WBJ #27-28 2012

VOLUME 18, NUMBER 27-28 • JULY 9-22, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

PPrroouudd PPoollaannddThe country produced a world-class

championship tournament, and Poles

are right to feel great about it 5, 14

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

WW

W.W

BJ.P

L

Breaking through

American football isPoland’s fastest growingsport, and businesses aregetting in on the action

12-13

TThhee ssaaggaa ccoonnttiinnuueessThe most recent EU summit yielded more

progress than usual, but much still remains

unresolved 3

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

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

Euro 2012 in Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7

Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9

Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . .10

Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13

Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-17

The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19

Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

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

• HB Reavis offices

• Property in Praga

• Residential in focus:

Developers

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F H

B R

EA

VIS

LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

Tech Eye: Tablet computersfrom Microsoft and Google

Interview: David Yi-min LiuTaiwan’s top diplomatic representativein Poland discusses trade andChinese relations 8-923

The World Bank says

Poland’s economic

growth will lead the

region this year

10

2.9%

In this issue

Breaking through

0

20

40

60

80

100

Romani

a*Spa

inFra

nce

Poland

Czech R

epublicEU27

Germany

Lithuan

iaUKBel

gium

Luxem

bourg*

*

**Highest in EU27*Lowest in EU27

JULY 9-22, 2012NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Growth

over belt-

tightening?

“It is more important to

maintain economic

growth than to cut

spending at all costs to

bring the deficit below

3% of GDP,” Deputy

Finance Minister Jacek

Dominik told reporters.

Economists understand

these words clearly:

Since the economy is

slowing down, the

government will now

ease up slightly on

austerity measures,

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

wrote. In order to achieve

his goal of lowering the

deficit to 2.9% of GDP,

Finance Minister Jacek

Rostowski would have to

cut expenses

significantly.

Belarusian

dissident

releasedBelarusian officials

conditionally released

outspoken critic of the

government, Andrzej

Poczobut, from jail in late

June. Mr Poczobut, the

Belarus correspondent

for Gazeta Wyborcza, was

arrested for insulting

Belarusian President

Alexander Lukashenko.

The release came ahead

of Mr Lukashenko’s visit

to Ukraine for the final of

Euro 2012, an event for

which Polish President

Bronis∏aw Komorowski

was also in Kiev.

PO to introduce

LGBT

protectionsPoland’s LGBT

community may soon

receive protection against

hate-speech crimes as

the result of a new

amendment to Poland’s

penal code that Civic

Platform (PO) plans to

submit to parliament.

The code currently

penalizes hate speech

motivated by race,

ethnicity or nationality.

Those found guilty can

face punishments from a

fine to as much as two

years in prison.

Bankruptcies

continue

to riseSome 417 Polish

companies went bankrupt

in the first half of the

year, according to data

from Coface Poland and

Bisnode Polska. That’s

20% more than in the

corresponding period of

2011. ●

ABI Research................23

Ablon Group ..................15

Alma Market ................17

AP Szczepanik ..............15

Apple..............................23

Areva ................................7

Asus ..............................23

Atlas Estates ................16

Bisnode Polska ..............2

BZ WBK ........................11

CA Immo ......................17

CBRE ............................17

Coface Poland ................2

Dom Development ......16

E&L Architects ............15

Echo Investment ..........16

EDF ..................................7

Eko-Park ......................16

Enea ..............................13

Energa ..........................13

Espirito Santo

Investment ......................5

Fenix Capital ................16

Gdaƒsk Shipyard ............5

GE Hitachi Nuclear

Energy..............................7

Google............................23

HB Reavis Poland ........15

Home Broker ................16

HP ....................................6

HSBC ............................11

Icon Real Estate............16

Ipopema Securities ........5

KBC................................13

Kulczyk Holding SA ........3

Lenovo ..........................23

Lotos ..............................12

Lubasa ..........................15

Magnus Group ..............16

Maylane Polska ............16

Mediterranean Shipping

Company ......................12

Meji Yasuda ..................13

Menolly Poland ............16

Microsoft........................23

Myoni Group..................16

Orco Property Group ....16

Orlen ..............................12

PBG..................................5

peter nielsen &

partners ..........................7

PGE ............................7, 13

PGE EJ ..........................17

PGE Energia Jàdrowa....7

Polish American Football

League ..........................12

Prime Real Estate

Solutions........................12

Rafako..............................5

RED-Real Estate

Development ................15

redNet Property Group 16

Retail Provider ..............17

Ryanair ............................4

Samsung ......................23

Saudi Aramco ..............12

Skanska Property

Group ............................15

Sky Club ..........................7

Synthos............................5

Tacit Development

Polska............................16

Talanx

International AG............13

Tarczyƒski......................12

Tauron............................13

Tesco................................6

The National Sports

Centre ............................13

Toshiba ............................7

UBM ..............................17

Warsaw Stock

Exchange ........................3

Warta..............................13

Westinghouse ................7

WindSpace ......................6

Wizz Air............................4

WS Sanniki ......................6

X-Trade Brokers DM ....20

Zdrojowa Invest ............16

Following the national soccerteam’s disappointing group-stage exit at Euro 2012, atten-tion is now firmly fixed onPoland’s Olympic team.

Poland’s throwers offer per-haps the best chance ofOlympic glory in London, withgold-medal winning shot putterTomasz Majewski currently infine form following victory atthe Polish national champi-onships in mid-June. The 300-pound athlete won gold in the2008 Beijing Olympics with athrow of 21.51 meters, andmore of the same will beexpected of him in this year’sevent.

Piotr Ma∏achowski, whowon silver in the discus in 2008,is another of whom much is

expected in London. Mr Ma∏a-chowski lacks the height ofmost discus throwers, but morethan makes up for it with hisfast ring speed. On the track,European 800-meter champi-on Marcin Lewandowski willface strong competition fromthe world’s best, while Polandis one of just four countries tohave entered a team for eachof the four relays.

Polish tennis star Agniesz-ka Radwaƒska could also beexpected to challenge for gold,following her history-makingmarch to the Wimbledon final(see story, p. 21).

In team sports, Poland’smen’s volleyball team isexpected to fare well, follow-ing its victory in the FIVB

World League Finals over theworld’s top-ranked side,Brazil.

But the buildup to thegames hasn’t been just abouton-field heroics. Sprintcanoeist Aneta Konieczna,who won silver in 2008, saysshe will defy the odds and com-pete in the games, despite herongoing battle with cancer.“Cancer does not choose. But Iwould not want to talk beforethe games about [whethergoing] was risking my life orhealth,” she told reporters.

“I feel very good, I amready to start in London,” shesaid.

Undoubtedly the biggeststar of the games will beJamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.The three-time Olympic goldmedalist holds the worldrecord in the 100 meters, the200 meters and – along withhis teammates – the 4 x 100meters relay record. However,Mr Bolt was beaten in both the100 meters and 200 meters byYohan Blake in the JamaicanOlympic trials, suggesting thebattle for his Olympic titleswill be fierce.

Fireworks can also beexpected from the Braziliansoccer team, which is packedfull of attacking talent in thelikes of Neymar, Hulk andAlexandre Pato.

The Olympics will takeplace in London between July27 and August 12.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

z∏.20 million is how much Kulczyk Holding has donated towards the

construction of the Museum of the History of PolishJews.

48 points was the level to which the Polish manufacturingPurchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell in June,

reaching a 35-month low.

z∏.1.72 billion is the amount five leading Polish companies plan toinvest in shale gas research and production by 2016.

4.75 percent is the current benchmark interest rate in Poland

following the monthly meeting of the Monetary PolicyCouncil. The Council left the rate unchanged from last

month.

“Ewa Kopacz is kicking democracy in the ass.”Robert Biedroƒ, an MP from the liberal Palikot’s Movement party, complainsabout Speaker of the Sejm Ewa Kopacz of the ruling Civic Platform party, whohe says is not allowing the opposition’s legislative proposals to even be debatedin parliament.

Quote of the Week

Bunkers of northern PolandThe Mazury district is celebrated mainly for its virginlakes and magnificent forests. Follow WBJ ’s sisterpublication Warsaw Insider as it explores the modernhistory of Mazury while exposing the district’s moresinister side.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

JULY14 RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRANCEEvent: A new way to celebrate July 14. On that day

supporters of France, inhabitants of the capi-tal and tourists will come to Saska K´pa. Itshould be a great opportunity to promote theFrench presence in Poland and to strengthenthe image of French companies.

Location: Saska K´paWeb: ccifp.pl

15 NAC VII SUPERFINAŁEvent: The championship of the top league of

Poland’s American football association,known as the NAC VII Superfina∏, will pit thecountry’s two best teams from this up-and-coming sport against each other – and in theNational Stadium in Warsaw no less. Therewill be several activities during the day lead-ing up to the final, and is set to be a familyfriendly affair, with plenty for the kids to do.

Location: National Stadium, WarsawWeb: superfinal.pl

17 YOUNG ART AUCTIONEvent: Works by young artists will be auctioned off,

with the starting price of each work atz∏.500.

Location: DESA Unicum, ul. Marsza∏kowska 34-50 at 7p.m

Web: desa.pl

AUGUST10-14 ARABIAN HORSE DAYSEvent: Arabian Horse Days are an annual event

dedicated to Polish Purebred Arabian Horsesorganized by the Polish State Studs inJanów Podlaski, Micha∏ów and Bia∏ka tohonour the Polish Arabian Horse breedingprogram.

Location: Janów PodlaskiWeb: prideofpoland.pl

July/August

DATELINE

Poland’s Olympic hopefuls

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focusTravel choicesOutbound holiday trips as a percentage of total holidays,selected EU27 countries in 2011

Source: Eurostat

Tomasz Majewski

JULY 9-22, 2012 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

European

Parliament

rejects ACTA

The European Parliament

has voted against signing

up to the controversial

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade

Agreement (ACTA). ACTA

aimed to protect the

intellectual property in

both digital and physical

goods. It was originally

supported by the Polish

government but Prime

Minister Donald Tusk

changed his mind after

several demonstrations

against the treaty were

held in Poland.

WSE dividend

payouts rise

Companies listed on the

Warsaw Stock Exchange

might pay out a total of

z∏.27 billion in dividends

this year, according to

calculations by business

daily Parkiet. This would

be a new record for the

Warsaw bourse. The

number of companies

sharing their profits is

also higher than ever. At

least 144 firms will pay

out a dividend this year,

compared to only 127 in

2011.

Gas pipeline

progress

Poland and Lithuania are

moving forward with

plans that will see the

two countries link their

natural gas pipelines. Co-

financed by the European

Commission within the

TransEuropean Energy

Network Program and

the Baltic Energy

Interconnection Plan, the

project is part of the

development of the

North-South Energy

Corridor in Europe.

Pawlak: no

real property

taxReports that the

government was

considering the

introduction of a real

property tax – by which

property would be taxed

based on its value – were

denied by Deputy Prime

Minister and Economy

Minister Waldemar

Pawlak, who dismissed

the idea as that of a

“loony.” Mr Pawlak’s

Polish People’s Party

represents rural

farmers, many of whom

own small pieces of

farmland whose value on

the real estate market

has rocketed since

Poland joined the

European Union. ●

Euro-zone crisis

BBaattttllee ttoo ssaavvee eeuurroo zzoonnee ccoonnttiinnuueess

The outcome of the June 28-29 EU summit in Brussels, thelatest in a series of meetingsheld to find solutions to thecurrent euro-zone crisis,exceeded expectations.

EU leaders decided that theEuropean Stability Mechanism(ESM), the euro-zone rescuefund that is scheduled to comeinto operation on July 9, will beallowed to recapitalize banksdirectly rather than throughgovernments only. They alsoagreed on establishing a com-mon banking supervisor, run bythe European Central Bank(ECB), which they hope couldbegin work in 2013.

After the summit, Euro-pean Council President Her-man Van Rompuy said that itwas “imperative to break thevicious circle between banksand sovereigns,” that leavesgovernments heavily indebtedafter they bail out troubledfinancial institutions. Howev-er, direct recapitalization ofbanks is on hold until theECB takes up its bankingsupervisory role. That will notbe a painless or easy process –the proposal will have to be

approved by all 27 EU mem-ber states.

Nevertheless, markets re-acted very positively to thesummit, surging in the imme-diate aftermath.

Since then, the Finnish andthe Dutch governments havethrown cold water on theenthusiasm, saying that theywould block the move.

Bond yields up againThe market respite didn’t lastlong as yields of the Spanishbenchmark bonds came dan-gerously close to the 7 percentmark – widely regarded asunaffordable – on July 5. Onthe same day, the EuropeanCentral Bank cut its interestrates by 0.25 percent to 0.75percent, the lowest level sincethe euro zone was estab-lished.

It nevertheless stopped farshort of the measures manyanalysts think are needed tostem Europe’s debt crisis, suchas additional stimulus, govern-ment-bond purchases, orleveraging Europe’s rescuefunds with ECB financing.

“We didn’t discuss” excep-

tional stimulus measures out-side of interest rates, ECBPresident Mario Draghi saidat a press conference, adding

that the existing firewalls setup by governments to stem thecrisis are sufficient to addressmarket concerns. But he also

didn’t rule out more far-reach-ing action, saying, “we stillhave all our artillery.”

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

Jewish Heritage

JJeewwiisshh hhiissttoorryy mmuusseeuumm sseeccuurreess bbiigg ddoonnaattiioonnss

The money will go todeveloping the coreexhibition of themuseum

The Museum of the Historyof the Polish Jews, which is setto open in October 2013, hasreceived millions in donationsin a series of negotiationsconducted over the last fewweeks. The museum says thefunding will go to developingits core exhibition.

The Koret Foundation andthe Taube Foundation forJewish Life and Culture havejointly donated a total sum of$7.3 million over the last fewweeks.

“The Museum of the His-tory of Polish Jews addressestwo key initiatives of theKoret Foundation,” said TadTaube, the Koret board presi-dent. These are engaging con-versation about the collectiveJewish experience and curb-

ing anti-Semitism, he said.Kulczyk Holding SA, a pri-

vate equity firm owned byPolish oligarch Jan Kulczyk,has also donated z∏.20 million(about $5.9 million), consti-tuting the museum’s largestsingle grant from a privatedonor.

“The museum is veryhappy and satisfied. We havecompleted our fund-raisingjob for the exhibition. It was avery important mission,” said

Piotr Kossobudzki, spokes-person for the museum.

The core exhibition, “1,000years of the history of the Pol-ish Jews” will be a permanentfeature documenting Jewishhistory within Poland and willform the heart of the muse-um. Some of the money willalso go to operating the mod-ern auditorium.

The total value of invest-ment in the museum isroughly z∏.330 million – the

construction of the buildinghas been funded by govern-ment grants of up to z∏.200million, while the exhibitionhas been financed by a vari-ety of private and institution-al donations valued at z∏.130million.

The preliminary openingdate for the museum is Octo-ber 20, 2013. Next year willmark 70 years since the War-saw Ghetto uprising.

AAnntthhoonnyy AAddaammss

The euro zone’s leaders and the EuropeanCentral Bank have cranked up their efforts toquell the ongoing crisis in the currency union.Will it be enough?

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F T

HE

EU

RO

PE

AN

PO

EP

LE

’S P

AR

TY

Mr Van Rompuy said the “vicious circle between banks and sovereigns” must be broken

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F T

HE

MU

SE

UM

OF

TH

E H

IST

OR

Y O

F T

HE

PO

LIS

H J

EW

S

The total value of investment in the museum is roughly z∏.330 million

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F T

HE

MU

SE

UM

OF

TH

E H

IST

OR

Y O

F T

HE

PO

LIS

H J

EW

S

The museum is set to open in October 2013

Warsaw Business Journal PDF version and a link to view WBJ in e-zine format delivered to your e-mail address each week for 12 months.

Choose one option by checking the box

OPTION 1

Warsaw Business Journal print edition delivered each week to your address for 12 months, plus receive Investing in Poland 2012 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2012 (zł.100 value).

Warsaw Business Journal print edition delivered each week to your address for 12 months, plus WBJ PDF version and a link to view WBJ in e-zine format delivered to your e-mail address each week. Also receive Investing in Poland 2012 (zł.78 value) and Book of Lists 2012 (zł.100 value).

CLIENT DETAILS

Name......................................................................................................................Company......................................................................................................................Address......................................................................................................................Postal code......................................................................................................................City......................................................................................................................Country......................................................................................................................Telephone/Fax......................................................................................................................e-mail......................................................................................................................NIP (Poland)/EU VAT number (EU countries)......................................................................................................................

Please fax this form to: +48 22 639 85 69 or mail it to our office: Subscriptions Warsaw Business Journal Valkea Media S.A. ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, Poland

PAYMENT OPTIONS (please check one)

❏ Pre-payment by bank transfer upon receipt of a pro-forma invoice. The pro-forma invoice will be sent to you immediately upon receipt of your order. Your subscription will start within one week of payment.

❏ Credit card: ❏ American Express ❏ Visa ❏ Mastercard

Cardholder name

......................................................................................................................Number

......................................................................................................................

CVV2/CVC2/CID Expiration date

....................................................... ............................................................

Signature

......................................................................................................................

SUBSCRIBE FOR 1 YEAR AND SAVE UP TO 50% OFF THE COVER PRICE

Wafor

[email protected], OR CALL +48 (22) 678-9912

Everywhere: zł.424

In Poland: zł.550 In Europe: €297 Outside Europe: €374

In Poland: zł.691 In Europe: €330 Outside Europe: €407

WBJ IS NOW AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT.READ WBJ AS A PDF OR E-ZINE.

❏

OPTION 2❏ WBJ Print

OPTION 3❏ WBJ PremiumWBJ Electronic

JULY 9-22, 2012NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Modlin Airport set for first takeoff in mid-July

The new Modlin Airport nearWarsaw is nearing completion,with the first flight scheduledto take off on July 16.

The opening of the airportmarks a shift for low-cost air-lines operating in Poland. Theairport is the first in the coun-try to have been built specifi-cally for low-cost carriers. Sofar both Ryanair and Wizz Airhave chosen to operate flightsout of the airport. Their firstflights will take off on July 16

and 18 respectively.Edyta Miko∏ajczyk, a

spokesperson for the airport,said that Modlin “has a hugemarket capacity,” since Polesstill fly less frequently com-pared to other Europeans. Shesaid that low-cost air travelcould help boost the populari-ty of air travel in generalamong Poles.

Ms Miko∏ajczyk believesModlin will attract airlines andpassengers with its low servic-

ing costs, and hopes that highdemand will eventually enablethe airport to build a secondrunway and double passengertraffic.

Located 40 km outside ofWarsaw, Modlin has beenrebuilt on the site of a formermilitary airfield. The new air-port will have an annual capac-ity of two million passengerswith a runway stretching 2,500meters.


Visa-free travel forinhabitants of theRussian exclave andparts of northeasternPoland will come intoforce at the end ofJuly

The border between Russia’sKaliningrad oblast and Polandis expected to see an increasein crossings by Poles and Rus-sians from the end of July,when an agreement for visa-free travel is due to come intoforce.

The Local Border TrafficAgreement between Russiaand Poland is due to come intoeffect on July 27, Russianambassador to Poland Aleksan-dr Alekseev told state newsagency Ria Novosti. The Polish-Russian agreement covers allinhabitants of the Kaliningradoblast and those from largeparts of the Polish Pomorskieand Warmiƒsko-Mazurskievoivodships, including the citiesof Gdaƒsk and Olsztyn.

The Polish-Russian deal wasannounced last November atthe European Border DialogueForum and ratification docu-ments were exchanged in lateJune this year.

Stronger ties“This is an important event inour relations with Poland,” saidMr Alexeev. According to theambassador, the agreement willpromote tourism and businesscontacts between the countries.

Permanent residents in thearea will be entitled to cross theborder without visas, but willneed a valid passport and a spe-cial permit. Most Poles nowrequire a visa to visit Russia,while most Russians have tomeet the same requirement tovisit Poland. At a cost of €20,the new permit will be issuedfor two years, with each subse-quent permit valid for fiveyears. Residents will be allowed

to stay in the relevant neighbor-ing area for up to 30 days at atime and for up to 90 days in thecourse of half a year.

The permit allows for multi-ple entries, exits and stays,although only via land (roadand railway) border-crossings.These include crossings in Go∏-dap, Bezledy, Grzechotki,Gronowo and Braniewo.

While Schengen regulationsallow for the formation of localborder traffic zones only in a 30km, and in rare cases 50 km,radius, the new Polish-Russianzone covers a territory that ismuch larger and includes sever-al million people.

ZZooffiiaa RRóó˝̋aallsskkaa

Polish-Russian relations

Kaliningrad border-crossingdeal set for implementation

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

Low-cost carriers including Wizz Air will take off from Modlin this July

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

Kaliningrad is wedged between Poland and Lithuania

KKaalliinniinnggrraadd

JULY 9-22, 2012 EEUURROO 22001122 IINN FFOOCCUUSS www.wbj.pl 5

PBG names

new CEOTroubled Polish builder

PBG has chosen Wies∏aw

Ró˝acki to replace co-

founder Jerzy WiÊniewski

as chief executive. The

new CEO is also the head

of PBG’s subsidiary

Rafako. Mr WiÊniewski,

PBG’s largest

shareholder, resigned

along with his deputy

Przemys∏aw

Szkudlarczyk. Both have

taken up positions on the

supervisory board.

Management at debt-

laden PBG has come

under pressure after the

company declared

bankruptcy.

Pu∏awy:

Synthos bid

too low In a statement published

in late June, the board of

chemical group Pu∏awy

negatively assessed the

takeover bid from local

rival Synthos, arguing

that the offer price is

significantly lower than

the fair value, Gazeta

Wyborcza reported.

Management also

recommended that the

company’s shareholders

not sell their stakes.

Gdaƒsk

Shipyard needs

600 new

workers

The Gdaƒsk Shipyard is

looking for qualified

workers, including

welders and fitters, to fill

600 vacancies, reported

Gazeta Wyborcza.

Approximately half of the

workers will be

employed this year, with

the rest taken on during

2013. The best-qualified

workers will be offered

monthly salaries of as

much as z∏.7,000, the

company said in a

statement. “The yard is

going to be the best-

paying employer in the

shipping industry in this

region,” said Arkadiusz

Aszyk, board member of

the Gdaƒsk Shipyard.

Small

businesses

survivingSome 78% of small

businesses registered in

Poland in 2010 made it

through 2011, according

to the most recent data

from Poland’s Central

Statistical Office. That’s a

higher percentage than in

previous years, even

prior to the global

economic crisis. ●

In its succesful co-hosting of Euro 2012,Poland achieved whatmany thought wasimpossible

Poland and Ukraine’s time asco-hosts of Euro 2012 is nowover but the assessment fromboth foreign visitors and thetournament’s organizers alikeis that the championship was aroaring success.

Poland’s Minister of SportJoanna Mucha asked a pressconference at the start of Julyto consider three factors whenjudging whether the countryhad achieved what it set out todo. These were: investments ininfrastructure, organizationand preparation, and the ener-gy and enthusiasm of Polesduring Euro 2012.

“The reviews of foreignfans and media, and researchcarried out among Poles indi-cates that we have succeeded,”Ms Mucha said.

“The most valuable factor,however, was the unique

atmosphere that accompaniedthe championship and con-vinced Poles that they can effi-ciently carry a great sportingevent and become a real host,”she added.

This view was shared by theBBC’s chief soccer writer PhilMcNulty, who labeled bothPoland and Ukraine “perfecthosts,” on his blog, beforegoing on to say that both coun-tries now have the right to cel-ebrate a tournament that didthem both great credit.

“This was ... a wonderfullyenjoyable tournament, on andoff the pitch. From the searingheat of Donetsk’s DonbassArena, through Warsaw andon to exciting, edgy Kiev forthe final, the people of Polandand Ukraine were friendly,welcoming and unfailinglypolite and helpful,” MrMcNulty wrote.

“The people of Poland andUkraine deserved their tour-nament to have that finale –fine people who staged a finetournament won by arguablythe greatest international

team the game has ever seen,”he added.

Numbers gameAccording to research by PBSsome 90 percent of Poles areproud of the country’s organi-zation of the tournament, with97 percent believing they weregood hosts. This is a markedturnaround from opinionsbefore the tournament whenmany Poles feared the champi-onship would not be a success.

Indeed, the real victory forPoland may have been the wayEuro 2012 has changed per-ceptions of the country bothfrom the point of view of for-eigners and Poles themselves.

Evidence of this is therecord number of fans whopacked the country’s fan zonesduring the three-week extrava-ganza. More than three mil-lion people, the majority ofthem Poles, watched thematches in Gdaƒsk, Kraków,Poznaƒ, Warsaw, andWroc∏aw, showing that peoplebought in to excitement of theevent.

There were disappoint-ments, though, as the numberof fans who visited Poland waslower than expected, aninevitable consequence of nothaving the best-supportedteams – England, Sweden,Holland or Germany – playinggames in the country beforethe semi-final stage.

The Financial Timesreported that Poland will earnan estimated z∏.600 millionfrom hosting the tournament,compared to the previouslypredicted z∏.800 million.

But Euro 2012 was neverreally about the short term, itwas about changing percep-tions and attracting new peo-ple, while at the same timemodernizing two countriesthat were previously light yearsbehind Western Europe interms of infrastructure.

According to co-organizersPL.2012, as many as 500,000extra tourists will visit Polandper year following Euro 2012,proving that in the long termthe country is a guaranteedwinner. DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Euro 2012 assessments

TThhee ppeerrffeecctt hhoosstt

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

Poland has received high praise for its co-hosting of

Euro 2012

Many constructionfirms overextendedthemselves ahead ofEuro 2012

As the memories of Euro 2012begin to fade, its legacy contin-ues to be felt by companies inPoland’s construction sectorand by the operators of its shinynew stadiums. While Poland’sinfrastructure has certainlyreceived a boost, the champi-onships haven’t been kind tomany of the firms that built it.

The tournament has left itsmost damaging scars on thecountry’s construction sector,which has witnessed a spate ofbankruptcies in recentmonths. PBG, which becamedeeply indebted due to itsinvolvement in Euro 2012infrastructure projects, is oneof the latest to get into trouble,announcing in early June thatit had filed for bankruptcy.Many other firms – and partic-ularly road builders – havealso overextended themselvesin an attempt to take part inthe building boom ahead ofthe championships.

In the years leading up tothe tournament Poland trans-formed itself into a building siteas it strove to build highwaysbefitting of a host nation. Road-building volumes reached apeak of z∏.30 billion this yearbut are expected to crash toaround z∏.10 billion next year,leaving indebted builders strug-gling for sources of revenue.

Inevitable comedown“The market is shrinking,there are very few new tendersbeing signed by the govern-ment – this is a bad indicator,”said Tomasz Duda, an analystat Ipopema Securities.

“The need for new roads ishigh, but there are budget con-straints,” he added.

The government has prom-ised to rein in infrastructureinvestments to ensure publicdebt doesn’t exceed the legallymandated 55 percent debt-to-GDP threshold. The amountof money Poland is due toreceive in the next EU budgetcycle, meanwhile, remainsuncertain, leaving resourcesstretched for the next twoyears.

Investments in power proj-ects are expected to boost theconstruction sector, but not byanywhere near enough tomake up for the shortfall inroad contracts.

“The power sector willcompensate a little, but themarket is too small. The roadsector is worth z∏.120 billionwhile the power sector is val-ued at no greater than z∏.50billion, plus execution of proj-ects takes twice as long in thepower sector,” Mr Duda said.

Analysts forecast morebankruptcies this year, withroad construction firmsexpected to struggle with debtand a comparative dearth ofcontracts over the next coupleof years. The government has

stepped into the wreckage,promising in certain cases topay unpaid road contractors.

“Those who do survive willneed to compete in a shrinkingmarket,” said Mr Duda.

“The construction sectorwill experience a downturn”over the next one or two years,said Maciej Hebda, an analystat Espirito Santo Investment.

Stadiums of the future?While builders such as PBG,which helped build three ofthe four Polish stadiums forEuro 2012, have fallen onhard times, the operators ofthe facilities are determinedto ensure the structures havea life beyond Euro 2012.

“We are starting to build our

brand and feature on the globalevents calendar,” said Agniesz-ka GabryÊ, a spokesperson forWroc∏aw 2012, the companythat operates Wroc∏aw’s Euro2012 stadium.

This year the stadium is dueto host several internationalsoccer matches – includingBrazil vs Japan – and a numberof high-profile concerts.

Looking at the longerterm, the stadium is expectedto be profitable, the companysays. “We have somethinggoing on every single day ofthis year, and there are goingto be more and more events,”said Ms GabryÊ. “Being inWroc∏aw we are close toPrague and Berlin, so we canattract big concert tours visit-

ing those cities.”The arena also offers

rental, conference and officespace – much like the otherthree host stadiums. TheNational Stadium in Warsaw,meanwhile, is expected to bein a position to earn by itselfwithin the next few years, oncethe state finds an appropriateprivate investor to manage thecomplex.

So while a number of con-struction firms working onprojects in Poland have gonebust, the fruits of their labor –the country’s gleaming stadi-ums and brand new motor-ways – have helped modernizePoland and give it a lastinglegacy.


Euro 2012 infrastructure

RRooaadd bbuuiillddeerrss rreeaacchh ddeeaadd eenndd

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

The road-building boom left many construction firms bankrupt

Some say that a time of crisis is the

best time to invest. Investors who

adhere to this bear-market strategy

should consider the possibilities that

bonds offer. And businesses in Poland

looking for financing should consider

issuing bonds on Catalyst, the bond

market, organized by the Warsaw Stock

Exchange (the WSE).

Bonds are the most common form

of debt securities: the issuer declares

itself a debtor to the bondholder and

commits to repaying the borrowed

amount and fulfilling other obligations –

essentially that it will pay interest on

the borrowed funds.

Catalyst marketCatalyst is an organized market for

bonds, which includes four markets: 2

addressed to retail investors and 2 for

wholesale investors. Among other

things, corporate, Treasury, and munici-

pal bonds are quoted on Catalyst. It is

important to note that all business enti-

ties that have legal capacity – that is

joint-stock companies, limited liability

companies and limited partnerships –

have the right to issue corporate bonds.

Catalyst is divided into a regulated

market and alternative trading systems.

The latter is considered more liberal than

the regulated market, mostly due to the

fact that to enter the alternative trading

system, in lieu of a prospectus or a mem-

orandum approved by the Polish Financial

Supervision Authority (KNF), all that is

required is an informational document

which does not need the KNF’s approval.

Domestic and foreign investment

companies, credit institutions and other

entities that meet certain requirements

can obtain the title of Catalyst Partici-

pant, which is necessary to conduct

business on Catalyst.

Catalyst – just as the Main Market

of the WSE (where shares are traded) –

is subject to numerous legal regula-

tions, while its participants are obliged

to observe trading transparency rules

and to comply with certain disclosure

requirements.

Issuing bonds for financingbusiness The main advantage of issuing bonds

for the issuer is the fact that the bond-

holder:

• is not granted a right to the issuers’

assets;

• cannot influence the management of

the issuer; and

• does not have to be a member of

statutory bodies of the issuer.

Therefore, the bond issuer does not

diminish its rights in the company’s

management by issuing bonds.

Issuing corporate bonds can be an

attractive way for a company to gain a

financial boost, as bondholders sub-

scribe to bonds of a company at a

clearly defined price. The better the

financial situation of the issuer, the

greater its name recognition in the

market, and the higher its credit rat-

ing, the lower the risk of investing in

its bonds and hence its greater poten-

tial for a successful issue.

In December 2011 domestic and

foreign financial institutions subscribed

to corporate bonds issued by the WSE

at a value of z∏.170 million. It turned

out that the demand was five times

higher than the pool of sold securities.

These bonds were equally popular

among individual investors. For that

reason, some z∏.75 million in bonds

were set aside for individual investors.

Ultimately, however, that amount was

reduced by over 25 percent. Still, indi-

vidual investors subscribed for more

than a million bonds.

Alternative to bank financingIssuing corporate bonds is often an

alternative to raising capital through

bank loans. The key benefits of bonds

relative to bank financing are as fol-

lows:

• the issuer is responsible for determi-

nation of the bond issue, the interest

rate and length of the period;

• the issuer is responsible for choosing

the type of bond – secured, unse-

cured or partly unsecured; and

• the issuer is not burdened with proj-

ect costs under development; at the

beginning it only bears the cost of

interest, only later is it required to

repay the capital.

The basic costs of issuing bonds –

such as organizing the issue and mar-

keting to potential investors – are con-

sidered an investment risk.

Catalyst success The number of entrepreneurs who

decide to issue corporate bonds on Cat-

alyst continues to rise. In turn, particu-

larly due to the European economic cri-

sis, interest rates are also increasing.

Investors are flocking to the mar-

ket. In terms of turnover, Catalyst

recorded monthly and quarterly

records in March 2012 and Q1 2012

respectively. A report by the WSE said

that turnover in March 2012 amount-

ed to z∏.380.5 million, a four-fold

increase on the same period a year

earlier, while turnover in the first quar-

ter of 2012 amounted to z∏.580 million

– a rise of 97.3 percent compared to

the first quarter of 2011.

In conclusion, it can certainly be

said that Catalyst is developing, and it

is worth considering investing in this

market, as well as becoming a partici-

pant. ●

JULY 9-22, 2012BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl

Outsourcing

HP to open BPO center in ¸ódêThe company is cuttingjobs in more advancedeconomies butexpanding in Poland

IT company Hewlett-Packardplans to open a service centerin the central Polish city of¸ódê in the fourth quarter ofthis year. The center, which willserve as a strategic base forbusiness services in the EMEAregion, will work closely withthe firm’s existing center inWroc∏aw.

“The key criteria for choos-ing ̧ ódê was the availability ofskilled workers who speak for-eign languages, a large supplyof high-quality office space,central geographic location,growth of the airport’s routenetwork and the relatively

small distance between ¸ódêand Wroc∏aw, the city wherethe HP Global Business Cen-ter is located,” said AnnaMarciniak, a spokesperson forHP.

The new office will providebusiness process outsourcing(BPO) services in finance andaccounting, customer relation-ship management, as well ashuman resources and payrollmanagement. Employment willbe provided for several hun-dred people at the start, beforerising. The company declinedto disclose the cost of theinvestment.

“HP is opening this office inresponse to changing marketrequirements and ... growingdemands from [the] company’sBPO clients,” Ms Marciniak

said. The news of HP’s expan-

sion plans comes at a timewhen the company is in theprocess of cutting jobs in theUS and other developedeconomies, where costs arehigher. Unnamed sources tolda number of news outlets thatthe IT giant plans to cut 8,000jobs in Europe, including asmany as 1,000 positions inGermany. A further 9,000 jobswill reportedly be cut in theUS. HP announced earlierthis year that it aims to reduceglobal headcount by 27,000worldwide by 2014.

HP is present in both War-saw and Wroc∏aw. In the lattercity, the company employs over2,300 people.


Tesco launches e-shop in PolandBritish supermarket chain Tescohas launched its first e-shop onthe Polish market. The service iscurrently available to customersin Warsaw and the surroundingarea, but will be extended toWroc∏aw later in July and tobetween six and eight other Pol-ish cities by the end of the year,Tesco said in a statement.

Prices are the same as those

in the chain’s traditional storesand customers can pay with abank card over the web or upondelivery, with the merchandisedelivered by vehicles equippedwith refrigerators and freezers.Tesco said in a statement that itis offering a “special” deliveryprice of z∏.0.98.

Tesco is the second-largestsupermarket chain in Poland –

after Auchan – to have launchede-shopping. Up until now, gro-cery shopping over the web wasa niche market, serviced by smalle-shops such as Frisco.pl orFresh24.pl, or gourmet chainssuch as Piotr i Pawe∏ and Alma.

In Tesco’s home market, thechain sells over £2 billion ofgoods annually over the internet.

GGPP

Energy

PPoollaanndd ggeettss ffiirrsstt aallll--DDaanniisshh wwiinndd ffaarrmm

Developer WindSpacesays it plans morewind-farminvestments in Poland

Danish wind-farm developerWindSpace and investor WSSanniki inaugurated the firstall-Danish wind farm nearSanniki, a town 100 kilometreswest of Warsaw, in late June.

What makes the projectunique is that all of the partsused to make the windmills, aswell as the investor and devel-oper, are Danish.

“Many windmill projects in

Poland have a Danish compo-nent … this project is differ-ent, as the whole mill, thedeveloper as well as the own-ers are all Danish,” said Flem-ming Engelstoft, a foundingpartner of WindSpace.

The whole investment,which entails three Vestas V902MW turbines on 105-metertowers, is worth €10 million.While this is the biggest invest-ment so far by WS Sanniki,Poul Skraem, who owns partof the firm, said the companyis now planning smaller-scaleinvestments, with three small

wind farms planned for thetown of Sanniki.

The reason for choosingPoland for wind-farm develop-ments is that it offers attractiveconditions for foreign devel-opers, WindSpace said.

“WindSpace has chosenPoland as one of our key mar-kets, the other is Sweden,because of the political andfinancial stability, the legal infra-structure and the growth poten-tial of the country and especiallythe very good local partners thatwe now have in Poland,” MrEngelstoft said. IIzzaabbeellaa DDeeppcczzyykk

Monika Glinka Associate

Gaining financing through a bond issueLegal Forum

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.

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IND

SP

AC

E A

PS

The Sanniki Windfarm is located 100 km west of Warsaw

JULY 9-22, 2012 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 7

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

[email protected]

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Medical tourism boostBy no later than October 25, 2013, Polishentrepreneurs from the health-care sectorshould have a broader range of possibili-ties to treat patients from other EU coun-tries. By that date EU member states areexpected to have introduced into theirrespective legal systems provisions nec-essary to implement the 2011/24/EUdirective on the application of patients’rights in cross-border health care.

The directive refers to the refund ofcosts paid by patients who benefit fromhealth care and to the recognition of pre-scriptions issued in other EU memberstates.

Shorter registration time fornew entrepreneursIn June the government adopted a bill tochange several acts in order to eliminatetwo out of six registration procedures forentrepreneurs. It was proposed thatemployers should be released from theobligation to notify the State Labor Inspec-torate and the State Sanitary Inspectorateon the place, type and scope of their busi-ness activities.

Consequently, the time necessary toregister a new business is to be shortenedby two days. At the same time, personscommencing a business activity are toreceive certificates on their tax identifica-

tion number (NIP) issued by heads of taxoffices within three days, as compared tothe 14 days the process currently takes.

New proposals to reduceburdens for entrepreneursThe Ministry of Economy is now workingon the final version of a bill to reduceadministrative burdens regarding tax laws.For example, a larger number of entrepre-neurs are to be classified as “small taxpay-ers.” As a result they will be able to keepsimplified accounting records.

Small taxpayers may make one-timedepreciations of fixed assets or settleVAT by a cash-basis method. This is themethod according to which the tax obli-gation occurs at the moment the pay-ment for goods or services is receivedand not at the moment when the invoiceis issued.

Yet another potential change concernsunification of all deadlines for refunds ofany taxes by tax authorities to a maximumof 30 days. The present provisions stipu-late different deadlines for the refund oftaxes (e.g. in the case of VAT generally thedeadline is 60 days). Moreover, free-of-charge services of legal assistance are tobe excluded from VAT and those forwhom such assistance has been providedare to be released from their income taxobligations. ●

Nuclear power

PGE postpones nucleartechnology tenderThe company isworking on a newfinancing model tocover the costs of themulti-billion z∏otyinvestment

State-controlled power gro-up PGE has postponed thestart date of a tender forselecting the technologysupplier for Poland’s firstnuclear power plant. Thecompany, which is oversee-ing the implementation ofthe country’s nuclear powerprogram, needs time todecide how to finance theproject.

“We will not launch thetender in June [as previouslyplanned], we will have aslight delay,” Krzysztof Kil-ian, PGE’s chief executive,told journalists at the end ofJune.

“We are working on afinancing model, facilitatingthe launch of the tender fornuclear technology.”

The estimated cost ofbuilding the first reactors isbetween z∏.30 billion andz∏.50 billion.

“This is an unusually com-plex transaction. If we hadlaunched the tender withouta funding model, it mightoccur that the entity whichwins will not be able to carryout the contract because ofits financial capacity,” MrKilian said.

PGE’s chief executive didnot provide an alternativedate, while PGE could not bereached for further clarifica-tion. Earlier in June,Poland’s Economy Ministrytold WBJ that it expected thetender in Q3.

The Polish governmentplans to build two nuclearpower plants by 2035, thefirst of which is scheduled tocome online by 2023. Thetwo plants will each generatearound 3,000 megawatts(MW) of electricity, reducingPoland’s reliance on highlypolluting coal to producepower.

A number of potentialforeign suppliers havealready stated their interestin the contract, with Frenchfirms Areva and EDF, GEHitachi Nuclear Energy (ajoint venture of General

Electric and Hitachi), andToshiba’s US-based unitWestinghouse already havingsigned memoranda of under-standing with PGE. Thethree are due to provide fea-sibility studies for the devel-opment of reactor designs, aswell as construction andoperation plans.

Nuclear appointmentFormer Treasury MinisterAleksander Grad will headPGE EJ 1, one of the twoPGE units responsible forPoland’s nuclear program,Gazeta Wyborcza reported,citing sources close to theagreement.

PGE EJ 1 is a special pur-pose vehicle responsible forpreparing the investmentprocess and construction ofPoland’s first nuclear powerplant.

PGE Energia Jàdrowa isthe other company responsi-ble for the implementationof Poland’s nuclear program,and is tasked with imple-menting schemes related tothe construction of the twonuclear power plants.


Travel industry

Travel agency goes bust,leaving clients strandedProsecutors are nowinvestigating

Travel agency Sky Clubdeclared bankruptcy on July3, stranding some 4,000 of itsclients who were on vacationabroad at the time, andthrowing vacation plans forthousands of others who hadbought trips with the compa-ny for later this year intochaos.

As WBJ went to press,almost half of the strandedtourists had been returned toPoland, while those who hadalready paid for their tripslooked likely to be compensat-ed, courtesy of a special guar-antee fund in the hands of theMazowsze Marshall’s Officethat had been established forjust such occasions.

“A guarantee fund of z∏.25million is available to coverthe costs of customer returnsand payment for those whohave already paid for holidaysbut who will now not be goingon vacation as planned,” SkyClub spokeswoman KalinaPaluch told Tok FM.

Sky Club, which also oper-ates under the name Triada,

said in a statement that it hadrequested the courts to beginbankruptcy proceedings, cit-ing “lack of funds” to contin-ue to operate and that it hadconsequently “suspendedoperations and sales.”

“All tourist trips from July4, 2012 are canceled. Cus-tomers who have tourist tripsstarting [on that day] will beinformed not to turn up atairports,” the statementread.

Meanwhile, some clientstold TVN24 that Sky Club

was still accepting vacationpayments from clients as lateas on Tuesday, July 3.

Accordingly,AdamStruzik,the Marshall of the Maz-owieckie voivodship, announ-ced that he had petitioned theProsecutor’s Office in Warsawto launch an investigation intothe circumstances of the bank-ruptcy. “There is the profoundsuspicion that a crime has beencommitted with the intentionof misleading customers,” MrStruzik said.


CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

4,000 holiday makers were left stranded abroad

JULY 9-22, 20128 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

Taiwan

A disputed territoryEwa Boniecka: How do youperform your mission inPoland when, like all otherEU members, it follows a“One-China” policy, meaningit doesn’t recognize Taiwan asa sovereign state?David Yi-min Liu: In the caseof the countries with which wehave no formal diplomaticrelations, we use other ways topromote substantial exchangesand cooperation in the areasof economics, culture, educa-tion and technology. So evenwhile the exchange of visits ofhigher-level government offi-cials is limited, it does notinfluence the development ofother contacts, especially per-son-to-person contacts.

I believe that in the devel-opment of bilateral relations,of key importance is whetherthe countries share mutualvalue systems. Poland and Tai-wan share the same values,showing support for democra-

cy, freedom and the protectionof human rights. This definite-ly brings our nations closerand allows for the building ofmutual trust. It is similar in thecase of the development of ourrelations with the EuropeanUnion, where our countrymaintains 21 embassy-levelRepresentative Offices. All ofthem play a significant role inpromoting bilateral relationsand this is the role our officeserves in Poland.

What mechanisms are at yourdisposal for developing rela-tions between Taiwan andPoland?There are a couple of suchmechanisms and generallythere are not many limitationson our contacts with the Polishgovernment. We maintainclose contacts with Polish MPsand senators, who establishedthe Polish-Taiwanese Group inthe Polish parliament.

They play an importantrole in connecting our officewith particular institutions orpersons within the Polish gov-ernment. Moreover, since ouroffice is divided into a coupleof divisions, among them aCultural Division, InformationDivision and Economic Divi-sion, each of them is responsi-ble for creating a network ofcontacts in each field. Forinstance, the Economic Divi-sion and Taiwanese TradeOffice are in charge of estab-lishing and maintaining con-tacts between Polish and Tai-wanese investors and promot-ing economic cooperation.

What does Polish-Taiwaneseeconomic cooperationinclude?If we look at our economicrelations, there is still a lot ofpotential for development.Taiwan is the 16th largest trad-ing nation in the world, but thevalue of our bilateral tradewith Poland is very modest,about $1.1 billion, and Tai-wanese investment in Polandstill has room to grow.

My office is working toattract Taiwanese companies

to invest in Poland, yet theproblem is that Poland andTaiwan have still not signedthe double taxation agreement(DTA) to avoid double taxa-tion, so our companies chooseto take their investments toHungary, Slovakia or otherneighboring countries, whichhave already signed the DTA.I hope that the Polish govern-ment will decide to sign a DTAwith Taiwan as soon as possi-ble and thus open the door forbigger Taiwanese investmentshere.

Taiwan is also striving tosign an Economic Coopera-tion Agreement with theEuropean Union and if wesign it, Poland, as one of themembers of the EU, will beable to increase its exports toTaiwan, for instance in theauto parts industry.

How are bilateral relationsfaring in the domains of cul-ture and education?Very positively. There is coop-eration between Polish andTaiwanese universities and anincreasing number of studentstake part in student exchanges.Right now almost 650 studentsfrom Taiwan are studying inPolish medical schools, andeach year we fund 14 scholar-ships for Polish students tostudy in Taiwan. We organizecultural events, such as exhibi-tions and musical performanc-es to promote a knowledge ofTaiwan in Poland and encour-age Poles to visit our country.

Taiwan has signed three sister-city agreements with Polishcities linking Warsaw andTaipei, Elblàg and Tainan andRadom and Tao Yuan City.

What are the main factorsthat decide the nature of Tai-wan’s relations with the Euro-pean Union?The main factors are trade andinvestments. The EuropeanUnion is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trade partner and thebiggest foreign investor in ourcountry. At the end of 2011,

the value of investments byEuropean businesses in Tai-wan amounted to more than$30 billion, or more than 30percent of total foreign invest-ment. In the same year, thetrade volume between Taiwanand the EU amounted to $52.5billion.

The EU has more than 300business enterprises in Taiwanin fields ranging from account-ing, aviation and banking tolaw firms. These enterprisesestablished the EuropeanChamber of Commerce in

Taipei, which plays a key rolein maintaining contactsbetween EU companies andthe Taiwanese government.Many well-known Westernfirms are located in Taiwanand carry out their productionthere.

What are Taiwan’s prioritiesin economic policy?We rank 17th in the world andthird in Asia in terms of ourforeign investment, just afterHong Kong and Japan. Weinvest in the US, Japan, South-East Asia and the EU. Tai-wanese investments worldwideamount to $70 billion. Tai-wan’s most important tradepartners are China, the US,Japan, the EU and the coun-tries of South-East Asia.

Because of its political iso-lation, Taiwan regards its eco-nomic position as a crucial toolin our foreign policy. Being anisland with poor naturalresources, we depend heavilyon trade as a major source ofeconomic development. Now-adays, the predominant world-wide trend is to sign free tradeagreements and Taiwan hasalso been actively pursuingsuch agreements with its majortrading partners. Our presi-dent, Ma Ying-jeou, has estab-lished a national developmentplan for Taiwan called GoldenDecade, on the basis of whichwithin the next 10 years wewould like Taiwan to join theTrans-Pacific Strategic Eco-nomic Partnership (TPP).

David Yi-min Liu, head of the Taipei Economicand Cultural Office in Poland, speaks with WBJabout Taiwan’s global position, the developmentof relations with Poland and Taipei’s attitudetowards mainland China

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F T

HE

TA

IPE

I E

CO

NO

MIC

AN

D C

ULT

UR

AL

OF

FIC

E I

N P

OL

AN

D

Mr Yi-min Liu said Poland and Taiwan share the same democratic values

“Because of itspolitical isolation,Taiwan regards its

economic position asa crucial tool in our

foreign policy”

DAILY EXECUTIVE DIGEST

S i g n u p f o r a 2 - w e e k f r e e - t r i a l ! w w w. p o l a n d a m . p lG e r m a n v e r s i o n : w w w. p o l e n a mm o r g e n . p l

Poland A.M. gives you the biggest Polish stories of the day.

Have the most valuable news delivered to your inbox each weekday morning.

JULY 9-22, 2012 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 9

Being Chinese yourself, whatare your personal feelingstowards the Chinese from thePeople’s Republic of China,after decades of hostilitybetween Taiwan and the PRC.How are relations betweenChinese people from bothcountries ?Chinese people in both Taiwanand mainland China share thesame roots, bloodline, history,traditions, language and cul-ture with the only differencebeing the two disparate politi-cal systems they live under;democracy and freedom inTaiwan and a communistauthoritarian system in China.People living on both sides ofthe Taiwan Strait have beenseparated for almost 60 years,so their lifestyle and value sys-tems possess some dissimilartraits. I do not want to evalu-ate the obvious differences inpolitical and social mentality,so I will point to a lesser-known fact that, for instance,Chinese communists havechanged traditional Chinesewriting characters by simplify-ing them, which has led to cer-tain differences between thetwo writing systems.

However, since 1987, theyear when the Taiwanese gov-ernment first allowed its citi-zens to travel freely to Chinato visit their relatives, contactsbetween people on both sidesof the Strait have grown muchcloser. Even more so since2008, when President Ma’sadministration resumed nego-tiations with China, thusimproving relations with thatcountry. In the past four yearsboth sides have concludedseven rounds of high-leveltalks and signed 16 agree-ments.

That made the two-wayexchange much more intense.Last year five million Tai-wanese visited China and 1.7million Chinese went to Tai-wan. Nowadays there are 558direct flights between Taiwanand China every week andthere are about two million Tai-wanese living in China. In 2010,Taiwan and China signed anEconomic Cooperation Frame-work Agreement (ECFA)which led to a two-way tradevolume amounting to $152 bil-lion, which represents 30 per-cent of total Taiwanese trade.

China is now the second-largest economy in the worldand one of the most importantgeopolitical players. Howcould that affect the future ofTaiwan?Although China is under com-munist rule and the Taiwaneseare anti-communist, China,now considered a world powerand constantly on the rise, is

too big to be ignored. We dohope that with China’sincreasing worldwide influ-ence in the areas of politicsand economics, it has theopportunity to play a betterrole, that of a responsiblestakeholder, and it is onlythrough this way that all thepeople in the world might beable to see China’s rise aspeaceful. Taiwan has alwaysserved as a good example forthe Chinese community.Nowadays, it is even moreimportant in view of how itaffects China’s current evolu-tion. We will continue toimprove our relations withChina and we will strive tohelp China become a moredemocratic country.

Yet the Taiwan Strait is one ofthe world’s danger spots andthe US is providing Taiwanwith weapons to ensure it hasthe capacity to defend itself inthe case of an attack byChina. Are you afraid of beingswallowed by Beijing in oneway or another while the out-side world stands by?

To peacefully resolve thecross-strait issue is a commonaspiration of Taiwan, mainlandChina and the whole interna-tional community. It will notbe wise for any party to try touse military force or otherforms of intimidation to reachtheir goals. Such actions wouldbe detrimental to everyoneinvolved. We fully understandthat we cannot depend on anycountry to provide us withnational defense or security.But I believe that the peopleand the governments on bothsides of the Taiwan Strait willuse their personal wisdom tosolve this issue.

Do you think that communistChina will gradually democra-tize its political system ?I think that communism and amarket economy are not com-patible. We can observe thatChina is moving in the direc-tion of a market economy andthe communist system is nopartner for that. This meansthat China needs to changepolitically in order to meet thefull demands of a marketeconomy.

Therefore, the Chinesegovernment has arrived at aspecial description of the cur-rent political situation in

China. They decided to call itan implementation of social-ism with Chinese characteris-tics. While the communist sys-tem has collapsed around theworld, this definition of theChinese system does notinclude any mention of aban-doning communism, just thefact that the Chinese are try-ing to adjust by implementinga new unique system. As weall know, democracy is a pre-vailing international trend.Last year we saw the evolu-tion of places such as the Mid-dle East or Northern Africa,which through a series of rev-olutions eventually becamedemocratic systems. I believethat China in the future willalso move towards democra-cy.

Do you think that economicsnow prevails over politics ininternational relations andthat Taiwan can develop itsrelations safely with Chinaand other countries?Economics is an essential fac-tor in people’s lives around theworld. Since Taiwan dependsheavily on trade, we recognizethe need to maintain goodrelations with our major trad-ing partners. Trade and busi-ness between Taiwan andChina is growing annually andthis is the reason why the Tai-wanese government needs toconstantly work on improvingour relations with mainlandChina. Due to the fact that ourpolitical systems are entirelydifferent, the mutual trustbetween our two countries andtheir governments is not sub-stantial.

Thus, our relations alwaysstart in the field of economics.The major problem betweenour two countries are sover-eignty issues. Yet in order tomaintain a good relationship,we should try to shelve contro-versies and look for commoninterests despite our differ-ences. We do try to persuadethe Chinese to face reality.Even though we do not for-mally recognize each other, wehave already entered a state ofmutual “non-denial” of ourrespective authorities’ right togovern each of our two coun-tries.

China needs to understandthat it cannot continue to hin-der Taiwan’s participationwithin the international com-munity and isolate the islandfrom international activities,because only when Taiwan isnot isolated, can cross-straitrelations move forward in asmooth and confident man-ner. This way we can maintainstable and peaceful relationsin the area of the TaiwanStrait. ●

“We will strive tohelp China become a

more democraticcountry”

Combining the most in-depth social media knowledge with the sophisticated insights of consumer behavior

*Attention USA clients

www.valkea-attention.com

don’t think so.But these companies

is just a fad. Maybe social media

*

JULY 9-22, 2012 FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS www.wbj.pl 11

Economy

World Bank: Poland growth totop CEE, but prospects weakerThe country’s 2.9percent expansionshould be the best inthe region, but thepotential for external“shocks” looms

The World Bank forecasts thatPoland’s GDP will grow by 2.9percent this year, the highestrate out of the 10 EU mem-bers in Central and EasternEurope (CEE) and Croatiawhich will join EU next year.Latvia and Lithuania placenext-highest, with expectedgrowth of 2.3 percent each.These are followed by Slo-vakia, whose economy isexpected to expand by 2.1 per-cent. However, the WorldBank stated that external fac-tors pose a greater risk foreconomies in the region thanjust a few months back.

“Now, in mid-2012, three-and-a-half years after the glob-al financial crisis broke, EU11countries are yet again facedwith serious external shocksand weaker prospects than sixmonths ago,” said GallinaAndronova Vincelette, senioreconomist in the World Bank’sEurope and Central Asiaregion.

She added that in this“volatile” environment, eco-nomic growth in EU11 coun-tries as a whole was set todecline this year, with all thecountries growing slower thana year before and three coun-tries slipping into recession.

Policy recommendationsThe World Bank’s specialreport made several policy

recommendations for govern-ments in the EU11 countries.It implores governments,central banks and financialsupervisory authorities in theregion to do their utmost toshore up the confidence offinancial markets.

“Monetary policy shouldremain stable to buffer theEU11 against external shocksand help the economy defendagainst euro area volatility.Polices should be in place toensure access to credit forviable borrowers and to sup-port growth of emerging sec-tors, despite the ongoingdeleveraging,” the WorldBank said.

Secondly, EU11 govern-ments must decide “howmuch, how fast, and in whatways they want to consolidatepublic finances, so that theirfiscal positions do not becomethe source for financial marketvolatility.”

In designing the composi-tion of fiscal consolidation,governments need to accountfor the fragility of the eco-nomic outlook and try to limitthe negative impact of fiscalconsolidation on growth, itadded.

Finally, the report stressesthat structural policies to sup-port growth can help over-come the financial, labor andfiscal challenges.

“By removing barriers togrowth in product and labormarkets, the EU11 countriescan increase their potentialeconomic gains in the medi-um term. Closing the exist-ing institutional and struc-tural gaps with the rest ofthe EU will soften the con-straints imposed by demo-graphic threats and speed upincome convergence withthe EU15,” the report stat-ed.


Growth rates (2011) and forecasts (2012, 2013) for the EU11(new, eastern members) and EU15

2011 2012* 2013*

EU11 3.1 1.5 2.5

Bulgaria 1.7 0.6 2.5

Czech Republic 1.7 0.0 1.0

Estonia 7.6 1.7 3.0

Latvia 5.5 2.3 2.9

Lithuania 5.9 2.3 3.5

Hungary 1.7 -0.4 1.5

Poland 4.3 2.9 3.2

Romania 2.5 1.2 2.8

Slovenia -0.2 -1.2 0.6

Slovak Republic 3.3 2.1 3.1

Croatia** 0.0 -1.0 1.5

EU15 1.5 -0.1 1.2

Source: World Bank

*forecast

**Croatia is expected to join the European Union on July 1, 2013

Monetary Policy Council leaves

interest rates unchangedPoland’s Monetary PolicyCouncil (RPP) left its maininterest rate unchanged, asexpected, at 4.75 percent. InMay, the RPP unexpectedlyraised rates from 4.5 to 4.75percent, but now most econo-mists expect rates to remainunchanged until 2013. The

RPP’s stated aim is to keepinflation at around 2.5 percentwithin a range of plus orminus one percentage point.In May of this year, inflationwas at 3.6 percent.

“The new inflation andGDP projection does not justi-fy monetary policy tightening,”

said analysts at BZ WBK in ane-mailed comment. “We expectthe NBP rates to remain stablein the remainder of the year.We think that there would be aroom for a rate cut next year ifthe pace of economic growthdecelerates to ca. 2 percent,”they added. RRAA,, AAKK

PMI falls again, manufacturing

outlook bleakPoland’s Purchasing Man-agers’ Index (PMI) fell forthe third consecutive monthin June to 48.0 from 48.9 inMay. The reading was itsweakest level in 35 months.Data from the survey show adecline in both output andpurchases of inputs, saidHSBC, linking the contrac-

tion to a weakening ofdomestic and export de-mand. The rate of decline ofinput orders recorded lastmonth was the fastest inthree years.

“The pace of output con-traction deepened in June tolevels last seen in mid-09 inline with deteriorating new

orders.” wrote Agata Urbaƒs-ka, economist for Central andEastern Europe at HSBC, in areport accompanying the data.“The gradual slide of the PMIindex in the last three monthshighlights downside risks togrowth in the manufacturingsector this year.” she added.


JULY 9-22, 2012CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY12 www.wbj.pl

American football

Scoring driveAs Poland comes downfrom its Euro 2012high, another sport ispreparing for its timein the spotlight with aseason-ending match-up at Warsaw’sNational Stadium

For sport fans 2012 is a dreamyear. First came the dramaand carnival atmosphere ofEuro 2012, then later thismonth sees the start of theLondon Olympics, whichpromises to make heroes ofnumerous athletes from acrossthe globe. But in Poland oneother sport – American foot-ball – is leading the way interms of growth, with new fansjoining the burgeoning enter-prise on a steady basis.

On July 15 Poland’s toptwo teams, the Warsaw Eaglesand Seahawks Gdynia, are setto meet in front of thousandsof fans in the NAC VII Super-fina∏ at Warsaw’s newly builtNational Stadium. This is aremarkable achievement for asport which in Poland only sawits first organized match in

2006 and as recently as 1999was only being played by a few

David Ingham

FOT. STUART VESTY

ARABIAN

HORSE DAYS

2012

POLAND

JANÓW PODLASKI10-14th of August, 2012

www.prideofpoland.pl

Information: POLTURFAl. Wyścigowa 4-B/84 • 02-681 Warsaw, Polandphone (48) 22 857 76 44 • [email protected]

guys in the park, without eventhe most basic equipment.

Just six years ago in ¸ódêthe Eagles and the 1.KFAFireballs Wielkopolska met inthe league’s inaugural fixture.Fast-forward to 2012 and atotal of 38 teams, across fourdivisions, were competing forseason-ending honors in thePolish League of AmericanFootball (PLFA).

“We’ve come from playingin the woods to the NationalStadium but we’re still at thebeginning of the process,”J´drzej St´szewski, Presidentof the Polish American Foot-ball Association and Commis-sioner of the Polish AmericanFootball League, told WBJ.

“Everything has changed[since 2006] except the will ofthe players. … We play in bet-ter stadiums, and most of theplayers don’t have to pay fortheir equipment and expens-es,” said Mr St´szewski.

This is a sentiment sharedby the head coaches of the twosides taking part in the end-of-season showdown. Maciej Cet-nerowski, head coach of Sea-hawks Gdynia, admits thoseinvolved with the league fromthe earliest days are surprisedwith what has been achieved insuch a short space of time.

“From a bunch of guys witha couple of balls it evolved into something more special. …We [Seahawks Gdynia] startedto get sponsors, proper fieldsand training facilities and toplay at one of the best stadi-ums in Poland, the NationalRugby Stadium in Gdynia,” hesaid.

“From just 19 players wenow have a roster of over 60guys and 1,000 fans at everygame,” he added.

Warsaw Eagles’ American-born coach, Philip Dillon, saidthat teams bringing in foreigncoaches and players has beenthe key factor in improvingstandards on the field, whichwill inevitably help attractmore fans.

“The talent is there, but itsabout having the right level ofcoaching,” he said.

The business of sportCurrently the key revenuestreams for the PLFA comefrom gate receipts and spon-sorship, with firms includingthe Mediterranean ShippingCompany (MSC), which isinvolved with the SeahawksGdynia and Tarczyƒski (one ofPoland’s largest meat produc-ers), which sponsors DevilsWroc∏aw, among those help-ing to provide backing toteams from Poland’s top divi-sion.

Sev Zakrzewski, owner of

property firm Prime RealEstate Solutions, and co-owner of Warsaw Eagles,along with business partnerPaul KuÊmierz, said the twomen decided to becomeinvolved with the capital’smain team because of a lovefor the game and a belief in itspotential for growth.

Without giving an exact fig-ure, Mr Zakrewski said theinvestment in the Eagles hadbeen significant and the bene-fits of that investment are nowclear to see.

“The league is moving inthe right direction, with threeof the Topliga teams now hav-ing major sponsors and own-ers,” he said.

Matches and highlightspackages are now beingscreened on Polish TV, whichalong with gaining outsideinvestment, is part of theleague’s overall plan toincrease interest and make thegame bigger in Poland.

This year’s final match isthe second in a row to get air-time and is set to be screened

Gasoline price

drop?Gas prices could drop

below z∏.5 per litre,

Deputy Prime Minister

Waldemar Pawlak said in

June. Mr Pawlak said

that in z∏oty terms, the

price of oil has dropped

from around z∏.360 to

z∏.290 per barrel. At a

press conference, he

elaborated on the topic,

specifically mentioning

Orlen, Poland’s largest

refiner and operator of a

large chain of gas

stations. In the last three

months the price of a

barrel of Brent oil has

dropped by around 20%.

Lotos mulls

deal with

AramcoPolish oil giant Lotos

hopes to gain a

competitive edge by

processing Saudi crude

oil. The refinery has just

received a sample delivery

of 60,000 metric tons of oil

from Saudi Aramco. If all

the planned tests go well

and the oil is deemed

economically and

technologically suitable,

Lotos will consider long-

term cooperation with the

Saudi firm, Parkiet

reported. ●

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F M

AR

CIN

FIJ

A¸

KO

WS

KI

Eagles tight end Grzegorz Janiak takes a reception in for a touchdown against Devils Wroc∏aw in their semifinal

match-up on July 1, 2012

Topliga final regular season standings

Team W L Pts

1. Seahawks Gdynia 9 1 182. Warsaw Eagles 8 2 163. Devils Wroc∏aw 7 3 144. AZS Silesia Rebels 3 7 65. Koz∏y Poznaƒ 2 8 46. Dom-Bud Kraków Tigers 1 9 0*

*The Tigers were penalized two points after having

forfeited their last game

JULY 9-22, 2012 CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY www.wbj.pl 13

live on Polish channels nSportHD and TVN Turbo. A daylater a repeat of the game willbe shown on Eurosport 2. Theleague also has plans to makeAmerican football a regulartelevision feature with the ideaof a game of the week current-ly being mooted as a possibilityfor the 2013 season.

“We want to change theattitude to the game. There’snothing wrong with just play-ing for the love of the game

but we have to use businessideas to make the game big-ger, and TV is a big part ofthis.” Mr St´szewski said.

Changing perceptionsIn the short-term holding theTopliga final at the NationalStadium is part of the league’splan to bring new fans to asport which has no real historyof popularity in Poland.

“The National Sports Cen-tre [the stadium’s operators]

were looking for alternativesports than soccer to be playedat the National Stadium,” MrSt´szewski said, referring tohow the league was able tocome to a deal to hold thematch there.

“They came to the games,saw the tremendous growthpotential and the atmosphereand agreed to host the matchthere,” he added.

But the atmosphere andthe action on the field are justpart of the PLFA’s drive tobring new people to thegame.

This year’s final will pro-vide entertainment for thoseattending from as early asfour hours before kickoff.

This will include a pre-matchpicnic, information about andopportunities to try out otherAmerican sports such asbaseball and lacrosse, amarching band, cheerleaders,and an on-field kicking com-petition with the winner set toreceive a free ticket on theinaugural flight of LOT’s newfleet of Polish Dreamlinerplanes.

Final showdownBut while everyone involved inthe business of sports knowsthat making money is a key fac-tor for achieving success overthe long-term, for the playersand coaches the opportunity oflifting the championship tro-phy in such a prestigious set-ting is all that matters comeJuly 15.

“We’ve had a tough time toconvince the players it’s thesame game and the same ballbecause we’re playing in theNational Stadium, so they’ll be

nervous. … But it’s an extraincentive to play at such a facil-ity,” said Mr Cetnerowski.

And speaking about histeam’s chance of lifting the tro-phy for the first time he said,“We’re going to Warsaw to winand the third time is the charm,so as it’s our third final and aswe’ve never had a team thisstrong we think it’ll be enoughto win,” he added.

His counterpart, Eagleshead coach Phillip Dillon, saidhe expects a hard-fought battlebetween the league’s best twoteams.

“I do believe that if my guyscome to the game and do whatwe’ve told them to do, then wewill win the championship,” hesaid.

But whatever happens ongame day, American footballhas gained good field positionto capitalize on its rapidgrowth and huge potential. Itlooks likely to score more pop-ularity in the future. ●

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F M

AR

CIN

FIJ

A¸

KO

WS

KI

The Seahawks’ star running back Sebastian Krzysztofek carries the ball in his

team’s 52-7 semifinal win over the AZS Silesia Rebels on June 30, 2012

Warta sale to

Talanx

finalized

German Talanx

International AG and

Japanese Meji Yasuda

have finalized the

purchase of insurer

Warta from Belgium’s

KBC for €770 million. The

new owner decided to

keep the Warta brand and

its HDI brand (under

which Talanx has been so

far present in Poland)

separate. Poland is now

Talanx’s second largest

market of operation.

PPP reaches

record level

The value of public-

private partnerships

(PPPs) reached a record

level of z∏.2 billion in the

first half of the year,

according to initial

estimates published by

Fundacja Centrum PPP.

The figure comprised 23

projects, seven more

than during the same

period last year. The

projects included the

construction of the new

Widzew stadium in ¸ódê

for z∏.300 million.

Energy

dividends to

boost budgetThe energy sector could

supply this year’s state

budget with up to z∏.7.5

billion. Close to z∏.3

billion from this amount

may come from dividends

from four major energy

concerns alone: Polska

Grupa Energetyczna

(PGE), Tauron, Enea and

Energa, reported

Parkiet. ●

Superfinal teams

Seahawks GdyniaThe Seahawks topped the tableduring the regular season withtheir only loss coming in weektwo of the regular season whenthey went down to their Super-final opponents, the Eagles, 52-22 at home. Since form-ing back in 2005, the team from Poland’s northern coasthas gone on to make two previous PLFA championships,losing on both occassions to Warsaw. They will be hopingit’s third time lucky this time at Warsaw’s National Stadi-um on July 15.

Warsaw EaglesThe Warsaw Eagles took secondplace in the league standings thisyear, losing twice: once to the tothe Devils in Wroc∏aw, 35-32, fol-lowed by a loss to the Seahawksin Warsaw, 34-24. Along with theSeahawks, the Eagles were among the four teams to playin the PLFA's inaugural season. They already have twochampionship wins under their belts, the last of whichcame in 2008. After three years of failing in the semifi-nals, the Eagles will be hoping to complete a hat trick ofchampionship wins against the Seahawks.

2012 PLFA Topliga playoff semifinals

June 30, 2012 July 1, 2012

AZS Silesia Rebels 7 Devils Wroc∏aw 20

Seahawks Gdynia 52 Warsaw Eagles 37

JULY 9-22, 2012OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS14 www.wbj.pl

David Ingham

Inthe period leading up toEuro 2012, one commonthread often linked the

expectations of the Polish public andthe commentary from the foreignpress: the belief that the tournamentwould be a failure.

The roads were inadequate, thefacilities substandard, corruptionand racism rampant – this was the

message most often trotted out byvarious media outlets prior to theJune 8 kickoff. The average Pole,on the other hand, seemed unableor unwilling to envisage a scenarioin which the country could manage

to put on a major sporting eventthat the world would deem a suc-cess.

Best ever?How times change. Today, many fansand commentators suggest Euro 2012may have been one of the greatestEuropean Championships of all time.The fears that transport chaos wouldprove a massive headache forPoland’s authorities were unfounded,while contrary to many Poles’ precon-ceptions, the vast majority of foreign-ers enjoyed their experience and willno doubt return.

Admittedly, the road-buildingprogram envisaged back in 2007 wasoverambitious, but the A2 highwaylinking Poland and Germany wasopened in time for the start of thetournament and ensured a fluidmovement of fans driving from placeto place. In addition, four new air-port terminals and improved publictransport infrastructure – includinga new airport-to-city-center trainservice in the capital – meant that

fans were able to travel between thePolish host cities without any majordifficulties.

Inside the newly built stadiumsthe play on the pitch (somethingwhich the organizers admittedly hadno power over) has been highlypraised, with numerous goals andsome classic moments which arenow set to go down in the annals ofEuropean soccer history. Nonemore so than Polish captain JakubB∏aszczykowski’s sweet left footstrike in Poland’s 1-1 draw with Rus-sia. To be a supporter of the Polishteam when the ball hit the back ofthe net on that hot summer evening,and to see the spontaneous eruptionof joy from those who had thoughtthe Polish team was alreadydoomed, is an experience none of uswill soon forget.

There were other heroes too.Andrea Pirlo’s imperious displays inItaly’s victories over England andGermany, and the German team’srampant destruction of the Greeksin the quarters was attacking soccer

at its best. Meanwhile, the Spanishconquistadors brushed aside accusa-tions of being boring, with a swash-buckling destruction of the Italiansto win their third major trophy infour years.

They loved it hereBut it was in the stands where thetrue barometer of whether Polandhad really achieved what it set out todo could be gauged. During theSpain vs Croatia group match inGdaƒsk, thousands of foreign fansspontaneously began singing Polishsupporters’ standard chant, “Polskabia∏o czerwoni,” (Poland red andwhite) in unison. It was heart-warm-ing, and evidence that these visitorshad gained a great fondness for theirhosts.

There has also been a sea changeamong the foreign press who hadfeared the tournament was going tofail. In their post-tournament wrap-ups the uniform response has beenthat the hospitality and generalatmosphere in Poland and Ukraine

were a pleasure to experience.But it is the Poles who underwent

the greatest transformation duringthose glorious three weeks in June. Isaw evidence of this when a friend ofmine told me prior to the start ofEuro 2012 that her mother would betraveling to Spain for 10 days becauseshe wanted to avoid the furor andhooliganism that would no doubtaccompany the matches. Later thesame friend told me she had gone tothe Fan Zone to watch the semifinalswith none other than her mother,who after returning from her trip hadbeen caught up by the euphoria ofthe football fever that was sweepingthe nation.

She, like millions of other Poles,now believes in the potential of hercountry, and sees that it is capable ofstanding with the rest of Europe as anequal.

And that is surely the the greatestlegacy of the Euro 2012 project. ●

David Ingham is Warsaw BusinessJournal’s sports and lifestyle editor

S pain’s July 1 victory over Italy inthe European Football Champi-onship in Kiev was also a victory

for the hosts, Poland and Ukraine.The games have given the Poles andUkrainians much pride, if not in theperformance of their teams, then inthe new stadiums, airports, train sta-tions and highways built for the occa-sion. They were less successful withregard to their political purpose,which was to show both countries asstrong, attractive, normal Europeanstates – Poland firmly within the EU,and Ukraine on a clear European tra-jectory. Poland’s European identitycertainly is not in question; and it evenopened a new highway from Berlin toWarsaw just days before the tourna-ment. But Ukraine’s European aspira-tions are not helped by the increasing-ly authoritarian rule of President Vik-tor Yanukovych and the continuedpolitical persecution of YuliaTymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko.

This was a blow not just for Kiev,but for Warsaw as well. In Poland, thegoal of bringing Ukraine closer toEurope, and Europe closer toUkraine, is a matter of deep politicalconsensus. The Euro tournament wasmeant to serve as another opportuni-ty to strengthen these ties, and to bur-nish Ukraine’s image in the rest ofEurope.

Mr Yanukovych’s behavior put anend to all that. When former PrimeMinister Yulia Tymoshenko was sen-tenced to seven years in prison – anaction condemned as politically moti-vated across Europe – even the PolishMinistry of Foreign Affairs, thebiggest supporter of Ukraine’s Euro-pean integration, remarked that“Ukraine’s image as a country that isundertaking a fundamental pro-

European transformation has beentarnished.”

The scandal derailed the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement as well asthe deep Free Trade Agreement(FTA), both due to be signed that fallduring the Polish EU Presidency. Thedeep FTA in particular would havebeen a game-changer, anchoringUkraine in the West by obliging Kievto adopt a significant portion of the

EU’s standards and legislation, andby tying together the Ukrainian andEuropean bureaucracies in a perma-nent dialogue. Instead, the deep FTAwas put into a deep freeze, and manyEuropean politicians, including Ger-many’s Chancellor Merkel and sever-al high-level EU officials, decided toboycott the Euro 2012 games inUkraine.

The coming testYet the final test for Ukrainiandemocracy is just ahead: the October28 parliamentary elections. If thatpoll falls short of European demo-cratic standards, Ukraine’s door toEurope will close with a bang andremain shut for the foreseeablefuture. With the European path cutoff, Ukraine is likely to turn east. Itmight even eventually choose to joinRussian President Vladimir Putin’sproposed “Eurasian Union,” which isnot in the interest of the EU or theUnited States – or indeed of Ukraini-ans themselves.

Europe and the United Statesmust now join forces in making surethat the fall elections will be free andfair. Monitoring should start early tomake sure that conditions on theground, including freedom of themedia, are conducive to a free vote.OSCE election monitoring will be

key here; but both Warsaw and Ber-lin–who have been skillfully playing agood-cop, bad-cop game with Kiev –should consider sending politicalemissaries ahead of the election tomake it clear that vote manipulationof any kind will not be tolerated.

Even if the vote goes well, the EUand the United States will need tokeep a sharp eye on Ukraine to keepits Westward course from derailing,and to continue firmly mixing incen-tives and conditionality to keep nudg-ing Mr Yanukovych along in thedirection of democratic governance.Ukraine’s strategic importance issimply too great for failure. Certainly,what the EU can least afford isanother Alexander Lukashenko onits border. ●

Micha∏ Baranowski is a seniorprogram officer with the German

Marshall Fund in Warsaw.gmfus.org

TThhee PPoolliisshh ttrraannssffoorrmmaattiioonn

“With the Europeanpath cut off, Ukraine is

likely to turn east”

“Euro 2012 may havebeen one of the greatest EuropeanChampionships of alltime”

IInn KKiieevv,, tthhee ggaammee ccoonnttiinnuueessMicha∏ Baranowski

CO-MANAGING EDITORGARETH PRICE([email protected])

CO-MANAGING EDITORALICE TRUDELLE([email protected])

POLITICS EDITORREMI ADEKOYA([email protected])

REAL ESTATE EDITORADAM ZDRODOWSKI([email protected])

SPORTS & LIFESTYLE EDITORDAVID INGHAM([email protected])

JOURNALISTIZABELA DEPCZYKCONTRIBUTORSE. BLAKE BERRYEWA BONIECKAALEX ZARGANIS

COLUMNISTSADAM NARCZEWSKIANDREW NAWROCKI

INTERNSANTHONY ADAMSZOFIA RÓ˚ALSKA

PRODUCTION MANAGERPIOTR WYSKOKGRAPHIC DESIGNER¸UKASZ MAZUREK

MARKETING &SALES

AGNIESZKA BREJWO MARKETING &SALES DIRECTOR([email protected])

MAGDALENA KARPI¡SKA([email protected])

AGNIESZKA KUCZY¡SKA([email protected])

EWA BROGOSZ-KORYCKA([email protected])

KAROL KOSIOREK([email protected])

PR & MARKETING SPECIALIST NATALIA ROGACZEWSKA([email protected])

SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGERAGNIESZKA MICHALIK([email protected])

PRINT & DISTRIBUTION COORDINATORKRZYSZTOF WILI¡SKI([email protected])

BOOK OF LISTS SPECIALISTJOANNA RASZKA([email protected])

PUBLISHER VALKEA MEDIA SA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANDREW KURETH ([email protected]) MANAGING DIRECTOR MONIKA STAWICKA

Editorials are the opinions of WBJ’s editorial board. Other opinions are those of the authors alone. Comments, opinions and letters should be sent to [email protected]. Please include a name and contact information and clearly indicate if they are to be considered for publication.

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F T

HE

EU

RO

PE

AN

PA

RL

IAM

EN

T

Viktor Yanukovych

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 9-22, 2012, LI 17/27-28

Cornerstone

for Malta

House offices

in PoznaƒDeveloper Skanska

Property Group has laid a

cornerstone at the

construction site of its

Malta House office project

in Poznaƒ, Wielkopolskie

voivodship. Scheduled to

be completed in the third

quarter of 2013, the

scheme is expected to be

the first LEED-certified

office development in the

city. Located on Poznaƒ’s

Lake Malta, near the

city’s Galeria Malta

shopping mall, Skanska’s

new five-storey

investment will deliver

15,700 sqm of leasable

space.

Karolkowa

Business Park

commercial-

ization

Developer Ablon Group

has selected Colliers

International as the

exclusive leasing agent

for office space in its

Karolkowa Business Park

project in Warsaw. The

scheme is scheduled to

open in October 2013.

The investment, which is

located on ul. Karolkowa

in the capital’s Wola

district, will deliver a

total of more than 17,500

sqm of space, including

over 3,000 sqm of retail

areas. It is expected to

obtain BREEAM

certification of energy

efficiency and

environmental

performance. ●

HB Reavis offices . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Wrocław lofts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Luxury homes developers . . . .16

Property-related stocks . . . . . .16

Warsaw's Praga . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

UBM in Kraków . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Olsztyn mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

In this issue

Office

CCoonnssttrruuccttiioonn oonn GGddaaƒƒsskkii BBuussiinneessssCCeenntteerr iinn WWaarrssaaww uunnddeerrwwaayyDeveloper HB ReavisPoland plans todeliver the first phaseof the investment inQ2 2014

Developer HB Reavis Polandhas launched construction onthe first phase of its GdaƒskiBusiness Center office projectin Warsaw. The developmentis located on ul. Inflancka inthe capital’s central district, onland that the companyacquired from Spanish firmLubasa earlier this year.

“The investment on ul.Inflancka joins the Konstruk-torska BC office building asthe second project that we arenow building in Warsaw,”Stanislav Frnka, country CEO,HB Reavis Poland, said in astatement. He added that thecompany was hoping to launchother schemes soon.

Designed by the E&LArchitects studio, the 95,000-sqm Gdaƒski Business Centerinvestment will be developedin two phases, the first ofwhich will comprise a 17-storey building A and a nine-storey building B with almost32,000 sqm and 17,000 sqm ofspace, respectively.

The buildings are sched-uled to be completed in thesecond quarter of 2014. Thedate of the start of construc-tion on phase two has not yetbeen set and will depend onthe pace of commercializationof the first phase of the devel-opment.

“Gdaƒski Business Centerwill be a unique facility in ourPolish office buildings portfo-lio,” Mr Frnka said. He addedthat the project’s convenientlocation at the intersection ofmajor Warsaw roads would bean attractive offer for poten-

tial tenants.Currently active in five

European countries, HBReavis has to date developed a

total of more than 550,000sqm of office, retail and logis-tics space. In the Polish capi-tal, the company’s plans

include the delivery of anoffice complex near the War-saw West railway station.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F H

B R

EA

VIS

The whole investment will provide 95,000 sqm of space

To subscribe: e-mail [email protected] or call +48 22 639 85 68, ext. 201 and sign up for free two-week no-obligation trial subscription

Warsaw Business Journal presents Real Estate weekly newsletter

• Know about the newest projects before they’re on the market• Keep up to date on the latest tenders and auctions• Learn the latest trends in Poland’s dynamic office, residential and retail sectors • Find out who’s who in Polish real estate

or

Developer RED-Real EstateDevelopment has launchedconstruction on its NowaPapiernia multifamily resi-dential project in Wroc∏aw.The scheme, which willinvolve the renovation of aformer paper mill, will com-prise the first soft lofts in thecity.

The investment has beendesigned by the APSzczepanik architectural stu-dio and is meant to combinethe atmosphere of 19th-centu-ry Wroc∏aw with high-stan-dard modern amenities.

A total of 129 housingunits sized from 35 sqm to 100sqm and priced betweenz∏.7,475 and z∏.8,625 per sqmare scheduled to be complet-

ed by the first quarter of 2014.The second stage of the proj-ect is now being designed.

Located in the PrzedmieÊ-cie O∏awskie neighborhood ofWroc∏aw’s Krzyki district, theNowa Papiernia developmentis part of a regeneration proj-ect that the municipal author-ities started in the area in2005.

“RED-Real Estate Devel-opment will restore an entirequarter, including the sur-rounding common spaces andthe facades of the adjacenttenement houses,” said EwaPiechota, marketing managerfor the scheme.

Nowa Papiernia is thethird residential project ofRED-Real Estate Develop-

ment in Poland. The compa-ny’s portfolio also includes

the Osiedle Alpha and REDPark housing estates in War-

saw and Poznaƒ, respectively.JJooaannnnaa WWiieeddrroo

CCoonnssttrruuccttiioonn uunnddeerrwwaayy oonn NNoowwaaPPaappiieerrnniiaa llooffttss iinn WWrroocc∏∏aaww

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F P

UB

LIC

ON

The first phase of the project should be ready by Q1 2014

July 23Holiday residences

August 6The legal perspective

August 23Design & innovation

Coming up:

New luxury homes inPoland can beobtained from adiverse lot ofresidential developers

Buyers looking for new luxuryhomes in Poland will find themin the portfolios of a wholerange of developers active inthe country. Those includeboth small specialized compa-nies and some of the largestresidential developers presentin the Polish market.

Specialized firmsDevelopers that build luxuryresidential projects in Polandare most often specialized inthe field, said Rafa∏ Liponoga,managing director at realestate advisory and brokeragefirm Home Broker. He addedthat they may sometimes alsodevelop upper-standard apart-ments, but not mid-markethomes.

According to Mr Liponoga,one reason for this is the factthat the most exclusive residen-tial projects in the market tendto be small schemes which,despite featuring very high

margins, bring relatively smallnominal gains.

“Large market players hopefor nominally large revenues,and those can only be obtainedin the case of large projectswhere even if the margins arelower, they are compensatedfor by the [higher] number ofapartments,” Mr Liponogasaid.

Developers that focus solelyon the luxury market includeEko-Park, which is behind theeponymous housing project inWarsaw’s Mokotów district.Also the current offer of MyoniGroup consists only of luxurydevelopments – in Warsaw andGdynia on the Baltic Sea.

Icon Real Estate special-

izes in the revitalization of his-torical tenement houses and isnow involved in two such proj-ects on ul. Ordynacka and ul.Poznaƒska in Warsaw. Tene-ment houses in the capital’sdowntown can also be foundin the portfolio of Fenix Capi-tal.

Mr Liponoga pointed outthat the revitalization of histor-ical tenement houses is mostlythe domain of small specializedfirms. “Such schemes involve alot of administrative and reno-vation work. Large companiesdo not get involved in suchprojects,” he said.

Market exceptionsOf course, there are exceptions

to this general rule, with somedevelopers present in the mid-market and luxury residentialsegments alike, Mr Liponogasaid. He noted that this con-cerns even some of the largesthome providers in Poland,including Warsaw StockExchange-listed Dom Devel-opment.

The company has deliveredthousands of relatively cheaphousing units in Warsaw overthe last few years, but is alsobehind two of the most expen-sive and most prestigious resi-dential developments in thePolish capital, ApartamentyGrzybowska and RezydencjaOpera.

Luxury residential projectscan also be found in the portfo-lio of another large WSE-listeddeveloper, Echo Investment, acompany that is otherwise wellknown in the market for itsnumerous office and shoppingcenter investments acrossPoland.

Echo Investment has todate developed more than 10luxury schemes in cities includ-ing Warsaw, Kraków and Poz-naƒ and is currently sellingapartments in its Klimt Housedevelopment in the capital’sMokotów district.

The company is now look-ing for new attractive locations.“We are watching the marketvery closely and continuedbuyer interest in this kind ofoffer makes us include new lux-ury residential projects in ourplans,” said Iwona Dekarz,sales and marketing director atEcho Investment.

Smaller companies thatdevelop both luxury and moreaffordable apartments includeMagnus Group, which is activein the highly popular Warsawdistrict of Bia∏o∏´ka and hasalso developed the luxuryRezydencja Pi´kna Nova andSzósty Zmys∏ investments inthe capital’s downtown.

Know-how neededReal estate market analystspoint out that the developmentof luxury residential projects,whether by regular housingdevelopers or companies whichspecialize in that specific kindof products, requires theemployment of special toolsand know-how.

Katarzyna LubaÊ, an analystat redNet Property Group,noted that a unique location,often in a city’s historical centerand close to prestigious institu-tions, is a more important fac-tor than apartment price forpotential buyers of luxuryhomes.

Also the quality of thearchitecture of a given buildingand the prestige of its architect,

keeping up with the mostrecent trends and the use ofhighest-quality finishing mate-rials are all important in themarket.

It is therefore crucial thatdevelopment companies thatbuild luxury residential projectsdo thorough research of buy-ers’ needs and have knowledgeof the specificity of this seg-ment of the market, Ms LubaÊsaid.

Of a similar opinion wasBartosz Jankowski, primarymarket manager at Home

Broker. He stressed that thecost of constructing a luxuryapartment can be twice ashigh as that of building a mid-market unit.

The investment processinvolves contracting arenowned architectural studioand a renowned constructioncompany, as well as employ-ing special marketing tech-niques as the luxury homebuyer is much more demand-ing and choosy, Mr Jankowskisaid.


JULY 9-22, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl

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

on July 5 (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX 60.40 13.32 53.30 89.70 -34.35 25,530,098 1,542.02

CELTIC 10.00 -16.67 12.76 22.70 -51.22 34,068,252 340.68

DOMDEV 28.35 4.23 23.50 49.39 -40.78 24,670,397 699.41

ECHO 3.60 1.98 3.05 5.09 -33.09 420,000,000 1,512.00

ELBUDOWA 98.10 4.31 87.00 164.00 -38.69 4,747,608 465.74

ENERGOPLD 0.76 10.14 0.61 3.90 -80.10 70,972,001 53.94

ERBUD 14.50 -3.33 13.71 29.90 -52.46 12,644,169 183.34

GANT 6.66 11.74 5.85 11.24 -43.61 20,499,953 136.53

GTC 6.57 4.29 5.20 17.90 -62.48 219,372,990 1,441.28

HBPOLSKA 0.22 37.50 0.15 2.15 -90.22 210,558,445 46.32

JWCONSTR 4.73 19.75 3.86 14.88 -68.34 54,073,280 255.77

LCCORP 1.28 -2.29 0.85 1.48 -9.22 447,558,311 572.87

MARVIPOL 10.50 3.75 6.20 10.50 5.53 36,923,400 387.70

MIRBUD 1.14 -4.20 0.99 3.82 -70.54 75,000,000 85.50

MOSTALWAR 14.50 2.76 11.30 31.03 -53.94 20,000,000 290.00

MOSTALZAB 1.00 -2.91 0.99 2.58 -62.41 149,130,538 149.13

ORCOGROUP 10.50 2.24 9.68 32.50 -66.97 35,415,406 371.86

PBG 9.90 71.88 5.30 151.00 -93.36 14,295,000 141.52

PLAZACNTR 2.30 -1.29 1.80 4.17 -42.50 297,174,515 683.50

POLAQUA 5.69 -5.01 4.53 18.80 -69.21 27,500,100 156.48

POLIMEXMS 0.82 18.84 0.69 3.53 -75.67 521,154,076 427.35

POLNORD 14.90 -1.00 10.49 26.79 -44.81 23,798,439 354.60

RANKPROGR 9.03 1.57 7.85 16.97 -27.76 37,145,050 335.42

ROBYG 1.35 0.75 1.04 1.91 -28.95 257,935,500 348.21

RONSON 0.89 -6.32 0.77 1.38 -36.88 272,360,000 242.40

TRAKCJA 0.91 3.41 0.65 3.13 -70.26 232,105,480 211.22

ULMA 39.86 -1.07 38.88 82.00 -50.18 5,255,632 209.49

UNIBEP 4.80 -0.83 4.47 6.61 -27.16 34,021,684 163.30

WARIMPEX 3.24 2.86 2.95 8.43 -62.11 54,000,000 174.96

ZUE 6.29 -0.16 5.07 11.27 -36.53 22,000,000 138.38

Property-related stocks

Luxury residential market

Providing prestige

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F E

CH

O I

NV

ES

TM

EN

T

Echo Investment’s Klimt House in Warsaw

Selected luxury homes developers in Poland

Atlas Estates

The developer’s portfolio includes the Platinum Towers projectin Warsaw, a complex of two luxury residential high-rise build-ings located right next to the capital’s Hilton Warsaw Hotel &Convention Centre.

Contact: (+48) 22 632 60 20, atlasestates.pl

Eko-Park

The company is involved in an eponymous project in Warsawthat comprises 11 complexes of luxury residences. Construc-tion is now underway on Grazioso Apartamenty, the last phaseof the scheme.

Contact: (+48) 22 513 00 00, ekopark.pl

Icon Real Estate

The developer specializes in the revitalization of historical ten-ement houses and is also currently involved in the develop-ment of the Piano House luxury residential project in Warsaw’sprestigious PowiÊle neighborhood.

Contact: (+48) 22 244 13 60, iconre.pl

Maylane Polska

The developer is focused on the delivery of luxury residentialprojects in Kraków. The company’s investments include theParkside, Cityside and Riverside developments located in thedowntown of the city.

Contact: (+48) 12 428 72 22, maylane.com

Menolly Poland

Part of the Irish real estate developer and investor, MenollyGroup, the company is best known in Poland for its Nowe Pow-iÊle luxury apartments and penthouses in Warsaw locatedclose to the bank of the Vistula River.

Contact: (+48) 22 845 00 00, menolly.pl

Orco Property Group

The company is now building Z∏ota 44 in Warsaw, a DanielLibeskind-designed signature skyscraper that will house,among other things, the most expensive penthouse availablein the capital’s market.

Contact: (+48) 22 595 49 00, orco.pl

Tacit Development Polska

The flagship investment of this developer is the CosmopolitanTwarda 2/4 residential tower in Warsaw offering over 250 turn-key apartments. The skyscraper was designed by therenowned German-American architect, Helmut Jahn.

Contact: (+48) 22 213 50 00, tacit.com.pl

Zdrojowa Invest

The company is one of the largest providers of luxury secondhomes in Poland. The developer’s offer includes apartments inseveral locations in the Mazury Lake District, in the Polishmountains and on the Baltic Sea.

Contact: (+48) 22 713 89 00, zdrojowainvest.pl

New infrastructureprojects should attractdevelopers to thehitherto neglectedpart of the city

Warsaw’s eastern districts ofPraga Pó∏noc and PragaPo∏udnie stand a good chanceof attracting new commercialproperty investments in thenext few years following thedevelopment of the area’sinfrastructure in the run-up tothe Euro 2012 soccer champi-onship, according to a recentreport by CBRE.

To date, that part of thePolish capital – on the east

bank of the Vistula River – hasnot attracted many commer-cial space developers, thestudy noted. The existingoffice supply in the area, forinstance, currently amounts to171,000 sqm, compared toalmost 3.5 million sqm in left-bank Warsaw.

The retail market is seenas more mature, with thePraga districts featuring over360,000 sqm of shopping cen-ter space in facilities includ-ing Promenada, WarszawaWileƒska, CH Goc∏aw andKing Cross Praga. By com-parison, the supply of retailspace in left-bank Warsawtotals 963,000 sqm.

According to CBRE ana-lysts, there has been a positiveshift in the perception ofPraga in recent years and theconstruction of the NationalStadium and the moderniza-tion of two of the area’s rail-way stations have alreadylargely contributed to furtherimproving its image.

Several planned transportinfrastructure projects, includ-ing the Trasa Tysiàclecia andTrasa Âwi´tokrzyska roads, aswell as a new ring road, areexpected to be crucial in thedevelopment of new commer-cial investments in Praga.

“It is the second subwayline that will be a break-through,” Joanna Mroczek,director, research and consul-tancy at CBRE Poland, said ina statement. Two subway sta-tions are scheduled to be com-pleted in Praga in 2014.

The CBRE report pointedout that a number of newmajor commercial projects inPraga have already beenannounced. Those include theredevelopment of the PortPraski area and the formerKoneser vodka distillery in thePraga Pó∏noc district.

ZZooffiiaa RRóó˝̋aallsskkaa

JULY 9-22, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17

Commercial space

Warsaw’s Praga to benefitfrom Euro 2012: report

Developer UBM has signed apreliminary agreement withAlma Market concerning thedevelopment of a class-Aoffice building called AlmaTower in Kraków, Ma∏opolskievoivodship. According to thedeal, Alma Market will leaseapproximately 50 percent ofthe space in the scheme.

Construction on AlmaTower, which will deliver10,000 sqm of space, is sched-uled to launch in the thirdquarter of this year and finish18 months later. UBM Polska

is responsible for the architec-tural design and commercial-ization of the investment.

“The Alma Tower projectwill be the first commercialinvestment of UBM inKraków,” Peter Obernhuber,management board memberat UBM Polska, said in a state-ment. He added that the com-pany sees potential in the city’soffice market.

In other news, UBM hasannounced the delivery of thesecond phase of the PoleczkiBusiness Park project in

which the company is nowinvolved, along with CAImmo, in Warsaw. The phasecomprises two buildingsoffering a total of more than21,000 sqm of class-A officespace.

Poleczki Business Park islocated on ul. Poleczki in thecapital’s Ursynów district. Thefirst phase of the investmentwas completed in March 2010and consists of two buildingscomprising a combined 45,000sqm of space.


UBM to build Alma Towerbuilding in Kraków

Right-bank bureausMajor existing office buildings in Praga

Source: CBRE

Building Year completed Office space (sqm)

Promenada 1996 12,800

Siemens 1999 15,000

Centrum Milenium 2000 10,200

Blue Point 2001 14,500

Polsat TV 2002/2008 11,400

Warszawa Wileƒska 2002 12,500

Radwar Business Park 2010 11,800

Municipal officials in Olsz-tyn, the capital of the War-miƒsko-Mazurskie voivod-ship, last month launched theprocedure for drawing up azoning plan for the area sur-rounding the city’s main rail-way station.

The zoning plan is awaitedby real estate investor RetailProvider, which is looking todevelop an investment called

Nowy Dworzec Olsztyn onland in the area. If the zoningis in place by the end of thisyear, the company will startconstruction in H1 2013.

The Nowy Dworzec Olsz-tyn project calls for the devel-opment of a shopping mallwith 45,000 sqm of leasablespace that would be integrat-ed with modern railway andbus stations. The value of the

scheme is estimated atapproximately €115 million.

“The investment is alreadyenjoying ample interest ofkey tenants so the officialcommercialization of theproject will launch as early asin July,” Tomasz Andrysz-czyk, a spokesperson forRetail Provider, said in astatement.


Retail Provider awaitszoning for Olsztyn mall

JULY 9-22, 2012TTHHEE LLIISSTT18 www.wbj.pl

Education

Language SchoolsRanked by revenue from language training in 2010 www.bookoflists.pl

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Revenuefrom

languagetraining(z∏. mln)

Totalrevenue(z∏. mln)

Number ofstudents

For

child

ren /

A

dults

/ C

orp

ora

te

Inte

nsi

ve /

In

div

idual /

Gro

up

On-s

ite (

at

schools

) /

Off

-site /

C

onve

rsation

Special coursesPreparatory

courses for examsCertificates

Englis

h /

Germ

an /

French

Spanis

h /

Russ

ian /

Italia

n

Other Selected clients

Num

ber

of

teachers

/N

ative

speake

rs

Num

ber

of

bra

nches:

in

Pola

nd /

in W

ars

aw

/Ye

ar

founded

Top localexecutive /

Title

1

Learning Systems Poland Sp. z o.o. Al. SolidarnoÊci 117, 00-140 Warsaw22 429-0666/22 429-0603www.empikschool.pl; www.speakup.pl

64.0115.0111.0101.0

64.0115.0111.0101.0

43,23185,23481,01965,986

✓✓✓

✓✓

WND

WNDWND

✓

EU project fulfillment(8.1.1; 9.1.2; 9.1.1; 9.4;

9.5); courses forcompanies (telephoning;mailing; meetings and

presentations; customercare; writing)

City & Guilds; LCCI;TELC; TOLES;

Cambridge; TOEFL

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty for

8 schools

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Finnish; Norwegian;Swedish; Hungarian;Japanese; Arabic and

others on demand

WND900150

569

2001

Jordi DaletPresident

2

TFLS - Testing & Foreign Language Servicesul. Boduena 4, 00-011 Warsaw22 622-2058 /22 622-2058 [email protected]

5.311.510.913.4

5.311.510.913.4

3,5245,2054,6586,757

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓-✓

Special courses for:business, law, finance and

banking, IT, medicine,teachers; technical English

FCE; CEA; CPE; EFB(LCCI); TOEFL; TOLES;

FCTBE; GMAT; TKT

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty;IATEFL - International

Association of Teachers ofEnglish as a Foreign

Language; British CouncilPoland; LCCI - London

Chamber of Commerceand Industry; GLE - Global

Legal English; ETS -Educational Testing

Service; Cambridge ESOLExam Preparation Centre

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Swedish

Orlen Upstream; NikonPolska; Bank ZachodniWBK; ING Investment

Management

20832

77

1993

Witold Buczyƒski;Iwona Âwi´cicka

Director; Director ofStudies

3

Lang LTC Sp. z o.o.ul. S´dziowska 5, 02-081 Warsaw22 825-1648/22 [email protected]

4.68.27.47.8

4.58.37.58.9

6,3458,5277,3326,903

-✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Bussiness; law;accounting

PET; KET; FCE; CAE;CPE; BEC; BULATS

PASE; ISO 9001:2009;accreditation of University

of Cambridge ESOLExaminations

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Chinese; Slovak; Czech;Swedish; Hungarian and

others on demandWND

24323

WNDWND1991

KatarzynaKieszkowska

President

4

L2 - Language Consulting Sp. z o.o.ul. Marsza∏kowska 8/17, 00-590 Warsaw22 622-4772/22 [email protected]

3.86.87.07.9

3.86.87.07.9

2,6004,6004,0005,000

✓✓

WND

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Accounting; financial; law;HR; IT; marketing;

commerce; politics;project management;

commercialcorrespondence;

negotiating; businesscommunications; office;

everyday English

FCE; CAE; CPE; EFB;SEFIC; TOEFL; BEC;

KDS; GDS; ZD; ZMP;ZDfB; DELF; DALF;

TOEIC; ICFE; ILEC; IELTS;TOLES; DELE

EuroCertyfikat 2008;JakoÊç Roku 2008;

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Polish for foreigners;Greek; Albanian;

Swedish; Portuguese;Dutch; Czech; Slovak;

Danish

WND45090

55

1999

Maria Czaja-Dysiewicz

President

5

Warsaw Study Centre Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.ul. Pandy 13/5, 02-202 Warsaw22 824-2393/22 [email protected]

3.56.45.26.1

3.66.55.26.2

1,9605,1556,5456,200

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Courses for auditors,prosecutors; NATO & EU

FCE; CAE; CPE; KET;PET; YLE; ZD; ZMP;

DELF; DALF; BEC; TOEIC;IELTS; TOEFL; ZDfB

PASE; SzkoleniaNajwy˝szej JakoÊci

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Swedish; Chinese;Arabic; Portuguese;

Japanese; Czech; Polishfor foreigners and others

PGNiG; Faurecia; Samsung;Henkel; Warsaw Stock

Exchange: TP; Polkomtel

WNDWND

22

1991

MarzenaFryckowska

President

6

Ogólnopolska Grupa J´zykowa Lingua Nova Sp. z o.o.ul. Wspólna 41, 00-519 Warsaw801-080-424/22 [email protected]

3.73.46.57.0

3.73.46.57.0

2,1002,3003,1003,300

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Technical; law; medical;business

LCCI; TOEIC; IELTS;TOEFL; FCE; CAE; CPE;KET; PET; IELTS; ILEC;BUTLATS; ZD; ZDfB;

ZMP; PWD; ZOP; DELE;DALF; DELF; CILS; CELI

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty; ISO:

9001; ETS; LCCI; ELCLQuality Alliance

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Any other on demand WND16035

63

1991

Bartosz SzykePresident

7

BRITISH CENTRE Bo˝enaZiemniewicz, Marian MikuÊ Sp.j.ul. Pomorska 140, 91-404 ¸ódê42 678-9126/42 [email protected]

WND3.1

WNDWND

WND3.1

WNDWND

WND3,5441,8641,706

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓-✓

Business negotiations;business correspondence;

communication; phoneconversation;

presentations; businessmeetings; languages: law,

medical, finance andbanking, technical, survival

English

Cambridge BULATS;Pearson Language Test;Cambridge ESOL; TELC;

DELE; CELI; DELF

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty;

EuroCertyfikat 2007; FirmaRoku 2010 Primus InterPares; Lider w Edukacji

2011

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Chinese; Swedish;Bulgarian; Lithuanian;Latvian; Norwegian;Romanian; Serbian;Ukrainian; Hungarian

ABB; Ariadna; BankowyFundusz Leasingowy; BREBank; Cebal Tuba; Gazeta

Wyborcza; Hotele Centrum;Makro Cash and Carry;

Media Markt; OBI; Uniqa;Polimex Mostostal;

Próchnik

493

4-

1993

Bo˝enaZiemniewicz

Co-owner

8

PHU BEST Centrum J´zyków Obcychul. Kopernika 1B, 43-100 Tychy32 217-7801/32 [email protected]

1.32.32.42.3

1.32.32.42.3

1,7903,5602,9813,146

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓-✓

Courses for seniors;courses for shift workers;

business; technical;medical; IT; courses for

foreigners

TOEIC; WiDaF; TFI; LCCI(EFB; FELSA; ELSA; JET;

SET); FCE; CAE; CPE;PET; KET; BEC; ZD;

Goethe-Zertifikat; FIT;DELE; DELF; CILS; CELI

Accreditation ofKuratorium OÊwiaty; ELCLQA (European LanguageCompetence Licence);ETS; LCCI; TELC; British

Council Supplier Institutionfor Cambridge ESOL

Examinations

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Czech; Croatian; Swedish;Norwegian; Danish;

Japanese; Chinese; Polishfor foreigners; Arabic;

Slovak; Hungarian;Romanian; Bulgarian;Ukrainian; Portuguese;Dutch; Greek; Turkish;Persian; Hebrew; Latin

Hager Polo; Hydac; Coca-Cola HBC; Hilton Foods;

Johnson Controls;Voestalpine; ArcelorMittal;Almi Polska; Aweco Polska

Appliance; Poschmann

11511

5-

1996

DariuszWiÊniewski

Director

9

ACT Advanced Corporate TrainingSp. z o.o.ul. Wilcza 31/5, 00-544 Warsaw22 856-7407/22 [email protected]

1.11.62.33.2

1.42.22.83.9

WNDWNDWNDWND

-✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Presentations;negotiations; conducting

meetings; businesscorrespondence; financeand banking; HR; sales

and marketing; customerservice; production

management

FCE; CAE; CPE; BEC;TOEIC; ILEC

PASE; Data Group

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Polish for foreigners;Czech; Portuguese

Skanska; Jeronimo MartinsDystrybucja; Allianz;Skandia; Jones Lang

LaSalle

9323

11

1999

Ma∏gorzataProcnerDirector

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Course types Languages taught

JULY 9-22, 2012 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 19

Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was con-ducted in December 2011. Number of employees is as of August 2010. All information per-tains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our survey are notlisted. Reported in cooperation with Polish Association for standards in Language Education.

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 and typographical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal,attn. Katarzyna Hernik, ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to [email protected]. Copyright 2011, ValkeaMedia SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Revenuefrom

languagetraining(z∏. mln)

Totalrevenue(z∏. mln)

Number ofstudents

For

child

ren /

A

dults

/ C

orp

ora

te

Inte

nsi

ve /

In

div

idual /

Gro

up

On-s

ite (

at

schools

) /

Off

-site /

C

onve

rsation

Special coursesPreparatory

courses for examsCertificates

Englis

h /

Germ

an /

French

Spanis

h /

Russ

ian /

Italia

n

Other Selected clients

Num

ber

of

teachers

/N

ative

speake

rs

Num

ber

of

bra

nches:

in

Pola

nd /

in W

ars

aw

/Ye

ar

founded

Top localexecutive /

Title

9

Skrivanek Sp. z o.o.ul. Podlaska 12, 20-304 Lublin58 337-1336/58 [email protected]

1.01.62.13.2

6.611.213.716.9

WNDWND3,0004,000

-✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Business; law; customizedFCE; CAE; BEC; LCCI;

ILEC; TOLES; TELC; TOIC

ISO; accreditation ofMinistry of National

Education

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Dutch TP; Avon; Estee Lauder10020

WNDWND1997

ZbigniewDàbrowski

Product Manager

11

OXFORD SERVICES - JacekKieruczenkoul. Sienkiewicza 40, 90-009 ¸ódê42 630-7072/42 [email protected]

0.51.41.92.1

0.51.41.92.1

660750

1,2101,050

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Courses for theunemployed; courses for

seniors

YLE; KET; PET; FCE; CAE;CPE; BEC; TOEIC;

SWEDEXPASE

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Swedish; Portuguese;Dutch; Arabic; Polish for

foreignersWND

352

1-

1992

JacekKieruczenko

12

Szko∏a J´zyków Obcych CentrumEdukacji Grupa ORLENul. Kobyliƒskiego 25, 09-400 P∏ock24 365-8619 24 365-8653/24 [email protected]

1.31.31.31.4

14.016.57.88.2

1,9462,2282,1242,487

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Business; finance;chemical

KET; PET; FCE; CAE;CPE;BEC; IETLS; YLE; TOLES;ILEC; ICFE; TKT; DELE;TORFL 1-5; ZD; ZDfB;ZDP; CELI; CILS; DELF;

CEFP

Accreditation ofMazowiecki KuratorOÊwiaty; DIN EN ISO

9001-2008; British Council;Cambridge ESOL

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Lithuanian; Ukrainian;Polish for foreigners

PKN Orlen; Mostostal;Basell Orlen Polyolefins;

CNH Polska

502

2-

1999

Joanna LisiewskaManager

13

Plimat - Centrum J´zykowe -Maciej Pliszkaul. ¸ukasiƒskiego 7, 58-100 Âwidnica74 853-6620/74 [email protected]

0.30.60.70.7

0.30.60.70.7

5901,1001,2001,100

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Business

TELC; KET; PET; FCE;CAE; CPE; IELTS; TOEFL;

TOEIC; ESOL Trinity;DELE; Goethe-Institut

Trinity College; TELC

✓✓-

✓✓✓

Polish for foreignersColgate; Krause; Dolmeb;Colorobbia; T&PN Polska;

NIFCO

133

2-

2002

Maciej PliszkaOwner

14

AKADEMOS Sp. z o.o. - Szko∏aJ´zykowa PADEREWSKIul. Symfoniczna 1, 20-853 Lublin81 443-8805/81 [email protected]

0.20.50.40.4

0.20.50.40.5

271314335395

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Business; law; medical;technical; IT; Polish for

foreigners

TOEIC; TOEFL; TFI; IELTS;SAT; YLE; KET; PET; FCE;

CAE; CPE; BECTELC; ETS

✓✓✓

✓✓-

Polish for foreignersSchenker; CompugroupMedical Polska; Bury;District court in Lublin

223

1-

1995

AnnaGuldynowicz

Director

15

Meritum-Polish Language Schoolul. Poleczki 23F, 02-822 Warsaw22 436-7393/22 [email protected]

0.30.40.50.5

0.30.40.50.5

291498494545

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Banking and finance; Theart of assertiveness;

business management;day-to-day Polish; cultural

differences; integrationworkshops; company

presentation; accountingand finance

Committee of BankingSupervisory: B1-TresholdLevel; B2-Ventage Level;

C2-Mastery Level

Professional CompanyCertificate

---

---

Polish for foreigners

Nestlé Polska; NestléPolska; Bank BG˚; BankBPH; Embassy of South

Africa

2525

22

1992

DariuszPi∏atowicz

Director

16

Lingua Polonicaul. Zamiany 14/12, 02-784 Warsaw604-752-573/22 823-9480linguapolonica@linguapolonica.com.plwww.linguapolonica.com.pl

WND0.10.04WND

WND0.10.04WND

WND555040

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Courses for diplomats;business; profiled courses

Preparing for Polishlanguage national exam

WND

✓--

---

Polish for foreignersMerck; Bancaja; British

Embassy; French Embassy;France Telecom; Nike

55

11

2007

Monika Tomala

NR

EBL - European Business Languagesul. Miklaszewskiego 3, 02-776 Warsaw22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

2,5003,0002,800WND

-✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Business WND -

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Polish for foreignersEaton; Rheinzink; Fast

Group; Proservice AgentTransferowy

307

11

1999

SebastianB∏aszczyk

Director

NR

Future Centre Training CorporationKrawczyk i Lipczyƒski Sp.j.ul. Mariensztat 8, 00-302 Warsaw22 538-9111/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

4,7266,2234,2105,438

-✓✓

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Language trips for youth;banking and finance;gastronomy; HR; IT;

accounting; marketing;law; technical

TOEIC; TOFEL; WiDaF;TFI; LCCI

PIFS; LCCI; ETS

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Polish for foreigners;Portuguese; Swedish;Norwegian; Chinese

WND45060

21

2000

Robert KrawczykManaging Director

NR

Sympozjum Joanna Rostek &Patrick Trompizul. Lwowska 2A/47, 00-658 Warsaw22 875-8589 513-097-400/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

600600700

WND

WND✓✓

✓✓✓

✓WNDWND

Courses for lawyers, taxconsultants, accountants,real estate agents, assetvaluers, businesspeople

TOLES; ILEC; IELTS;ICFE; Certificate of Polish

as Foreign Language;BEC; Goethe-Zertifikat;DELF; DALF; DEEL; DFP

WND

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

Japanese; Icelandic;Polish for foreigners

Mennica Polska; Deloitte;TMF Poland; Iberdrola

5010

41

1995

Joanna Rostek;Patrick Trompiz

Partners

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Course types Languages taught

JULY 9-22, 2012MMAARRKKEETTSS20 www.wbj.pl

SO

UR

CE

: W

SE

PLN-EUR

4.26

13

4.23

08

4.21

10

4.20

46

4.22

21

4.21

78

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

74.1

4.3

4.50 PLN-USD

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

3.38

85

3.34

56

3.34

27

3.34

15

3.37

43

3.40

57

3.2

3.5

3.8 PLN-GBP

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

75.20

5.35

5.50

5.28

96

5.24

46

5.24

51

5.22

90

5.25

73

5.29

14

PLN-CHF

3.54

77

3.52

17

3.50

52

3.50

05

3.51

42

3.51

19

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

73.4

3.77

PLN-RUB

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

7

0.10

30

0.10

30

0.10

27

0.10

38

0.10

39

0.10

43

0.1

0.11 PLN-100JPY

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

06.0

74.0

4.8

4.26

13

4.19

99

4.18

90

4.18

70

4.23

67

4.26

45

currency rates

Euro hopes

help the z∏oty

Currency report

Developments in Europeprovided the necessaryimpulses for markets torebound in late June andearly July. During a recentEU summit it was decidedthat Spain and Italy wouldreceive financial aid. More-over, more help has comefrom central banks as theECB cut interest rates by 25basis points to 0.75 percentin early July and the Bank ofEngland extended its asset-purchase program.

The EU summit decisionas well as hopes that therewill be more interventionsfrom central banks lifted theEUR/USD. However, wheninvestors realized that thefinancial help given to Spainand Italy had not solved theunderlying problem, a selloffof the euro began, which con-tinued after the expectedECB interest cut, bringing the

EUR/USD to $1.24. The out-look remains negative andlower levels are expected.

On the local market, theMonetary Policy Council(RPP) kept interest ratesunchanged at 4.75 percent,but central bank presidentMarek Belka pointed tosymptoms of an economicslowdown. This has nowbecome the major worry, withinflationary fears declining.The RPP is not expected tochange its monetary policyany time soon, with rate hikesnow out of the question.

The same hopes that liftedthe euro also helped the z∏otyregain value against the majorcurrency pairs, with the Polishcurrency breaking throughthe psychological barrier ofz∏.4.20 to the euro in earlyJuly. On Friday, June 6, thez∏oty was at 4.21 to the euro,according to NBP data. ●

Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA

SO

UR

CE

: N

BP

Major indices

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

PBG 9.90 71.88 151.70 5.21IFCAPITAL 6.59 46.44 14.97 0.45ADVADIS 0.07 40.00 0.16 0.04HBPOLSKA 0.22 37.50 2.28 0.15AGROTON 9.78 26.36 31.50 7.29

WIG 41,013.96 (July 5 close)

Change for the week: 2.11% 52-week high: 49,747.78

Change year to July 5: 7.04% 52-week low: 36,549.47

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

PBG 9.90 71.88 151.70 5.21POLIMEXMS 0.82 18.84 3.55 0.65TVN 9.37 9.98 17.29 7.38LOTOS 29.41 8.13 46.43 21.30KGHM 153.00 7.75 198.20 102.40

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

ABMSOLID 0.80 -40.74 8.45 0.73IDMSA 1.07 -40.56 2.72 1.00SEKO 3.90 -34.67 9.52 3.72INTERSPPL 2.41 -32.87 4.56 1.33IDEATFI 1.98 -25.00 9.19 1.91

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week low

CEZ 115.00 -2.79 146.00 112.00ASSECOPOL 48.75 -1.91 55.45 34.50TAURONPE 4.40 -1.12 6.56 4.10BZWBK 228.00 -0.83 240.00 190.10TPSA 15.45 -0.64 18.56 14.30

WIG20 2,287.47 (July 5 close)



mWIG40 2,295.44 (July 5 close)



sWIG80 9,528.25 (July 5 close)



NewConnect 35.87 (July 5 close)

Change for the week: -1.24% 52-week high: 56.98

Change year to July 5: -13.55% 52-week low: 35.87

WIG-Banki 5,766.43 (July 5 close)



DJIA12,896.67 (July 5 close)

2.14% (for the week)

CHANGE: 2.05%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 13,359.60

52-week low: 10,362.30

NASDAQ2,976.12 (July 5 close)


CHANGE: 8.56%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 3,134.17

52-week low: 2,298.89

S&P5001,367.58 (July 5 close)


CHANGE: 4.29%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 1,422.38

52-week low: 1,074.77

FTSE1005,692.60 (July 5 close)


CHANGE: -3.63%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 6,084.10

52-week low: 4,791.00

DAX6,535.56 (July 5 close)


CHANGE: 1.22%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 7,523.53

52-week low: 4,965.80

NIKKEI2259,079.80 July 5 close)


CHANGE: 3.67%

(year to July 5)

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 8,135.79

world stock indices

36,000

37,200

38,400

39,600

40,800

42,000

08.0

6

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7 2,000

2,060

2,120

2,180

2,240

2,30008

.06

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

2,000

2,100

2,200

2,300

2,400

2,500

08.0

6

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

8,000

8,400

8,800

9,200

9,600

10,000

08.0

6

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

35

36

37

38

39

40

08.0

6

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7 5,100

5,300

5,500

5,700

5,900

6,100

08.0

6

11.0

6

12.0

6

13.0

6

14.0

6

15.0

6

18.0

6

19.0

6

20.0

6

21.0

6

22.0

6

25.0

6

26.0

6

27.0

6

28.0

6

29.0

6

02.0

7

03.0

7

04.0

7

05.0

7

Other indices

The WIG

struggles

Stocks report

The first week of July startedwith a struggle, with Polishstocks performing worse thantheir European peers. OnJuly 2, on the back of poormanufacturing data from theeuro zone and the UnitedStates, Poland released itsworst industrial productiondata in three years. The WIGshed slightly more than half apercent, with the WIG20dropping nearly a percent.Hit particularly hard werefinancial shares, with Hand-lowy dropping 3.4 percentand Pekao 2.6 percent.

Tuesday July 3 saw sharesregain Monday’s losses aftergrowing expectations thatmajor central banks will actto bolster the world econo-my. Volumes were lowthroughout Europe, possiblythe effect of a shorter day inthe US ahead of Indepen-dence Day on July 4. The

WIG did manage to gain halfa percent, with the WIG20up 0.70 percent.

Volumes remained low onWednesday July 4, withstocks again pulling back.Investors took the day to waitand see how policy decisionsby the European CentralBank and The Bank of Eng-land would pan out the nextday. Both the WIG andWIG20 dropped by about 0.4percent.

On Thursday July 5, afterthe ECB lowered its interestrate in line with expectations,markets throughout Europedipped. Only Tallinn andWarsaw managed to closehigher, with Warsaw’sWIG20 up 1.1 percent.

On Friday, July 6, theWIG finished down 0.54 per-cent. The next two weeksahead will continue to dependon events in Europe. ●

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst

JULY 9-22, 2012 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 21

Polish FootballAssociation presidentGrzegorz Lato hasalso said he will standfor reelection, despitepreviously claiming hewould resign if Polandfailed to advance fromits Euro 2012 group

Poland’s new national soccermanager was due be named onJuly 10, following the dismissalof former head coach Fran-ciszek Smuda after he failed toguide his side out of the Euro2012 group stages.

The board of the PolishFootball Association (PZPN)has been meeting to discusswho the new coach should be,

with media speculation sug-gesting current Ruch Chorzówmanager Waldemar Fornalikcould be the front runner inthe race to succeed Smuda.

Mr Fornalik has yet to liftsilverware as a coach but hehas vast experience both as anassistant and head coach atvarious Polish clubs, and lastseason guided the unfanciedRuch Chorzów to second placein Poland’s top league – theEkstraklasa.

“They are conducting inter-views with candidates, theirnames will be presented onJuly 10, and the board willdecide who is the best personto take over as team coach,”said PZPN spokespersonAgnieszka Olejkowska.

Ms Olejkowska also con-firmed that despite earlier dis-cussions considering formerEngland coach Sven-GoranEriksson as a potential manag-er, PZPN’s board had decidedto look exclusively for a Polishcoach.

U-turnPrior to the naming of the newnational team head coach thecurrent president of PZPN,Grzegorz Lato, performed amajor U-turn when heannounced that he wouldstand for reelection in Octo-ber. This was despite the manwho was the top scorer at the1974 World Cup previouslysaying he would stand down ifthe Polish national team failed

to qualify for the knockoutstages of Euro 2012.

But in a statement onPZPN’s website Mr Lato wrote,“I never said that I wouldresign, however, I repeatedlystressed that the final decisionwould be made after the Euro-pean Championship finals.”

“The championships arenow finished, we were veryhighly evaluated by UEFApresident Michel Platini. Wecan all be proud of the organi-zation of the event in Poland,”he added.

Mr Lato has been criticizedduring his time in charge fornot modernizing PZPN, andfor failing to address corrup-tion within the Polish game.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Polish soccer

PZPN set to announce new national team coach

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

National team coach Franciszek Smuda lost his job

following Poland’s disappointing display at Euro 2012

Agnieszka Radwaƒskabecame the first Poleto reach a Wimbledonfinal in 75 years

Polish tennis player AgnieszkaRadwaƒska made history bybeating Germany’s AngeliqueKerber 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimble-don semifinals. As a result, the23-year-old became the firstPolish player to reach a GrandSlam final in the open era, andthe first Polish Wimbledonfinalist since Jadwiga J´drze-jowska lost in the 1937 final.

The Polish player won fivegames in a row to secure thefirst set against eighth seed Ms

Kerber, after previously beingdown 3-1. A single break in thesecond ensured a comfortablevictory and Ms Radwaƒska’sfirst-ever Grand Slam finalappearance.

“This is what I’ve beendreaming of since I was a kid,”she said after the match.

Speaking about her semi-final opponent, Ms Radwaƒskasaid, “I had a tough quarter-final and it was good to have aday off and rest because it’salways tough against Angie.”

“We are really good friendsbut on court we’re opponentsand you’re trying everything tomake the final,” she added.

On the way to the semis MsRadwaƒska defeated 17th seedMaria Kirilenko 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 inthe quarterfinals, to ensureWimbledon 2012 was guaran-teed to provide her best-everGrand Slam performanceregardless of whether shedefeated Ms Kerber.

As WBJ went to press thefinal was still due to be played.Ms Radwaƒska was set to facefour-time Wimbledon winnerSerena Williams in what wasbilled to be the Polish star’sbiggest test to date. If shedefeated Ms Williams she willhave advanced to the top of theWTA rankings. ZZooffiiaa RRóó˝̋aallsskkaa

Tennis

AA PPoolliisshh WWiimmbblleeddoonnwwiinnnneerr?? The former national

team coach said thosewho run the country'ssoccer association areliving on the successesof 1974 and 1982

Poland’s former national soc-cer team coach Leo Been-hakker has criticized the Pol-ish Football Association(PZPN) for living on the glo-ries of the side which reachedtwo World Cup semi-finals ineight years.

“You have plenty of talent-ed players but you do notknow how to use them andeducate them. These are theconsequences of the peoplerunning PZPN still beinginspired by their successes in1974 and 1982,” the Dutch-man, a former Real Madridmanager, told Polish sportswebsite Sport.pl.

“The most important thingis to change the whole systemof training young people,which must be made under thebanner of the Polish FootballAssociation, and not left to theclubs. You have a lot of talent-ed kids, let the well-educated,young coaches transmit theirknowledge about what mod-ern soccer is,” Mr Beenhakkersaid.

He added that he was

cheering for Poland during thetournament, but felt Polishcoach Franciszek Smuda’snegative tactics in attemptingto hold on to a 1-0 lead againstGreece cost the team a placein the knockout stages, sincePoland went on to draw thegame 1-1.

As Poland coach Mr Been-hakker guided the team totheir first-ever EuropeanChampionships in 2008,before they were knocked outin the group stages. Followinghis failure to help Poland qual-ify for the World Cup two

years later, he was sacked asnational team head coach.

Mr Beenhakker, who hashad significant success as acoach of both club and nation-al sides in an illustrious career,caused controversy during histime as Poland’s managerbecause of comments he madeabout PZPN.

“Evolution is the process ofcoming down from the trees,”he said in 2009, adding thatuntil the leaders of PZPNcame down from their trees,Polish soccer would neverevolve. DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Polish soccer

Beenhakker criticizes PZPNfor focusing on the past

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

Leo Beenhakker

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

Agnieszka Radwaƒska

JULY 9-22, 2012LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE22 www.wbj.pl

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F M

AR

CIN

MA

KO

WS

KI/

AK

SO

N S

TU

DIO

The story of theSolidarity leader wasdirected by famedPolish film makerAndrzej Wajda

The movie version of LechWa∏´sa’s fight against Poland’scommunist authorities duringthe 1970s and 1980s (dubbed“Wa∏´sa”) finished filming onJune 29 and will now be editedahead of its release in Septem-ber 2012.

The film focuses on Mr

Wa∏´sa’s rise from an ordi-nary shipyard electrician inGdaƒsk to eventually becomethe leader of the Solidaritytrade union and subsequently,in 1990, the first democrati-cally elected president ofPoland.

Oscar-winning filmmakerAndrzej Wajda has directed thebiopic, and he quoted MrWa∏´sa’s famous presidentialslogan, “I don’t want to, butI’ve got no choice,” when askedto explain why he was makingthe movie. Robert Wi´ckiewicz

and Agnieszka Grochowskastar as Lech Wa∏´sa and hiswife Danuta Wa∏´sa.

“The film is mainlyaddressed to young people, atthe same time constituting areminder of an outstandingfilmmaker,” a statement onthe film’s website reads.

“Sometimes you must fightfor freedom, sometimes youmust defend it, there are, how-ever, no circumstances whichcould excuse you from con-templating our freedom.”


Robert Wi´ckiewicz as Lech Wa∏´sa

Marilyn MansonJuly 14, 6 pmStodo∏aul. Batorego 10Warsaw

Shock-rocker Marilyn Mansonis in town this month to per-form what promises to be anentertaining and no doubtcontroversial show.

Since bursting on to thescene back in 1994 with hiseponymous group’s debutalbum “Portrait of an Ameri-

can Family,” the singer, whosestage name is a juxtapositionof two famous Americans –Marilyn Monroe and CharlesManson – has often been seenas the scourge of middleAmerica for his perceived neg-ative influence on teenagers.

Although the group’s salesand fame have waned sincetheir peak with 1996’s“Antichrist Superstar” they’vestill achieved total album salesof more than 20 million, with

2012 release “Born Villain”their eighth studio recording.

Fans of the group canexpect to hear hits such as“The Beautiful People,”“Tourniquet,” and coversincluding their well-knownversion of “Sweet Dreams(Are Made of This)” duringtheir Warsaw gig.


For more information logon to stodola.pl

Concert

Return of the ‘Antichrist’

Warsaw Summer Jazz DaysJuly 8-29Sala Kongresowa and various locations aroundWarsaw

The annual Summer JazzDays Festival will once againwelcome international mod-ern jazz stars to Warsaw thisyear.

Among those set to per-form is legendary Americanjazz musician and pianist Her-bie Hancock, who came toprominence playing alongsidefellow jazz great Miles Davisand who has since become oneof the best-known jazz innova-tors.

Melody Gardot, a Gram-my-nominated Americansinger-songwriter and musi-cian will also treat audiences,as she plays songs from hernew album “The Absence.”

Others that are set to gracestages in the capital as part ofthe festival include Joe Lova-to, Dave Douglas, AmbroseAkinmusire, The Bad Plus andJoshua Redman.

Along with the live concerts,various workshops will be held,organized in cooperation with

sister festivals in Rome and theHague, aimed at young musi-cians who could be the nextgeneration of world-renownedjazz musicians.

ZZooffiiaa RRóó˝̋aallsskkaaTickets start from z∏.50 and

are available from adamiakjazz.pl

Festival

Jazzing it up

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

Herbie Hancock

Centre for ContemporaryArt at 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 2ul. Bia∏ostocka 9www.appendix2.com

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu

Galeria Foksal ul. Foksal 1-4www.galeriafoksal.pl

Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2Awww.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 IndependenceAleja 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.pl

Simonis Galleryul. Burakowska 9www.simonisgallery.com

State ArchaeologicalMuseum in Warsawul. D∏uga 52www.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

Film

‘‘WWaa∏∏´́ssaa’’ sshhoooott ffiinniisshheedd

The tablet market has a lot in com-mon with the fairy tale world – forevery Cinderella, there are at leasttwo ugly stepsisters.

Apple’s iPad is still princess pre-eminent in the market, accounting foraround 65 percent of new tabletsshipped internationally in Q1 2012(according to ABI Research). Sam-sung’s Galaxy brand isn’t quite asfetching – in fantasy terms, you mightcall it Snow White with a limp – but itremains solidly popular. Sales of theseven-inch Kindle Fire, meanwhile,have fizzled since last year; it’s stillselling, just nowhere near as well as itwas.

If we’re looking at the fairestof them all, that’s pretty much it.There are a few other interestingtablets, like the almost-charmingIdeaPad from Lenovo and Asus’ dar-ing but not quite dashing Transformerlineup, but the rest of the market is amotley assortment of technologicalhobgoblins that underwhelms at best.

Suffice it to say that nobody, withthe probable exception of Apple, ishappy with the status quo. Everyoneseems to have a grand plan to crackthe market, but no one has seenunmitigated success since the iPadessentially created the market in 2010.

Some major schemes arenow coming to fruition,however.

Microsoft, for exam-ple, recently unveiled anew tablet brandcalled the Surface.The firm is arrivingtragically late to theball, though, and ithas a thoroughlymixed recordon hard-ware.

Peripherals (mice, key-boards) and Xbox hardware havedone well, but there have been mis-steps a plenty. Zune, PC Phone Sys-tem MP-900 – we’re looking at you.

You might also recall having heardof a product named Surface as farback as 2007. The Surface of that erawas a large touch-screen computershaped like a table; Microsoft intend-ed to sell it to hotels and casinos, andsundry other industries. But the

promisedproliferation

of Surface com-puters never happened and it nowseems the product name is being recy-cled.

Two models of the Surface tablethave been announced so far. The firstruns Windows RT, the long-awaitedtablet OS from Microsoft, while thesecond and more powerful versionhas Windows 8 Pro. The RT model

comes with 32/64 GB of storageand an as-yet-unnamedNVIDIA processor; thePro offers 64/124 GB andhas an Ivy Bride Core i5from Intel.

Both will have 10.6-inch ClearType displays,though the Pro version willhave full 1080p HD com-pared to its sibling’s regu-lar HD display. Microsoftisn’t talking releasedates yet, though “later

this year” is currently theconsensus. It’s equally mum

on price.Google, another late-ish

entrant to the tablet market(Android operating system aside),is less coy about price – its newNexus 7, developed with Asus, isbeing marketed as “the new $199tablet from Google.”

The Nexus 7 is just now hittingretailers, but it looks likely to be astrong-performing entrant in thebudget end of the market. It’s got aseven-inch display, a quad-core Tegra3 processor and 8/16 GB of internalstorage. As expected of a Googledevice, it’ll run the latest iteration ofAndroid (version 4.1 to be precise)

and it’s Wi-Fi only. If you love 3Gconnectivity (or 4G, for that matter),look elsewhere.

At the $199 price point, the Nexus7 will be a strong challenger for theKindle Fire and both it and the Sur-face could take business from Apple.But will either tablet live happily everafter?

It’s too early to pass judgement.But by Q1 next year we’ll know ifeither is a Cinderella story or if theywill meet a Grimm demise. ●

JULY 9-22, 2012 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 23

AA ((ffaaiirryy)) ttaallee ooff ttwwoo ttaabblleettssTech Eye

Ever pretended that your iPad is a pretty, pretty princess? Let us know: [email protected]

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F G

OO

GL

E

To order a print copy or digital version of the publication, e-mail [email protected]

or call +48 (22) 639 85 67, ext. 208

Warsaw Business Journal’shugely popular investment guide

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F M

ICR

OS

OF

T

The SurfaceThe Nexus 7

WBJ #27-28 2012

Documents

Transcript of WBJ #27-28 2012