WBJ #3 2013

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 3 • JAN 28 – FEB 3, 2013 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127 Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Bungled bonusesParliamentarians awarded themselvessome huge bonuses – and outrage ensued

NNoo fflliigghhtt ppllaannCandidates are lining up to pilottroubled state-owned airline LOT,though there is no plan to save it 5

Poland is Europe’s top outsourcing destination. Find out why in this special WBJ report 11-14

CCrraaffttyy CCaammeerroonnThe British Prime Minister isgambling on an EU referendumfor the UK 3

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

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6

Finance & Economics . . . . . . . . . . .7

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

Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Outsourcing in Poland . . . . . .11-14

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

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

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

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

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

In this issue

• Pró˝na revived

• Bristol’s prestige

• Griffin interview

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LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE TThhee BBPPOO bboooomm

www.martela.pl

15-17

A matter of cultureAn exclusive interview with Culture

Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski234

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50

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Bulgar

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Poland

Germany

United K

ingdom

Ireland

Portug

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Greece*

*Highest in the EU**Lowest in the EU

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Cardinal Józef

Glemp diesCardinal Józef Glemp,

head of the Catholic

Church in Poland from

1981 to 2009, died late

Wednesday night. He had

suffered from lung

cancer and died in

hospital. He headed the

church through the

1980s, when martial law

was declared in Poland

and when later changes

led to the collapse of

communist rule. Cardinal

Glemp retired in 2009 at

the age of 80.

Treasury sells

11.75% PKO

BP stake Poland’s Treasury

Ministry sold an 11.75%

stake in the country’s

largest bank, PKO BP. The

stake was sold at z∏.34.25

per share in a book-

building process

completed on Wednesday.

About half of the shares

were bought by Polish

investors, the Treasury

said. The proceeds from

the sales of the stake are

to support the

government’s Inwestycje

Polskie (Polish

Investments) spending

program.

Komorowski’s

approval rating

at 70%According to CBOS, 70%

of Poles have a positive

view of the president’s

work, while 18% have a

negative view. Compared

to data from a survey in

December, support for

the president has grown

by eight percentage

points, while the number

of opponents has fallen

by seven points.

Support for

biggest

political

parties falls

According to a poll by

TNS Polska, support for

Civic Platform, the

senior member of

Poland’s ruling coalition,

fell by five percentage

points month-on-month

to 29% in January.

Support for opposition

party Law and Justice

was at 23%, down by

three points m/m. In the

same period, support for

the Democratic Left

Alliance grew by three

points to 10%. Palikot’s

Movement and the

Polish People’s Party

each saw their support

grow by one percentage

point to 7%. ●

Accreo ......................................................15

Amazon ......................................................5

APA Wojciechowski ..................................15

Asseco Poland............................................5

Austrian Airlines ........................................5

Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG ..................7

Bank Ochrony Ârodowiska ......................16

Bank Zachodni WBK..................................7

Bloomberg..................................................5

CBOS ..........................................................2

Citi Handlowy ............................................9

Colliers International ..............................16

Cushman & Wakefield ............................16

Ernst & Young ............................................5

Eurolot ........................................................5

Europlan ..................................................16

Everest Group ..........................................11

Fortum........................................................5

France Info ................................................3

Frontex......................................................16

Gartner ......................................................6

Ghelamco ................................................16

Globe Trade Centre..................................15

Griffin Group ............................................17

Griffin Real Estate....................................16

HAPILABS ................................................23

Ipopema Group ........................................15

IVG ............................................................15

Ivona Software ..........................................5

Jones Lang LaSalle ................................16

KGHM ..................................................6, 19

Kompania W´glowa ..................................5

Krosno ........................................................7

Kulczyk Holding ........................................9

LOT..............................................................5

Modzelewski & Rodek ............................16

MPOWERD................................................23

New Direct................................................14

Oktawave ....................................................6

OP Architekten ........................................15

Orange........................................................9

Orange Polska..........................................19

Peter Nielsen & Partners..........................6

PGE ..........................................................19

PKN Orlen ..................................................2

PKO BP ..........................................2, 16, 19

Polnord ....................................................15

PORR ..................................................15, 16

PwC ............................................................5

PZU ........................................................7, 9

Schoenherr ..............................................15

Solid Security ..........................................15

Starwood Hotels & Resorts ....................16

Stewart Title ............................................15

Swiss ..........................................................5

Sybil Develeopment ................................17

Sybilgroup ................................................17

Tacit Development Polska ......................17

TNS Polska ................................................2

TOK FM ......................................................3

TOR ............................................................5

TVN24 ........................................................2

Warimpex ................................................15

Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy ..................9

WSE ......................................................7, 15

X-Trade Brokers ......................................19

YouGov ........................................................3

ZETO Bydgoszcz ........................................5

After Palikot’s Movement(RP) withdrew its support forWanda Nowicka as its DeputySpeaker of the Sejm, thesearch for her replacementbegan in earnest. Apparently,Anna Grodzka, who is cur-rently the only transgenderMP in the world, is at the topof the list.

“It’s not an official candi-dacy right now. We don’t haveone yet. But from an ideologi-cal standpoint, it would be agood choice,” Janusz Palikot,leader of RP told TVN24. Headded that the decision on hisparty’s candidate for deputyspeaker will be announced onThursday.

Ms Grodzka confirmedthat her name is in the run-ning, but said she doesn’tknow yet if she will accept theoffer if it is made.

“I’m involved in many proj-ects and activities that I don’twant to quit,” she said. “Beingdeputy speaker means accept-ing lots of new responsibilities,and I have to see if I can man-age handling all of them.”

“Everyone knows thatGrodzka is not controversial,except that I exist, and I amwho I am,” she added. “Butthese controversies are old. Ithink the Sejm has gotten usedto me and so has society.”

Given the current realities

of the Polish parliament, it’sdifficult to imagine that MsGrodzka’s candidacy would beaccepted without opposition.The question is whether therewill be enough opposition toblock her candidacy altogether.

Traditionally, each party inthe Sejm is allowed one deputyspeaker post. However, allcandidates must be voted in bya majority of MPs. If MsGrodzka’s candidacy wererejected, RP would have topropose another candidate.

Wanda Nowicka lost herparty’s support after sheaccepted a controversialz∏.40,000 bonus (see story, p. 4).

JJaacceekk CCiieessnnoowwsskkii

35is the number of Polish soldiers who have now died inAfghanistan since the beginning of Poland’s military

mission in the country after Captain Krzysztof Woêniakwas killed in action last week.

2.3% is how much Polish GDP expanded in 2012, according

to Economy Ministry estimates.

z∏.3.1 billion is how much Polish energy giant PKN Orlen will spend

on capital expenditures in 2013.

83was how old Cardinal Józef Glemp, head of the Polish

Catholic Church from 1981-2009, was when he diedlast week.

“I don’t want to have to explain for shamelessgreed.”

Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister and leader of the Polish Peoples’Party (PSL) Janusz Piechociƒski took to Facebook to express his reaction tonews that Poland’s parliament had awarded itself roughly a quarter of a millionz∏oty in various bonuses.

Quote of the Week

David Cameron’s euro-nemesisWhat will be the consequences of Mr Cameron’spromise of a referendum on EU membership forBritain? Peter Sutherland, chairman of GoldmanSachs International, talks about that and thechances of a new EU treaty being passed. Readmore on WBJ.pl.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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29 INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION FAIRBUDMA 2013

Event: The fair’s theme is “Construction of theFuture. Intelligent Architecture.” It will host,among other things, a testing zone with pre-sentations of tools, products and machinery,this year’s building premieres as well astalks by internationally renowned architects.

Location: Poznaƒ International Fair, ul. G∏ogowska 14,Poznaƒ

Web: budma.pl

30 NEW REGULATIONS ON RENEWABLE ENERGYSOURCES

Event: This seminar will discuss new regulations onwind and solar energy and their implicationsfor renewable energy investment projects,from the design, financing and network con-nection to the legal and tax aspects.

Location: Polish French Chamber of Commerce, ul. Widok 8, Warsaw

Web: ccifp.pl

12 INTLLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Event: This seminar will address issues of intellec-tual property rights such as: developmentsin cloud computing and their legal conse-quences, risks of cross-border contracts andresolving disputes.

Location: TGC Corporate Lawyers, 11th floor, TerracesConference Center, Crown Tower, ul. Hrubieszowska 2, Warsaw

Web: bpcc.org.pl

13 CUT COSTS WHILE CREATING JOBS!Event: This conference, organized by the British Pol-

ish Chamber of Commerce, presents theLabor Office of the City of Warsaw as a reli-able partner of every employer. Employerswill learn how to get refunds for equippingnewly created work stations, or reimburse-ments for employees’ salary and social secu-rity contributions.

Location: BPCC in Warsaw, Al. Szucha 3/14Web: bpcc.org.pl

January February

Calendar

Anna Grodzka

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focusDeep in debtGovernment debt to GDP ratio, Q3 2012 (in %), selected EUcountries

Source: Eurostat

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Polish soldier

killed in

Afghanistan

Captain Krzysztof

Woêniak, a member of

the Polish special forces

unit GROM, was killed in

action in the Ghazni

province in Afghanistan.

Captain Woêniak was in

action when insurgents

opened fire, killing him

and wounding several

others. Thirty-five Polish

soldiers have been killed

in Afghanistan since the

beginning of Poland’s

military mission in the

country. Captain Woêniak

was the first Polish

special forces soldier to

be killed there.

Investment

program to

favor state

firms

Poland’s state

investment program

Inwestycje Polskie is

most likely to finance

projects planned by

large companies co-

owned by the state, daily

newspaper Dziennik

Gazeta Prawna reported.

According to information

obtained by the

newspaper, projects

worth a total of z∏.42

billion went through the

first stage of the

program’s decision-

making process.

Wages rise

2.4% in 2012

The average gross

monthly salary rose

2.4% year-on-year to

z∏.4,111.69 in December

2012, according to

Poland’s statistics office

GUS. Compared with

November’s data,

salaries rose 8.8%. GUS

also said that 5.47

million people were

employed in Polish

enterprises in

December, 0.5% less

than a year earlier and

0.4% less than in

November.

More fathers

on paternity

leaveAccording to data from

the Social Insurance

Institution, 28,600

fathers went on paternity

leave in 2012. In 2011,

the number was 14,900

and in 2010 it was

17,200. The increase is

believed to be the result

of social changes and the

fact that the leave cannot

be transferred to the

child’s mother. ●

EU affairs

UUKK hheeaaddeedd ffoorr EEUU eexxiitt??

British Prime Minister DavidCameron sparked controversylast week by announcing thathe favored giving UK citizensa referendum on whether thecountry should remain in theEuropean Union. “I believe inconfronting this issue – shap-ing it, leading the debate. Notsimply hoping a difficult situa-tion will go away,” MrCameron said.

According to a January sur-vey by YouGov, some 55 per-cent of Britons now want theircountry to exit the EU.

Mr Cameron plans to waituntil after the UK’s next par-liamentary elections, sched-uled for 2015. If his partykeeps power, he said he wouldset the referendum process inmotion, meaning the vote

would take place by 2017 atthe latest.

“While the EU is in flux,and when we don’t know whatthe future holds and what sortof EU will emerge from thiscrisis is not the right time tomake such a momentous deci-sion about the future of ourcountry,” Mr Cameron said.

Europe à la carteEuropean leaders were quickto react to Mr Cameron’swords. “We can’t have Europeà la carte. Imagine the EU wasa football club: once you’vejoined up and you’re in thisclub, you can’t then say youwant to play rugby,” FrenchForeign Minister LaurentFabius told the France Inforadio station.

Guido Westerwelle, hisGerman counterpart, was alsocritical. “Germany wants theUnited Kingdom to remain anactive and constructive part ofthe EU. But cherry picking isnot an option,” he said.

Poland’s foreign minister,meanwhile, struck a markedlydifferent tone. “I don’t thinkthe role of Poland should be to

join the chorus of critics,”Rados∏aw Sikorski said in aninterview with TOK FM. “Bri-tain is a country that is hometo hundreds of thousands ofPoles. We share the philoso-phy of the free market withthem and most importantly,we are in the middle of diffi-cult EU budget negotiations.”

In fact, Mr Sikorski seemedto sense a chance for Polandafter Mr Cameron’s contro-versial speech. “With thatspeech, David Cameron hasmoved his country in the EUhierarchy. From a naturalmember of the triumviratewhich could lead the EU, to a‘special care’ country, whichneeds to be petted so that itdoes not do somethingunwise,” Mr Sikorski said.

He added that in his view “atthe end of the decade Polandcould be in the group of threeto five countries that will havethe biggest say in the EU.”

Negative consequencesPawe∏ Tokarski, an analyst atthe Polish Institute Of Interna-

tional Affairs, was less san-guine. “Let’s face it, Polanddoes not have the strength ofthe UK, which is a member ofthe UN Security Council, hasnuclear weapons and boasts amuch stronger economy thanPoland,” he told WBJ.

Mr Tokarski thinks a Bri-tish exit would have negativeconsequences for Poland. “Uptill now, Britain has been treat-ed by Poland as a counterbal-ance to Germany and France,especially now that France isweakening. Also, Britain isPoland’s ally on issues ofdefense, the internal marketand protest against someSouthern European countries’wishes of a more socially ori-ented economy.”

However, he said hebelieves there is only a 10 per-cent chance that Britain willexit the EU.

The German viewImportantly for Mr Cameron,Angela Merkel, Germany’schancellor and Europe’s mostpowerful leader, said she wantsto see a “fair compromise”with the UK on EU reforms.

“Germany, and I personal-ly, want Britain to be animportant part and an activemember of the EuropeanUnion. We will talk intensivelywith Britain about its individ-ual ideas but there is time forthat over the months ahead,”Ms Merkel said.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

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British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s

membership of the EU if his party wins the next parliamentary elections

LGBT issues

PPoollaanndd rreejjeeccttss cciivviill ppaarrttnneerrsshhiippss Legislative proposalsto enshrine civilpartnerships in Polishlaw have been struckdown

Poland’s lower house of parlia-ment, the Sejm, has given thethumbs down to three differ-ent legislative proposals aim-ing to sanction civil partner-ships.

One project was puttogether by the center-rightruling Civic Platform (PO),and the other two by thesocially liberal Palikot’s Move-ment (RP) and the Democrat-ic Left Alliance.

While the proposals dif-fered in their details onissues such as whether toallow one of the partners totake on the other’s last name,all three of them granted

alimony benefits to civil part-ners. None of the three pro-posals included adoption andcitizenship rights or joint taxbreaks.

‘There can be no love’The debate that precededvoting was heated. “There isno doubt that there can be nolove between two men orwomen, only friendship,” saidArtur Górski, a Law and Jus-tice MP. “But not love, espe-cially the kind that can befound in marriage. That kindof love leads to procreation.People of the same sex cannot reproduce. Even in theo-ry.”

Wincenty Elsner, a mem-ber of parliament from RPretorted, “You need to becured of homophobia andintolerance.”

But there were opponents

in the ruling party itself,which had after all submittedits own legislation on theissue. Justice MinisterJaros∏aw Gowin, a conserva-tive PO politician, said inparliament that all three leg-islative proposals were inbreach of the Polish constitu-tion.

‘Raucous laughter’But the leader of his party,Prime Minister Donald Tusk,quickly disavowed those wordssaying, “this is only MrGowin’s personal opinion, andnot the official position of thegovernment.”

Mr Tusk himself is a propo-nent of civil partnerships andappealed for a sense of deco-rum during the debate. “Thisis a very delicate and difficultmatter for many people. Itshouldn’t trigger raucous

laughter.”In the end, PO’s proposal

came closest to passing, win-

ning 211 votes in the 460-member Sejm.


“The UK has moved from being a naturalmember of the triumvirate that could leadthe EU, to country that needs to be petted sothat it does not do something unwise.”

– Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski

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Same sex couples won’t receive similar rights to

married couples

David Cameron stirred a hornet’s nest withhis promise of a referendum on EUmembership for his country. Across Europe,reaction came swiftly

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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Politics

Ar∏ukowicz survivesno-confidence voteThe health ministergets to keep his job,just barely

Last Friday, the Sejm, Poland’slower house of parliament,rejected a motion to relieveHealth Minister BartoszAr∏ukowicz of his duties by arazor-thin margin of 232 votesto 220.

The no-confidence votewas brought forward by thelargest opposition party Lawand Justice (PiS), whichclaimed that Mr Ar∏ukowiczwas carrying out a “terriblehealth policy.”

All of the opposition par-ties in parliament supportedthe motion, but it still came upshort as the Civic Platform-Polish Peoples’ Party coalitioneffectively defended their min-ister.

Political games“Attempts to have MrAr∏ukowicz lose his ministerialpost are typical political gamesand not a serious debate abouthealth care,” Prime MinisterDonald Tusk said just beforethe vote.

The flaws highlighted bythe opposition include longqueues in hospitals, financial

problems at specialist clinics,higher drug prices and short-ages in chemotherapy treat-ment medicines.

Mr Ar∏ukowicz counteredby saying the oppositionshould not “scare” patients. “Iwill not allow you to usepatients and children in a polit-ical debate and to tell patientsto be scared,” Mr Ar∏ukowiczsaid in a speech to parliament.

Strong criticismBartosz Ar∏ukowicz has beenhealth minister since 2011. Hewas once a left-leaning politi-cian affiliated with the Demo-cratic Left Alliance butdecamped two years ago tojoin the ruling party.

He received strong criti-cism at the beginning of lastyear after a poorly executedprescription-drug reform trig-gered chaos and protests inthe health sector.

In the 2012 Health Barom-eter survey, which coverednine European countries andthe US, Poles proved to be theleast satisfied with the healthcare system in their nation. Ona scale of 1 to 10 (worst tobest), Poles rated their healthcare system at 2.6.


Parliamentary politics

AAnn ‘‘uunnffoorrttuunnaattee’’ ddeecciissiioonnA deputy parliamentaryspeaker is set to loseher post over acontroversial bonus

Opposition party Palikot’s Mo-vement (RP) has announcedthat it is withdrawing its supportfor Wanda Nowicka as deputyspeaker of Sejm after sheaccepted a controversialz∏.40,000 bonus.

In total, Sejm Speaker EwaKopacz and her five deputiesreceived z∏.245,000 in bonusesfor their work last year. MsKopacz, who awarded thebonuses, received z∏.45,000,while her deputies got z∏.40,000each.

The bonuses were widelycriticized in the media andJanusz Piechociƒski, the PolishPeoples’ Party leader, eventalked about “shameless greed.”

The news sparked outragebecause, for months now, politi-cians have been telling the Poleshow serious the current eco-nomic crisis is only for some ofthem to turn around and awardthemselves significant bonuses.

Punishment and rewardAt first, Ms Kopacz defendedher decision. “Parliament is aplace where laws are made firstand foremost but it is also a

workplace. I have the right, infact I am obliged, to judge myworkers, reward those whowork well and punish thosewho worked worse,” she said.

But the story refused to goaway. Finally, last Thursday,RP withdrew its support forMs Nowicka, who had accept-ed the bonus.

“It is a difficult decision. Wehold Wanda Nowicka in thehighest regard,” said JanuszPalikot, leader of RP. “Never-

theless, because of our funda-mental principles, we decidedthat we have to give a strongsignal to Poles that we are nothere for money or positions.”

“In this situation, we haveto be uncompromising,” headded. Mr Palikot said hisparty would now deliberate onwho to recommend for thevacant post. By now, the otherdeputy speakers were sayingthey would hand over theirbonuses to charity.

A closed matterPM Donald Tusk weighed inon the matter. “The decision toaward bonuses to parliament’spresidium was unfortunate. Ifpoliticians are not able to guar-antee people salary raises, theyshould not be awarding them-selves bonuses,” said Mr Tusk.

He added however, that inhis opinion, the matter wasnow “closed” and he was im-pressed at the swift decision togive the money to charity. RRAA

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Wanda Nowicka got z∏.40,000, but lost her deputy speaker post

A new study shows thatPoland’s economy willgrow until 2030, andwill then begin slowingdownA recent report by consultancyfirm PwC has a special featureon Poland as the leading econo-my in the CEE region. Accord-ing to the data presented in its“The World in 2050” report,Poland should continue tocatch up to its more powerfulneighbors (Germany, Russia)in the coming years, but demo-graphic issues, among others,will slow down the process.

Poland’s average annualGDP growth from now until2050 will be 2.5 percent, accord-ing to the PwC report. Thatwould be lower than the aver-age 3.3 percent growth Polandhas seen since 1990.

But most economies grow ata slower rate as they get richer.And relative to Germany,

Poland’s largest trade partner,the Polish economy is stillexpected to grow at an impres-sive clip. In 1990, when Poland’smarket reform process began,Polish GDP per capita was only8 percent of Germany’s. Cur-rently the figure is 25 percentand in 2030 it should be 34 per-cent, the study finds.

Falling behindAs for now, Poland boasts the18th-largest economy in theworld with $813 billion in GDP.In 2030 the Polish economy willfall to 19th-largest globally, witha GDP of $1.4 billion. By 2050,Poland will drop out of the listof the 20 biggest economies inthe world altogether.

The reason for the slowdownis mostly demographics. In 2035,the number of Poles of workingage (15-64) will drop 14 percentfrom where it currently stands. Italso has one of the lowest fertilityrates in the EU (1.3 children born

per woman in her child-bearingyears). Plus, it’s not an attractiveplace for immigrants because oflow salaries, the report finds.

Save and investPwC analysts suggest Poles

should start saving and invest-ing, and not rely on foreigndirect investment. Poland’saverage current account deficitsince 2004 has been 4.5 percentof GDP, but despite this, totalnational investment was only at

21.4 percent of GDP (as com-pared to 23.8 percent in Ger-many). This is not sustainable ifPoland wants to remain a rela-tively high-growth economy inthe long run.


The CEE’s largest economy isnow the 20th-best place in theworld in which to do business,according to a recent Blo-omberg survey which ranked161 economies. The resultmeans Poland has moved uptwo places compared to lastyear’s ranking.

Analysts ranked countrieson criteria that included thecost of starting a business, thecost of labor and materials andthe cost of moving goods. Thestudy also considered eachcountry’s level of global eco-

nomic integration, its con-sumption levels, inflation andaccounting standards.

Poland received 69.7 pointsout of a maximum of 100. Thebest performers were HongKong, the US and Japan. Inthe CEE region, Hungarycame in far behind Poland, in31st place.

However, the Bloombergsurvey did not focus on issueslike excessive bureaucracy,which is a common complaintamong investors in Poland. Inthe World Bank’s Doing Busi-

ness 2013 ranking, Polandfared much worse, coming in55th out of 185 countriesranked.

That ranking did note how-ever that progress had beenmade when it comes to certainaspects of doing business inPoland, mostly with the intro-duction of new institutionaland regulatory reforms. Infact, the World Bank statedthat Poland was the “globaltop improver” when compar-ing its business environment tothe previous year. RRAA

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 5

Amazon

acquires Polish

company

Global online retailer

Amazon has acquired

Polish company Ivona

Software for an

undisclosed amount.

Ivona Software is the

developer of text-to-

speech technology used

by telecoms, banks and

other companies.

Amazon has been using

the firm's technology for

some time already, after

it bought a license to use

it on Kindle tablets.

Asseco takes

over IT firm

Asseco Poland, a major

Polish IT solutions

provider present on

international markets,

has agreed to acquire IT

firm ZETO Bydgoszcz for

z∏.87.72 million. Asseco

will buy 100 percent of

ZETO's stock from 98

shareholders. ZETO

Bydgoszcz is an IT

services provider for

public administration

(including local

divisions of the Social

Insurance Institution)

and industrial

companies.

Kompania

W´glowa to

issue bondsPoland's largest coal

mining group Kompania

W´glowa (KW) will issue

bonds worth z∏.1 billion

in 2013, the firm's CEO

Joanna Strzelec-

¸obodziƒska told

Rzeczpospolita. The

company will use the

issue proceeds to

finance investments

such as exploration

work in the Lubelskie

region, which is to

continue for the next two

years. KW is also in

talks with two potential

business partners from

Asia on a joint venture

intended to build a

power plant.

Fortum halts

z∏.2.5 bln in

investmentsFinnish utility group

Fortum has decided to

suspend its two Polish

investments due to

uncertainty over planned

changes in Polish law on

renewable energy. The

company planned to

spend z∏.2.5 billion on

building a 400 MW gas-

fueled power plant in

Wroc∏aw and a co-

generation unit in

Zabrze. ●

PPoollaanndd’’ss bbuussiinneessss eennvviirroonnmmeenntt iimmpprroovviinngg

Source: Bloomberg

Best Countries for Business 2013 (Bloomberg)

Country Rank

Hong Kong 1

Germany 5

United Kingdom 10

France 14

Spain 16

Country Rank

Poland 20

China 24

Hungary 31

India 54

Russia 56

Economic forecasts

Steady, then slower growth

Source: World Bank

New World OrderHow the world’s biggest economies will change over the next couple of decades

Source: PwC

Airlines

IIss LLOOTT wwoorrtthh ssaavviinngg??Nearly 30 potentialcandidates for theposition of CEO andstill no plan in sightfor saving the nationalcarrier

The beginning of 2013 hasn’tbeen great for LOT. Its newDreamliners were groundedafter technical problems arose.It’s not clear when they will beallowed to fly again.

The z∏.400 million LOTreceived from the state recentlywas designated as a loan, andwill have to be paid back. Whatcould be worse for the compa-ny is unconfirmed reports fromBrussels that the EuropeanCommission won’t allow thestate to further assist the com-pany.

“The European Commis-sion won’t allow the govern-ment to help LOT with state

funds. For its new members,the EU has a much stricterapproach,” said Andrzej Sad-owski from the Adam SmithInstitute in an interview withPolish Radio.

Not much going for itOne of the latest ideas for sav-ing the carrier from goingunder is moving its assets toanother state-owned carrier –Eurolot, Rzeczpospolita report-ed. LOT doesn’t actually ownmuch, other than its logo andairport slots (a time window forplanes to take off and land). Itsplanes are rented and its head-quarters has been sold.

“A similar plan was used inSwiss and Austrian Airlines,however it took longer than amonth or two, which could beall the time LOT hasleft,”Adrian Furgalski of trans-port consultancy TOR told

Money.pl. The reported plan sounds

radical, but it could helprestructure the company andreduce employment. Currentemployees would have toaccept Eurolot’s conditions tokeep their jobs.

But that’s only a proposal.“The government is makingfinal decisions about what todo with the company, Ernst &Young has been hired to writeanother plan on how to save it,and we don’t even have a newCEO,” said Mr Furgalski.

“Potential candidates can’teven have their own plan tosave LOT, because they will beforced to implement a planhanded to them,” he added.There are currently 27 candi-dates for LOT’s CEO posi-tion. JJaacceekk CCiieessnnoowwsskkii

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Still flying, but for how long?

Rank Country GDP in $ billions (PPP value)

1. US 15,094

2. China 11,347

3. India 4,531

4. Japan 4,381

5. Germany 3,221

6. Russia 3,031

7. Brazil 2,305

8. France 2,303

9. UK 2,287

...

18. Poland 813

Rank Country Projected GDP in $ billions (PPP value)

1. China 53,856

2. US 37,998

3. India 34,704

4. Brazil 8,825

5. Japan 8,065

6. Russia 8,013

7. Mexico 7,409

8. Indonesia 6,346

9. Germany 5,822

10. France 5,714

22001111 22005500

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

[email protected]

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Increase of initial capital inlimited liability company –Supreme Court’s resolutionIn the resolution of January 17, 2013 (IIICZP 57/12) the Supreme Court addressedtwo legal issues relating to the increase ofthe initial capital of a limited liability compa-ny (Sp. z o.o.).

One question was whether the right toincrease the initial capital of a limited liabil-ity company without amending the com-pany’s articles of association may only beexercised in case of creating new shares.

The other issue was whether in case ofan increase in the initial capital conductedin the above manner, the newly createdshares have to be acquired by all existingshareholders proportionally to the numberof shares they already hold, or whetherthe preemption rights of the existingshareholders may be done away with by aboard resolution unless the company’sarticles of association stipulate otherwise.

In the opinion of the Court, an increaseof the initial capital on the basis of the arti-cles of association may be performed inone of the two ways: either by an increaseof the nominal value of the already existingshares or by the creation of new shares. Inthe latter scenario, new shares may onlybe acquired by the shareholders in propor-tion to the shares they have held so far.

New Act on Waste DisposalFrom January 23, 2013 the new Act on

Waste Disposal of December 14, 2012has been in force. The Act defines theobligations of waste producers, wasteholders managing the waste, sellers andsales agents as well as the obligations ofpublic administration authorities.

The Act introduces new definitions andstipulates the rules of classifying and han-dling the waste as well as several newlegal solutions including, first of all, thesolutions emphasizing the need to pre-vent waste production and facilitatingtheir recycling

Transfer of phone numberwithin 24 hoursFrom January 21, 2013 amended provi-sions of the Telecommunications Lawhave been in force empowering con-sumers even more than before. Pursuantto the new provisions of the Telecommu-nications Law, the term of a consumer’sfirst telecommunications services con-tract concluded with a given serviceprovider for a definite period of time maynot be longer than 24 months.

Moreover, the transfer of a phone num-ber to another phone network should becompleted within one business day of theday indicated in the telecommunicationsservices contract. If the network fails tomeet the deadline, the phone subscriber isentitled to a one-off compensation for eachday of the delay in the amount of one-quar-ter of his or her total monthly charges. ●

Will Polish companiesinvest in the fastestgrowing economy in theworld?

During a visit to Poland lastweek, Mongolian presidentTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj called forPolish investment in his coun-try’s energy sector, toutingMongolia’s record as thefastest-growing economy in theworld.

“Poland also has coalreserves and this is an occasionto exchange experiences, useyour coal-extraction technolo-gy, especially because duringsocialism, Polish mine expertsused to come to Mongolia. Wewant to refresh our relationsand adapt them to to the newtimes,” said Mr Elbegdorj.

That will take some work.In 2011, Polish exports toMongolia were worth $8 mil-lion, a modest sum consideringthe fact that the Asian coun-try’s economy grew by 17.5percent that year. And sinceMongolia’s GDP could expandby as much as 23 percent in2013, according to the IMF,Polish businesses may finallywant to take notice.

Gone unnoticed?Polish exports to Mongoliamostly comprise foodstuffs, butthere may be room for more. Itis no accident that Mr Elbeg-dorj talked up his country’sminerals sector while in Poland– natural resources are drivingMongolia’s growth. It’s likelyMongolia has its eye on Polishcoal mining companies, or onmining giant KGHM, one ofthe world’s largest producers ofsilver and copper.

The mining industry pro-duces 22 percent of Mongolia’sGDP, according to data provid-ed by the Mongolian Ministryof Mining. Minerals make upan 89 percent share of Mongo-lian exports and they accountfor 70 percent of tax revenue.

The country has rich miner-al deposits, including gold, cop-per and coal. So far $22 billionhas been invested in Mongoliaby foreign mining companies,none of which came fromPoland.

But this might change soon.“We’re ready to providemachinery, build mines and toeducate local personnel,” saidMaciej Kaliski, a director in themining department of the Min-

istry of Economy, during MrElbegdorj’s visit. Also, over 200companies from Poland andMongolia took part in a specialbusiness forum attended by theMongolian president.

Time is of the essenceBut time is of the essence forthose interested in makingmoney in Mongolia, especiallyin its energy sector.

In 2015, the world’s largestcoal mine will be opened inTavan Tolgoi, Mongolia. Itsdeposits are estimated at 6.4billion metric tons and couldlast 400 years. The Mongoliangovernment is currently issu-ing mining permits to foreigncompanies.

“If the world’s mininggiants don’t invest in Mongoliain the next two years, it will beimpossible for them to becomea major player here,” ThomasTrappe, advisor to the biggestMongolian mining consor-tium, MAK, told the PolishPress Agency.

Mongolian officials plan touse this opportunity to lessenthe country’s dependency onRussia and China. The coun-try’s huge neighbors are its

biggest trade partners. “Mongolia is a democratic

country, which has a free-market economy, dominatedby private capital. Our neigh-bors don’t have economies

based on the same rules,”said Ch. Otgochuluu, fromthe Mongolian Ministry ofMining.

He did admit however, thatit was Russia and China’s

“public companies who investthe most in our mining sec-tor.” Maybe that will changesoon.


Economic relations

Mongolia beckons Poland

A Polish companywants to compete withglobal giants in a fast-growing businesssectorCloud computing, to put it sim-ply, is a service that providescustomers a virtual space forbandwidth or storage. It canhave many uses, like runningsoftware, or routing internettraffic, or even hosting wholewebsites on outside serverscalled “clouds.” And since dataand traffic consumption isincreasing rapidly, some com-panies might choose to out-source their web servicesinstead of upgrading their infra-structure.

In a study conducted by Par-allels, the market for cloud serv-ices amongst small and medi-um-sized businesses in Polandwas worth z∏1.15 billion in thespring of 2012. Over the nextthree years it should reach z∏.2.4billion, with 67 percent of com-panies planning to outsourcetheir IT tasks.

In 2013, the global cloudcomputing market will be worth$150 billion, and in 2014, 60percent of internet traffic willbe routed through virtualclouds, according to technologyresearch firm Gartner.

Meanwhile, the EuropeanCommission forecasts thatfrom now till 2020, 2.5 millionnew jobs will be created in the

cloud computing sector.

Head in the cloudsWhen Oktawave, a Polishcloud service, offered a freetrial service in spring of lastyear, nearly 1,500 companiessigned up. On the first day ofcommercial use, back inNovember of 2012, 10 percentof them switched to a paidmodel. The company’s CEO,Maciej Kuêniar, however,won’t reveal official data onearnings.

“They’re not impressiveright now, but we plan onbeing profitable in Q3/Q4 of2013,” he told Gazeta Wybor-cza. That’s when the companywants to expand to othercountries, and their priority

markets are Germany, France,Spain and the Czech Repub-lic.

Oktawave claims speedamongst its biggest advan-tages. Octawave’s internaltests showed that its product istwice as fast as that of mostmajor companies. The compa-ny sees its location as anadvantage as well – all of thefirm’s servers are located inPoland, so all the data will bestored and regulated accord-ing to Polish and EU law.

So far, the project has costz∏.4.5 million, with z∏.800,000coming from EU funds. Theglobal leaders in cloud com-puting are Amazon, Microsoftand Rackspace.


Technology

Reaching for the clouds

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The Tavan Tolgoi mine in Mongolia

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The market for cloud services amongst SMEs in Poland

should reach z∏.2.4 billion by 2015

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS www.wbj.pl 7

Karpielówka Restaurant

Our name comes from an area in Za-kopane, and in our restaurant you can feel the air and the atmosphere of the Tatra Mountains.

With our original high-lander décor and the cli-mate of an outlaw’s cot-tage, it’s the perfect place to dine on traditional dishes including our spe-cials: dumplings, knuckle baked with onion, dishes with oscypek cheese and much more.

We can organize wedding dinners, conferences and banquets, as well as picnics with BBQ and bonfi re. Check our lunch menu,our delivery service and catering options.

ul. Indiry Gandhi 11, tel. 22 644 85 10 | Imielin Metro Station, close to Multikino;City Hall Ursynów; 5 minute walk towards St. Thomas the Apostle Church

Open 12:00-last guest. | Reservations: +48 22-644-85-10 or [email protected]

www.karpielowka.com.pl | Check our Facebook page

Euro adoption

PPrreessiiddeenntt:: PPoollaanndd ccoouullddbbee rreeaaddyy ffoorr eeuurroo iinn 22001155Still, the governmenthas made it clear thatit has set no concretedate for adoption yet

In an interview for televisionchannel TVP 1, President Bro-nis∏aw Komorowski said thatPoland should be able to fulfillthe euro zone’s convergencecriteria by 2015.

“Today instead of consider-ing theoretical matters, such astaking decisions aboutPoland’s membership in theeuro zone, we should concen-trate on the first phase: fulfill-ing the requirements to jointhe euro zone ... because theyare good for Poland,” said MrKomorowski.

Mr Komorowski has saidadopting the European com-mon currency will be a goodmove for Poland and willstrengthen its political posi-tion.

Currently, out of five euroconvergence criteria, Polandonly meets one – its debt-to-GDP ratio is below 60 percent.

Regarding any eventualeuro adoption process itself,the president said it should belaunched after parliamentaryelections in 2015. “Maybe it issuch an important issue that Iwill call a Cabinet Council. Iwill discuss this with the primeminister,” said Mr Komorows-ki.

Cabinet Council? A Cabinet Council can becalled to discuss crucial issuesof the state. It is made up ofthe Council of Ministers andthe president, who chairs themeetings. A Cabinet Councilcannot make binding deci-sions, but only serves to sup-port and advise the govern-ment.

In December last year,Prime Minister Donald Tuskmade the case that Polandwould soon have to make adecision on whether or not tojoin the euro zone, saying, “If

we do not make a decision inthe coming months about thedirection we want to take, thenit may be too late.”

Finance Minister JacekRostowski said at the time thatPoland would be ready toannounce a timetable for join-ing the euro zone when it issure it would be able to keepto such a schedule.

No veto to budgetRegarding ongoing negotia-tions on the 2014-2020 EUbudget, President Komorowskisaid that Poland shouldn’t use

WSE holds historic 5,000th sessionIt took nearly 22 years for theWarsaw Stock Exchange toreach its milestone 5,000thsession, but they were aneventful 22 years. At the firstsession on April 16, 1991, onlyfive companies were listed and112 transactions amounting toz∏.1,990 ($2,000) were carriedout.

Today, the WSE’s mainindex, the WIG, lists 439 com-panies with a total capitaliza-tion of more than z∏.765 bil-lion. This makes Warsaw’sstock exchange the biggest inthe CEE region. Since the firsttrading session, the WIG indexhas increased from 1,000 to47,900 points.

During its first year, therewas only one session per week.The WSE started trading dailyin October of 1994. In 2003,the first foreign company waslisted on the WSE – Bank Aus-tria Creditanstalt AG. Today,43 foreign companies are list-ed on the exchange.

The best year for the WSE

was 2007, when all the mainindices reached their highest-ever values. For the WIG, therecord was set on July 6, 2007,at 67,568.51 points. This wasalso the year of the highest num-ber of IPOs on the main market.

The busiest day of the WSEwas on May 12, 2010, when

PZU’s IPO, the biggest in thebourse’s history, took place.The value of trade was overz∏.3.3 billion, including z∏.2.5billion in PZU shares.Another record is held byKrosno, whose share pricegrew by 2,411 percent in 1993.

JJCC

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

201220

1120

1020

0920

0820

0720

0620

0520

0420

0320

022001

2000199

9199

8199

7199

6199

5199

4199

3199

2199

1

Growing valueLevel of the main-market WIG index at the end of each year,1991-2012

Source: Warsaw Stock Exchange

its veto power. “We want toreceive as much money as wecan, but we must be realistic,”he said, adding that he doesn’tplan on taking part in furthernegotiations on this topic.

“I did what was in mypower, and I hope that it willhelp reach compromise.”


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President Komorowski says Poland could begin euro adoption procedures after

elections in 2015

Retail sales fall2.5% in DecemberPoland’s statistics office GUSrevealed last week that retailsales in Poland in December2012 fell by 2.5 percent year-on-year and rose by 15.1 per-cent month-on-month. Econ-omists had forecast thatDecember retail sales wouldrise 1.2 percent y/y and 19.1percent m/m. GUS also saidthat retailers’ turnover fell by2.9 percent y/y in December.

Commenting on the data,Bank Zachodni WBK econo-mists wrote: “December’sdata about retail sales showthat private consumptiongrowth decelerated sharply atthe end of last year, whichwas driven by a drop in real

income and the uncertain sit-uation in the labor market.”

They see this as a confir-mation of GDP growth slow-ing down to 1.8 percent in2012.

During the global eco-nomic crisis in 2009, robustretail sales in Poland werecredited with keeping thecountry’s economy out ofrecession. Though it hadbeen expected to slow downin December, following atrend that started in the mid-dle of last year, many analystswere negatively surprisedthat retail sales actually lostvalue year-on-year.

KKWW,, AAKK

Unemployment at13.4% in DecemberIn December 2012, the regis-tered unemployment rate was13.4 percent, the Poland’s sta-tistics office GUS said. Thefigure was 0.9 percentagepoints higher than in Decem-ber 2011 and 0.5 points higherthan in November 2012.

The number of registered

unemployed persons was 2.136million. The last time that theunemployment rate was thishigh was in February 2012.

Poland’s unemploymentrate has remained above 12percent for 13 straight monthsnow.

KKWW,, AAKK

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 20138 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

Culture

BBrriinnggiinngg PPoolliisshh ccuullttuurree ttoo tthhee wwoorrlldd

Ewa Boniecka: Political ten-sions have begun to enter thedomain of culture, and thecountry’s budget is tighterthan when you first tookoffice. How are these factorsaffecting your ministry’swork?Bogdan Zdrojewski: My jobis to defend culture frompolitics, and nothing haschanged on this front. I alsotry to maintain the prioritiesthat I consider most impor-tant for preserving and pro-moting culture in the longer-term perspective. Amongthese, the first priority isinvestment in cultural infra-structure and overcomingyears of enormous neglect.The second priority is cul-tural and artistic education,which means upgradingaudiences’ understandingand artists’ conditions, espe-cially during study. The thirdpriority is the protection ofnational heritage, particular-

ly those things which aremost important for Poland’snational identity and history.

How do Poland’s expendi-tures on culture look? Somecomplain that there is toolittle money spent on it. Expenditures on culturehave increased over the lastfive years from around z∏.9.5billion to z∏.12.7 billion –that includes all financialexpenditures: those comingfrom the Ministry of Cul-ture, local governments,public institutions and pri-vate sources. The fundscoming from the Ministry ofCulture and National Her-itage have increased fromaround z∏.2.3 billion to overz∏.3 billion, the biggestincrease in recent years.Now spending on culture is0.80 percent of budgetedexpenditures, while fiveyears ago it was 0.57 per-cent.

You have made a concertedeffort to develop privatesponsorship of culture inPoland. What results haveyou achieved?Everything here begins andends with building mutualtrust. The public administra-tion, including the Ministryof Culture, has to respectthe prerogatives and also theneeds of private businesses.At the same time, it isimportant that private busi-ness learns to look at cultureas something worth invest-ing in. So my first step was tobegin building mutual trustand arguing that relationsbetween business and cul-ture will bring mutual bene-fits.

This is especially impor-tant because from the fiscalpoint of view there is littleincentive for the state toinvest in culture. Taxpayershave the option of donating1 percent of their income taxpayments to a particular cul-tural institution. In the pastpeople very rarely tookadvantage of this option, butnow there is a positive trend.

In my view it is crucial topay attention to businesses’specific interests when it

Minister of Culture and National HeritageBogdan Zdrojewski sits down with WBJ to talkabout his ministry’s priorities, defendingculture from politics, the position of Polishculture at home and abroad, and how it isfinanced

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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 9

comes to sponsoring culture.These interests includestrengthening a given busi-ness’ brand and increasingits public standing. Potentialcultural partners need theirdonations to be acknowl-edged.

It seems to me that I havebeen successful in creatingan environment that isfavorable for encouragingcompanies to invest in andsponsor cultural institutionsand events. Among the larg-er sponsors are such firms asOrange, PZU, WielkopolskiBank Kredytowy, the privateholding represented by[business mogul] Jan Kul-czyk.

Are foreign firms that oper-ate in Poland interested ininvesting in Polish culture?One steady foreign investoris [Bank Citi Handlowy’s]Kronenberg Foundation,which has been sponsoringPolish culture for manyyears. We also have supportfrom some foundations andprivate sponsors to help incaring for historic Polishcemeteries, famous histori-cal institutions – such as thePolish Library in Paris andthe Museum and PolishLibrary in Rapperswil,Switzerland – which areimportant for our cultureand heritage and are alsosignificant in terms of Euro-pean history. But we are stillway behind in attractinginternational sponsorshipfor historical monuments.

What is Poland doing to pro-mote its culture abroad?In promoting Polish cultureabroad we have reached areal breakthrough. TheAdam Mickiewicz Institute,which is the main institutionresponsible for promotingour culture abroad, haschanged enormously. Whenwe compare what was doneto promote Polish cultureabroad five years ago andhow the situation looks now,I would say we went throughrevolutionary changes.

The Adam MickiewiczInstitute applied the strategyof concentrating on specificgoals and achieving them atthe highest professionallevel, instead of conductinglimited activity in manyfields.

The new strategy hasresulted in such successes asthe Year of Polish Culture inIsrael in 2008, the Year ofPolish Culture on the BritishIsles, and the Year ofChopin, which was regardedthroughout the world as theone of the best cultural pro-motions. It successfully pro-moted our art, music andtheater during Poland’spresidency of the EU.

The Year of Czes∏awMi∏osz, our great contempo-rary poet, has just ended andwe managed to encourage

and partly finance transla-tions of his poetry into lan-guages such as Chinese andArabic, in which Mr Mi∏osz’sverse had previously beenunavailable.

All those undertakingsare bringing lasting effectsand Polish culture is highlyregarded and acclaimedaround the world. Now weare celebrating the Year of[composer] Witold Luto-s∏awski. Our artists performin the most prestigious ven-ues in the world, the bestconcert halls, the best gal-leries and museums.

Polish culture is beingseen and heard in places itnever has been before. Forthe first time in 70 years wehad exhibitions – three ofthem – in the Pushkin Muse-um in Moscow. Currently,we are conducting talks con-cerning bringing a largeexhibition of Polish classicalpainters to the State Her-mitage Museum in St.Petersburg, as well as anexhibition of Polish art atthe National Museum ofChina in Beijing. In 2012,the MOMA in New Yorkhad a large exhibition ofsculptures by Alina Szapoc-znikow.

Would you say that promot-ing cultural exchange withcountries that we have some-times had difficult relationswith can be a vehicle forreducing political tensions?In promoting our cultureabroad, we have to be strict-ly professional in dealingwith foreign institutions andartists. Culture can alwaysbe a leader in improvingrelations, both political andeconomic.

You say that you defend cul-ture been from politics. Butthere have been politicalattacks on the film “Pok-losie,” which some havecalled anti-Polish, and someprotest the Polish FilmInstitute’s co-financing of amovie about the 2010Smolensk catastrophe. Howdo you see the situation?I have said that I defend cul-ture from politics, but thatdoes not mean that politi-cians do not attempt to useculture for political gain.

The directors of thesefilms have the right to real-ize their artistic visions.When their films’ screen-plays are accepted, they canask for public funds to pro-duce them. Those decisionsare made by a group ofindependent reviewers atthe Polish Film Institute,and it is the minister of cul-ture’s job to protect thoseindependent decisions. Theminister has nothing to dowith the final decision aboutwhether a film is grantedpublic funding.

The Museum of the History

of Polish Jews in Warsaw isnow in its final stage of con-struction. When is it expect-ed to open?I am convinced that themuseum should open onlyonce every detail has beencompleted. That’s why Inever announced a specificdate for its opening. I wouldsay that there is a goodchance it will open between12 and 18 months from now.

This particular museumis a very complex project. Inmy view it could be very dif-ficult to hold the opening bythe end of 2013, so some-time in 2014 is more likely.

How would you evaluateyour ministry’s cooperationwith local governments incaring for and developingculture?Some 68 percent of expendi-tures on culture comedirectly from local govern-ments. I can say that mycooperation with local gov-ernments is good, or evenvery good. Recently, weaccomplished the enormoustask of providing access tobroadband internet in all ofPoland’s libraries in townswith less than 15,000 inhabi-tants. We were able toachieve this goal in coopera-tion with Orange, and theaccess will be free for fiveyears.

Due to cooperation withsome foreign entities,among them the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation,we were able to provide allthose libraries with comput-ers. This is evidence of ourvery good cooperation withthe lowest levels of localgovernment.

Yet public television andradio, which are sometimesthe only sources of informa-tion and culture for somepeople in poor regions of thecountry, are now near col-lapse. You have promised tohelp them financially, butthat won’t solve all theirproblems, especially sincemost people don’t pay theobligatory subscription feesfor public media. Is there asolution?First, I want to stress thatPolskie Radio [Polish publicradio] is doing quite well. Itlooks like 2012 will be thefirst year in recent historythat Polskie Radio will havea positive balance.

We are trying, in accor-dance with the current possi-bilities of the state budget, toguarantee modest financialhelp for public television, soit can carry out its mission.

We are also working tochange the present systemfor paying fees and to intro-duce a simpler, more mod-ern and cheaper subscriptionfee.

I also want to add that in2012, the ministry financedmany cultural programs. ●

EEuurrooppee’’ss ssoofftt ppoowweerr??

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 201310 www.wbj.pl OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS

Robert D. Kaplan

The worst years of the Iraq Warwere boom times for Europeantriumphalists. I remember going

to conferences in Europe in the middleof the last decade when one BrusselsEurocrat after another spoke withbarely concealed arrogance aboutEurope’s moral superiority to theUnited States. Whereas the UnitedStates, with its so-called muscle-boundmilitary, was bogged down in anunwinnable violent conflict inMesopotamia, proving the limits andpitfalls of an over-reliance on hardpower, Europe was basking in theworldwide influence of its soft power,built on suave diplomatic and regulato-ry compromise and the humaneness ofthe social welfare state.

Indeed, it is the economic declineof this very model – that of the Euro-pean social welfare state – over thepast few years that now threatensEurope’s soft power and, therefore, itsown moral conception of itself. Softpower, as defined by Harvard politicalscientist Joseph Nye Jr. is, amongother things, the power to persuade ina media-driven world. And forEurope, such power ultimately camefrom its economic and political model.

The welfare panaceaIn “Postwar: A History of Europesince 1945” (2005), the late New YorkUniversity historian Tony Judt docu-ments how the state – the modern wel-fare state – which reached its apogee in

the 1960s and early 1970s, was seenback then as the decisive bureaucraticpanacea to Europe’s horrific recentpast. The response to the mass killingsof two world wars – in terms of govern-ment policy – was a benevolent admin-istrative order that “would always do abetter job than the unrestricted mar-ket” in protecting people’s interests, indispensing social justice and allowingfor “cultural vitality.” The state, as MrJudt describes the halcyon middledecades of the Cold War in WesternEurope, “lubricated the wheels ofcommerce, politics, and society innumerous ways.”

The full-bodied administrativestate was until recently instantlyappealing, not only to Europeansthemselves but to American tourists,who came from a land of embarrass-ingly poor train and bus service, slum-my big-city airports and decaying high-ways and bridges – not to mentionpoor public service in general – andfound in places like France, Germanyand the Netherlands a paradise ofsleek trains, postmodern air terminalsand wondrous nighttime lightingacross bridges and along highways.The European state with its high taxescould certainly deliver, it seemed. Itwas why conservative politicians inEurope were often proudly to the leftof liberal politicians in the UnitedStates.

The European Union itself, whichgrew out of the Franco-German Coal

and Steel Community of the earlyCold War days and the EuropeanCommon Market (European Eco-nomic Community) of the middleones, was the supreme culmination ofsocial welfare economics and interna-tional legal and diplomatic normswithin the Continent. Because Franceand Germany had been repeatedly atwar over the previous century, theEuropean Union would henceforthbind them together through commoneconomic and fiscal interests. Andfrom the reconciliation between thosetwo giants, unity would radiatethroughout Europe.

But it all rested, in varying degrees,on a prosperous social welfare state.

‘European standards’That is why the European debt crisis isso troubling. It is troubling not just inan economic and political sense, but ina moral sense as well. Europe couldbounce back much quicker thanexpected – economists have beenproven wrong before. More likely,however, the euro zone on the wholewill be sunk in zero growth rates orthereabouts for a few years to come,with consequent cuts in social benefitsand continued high unemployment.And if that happens, the legitimacy ofboth the European Union and thesocial welfare model will continue toerode, whittling away the very basis ofEuropean soft power and, perhaps, thenorms of behavior that such soft power

has represented.Poland especially offers the most

poignant example of why such normsare vital to peace. In “The Reconstruc-tion of Nations,” Mr Snyder meticu-lously narrates how Polish thinkers andofficials had made a conscious choicetoward the latter years of the Cold Warto accept Poland’s eastern borders withthe Soviet republics of Lithuania,Belarus and Ukraine, assuming, asthey did, that the Soviet Union wouldcollapse and those republics wouldbecome independent states. This was,as he explains, an extraordinary deci-sion after a fashion, because it meantdropping historical claims to ethnic-Polish lands to the east of the currentPolish state. Concomitantly, Polandasked Germany to make no suchclaims on historic German lands inwestern Poland. However brutal andunfair were the border arrangementsthat were the outgrowth of Nazi andSoviet aggression in World War II, Pol-ish officials decided not to questionthem. And the overpowering forcehelping them toward such brave, con-ciliatory thinking and diplomacy wasthe example of “European standards”that were, in turn, the outgrowth of theeconomic and cultural experience ofpostwar Europe as chronicled by MrJudt in his own book.

In other words, peace in EasternEurope following the collapse of theBerlin Wall depended on applying thediplomatic rules of Western Europe.

And the diplomatic rules of WesternEurope had long been fortified by thevery success of the European welfareproject as a whole, in all its economicand integrationist manifestations.

No gloatingBut now Eurocrats can no longer gloatabout the European Union’s soft powerand its consequent moral superioritycompared to the United States. TheAmerican economy is chugging alongnicely at 2.7 percent annual growth –around 2.7 percent higher thanEurope’s. Whereas America’s econom-ic problems are mainly political – thedifficulty Republicans and Democratsoften have in reaching efficient compro-mises – Europe’s problems are morefundamental and structural: the veryviability of the euro zone and the enor-mous promises to the citizenry impliedby the welfare state model.

Yet, this is no reason for Americansto gloat either. No one should want tosee the continued erosion of Europeaninstitutions and models, for that willnegatively affect the very attraction ofEuropean civilization in the 21st centu-ry world: a civilization built on toler-ance in the late-20th. ●

Robert D. Kaplan is Stratfor’s chiefgeopolitical analyst.

This edited version of “Europe’s softpower?” is republished with permission

of Stratfor. Stratfor.com

One of the many things I learnedfrom Milton Friedman is thatthe true cost of government is its

spending, not its taxes. To put it anoth-er way, spending is financed either bycurrent taxes or through borrowing,and borrowing amounts to future taxes,which have almost the same impact oneconomic performance as currenttaxes.

We can apply this reasoning to theUnited States’ unsustainable fiscaldeficit. As is well known, closing thisdeficit requires less spending or moretaxes.

The conventional view is that a rea-sonable, balanced approach entailssome of each. But, as Mr Friedmanwould have argued, the two methodsshould be considered polar opposites.Less spending means that the govern-ment will be smaller. More taxes meanthat the government will be larger.Hence, people who favor smaller gov-ernment (for example, some Republi-cans) will want the deficit closed entire-ly by cutting spending, whereas those

who favor larger government (forexample, President Barack Obama andmost Democrats) will want the deficitclosed entirely by raising taxes.

As the economist Alberto Alesinahas found from studies of fiscal stabiliza-tion in OECD countries, eliminating fis-cal deficits through spending cuts tendsto be much better for the economy thaneliminating them through tax increases.A natural interpretation is that spendingadjustments work better because theypromise smaller government, therebyfavoring economic growth.

Method mattersFor a given size of government, themethod of raising tax revenue matters.For example, we can choose how muchto collect via a general income tax, apayroll tax, a consumption tax (such asa sales or value-added tax), and so on.We can also choose how much revenueto raise today, rather than in the future(by varying the fiscal deficit).

A general principle for an efficienttax system is to collect a given amount

of revenue (corresponding in the longrun to the government’s spending) in away that causes as little distortion aspossible to the overall economy. Usual-ly, this principle means that marginaltax rates should be similar at differentlevels of labor income, for various typesof consumption, for outlays today ver-sus tomorrow, and so on.

From this perspective, a shortcom-ing of the US individual income-tax sys-tem is that marginal tax rates are high atthe bottom (because of means testing ofwelfare programs) and the top (becauseof the graduated-rate structure). Thus,the government has moved in thewrong direction since 2009, sharply rais-ing marginal tax rates at the bottom (bydramatically increasing transfer pro-grams) and, more recently, at the top(by raising tax rates on the rich).

One of the most efficient tax-raisingmethods is the US payroll tax, forwhich the marginal tax rate is close tothe average rate (because deductionsare absent and there is little graduationin the rate structure). Therefore, cut-

ting the payroll tax rate in 2011-2012and making the rate schedule moregraduated (on the Medicare side) weremistakes from the standpoint of effi-cient taxation.

Republicans should consider theseideas when evaluating tax and spendingchanges in 2013. Going over the “fiscalcliff” would have had the attraction ofseriously cutting government spending,although the composition of the cuts –nothing from entitlements and toomuch from defense – was unattractive.The associated revenue increase was, atleast, across the board, rather than theunbalanced hike in marginal tax ratesat the top that was enacted.

Cut governmentBut the most important part of the dealto avert the fiscal cliff was the restora-tion of the efficient payroll tax. I esti-mate that the rise by two percentagepoints in the amount collected fromemployees corresponds to about $1.4trillion in revenue over 10 years. Thisserious revenue boost was not counted

in standard reports, because the pay-roll-tax “holiday” for 2011-2012 hadalways been treated legally as tempo-rary.

It is true that some macroeconomicmodelers, including the CongressionalBudget Office, had forecast that goingover the cliff would have caused arecession. But those results come fromKeynesian models that always predictthat GDP expands when the govern-ment gets larger. Entirely absent fromthese models are the negative effects ofmore government and uncertaintyabout how fiscal problems will beresolved.

Another recession in the US wouldnot be a great surprise, but it can beattributed to an array of bad govern-ment policies and other forces, not tocutting the size of government. ●

Robert J. Barro is professor of eco-nomics at Harvard University and a

senior fellow at the Hoover Institution,Stanford University.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.Project-syndicate.org

LLeessssoonnss ffrroomm tthhee ffiissccaall cclliiffffRobert J. Barro

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W a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s s p e c i a l r e p o r t o n o u t s o u r c i n g i n P o l a n d JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Business services

Poland’s BPO boomPoland has becomethe most prominentEuropean center forBPOs – andemployment in thesector hit 100,000 lastyear

At the beginning of December2012, employment in businessservice centers in Polandreached 100,000. The Associa-tion of Business Service Lead-ers in Poland (ABSL), anorganization representing 70foreign and Polish investorsfrom the business services sec-tor, forecasts that this year

employment will grow to120,000.

“100,000 employees in thebusiness services sector is agreat success as well as anideal platform for futuredevelopment. We expect thatthe sector will grow by a fur-ther 15 to 20 percent year-on-year,” said Jacek Levernes,president of ABSL.

Becoming a globalleaderABSL predicts that in 2013Poland will strengthen itsnumber-one position inEurope and compete for thetitle of global business-service

leader. Poland is able to hostall types of service centers.Facilities already existing andoperating in the country arewell-equipped and specialistsworking in them have theappropriate resources andknowledge, ABSL says. Thatallows them to manage themost advanced and complexbusiness processes.

“There is no other countryin the world that offers thebusiness service sector suchversatile solutions. We are ableto handle virtually any processin one of several dozen foreignlanguages,” said MarekGrodziƒski, a vice president atABSL.

“Although in terms of scalewe cannot compete with coun-tries such as India and China,we are a global leader in boththe diversity and quality ofservices that we are able toprovide,” he added.

Centers located in Polandprovide advanced businessservices in such areas as:advisory and consulting serv-ices, customer service, deliv-ery-chain management,finance and accounting,financial audit, human re-source management, IT serv-ices, marketing, research anddevelopment and tax servic-es.

Why Poland?In light of the recent economiccrisis, foreign companies arelooking to reduce costs. That’swhy they often decide to relo-cate their services to othercountries that have a stablemacroeconomic situation butwhere the labor costs arelower. The average salary in aPolish BPO center stands at$17,000-18,000 a year.

In comparison, the averagesalary for a programmer in aVietnamese BPO is $11,300per year, according to Econo-mist Intelligence Unit data for2011. In India, the figurestands at $10,100.

Poland’s strengths are anarmy of highly qualified spe-cialists and its central locationin Europe. Its developinginfrastructure of modernoffice space meets the require-ments of corporations fromthe business services sector.

The quality of the Polishlabor market is one of themajor reasons the businessservices sector invests in thecountry. It’s not just that Pol-ish workers are well-educated,but they also have high levelsof foreign-language compe-tence, say investors.

In 2010, Everest Groupannounced that in terms of theavailability of specialists and

experts from the business serv-ices sector, Poland ranked sec-ond in the world, just behindIndia.

“Many countries havedeveloped a particular special-ization within the sector,”Przemys∏aw Berendt, a vicepresident at ABSL, explained.“However, because of the ver-satile competence profile ofPolish specialists, investorsfrom different markets decide

to locate their centers here.[Polish] experts provide servic-es to clients from various sec-tors, in many languages.”

MMaarrttaa MMaarrddoosszz

Millions of euro, thousands of jobsHow outsourcing became the most popular sector for FDIs in Poland 14

List of BPO companies Comprehensive directory of businessprocess outsourcing centers 12-13

In thissupplementBPO boom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11BPO companies . . . . . . . . . . . . .12, 13Poland’s most popular sector . . . .14New Direct interview . . . . . . . . . . .14

OOUUTTSSOOUURRCCIINNGG

Big names, big BPO centersThe largest foreign employers in the business services sector inPoland in 2011

Investor Location Employment bracketFrance Telecom several cities 6,000-6,5000Capgemini Kraków, Katowice, Wroc∏aw 4,000-4,500IBM Kraków, Wroc∏aw, Gdaƒsk, Warsaw 3,500-4,000General Electric Gdaƒsk, Warsaw, ¸ódê 3,000-3,500Hewlett Packard Wroc∏aw 2,000-2,5000Bertelsmann Media Poznaƒ, Szczecin and other cities 2,000-2,500Nokia Siemens Networks Wroc∏aw, Kraków 2,000-2,500Citi Group Warsaw, Olsztyn, ¸ódê 1,500-2,000Shell Kraków 1,500-2,000Accenture Warsaw, ¸ódê 1,000-1,500Infosys ¸ódê 1,000-1,500Tieto Wroc∏aw, Szczecin 1,000-1,500State Street Kraków 1,000-1,500Sabre Kraków 1,000-1,500Mellon Warsaw, ¸ódê 1,000-1,500

Source: ABSL

SH

UT

TE

RS

TO

CK

100,000 jobs have been created in Polish business

service centers

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013OOUUTTSSOOUURRCCIINNGG12 www.wbj.pl

Corporate Services

Business Process Outsourcing CompaniesRanked by total revenue from outsourcing in 2011; presented separately for each specialization www.bookoflists.pl

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

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./Faxe-mailWebsite

Total revenuefrom

outsourcing(z∏. mln)

Total revenue(z∏. mln)

HR andpayroll /

Accounting /Marketing/

sales

IT /Logistics /Back-office

Services offered(main specialization)

Selected clients

Total number ofemployees /

Year founded inPoland

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /Title

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: HR AND PAYROLL

1

Impel Business Solutions Sp. z o.o.ul. Antoniego S∏onimskiego 6, 50-304 Wroc∏aw71 784-6370/71 [email protected]

74.769.856.8

WNDWNDWND

8271

62-

Keeping records of employees’ personal data; keeping andupdating personal files of employees; archiving personal filesof former employees; job and other legal contracts; handling

the records of time worked and absences; calculating wages;preparation of documents and settlements for ZUS, GUS, US,

PFRON; payroll strips and ZUS RMUA forms preparation;transferring payments to employees’ accounts and their

documentation; annual tax returns; monitoring the validity ofmedical examination and safety training; HR and payrolldocuments audit; taking over the responsibility to state

administration organs

WND6,0001990

Impel - 100%None

Grzegorz TyszkaPresident

2

Randstad Payroll Solutions Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 56C, 00-803 Warsaw22 462-2500/22 [email protected]

9.18.38.5

9.18.38.5

100--

---

Keeping records of employees’ personal data; keeping and updatingpersonal files of employees; archiving personal files of former

employees; serving of work and other legal contracts; handling therecords of time worked and absences; calculating wages; preparation

of documents and settlements for ZUS, GUS, US, PFRON; payrollstrips and ZUS RMUA forms preparation; transferring payments toemployees’ accounts their and documentation; annual tax returns;

monitoring the validity of medical examination and safety training; HRand payroll documents audit

Aegon; Naj International;Apsys

401998

Kajetan Edward S∏oninaJacobus Wim Van Den Broek

Kajetan Edward S∏oninaBoard Member

3

UCMS Group Poland Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 181, 02-222 Warsaw22 329-2700/22 [email protected]

9.07.87.1

9.38.67.8

982-

---

Keeping records of employees’ personal data; keeping andupdating personal files of employees; archiving personal filesof former employees; serving of work and other legal contracts;handling the records of time worked and absences; wagecalculation; preparation of documents and settlements for

ZUS, GUS, US, PFRON; payroll strips and ZUS RMUA formspreparation; transferring payments to employees’ accountsand their documentation; annual tax returns; monitoring thevalidity of medical examination and safety training; HR and

payroll documents audit

WND67

2004None

UCMS GROUP EMEA Limited - 100%

Jan Palmkvist; Anna AgnieszkaKaczmarska, Ludmi∏a Kobyliƒska

CEO; Proxies

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: MARKETING/SALES

1

Contact Center Sp. z o.o.ul. Muszkieterów 15A, 02-273 Warsaw22 535-7900/22 [email protected]

246.0276.0217.0

246.0276.0217.0

--

95

--5

Telesales; business appointments; market research; marketingresearch; lead generation; SMS/MMS/e-mail/viocemail

campaings; loyalty programs; customer service, helpline; helpdesk; databases; social media; call/contact center

UEFA; Kapsch; Makro Cash &Carry; mBank; Grupa Orange

6071999

TP Invest - 99.9%None

Jakub K∏oczewiakPresident

2

Cursor SAul. Poleczki 23, 02-822 Warsaw22 335-2424/22 [email protected]

83.581.6WND

83.581.6WND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

Loyalty programsCiti Bank; Coty; Dr Oetker;

Lindt; Mars; Na∏´czowianka;Nestlé; Tesco; Unilever

WND2001

Outsourcing ExpertsWND

Artur WojtaszekPresident

3

Holicon Sp. z o.o.ul. Romana Maya 1/2, 61-371 Poznaƒ61 664-3200/61 [email protected]

37.838.914.5

37.838.914.5

5-

70

15-

10


campaings; customer service, helpline; help desk; call/contactcenter

Netia; Skoda Polska; CP; BZWBK

1,2002004

Marcin Pankau - 50%; KrzysztofChyliƒski - 50%

None

Marcin PankauPresident

4

Call Center Poland SAul. Marynarska 11, 02-674 Warsaw22 444-0444/22 [email protected]

37.434.436.4

37.434.436.4

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND



MTU Moje TowarzystwoUbezpieczeƒ, Neste Oil,

Pepsi, Danone, Carlsberg,BMW, Volvo, Reader’s Digest

WND1997

Communication One Consulting - 100%None

Jaros∏aw Sprzyngwald; Micha∏ Karzel

President;Board Member

5

Target BPO Sp. z o.o.ul. Wólczaƒska 241A, 95-035 ¸ódê42 253-7777/42 [email protected]

34.736.037.7

34.736.037.7

--

100

---

Telesales; business appointments; lead generation; customerservice, helpline; help desk; databases; call/contact center

Mars Polska; Polkomtel;Unilever Polska; ˚ywiec Zdrój;

Multibank

9842003

NoneRed ClaNDena Limited - 81%; Speer

Investment Limited - 19%

Krzysztof TwardowskiVice President

6

Galposter Sp. z o.o.ul. Poleczki 23, 02-822 Warsaw22 335-2030/22 [email protected]

22.020.0WND

22.020.0WND

--

100

---

Rebranding; direction information systems; outdooradvertising; consulting and advice on technology

Eurocash; Aviva; Auchan;Bank Pocztowy; Ergo Hestia;Mercedes-Benz; PKN Orlen;

PKO BP; Ruch

1301997


Micha∏ ZollPresident

7

Voice Contact Center Sp. z o.o.ul. Szturmowa 2, 02-678 Warsaw22 255-2000/22 [email protected]

14.55.9NA

14.55.9NA

--

100

---



Netia; Allianz; NationalGeographic; Cyfra +;

Telewizja N; Raabe; HBO

5702009


Adam KotrychPresident

8

Universal Agent Sp. z o.o.ul. Zab∏ocie 20/22, 30-701 Kraków12 375-5900/12 [email protected]

9.1WNDWND

9.1WNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND


campaings; loyalty programs; customer service, helpline; helpdesk; databases; call/contact center

WNDWND2006

Grupa DataContactNone

Marek Kozio∏; Tomasz Turowski;Seweryn Dro˝d˝, Krzysztof

SzpanelewskiPresident; Vice President; Board Members

NR

ContactPoint Sp. z o.o.ul. Marynarska 11, 02-674 Warsaw22 541-9090/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

26.926.718.8

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND



WNDWND1997

Communication One Consulting - 100%None

Jaros∏aw Sprzyngwald; Micha∏Karze∏

President; Board Member

NR

Grupa DataContact Sp. z o.o.ul. Jagielloƒska 74, 03-301 Warsaw22 763-6000/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

14.8WNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

Telesales; business appointments; market research; marketingresearch; lead generation; SMS/MMS/e-mail/voicemail

campaings; loyalty programs; customer service, helpline; helpdesk; databases; call/contact center

WNDWND1995

Cezary Hermanowski; Andrzej RezlerGimV Belgian Investment Fund

Cezary HermanowskiPresident

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: LOGISTICS

1

Rohlig SUUS Logistics SAul. Jana Paw∏a II 66, 05-500 Piaseczno22 737-7575,/22 [email protected]

491.8403.3282.0

491.8403.3282.0

---

-100

-

Freight transportation; warehousing; distribution; customservices; supply chain management

Philip Morris; Alcatel-Lucent;LG; Beko

8701990

WNDNone

Karol Miszta; Andrzej Koz∏owski;Daniel Franke; Rafa∏ Szyd∏owski

Board Members

NR

DHL Express (Poland) Sp. z o.o.ul. Osmaƒska 2, 02-823 Warsaw22 565-0000/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

Freight transportation; distribution; custom services;insurances; supply chain management

WND5,0002003

WNDDeutsche Post International

Tomasz BuraÊPresident

NR

Kuehne + Nagel Sp. z o.o.ul. Spedycyjna 1, 62-023 Gàdki61 819-9100/61 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

368.5342.4282.3

---

-100

-

Freight transportation; warehousing; distribution; customservices; fleet management; leasing; insurances; supply chain

management; logistics flow analysis

Danone; Unilever; OBI;PepsiCo; Flexlink

1,8001992

WNDTobias Jerschke

President

2011 / 2010 / 2009

Revenue split (%)

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 OOUUTTSSOOUURRCCIINNGG www.wbj.pl 13

Notes: NA = Not Applicable, NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Not more than10 companies from each specialization are listed here. For the full list subscribe atwww.bookoflists.pl. Research for The List was conducted in January 2013.Footnotes: (1) Financial year: September 1 - August 31; (2) Financial year: July 1 - June 30.

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 typo-graphical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Monika Brysiak, ul. Elblàska15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to [email protected]. Copyright 2012, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproducedin whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./Faxe-mailWebsite

Total revenuefrom

outsourcing(z∏. mln)

Total revenue(z∏. mln)

HR andpayroll /

Accounting /Marketing/

sales

IT /Logistics /Back-office

Services offered(main specialization)

Selected clients

Total number ofemployees /

Year founded inPoland

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /Title

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: ACCOUNTING

1

Business Support Solution SAul. Pojezierska 90A, 91-341 ¸ódê42 200-7000/42 [email protected]

26.924.1NA

27.024.2NA

14.685.3

-

0.1--

Bookkeeping; accounting of fixed assets, intangible assets,equipment; preparation of tax returns and statements for external

institutions; preparation of financial statements required by thelaw; representing the client before US, NBP, ZUS; reports and

analysis; receivables monitoring

Outsourcing Experts;Pelion

3342010

PelionNone

Zuzanna K∏ysPresident

2

Mazars w Polsce (1)

ul. Pi´kna 18, 00-549 Warsaw22 255-5200,/22 [email protected]

12.7WNDWND

41.0WNDWND

13.486.6

-

---




WND1841992

WNDMichel Kiviatkowski

Managing Partner

3

Grant Thornton Fràckowiak Sp. z o.o., Sp.k. (2)

ul. Abpa Antoniego Baraniaka 88 E, 61-831 Poznaƒ61 625-1100/61 [email protected], www.grantthornton.pl

9.08.5

WND

35.433.834.6

1684-

---




WND3161993

Grant Thornton Fràckowiak - 100 %None

Katarzyna BanachManaging Partner

4

Grupa Gumu∏ka (Grupa Gumu∏ka - KancelariaPrawa Finansowego Sp. z o.o.; GrupaGumu∏ka Sp. z o.o.)ul. Jana Matejki 4, 40-077 Katowice32 253-0715/32 [email protected], www.gumulka.pl

4.54.24.0

8.65.95.4

304520

3-2




Dziennik Zachodni;Antyradio Katowice

701993

Rados∏aw Gumu∏ka - 99%None

Rados∏aw Gumu∏kaPresident

5

Korycka, Budziak & Audytorzy Sp. z o.o. ul. Solec 22, 00-410 Warsaw22 522-2390/22 [email protected], www.kba.com.pl

2.12.52.7

3.64.85.0

1258-

---




WND36

1992

Ewa Orkwiszewska - 33.3%; TomaszBudziak - 33.3%; Maria Korycka -

33.3%None

Ewa Orkwiszewska President

6

Biuro Rachunkowe BIUREX Sp.c. Ryszardi Micha∏ Cieliba∏aul. 1 Maja 103, 25-614 Kielce41 335-8383/41 [email protected], www.biurex.pl

1.91.91.8

1.91.91.8

2476-

---




Autofenix; Nowbud; Aluco;Spaw-Tech

311991

Ryszard Cieliba∏a - 50%; Micha∏Cieliba∏a - 50%

None

Ryszard Cieliba∏a; Micha∏ Cieliba∏aTax Advisors

7

Optant Sp. z o.o.Al. Stanów Zjednoczonych 61A, 04-028 Warsaw22 617-2233/22 [email protected], www.optant.com.pl

0.70.80.8

0.70.80.8

1580-

--5




Fleishman Hillard; ApliPolska; Fast Poland;

Vivarto; Plastoplan; NavitorPoland

82004

¸ukasz Kaliƒski - 81%; AgnieszkaKaliƒska - 18%

None

¸ukasz KaliƒskiManaging Partner

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: IT

1

Ericpol Sp. z o.o.ul. Targowa 9A, 90-042 ¸ódê42 664-2500/42 [email protected], www.ericpol.pl

195.6151.4123.2

221.6163.4137.4

---

100--

Programming; databases; IT administration and server support;hosting

Ericsson; Actia; Alcatel-Lucent; Cyandia; Freedom

OSS; Magneti Marelli

1,7151991

Ericpol - Jan Smela - 100%None

Jan SmelaPresident

2

arvato Polska, oddzia∏ Bertelsmann MediaSp. z o.o.ul. Kolejowa 150, 62-064 Plewiska k. Poznania61 652-8800/61 [email protected], www.arvato.pl

160.7159.8143.0

160.7159.8143.0

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

Programming; mobile platforms; computer hardware andsoftware technical support; IT administration and server support;

data security and antivirus software; hosting

Microsoft; Play/P4;Polkomtel

2,0001994

NoneBertelsmann - 100%

Janusz JankowiakGeneral Director

3

Sii Sp. z o.o.Al. Niepodleg∏oÊci 69, 01-214 Warsaw22 486-3737/22 [email protected]

94.851.430.2

94.851.430.2

---

100--

Programming; databases; mobile platforms; computer hardwareand software technical support; IT administration and server

support; data security and antivirus software; hosting

Citibank; Roche; Volvo IT;Nordea; Gemalto

1,3002006

Gregoire Nitot - 30%Sii Francja - 70%

Gregoire Nitot President

4

it WORKS SAAl. Jana Paw∏a II 41C, 31-864 Kraków12 395-1300/12 [email protected]

31.019.216.4

52.828.923.8

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND



GDF SUEZ Energia; Zelmer;Danone; Travalplanet;Muzeum HistoryczneMiasta Krakowa; GFKPolonia; hotele24.pl

2502001

NoneEnterprise Investors - 100%

Leszek Ro˝d˝eƒskiPresident

5

IT Connect Sp. z o.o.ul. Marsza∏kowska 80, 00-517 Warsaw22 653-8592/22 [email protected]

26.724.421.9

26.724.421.9

---

100--


support; data security and antivirus software

TP; Sygnity; NTT; OriflamePoland

3002007

Bart∏omiej Maƒkowski - 90%; GrzegorzSkoczek - 10%

None

Grzegorz SkoczekPresident

6

Przedsi´biorstwo Us∏ugowo-Handlowe Zastosowaƒ Elektronicznej TechnikiObliczeniowej ZETO SA w Poznaniuul. Fredry 8A, 60-967 Poznaƒ61 852-6585/61 [email protected], www.zeto.com.pl

18.623.120.8

22.228.324.1

---

80--

Programming; databases; computer hardware and softwaretechnical support; IT administration and server support; data

security and antivirus software; hosting

EVER; BDInet Tylski;O/ZUS; OT LOGISTICS;

TESGAS

881965

WNDNone

Marek MajewskiPresident

7

Asseco Poland SAul. Olchowa 14, 35-322 Rzeszów17 888-5555/17 [email protected], www.asseco.pl

8.98.57.3

1,327.41,168.4946.4

---

100--


support; data security and antivirus software; hostingWND

3,1511989

Aviva PTE Aviva BZ WBK - 12%; AdamGóral - 9.7%; PTW PZU - 6%

WND

Adam GóralPresident

8

InfoPower Sp. z o.o.ul. Stoczniowa 2, 82-300 Elblàg55 236-4604/55 [email protected]

5.96.26.5

11.08.99.2

8.6--

39.3--

Programming; databases; computer hardware and softwaretechnical support; IT administration and server support; data

security and antivirus software; hostingWND

422000

Jacek Makarewicz; Jerzy OlszewskiWND

Jacek MakarewiczPresident

9

Power Media SAul. Grabiszyƒska 241B, 53-234 Wroc∏aw71 769-4300/71 [email protected]

3.03.54.0

8.37.37.8

---

17--



Nokia Siemens Network;Telefonia DIALOG; Grupa

Siemens; Motorola Polska

1151997

Wojciech Narczyƒski - 26.7%; MartaPrzew∏ocka - 15.5%; Ewa Dàbrowska-

Prus - 8.2%None

Wojciech NarczyƒskiPresident

10

Luxoft Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Krakowska 280, 32-080 Zabierzów12 445-8800/12 [email protected]

1.2NANA

1.2NANA

---

100--

Programming; databases; mobile platforms WND2202010

NoneLuxoft International Company Limited -

100%

Wojciech MachManaging Director

MAIN SPECIALIZATION: BACK-OFFICE

1

ArchiDoc SAul. Ba˝antów 35, 40-668 Katowice32 355-6840/32 [email protected]

49.545.5WND

49.545.5WND

---

--

100

Archiving personal files of former employees; handlingcorrespondence; scanning of documents; data registration in

computer systems; documents archiving

TP; PZU; Millennium Bank;Uniqa; UPC; Compensa;

ING; Getin Noble

6001994


Konrad RochalskiPresident

2011 / 2010 / 2009

Revenue split (%)

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013OOUUTTSSOOUURRCCIINNGG14 www.wbj.pl

OOuuttssoouurrcciinngg iiss iinnKrzysztof Sadecki, theCEO of New Direct, talksabout the outsourcing sec-tor in Poland and whatmakes his company unique

How do you view the outsourcingindustry in Poland?Krzysztof Sadecki: In my opinion, Poles arespecialists in the outsourcing sector. Polishcompanies provide services not only to Euro-pean companies, but also to global con-cerns. We are perceived in the world as veryskilled and relatively cheap specialists.

Based on your experience, areinvestors using outsourcing compa-nies more or less often nowadays?Despite the economic crisis, I have noticedan upward trend in the use of outsourcingcompanies. When companies develop, theylearn that sometimes it is better to entrustcertain tasks to external experts who will dothe same work relatively cheaper whileensuring high quality. To grow your business,it is important to be surrounded by well-qual-ified staff – there is no doubt about that.However, it is often better to use the serviceand experience of existing entities ratherthan hiring your own staff.

Is the use of outsourced servicespopular only among foreign compa-nies or have Polish companies start-ed using such services too?We’ve left behind the era when everyonewanted to be specialists in everything. Anincreasing number of people are beginningto understand these mechanisms in thesphere of business. This is good because interms of the economy it allows us to take fur-ther steps towards approaching the stan-dards in Western countries.

In which areas of outsourcing haveyou noticed the biggest demand?In my opinion, the biggest demand is still inthe IT, legal and accounting sectors. Butthere are also other, fast-growing servicessuch as professional counseling on running abusiness. Those services help to deal withthe optimization of costs. They also provideeconomic and financial consulting services.

You mean companies like NewDirect?New Direct is a holding company that spe-cializes in many areas. Our company is runon the basis of our well-established knowl-edge of the financial market and is support-ed by many years of experience. The

biggest asset of the compa-ny is a team of experiencedexperts who share theirknowledge about personal-ized financial counseling,investment policy, businessrisk assessment and ad-vanced accounting. ButNew Direct also provideslegal services or help withrenting an office space or avirtual address.

What makes NewDirect better thanother companies?Thanks to the structure of New Direct, weoffer complex assistance in running a busi-ness, a model which is unparalleled on thenational scale. Our customer can receivefinancial counseling as well as help withcost optimization, legal and accountingassistance or gaining insurance on prefer-ential terms. And still that’s not everythingwe offer.

What kind of businesses do youserve?We serve a wide range of companies both inthe Polish and British market. Among our

clients are large companies listed on the War-saw Stock Exchange, medium-sized business-es and start-ups. We consider the latter to be avery important element of building a nationaleconomy based on the initiative of Poles.

How will outsourcing in Polandlook in the future?In my opinion, the outsourcing sector willgrow steadily from year to year. However, tomaintain and strengthen this trend, it is cru-cial to educate businesspeople about thebenefits derived from the use of such busi-ness solutions. ●

BROUGHT TO YOU BY NEW DIRECT

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Foreign investment

OOuuttssoouurrcciinngg bbeeccoommeess mmoosstt ppooppuullaarr sseeccttoorr ffoorr FFDDIIInvestments ininnovative serviceshave overtaken thosefrom the automotivesector

In 2012, Poland’s innovativeservices sector, including BPO,SSC and ITO, attracted 20investments worth a total of€35.1 million, providing some4,800 jobs, according to thePolish Information and ForeignInvestments Agency (PAIiIZ),a state-run institution thathelps foreign investors developprojects in Poland. The figuresonly include investments thatPAIiIZ aided.

Nevertheless, the increaseis significant compared to2011, when PAIiIZ helpedcompanies complete 14 proj-ects worth a total of €14 mil-lion, creating employment forsome 3,000 people.

The largest number of for-eign investments in the sectorlast year came from the Unit-ed States, with nine invest-ments. The remaining 11 camefrom European Union coun-tries and Japan.

Rafa∏ Szajewski fromPAIiIZ told WBJ that for sev-

eral years, the innovative serv-ices sector had accounted for agrowing number of projectsaided by the agency.

Improving results“The previous year [2012]brought a very good result ininvestments completed, espe-cially considering the generaleconomic downturn,” Mr Sza-jewski added. “Such a highpercentage of projects in theinnovative services sectormeans that Poland meets therequirements of investors forhigh-skilled personnel.”

Despite a worsening eco-nomic situation throughoutthe European Union, Polandhas managed to maintain alarge number of investmentsin the sector. Indeed, less than10 years after joining EUstructures, Poland is the Euro-pean leader in terms of thenumber of such investments.

EU brand helpsMr Szajewski said that “themere fact of joining the Euro-pean Union meant thatPoland began to be seen as apredictable, large economywith a well-established andsecure political system.”

Regardless of their indus-try, firms looking for a locationfor their investment alwaystake into account the politicaland economic risks associatedwith a given site. “Accession tothe EU confirmed the compli-ance of Polish standards withother Western European

countries and has improvedthe image of Poland in theeyes of foreign investors,” MrSzajewski said.

This year also looks prom-ising for Poland. PAIiIZreported that in January aloneit had already completed oneproject and had started work-

ing on another 30 projectsfrom the BPO sector, whichhas overtaken the automotivesector in terms of number ofinvestments. If the projects,worth a total of €31 million,are successful, some 6,800people will eventually beemployed as a result.

In the big citiesAlthough Poland attractsmany foreign investors, theytend to concentrate theirassets in the biggest cities. Inboth 2011 and 2012 almost allinnovative services centerswere located in Kraków, ̧ ódê,Poznaƒ, the Silesia agglomera-tion (which includes Katowiceand its surroundings), Warsaw,Wroc∏aw and Tri-city (Gdaƒsk,Gdynia and Sopot).

There are still regions inthe eastern parts of Polandthat attract little or no invest-ment, although local govern-ments are doing their best topromote them. Nevertheless,potential investors say they arediscouraged by the lack ofproper roads, railways and avi-ation infrastructure to connectthese areas with the rest of thecountry.

Mr Szajewski remains opti-mistic. “As long as companiesfollow the main rationale ofeconomic calculation, andPoland has young, educatedworkers who are willing toimprove their skills,” he says,“we will see new investmentsin the area of business servic-es.”

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PAIiIZ BPO projects were worth €30 million in 2012

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 JAN 28 – FEB 3, 2013, LI 18/03

Developers

expect a fallAfter a rather good year in

terms of new apartment

sales, Polish real estate

developers expect a

downturn in 2013 as the

state’s aid program

“Rodzina na swoim” came

to an end in December

2012. A new program for

young Poles has been

slated to start in early

2014 and many buyers are

likely to wait for its

launch. With the excessive

supply of unsold new

apartments, developers

will probably be forced to

further reduce prices.

Solid Security

leases Ideal

Idea Park IIISolid Security has leased

1,500 sqm of office space

and 3,000 sqm of

warehouse space in Ideal

Idea Park III in Warsaw,

developed in the capital’s

W∏ochy district. Its

completion is planned for

Q2 2013. IIP III offers

18,500 sqm of modern

office and warehouse

space and parking for 230

cars.

New office

building in

MokotówA seven-storey office

building with a three-

storey underground

parking lot for 211 cars is

planned in ul. Wielicka, in

the Mokotów district of

Warsaw. The building will

comprise 24,700 sqm. ●

Le Palais delivered . . . . . . . . . . .15

APA Wojciechowski plagiarized

Hadid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Bristol among the best . . . . . .16

Feniks put up for sale . . . . . . . .16

Warsaw office data . . . . . . . . . .16

Griffin CEO on Emilia . . . . . . . . .17

In this issue

1716

After a €12 million renovationHotel Bristol has joined Starwood’s elite Luxury Collection

Griffin Group CEO Przemys∏awKrych speaks about the MebleEmilia controversy

Office

PPrróó˝̋nnaa rreeggaaiinnss iittss bbeeaauuttyyUl. Pró˝na’s Jewishtenement houses haveregained their pre-warbeauty thanks toextensiverefurbishment

Stock Exchange-listed devel-oper Warimpex has completedrefurbishing and redevelopingits Le Palais development onul. Pró˝na 9 near Plac Grzy-bowski, in the heart of War-saw’s pre-war Jewish neigh-borhood. The two historic ten-ement houses from the 19thcentury, originally owned bySamuel No˝yk, a powerfulbusinessman and the founderof the capital’s only survivingsynagogue – SynagogaNo˝yków – comprise a total ofapproximately 6,750 sqm ofleasable space, including 5,300sqm of office space.

Warimpex’s original ideawas to turn the project into aboutique hotel, offering

tourists an opportunity to stayat one of the most interestinghistorical sites of Warsaw, butthe plan was soon changed.

The refurbishment andredevelopment of the build-ings took Warimpex 18months. Architect WojciechPop∏awski from the OPArchitekten studio recon-structed the original facadesfrom preserved photographsand designs and expanded thefacility’s south side, adding anew brick-layered buildingwith steel elements in harmo-ny with the surroundings.

Mr Pop∏awski workedclosely with the city’s curatorof historic buildings to recre-ate the architectural details ofthe tenement house, designedby the famous architect Fran-ciszek Brauman, author of theWedel building on ul. Szpital-na in Warsaw.

The class-A developmentwas built by construction com-pany PORR (POLSKA) and

completed in December lastyear. So far more than 68 per-cent of its total space has beenleased out. Current tenantsinclude Ipopema Group, Ste-wart Title, Schoenherr, the

Austrian Cultural Forum, IVGand Accreo.

Warimpex intends to sellLe Palais to an internationalinvestor later this year and tobuy another tenement house

on ul. Pró˝na. Jerzy Krogulec,general director of Warimpexin Warsaw, said the companywould participate in the tenderfor its sale in June.

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It took Warimpex 18 months to refurbish and redevelop the Le Palais buildings

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

Retail

Galeria Wilanów a plagiarism?The developmentbears a strikingresemblance to ZahaHadid’s PhaenoScience Center inWolfsburg, Germany

A new commercial center inWarsaw’s Wilanów district,scheduled for completion atthe end of 2014, could be aplagiarism of the PhaenoScience Center in Wolfs-burg, Germany, GazetaWyborcza reported.

Galeria Wilanów’s archi-tects, from the APA Woj-ciechowski architectural stu-dio and the Israeli MosheTzur design studio, maintainthat any similarity to ZahaHadid’s German project iscoincidental.

There are two schemeswithin the center. One is 250meters long and will offer60,000 sqm of retail space,while the other one, smallerin size, will comprise 16,000sqm of retail space. Both areset to be built at the inter-section of ul. Przyczó∏kowaand ul. Branickiego. Thefirst building’s constructioncost is estimated at €160million.

The larger building’s glasselements, asymmetrical linesand small windows, make thedesign reminiscent of a “StarWars” space shuttle, accord-ing to Gazeta Wyborcza. ThePhaeno center includes verysimilar design elements, thepaper said.

Szymon Wojciechowski,the head of APA Woj-

ciechowski, said in an inter-view with the newspaper thatthe Phaeno Center was notan inspiration for GaleriaWilanów and that he wasshocked by the resemblance.

The sole developer of theplanned Galeria Wilanów,the WSE-listed Globe TradeCentre (GTC), acquired theremaining 50 percent stake in

the investment previouslyheld by Polnord.

Since residents beganmoving into district’s large-scale development project“Miasteczko Wilanów” someyears ago, it has begunattracting business and com-merce. The district has so farbeen mainly regarded aspurely residential (it is often

referred to as “Warsaw’s bed-room”) and is now beginninga new chapter.

According to real estateexperts, in terms of offices,the district, with its lushgreen areas, offers a refresh-ing alternative to Warsaw’sother well-established officedistricts.


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Galeria Wilanów is scheduled for completion at the end of 2014

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl

Office

FFeenniikkss ttoo bbee ssoollddThe newly developedoffice building inWarsaw’s Wola districtis being put up forsale

Property developer Europlanand co-investor Griffin RealEstate have put the recentlycompleted Feniks OfficeBuilding up for sale. ColliersInternational will market theinvestment.

Located at the intersectionof ul. ˚elazna and ul. Siennain the capital’s Wola district,the seven-storey developmentcomprises approximately10,000 sqm of leasable office,retail and service space. Theunderground garage contains48 parking spaces.

The class-A buildingobtained its occupancy permitin December and earlier thismonth Bank Ochrony Âro-dowiska leased all of the officespace in the facility (9,000sqm) and part of the 1,000-sqm retail area located on thebuilding’s ground floor. Theagreement, brokered by Cush-man & Wakefield, was signedfor 12 years, with the leaseperiod starting in May thisyear.

Feniks, developed by Euro-

plan, was designed byArchiCo-projekt under thesupervision of Konrad Tana-siewicz. Modzelewski & Ro-dek, a subsidiary of developerPORR, was the general con-tractor. Financing for thedevelopment was provided byPKO BP.

The scheme is close to theWarsaw Central railway sta-tion and Z∏ote Tarasy shop-ping center. Companies wholease space in the building mayput their logo on the rooftop.

The Feniks Office Building

was built on the site of the for-mer Dom Handlowy Fenikscommercial center. The demo-lition of the original Feniks in2009 marked the symbolic endof the communist era inWola’s architecture. DomHandlowy Feniks, completedin 1972 after five years of con-struction, was nicknamed“Warsaw’s Pretty Boy” for itsthen-modern design. Until thelate 1990s, the commercialcenter sold a variety of foodand textiles.


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The seven-storey Feniks development contains about

10,000 sqm of leasable office, retail and service space

Office

Record Q4 take-up boostsPoland’s office marketLast year saw a recordlevel of office spacetake-up, at 608,500sqm total

Eleven buildings totaling120,000 sqm were added to theWarsaw office market in Q42012, which took the modernoffice stock to 3,859,000 sqm,according to data from theWarsaw Research Forum.

The largest developmentsdelivered to the market wereGreen Corner (24,500 sqm)and Business Garden, with itstwo buildings totaling 22,000sqm of office space.

The vacancy rate in centrallocations stood at 8.8 percentcompared to 8.1 percent at theend of Q3 2012. In non-centrallocations, the vacancy rate wasalso at 8.8 percent, comparedto 7.8 percent in Q3 2012.

Take-up in Q4 2012reached 153,200 sqm, whichboosted the total figure for2012 to the record level of608,500 sqm (up by around 6percent on 2011). That madeQ4 the busiest quarter of theyear for Poland’s office mar-ket, according to WarsawResearch Forum.

The largest office spacevolumes were leased on the

fringes of the city center (28percent) and in the UpperSouthern zone (27 percent).

New leases (104,800 sqm)accounted for 68 percent of alldeals, with pre-lets making upover half of them (54,000sqm). Renegotiations andextensions accounted for 23percent of all transactions,which was a similar figure tothat in Q3 2012.

The largest deal in Q4 2012was the pre-lease signed byFrontex for 14,600 sqm in theWarsaw Spire office buildingbeing developed by Ghelam-co, while Bank Ochrony

Ârodowiska took up the entireoffice space at the Feniksbuilding (8,950 sqm) devel-oped by Europlan and deliv-ered at the end of 2012.

According to a report byJones Lang LaSalle, the totalinvestment transaction vol-ume in Poland’s commercialproperty market stood atapproximately €2.75 billion in2012, making the country themost active market in CEE.The volume roughly equaledthat of 2011, and volume isexpected to be high again thisyear.


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Green Corner was the largest building to be delivered

to the market in Q4

Hospitality

HHootteell BBrriissttooll jjooiinnss eexxcclluussiivvee ccoommppaannyy

The historic Warsawhotel has become partof a very prestigiousgroup

Starwood Hotels & Resortshas added Warsaw’s HotelBristol to its elite Luxury Col-lection portfolio, which com-prises its 80 best hotels in theworld. After an extensive ren-

ovation which cost €12 mil-lion and took eight months tocomplete, the capital’s mostrenowned hotel is the firstPolish hospitality facility inthe firm’s Luxury Collection,which also includes the HotelDanieli in Venice, the Princede Galles Hotel in Paris andthe Hotel Bristol in Vienna.

Situated in one of the most

prestigious locations in Po-land, next to the PresidentialPalace and on the historicTrakt Królewski (RoyalRoute), the Hotel Bristol wasopened in 1901 by therenowned composer andfuture Polish Prime MinisterIgnacy Paderewski. Designedby W∏adys∏aw Marconi, it hasa neo-renaissance facade and

Secessionist interiors. Restoration work included

moving the reception desk toits original location next tothe main entrance, expandingthe lobby and recreating someof the hotel’s Art Decodetails. With the restoredchandelier illuminating thegrand floral display of palmtrees and freshly cut blos-

soms, the lobby is a contem-porary re-interpretation ofthe original winter garden byOtto Wagner the Younger,the hotel’s first interiordesigner. The new interiorswere created by acclaimedLondon-based hotel designerAnita Rosato, who workedclosely with the city’s histori-cal curator.

The 112-year-old HotelBristol is the most prestigiousand the most expensive hotelin Poland, offering 168 gue-strooms and 38 suites deco-rated with subtle shades of

ivory and blue.“With the celebrated

Hotel Bristol, we arestrengthening The LuxuryCollection portfolio, unveil-ing Warsaw’s rich culturalheritage to our guests from allover the world with the excep-tional style and luxury theyhave come to expect fromStarwood’s luxury brands,”said Thomas Willms, seniorvice president and regionaldirector of Starwood Hotels& Resorts for East and Cen-tral Europe.


Warsaw’s Hotel Bristol

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A view of the Bristol’s refurbished interior

COURTESY OF STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17

Office

‘‘WWee wwiillll ffiigghhtt ffoorr oouurr rriigghhttss’’

Karolina Kowalska: Yourconflict with Warsaw CityHall over the Emilia build-ing has made internationalheadlines. The property thatyou bought was registered asa “historical monument”several hours after youclosed the transaction andpaid the money. In response,you terminated your firm’scontract with the city to hostthe Museum of Modern Artin Warsaw. City officialsclaim that their breach ofcontract is marginal and youare in the wrong. What isyour view?Przemys∏aw Krych: Thereare two separate issues here:the “historical significance”of Emilia is one. Another isthe contractual relationshipwith the Museum of ModernArt. Let me explain it thisway. Imagine you bought anapartment and its interiorswere not exactly to your lik-ing. You rent it out and thetenant says that it’s so beau-tiful it should be in the city’sregistry of historic buildings.That is what the Museum ofModern Art has done.

How do you know this is thecase?We have the official letterfrom museum’s director,Joanna Mytkowska, to thecity’s conservation architectPiotr Brabander, in whichMs Mytkowska asked forconservation recommenda-tions for the building, whichhad never been registered asa monument. It was onlyentered in the register onSeptember 18, almost twoweeks later.

Have you pointed this out tocity officials?To their utter astonishment.The city expected us to walkaway with our tails between

our legs and do nothingabout it. Clearly, they under-estimated us. We can fightfor our rights even if itmeans taking the Republicof Poland to the ArbitrationTribunal in Stockholm. It’sobvious what the verdict willbe.

Meanwhile, the city accusesyou of unlawfully terminat-ing the contract ... Which is another absurdity.City officials claim that theirfailure to fulfill very impor-tant obligations specified inthe contract is insignificant.If they are not aware of itsimportance, they might wantto consider a phone call to anotary.

Some observers say that oneway to put an end to the con-flict would be to simply weldthe doors shut and not allowthe museum to operate inthe building anymore. You

own it, after all.Frankly speaking, it could beout of my hands. GriffinGroup runs an investmentfund with capital comingfrom all over the world. I

have fiduciary duties and Iam obliged to do what theinvestors decide. If theydecide to close the placedown, I would have to do it.

But for now you are waitingfor things to develop?Unlike city officials, I haveplenty of time and I canafford to wait. We have notinvested borrowed money,nobody can make us startbuilding now or in the next12 months and threaten tostop the financing if we don’t.Unlike the city, we can wait.

What is more, I daresay,the city’s actions aren’t thebest publicity for the Polishcapital. If the city wants to bepresented at the MIPIM realestate fair in Cannes thisMarch with a banner saying:“Don’t invest in Warsaw,they will fool you there,” theycan certainly expect it – thatis, if they continue downtheir current path.

The conflict over Emilia hasovershadowed other Griffininvestments, hasn’t it?

In terms of our business scalethe matter is completely mar-ginal. We invested €138 mil-lion of equity capital inPoland last year and this yearwe want to invest up to €200million.

We plan residentialinvestments in Bemowo andin Powsin, where we intendto build an upper-class hous-ing estate. We’ve completedthe Feniks office buildingand we are currently prepar-ing for the construction ofanother office building at thecorner of ul. ˚elazna and ul.Ogrodowa in Warsaw.

We’ve started the HalaKoszyki restoration projectand improvement work inDom Handlowy Renoma inWroc∏aw. We have recentlywon tenders for two fullyleased office buildings in thecapital.

We have a lot of businesson our hands right now, wethink big and I can assureyou that Griffin Group willbe heard of not only in thecontext of the Emilia contro-versy. ●

Lokale Immobilia sits down with Przemys∏awKrych, CEO of Griffin Group, to talk about theMeble Emilia controversy

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Przemys∏aw Krych, CEO of Griffin Group, plans to fight for Emilia

Maximus

won’t expand

due to

bankruptcyThe Maximus

commercial center in

Nadarzyn, near

Warsaw, will not get its

planned expansion.

Israeli company Sybil

Develeopment, which

was to make the

investment, is currently

undergoing bankruptcy

proceedings aimed at

liquidation. The

bakruptcy trustee has

put the center’s

warehouses and the 20-

ha plot up for sale. The

starting price is

z∏.101.5 million. The

first four warehouses,

offering 100,000 sqm of

space, were built by

Sybilgroup in 2005. Two

additional ones,

comprising 40,000 sqm

total, were constructed

three years later by its

subsidiary, Sybil

Development, the

aforementioned firm

which is now in

liquidation due to its

debts. Maximus

commercial center is

one of the biggest

clothing warehouses in

Poland.

Cosmopolitan

topped out

Tacit Development

Polska has topped out its

Cosmopolitan Twarda

2/4 Tower building in

Warsaw’s Wola district.

A 160-meter skyscraper

with 252 apartments will

be delivered at the

beginning of 2014. The

ground and first few

floors of the building will

be leased to retailers

and service providers.

The glass-layered

building, which will

reflect the Palace of

Culture as in a mirror,

was designed by the

renowned architect

Helmut Jahn. ●

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Griffin wants to build a ‘dancing tower’ on Emilia’s site

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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 MMAARRKKEETTSS www.wbj.pl 19

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: W

SE

PLN-EUR

4.12

94

4.17

62

4

.170

0

4.

1591

4.1

964

4.1

903

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

14.0

4.3 PLN-USD

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

1

3.09

25

3.13

51

3.13

41

3.11

95

3.15

03

3.11

86

3.0

3.5 PLN-GBP

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

1

4.92

86

4.98

20

4.95

96

4.95

19

4.98

80

4.92

05

4.9

PLN-CHF

3.30

67

3.36

48

3.36

89

3.35

87

3.38

57

3.36

80

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

13.0

3.5 PLN-RUB

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

1

0.10

22

0.10

35

0.10

37

0.10

34

0.10

44

0.10

40

0.10

0.12 PLN-100JPY

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

25.0

1

3.43

96

3.50

28

3.53

52

3.53

20

3.51

88

3.43

52

3.0

3.5

4.0

currency rates

External factors

move currencies

Currency report

Market participants arebeing hit with mixed macro-economic data from majoreconomies, and this is pre-venting a larger correctivemovement.

The EUR/USD, support-ed by the S&P500 indexreaching a five-year high,continued climbing to reach$1.3465, its highest levelsince February of 2012. Itseems though that thisupward movement could behalted as an increasing num-ber of signs are showing theUS economy is experiencinga slowdown.

Retail sales in Polanddeclined by 2.5 percent inDecember (on an annualbasis) while the unemploy-ment rate climbed to 13.4percent. The Monetary Poli-cy Council (RPP) could helpthe economy by cuttinginterest rates but it seems

that after one more expectedcut, the RPP might stay onhold to see how the economyreacts to lower rates.

The weak macroeconom-ic data had a strong effect onthe z∏oty. The EUR/PLNbreezed through crucialresistance levels andadvanced all the way toz∏.4.18 (with a weekly high ofz∏.4.1950).

Against the US dollar onthe other hand, the local cur-rency regained the ground itlost during the first part ofthe week. After reaching aweekly high of z∏.3.15, theweakness of the dollarcaused the USD/PLN totumble all the way to z∏.3.10.

I believe internationalmarkets are close to a largercorrective movement, whichin turn will negatively affectthe z∏oty in the upcomingmonths. ●

Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA

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Major indices

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

ECARD 0.37 105.56 0.47 0.15ONE2ONE 0.47 42.42 3.46 0.14MEWA 0.31 40.91 0.40 0.18REGNON 0.04 33.33 0.18 0.03TALEX 9.31 24.97 10.50 4.70

WIG 47,942.04 (January 24 close)

Change for the week: 0.59% 52-week high: 48,222.72

Change year to January 24: -0.34% 52-week low: 36,653.28

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

KERNEL 66.00 5.18 76.00 51.00BRE 335.00 5.02 337.00 255.70PKNORLEN 52.10 4.41 53.70 31.44PGNIG 5.71 3.63 5.86 3.61JSW 93.85 2.57 112.50 82.15

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

ESTAR 1.69 -98.01 145.00 1.69EUROMARK 0.08 -33.33 2.39 0.06ENERGOPLD 0.28 -17.65 2.41 0.16WISTIL 15.00 -16.2 33.02 7.20BUDVARCEN 1.66 -15.74 2.91 1.50

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

GTC 9.11 -7.79 11.47 5.13PKOBP 34.85 -4.49 38.50 30.10TPSA 12.15 -3.57 17.79 11.56TAURONPE 4.78 -2.45 5.61 4.08ASSECOPOL 44.74 -1.82 55.45 38.80

WIG20 2,568.63 (January 24 close)



mWIG40 2,646.20 (January 24 close)


Change year to January 24: 3.02% 52-week low: 2,147.52

sWIG80 11,108.21 (January 24 close)


Change year to January 24: 5.48% 52-week low: 8,984.43

NewConnect 33.63 (January 24 close)

Change for the week: 0.06% 52-week high: 43.83

Change year to January 24: 1.23% 52-week low: 32.53

WIG-Banki 6,607.93 (January 24 close)

Change for the week: -0.81% 52-week high: 6,723.16


DJIA13,825.33 (Jan 24 close)

1.69% (for the week)

CHANGE: 3.08%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 13,879.70

52-week low: 12,035.10

NASDAQ3,130.38 (Jan 24 close)

-0.18% (for the week)

CHANGE: -2.08%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 3,196.93

52-week low: 2,689.58

S&P5001,494.82 (Jan 24 close)


CHANGE: 2.22%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 1,502.27

52-week low: 1,266.74

FTSE1006,264.90 (Jan 24 close)


CHANGE: 3.94%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 6,271.40

52-week low: 5,229.80

DAX7,748.13 (Jan 24 close)


CHANGE: -0.39%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 7,789.94

52-week low: 5,914.43

NIKKEI10,620.87 (Jan 24 close)


CHANGE: -0.63%

(year to Jan 24)

52-week high: 10,952.30

52-week low: 8,238.96

world stock indices

21.1

2

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

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1

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1

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1

14.0

1

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1

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1

17.0

1

18.0

1

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1

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1

24.0

1

47,000

47,400

47,800

48,200

48,600

49,00021

.12

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

09.0

1

10.0

1

11.0

1

14.0

1

15.0

1

16.0

1

17.0

1

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

2,500

2,540

2,580

2,620

2,660

2,700

21.1

2

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

09.0

1

10.0

1

11.0

1

14.0

1

15.0

1

16.0

1

17.0

1

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

2,500

2,540

2,580

2,620

2,660

2,700

21.1

2

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

09.0

1

10.0

1

11.0

1

14.0

1

15.0

1

16.0

1

17.0

1

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

10,200

10,400

10,600

10,800

11,000

11,200

21.1

2

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

09.0

1

10.0

1

11.0

1

14.0

1

15.0

1

16.0

1

17.0

1

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

32.0

32.4

32.8

33.2

33.6

34.0

21.1

2

27.1

2

28.1

2

02.0

1

03.0

1

04.0

1

07.0

1

08.0

1

09.0

1

10.0

1

11.0

1

14.0

1

15.0

1

16.0

1

17.0

1

18.0

1

21.0

1

22.0

1

23.0

1

24.0

1

6,400

6,480

6,560

6,640

6,720

6,800

Other indices

Tough week

on the WSE

Stocks report

It was a slow start to theweek, with US marketsclosed on Monday due toMartin Luther King Day.Trading at the lowest vol-umes recorded so far thisyear, the Warsaw StockExchange saw a sluggishstart, with blue chips barelybudging. The small- andmid-cap indices did better,with the sWIG80 closing1.16 percent higher, whilethe mWIG40 finished 0.34percent up.

On Tuesday, for the sec-ond day in a row, shares ofPKO BP and Orange Pols-ka were hit hard, withPoland’s largest financialshedding 1.3 percent whileOrange lost 2.4 percent.The blue-chip WIG20closed 0.27 percent lower.

Wednesday saw furtherdeclines for Polish equities,dragged down largely by

PKO BP, after a surpriseannouncement by the Trea-sury Ministry that it plansto sell a further stake in thecompany. Shares of PKOBP fell over 1.5 percent.The WIG20 shed 0.32 per-cent.

Despite better-than-expected PMI data for bothGermany and the eurozone on Thursday, Polishequities moved littlethroughout the day. TheWIG20 closed 0.4 percenthigher.

The WSE also did poor-ly on Friday, with theWIG20 ending the week 1percent down. Energy giantPGE was the worst per-former on the index, end-ing the day with its shareprice 2.9 percent down.Shares of copper minerKGHM, meanwhile, lost2.3 percent. ●

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst

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

*

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 21

Tennis

Radwaƒska falls shortat Australian OpenThe Polish tennis starlost to China’s Li Na inthe quarterfinals

Polish tennis star AgnieszkaRadwaƒska’s wait for a first-ever Grand Slam title contin-ues, after she was beaten intwo straight sets by China’s LiNa in the Australian Openquarterfinals last week.

Radwaƒska began 2013 inmasterful form, winning 13straight matches and two titles– in Auckland and Sydney –prior to her defeat by the no. 6seed.

The 2011 French Openchampion re-found the formshe had been lacking for thepast 18 months, overcomingher Polish opponent 7-5 in ahard-fought first set beforetaking the second 6-3, to moveRadwaƒska’s Australian chal-lenge for another year.

“I really don’t know what itis here,” said Ms Li, who hasreached the Australian Opensemifinals in three of the lastfour years.

“It seems whenever I comedown here my results arealways quite consistent, no big

setbacks or anything. … Withthe Australian Open, it’s likecoming back and thinking, allmy old friends are here,” Ms Liadded.

Ms Radwaƒska, whose bestresult in a Grand Slam was lastyear when she lost in the Wim-bledon final, was gracious indefeat, saying of her opponent,“She was very solid from thebeginning of the match.”

“In some of the games shedidn’t let me do anything. Shewas really playing good ten-nis,” she added.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

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Agnieszka Radwaƒska

Doping

Polish boxer claimsdoping should be legalPrzemys∏aw Saletamade the claims whilepreparing for his fightwith Andrzej Go∏ota

Polish boxer Przemys∏aw Saletahas waded into the discussionfollowing American cyclistLance Armstong’s confessionthat he used performanceenhancing drugs, claiming thathe believes professional ath-letes should all be allowed to doso. After the now-disgracedcyclist confessed to Oprah Win-frey that he had doped duringhis career, which included sevenTour de France wins, Mr Saletatold Polish regional newspaperDziennik Polski that profession-al athletes should be allowed touse drugs to aid recovery.

He went on to say that cur-rent doping regulations favorthe richest athletes and thatonly the “poorest and dumbest”get caught.

“It all comes down towhether or not someone hasthe money to have access to[drugs] that are undetectable,”he said.

“One example is China,where sports are sponsored bythe state and there are nofinancial constraints. Theresult? Chinese athletes do not

get caught,” he added.Mr Saleta, who will fight

Andrzej Go∏ota at the ErgoArena in Gdaƒsk on February23, believes that allowing dop-ing could actually be beneficialto the health of top athletes.

“I’ll give the example ofcyclist Lance Armstrong, whodoped for years. I guaranteethat he will not have had anyside effects. ... In fact, I wouldeven say that in professionalsports, doping is healthier,” hesaid.

Clarifying that he’s againstyoung athletes and childrenusing any illegal substances, headded that kids “often don’teven know what they’re taking,what effects it can have on their

bodies. And they could pay theprice for using them for the restof their lives.”

Mr Saleta, a former worldchampion in kickboxing andEuropean champion in boxing,last entered a professional box-ing ring in 2006 when he beatEd Perry. He will take on MrGo∏ota, nicknamed “The FoulPole” in a non-title contest.

With both fighters now 44years of age, the fight is unlike-ly to be a great spectacle, butdue to Mr Go∏ota’s continuedfame in Poland it still looks setto be a financial success fororganizers. The fight will alsobe shown on pay per viewnationwide.


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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE22 www.wbj.pl

Concert

The show must go onA Spectacular Nightof QueenFebruary 1Sala Kongresowa, Pl. Defilad 1Warsaw

Queen was arguably one of thegreatest live rock acts of the20th century. Led by charis-matic and talented showmanFreddie Mercury, the bandgained worldwide acclaim forits big sound, catchy riffs and

great lyrics in its songs such as“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “WeAre The Champions” and“Somebody To Love.”

The classic Queen lineupcan never be reunited due tothe untimely death of FreddieMercury back in 1991, but thatdoesn’t mean it’s not possibleto get something close to thereal Queen experience.

World-renowned Queentribute band The Bohemianswill bring back memories of

the drama, sound and look ofthe original group. For thisWarsaw performance they willbe joined by a symphonyorchestra, for a night of musicand entertainment that prom-ises to bring the best of theband’s back catalogue to life.Tickets for the event arepriced from z∏.60.


For more information,log on to kongresowa.pl

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Gallery

Polish retrospectiveGallery of Art of the XXand XXI Century National MuseumAl. Jerozolimskie 3Warsaw

A new gallery extension con-taining a wide-ranging collec-tion of Polish art from the 20thand 21st centuries is now openat the National Museum inWarsaw. The work on showcovers paintings, prints, draw-ings, sculptures, photographsand films from renowned Pol-ish artists including W∏adys∏aw

Strzemiƒski, Henryk Sta˝ews-ki, Katarzyna Kobro, andMarek W∏odarski, as well asmany others.

The museum’s curatorsdecided to create the newgallery because there was noexhibition in Warsaw that gaveinsight into the full scope ofPolish art from the past 100years. The works on show, themajority of which have notbeen displayed at the NationalMuseum previously, cover avariety of genres includingabstract art, expressionism and

more modern avant-gardestyles.

“The differences shown inthe cinematographic works,photographs, photo montages,and new acquisitions, includingworks from as early as theThird Republic, represent thenucleus of the next chapter ofthe National Museum in War-saw’s art collection,” said PiotrRypson, curator of the modernart collection and deputy direc-tor for research at the muse-um.


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The Bohemians

“Pan z gramofonem,” 1926, by Marek W∏odarski

The 2013 Consumer ElectronicsShow came and went a few weeksago, but, as always, Techeye is draggingit out as long as possible. Some mightcall that laziness. We prefer to think ofit as meaningfully retarded coverage.

Anyway, for our final columnabout CES 2013, we’re looking atsome of the show’s quirkier gadgets.Not the dregs, but rather curiosities

and technologi-cal arcana.Things that areunlikely to setfire to con-sumers’ heartsand wallets.

Here’s anexample of whatwe mean:behold, theHAPIfork fromH A P I L A B S(Hapilabs.com),a maker of life-hacker gadgets.

The HAPI-fork keeps trackof your eatinghabits and “al-erts you with thehelp of indicatorlights and gentle

vibrations when you are eating toofast.” It’s just like Techeye’s Mum, inother words, except it has a pointyhead and ... oh wait, it’s exactly likeMum.

There’s more to the HAPIforkthan is evident at first glance. Forexample, you can track your eatingspeed over time via an online dash-board and/or mobile app. It’s alsoequipped with bluetooth and is dish-washer safe. And did we mention thatit vibrates? You get all that for just$99.

Still, there’s something discon-certing about the HAPIfork. Themarketing pitch reeks of emotion-al derangement, with numerousblandishments to “love your life,”to “share with the community”and to “review all that made youfeel good today!” This makesus want to call upHAPILABS to remindthem that they’re selling afork, not a 12-step pro-gram.

In comparison to theHAPIfork, the next gadget onour list suffers 100-percentfewer First-World problems.Luci is an inflatable, solar-pow-ered lantern from Mpowerd

(Mpowerd.com) that’s designed tofight energy poverty.

The lantern has uses in devel-oped countries – it might havecome in handy after HurricaneSandy hit the United States, forinstance – but the idea is to pro-vide cheap, dependable light forpeople in developing countries.

Luci contains 10 white light-emitting diodes that illuminate anarea of over four square meters.

The device charges

under sunlight or incandescentlight, with a six-hour charge yield-ing light for up to twice that time.Uninflated it looks kind of like asquidgy disk, standing just 2.5 cmin height, for easy packing or prac-ticing for the discus throw.

Mpowerd’s Luci lantern has a“minimum lifespan” of one yearand costs $15.99. That seems a bitpricey for the developing world, butit’s cheaper and more useful than abeeping fork.

The last item on our list – andthe last CES 2013 product we’llcover this year (probably) – is theYotaphone from Russia’s YotaDevices (Yotadevices.com).

The Yotaphone’s claim to fameis a second screen, located on itsback. We’ll be honest: the phrase“dual-screen smartphone”touches Techeye

in a place we haven’t been touchedsince triple-casette-playing boom-boxes and double-headed guitarswent out of fashion. That place islabeled “unnecessary and splendid-ly awesome.”

Still, other dual-screen smart-phones have entered (and disap-peared from) the market. This isn’ta revolutionary feature.

What is new, however, is the factthat the Yotaphone’s second screenis an e-ink display, like that of aKindle. The features is described asa “personal space for receiving noti-fications, linking to your socialmedia, reading news as it happensor simply displaying your favoritepictures.” Is any of that necessary?No. Splendidly awesome? Oh yes.

The Yotaphone runsAndroid 4.2 and both of itsdisplays are 4.3 inches insize. There’s a dual-core

processor (mildly disap-pointing, given the recent

emergence of octo-coreprocessors) and a 12MP rear

camera. Anyway, Yota Devices has

yet to release pricing details,even though CES ended weeks

ago. We call that laziness. ●

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2013 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 23

Meaningfully retarded coverage of CES 2013Tech Eye

Ever pined for a triple-cassette-playing boombox? Let us know: [email protected]

Centre forContemporary Art atUjazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2www.csw.art.pl

Czarna Gallery ul. Marsza∏kowska 4www.czarnagaleria.art.pl

Fibak Galleryul. KrakowskiePrzedmieÊcie 5www.galeriafibak.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

KatarzynaNapiórkowska Art Galleryul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul. KrakowskiePrzedmieÊcie 42/44and Old Town Square19/21www.napiorkowska.pl

Królikarnia NationalGalleryul. Pu∏awska 113awww.krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl

Le Guern Galleryul. Widok 8, www.leguern.pl

Museum ofIndependenceAleja SolidarnoÊci 62www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl

National Museum inWarsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3www.mnw.art.pl

Polish National Operaat Teatr 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 EthnographicMuseumul. 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 RisingMuseum ul. Grzybowska 79www.1944.pl

Wilanów PalaceMuseum and WilanówPoster Museumul. St Kostki Potockiego10/16www.milanow-palac.plwww.postermuseum.pl

Zachęta National ArtGalleryPl. Ma∏achowskiego 3www.zacheta.art.pl

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

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WBJ #3 2013

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Transcript of WBJ #3 2013