock Exchange,since the US markets wereclosed for the IndependenceDay holiday. On Monday,the WIG and WIG20recorded slight losses, show-ing a lack of strength andconfidence.

Already on Tuesday, how-ever, the main Polish indicessaw some modest gains,despite the fact that most oftheir European peers fin-ished the day in the red asinvestors showed disappoint-ment with worse-than-expected May retail sales fig-ures for the euro zone.

More adverse macroeco-nomic data in Europe andthe downgrading byMoody’s of Portugal’s creditrating to Ba2 continued todraw European indicessouth on Wednesday, withsome of the biggest losersbeing indices in the PIIGS

countries, Poland’s mainWIG and blue-chip WIG20indices followed suit and fellby 0.78 percent and 0.75 per-cent respectively.

On Thursday, bettermacroeconomic data com-ing in from both Europe andthe US finally brought aboutan improvement in moods inthe global markets, withindices on both sides of theAtlantic recording decentrises. In Warsaw, the WIGrose by 1.78 percent whilethe WIG20 gained 0.99 per-cent.

That optimism did notlast long, as the end of theweek saw the publication ofmuch worse-than-expectedunemployment data fromthe US, which immediatelyled investors to sell sharesand other risk-averse assets.

In the end, the WIG andthe WIG20 lost 0.73 per-cent and 0.94 percent res-pectively. AAZZ

JULY 11-24, 2011 MMAARRKKEETTSS www.wbj.pl 19

JULY 11-24, 2011TTHHEE LLIISSTT20 www.wbj.pl

Construction & Real Estate

Property and Facility Management FirmsRanked by office space managed www.bookoflists.pl

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Total area ofoffice buildings

managed (sqm) /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Number of officebuildings

managed /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Area of allbuildings

managed (sqm) /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Number of allbuildings

managed /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Names and locations ofbuildings managed Services offered Selected clients

Number ofemployees/

Year founded

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /Title

1 Sodexo Polska Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 172, 02-486 Warsaw22 338-9600/22 338-9601info.fms.pl@sodexo.comwww.sodexo.pl

1,234,873-

1,234,873

66-

66

3,982,074-

3,982,074

198-

198

North Gate (Warsaw); CompanyHouse II - Microsoft (Warsaw); Globis(Wroc∏aw); Metropolitan (Warsaw);

Altus (Katowice)

Full real estate service; technicalmaintenance; administration

support; reception and internalmail outsourcing; cleaning; projectmanagement; security; employee

restaurants; subcontractormanagement

Premiumred Polska; The SupremeCourt; Globe Trade Centre; ProLogis

1,1361993

NoneSodexo Group - 100%

Yann GontardGeneral Director

2

Dalkia Energy & Technical ServicesSp. z o.o.ul. Âwierczewska 18, 60-321 Poznaƒ61 861-3300/61 861-3481dets@dalkia.com.plwww.dalkia.pl

1,000,000-

1,000,000

40-

40

1,800,000-

1,800,000

65-

65

ABB (Aleksandrów ¸ódzki); Dell (¸ódê);Tulipan Park (Stryków; Komorniki;

Gliwice; Plewiska)

Full real estate service; technicalmaintenance; energy

management; investmentsupervision; heating services

Neinver; ABB; BPH TFI; SEGRO;SEGECE

5,2002004

Dalkia Polska - 100%None

Alexandre Farion;Krzysztof Skowroƒski

President; Board Member

3

Knight Frank Sp. z o.o.ul. Mysia 5, 00-496 Warsaw22 596-5050/22 596-5051office@pl.knightfrank.comwww.knightfrank.com.pl

815,000-

815,000

56-

56

905,000-

905,000

61-

61

Trinity Park III (Warsaw); ArkoƒskaBusiness Park (Gdaƒsk); Altus(Katowice); Red Tower (¸ódê);

Andersia Tower (Poznaƒ)

Full real estate service;development costs analysis;contract renegotiation with

subcontractors; tenders

Deka Immobilien; Arka BZWBKFundusz NieruchomoÊci; AIB PPM;

SEB Investment; Invesco RealEstate

WND1995

NoneRathburn Holdings BV K.F. &

R. Limited - WND%

Monika D´bska-Pastakia;Joseph BorowskiPresident; Vicepresident

4

Hochtief Facility Management Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Powsiƒska 64A, 02-903 Warsaw22 858-8525/22 842-0473handlowy@hochtief.com.plwww.hochtief-fm.pl

766,078-

766,078

46-

46

2,000,000-

2,000,000

77-

77

Horizon Plaza (Warsaw); Faurecia(Wa∏brzych); Rondo 1 (Warsaw); Baltic

Business Center (Gdynia); DiamondBusiness Park (Gliwice)

Full real estate serviceKnight Frank; Cushman &

Wakefield; Colliers InternationalPoland; AIG/Lincoln; King Sturge

2931998

NoneHochtief Facility

Management - 100%

Artur TomczykPresident

5

Przedsi´biorstwo Zarzàdzania NieruchomoÊciami Sp. z o.o.ul. Niek∏aƒska 35, 03-924 Warsaw22 518-8800/22 518-8802sekretariat@pzn.com.plwww.pzn.com.pl

766,000-

766,000

WND-

WND

811,000-

811,000

WND-

WND

Bank Pekao headquartes (Warsaw);office building on ul. Piotrkowska

(¸ódê); conference and training center(Serock); BRE Bank headquarters(Aleksandrów ¸ódzki; Bydgoszcz)

Tenant search; contractsmanagement; technical

maintenance; cleaning; security;building preparation for sale; real

estate appraisals; obligatorybuilding check-ups

Bank Pekao; Bank Zachodni WBK;Bank PKO BP; Polbank; Millennium

Bank

9851996

Management - 100%None

Jerzy ZalegaPresident

6

Cushman & Wakefield Polska Sp. z o.o.Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1, 00-078 Warsaw22 820-2020/22 820-2021info.poland@eur.cushwake.comwww.cushmanwakefield.com

480,000-

480,000

17-

17

500,000-

500,000

18-

18

Skylight (Warsaw); Metropolitan(Warsaw); Focus (Warsaw);

Marynarska Business Park (Warsaw);Saski Crescent (Warsaw)

Property, asset and facilitymanagement

Aberdeen ImmobilienKapitalanlagegesellschaft; Europolis

Real Estate Asset Management;ING Real Estate; Ghelamco;

Rezydent

1231991

NoneCushman & Wakefield

European Holding - WND%

Richard PetersenManaging Director

7

Cofely Services Sp. z o.o.ul. Kijowska 1, 03-738 Warsaw22 518-0186 /22 518-0189marcin.kwasiborski@cofely.plwww.cofely.pl

407,000-

407,000

21-

21

821,500-

821,500

45-

45

Park Post´pu (Warsaw); MarynarskaPoint (Warsaw); Infosys d. Philips

(¸ódê); Blue Tower (Warsaw); AstraPark (Kielce)

Technical maintenance; energymanagemant; property

management; cleaning; security

Echo; KBC; BRE Bank; Skanska;Arka BZ WBK

1601997

NoneGDF Suez Energie Services -

WND%

Jan WoêniakGeneral Director

8

HSG Zander Polska Sp. z o.o. (formelyM+W Zander FM Polska Sp. z o.o.and HSG FM Polska Sp. z o.o.)ul. Pu∏awska 435A, 02-801 Warsaw22 579-3232/22 579-3201info@hsgzander.plwww.hsgzander.pl

395,443-

395,443

32-

32

1,052,808-

1,052,808

51-

51

3M (Wroc∏aw); Galeria Sanowa(Wa∏brzych); Platinum Towers

(Warsaw); Deloitte House (Warsaw);Andersia Tower (Poznaƒ)

Technical maintenance; energymanagement; feasibility analysis;security; cleaning; maintenance ofoutdoor areas ; production process

support; technical audits

Volkswagen Motor Polska; Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing Poland;

3M Poland; IBM Polska; Mercedes-Benz Polska

1991999

NoneBilfinger Berger - 100%

Thorsten BrudigamPresident

9

Colliers International REMS Sp. z o.o.Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 3, 00-078 Warsaw22 331-7800/22 331-7801warsaw@colliers.comwww.colliers.com

310,000-

310,000

27-

27

744,500-

744,500

37-

37

Horizon Plaza (Warsaw); MilleniumPark (Warsaw); Deloitte House(Warsaw); Grunwaldzki Center(Wroc∏aw); Marynarska Point

(Warsaw)

Full real estate service; assetmanagement

Pramerica Real Estate Investors;UBS Real Estate

Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH;Standard Life Investments; UnionInvestments Real Estate; RREEF

Investment

422007

WND - 33%CMN - 67%

Hadley DeanManaging Partner

10

DTZul. Z∏ota 59, 00-120 Warsaw22 222-3000/22 222-3001info@dtz.plwww.dtz.com/pl

308,000-

308,000

11-

11

1,600,000-

1,600,000

38-

38

Sarni Stok (Bielsko Bia∏a); City Point(Warsaw); Trinity Point I and II

(Warsaw); Tulipan House (Warsaw)

Property and asset management;marketing; corporate accounting;

project management;commercialization and re-

commercialization of buildings

Charter Hall; Valad; ING; CreditSuisse Asset Management;Balmain Asset Management

2001994

WNDDTZ Holdings - WND%

Patrick DelcolPresident

11

General Property Sp. z o.o.ul. Powsiƒska 62, 02-903 Warsaw22 642-3285/22 642-3395info@generalproperty.plwww.generalproperty.pl

183,739-

183,739

7-7

1,235,160-

1,235,160

36-

36WND Facility management WND

862004

Tomasz Buczyƒski - 50%;Piotr Górnicki - 50%

None

Piotr GórnickiPresident

12

Open Property Management Sp. z o.o.ul. Marsa 56A, 04-242 Warsaw22 460-4545/22 460-4546office@opm-fm.plwww.opm-fm.pl

170,000WNDWND

42WNDWND

290,000WNDWND

48WNDWND

ABB (Warsaw, Wroc∏aw); Fortum Heatand Power (Cz´stochowa, Wroc∏aw,

Wojkowice, Âwiebodzice)

Property management;administration; space

commercialization; utilitiesmanagement; engineering

services; investment advisory; duediligence; technical diligence;

energy audits

ABB; Fortum Heat and Power;Bankowy Fundusz Leasingowy;

Renhold; Enersys

452006

Impel - 100%None

Józef Biegaj; DariuszTahery

President; Vicepresident

13

Strabag Property and Facility Services Sp. z o.o.ul. Koszykowa 54, 00-675 Warsaw22 583-4400/22 583-4401info-spfs@strabag.plwww.strabag-pfs.pl

145,000-

145,000

10-

10

460,000-

460,000

35-

3,535

Ilmet (Warsaw); Polonia Palace Hotel(Warsaw); Aktyn (Warsaw); IPC

(Warsaw); University Business Park(¸ódê)

Full real estate service; technicalmaintenance; cleaning;

maintenance of outdoor areas;security; technical and

infrastructural consulting

UBS; Hotele Warszawskie Syrena;Raben; Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa;

S+B Gruppe

1421999

NoneStrabag Facility Management

- WND%

Pawe∏ SzymczakProxy

14

Est-On Property Echo-17 Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.Al. SolidarnoÊci 36, 25-323 Kielce41 333-3606/41 333-2666biuro@est-on.plwww.est-on.pl

139,200126,70012,500

1091

394,500382,00012,500

22211

Pasa˝ Grunwaldzki (Wroc∏aw); Galaxy(Szczecin); Galeria Echo (Kielce); PHS(Szczecin); Park Post´pu (Warsaw)

WND Echo Investment; Pride Hold48

1998Echo Investment - 99%

NonePiotr Gromniak

President

JULY 11-24, 2011 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 21

Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was done inNovember 2010. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of October 2010 unlessstated otherwise. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies notresponding to our survey are not listed.

To the best of WBJ ’s knowledge, the information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, omissions andtypographical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Joanna Raszka,ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (48-22) 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2011, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprintedor reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Total area ofoffice buildings

managed (sqm) /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Number of officebuildings

managed /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Area of allbuildings

managed (sqm) /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Number of allbuildings

managed /Owned bycompany /

Not owned bycompany

Names and locations ofbuildings managed Services offered Selected clients

Number ofemployees/

Year founded

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /Title

15

AIG/Lincoln Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Grzybowska 5A, 00-132 Warsaw22 564-5000/22 564-5085office.warsaw@aiglincoln.com.plwww.aiglincoln.com.pl

134,500WNDWND

3WNDWND

435,500WNDWND

123

WND

Riverside Park (Warsaw); DiamondBusiness Park (Warsaw); Diamond

Business Park (Piaseczno); ˚eraƒ Park(Warsaw); Grzybowska Park

(Warsaw); Empark Mokotów BusinessPark (Warsaw)

WND WNDWND1997

WNDBrian Patterson

Managing Partner

16

King Sturge Sp. z o.o. Sp. k.Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19, 00-854 Warsaw22 256-0800/22 256-0801contactpoland@kingsturge.comwww.kingsturge.pl

130,000WNDWND

14WNDWND

510,000WNDWND

51WNDWND

Centrum Nauki Kopernik; GaleriaPrzymorze; Galeria Handlowa Mazovia;

Galeria Handlowa JeziorakAsset management; accounting

Balmain; Haitman; Catalyst Capital;Lewandpol

802000

NoneKing Sturge - 100%

Jason SharmanManaging Director

17

Dipservice w Warszawie SAul. Âwi´tokrzyska 36, 00-116 Warsaw22 526-3107/22 620-9960sekretariat@dipservice.plwww.dipservice.pl

115,300115,300

-

8383-

131,600131,600

-

104104

-WND

Administration; inspections;maintenance; cleaning; 24/7

technical services and supervision

Sandvik; Lindt & Sprungli Polska,TVN; Aegon Towarzystwo

Ubezpieczeƒ na ˚ycie; EDF Polska

2561962

Treasury - 100%None

Rafa∏ KrzemieƒBoard President

18

Mahler Property Services Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 181, 02-222 Warsaw22 608-4560/22 608-4562mahler@mahler.plwww.mahlerproject.com

96,983WNDWND

5WNDWND

150,051WNDWND

5WNDWND

WNDFull range of developer services;

facilities renting and administrationWND

361992

NoneMahler - 50%; CA Immo

International - 50%

Andrzej Miko∏ajczykDirector Asset Management

19

NAI Estate Fellows Sp. z o.o., Sp. k.ul. Pankiewicza 3, 00-696 Warsaw22 379-7300/22 379-7301biuro@estatefellows.comwww.estatefellows.com

92,000WND

92,000

13WND

13

212,000-

212,000

18WND

18

Renaissance Tower (Warsaw); EurekaBusiness Park (Warsaw); Viking House

(Warsaw); Centrum Biznesu (¸ódê);Orion (¸ódê)

Property management; controllingand reporting; operating costsand income analysis; buildings

administration andcommercialization including

technical support and interiordesign

BPH TFI; BRE Bank; Catalyst Capital;PZU; Altus TFI

202008

WNDRafa∏ Mateusiak

Partner

20

JJM Sp. z o.o.ul. Ciechociƒska 26, 02-924 Warsaw22 646-1883 /22 842-6125jjm@jjm.com.plwww.jjm.com.pl

78,370-

78,370

3-3

106,190-

106,190

6-6

Office building on ul. Cha∏ubiƒskiego 8(Warsaw); Polservice (Warsaw);

Housing community onul. Bluszczaƒska 73 (Warsaw);Holiday Inn Hotel (Warsaw);

BOÂ (Warsaw)

Property management;administration including renting

and security supervision; technicalmaintenance, cleaning andlandscape maintenance;

investment advisory

Tower Service; Corktree Fprop;Polservice; Private owners; Orbis -Hotel Holiday Inn; Bank Ochrony

Ârodowiska; Bank Handlowy

1251991

Jerzy Poncyljusz - 50%;Marek Poncyljusz - 50%

None

Marek PoncyljuszPresident

21

Savills Sp. z o.o.ul. Marsza∏kowska 111, 00-102 Warsaw22 330-0630/22 330-0631info@savills.plwww.savills.pl

64,763-

64,763

12WNDWND

WNDWNDWND

12WNDWND

Aquarius (Warsaw); Mokotów Plaza(Warsaw); Wola Plaza 1 (Warsaw);City Park (Poznaƒ); Galeria Fordon

(Bydgoszcz)

WNDTritax Polska, Celic Asset

Management; Azora InternationalManagement

402004

WNDSavills Overseas Holding -

WND%

Brian BurgessManaging Director

22

Platan Group Sp. z o.o.ul. Poleczki 23, 02-822 Warsaw22 545-0245/22 545-0246platangroup@platangroup.com.plwww.platangroup.com.pl

53,00953,009

-

66-

101,116101,116

-

66-

Dom Dochodowy (Warsaw); Nautlus(Warsaw); Platan Park (Warsaw)

Security; cleaning WND49

1995

NoneAartsengel Tom Holding -

100%

Karolina KaimPresident

23

WeCare Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 212A, 02-486 Warsaw22 571-4477/22 571-4454wecare@wecare.plwww.wecare.pl

40,06425,34114,723

642

90,06475,34114,723

752

Batory Office Building I and II(Warsaw); Flanders Business Park A

and B (Warsaw); JerozolimskieBusiness Park (Warsaw)

Cost management; contractmanagement; technical

maintenance; telecom services;tenant relations management

Goodyear Dunlop Tires Polska;Yamaha; Urzàd Lotnictwa

Cywilnego; PGNiG; Bauer WoltbildMedia

WND2001

WNDKamila Z´bikManaging Director

24

Avestus Real Estate Sp. z o.o.ul. Nowogrodzka 47A, 00-695 Warsaw22 520-6000/22 520-6001marketing@avestusrealestate.comwww.avestusrealestate.com

36,300-

36,300

2-2

79,300-

79,300

3-3

International Business Center A and B(Warsaw)

WNDGLL Real Estate Partners; DEKA

Immobilien WND1994

NoneAvestus Capital Partners -

100%

Bartosz PuzdrowskiCountry Manager

25

Agencja Inwestycyjna Corp - SAPl. Bankowy 2, 00-095 Warsaw22 635-3500/22 831-0645corp@corp-sa.plwww.corp-sa.pl

33,155WND

33,155

2WND

2

43,060WND

43,060

3WND

3B∏´kitny Wie˝owiec (Warsaw) Full real estate service

Pekao; PKO BP; Warsaw City Hall;Peugeot Polska; Gefco Polska

WND1994

First Property Poland - 1.5%;Ross - 65.4%; PKO BP -

22.3%; Warsaw City Hall-10%; Scaup - 0.7%

None

Tadeusz SzumowskiPresident

26

Gerente - Serwis NieruchomoÊci Sp. z o.o. ul. Batorego 20, 02-591 Warsaw22 658-0514/22 658-0514info@gerente.plwww.gerente.pl

23,102-

23,102

10-

10

29,102-

29,102

13-

13

Harsco Infrastructure (Baniocha); FenixCapital (Warsaw); Fenix Opportunities(Warsaw); Collins Property (Warsaw)

Administration; financial services;cleaning; technical maintenance;lease management; concierge

services

Harsco Infrastructure; Fenix Capital;Fenix Opportunities; Collins

Property; Centralny Zarzàd S∏u˝byWi´ziennej

162009

Jerzy Kowalczyk - 25%;WND - 75%

None

Jerzy KowalczykPresident

27

METRO Group Asset ManagementSp. z o.o.Al. Krakowska 61, 02-183 Warsaw22 500-0000/22 500-0118info@metro-mam.plwww.metro-mam.pl

21,500-

21,500

1-1

1,093,000WNDWND

457WNDWND

M1 Czeladê (Czeladê); M1 Kraków(Kraków); M1 Poznaƒ (Poznaƒ);

Magnolia park (Wroc∏aw); GaleriaPiastów (Legnica)

Project development; constructionmanagement; leasing; property

management; energymanagement

Makro C&C; Real; Praktiker; MediaMarkt; Rank Progress

2901996

NoneMETRO Group - WND%

Renata Kinde-Czy˝;Andreas Thamm

Board Member; President

28

PBW Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Górczewska 124, 01-460 Warsaw22 533-4003/22 533-4004www.pbw.pl

18,948-

18,948

2-2

156,448-

156,448

6-6

Atrium Tower (Warsaw); Klif Tower(Warsaw)

WND AEW EuropeWND1996

NoneWND -100%

Antoni Krzàta∏aWND

29

Atrium 21 Sp. z o.o.ul.Stefana Batorego 20, 02-591 Warsaw22 825-9892/22 825-0440info@atrium21.plwww.atrium21.pl

14,000-

14,000

3-3

1,114,000-

1,114,000

106-

106District Court (Warsaw) Administration; financial services

ZGN Warszawa - Ochota; 103residential communities in Warsaw

851998

WND - 100%None

Piotr KuligowskiPresident

11th New HorizonsInternational Film FestivalVarious locations aroundWroc∏awJuly 21-31

This year's New Horizonswill mark the 11th edition ofthe biggest film festival in

Poland. Offering a voice tovisionary and alternativedirectors, the festival hostsaround 430 feature and doc-umentary films from over 50 countries. ●

For the full festival program logon to www.nowehoryzonty.pl

JULY 11-24, 2011AARRTTSS && CCUULLTTUURREE22 www.wbj.pl

Centre for Contemporary Artat Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2www.csw.art.pl

Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4www.czarnagaleria.art.pl

Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11awww.owzpap.pl

Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65www.galeria65.com

Galeria Appendix 2 (Praga)ul. Bia∏ostocka 9www.appendix2.com

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu

Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4www.galeriafoksal.pl

Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A (Praga)www.milano.arts.pl

Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39www.galeriaschody.pl

Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36www.galeriaxx1.pl

Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8www.zoya.art.pl Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4www.greengallery.pl

Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Galleryul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul.Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 42/44and Old Town Square 19/21www.napiorkowska.pl

Królikarnia National Galleryul. Pu∏awska 113awww.krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl

Le Guern Galleryul. Widok 8, www.leguern.pl

Museum of IndependenceAl. SolidarnoÊci 62www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl

National Museum in Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3www.mnw.art.pl

Polish National Opera atTeatr WielkiPl. Teatralny 1www.teatrwielki.pl

Pracownia Galeriaul. Emilii Plater 14www.pracowniagaleria.pl

Rempex Art and Auction Houseul. Karowa 31www.rempex.com.pl

Royal CastlePl. Zamkowy 4www.zamek-krolewski.com.plSimonis Galleryul. Burakowska 9www.simonisgallery.com

State ArchaeologicalMuseum in Warsawul. D∏uga 52 (Arsena∏) www.pma.pl

State Ethnographic Museumul. Kredytowa 1www.ethnomuseum.website.pl

Historical Museum of Warsaw Old Town Square 28-42www.mhw.pl

History Meeting House of Warsaw ul. Karowa 20www.dsh.waw.pl

Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5www.filharmonia.pl

Warsaw Rising Museum ul. Grzybowska 79www.1944.pl

Wilanów Palace Museumand Wilanów PosterMuseumul. St Kostki Potockiego 10/16www.milanow-palac.plwww.postermuseum.pl

Zachęta National Art GalleryPl. Ma∏achowskiego 3www.zacheta.art.pl

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

Buena Vista Social ClubSala KongresowaPl. Defilad 1July 24, 6 pm

Recognized as a worldwidephenomenon, the energy-filledveterans that make up Cubanmusic ensemble the BuenaVista Social Club have touredsuccessfully across the globesince Wim Wenders’ landmarkfilm of the same name wasreleased in the late 1990s. ●For more information andtickets log on to www.kongre-sowa.pl, www.ticketpro.pl

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Samba FestivalLa Playa Music Barul. Wybrze˝e Helskie 1/5July 16, 7 pm

This celebration of all that issamba includes performanc-es, parties and workshops.The festival is the culmina-tion of a long-running proj-ect by the Afro-BrazilianFoundation Center (Fun-dacja Centrum Kultury

Afro-Brazylijskiej) to pro-mote the festive nature ofBrazil. Entry is priced at z∏.20 with tickets available

at the door. ●

For more information log on towww.sambafestival.pl

Music festival

Samba on the banks of the Vistula

John MayallKlub Stodo∏a ul. Batorego 10July 13, 6 pm

Founder of John Mayall andthe Bluesbreakers, Mayallhas been an influential figurein the careers of manyartists, including Eric Clap-ton. Regarded as the Godfa-ther of British Blues, thiscomeback performance pro-mises to be an event toremember. ●For more information log onto www.stodola.pl

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Roxy FestivalSowiƒski Park Amphitheaterul. Elekcyjna 17July 15, 7 pm

Mark Ronson, known for hitssuch as “Valerie,” opens thisnew addition to the festival cir-cuit. The mission statement ofthe festival is to promoteunconventional artists as well asto offer its audience an alterna-tive to more prevalent commer-cial endeavors. ●

For more information and tick-ets, check in-store at EMPiK,Saturn, Media Markt, or log onto www.eventim.pl or www.tick-etpro.pl

Music festival

A celebration of unconventional music

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Film’s new horizons

Content provided by theWarsaw Insider. Formore information onculture and enter-tainment in Warsaw this month, pick up the July issue.

JULY 11-24, 2011 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 23

TTeecchh aanndd ttooyyss ffoorr tthhee ffaaiirreerr sseexxTech Eye

How it happened we have no idea,but it seems we’ve acquired a reputa-tion as an incorrigible man-pig,despite the fact that we’re alwayswhistling to let the ladies know they’reappreciated. The situation has gottenso completely out of hand that ourdear wife has stopped fetching us beerand Mum won’t do our laundry anymore.

Let it be said for the record –Techeye is no chauvinist. Why just lastweek, seeing a damsel imperiled by amud puddle, we sprang into action,tossing the nearest dwarf straight

into that puddle, enabling the lovelyyoung lady to saunter gorgeously onher way. Ok, yes, it turned out thatthe dwarf was also a woman. Sowhat? Faced with a tough situation,we chose the shorter lesser of twoevils.

Techeye is always performingsuch gentlemanly feats, so it must bea misunderstanding that has tar-nished our reputation. In any case,we plan to rectify the situation, andif our knightly deeds count for littleamong the Y-chromosomally chal-lenged, we’ll just have to try using

words. That in mind, we’re dedicat-ing the rest of this column to cut-ting-edge tech for the ladies.

One gadget that practicallyscreams “Take me home, woman!”is the Clockman from Takaratomy(www.takaratomy-arts.co.jp/spe-cials/clockman). In fact, it mightactually scream that; we’re not sure,since the thing only speaksJapanese. For what it’s worth, theinstruction video on YouTubeshowed a female owner plainlyunperturbed by her Clockman’sincessant squawking.

Non-Japanese speakers willclearly have to enjoy this thing on itsown quirky merits, such as they are.You can get one from Rakuten(global.rakuten.com/en) for aboutz∏.155 plus shipping, but beware asthe description reads like haikucrafted by robots:

“You can watch the digital displaybut no needles. I watch, and talk tothe waste. Loud you feel, please laynext to each body. Sleeping quietlynow. Since the clock, the time isaccurate. The talk time and depend-ing on the season.”

Right. Anyway, for the ladieswhose biological Clockmen are

already ticking at full volume, Tech-eye might suggest the Autowed Wed-ding Machine by Concept Shed(www.conceptshed.com).

The AutoWed is “a novelty wed-ding machine offering a quick hitch,a couple of rings and a personalizedcertificate for just GBP1/$1.” Themachine performs a short ceremony,plays some tinny wedding music andthere you go. No, it’s not legally bind-ing, except maybe for shotgun wed-dings involving first cousins fromWest Virginia.

We didn’t spot a price for theAutoWed, but its makers cordiallyinvite interested parties to“call us and we will buildyou one to order.”

And finally, a little some-thing for the wives andmoms out there – theEP-MA70KX massagechair from Panasonic(www.panasonic.com).That’s right ladies, thisis the perfect throneupon which torepose andthrow sharpobjects at themen-folk.

This fauxleather-upholstered

seat boasts a total of 33 airbags, 108possible massage combinations(including 3D massage, whateverthat is) and it comes with a voice-operated remote control in case yourbody has been massaged into a stateof total lethargy. It does have somerather weird features as well though,such as an alarming “buttocks, pelvis& thigh stretching” feature. The brit-tle-pelvised should take care.

The EP-MA70KX costs $7,999.95,but after a long day spent dealing withidiot men, you’ll consider it moneywell spent. ●

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Ever been beaten senseless by an enraged, mud-covered little person? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com