VOLUME 18, NUMBER 19 • MAY 14-20, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

PPeennssiioonn pprrootteessttUnions protested outside parliament, but the

government has finally pushed through its

pension reform 4

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Future unknown

Election results in Franceand Greece have producedmore questions thananswers for the Europeaneconomic crisis. WBJ looksat the politics and themacroeconomics, and askswhat the future holds

4, 10, 11, 13

UUnnddeerr pprreessssuurreeEuropean leaders threaten a boycott of Euro

2012 matches in Ukraine amid the Yulia

Tymoshenko saga 3

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A special section ontrends shaping the futureof Poland’s economy

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

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

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

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

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

Eye on the Future . . . . . . . . . .11-14

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-18

The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

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

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

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

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

• Museum dispute

• New Warsaw Hilton

• Starachowice mall15-18

In this issue

8-9

Interview: Jacek Saryusz-WolskiOne of Poland’s leading MEPs

discusses the country’s role in Europe

Tech Eye takes youthrough the specs of the latest Samsungsmartphone

23

LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

EYE ON THE FUTURE

0

50

100

150

200

Eston

ia**

Czech R

epub

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PolandSp

ain

German

yUKFra

nce

Irelan

dIta

ly

Greece

*

*Highest in EU27

**Lowest in EU27

MAY 14-20, 2012NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Education

minister under

pressure

Poland’s biggest

opposition party, Law

and Justice (PiS), has

called for Education

Minister Krystyna

Szumilas to be

dismissed. According to

the party, Ms Szumilas

is “the worst Polish

education minister in

history” and changes

she proposes “threaten

the collapse of the

Polish education system

and cause enormous

chaos.” PiS pointed to

the closing down of

schools as well as cuts

in the number of history

classes as evidence of

her incompetence.

Most Poles

oppose euro

adoptionAbout 64% of Poles are

opposed to the

introduction of the euro

in Poland. The

proportion of skeptics

has increased by 22

percentage points over

the year, according to a

report by the Warsaw

School of Economics.

People opposing the

introduction of the euro

have become gradually

more numerous since

2009. The number of

opponents of the single

currency exceeded the

supporters for the first

time last year, but this

year’s increase in

opponents was the

highest ever, the report

said.

Polanski to

make film

about Dreyfus

affair

Polish director Roman

Polanski plans to begin

filming his new project,

a political thriller about

the Dreyfus affair, in

Paris later this year,

several media have

reported. The Dreyfus

affair was a political

scandal that divided

France in the 1890s and

early 1900s. Alfred

Dreyfus, a French man

of Jewish descent, was

accused of passing

French military secrets

to the Germans.

However, his subse-

quent trial was based on

false testimony, which

gave rise to a political

crisis in France. “I have

long wanted to make a

film about the Dreyfus

affair,” Mr Polanski said

in a statement. ●

Acron ............................................5

Acteeum Central Europe ..........16

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

Ardom ........................................16

Areva ..........................................12

Arka BZ WBK Fundusz Rynku

NieruchomoÊci 2 FIZ ................18

Aster ............................................4

Auchan ........................................7

Azoty Tarnów................................5

Balmain Asset Management ....16

Bank Pocztowy ..........................13

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

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

CBRE ..........................................18

CBRE Global Investors ..............16

Citi Handlowy ..............................6

Claybark ....................................16

CMS Corporate

Management Services ................4

Colliers International ..........16, 18

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

Decathlon ....................................7

DEME..........................................12

DiS ................................................3

DM IDMSA....................................6

Dong Energy ..............................12

EDF ........................................7, 12

EDPR ..........................................12

Elea Immochan............................7

Emperia........................................6

Ernst & Young ..............................6

Eurocash ......................................6

Fiat Auto Poland ..........................5

GE Hitachi ..................................12

Getin Noble Bank ........................6

Hays Polska ................................5

Hilton Group ..............................17

Horse Concept Poland ................7

HSBC ............................................7

HTC ............................................23

Iberdrola ....................................12

Jones Lang LaSalle ..............2, 18

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels ......17

JSW ............................................20

KGHM ........................................14

Kulczyk Investments..................12

LOT ..............................................6

Lotos ............................................4

Marriott ......................................17

Mermaid Properties ..................15

Multi Corporation ......................15

Multi Development Poland ........15

Multimedia ..................................4

Nautiner Yachts ..........................9

NBGI Private Equity ..................16

Nippon Sheet Glass Group ........18

Opas∏y Tom Piw..........................22

Opel ..............................................5

Orange..........................................6

Orbis ..........................................17

Panattoni ....................................18

Pekao............................................6

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

PGE ......................................12, 14

PGNiG ........................................14

PKN Orlen ..................................12

PKO BP ..................................6, 20

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa ............6

PwC ..............................................3

PZL Mielec ..................................9

PZU ..............................................5

Rockspring Property

Investment Managers................18

RWE ............................................12

S+B Gruppe ................................17

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

Sedna Yachts................................9

Selvaag Eiendom AS..................15

Skoda Auto ..................................5

Tauron ........................................20

Total ..............................................7

Turkish Airlines............................6

Unibep ........................................15

Unidevelopment ........................15

Volkswagen ..................................5

W. P. Carey ................................18

Warsaw Stock Exchange ..4, 5, 14

Westinghouse ............................12

White & Case ............................11

Wola House ................................15

X-Trade Brokers DM..................20

Yareal Polska..............................15

US President Barack Obama’sstatement last week that hebelieves homosexuals shouldhave the right to marry eachother instantly thrust the con-troversial issue into the publicspotlight. Mr Obama is thefirst American president inoffice to publicly state his sup-port for gay marriage. Hisstance is expected to have animpact during this November’selections, when he goes upagainst likely Republican can-didate Mitt Romney, who isopposed to same-sex mar-riage.

The issue of same-sexunions could soon be in thepublic eye in Poland since thetwo leftist parties in parlia-ment, Palikot’s Movement(RP) and the Democratic Left

Alliance (SLD), have pre-pared legislation to sanctionsuch unions.

Civil-union legislation hasnot been debated in parlia-ment yet and while it is safe toassume that the conservativeLaw and Justice (PiS) and Pol-ish People’s Party (PSL) willbe against the idea, it is stillunclear how the ruling CivicPlatform (PO) party will acton the issue.

PO is an eclectic party withboth liberal and conservativepoliticians, such as JusticeMinister Jaros∏aw Gowin, whohas publicly declared that hewould “never” support suchlegislation. It thus remains tobe seen if Prime MinisterDonald Tusk (who seems notto be personally averse to the

idea) will risk creating a seri-ous rift in his party by imple-menting party discipline onsuch a sensitive issue.

The PM might however beswayed by public opinion,which has shifted significantlyon the issue in the past fewyears. In 2002 a CBOS pollrevealed that only 15 percentof Poles supported allowingsame-sex civil unions. But aTNS OBOP survey from 2011put the number of Poles sup-porting such a bill at 54 per-cent.

Full-fledged marriagewould probably enjoy less sup-port and would certainly beopposed by the Catholicchurch, which holds great swayin Polish society.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

z∏.30 billionis the estimated annual cost of vehicle accidents in

Poland.

66%is how many Polish residents think the country is a

safe place to live, according to a study by CBOS.

€728 millionwas the value of commercial real estate sales in

Poland in Q1 2011 according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

10%is the amount by which the salaries of CEOs of WSE-listed construction companies increased in 2011. Thehighest annual salary in the sector was z∏.2.3 million.

““Europe is watching us, austerity can no longerbe the only option.”

French President-elect Francois Hollande on his proposed focus on economicgrowth.

Quote of the Week

Colorful MirówThis week Warsaw Insider takes you around the cen-tral, yet often overlooked Mirów district. Log on toWBJ.pl for a tour including the capital’s long-runningmarket Hala Mirowska, a flagship communist hous-ing project, ˚elazna Brama, the heart of pre-war Jew-ish life, Plac Grzybowski, and much more.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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14-16 EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CONGRESSEvent: This event is considered one of the best

forums for discussions on Europe’s future. Itfeatures speeches and participation in pan-els of high-profile politicians and business-people.

Location: KatowiceWeb: eecpoland.eu

16 POLAND & CEE STRUCTURED PRODUCTSEvent: Whether you’re looking to enhance your

presence in the CEE market, structuringproducts for OTC or distribution to retailers,involved in risk assessment and pricing orsimply looking to learn about the CEE mar-ket, this event is for you.

Location: WarsawWeb: eelevents.co.uk

24-25 GROWING UP & OUTEvent: At this conference regional and international

entrepreneurs and investors will share theirviews and experience on building teams, grow-

ing companies and going beyond borders.Location: WarsawWeb: ceed-global.org

28 TRADE & INVESTMENT CONFERENCEEvent: This conference brings together British and

Polish business leaders to discuss theprospects of enhancing investment flowsbetween the two countries and will mark the20th anniversary year of the British PolishChamber of Commerce.

Location: WarsawWeb: bpcc.org.pl

28-29 POLISH REAL ESTATE FORUMEvent: The forum provides independent, profession-

al and reliable knowledge about the process-es that occur on the property market inPoland. This unique event aims to shareinsights and opinions on the functioning ofthe market over the past year.

Location: SopotWeb: nowyadres.pl

May

DATELINE

Same-sex marriageIN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focusDebt ratingsGovernment debt as a percentage of selected EU27 countries’GDPs, 2011

Source: Eurostat

MAY 14-20, 2012 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Polish tech

exports

flourishing

The value of Polish IT

companies’ foreign sales

amounted to

approximately z∏.5.5

billion last year, up 10%

y/y, Rzeczpospolita

reported, citing a report

by research firm DiS. “I

believe we’ll be able to

maintain double-digit

growth in exports in

2012,” said Andrzej

Dy˝ewski, CEO of DiS.

According to data from

the company’s report,

Polish IT companies

mainly export computers

and computer

components, as well as

electronics and telecoms

equipment.

Firms to get

FDI support

According to PwC, the

value of direct foreign

investments made by

Polish companies

exceeded $7 billion last

year. Now, Polish firms

that are trying to enter

developing markets will

get government backing,

in the form of

promotional activity and

diplomatic support,

Parkiet reported. ●

Foreign affairs

EEUU lleeaaddeerrss tthhrreeaatteenn ttoo bbooyyccoottttEEuurroo 22001122 ggaammeess iinn UUkkrraaiinneeThe country was alsoforced to cancel aCentral Europesummit afternumerous leadersrefused to attend

Ukraine has suffered a seriesof embarrassing snubs justweeks ahead of the country’sjoint-hosting of the high-pro-file UEFA European FootballChampionship this June.

Numerous European lead-ers have threatened to boycottEuro 2012 soccer matches inUkraine unless authoritiesthere free jailed oppositionleader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Ms Tymoshenko, a formerprime minister, was sentencedto seven years in prison inOctober 2011 for abuse ofpower while she was in officewhen she signed a natural-gasagreement with Russia in 2009.Most Western observers havedescribed the sentence asbeing politically motivated. MsTymoshenko went on hungerstrike from April 20 to May 8,after she was allegedly beatenby her jailers.

German Chancellor AngelaMerkel said recently that alongwith her cabinet, she would notattend any games in the coun-try unless the regime headedby President ViktorYanukovych improves thecountry’s human rights situa-tion. European CommissionPresident José Manuel Bar-roso and Justice Commission-er Viviane Reding are also setto boycott the tournament inUkraine.

Own goal?In Poland Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski,the leader of main oppositionparty Law and Justice (PiS),has gone a step further by

declaring that the final shouldbe moved to Warsaw fromKiev.

“Flagrant human rights vio-lations in Ukraine is the effectof disadvantageous politicalchanges we are observingthere, and proof of Ukraine’sgrowing dependence on Rus-sia,” Mr Kaczyƒski wrote onhis blog.

Mr Kaczyƒski had earliersuggested that Ukraine shouldbe stripped of its right to hostthe tournament.

Both President Bronis∏awKomorowski and Prime Minis-ter Donald Tusk have, howev-er, spoken against doing any-thing that could jeopardize thetournament.

Mr Tusk told journaliststhat Mr Kaczyƒski’s statementsamount to an “own goal” forPoland.

Mr Komrowski, however,has urged Ukraine to scraplaws that allow politicians to bejailed for political decisionsthey make in office. He saidthat calls for a boycott “wouldnot have happened if outdatedregulations that contradictEuropean standards by allow-ing prison sentencing for polit-ical decisions were phased outin time.”

Yalta offUkraine was also forced lastweek to cancel a summit ofCentral European leaders thathad been due to take place inYalta on May 11-12 becauseonly four presidents, Poland’sBronis∏aw Komorowski includ-ed, were set to participate.

Fourteen leaders refused toattend, mainly in response tothe allegedly harsh treatmentof Ms Tymoshenko and humanrights issues related to thetreatment of other prisoners.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm,, GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

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Former PM Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison

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Many EU leaders won’t be at games in Ukraine

(pictured: Metalist Stadium in Kharkov)

Media patronage

Meetup of entrepreneursfrom Central & Eastern

EuropeCEED’s 6th RegionalConference will take place onMay 24-25 in Warsaw

On May 24 and 25, the Center for Entre-preneurship and Executive Development(CEED) will hold Growing Up & Out, its6th annual conference, in the Polish capital.

CEED offers entrepreneurs in Albania,Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Mace-donia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia andSlovenia access to mentors, networks,knowledge and capital. The group com-prises over 1,000 active members and hasalready assisted over 10,000 CEE entrepre-neurs.

The organization’s annual event, heldthis year at the Novotel Warszawa Cen-trum Hotel, brings together over 150 fastgrowth entrepreneurs from Central andEastern Europe to inspire and offerregional business networking opportuni-ties.

At the conference, regional and interna-tional entrepreneurs and investors willhave the chance to share their views andexperience on team-building, and on com-pany growth and expansion beyond bor-ders.

Networking is an important part of theconference, and the event will feature pre-arranged one-on-one meetings as well as

other networking opportunities organizedfor building new business relationships.

The conference will feature keynotepresentations by a number of high-profilespeakers, including Jerry Colonna, an earlyinvestor in Twitter who has been named asone of the 100 Most Influential People forthe New Economy by Upside Magazine.Others will include Johan Gorecki, anentrepreneur who has worked with thefounding team of Skype, Hubertus van derVaart, co-founder of Small EnterpriseAssistance Funds, Jacek B∏oƒski, CEO ofLewiatan Business Angels, RobertKwiatkowski, deputy director in the Mar-ket Development Department at the War-saw Stock Exchange, and Bogus∏awaCimoszko-Skowroƒska, founder of CMSCorporate Management Services.

Speakers will explore ways to findunique business synergies in the CEEregion, a diverse grouping where eachcountry has comparative advantages andprovides unique opportunities.

Among the topics that will be coveredduring the two-day event are What does ittake to make it in Poland? Leveraging Pol-ish economic growth to expand business,Becoming an entrepreneur & CEO thatcan manage and induce change, as well asdiscussion panels held with mentors andentrepreneurs. ●

MAY 14-20, 2012NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Potential

z∏.3 billion

Multimedia sale

The shareholders of

Polish television and

internet service

provider Multimedia

will soon put the

company up for sale,

two unnamed sources

told Puls Biznesu.

“Multimedia’s owners

are expecting a similar

price to UPC’s

acquisition of Aster,

which is around z∏.3

billion,” a source said.

Lotos won’t

pay dividend

Members of the

management of oil

refiner Lotos say the

company will not share

last year’s profits with

shareholders, even

though its strategy for

this year included paying

a dividend amounting to

30 percent of profits,

Parkiet reported. “We

will recommend to our

main owner to keep

profits within the

company because of its

expansion project,” said

Pawe∏ Olechnowicz, the

group’s president, while

presenting Lotos’s Q1

results. ●

European politics

PPoolliittiiccaall cchhaannggeess sseenndd sshhoocckkwwaavveesstthhrroouugghh mmaarrkkeettss iinn PPoollaanndd,, EEuurrooppee

Election results in Greece andFrance sent tremors shootingthrough global financial mar-kets, including Poland’s, astheir outcomes threaten thefragile political consensus thathas kept the euro zone intactthrough more than two yearsof crisis.

The Greek results were themost worrying since no politi-cal party won enough votes toform a government, leavingthe immediate future of thecountry in doubt. Moreover,radical leftist and rightist par-ties, all completely opposed tothe austerity measures beingimposed on Greece, togetherwon roughly a third of thevote. Greece is being requiredto implement certain budget-cutting measures in order toreceive financial aid.

“If Greece ends the reformprocess it has undertaken,then I can’t see that the nexttranches [of aid] can be paidout,” German Foreign Minis-

ter Guido Westerwelle said.His country’s finance min-

ister, Wolfgang Schauble, toldreporters that “if Greece doesnot decide to stay in the eurozone we can’t force them tostay in it.”

Last week, Greece’s euro-zone partners agreed torelease just €4.2 billion infinancing, holding back €1 bil-lion at least until June. Thatwould be paid only if Greecekeeps to pledges it made tosecure the bailout in the firstplace.

Hollande good for Poland?Meanwhile, in France, Presi-dent-elect Francois Hollandeis a critic of the country’s aus-terity program and wants toboost government spending.This has also caused addi-tional worry for markets.

Mr Hollande’s victory isnevertheless being viewed pos-itively by Polish President Bro-

nis∏aw Komorowski, who metwith then-candidate Mr Hol-lande in March this year.

“It is a good result forPoland,” Roman Kuêniar, for-eign policy adviser to Presi-dent Komorowski, told re-porters.

He said he expected “bet-ter presidential-level contacts”following Mr Hollande’s elec-tion.

“France might now bemore open to the opinions,sensitivities and needs of othercountries,” he said.

Mr Kuêniar also an-nounced that Mr Komorowskiand Mr Hollande would hold abilateral meeting on the side-lines of the upcoming NATOsummit in Chicago this month.The Polish president has alsoinvited Mr Hollande to visit

Warsaw.Mr Kuêniar said that Mr

Hollande had expressed hisinterest in bolstering theWeimar Triangle, an intergov-ernmental group created toboost cooperation betweenPoland, Germany and Francebut which played a low-keyrole during Nicolas Sarkozy’spresidency.

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Francois Hollande

Domestic politics

Sejm passes controversialpension reform legislationDonald Tusk hassuccessfully pushedthrough a change tothe retirement ageamidst protests fromlabor unions and theopposition

Last Friday the Sejm, Poland’slower house of parliament,approved the government’spension-reform package, in-cluding the controversial moveto incrementally raise theretirement age in Poland to 67for both men and women.

Prior to the reform Polishmen could retire at 65 andwomen at 62. The reform willbe gradual however, with menretiring at 67 by 2020 andwomen by 2040.

The reform allows for earli-er retirement if certain condi-tions are fulfilled. Men can goon early retirement at 65 if theyhave worked for at least 40years (and made their socialsecurity payments). Women canretire at 62 if they have workedfor 35 years. The earlier pen-sion will be roughly 50 percentof the value of the full pensionthe person would have beenentitled to if he or she hadworked until 67.

‘A barbaric act’“A barbaric act has just beenpassed,” Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski,leader of opposition party Lawand Justice (PiS), told reportersafter the vote. He added thatPrime Minister Donald Tusk’sproposal that people could goon earlier retirement in returnfor half of the pension theywould otherwise receive was“condemning people to starva-tion.”

Another change in Poland’spension system regards uni-formed personnel. Up untilnow uniformed personnel suchas police could retire after 15

years of service irrespective oftheir age. Following the govern-ment’s reform, those who join auniformed service after 2013will be able to retire at 55 if theyhave 25 years of service undertheir belt.

The reform package hasalready cost the ruling CivicPlatform (PO) in the polls. It isnot yet clear if more damagewill be done to Donald Tusk’sparty now that the legislationhas passed. A TNS poll taken inMay showed that PiS hascaught up with PO. Both par-ties now enjoy 34 percent supp-port. RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

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Prime Minister Tusk in parliament after the vote

The anxiety caused by the results of the French,and especially Greek, elections has not leftPoland unaffected, but Francois Hollande’svictory could result in better relations

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A lack of demand inthe euro zone isbehind the drop

Polish car production fell sig-nificantly last month as theongoing financial crisis causeda drop in demand in the eurozone.

Poland produced 53,823passenger cars in April, a 27.78percent year-on-year fall, and16.48 percent less than inMarch, according to marketresearch institute Samar.

“The demand in Europeremains meager, which ofcourse must impact the pro-duction in European factories,also on Poland,” Samar said ina statement.

“Producers have revisedtheir production plans, butthese reductions may not suf-fice.”

The country’s top three carmanufacturers – Fiat AutoPoland, Opel and Volkswagen– all saw significant drops inproduction figures in April.Opel was the worst hit with a24.4 percent decline, followedby Fiat (16.8 percent) andVolkswagen (9.5 percent).

This is unsurprising giventhe fact that the number of

new cars sold in Europe alsofell significantly in Q1.According to the EuropeanAutomobile Manufacturers’Association (ACEA), thenumber of newly registeredpassenger cars decreased by7.7 percent year-on-year in thefirst quarter. Demand for vansdecreased at an even strongerrate of 9.7 percent.

It is not only Poland’s auto-motive industry that is feelingthe pinch. In Germany,Europe’s largest automotivemarket, April production fellby 10 percent year-on-year,according to Polish dailyRzeczpospolita.

In contrast, car productionin the Czech Republic is

expected to hit a record high in2012. Volkswagen subsidiarySkoda Auto has played amajor role in the Czech carmarket’s improved fortunes,with the firm selling a record875,000 cars last year.

Automobile productioncurrently accounts for about 7percent of Poland’s industrialoutput, with more than 98 per-cent of all cars produced in thecountry exported abroad.

In 2011 total production inPoland reached 825,000. In thefirst four months of 2012 totalproduction amounted to about249,000 cars, 19.95 percentfewer than for the same periodof last year.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Manufacturing

Polish car production fallsby nearly 30 percent

MAY 14-20, 2012 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 5

PZU to spend

z∏.25 million

on rebranding

Insurance giant PZU is

refreshing its image to

become more attractive

for customers and to

highlight the changes the

company is undergoing.

On the second

anniversary of its debut

on the Warsaw Stock

Exchange last week PZU

presented its new logo. It

is similar to the old one

when it comes to colors

and design, but devoid of

ornaments.

Russians eye

Polish chem

sector Russian mineral fertilizer

giant Acron is seriously

considering participating

in the privatization

process of the Polish

chemical sector. Apart

from Azoty Tarnów, it is

also considering acquiring

stakes in the Pu∏awy and

Tarnów groups. Jerzy

Marciniak, CEO of Azoty

Tarnów, is not delighted

at the prospect of Russian

entities becoming

shareholders in his

company, but also sees

the potential positives,

Puls Biznesu wrote. ●

Business servicecenters in Polandnow employ 86,000people

Poland is becoming anincreasingly popular locationfor companies from the EUand US to open business serv-ice centers, according to anew report by the Associationof Business Service Leadersin Poland (ABSL) and thePolish Information and For-eign Investment Agency(PAIiIZ).

These service centers nowemploy 86,000 people inPoland, with ABSL estimat-ing that the total number ofpeople employed in this sec-tor will increase to 100,000 bythe end of this year.

“According to somereports, Poland is third in theworld, after India and China,in terms of the number ofbusiness service centers. Inother reports it only falls twoplaces, making it fifth, behindthe Philippines and Brazil,”Jacek Levernes, CEO and co-founder of ABSL, told theconference.

Most commonly, thosewho are employed in such

centers are graduates whomajored in economics, ad-ministration, IT, and engi-neering or are technical orforeign-language specialists.

Jadwiga Naduk, head ofthe market research and con-sultancy at Hays Polska, saidthe reason Poland is an attrac-tive place for investors fromthe business service sector isthat it has lower costs ofemployment than Westerncountries, fewer cultural dif-ferences between investorsand employees than in thecase of China or India, andskilled graduates.

“In the coming years,Poland’s business service sec-tor will be developing furtherand attracting more investorsand Poland will be able tospecialize in business servic-es,” said ABSL vice presidentMarek Grodziƒski.

Between 2009 and 2011,the number of jobs offered inservice centers in Poland grewby 50 percent. It is estimatedthat next year, combined salesof all service centers operat-ing in Poland will increasefrom z∏.12 billion to z∏.15 bil-lion.

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Poland produced 53,823 cars in April

The sector’s overall netprofit grew 10.5percent in the firstthree months of 2012

A slew of first-quarter earningsreports released last week paint

a positive picture for Poland’sbanking sector, with Citi Hand-lowy, Pekao and Getin NobleBank all recording strongannualized profit increases.

Moreover, the FinancialSupervision Authority (KNF)

released figures showing thatthe banking sector’s overall netprofit grew 10.5 percent year-on-year in Q1 to stand at z∏.4.23billion.

“Interest rates were at ahigh level [4.50 percent] whichhelped banks, while volumes,despite growing at a slowerpace, were still positive,”explained Micha∏ Sobolewski,analyst at DM IDMSA.

“In Q1, there were also sev-eral cases of very good tradingresults, with Citi Handlowydoing excellently in this area,”he added.

Citi Handlowy made a netprofit of z∏.244 million in thefirst three months of the year,34 percent more than it record-

ed for the same period of lastyear. The sale of bond portfo-lios was the main driver behindthe bank’s strong earnings.

Meanwhile Pekao, Poland’ssecond-largest lender, saw itsprofit rise 10 percent y/y in Q1to an above-forecast z∏.711 mil-lion on growth from interest-bearing products.

Getin Noble Bank’s Q1 netprofit rocketed 66 percent toz∏.166 million, as its strategy ofreducing mortgage lending infavor of higher margin prod-ucts with shorter maturities(including consumer credit)started to pay off.

Looking ahead, the Mone-tary Policy Council’s decision tohike the main interest rate to

4.75 percent last week isexpected to help banks’ prof-itability, although volumesaren’t forecast to grow bymuch.

“We have already seen adeceleration in the sale ofmortgages, and this could carryover into the next few quarters,especially as we are havingquite a lot of national holidaysand Euro 2012 is coming up,”Mr Sobolewski said.

These factors, he explained,could convince Poles to post-pone making decisions abouttaking out credit.

“Overall, we can expect Q2to be comparable to Q1,” MrSobolewski added.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

MAY 14-20, 2012BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl

PKO BP plans

dividend payoutPKO BP has recom-

mended a payout of z∏.1.6

billion in dividends from

its 2011 profits, equaling

z∏.1.27 per share, the

bank announced last

week. “We want to

consistently reward our

shareholders with a share

in the profits to the extent

allowed by the current,

good capital position and

liquidity of the bank,”

wrote CEO Zbigniew

Jagie∏∏o in a statement.

PKO BP’s 2011 net profit

was z∏.3.95 billion.

T-Mobile grows

on smart-

phonesPolska Telefonia Cyfrowa

(PTC), operator of the T-

Mobile network, had a

good Q1. The company’s

revenue reached z∏.1.747

billion, 0.6% more than in

the same period a year

before and more than

Orange, the market

leader, whose revenues

only rose by 0.3%. The

company said that one of

its successful tactics has

been marketing linked to

smartphones.

Retail trade

grows

According to the most

recent report published

by Eurostat, the volume

of retail trade in Poland

increased in March by

1.5% y/y and by 2.6%

m/m. The latter was the

second-best result in the

entire European Union,

after Bulgaria’s increase

of 3.9%. ●

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

ms@pnplaw.pl

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

New act on wasteIn the upcoming days a draft of a new acton waste, based on the directive no.2008/98/EC, which is the basic legal actconcerning waste management in the Euro-pean Union, is to be discussed in the Sejm.The provisions of the new act set forth theobligations of producers, owners andadministrators of waste, sellers and agentsin the waste trade, and public administra-tion authorities. The draft of the act hasbeen developed with new definitions suchas: seller of waste (dealer) and agent in thetrade of waste (broker). Some definitions,valid hitherto, will be changed significantly,such as definitions of: recovery, recycling,waste treatment and waste storage.

The new act will clearly indicate thatthe costs of waste management are to beborne by the original producer of the

waste and by the current or previousowner of the waste.

Working conditions for for-eigners from outside the EU At the end of April, an amendment to theact on foreigners was passed to the presi-dent for his signature. The amendment,which has already been accepted by par-liament, concerns conditions that relateto citizens from countries outside the EUwho come to Poland to work in profes-sions which require higher education.

The amendment is just the first froma whole package of directives concern-ing the acceptance of economicmigrants by EU member states. Theamendments will come into force 14days after they have been signed andannounced by the president. ●

Airline industry

LLOOTT bbrreeaakkss ppaasssseennggeerr rreeccoorrddThe Polish airlinecarried some 405,000passengers in April

Poland’s state-owned air carri-er LOT Polish Airlines trans-ported 405,000 passengers lastmonth, a record for April, and5 percent more than in thesame period of last year.

“We saw in April a recordincrease in the number of pas-sengers on all flights. The num-ber of people carried by LOT,whether traveling in businessclass or economy is 405,000.Never has LOT carried somany people in April,” compa-ny spokesperson LeszekChorzewski said in a statement.

Mr Chorzewski stated that75 percent of total seats were

used in all LOT flights duringthis period, with this figure at85 percent for long-haulflights.

“In the case of our domesticconnections we also recorded arise in the number of passen-gers. In April, [seats filled] wasalmost at 75 percent, comparedto 69 percent in the same peri-od of 2011,” he added.

Mr Chorzewski said theimproved results were down tothe implementation of a strate-gy aimed at making the compa-ny more profitable.

Talks are currently at anadvanced stage between LOTand Turkish Airlines over theproposed privatization of theformer company.

Turkish Airlines’ president

Hamdi Topcu said in a state-ment last week that the compa-ny would make a final decisionon whether to purchase LOT inJune.

“I think we will reach astage of making a decisionwithin a month. LOT’s high-

ranking officials are coming toTurkey in the upcoming days,”Mr Topcu told reporters.

In 2011, LOT made az∏.145.5 million loss, comparedto a z∏.163.1 million loss a yearearlier. This year the companyhopes to register a profit of

some z∏.52.5 million. Turkish Airlines is currently

the world’s eighth-largest air-line. In 2011 it won the awardof “Best Airliner in Europe” atthe 2011 World Airline Awardsheld by Skytrax.

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Contractual dispute

Emperia files z∏.431 millionsuit against Ernst & YoungThe professionalservices firm saysEmperia’s position isunfounded

One of Poland’s largest tradingcompanies, Emperia, has fileda lawsuit against Ernst &Young in the Arbitration Courtin Warsaw. Emperia is askingfor more than z∏.431 million indamages it says it suffered dueto a breach of contract, thecompany announced in a state-ment last week.

The case dates back to atransaction between retailerEurocash and Emperia thateventually saw Emperia offloadits distribution company,Tradis, to Eurocash.

Ernst & Young was hired tomake calculations on the valueof Tradis, which were to be

used as a basis for the transac-tion.

Emperia claims E&Yaccepted the valuationmethodology the two compa-nies proposed. But after a fewmonths, the auditor asked to beexempted from responsibilityfor the results of its work, Zbig-niew Drzewiecki, a partner atDrzewiecki, Tomaszek & Part-ners, the law firm representingEmperia in the case, told Parki-et.

E&Y also allegedly askedfor higher remuneration thanwas originally agreed upon andthat it be allowed to use its owncalculation methodology.

“After many meetings, theauditor [E&Y] refused to com-plete the contract,” said MrDrzewiecki. This, he said, putthe deal in jeopardy.

Lacking an independentvaluation for Tradis, Eurocashand Emperia were stuck withtheir own, different valuations,creating a conflict that eventu-ally led them to court. In theend, the parties reached anagreement for the sale ofTradis, but Emperia claims in astatement that it suffered lossesbecause of the incident.

Ernst & Young says it hasn’treceived any official court doc-uments regarding the lawsuit.“Thus, we refrain from com-menting on this matter,” Ernst& Young spokesperson Bar-bara Górska told WBJ.

“Having said that – we con-sider the claims presented byEmperia Holding in the mediaso far as groundless and havingno legal merit,” she added.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Banking

AA ssttrroonngg QQ11 ffoorr PPoolliisshh lleennddeerrss

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

Getin Noble BankCiti HandlowyBank Pekao

Q1 2011 Q1 2012

Leaps and boundsSelected Polish banks’ Q1 2011 and Q1 2012 net profits,in z∏oty millions

Source: banks' financial reports

MAY 14-20, 2012 FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS www.wbj.pl 7

Media patronage

Training with horsesBilans ConsultingDevelopment trains managersthrough innovative methods

Over the last four years Bilans ConsultingDevelopment, under the leadership offounder and director Zaneta Poirieux, hasbeen pioneering an innovative method ofmanager and leadership training.

Horse Concept Poland starts from thepremise that over 70 percent of humancommunication is non-verbal. By interact-ing with horses under the guidance of thefirm’s skilled trainers, managers learn todevelop their emotional intelligence,which in turn helps them better communi-cate and collaborate in their work envi-ronment.

Horses are very sensitive and reactiveto human behavior, and in this training,they become a mirror that allows man-agers to adjust their attitudes in real time,in a real situation. Horse Concept activelycooperates with French companies inPoland, and firms that have taken advan-tage of their original training includeAuchan, Decathlon, EDF, EleaImmochan and Total.

A recent manager training with currentand potential clients of BCD held at theChojnów horse stable, a few kilometerssouth of Warsaw, illustrates the function-ing of Horse Concept.

In the first part of the presentation, acertified trainer explained the main ele-

ments of horses’ behavior. Participantsthen moved on to one-on-one exerciseswith a horse, where they had to try tocommunicate orders. The goal was thatthe horse recognize the trainee as theleader, and choose to cooperate with himor her voluntarily.

For some participants, this proved tobe easier said than done, as horses reactedto lack of confidence by carelessly runningaround the horse arena. But participantswho succeeded in overcoming their ownfears, regaining confidence to show initia-tive, creativity and ability to compromisewere rewarded with gaining the horse’strust, and these animals started to obedi-ently follow directions.

In the last stage of the exercise, train-ers debriefed with participants, goingthrough each stage of the exercises andexplaining how the skills required to suc-cessfully communicate with horses canapply to and help in a professionalcareer.

Although still somewhat mysteriouscompared to more conventional leader-ship training methods, training with hors-es is gaining in popularity across Europeas its focus on effective relationshipsbased on mutual respect and trust helpsdecision makers in managing the develop-ment of their firms and their teams. ●

For more information, log on to horseconcept.com.pl

Interest rates

Poland hikes headline rate The move wascriticized by Poland’sdeputy PM and financeminister

Poland’s Monetary PolicyCouncil (RPP) last weekraised the country’s headlineinterest rate for the first timesince June 2011, as inflationcontinues to exceed the cen-tral bank’s target.

Last Wednesday the RPPannounced that it had hiked themain interest rate by 0.25 basispoints to 4.75 percent, its high-est level since January 2009.Most economists had expectedrates to be left unchanged,although the hike is not a com-plete surprise since policymarkers had warned a rise wasa possibility.

The hike comes at a timewhen central banks the world

over are choosing to keep inter-est rates low, in an effort toencourage spending and stimu-late economies.

Polish central bank chiefMarek Belka told reporters thatthe RPP can afford to pursue “aconventional monetary policy,”underscoring Polish rate-set-ters’ confidence in the country’seconomy.

“Our decision today wasmore of a step towards normal-ization of monetary policyrather than a sign of tighten-ing,” he added.

The RPP said in a state-ment that it had made the deci-sion based on recent strongretail sales growth, indicationsof improved business senti-ment and expectations of con-tinued higher inflation.

The inflation rate hasexceeded Poland’s 2.5 percent

target for the last 18 months,despite falling in March to 3.9percent on the year. Inflation isexpected to remain at around 4percent over the next fewmonths before falling later inthe year.

The move to hike rates metwith sharp criticism fromPoland’s Deputy Prime Minis-ter Waldemar Pawlak. “Unfor-tunately the council stabbedour development processes inthe back by totally unnecessar-ily and totally over-zealouslyraising interest rates,” MrPawlak told the Polish PressAgency (PAP).

“Another wave of the crisis ispossible, and raising rates in thissituation is a dramatic mistake.I hope that it will be possible tocorrect this decision if inflationbegins to fall in the next coupleof months,” he added.

Finance Minister Jacek Ros-towski also questioned theRPP’s decision. “The constitu-tion guarantees the full inde-pendence of the Monetary Pol-icy Council – but it does not

guarantee its infallibility. I hopethat the Council’s decision willnot prove wrong in a couple ofmonths,” Reuters reported MrRostowski as saying.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Polish industry weakened in April, sign of a slowdownPoland’s manufacturing Pur-chasing Managers’ Index(PMI) reading eased to 49.2points in April, below analysts’forecasts and nearly a pointlower than the previousmonth’s 50.1-point reading.

The reading below 50points suggests a contraction

of Poland’s manufacturing sec-tor took place last month.Readings above 50 points indi-cate expansion.

HSBC wrote in a reportthat driving the overall deteri-oration in operating condi-tions in April was a decline innew business, a factor which

lead to a near-stagnation ofproduction at the start of thesecond quarter.

“The economy is slowing asmarked most recently by verypoor industrial productiongrowth in March,” said AgataUrbaƒska, economist at theCentral & Eastern Europe

division of HSBC. “The negative drag comes

from the external environmentwith the new export ordersunderperforming the neworders index in the second halfof last year and both falling toa lowest level since mid-09 inApril,” she added.

Poland’s PMI has come inbelow 50.0 three times in thepast six months.

“We think the data con-firms the expected slowdownin the Polish economy,” ana-lysts at Bank Zachodni WBKwrote in a research note.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Poland good

at spending

EU money

Poland has spent over

z∏.200 billion in EU funds

in the last five years,

which amounts to three

quarters of the EU funds

allotted to the country in

the 2007-2013 budget.

This makes it one of the

biggest spenders of EU

money in the bloc,

according to Dziennik

Gazeta Prawna. The

majority of the money was

spent ont infrastructure

improvments.

GDP to grow by

2.9% in 2013

The government has

projected a growth in

Poland’s gross domestic

product of 2.9% in its 2013

draft budget. The average

annual inflation rate is

expected to stand at 2.7%.

The announcement added

that in 2013, economic

growth will be 0.4

percentage points higher

than this year. Assuming a

stabilization of prices in

commodity markets,

inflationary pressures

will decrease in

subsequent years,

although they will still be

high in 2012. ●

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MAY 14-20, 20128 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

Poland in the EU

AA qquueessttiioonn ooff lleeaaddeerrsshhiipp

Ewa Boniecka: How do yousee the fact that Poland’sEuropean policy emphasizesGermany as being its mostimportant ally? Does thismean Poland’s central focus ison improving cooperationwith the biggest Western play-ers in the EU, rather thanwith smaller CEE members?Jacek Saryusz-Wolski: I do notagree with the suggestion thatwhile promoting close cooper-ation with Germany, we are atthe same time neglecting ourimportant aim of buildingcoalitions with members fromour part of Europe. Moreover,I do not see any contradictionbetween those two lines ofPoland’s foreign policy.

Germany is the biggestmember state, the biggesteconomy, but Germany andFrance alone are not sufficientto carry Europe ahead. YetGermany’s responsibility is thebiggest and Polish ForeignMinister Rados∏aw Sikorskiwas right when he stressedGermany’s responsibility andobligation to carry out the res-cue operation in the EU.However, Germany itself has aproblem in defining its role inEurope. So when people cometo ask who should leadEurope, some say Germany,others say France and Ger-many, others Germany,France, Britain, or Germany,France and Poland.

My answer is: Brussels, viaa strengthened “communitymethod,” a strengthenedEuropean Commission as theexecutive and a stronger Euro-pean Parliament as the demo-cratic legislator and legitimiz-ing controller. The Union is acommunity that will soon com-prise 28 member states. In

order to advance and harmo-nize certain common interestsamong the small, medium andbig, the south, the north, thewest and the east, we needcommon structures ratherthan intergovernmental sub-groups. Nevertheless, Polandis talking to the bigger andsmaller players, and trying tobe as “big” of a player as it can.

Poland being a leader inthe Visegrad Group (CzechRepublic, Hungary, Polandand Slovakia) or Visegrad Plus(with Bulgaria and Romania)creates a synergy; the biggerour role in the region the bet-ter our relations with thebiggest in the EU, and vice-versa. Overall, what is neededis strong leadership by EUinstitutions and a “variablegeometry” in European poli-cies. That means coalitionsbased on substantial mattersrather than on lasting “mar-riages.”

Yet it seems that the WeimarTriangle (Poland, Germany,France) is not playing the rolewe would wish of it. Why isthis?I perceive the Weimar Triangleas being a very useful instru-ment for closer cooperation,which allows Poland to gradu-ally strengthen its role inEurope. Yet we should nothave the illusion that we are anequal member of the WeimarTriangle. I think that weshould invest in the WeimarTriangle as much as possible. Itis useful in various contextsalthough we should restrainourselves from believing that itis more than it actually is. Onecannot decree the equality ofpartners, since the economicpotential of its members is dif-

ferent, as is their military andpolitical potential.

How do you assess the influ-ence and potential of theVisegrad Group?We have a common history,common experiences of trans-formation from communismto democracy and from a cen-trally controlled economy to amarket economy, and weshare many common interestsas members of the EuropeanUnion. We are very muchinvolved in strengthening theEastern Partnership Policyand policy towards Russia, andhave significant influence inshaping the overall EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy. We arefighting hard to develop acommon energy security poli-cy and to defend cohesion pol-icy. We should exploit this use-ful platform of cooperationand enlarge it. We have creat-ed the “Visegrad Plus Initia-tive” in the European Parlia-ment, co-opting Bulgaria andRomania. This framework hasproven very successful, in rela-tion to the NeighbourhoodPolicy and in running theEURONEST ParliamentaryAssembly of Eastern partner-ship. Why not exploit thesesynergies between partnerseven further?

Do you think the recentremarks by Law and Justice(PiS) leader Jaros∏awKaczyƒski to the effect thatPoland’s foreign policybetrays its national interestsand that some of its politicalleaders are responsible for theSmolensk tragedy, could haveany impact on Poland’s stand-ing in Europe?There are two ways of lookingat this situation: From theWarsaw point of view andfrom the Brussels point ofview. The European Unionand European politicians werewith us at the time of this greattragedy and showed a lot ofcompassion towards us during

that difficult period. But theydo not follow the presentinternal disputes in Poland onthe subject and do not engagein any other disputes concern-ing the Smolensk catastrophe.They do not treat these dis-putes as representing success-es or failures in Poland’s for-eign policy, and they thereforedo not have an impact on thestanding or the position ofPoland in Europe and in inter-national relations.

How do you view Lithuania’srejection of Poland’s invita-tion to participate in a meet-ing of Poland and the Balticstates for preparing a com-mon position ahead of the theend of May?I don’t think this is a normaldiplomatic incident. I see it ascounterproductive and believeLithuania should reflect on it.Despite bilateral differences,Poland participates in missionsto protect the air space ofLithuania and the other twoBaltic republics. So despitePolish-Lithuanian relationsnot being good at the moment,I think that this should nothave an impact on importantmultilateral problems like ourcommon security.

Moving on to economic mat-ters, some are saying the col-lapse of the euro zone is justaround the corner, and thatinstead of using bailouts tosolve the Greek problem, thatcountry should instead re-introduce its national curren-cy. What is your assessment ofthese lines of thinking?First of all, I would like to clar-ify that we are not facing a cri-sis of the euro as a currency.The euro is in quite goodshape. We have a debt crisis insome countries that belong tothe euro zone. This is a consid-erable difference. However,countries that don’t belong tothe currency bloc, such asLatvia not so long ago andNATO summit in Chicago at

Hungary today, are also facingdebt problems. So the crisis isa crisis of excessive debt, not ofthe euro.

The solutions which arebeing applied are first of allshort-term solutions com-posed of various forms ofbailouts, rescue funds and cap-ital injections that togetheramount to €2 trillion. This is ahuge sum of money. Thesesolutions heal the wounds inthe short term, but they do notsolve the roots and causes ofthe problems, which are struc-tural in nature. The EU’seconomies, some to a greaterdegree, mainly the southernones, suffer from a structuralimbalance and lack of compet-itiveness. They spend toomuch, consume too much andsave too little. Their popula-tions don’t work for longenough and they have overde-veloped welfare states andsocial benefit systems. As faras competitiveness with theoutside world is concerned,they are in a losing position.

Bailouts and rescue fundswill not solve these problemsin the longer term. So what is

needed, apart from short-termoperations, is not only austeri-ty and fiscal discipline, whichhave been introduced throughthe Six-Pack and the not-yet-ratified Fiscal Pact, but a deepprocess of reform. In somecases, like in Greece, this isbeing guided by external insti-tutions such as the IMF, theEuropean Central Bank andthe European Commission.But at the end of the road weneed stronger EU-level eco-nomic governance and a fiscalunion.

So you reject the notion that itwould be better for the EUand for Greece if Greece wereto withdraw from the eurozone and reintroduce thedrachma? If letting Greece leave theeuro zone was a solution to thecrisis in Europe, it would havehappened a long time ago. Butit is not. Greece remains aEuropean problem andresponsibility, whether in orout of the euro zone. It is ageo-strategically importantcountry on the southeasternflank of the EU, a member of

MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, vice president ofthe European People’s Party (EPP) andmember of the Foreign Affairs and Budgetcommittees of the European Parliament, talksto WBJ about Poland’s role in Europe, theEuropean financial crisis and immigration

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MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski says Germany and France

cannot lead Europe alone

MAY 14-20, 2012 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 9

RISTORANTE SAN LORENZO AL. JANA PAWŁA II 36 TEL. 22 652 1616 WWW.SANLORENZO.PL

NATO which has a seriousimpact on security issues.Europe cannot afford to loseGreece.

It is true that Greece isdefaulting on its debt, but thisis happening within the eurozone, under a controlled“healing process,” not a disor-derly one involving socialunrest and violence, or in theworst possible case, via anoverthrow of the democraticsystem. Europe cannot affordthis. The costs of rescuingGreece are smaller than theoverall political costs thatwould have to be borne ifGreece were to leave the eurozone. The economies of EUmember states are interde-pendent and as many studiespoint out, the dismantling ofthe euro zone would provoke ahuge fall (of between 20 per-cent to 50 percent) in theGDPs of other EU countries.Everyone would suffer.

How could the EU avoid sucha scenario and get itself backon the road to economicgrowth? In political terms we shouldpromote a policy of solidarityand of strengthening theweaker and problematic partsof the EU system. The prob-lem is that there is not enoughdetermination and that reac-tion times are not quickenough. We should havequicker and deeper solutionswhen it comes to economic

governance, a quicker ratifica-tion of the Fiscal Pact andcommon, institutional solu-tions such as the introductionof eurobonds. We shouldmutualise debt, enforce com-mon rules and as a next step,create a transfer union.

A union of such interde-pendence as the one we havein the EU needs a budget notof 1 percent of its GDP but ofsome 5 percent. The politicalwill to find common solutionsto improve EU governance islinked to finding long-termstructural economic solutionsand looking for different waysto fight the crisis. Due to thefact that countries with theeuro as their currency are soclosely linked to other mem-ber states who have not yetintroduced the common cur-rency, eurobonds should beintroduced in all EU memberstates. So Poland, as one of the25 members that have signedthe fiscal compact and has wonthe right to participate in somemeetings of euro-zone mem-bers, should continue to fightfor preventing deeper divi-sions of the EU into a two-speed union.

Poles who live and workabroad are often referred toin Western media as trouble-some immigrants, yet, forinstance, Britons who work inSpain, France or Italy arenever referred to in this man-ner. We all have European

passports and the EU is basedon the single-market princi-ple, so why are Poles catego-rized differently?We are wrongly perceived asbeing immigrants. We areEuropean citizens with equalrights to live, work, be grantedsocial care and benefits in allEU members states. The prob-lem is fundamentally politicaland administrative, and has itsroots in the mentality of somecountries and their politicalelites. The free movement ofpeople from one EU countryto another is one of the funda-mental pillars of the singlemarket enshrined in EUtreaties. ... We should demandthat European law and equaltreatment is fully applied. Wehave the necessary legal andpolitical instruments to do that.

Does Poland do enough toprotect the rights of Polesmoving to Western Europeancountries?I think that first of all weshould stop calling them immi-grants. Poles and others whomove to various EU countriesto live and work have equalrights, and are EU citizens. Ibelieve that in legal and diplo-matic terms Poland is doingexactly what it should. But theperceptions held by politicalelites and societies still need tobe changed and EU standardsmore energetically implement-ed by the European Commis-sion. ●

Media patronage

PAIiIZ talks up easternPoland at Dubai conference

Promotion of Poland’s five easternmostvoivodships was the primary focus for thePolish Information and Foreign Invest-ment Agency (PAIiIZ) at the AnnualInvestment Meeting expo and conferenceon emerging market investments held inDubai, UAE, at the beginning of May.

At the agency’s large stand in the expohall, several companies and regions sharedspace promoting their various opportuni-ties and wares. Among the companiesshowing off for investors were PZL Mielec(makers of the S-70i Black Hawk helicop-ters), Leopard Automobile (a firm alsolocated in Mielec that makes hand-craftedroadsters), as well as yacht-makers SednaYachts and Nautiner Yachts. Kielce, thecapital of Âwi´tokrzyskie voivodship, had alarge presence as well, with representativesfrom the city, the Kielce International Air-port, the Targi Kielce conference centerand Kielce Technology Park all talking upinvestment opportunities.

When asked why choosing to focus oneastern Poland, PAIiIZ representativeswere keen to emphasize some of its invest-ment advantages.

“Eastern Poland is a special macroregion,” said Bo˝ena Czaja, PAIiIZ’sdeputy president responsible for easternPoland. She added that the five easternvoivodships – Lubelskie, Podkarpackie,Podlaskie, Âwi´tokrzyskie and Warmiƒsko-Mazurskie – which comprise nearly a thirdof Poland’s area and 30 percent of Poland’s

population, have several advantages,including a young and highly skilled laborforce, the lowest labor costs in Poland, eco-friendly conditions and a location close toPoland’s eastern border.

PAIiIZ representatives also pointed outthat 31.8 percent of the population of east-ern Poland is below the age of 25. Theregion features 53 universities, with some33,000 students.

Priority sectors for investment in east-ern Poland, according to PAIiIZ represen-tatives, include aviation, BPO and IT, busi-ness tourism, food, furniture, metals andmachinery, and yacht production. MsCzaja said that the industries that had metwith the most interest from potentialinvestors include the food and tourismindustries, as well as luxury products, min-ing and property.

Other Polish representatives at the con-ference repeated well-worn slogans aboutPoland’s investment attractiveness, includ-ing its distinction as not having had a singlequarter of negative economic growth dur-ing the global financial crisis.

“Investors are looking for economic andpolitical stability – and those are things thatare in short supply in Europe. But Polandcan provide both,” said Marek ¸y˝wa,deputy president of PAIiIZ responsible forforeign investment. Andrzej Dycha, under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Econo-my, called Poland an “engine of growth inEurope.” ●

MAY 14-20, 201210 www.wbj.pl OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS

Daniel Gros

A few months ago, 25 of the 27members of the EuropeanUnion solemnly signed a treaty

that committed them to enshriningtough deficit limits in their nationalconstitutions. This so-called “fiscalcompact” was the key condition toget Germany to agree to increasesubstantially the funding for the eurozone’s rescue funds, and for the

European Central Bank to conductits €1 trillion “long-term refinancingoperation” (LTRO), which wasessential to stabilizing financial mar-kets.

Shifting focusToday, however, the euro zone’sattention has shifted to growth. Thisis a recurring pattern in Europeanpolitics: austerity is proclaimed anddefended as the precondition forgrowth, but then, when a recessionbites, growth becomes the precondi-

tion for continued austerity.About 15 years ago, Europe

endured a similar cycle. In the early1990s, when the plans for the Euro-pean Monetary Union (EMU) weredrawn up, Germany insisted on a “Sta-bility Pact” as a price for giving up theDeutsche Mark. When Europe fellinto a deep recession after 1995, atten-tion shifted to growth, and the “Stabil-ity Pact” became the “Stability andGrowth Pact” (SGP) when the Euro-pean Council adopted a resolution on“growth and employment” in 1997.

The need for growth is as strongtoday as it was 15 years ago. In Spain,the unemployment rate then was ashigh as it is now, and in Italy, it washigher in 1996 than it is today. Politi-cally, too, the background is thesame: the “G” was inserted into theSGP under pressure primarily from anew French administration (at thetime headed by Jacques Chirac).Today, France has again given thepolitical impetus for a shift to growth.

Growth strategyMaking growth a political priority isuncontroversial. (After all, who couldbe against it?) But the real questionis: What can Europe do to creategrowth? The honest answer is: ratherlittle.

The key elements of a growth strat-egy discussed among Europe’s leadersthese days are actually the same as in1996-1997: labor-market reforms,strengthening of the internal market,more funding for the EuropeanInvestment Bank (EIB) for lending tosmall and medium-size enterprises(SMEs), and more resources for infra-structure investment in poorer mem-ber states. The last two, in particular,attract a lot of attention because theyinvolve more spending.

But circumstances are also quitedifferent today. The EIB’s businessmodel would have to be radicallychanged to make it useful to promotegrowth, because it lends only againstgovernment guarantees, whereassouthern Europe’s fiscally stressedsovereigns cannot afford further bur-dens. Moreover, contrary to a popu-lar misconception, the EIB cannotlend directly to SMEs. The EIB canonly provide large banks with fundingto lend to local SMEs. But the ECB isessentially already doing this with itsthree-year LTRO loans.

There is also talk about a “MarshallPlan” for southern Europe. Fifteenyears ago, there was a clear need forbetter infrastructure there. But, sincethen, the southern countries have hada decade of rather high infrastructure

investment – more than 3 percent ofGDP in Greece, Portugal and Spain.

As a result, most countries in theEU’s south probably have a sufficientstock of infrastructure today. In fact,more infrastructure investmentwould actually make most sense inGermany, where infrastructurespending has been anemic (only 1.6percent of GDP, or half the rate ofSpain) for almost a decade. That iswhy Germany’s famous Autobahnenare notoriously congested nowadays.

But one does not need Europeanfunding to finance infrastructure inGermany, where the government canraise funds at negative real cost. Atthe rates that it is paying today, theGerman government should be ableto find many investment projects thatyield a positive social rate of return.Given that Germany is close to fullemployment, more infrastructurespending there would probably suckin imports (and attract unemployedconstruction workers from Spain),contributing to much-needed rebal-ancing within the eurozone.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely tohappen, because infrastructurespending runs up against popularopposition. Indeed, such spending isdecided at the local and regionallevel, where grass-roots opposition to

any large project is strongest (it tookmore than 20 years, for example, topush through the modernization ofStuttgart’s railway station).

Doing somethingThe urge to be seen to be “doingsomething” is leading Europe’s policy-makers to rely on the few instrumentswith which the EU can claim to fostergrowth. But they should recognize thattoday’s growth crisis is different. Thereal bargain should not be austerityplus a Marshall Plan for the south, butrather continued austerity plus labor-market reforms in the south, combinedwith more infrastructure investment inGermany and other AAA-rated coun-tries like the Netherlands.

Deep service-sector reforms inGermany would also help to unlockthe country’s productivity potentialand open its market to servicesexports from southern Europe. Thatway, the south would have a chanceto find jobs for its rather well-educat-ed young people, whose only choicenow is between unemployment andemigration. ●

Daniel Gros is Director of theCenter for European Policy Studies.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012.project-syndicate.org

R arely has an election resonatedso widely across the EuropeanUnion as the French presiden-

tial ballot has done. Rarely has aleadership change in one EU mem-ber state created expectations of areal policy shift.

A fresh chanceRemarkably, a new European demosand public sphere are emerging fromthe economic crisis. Europeans arerecognizing how interdependent theyare. One country’s failures can threat-en the entire European economy, andcan call into question the fruits of 60years of integration. Peace, solidarity,and prosperity are not irreversibleachievements; only 27 countries work-ing together can guarantee them.

Francois Hollande’s victory is afresh chance for Europe. It shouldspell the end of a policy oriented exclu-sively towards austerity, which has par-alyzed our economies and divided theEU. The new French president’s com-mitment to a European growth policyhas brought hope to citizens, andshould not alarm anyone – certainlynot the financial markets.

Mr Hollande’s plans for a growthinitiative fall on fertile ground, espe-cially in the European Parliament,which has repeatedly called for suchmeasures. I am delighted that thismessage is increasingly echoed by thepolitical mainstream, including mostrecently by European Central BankPresident Mario Draghi. Likewise,the European Commission is workingon a “growth pact” to be discussed byEU leaders in June. Indeed, Europeneeds a master plan to avoid a tailspinof recession, growing unemployment,and weakening banking systems.

Fiscal discipline remains essential,as are deep structural reforms. Thegrowth pact can be properly financedby new sources of revenue, such as afinancial-transaction tax and jointproject bonds for infrastructure invest-ment, or by curbing tax evasion andtax fraud and eliminating tax havens,as well as by more efficient and intelli-gent use of structural funds.

The road aheadWhat is to be done? First, targetedinvestment should be given priority.The European Investment Bank

would be a good vehicle – in additionto new project bonds – to boostspending on major infrastructureprojects (for example, in the energysector). The EIB could be given sig-nificantly more resources to boost itsloan programs. In the longer-term,we should revisit the idea of jointEurobonds.

Channeling EU structural fundstowards innovation is essential, giventhat spending on research and devel-opment is alarmingly low comparedto our global partners. Fundamentalreform of the Common AgriculturalPolicy should not remain a taboo.Indeed, the CAP is ensuring neithersustainable agriculture nor decentincomes for all farmers. Undoubtedly,tough negotiations lie ahead on thisfront, including with Mr Hollande.

Second, young people must be atop priority. Our responsibility here istwofold: to put growth back on track,but also to respond immediately to thehuman tragedy that has hit our youth.The euro zone’s unemployment rate,at 10.9 percent, is at its highest levelsince the euro was introduced, andyoung people everywhere, as the first

to suffer the consequences of the cri-sis, are paying a disproportionally highprice. Youth unemployment in Spain,for example, is above 50 percent.

We cannot afford to sacrifice ageneration, or, rather, risk creating alost generation that could destroyEurope’s social fabric and stability.We need an immediate contingencyplan: invest to finance job training,improve educational opportunities,and, crucially, create incentives foremployers to hire young people.

The ECB has been offering long-term loans to banks at a favorablerate. This money should be loanedout to small and medium-size enter-prises, which are the lifeblood ofEurope’s economy. The EU alsoneeds common initiatives to replacepiecemeal bilateral agreements ontax evasion and tax havens, whichundermine the goal of a fair society.

Third, member states should notcut the EU budget indiscriminatelyduring negotiations on the Union’slong-term spending plan for 2014-2020. If we are serious about a masterplan for growth, we need to providethe necessary means. The EU budget

is an investment vehicle that boostseconomic growth and creates jobs. Itfinances crucial pan-EU transportand energy links. It helps to fosterinnovation and boost research anddevelopment. The EU budget lever-ages investment, allows for economiesof scale, and cannot run a deficit.

Not too lateThe EU’s lack of solidarity, imagina-tion, courage, unity, and vision inrecent years has made Europe a sym-bol of division for some, if not many.Mr Hollande’s election now offers usa valuable opportunity to meet thechallenges that the EU faces. Alter-natively, we can allow growing pover-ty, fear, and anger to give rise toxenophobia and racism.

But let us be optimistic. It is nottoo late. The EU is changing direc-tion at last, and Europe’s leaders willfind an energetic partner in the Euro-pean Parliament. ●

Martin Schulz is President of theEuropean Parliament.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012.project-syndicate.org

AA mmiissgguuiiddeedd sseeaarrcchh ffoorr ggrroowwtthh

“There is ratherlittle that Europecan do to creategrowth”

EEuurrooppee’’ss ooppppoorrttuunniittyy iinn HHoollllaannddeeMartin Schulz

CO-MANAGING EDITORGARETH PRICE(GPRICE@WBJ.PL)

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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 s u p p l e m e n t o n t r e n d s s h a p i n g P o l a n d ’s e c o n o m i c f u t u r e MAY 14-20, 2012

Economics

EEuurrooppee ttuurrnnss aaggaaiinnsstt aauusstteerriittyyWhere is the OldContinent heading,and what does it meanfor Poland?

Like many countries inEurope, Poland has adjustedits policies to fit what untilrecently appeared to be aEurope-wide focus on austeri-ty. The recent changing of thepolitical guard in France andpolitical uncertainty in Greecehas, however, served to muddythe waters about the directionEurope is taking to respond tothe economic crisis.

France’s president-elect,the socialist Francois Hol-lande, has vowed to reduce thespeed and depth of austeritymeasures being implementedin his country.

“Europe is watching us,austerity can no longer be theonly option,” he said. Mr Hol-lande has promised to increasestimulus spending in France tonurture growth.

He also wants to renegoti-ate the German-backed rulesfor deficit reduction thatEuropean leaders agreed to inDecember.

The European Commis-sion has jumped at the chance

to suggest pro-growth meas-ures, re-floating proposals fora €10 billion capital increasefor the EU’s investment bank.

“We are seizing the

moment of advancing ourprevious proposals now in thenew political climate,” EUEconomic and MonetaryCommissioner Olli Rehn told

reporters.In Greece, meanwhile, the

two main pro-budget-cutting,pro-bailout parties did not winenough votes to form a coali-

tion in the May 6 legislativeelection, raising doubts aboutthe country’s ability to avoidbankruptcy and remain in theeuro zone.

Winds of change? Whether the prevailing windsare now truly blowing in favorof pro-growth measures isnevertheless unclear. Ger-man Chancellor AngelaMerkel, who worked closelywith Mr Hollande’s predeces-sor, Nicolas Sarkozy, saysEurope’s Stability andGrowth Pact “is not nego-tiable,” while the directionFrance takes will depend insignificant part on the com-position of its parliament fol-lowing elections in June.

Moreover, France’s abilityto spend its way to growth isdebatable, since its public debtis approaching 90 percent ofGDP.

“To spend more, you needmore,” said Maciej Reluga,chief economist at BZ WBK.

“There is no room for anincrease in spending inFrance.”

European CommissionPresident Jose Manuel Bar-roso has said European mem-ber states should implementthe fiscal policies they haveagreed to.

A meeting of EU leaders inJune to discuss the fiscal pact

WBJ presents a special supplement on the trends andevents shaping the future of the Polish economy as theEuropean Economic Congress in Katowice gets underway

• WSE’s regional leadership• Energy diversification• Sino-Polish relations

Have the battle lines been drawn between Mr Hollande and Angela Merkel?

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Poland’s nascent shalegas industry may begenerating a lot ofbuzz, but the countrystill has to decide on aconcrete plan for itsdevelopment

Hopes for Poland’s shale gaspotential only started gainingtraction a few years ago. Now19 firms are busy exploringover 100 concessions in a shalegas exploration industry that isalready gaining internationalrecognition.

Nevertheless, today we arenone the wiser on whethershale gas will prove, in thewords of Zbigniew Pisarski,president of the board at thethink tank Casimir PulaskiFoundation, to be the nextScandinavian dream or thenext IT bubble.

Evaluation of the pro-gress made and forecasts

for the future varied amongexperts at a conferenceorganized by the foundation

last week. There seemed tobe a consensus, however, onthe fact that the Polish gov-

ernment has so far failed todevise a comprehensivestrategy for this new indus-try. This, said experts, is themain task ahead.

Conflicting reports haveemerged on the country’spotential shale gas reserves.With drilling activity set toincrease from this year, con-crete knowledge – includingthe profitability of production– is on its way.

According to AndrzejSzcz´Êniak, editor-in-chief ofNaftaGaz.pl, contrary to “irre-sponsible promises made,”Poland doesn’t stand muchchance of becoming anexporter of shale gas. “Wewould have to drill 10,000boreholes a year, and the bur-den on society and the envi-ronment would be too big,”said Mr Szcz´Êniak.

In 2011 there were 22wells drilled around the coun-try in search for shale gas.

The Environment Ministryexpects that 49 new wells willbe drilled in 2012, and by2017, around 250.

“I think 200 boreholes by2015-2016 would be a hugesuccess, but I’m not certain it’sachievable. The basic limita-tion is the density of popula-tion,” said Mr Szcz´Êniak.

In the meantime, the Polishgovernment has yet to definethe regulatory environment inwhich prospecting companieswould operate should shalegas production be possible ona commercial scale.

“It doesn’t matter howmuch gas we have,” saidTomasz Chmal, energy expertand partner at White & Case.“Regulation should be in placewhether we are a gas Eldoradoor only cover domestic produc-tion. Of course, everything maygo wrong,” he added, pointingto issues such as environmentprotection and taxation.

Dangers“There needs to be a strategy.Despite declarations from thecountry’s highest office,Poland doesn’t have a properstrategy for shale gas,” saidAndrzej Szcz´Êniak.

One major issue on whichclear answers are needed from

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PM Tusk’s government is hard-pressed to regulate the

emerging shale gas industry

Unconventional energy

SShhaallee ggaass:: IInn nneeeedd ooff aa ssttrraatteeggyy

In thissupplementEuropean economics

and Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 13

Shale gas in Poland . . . . . . . . . .11, 14

Energy diversification . . . . . . . . . . .12

Polish-Sino relations . . . . . . . . . . . .13

WSE regional leadership . . . . . . . .14

Continued on p. 14 ➡

Continued on p. 13 ➡

EEYYEE OONN TTHHEE FFUUTTUURREE

MAY 14-20, 2012EEYYEE OONN TTHHEE FFUUTTUURREE12 www.wbj.pl

Energy

SShhiiffttiinngg ccoouurrsseeAs Poland tries to reduce its reliance onpolluting coal it is seeking to diversify its energysources. While many questions about shale gasremain, renewable energy and nuclear energyoffer promising alternatives

Coal: A steady flow ofinvestmentsPoland’s rock is rich in cheap,polluting coal, with which itproduces around 90 percent ofits electricity. Although thecountry is actively looking foralternative energy sources,coal is set to remain the domi-nant fuel for electricity pro-duction in the coming years.

In conjunction with itsefforts in the nuclear, renew-ables and shale gas sectors,Poland is currently in theprocess of replacing several ofits old coal-fired plants withnew, more efficient ones.

Almost a quarter of thecurrent generation capacitywill have to be phased out by2015 and Polish energy con-sumption, still low in compari-son to Western Europe, is alsoforecast to grow significantlyin the coming years. Poland’selectricity consumption is setto increase by 30 percent by2030.

Up until 2025, the Polishenergy sector is thereforeexpected to see new invest-ments generating nearly30,000 megawatts of capacity,with a total value of z∏.220 bil-lion, according to researchfirm PMR. Poland’s first twonuclear power plants account

for the bulk of the sum, butone-third of the new projectsare hard-coal-fired units, lead-ing to investments totaling sev-eral billion z∏oty and a newcapacity of thousands ofmegawatts of coal power in thenext few years.

Many of the plannedinvestments are replacementschemes and should havehigher energy efficiency thanthe old plants. According tolobby group Central EuropeEnergy Partners (CEEP), newtechnologies will enable a 45percent hike in energy effi-ciency, leading to a reductionof CO2 emissions by about 30percent, close to levels seen atgas-powered plants.

On average, coal still emitsover twice as much CO2 asnatural gas in electricity gener-ation, and environmentalistsare protesting against thesemassive new investments.

But both the Polish govern-ment and industry argue thatPoland needs to exploit itsavailable coal energy resour-ces in order to remain eco-nomically competitive. Thisposition seems to enjoy strongsupport among the Polish pub-lic, as surveys show that Polesare the strongest supporters ofcoal in the EU. BBMM,, AATT

Nuclear: Poland to buildits first nuclear plantPrime Minister Donald Tusk’sgovernment has committeditself to building two plants by2035, and neither Japan’sFukushima disaster or Ger-many’s decision to phase outits own nuclear power plantshave deterred these plans.

Poland’s first nuclearpower plant is now scheduledto be operational around 2025.Its cost is estimated at up toz∏.50 billion, and it will gener-ate 3,000 megawatts (MW) ofelectricity. The combinedoperational capacity of the twoplants will be 6,000 MW.

In due course, nuclearpower is forecast to hold a 20percent share in Poland’senergy mix. In the meantime,the country does not have thetechnology to carry out itsnuclear project on its own, andis set to choose a technologicalsupplier – in a contractdescribed as one of the biggestin the history of modernPoland – this year. Amongcontestants are French firms

Areva and EDF, GE Hitachi(a joint venture of GeneralElectric and Hitachi), andToshiba’s US-based unit West-inghouse.

Several groups have voiceddoubts about the soundness ofthe Polish government’s plans,including inhabitants who livenear to sites proposed to hostPoland’s first nuclear plant.Three towns on the Balticcoast, ˚arnowiec, Choczewoand Gàski, have been pro-posed, with the final decisionscheduled to be made in 2013.

To counter negative senti-ment, the Ministry of Econo-my has launched a two-year,z∏.18 million-communicationcampaign, promoting the posi-tive aspects of the nuclearproject and emphasizing itssafety and potential economicbenefits.

Opposition has alsoemerged in neighboring Ger-many, but the EuropeanUnion has stated it woulddefend each EU memberstate’s right to make their owndecision on nuclear. LLNN,, AATT

Renewable energy:Wind in its sailsPoland is one of the biggestemitters of CO2 in Europe. Inthe face of more stringent EU-wide emission-reductionplans, the country is lookingfor alternatives to coal.

Perhaps contrary to wide-spread perception, Poland isspending big on environmen-tal protection, with theNational Fund for Environ-mental Protection and WaterManagement estimating thatbetween 1989 and 2010, it con-cluded over 16,000 contractsallocating over z∏.30 billion forfinancing environmental proj-ects. The fund estimates thatin the past two decades, green-house gas emissions anduntreated sewage dischargedinto water or on to the landhave been reduced, respective-ly, by 63 and 90 percent.

But more needs to be done,and a green technology thatseems to be gathering particu-lar momentum is wind. A 2011report by Ernst & Youngranked Poland 10th in theworld for its wind energypotential, and major invest-ments are being carried outand announced this spring.

Among them is PolskaGrupa Energetyczna (PGE)’sz∏.14.6 billion plan to buildthree offshore wind farms,which received the green lightfrom Poland’s Ministry ofTransport, Construction and

Maritime Economy in April.By 2020, PGE wants the windfarms to have a total capacityof 1,000 MW, the same energycapacity as a coal-fired powerstation.

According to calculationsby daily Rzeczpospolita, invest-ments in offshore wind farmsto the tune of around z∏.680billion are in the works. Thepaper, citing unnamedsources, reported that the Pol-ish government is currentlyprocessing 54 applicationsfrom investors who are seek-ing to develop wind powerprojects.

Domestic firms that havesubmitted applications includeutility PGE, smaller rivalEnerga, oil refiner PKN Orlenand Kulczyk Investments. For-eign firms that have expressedan interest in building offshorewind farms in Poland includeBelgium’s DEME, Portugal’sEDPR, Spain’s Iberdrola andDanish Dong Energy.

Meanwhile in May, Ger-man utility RWE said it hadstarted construction of itsfourth wind farm in Poland, a€60 million project with ascheduled capacity of 39megawatts. It is due to be com-pleted in the first half of 2013.

Poland currently hasaround 1,900 megawatts ofwind energy installed, whichrepresents some 6 percent ofthe power system’s totalcapacity. AATT

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Foreign policy

AA nneeww cchhaapptteerr iinn SSiinnoo--PPoolliisshh rreellaattiioonnssThe Chinese premier’srecent visit to Polandwas more than acourtesy call;agreements weresigned, money waspledged. What morelies in store?

During his visit to Warsaw inApril, Chinese premier WenJiabao announced a $10 bil-lion credit-line for EasternEurope to support the devel-opment of infrastructure, newtechnologies and a sustainableeconomy, as well as a $500 mil-lion fund to assist Chineseinvestments in the region.

Poland and China alsosigned agreements regardingcooperation between Polishand Chinese SMEs, coopera-tion in the field of sustainableinfrastructure and culturalexchanges between both coun-tries.

“It is very important thatour political relations are nowdeeper. This is the prerequi-site to being able to do goodbusiness with China,” saidDominik Konieczny, analyst atthe Poland-Asia ResearchCenter (CSPA).

Mr Konieczny said thatChina is apparently set onincreasing its presence inEurope. “Poland is a goodgateway for them. The laborcosts are still lower than inWestern Europe and it offers

access to all the EU markets,”he said.

Andrzej Kaczmarek, anexpert on China at consultancyKPMG, said he thinks the Pol-ish infrastructure sector willprobably be of interest to theChinese.

“I also think we are enter-ing into the era of Chineseconsumer products, I meanproducts under Chinesebrands, not just produced inChina. Poland is a good placeto start from in that area,” headded.

Meanwhile, Mr Koniecznysaid he thinks Polish chemicaland food companies have a

good chance in China. Headded, however, that the realresults of Chinese PremierWen Jiabao’s visit will beknown only in one to twoyears’ time.

China wants to double thecurrent trade volume withEastern Europe to $100 billionby 2015. The trade volumebetween Poland and Chinawas valued at roughly $13 bil-lion in 2011, of which $2 billionwere Polish exports to Chinawhile the rest were importsfrom China. That was anannualized increase in tradevolume of 16.6 percent.

RReemmii AAddeekkooyyaa

EEuurrooppee ttuurrnnss aaggaaiinnsstt aauusstteerriittyyis expected to provide aclearer picture of the consen-sus in Europe. But until thatpoint there is likely to bemore market volatility.

“It will be interesting tosee to what extent the con-sensus we have seen so faron the fiscal pact will contin-ue after June,” Mr Relugasaid. “For Poland, in theshort term, we could per-haps expect a weaker z∏otyor slightly higher bondyields.”

Anti-austerity for Poland?

Maciej Golubiewski, anexpert in European politicsat the Sobieski Institute,said that since Poland hasno major problems withbudgetary discipline, a shiftto anti-austerity on theEuropean level could be a

good thing. Poland, he says,does not have the sameneed to limit spending as,say, Greece or Spain.

“Poland does not needthis corset, it needs toexpand its economy,” hesaid.

“Anti-austerity changesthe mood, so there is achance that countries such asPoland which don’t need toreduce spending will now notget such a big dose of auster-ity as others,” he added.

Monika Kurtek, chiefeconomist at Bank Pocz-towy, however, said the fis-cal pact in its present formsuits Poland well.

“Generally, Poland is ontrack to tighten its fiscal poli-cies, so the fiscal pact ispresently consistent with Pol-ish policy, it is good forPoland.”

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

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Poland and China signed several agreements during

Premier Wen’s visit in April

A tough nut

Following GDP growth of4.3 percent last year, recenteconomic data suggest thePolish economy is starting tolose steam in part thanks tothe ongoing European crisis.

Despite all the uncertain-ty, however, Poland’s hard-won reputation as being astable country to invest in isexpected to help it weatherany potential storms.

“In the case of our gov-ernment bonds, if the situa-tion globally is not good,then our bonds actuallystrengthen,” said Bank Pocz-towy economist MonikaKurtek.

“Poland is in a good fiscalcondition, we are a reliablecountry for foreign in-vestors.” ●

➡ Continued from p. 11

MAY 14-20, 2012EEYYEE OONN TTHHEE FFUUTTUURREE14 www.wbj.pl

the Polish government is taxa-tion, said Agnieszka Durlik-Khouri, economic and legalexpert at the National Cham-ber of the Economy of Poland.

At the beginning of April,Deputy Environment MinisterPiotr Woêniak announced thatthe first draft of a new tax onshale gas production would bepresented within weeks.Changes to the law governinghydrocarbon extraction are“necessary to improve condi-tions for investment and toreduce the risk borne by thestate associated withlong-term mining activities ona significant scale in the coun-try,” Mr Woêniak said in astatement.

At the beginning of Mayno further information hadsurfaced, however. Despitethe fact that Mr Woêniakassured the levy “will not behigh, because it takes intoaccount the capital intensivenature and investment risksof the extraction of hydrocar-

bons,” some experts at theconference warned the thegovernment should be carefulnot to kill the nascent indus-try with heavy taxation.

Environmental concernsAnother potentially thornyissue for the industry is theenvironment, since shale gasexploitation uses new tech-nologies (such as fracking)that have so far generatedtheir fair share of controver-sy. In a widely publicizedmove, France banned frack-ing in 2011. Closer to Poland,Bulgaria has imposed amoratorium on shale gasexploration, and there aretalks of Romania and theCzech Republic also doingthe same.

EU law states clearly thatindividual countries are inde-pendent regarding their ener-gy policies, but the EU’sstrong commitment to envi-ronmental issues has led tofears that Brussels could findways to block the development

of Poland’s shale gas industry.But the wind might be

changing direction in Europe.Angel Angelov, economic andcommercial counselor at theEmbassy of Bulgaria, saidtalks are now under way torepeal the moratorium, whichshould be lifted by the end ofthe year.

Poland has also found apartner in the UK, whoseenergy agency gave its greenlight to fracking in April.

“I think the two countrieshave a common growth-drivenagenda, and the UK can be apartner for Poland in Brusselsfor shale gas and nuclear ener-gy. We will have to convinceBrussels,” said Martin Oxley,

director of UK trade andinvestment at the BritishEmbassy in Warsaw.

Another potential partnerfor Poland, this time in termsof investments, might beChina. The country, alsopotentially rich in shale gasreserves, has already devel-oped an “excellent” mastery of

fracking, and adopted aninteresting model for the sec-tor’s development, said MrSzcz´Êniak.

One obvious player whichhas been strangely silent sofar, is Russia. “No Russianrepresentatives accepted invi-tations to the conference,although they are main play-ers in the gas market and are

directly concerned,” said MrPisarski.

What next?Another challenge facing theindustry in upcoming monthsand years will be to improvecommunication both betweenthe industry and the govern-ment, and between firms andthe Polish population.

A corruption scandalinvolving Polish governmentofficials over the granting oflicenses for the exploration ofshale gas, which emerged inJanuary and led to the arrestof seven people, “created a lotof bad blood in the industry,”according to Mr Chmal. “Itseems to me there is very littlecommunication and trustbetween the government andthe industry.”

Meanwhile a recent surveyby the Tischner EuropeanUniversity Centre for EnergyStudies showed that many ofthe 19 firms that hold conces-sions in Poland don’t have awebsite section in Polish, fail

to include contact details oreven basic activity profiles.

Regardless of how success-ful the stakeholders are in fac-ing these challenges, expertspredict significant M&A activ-ity among firms that hold con-cessions in Poland, as smallercompanies strike deals withlarger ones, and others simplysell.

State-owned companiesincluding gas monopolyPGNiG, utilities Enea andTauron, energy provider PGEand copper and silver minerKGHM, are also expected tocome to a final agreement forjointly exploring and poten-tially extracting shale gas inJune.

“The truth is that privatecompanies are more effective,but we depend on gas and itwill be difficult for the govern-ment to give that away. I thinkit will be difficult to convincethe government to completelyopen the market,” said MsDurlik-Khouri.

AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

SShhaallee ggaass:: IInn nneeeedd ooff aa ssttrraatteeggyy

The Warsaw Stock Exchangemaintains a tight grip on itsleadership position in the Cen-tral and Eastern Europe (CEE)region, after it fared better thancompetitors and looks set tobenefit from new commoditiestrading capabilities and a part-nership with NYSE Euronext.

Net profits reached z∏.33.5million for the first quarter,marking a 13.2 percent drop incomparison with a year earlier.However, the figure was 33.6percent higher than the WSE’sprofits in the fourth quarter of2011.

The exchange put the y/yfall in profits down to lowertrade turnover, which was notlimited to the Warsaw StockExchange alone. According tothe World Federation ofExchanges, turnover withinthe Europe, Middle East andAfrica region (EMEA)dropped 21 percent overall.For the Warsaw Stock

Exchange, the drop was some-what less drastic, at 16 percent.

Ludwik Sobolewski, presi-dent of the Warsaw StockExchange, said the companywas “satisfied” with the results,taking into context the insecu-rity and volatility on capitalmarkets around the world.

Among major stock mar-kets in Europe, only DeutscheBörse saw a lower drop inturnover, at 12 percent. NYSEEuronext (which includes theParis bourse) and LondonStock Exchange Group sawdrops in turnover of 25 per-cent and 18 percent over thequarter respectively.

The WSE’s main rival inthe region, the Vienna StockExchange, saw turnover plum-met by 40 percent.

In terms of the share ofturnover in the region, theWarsaw Stock Exchange dom-inated, taking a full 54 percentover the first quarter of the

year. Vienna saw 23 percent,while its partner exchanges inBudapest and Prague took 11and 10 percent respectively(see chart).

Adding powerSo far this year the WSE’sbiggest move was its takeoverin March of the Polish PowerExchange (TGE). Though itpushed up operating costs forthe first quarter, which rose bynearly 13 percent over Q12011, WSE officials were con-fident that its diversification

into commodities tradingwould pay off.

TGE’s March revenuesaccounted for 10 percent of theWSE’s consolidated quarterlyrevenues. According to MrSobolewski, if TGE’s full-quar-ter income were included, itwould have accounted forsome 23 percent of the WSE’srevenues. Over the whole year,Mr Sobolewski said he expect-ed TGE to account for about a20 percent share of the WSE’srevenues, depending on activityin the capital market.

New platform,cooperation with NYSE

On November 2 the WSE willgo live with its new tradingplatform, which it is imple-menting in cooperation withNYSE Euronext. The systemwill be the same as the onethat is used on the NYSE,company officials said, and isexpected to be a significantupgrade. Mr Sobolewskicalled its implementation“easily the biggest event ofthe year” for the stockexchange.

Mr Sobolewski also saidthat the WSE’s partnershipwith NYSE Euronext will be“richer than involving justtechnology.” When pressedfor details, he said that one ofthe initiatives he could men-tion was cooperation alongthe lines of information dis-tribution – NYSE Euronextwould help WSE plug in tosystems that would allowmore investors to find infor-mation on shares listed inWarsaw.

AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

Warsaw Stock Exchange

Leading the region

➡ Continued from p. 11

The Warsaw Stock Exchange fared better thancompetitors in a slow first quarter whileshoring up revenues with a new commoditiesexchange. Now it is gearing up for atrading-platform upgrade later this year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Q1 2012Q4 2011Q3 2011Q2 2011Q1 2011

38.6

32.9

38.1

24.5

33.5

Steady profitsQuarterly profits of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Q1 2011 – Q1 2012 (in z∏. mln)

Source: WSE

Remaining exchanges (Bulgaria, Romania, CEESEG Slovenia, CEESEG Slovakia)

CEESEG Prague

CEESEG Budapest

CEESEG Vienna

Warsaw Stock Exchange

2%

10%

11%

23%

54%

Regional dominanceShare of exchanges in the region in share turnover, Q1 2012

Source: WSE, FESE

“Regulation should be in placewhether we are a gas Eldorado or only

cover domestic production”

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 MAY 14-20, 2012, LI 17/19

Mermaid

to invest

z∏.50 mln

Developer Mermaid

Properties has

announced it plans to

invest z∏.50 million in new

projects in Poland in

2012. The company is

interested in plots of land

with building permits or

covered by zoning plans,

as well as in well-located

existing structures with

potential for renovation

and transformation into

modern commercial

space. “We are currently

looking intensively for

new projects,” Rados∏aw

Sieroƒ, president of

Mermaid Properties’

management board, said

in a statement.

Mokotowska

Square gets

BREEAM

certificate

The Mokotowska Square

office building in Warsaw

has obtained BREEAM

certification of energy

efficiency and

environmental

performance. The seven-

storey facility, which

offers 8,645 sqm of office

space and 1,286 sqm of

retail area, was developed

by Yareal Polska. “[The]

BREEAM certificate

crowns a long process and

marks another success of

the Yareal team and the

Mokotowska Square

building itself,” said Eric

Dapoigny, president of

Yareal Polska’s

management board. ●

New Unidevelopment scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Warsaw museum conflict . . . .15Forum Radunia project . . . . . . .15Starachowice mall . . . . . . . . . . .16Max mall sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Ogrody extension . . . . . . . . . . .16Property-related stocks . . . . . .16New Warsaw Hilton . . . . . . . . .17Hotel report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Industrial report . . . . . . . . . . . . .18New Panattoni warehouse . . .18

In this issue

1716

A newly established partner-ship has announced its firstregional Polish mall scheme

S+B Gruppe will develop a newHampton by Hilton hotel indowntown Warsaw

Office

UUnniiddeevveellooppmmeenntt aaccqquuiirreess nneewwooffffiiccee pprroojjeecctt iinn WWaarrssaawwThe scheme isscheduled to becompleted in H1 2014

Warsaw-based developer Uni-development has acquired a100 percent stake in WolaHouse, a special-purpose vehi-cle established to build aneponymous office project inthe Polish capital, from Nor-wegian Selvaag Eiendom AS.

Following the transaction,the developer now has perpet-ual usufruct rights to 4,964sqm of land located on Al.Prymasa Tysiàclecia in War-saw’s Wola district on which itplans to build an office facilitywith approximately 20,000sqm of space. The price of thetransaction has not beenrevealed.

“Before signing the deal,we analyzed the demand foran office investment on Al.Prymasa Tysiàclecia, near Al.

Jerozolimskie,” ZbigniewGoÊcicki, president of themanagement board of Unide-velopment, said in a state-ment.

“The information that wehave gathered confirms thatthe Wola House investmentshould meet with considerableinterest on the part of poten-tial tenants,” Mr GoÊcickiadded. Unidevelopment toutsthe planned project’s proximi-ty to major transport routesand its easy access to WarsawChopin Airport.

The Wola House develop-ment already has a buildingpermit with constructionscheduled to launch in Q4this year and finish at the turnof the first and second quar-ters of 2014. Constructioncompany Unibep will be thegeneral contractor of thescheme.

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The Wola House project will deliver approximately 20,000 sqm of space

Architecture

Warsaw dissolves contract withMuseum of Modern Art architectThe City Hall says thearchitect wasincapable of fulfillinghis end of the deal

Warsaw City Hall has dis-solved a contract with thearchitect of the planned newbuilding of the Museum ofModern Art, ChristianKerez. Mr Kerez, who is fromSwitzerland, was to designthe facility after his initialplan won an internationalarchitectural competition in2007.

During a press conferencelast week, Jacek Wojciechow-icz, deputy mayor of the cityof Warsaw, told journaliststhe reason for the dissolutionwas “Mr Kerez’s incapability

of changing the competitionconcept into a realistic build-ing design.”

Other reasons given bythe Warsaw authorities werethat the 25-meter-tall build-ing did not meet fire-safetyrequirements. City Hall alsoaccused Mr Kerez of failingto design a transportationsystem around the museum.

Mr Wojciechowicz saidthat overall, Mr Kerez hadfailed to meet deadlineswhile asking for more money.He added that in April, MrKerez issued a letter to theCity Hall in which hedemanded to be paid moreand said if his demands werenot met, he would break thecontract.

In an interview withtvnwarszawa.pl, Mr Kerezdenied all the allegations. Hesaid that requirements weremet and added that designingthe transportation systemwould be a job in itself, andthat the City Hall shouldhave offered more funding ifit had expected him to designit.

City Hall demanded thatMr Kerez pay z∏.5,439,608 forfailing to fulfill his side of thecontract.

Mr Wojciechowiczannounced that there will bea new competition for thedesign of the museum. Headded that the facility is a pri-ority and that it will be built.

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Multi, Gdaƒsk agree onForum Radunia project A consortium of Multi Devel-opment Poland and MultiCorporation has signed anagreement with the Munici-pality of Gdaƒsk concerningthe development of the Hayand Crayfish Markets area inthe city.

The deal allows the consor-tium to go ahead with itsForum Radunia mixed-useproject that apart from com-mercial space will include amuseum of the Pomeraniaregion and a new stop ofGdaƒsk’s Fast Urban Railway.The scheme is expected to sig-nificantly reshape the city’sdowntown area.

“Gdaƒsk has been our tar-get since Multi started inPoland. It is a place of greatpotential that deserves aunique public space where his-tory and modern times are

woven together in harmony,”Tomasz Matusiak, managingdirector of Multi Develop-ment Poland, said in a state-ment.

The Forum Radunia invest-ment, for which Multi wasselected by the city of Gdaƒskout of 12 bidding companies,will be developed in two phas-es, the first of which is sched-uled to be completed in 2015-2016. The whole project isexpected to be ready by 2020.

The first phase of thescheme will involve the con-struction of a shopping centerwith a leasable area of approx-imately 45,000 sqm, a multi-storey car park and publicinfrastructure including themuseum. In the second phase,an office park will be deliv-ered.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

MAY 14-20, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl

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

on May 10 (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX 81.00 1.31 64.00 104.50 -22.86 25,530,098 2,067.94

CELTIC 12.76 0.00 12.95 22.70 -30.65 34,068,252 434.71

DOMDEV 35.40 -2.48 23.50 50.80 -23.87 24,670,397 873.33

ECHO 3.75 -0.79 3.05 5.55 -26.47 420,000,000 1,575.00

ELBUDOWA 106.70 -4.73 87.00 165.00 -34.94 4,747,608 506.57

ENERGOPLD 1.80 0.00 1.79 4.00 -54.77 70,972,001 127.75

ERBUD 15.39 -3.81 14.15 31.77 -56.38 12,644,169 194.59

GANT 7.35 -3.16 5.85 13.59 -47.61 20,499,953 150.67

GTC 6.77 -3.15 6.10 19.99 -67.10 219,372,990 1,485.16

HBPOLSKA 0.51 -10.53 0.51 2.35 -76.82 210,558,445 107.38

JWCONSTR 5.28 -4.17 4.36 15.40 -65.89 54,073,280 285.51

LCCORP 1.45 -2.03 0.85 1.56 -7.64 447,558,311 648.96

MARVIPOL 7.66 -2.79 6.20 9.95 -6.93 36,923,400 282.83

MIRBUD 1.17 -11.36 1.14 4.14 -71.32 75,000,000 87.75

MOSTALWAR 13.03 -1.88 11.30 36.48 -67.18 20,000,000 260.60

MOSTALZAB 1.22 -2.40 1.07 2.89 -53.26 149,130,538 181.94

ORCOGROUP 12.09 -9.78 12.09 37.40 -67.01 17,053,866 206.18

PBG 24.50 -5.95 22.50 154.80 -83.77 14,295,000 350.23

PLAZACNTR 2.56 1.59 1.80 5.15 -48.59 297,174,515 760.77

POLAQUA 5.78 -1.20 4.53 18.93 -67.53 27,500,100 158.95

POLIMEXMS 1.14 11.76 0.78 3.53 -63.81 521,154,076 594.12

POLNORD 13.80 -1.78 11.03 29.80 -56.19 23,798,439 328.42

RANKPROGR 11.93 -1.73 8.60 16.97 -8.16 37,145,050 443.14

ROBYG 1.41 2.92 1.04 2.05 -30.20 257,390,000 362.92

RONSON 0.97 -4.90 0.77 1.50 -37.42 272,360,000 264.19

TRAKCJA 1.15 5.50 0.65 3.25 -66.18 232,105,480 266.92

ULMA 55.75 0.00 55.25 87.00 -35.92 5,255,632 293.00

UNIBEP 4.99 -3.11 4.47 7.30 -28.71 33,927,184 169.30

WARIMPEX 4.06 -1.69 2.95 10.15 -60.54 54,000,000 219.24

ZUE 7.20 -1.91 5.07 12.85 -42.40 22,000,000 158.40

Property-related stocks

Max shopping center for saleThe Max shopping center inHrubieszów, Lubelskie voi-vodship, is now on sale. Cush-man & Wakefield will repre-sent the mall’s owner, Ardom,in the process of offloadingthe over 4,400-sqm facility.

Located on ul. Kolejowa indowntown Hrubieszów anddelivered in 2000, Max is thelargest retail scheme in thesoutheastern Polish town. Themall is fully leased out, withmajor tenants including a Car-

refour hypermarket.The development could be

extended and modernized inthe future, with the currentowner having already come upwith an architectural conceptenvisioning increasing the sizeof Max to a total of some7,100 sqm. The potentialinvestment is in line with thecurrent zoning plan for thearea.

“It is an attractive invest-ment product for investors

intending to benefit from theexisting leases and those whowould like to enhance theproperty’s value through itsextension,” Anita Rajchelt, anassociate at the capital mar-kets group of Cushman &Wakefield, said in a statement.

“The strong advantages ofthis scheme are its stable ten-ant mix and prime locationoffering high footfall,” MsRajchelt added.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Three investors team up onnew Starachowice mall schemePrivate equity and venturecapital investment firmNBGI Private Equity, retailproperty investor, developerand manager Balmain AssetManagement and developerClaybark have announcedtheir first joint project in thePolish market.

The newly formed jointventure has acquired a plotof land in Starachowice inÂwi´tokrzyskie voivodship onwhich the partners are plan-ning to build a retail invest-ment anchored by a Tescohypermarket.

The land in question iszoned for a shopping centerof approximately 17,600 sqm.The investment is meant tobe the first in the joint ven-ture’s planned portfolio ofhypermarket-anchored shop-ping centers located in smallPolish cities.

“Thanks to our experi-enced and capable partnersthe joint venture allows us toexpand our growing realestate portfolio in Polandinto the retail sector,” JamesHuckle, investment directorat NBGI, said in a statement.

“We are looking forwardto delivering what we hopewill be the first of severalsimilar scale projects acrossPoland with our joint venturepartners,” stated HarveyCurtis, managing partner atClaybark.

The investors are plan-ning to spend approximately€25 million on the Stara-chowice project. Construc-tion is scheduled to launch inMarch next year, with themall expected to open in theautumn of 2014.

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Investors are planning to spend €25 million on the Starachowice project

Hadley Dean Managing Partner, Eastern Europe, Colliers International

SSmmaallll iiss bbeeaauuttiiffuullExpert’s opinion

Retail trends in small cities in Central and Eastern Europe

It is not a secret that big agglomerations arenot always the main focus of retailers. Highrental rates, limited retail space, competitionhiding just round the corner – no wondermore and more retailers are moving to small-er cities. But what opportunities are reallywaiting there?

The retail markets in Central and EasternEurope in terms of demand and supply, retailformats and development opportunities insecondary and tertiary cities show a strongdegree of diversity. Looking at the CEE mar-ket overall the four markets including War-saw, Zagreb, Moscow and St Petersburg areprime targets for new retailers entering themarkets. However we are now seeing theretailers being more attracted to the smallercities. The Russian retail market continues todevelop vigorously intensifying competitionin the retail markets of large cities (Moscowand St Petersburg) and this has captured theattention of developers who are now explor-ing smaller cities with populations of 300,000-500,000 such as Magnitogorsk, Surgut, Sochiand Tver. Nine shopping centers are plannedfor commissioning in these cities in 2012.

A similar trend can be observed in Roma-

nia, where some anchor tenants openedshops in smaller cities (100,000-150,000inhabitants) to address a segment of demandnot yet covered. Development activity in sec-ondary cities in Bulgaria is concentratedmainly in Burgas, where two projects areexpected to open in 2012. Croatia has alsowitnessed a shift in developers’ interesttowards secondary and tertiary locations,with 52 percent of all retail stock now beinglocated outside Zagreb.

Retail developers in Poland are graduallyturning to local markets. They are especiallyinterested in medium-sized and smaller cities,where the majority of planned retail schemesare in the pipeline. Currently modern retailspace in these cities constitutes 45 percentof the total supply in Poland and this share issystematically increasing. Investors are look-ing for retail gaps in Poland, namely citieswith lack of modern retail space available inorder to take advantage of the requirementsof retailers in these markets.

The business strategies of many develop-ers are focused on markets in secondarycities , which are generated by the expansionplans of retailers. More and more retailchains, which are already present in majoragglomerations, are seeking new opportuni-ties of further expansion in smaller cities. ●

BROUGHT TO YOU BY COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

Ogrody mall closer to extensionCBRE Global Investors, theowner of the Ogrody shoppingcenter in Elblàg, Warmiƒsko-Mazurskie voivodship, hasobtained an environmentaldecision that allows the com-pany to apply for a buildingpermit concerning the exten-

sion of the 17,500-sqm mall.“The administrative

process is proceeding accord-ing to schedule,” TomaszSzewczyk of Acteeum CentralEurope which is dealing, onbehalf of CBRE GlobalInvestors, with the process of

expanding Ogrody, said in astatement.

“The obtaining of the envi-ronmental decision is anotherstep towards expanding thecenter, which is scheduled tolaunch in September thisyear,” Mr Szewczyk added.The expanded Ogrody mall isexpected to open in the secondquarter of 2014.

Following the investment,whose value is estimated at€55 million, the leasable areaof the Ogrody shopping centerwill more than double, to43,500 sqm. The number ofparking spaces in the mall,which is expected to beBREEAM-certified, will alsobe increased.

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MAY 14-20, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17

Report: Poland’s hotel marketa top performer in EuropeThe Polish hotel market wasone of the best-performing inEurope in 2011 with hotels inWarsaw having seen an 8.3percent y/y increase in revenueper available room in the peri-od, according to recentresearch by Jones LangLaSalle Hotels.

“Warsaw, in particular, hasseen an impressive rebound inhotel performance since thedip in 2009,” Angus Wade,executive vice president CEE,Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels,said in a statement. Higheroccupancy and average roomrates were behind hotel trad-ing growth in 2010-2011, MrWade added.

The Polish hotel market is

still relatively immaturecompared to other majorEuropean markets, withbranded hotels accountingfor a small share of the totalbedrooms stock. However,operators including Mar-riott, Hilton and Orbis areall planning new openings,the study said.

“The supply in pipeline isstill comparatively limited andwe are likely to see an increas-ing number of major interna-tional brands enter one ofEurope’s most dynamic hotelmarkets,” stated ChristophHärle, CEO continentalEurope, Jones Lang LaSalleHotels.

The investment market

saw an impressive comebackin 2011 with the transactionvolume amounting to €125million that year. The sales ofthe Jan III Sobieski and theLe Méridien Bristol in War-saw were some of the largestdeals in the sector in theperiod.

In 2012, investment in Pol-ish hotels is expected toincrease due to factors includ-ing the continued strength ofthe Polish economy. “Weexpect a continued interestfrom foreign investors inPoland, with a focus on qualityassets in key cities such asWarsaw and Kraków,” MrWade said.

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Bed bonanzaNew Warsaw hotels scheduled to open in 2012-2013

Facility Rooms Stars Due date Operator/Owner

Ibis 170 2 May 2012 Orbis Hotel Group (Accor)

Ibis Budget 163 2 May 2012 Orbis Hotel Group (Accor)

Holiday Inn Express 124 3 November 2012 IHG

Doubletree by Hilton 365 5 2013 Polaris Hospitality Enterprises

Conference Centre and Spa

Hampton by Hilton 116 3 2013 Hilton

Renaissance Chopin Airport 225 5 2013 Marriott

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels

Hospitality

Another Hilton for WarsawThe developer behindthe project says itwill be ready bySeptember 2013

Austrian developer S+BGruppe will convert a 17-storey property it owns on ul.Wspólna in centralWarsaw into a Hil-ton hotel.

“We signed thecontract with theHilton Group. Wewill be developingthe property on ul.Wspólna, and thehotel will be readyby September2013,” IzabellaKieler, head ofmarketing at S+BGruppe’s Polishoffice, told LokaleImmobilia.

The hotel will bea three-star Hamp-ton by Hilton hotel.

Ms Kieler saidfull informationabout the transac-tion, as well asdetails about whatis planned for thehotel, will be dis-closed in the com-ing weeks.

Currently thereis one five-star Hil-ton hotel in

Warsaw. Presently underconstruction is a four-starDouble Tree by Hilton in theWawer district, whoseinvestor is Polaris HospitalityEnterprises, as well as aneconomy Hampton by Hiltonnear the Warsaw airport,

whose investor is Port-Hotel.In May 2011, S+B

Gruppe acquired the unfin-ished 55-meter-tall buildingon ul. Wspólna, which hasbeen in a shell-and-core con-dition since 2009.

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A preliminary architectural concept for the property on

ul. Wspólna that S+B Gruppe revealed in 2011

MAY 14-20, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE18 www.wbj.pl

CBRE named

Alfa Centrum

manager

CBRE has been named

property manager of the

Alfa Centrum shopping

center in Olsztyn,

Warmiƒsko-Mazurskie

voivodship. The company,

which currently manages

approximately 850,000

sqm of commercial

property across CEE, will

manage both retail and

office space in the

project. Owned by British

fund Rockspring Property

Investment Managers,

the mall is the largest

shopping center in the

region.

JLL manages

Dom Handlowy

DukatJones Lang LaSalle has

become the manager of

the Dom Handlowy

Dukat retail project in

Olsztyn, Warmiƒsko-

Mazurskie voivodship.

The property is owned

by Arka BZ WBK

Fundusz Rynku

NieruchomoÊci 2 FIZ,

which bought it in 2009

and then modernized it.

Jones Lang LaSalle

currently manages 51

projects in Poland. ●

W. P. Carey provides financing for newPanattoni warehouse in PolandW. P. Carey, a global invest-ment management companyspecializing in corporate saleand leaseback and single-ten-ant construction financing, willprovide a €20 million construc-tion financing package for Nip-pon Sheet Glass Group (NSGGroup).

The financing will deliver100 percent of the funds need-ed for the construction of a35,000-sqm warehouse facilityin Tarnobrzeg, Podkarpackievoivodship, that is being devel-oped by Panattoni Europe andwhich will be leased by a Polishsubsidiary of NSG Group.

The facility is located adja-cent to a new glass processingplant of NSG Group that iscurrently under constructionand is expected to more thandouble the company’s produc-tion in Poland. The value ofthat investment is estimated at€80 million.

“In the current globalfinancing markets, particular-ly in emerging markets, theability of corporations anddevelopers to obtain financ-ing remains challenging,” Jef-frey Lefleur, managing direc-tor of W. P. Carey, said in astatement.

“Our ability to fund 100percent of the capital neededto complete the developmentof new facilities highlights howwe can provide alternativefinancing solutions for devel-opers and their corporateclients,” Mr Lefleur added.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Logistics

Optimistic forecasts for Poland’sindustrial space marketConstructionincreased nearlysixfold in the firstquarter

More than 194,000 sqm ofmodern warehouse space wasdelivered to the Polish marketin the first quarter of 2012, analmost sixfold increase on thesame period of last year,according to a recent report byColliers International.

More than 394,600 sqmwas leased in Q1, a slightdecrease on the first quarter of2011. Approximately 230,000sqm of warehouse space is

now under construction, ofwhich over 70 percent hasalready been leased out, thestudy said.

“The high level of activityin the industrial market giveshope that this year will be assuccessful as the previous onein which we leased over550,000 sqm of space for ourclients,” Maciej Chmielewski,partner at the industrial andlogistics agency of ColliersInternational, said in a state-ment.

The vacancy rate decreasedby nearly 0.4 pp q/q in the firstquarter of 2012, to 11.1 per-

cent. According to ColliersInternational, a furtherdecline in the vacancy rate is inthe offing due to the largeamount of under-constructionspace that has already beencommercialized.

The company expectsdemand for warehouse spaceto remain stable in mostregions. Rental rates, whichremained unchanged in mostmarkets in Q1, could in someplaces show an upward trendin response to the droppingvacancy, Colliers Internationalsaid in its research.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

Making roomSelected major lease transactionsin the Polish industrial market, Q1 2012

Tenant Area (sqm) Building

Pilkington Automotive 35,000 Panattoni BTS Tarnobrzeg

DHL 33,837 Prologis Park Dàbrowa

ID Logistics 14,817 PointPark Mszczonów

Rhenus 13,759 Prologis Park Szczecin

Flexlink 12,200 Tulipan Park Poznaƒ

Media Expert 12,000 Panattoni Park ¸ódê East

DSV 11,167 Prologis Park Poznaƒ II

Raben 11,000 Panattoni Park Stryków

Source: Colliers International

MAY 14-20, 2012 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 19

Financial Services

Investment Banks and AdvisorsRanked by total capital raised in 2010 www.bookoflists.pl

Notes: Notes: NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was con-ducted in November 2011. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of October2011. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not respondingto our survey are not listed.

To the best of WBJ ’s knowledge, the information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, omissions andtypographical errors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Joanna Raszka,ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 Warsaw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2011, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprint-ed or reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Total capitalraised (z∏. mln)

Total value ofsecurities

issued (z∏. mln)

Number ofissue

programs

Programs completedas lead manager

(2010-2011): name of transaction,value (z∏. mln), date

Programs completedas member ofconsortium

(2010-2011): name of transaction,value (z∏. mln), date

M&AsAdvisory

(2010-2011):name of

transaction,total value (z∏. mln) C

apital ra

isin

g /

Rest

ructu

ring /

Pri

vatiza

tion

M&

As

/A

sset

managem

ent

/A

dvi

sory

OtherTotal

employees /Year founded

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /

Title

1

BRE Bank SAul. Senatorska 18, 00-950 Warsaw22 829-0000/22 829-0033info@brebank.plwww.brebank.pl

8,041.07,730.08,058.08,009.0

11,455.011,654.012,315.014,369.0

81746972

Getin Noble Bank, 250, June2011; BRE Bank Hipoteczny,

200, June 2011

PKO BP, 2,250, November2011; Bank GospodarstwaKrajowego, 500, October

2011

WND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WND4,6431986

WNDCommerzbank - 69.8%

Cezary Stypu∏kowskiPresident

2

ING Bank Âlàski SAul. Sokolska 34, 40-086 Katowice32 357-7000/32 357-7507mampytanie@ingbank.plwww.ingbank.pl

6,029.07,539.04,758.05,959.0

8,061.09,074.018,352.031,814.0

67544947

PGNiG, 7,000, November2011; PGE Polska GrupaEnergetyczna, 10,000,

November 2010

Tauron Polska Energia,4,300, October 2011; CreditAgricole Bank Polska, 2,000,

August 2011

WND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWND

WNDMa∏gorzata Ko∏akowska

President

3

Dom Inwestycyjny BRE Banku SAul. Wspólna 47/49, 00-684 Warsaw22 697-4710/22 697-4820brebrokers@dibre.plwww.dibre.pl

5,696.06,163.01,632.3161.7

5,740.017,277.07,583.4161.7

21073

Kruk - IPO, 369, April 2011;ZUE - IPO, 90, September

2010

PZU - IPO, 8,069, May 2010;JSW - IPO, 5,371, June

2011WND

✓-✓

✓-✓

WNDWND1991

BRE Bank - 100%None

Jaros∏aw KowalczukPresident

4

PKO Bank Polskiul. Pu∏awska 15, 02-515 Warsaw22 521-8440/22 521-8470prasa@pkobp.plwww.pkobp.pl

562.45,006.3WNDWND

8,096.09,821.2WNDWND

36139

WNDWND

PZU - IPO, 8,069, May 2010;JSW - IPO, 5,371, June

2011

PGNiG - debt securities,5,000, July 2010; Tauron

Polska Energia - debtsecurities, 4,300, December

2010

WND

✓✓✓

✓✓✓

WND26,4901991

State Treasury - 41.0%;Bank Gospodarstwa

Krajowego - 10.3%; othershareholders - 48.8%

None

Zbigniew Jagie∏∏oPresident

5

Bank Zachodni WBK SAul. Rynek 9/11, 50-950 Wroc∏aw61 856-4017/61 856-4015rzecznik.prasowy@bzwbk.plwww.bzwbk.pl

1,218.81,100.21,192.02,579.0

1,218.81,100.21,192.02,757.0

17151913

KSG - IPO, 108, April 2011;Ovostar - IPO, 93, June

2011

Kruk - IPO, 369.0, April2011; Kulczyk Oil Ventures -

IPO, 314.0, April 2010

Warsaw Cityshares in SPEC

sale, 1,441;Zak∏ady ChemicznePolice 52% share

sale, 451.4

✓✓✓

✓-✓

WND8,8772001

WNDMateusz Morawiecki

President

6

Raiffeisen Bank Polska SAul. Pi´kna 20, 00-549 Warsaw22 585-2001/22 585-2585moje.pytania@raiffeisen.plwww.raiffeisen.pl

549.0813.0WND631.0

1,752.01,620.71,764.03,483.0

32292841

Ronson Europe bonds, 150,WND; TF Skok bonds, 100,

WND

BRE Bank Hipoteczny bonds,1,000, WND; Warsaw City

bonds, 994, WNDNetia, 944

✓✓✓

✓-✓

WND2,7431991

NoneRaiffeisen Bank

International - 100%

Piotr CzarneckiPresident

7

Carnelian Partners Sp. z o.o.ul. Rac∏awicka 146, 02-117 Warsaw22 572-5660/22 572-5669carnelian@carnelian.plwww.carnelian.pl

13.525.2WNDWND

13.525.2WNDWND

22

WNDWND

WND WND

Eko-Park takeover,180.0; Kamsoft and

Global Servicesmerger, 150

✓✓-

✓-✓

WND5

2006

Edyta Skoczyƒska - 68%;Agnieszka Robinson - 22%

None

Edyta SkoczyƒskaPresident

NR

Eurus Capital Sp. z o.o. ul. Filtrowa 28, 02-032 Warsaw22 621-0991/22 621-0991warsaw@euruscapital.comwww.euruscapital.com

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

WND WND WND

--✓

✓✓✓

Start-upinvestments;venture capi-tal; private

equity; MBO;LBO

152004

WNDYves Mousson-Lestang

President

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

Activities

MAY 14-20, 2012MMAARRKKEETTSS20 www.wbj.pl

SO

UR

CE

: W

SE

PLN-EUR

4.18

80

4.19

91

4.19

49

4.20

47

4.23

79

4.24

13

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

54.1

4.2

4.3 PLN-USD

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

5

3.18

91

3.22

79

3.22

38

3.24

12

3.27

35

3.27

65

3.0

3.5 PLN-GBP

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

55.1

5.2

5.3

5.15

57

5.21

04

5.20

10

5.22

97

5.26

97

5.28

38

PLN-CHF

3.48

61

3.49

59

3.49

30

3.50

14

3.52

86

3.53

13

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

53.4

3.6 PLN-RUB

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

5

0.10

78

0.10

77

0.10

73

0.10

72

0.10

84

0.10

87

0.1

PLN-100JPY

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

11.0

53.5

4.2

3.98

00

4.04

67

4.03

57

4.06

86

4.10

87

4.10

10

currency rates

RPP hikes

interest rates

Currency report

In a somewhat surprisingmove, the Polish MonetaryPolicy Council (RPP) hikedPoland’s main interest rateby 25 basis points to 4.75 per-cent last Wednesday. Hawk-ish statements from RPPofficials over the last monthshould have prepared themarket for such a move, buton the other hand we havebeen observing decreasinginflation and worse activityreports from the Polish econ-omy.

The RPP’s move was crit-icized by Deputy Prime Min-ister Waldemar Pawlak as a“dramatic mistake” thatcould have negative conse-quences in the future.

The move could be con-sidered too nervous a state-ment, taking into considera-tion the euro-zone slow-down, with an alternativeoption being to wait and see

whether inflation keepsdeclining.

The surprising increase inthe cost of money in Polanddid not cause an apprecia-tion in the z∏oty, since exter-nal factors were far moreinfluential.

Markets tumbled at thestart of the week after theresults of the French presi-dential elections (though thiswas discounted by the mar-ket, as Hollande’s victorywas no surprise) and theGreek parliamentary elec-tions.

Currency markets reactedstrongly with the EUR/USDtesting its four-month low at$1.29. Emerging-market cur-rencies tumbled and the z∏otydepreciated to its lowest lev-els since January against theeuro (z∏.4.24), the US dollar(z∏.3.27) and the Swiss franc(z∏.3.53). ●

Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA

SO

UR

CE

: N

BP

Major indices

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

QUANTUM 9.00 23.12 11.22 6.51POLJADLO 0.61 17.31 1.36 0.49IGROUP 0.50 16.28 0.86 0.16MOSTALEXP 0.74 15.63 1.86 0.52NORTCOAST 0.46 12.20 1.39 0.35

WIG 39,404.16 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -1.77% 52-week high: 50,025.61

Change year to May 10: 2.83% 52-week low: 36,549.47

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

POLIMEXMS 1.14 11.76 3.55 0.77TPSA 17.11 4.20 19.19 14.30BZWBK 235.00 0.43 240.00 190.10BRE 287.20 0.24 349.00 203.30ASSECOPOL 47.11 0.23 55.45 34.50

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

IFCAPITAL 4.29 -29.79 14.97 0.45JAGO 0.11 -26.27 0.75 0.09ANTI 0.82 -25.45 2.49 0.56WISTIL 19.04 -20.63 33.02 5.33RESBUD 19.93 -19.90 70.00 2.88

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

LOTOS 26.38 -8.21 47.80 21.30PBG 24.50 -5.95 156.00 21.31KGHM 130.00 -5.80 199.60 102.40CEZ 119.00 -5.56 155.00 116.10TVN 8.90 -3.89 17.50 8.62

WIG20 2,187.54 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -1.73% 52-week high: 2,903.61

Change year to May 10: -0.30% 52-week low: 2,089.84

mWIG40 2,390.90 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -1.37% 52-week high: 2,959.86

Change year to May 10: 9.16% 52-week low: 2,076.52

sWIG80 9,681.38 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -2.45% 52-week high: 12,779.22

Change year to May 10: 12.52% 52-week low: 8,218.71

NewConnect 40.16 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -1.83% 52-week high: 57.39

Change year to May 10: -3.21% 52-week low: 40.12

WIG-Banki 5,631.26 (May 10 closure)

Change for the week: -2.01% 52-week high: 7,129.35

Change year to May 10: 1.59% 52-week low: 4,944.19

DJIA12,855.04 (May 10 close)

-3.12% (for the week)

CHANGE: 3.69%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 13,359.60

52-week low: 10,362.30

NASDAQ2,933.64 (May 10 close)

-4.12% (for the week)

CHANGE: 10.76%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 3,134.17

52-week low: 2,298.89

S&P5001,357.99 (May 10 close)

-3.16% (for the week)

CHANGE: 6.34%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 1,422.38

52-week low: 1,074.77

FTSE1005,544.00 (May 10 close)

-3.72% (for the week)

CHANGE: -2.74%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 6,084.10

52-week low: 4,791.00

DAX6,518.00 (May 10 close)

-2.87% (for the week)

CHANGE: 7.28%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 7,523.53

52-week low: 4,965.80

NIKKEI2259,009.65 (May 10 close)

-3.95% (for the week)

CHANGE: 5.25%

(year to May 10)

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 8,135.79

world stock indices

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

39,000

39,600

40,200

40,800

41,400

42,000

2,100

2,140

2,180

2,220

2,260

2,300

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

2,300

2,340

2,380

2,420

2,460

2,500

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

9,600

9,720

9,840

9,960

10,080

10,200

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

40.0

40.5

41.0

41.5

42.0

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5 5,400

5,520

5,640

5,760

5,880

6,000

13.0

4

16.0

4

17.0

4

18.0

4

19.0

4

20.0

4

23.0

4

24.0

4

25.0

4

26.0

4

27.0

4

30.0

4

02.0

5

04.0

5

07.0

5

08.0

5

09.0

5

10.0

5

Other indices

Markets react

to elections

Stocks report

Poland’s main WIG indexexperienced marked volatili-ty last week, catching upafter light volumes inbetween May Day andPoland’s Constitution Daythe week before. Setting thetone for markets were elec-tions in both France andGreece, which causedinvestor concern in most ofEurope.

The WIG opened lowerlast Monday, though man-aged to regain losses afterbetter-than-expected Ger-man macroeconomic dataimproved sentiment. Boththe WIG and blue-chipWIG20 managed to closeslightly higher.

Tuesday saw sharpdeclines throughout Europe,as growing fears of a Greekpullout from the euro zonespooked investors. Polishstocks were not even helped

by – once again – strongmacroeconomic data fromGermany, with oil stocks hitparticularly hard.

On Wednesday, stocksmore value as the fragility ofSpanish banks and a politicalimpasse in Greece exacer-bated fears. Financial stocks,however, managed to closehigher after PKO BPannounced it would pay outhigher-than-expected divi-dends to its shareholders.

On Thursday, after therelease of strong US jobsdata, global stocks got somemuch-needed relief. Blue-chips JSW and Tauron sawstrong gains after strongfinancial results were postedby both companies. JSW ledthe pack with a 3.6 percentrise.

Finally, on Friday, theWIG fell by 0.40 percent. ●

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst

MAY 14-20, 2012 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 21

Soccer

ÂÂllààsskk WWrroocc∏∏aawwccrroowwnneedd PPoolliisshhcchhaammppiioonnss

The team fromWroc∏aw won its firstleague title since 1977

Âlàsk Wroc∏aw won the PolishEktraklasa soccer league earli-er in May to claim its first titlesince 1977, following one ofthe closest title chases inrecent years.

Âlàsk beat last season’schampions Wis∏a Kraków 1-0to ensure the title heads tosouthwestern Poland, afterSlovenian defender RokElsner scored the only goalof the game and his first ofthe season to get the three

points needed to bring homethe silverware. Elsner angledin a precise header from justinside the area at the 51-minute mark to send theÂlàsk supporters, who hadtraveled in large numbers toWis∏a’s Municipal Stadium,absolutely delirious.

The win ensured they fin-ished just one point ahead ofRuch Chorzów, who beatLechia Gdaƒsk 2-1 away intheir last game of the season.

It was, however, LegiaWarszawa fans who had beenexpecting to celebrate a titlewin this season. Legia had led

the table for long periods andit was in their hands whetherthey would claim their firsttitle since 2006 right up untilthe penultimate game of theseason when they lost 1-0 toLechia Gdaƒsk.

On the same day Âlàsk beatJagiellonia Bia∏ystok 3-1 tomove to the top of the tableand ensure the Wroc∏aw sideknew a win on the final daywould secure the title. Legiafinished third on 53 points,three points behind Âlàsk on56, with Ruch Chorzów secondon 55.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F F

AC

EB

OO

K.C

OM

/SL

AS

KW

RO

CL

AW

PL

Âlàsk players celebrate their Ekstraklasa title win

Euro 2012 roundup

Infrastructure investmentsnot ready, Puyol could misstournamentOnly 40 percent ofplanned road buildingwork will be completedin time for thetournament

According to estimates byPL.2012, the body charged withpreparing Poland for Euro2012, projects worth some z∏.13billion won’t be ready in time forthe soccer tournament, whichstarts in June. That’s out of atotal of z∏.94.1 billion in plannedinvestments for Euro 2012.

Not one of the roads in thegovernment’s 2008 infrastruc-ture plan will be built in fullbefore the start of the tourna-ment.

“Only 40 percent of totalplanned road building will be

completed,” Janusz Piecho-ciƒski, vice president of thelower house of parliament’sinfrastructure committee wasreported as saying by Rzecz-pospolita. He added that noneof the host cities will be connect-ed directly with one another bynew road or rail connections.

In other news, the Spanishnational team suffered a majorblow ahead of Euro 2012 aftertheir center-back Carles Puyolwas forced to undergo kneesurgery which could rule himout of playing in Poland andUkraine this June.

Puyol, who has 99 caps forSpain, will miss his club sideBarcelona’s final game of theleague season against RealBetis, as well as their Copa delRay final match against Ath-

letic Bilbao on May 25.GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee,, DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

Carles Puyol

Soccer

PPoolliisshh ppllaayyeerr sseett ffoorrRReeaall MMaaddrriidd mmoovvee??¸ukasz Piszczek couldjoin the Spanish giantsin a €10 million deal

Borussia Dortmund’s Polishmidfielder ¸ukasz Piszczekcould be set to join Spanishchampions Real Madrid in amulti-million transfer deal,according to reports in theSpanish press.

The 26-year-old, who startedhis career with Polish clubGwarek Zabrze, plays for this

season’s German championsBorussia Dortmund and waslast week selected alongsideteammate and fellow Polishinternational Robert Lewan-dowski in the Bundesliga teamof the season.

The former Hertha Berlinplayer is known for his versatili-ty, being equally good at goingforward as he is at defending.And according to Spanish dailyAS negotiations over a potentialdeal have been ongoing for sev-

eral weeks.Former Polish international

goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek playedfor Real Madrid between 2007-2011 but spent most of his timeon the bench as a backup goal-keeper. But Piszczek, who hasplayed a starring role in Borus-sia’s second consecutive Bun-desliga title win, would have amuch greater chance of playingregularly for coach Jose Mouri-hno’s side if the transfer does goahead. DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F W

IKIM

ED

IA C

OM

MO

NS

¸ukasz Piszczek (center) with the Bundesliga trophy

Polish playersoff to TurkeyPoland’s international soccermanager Franciszek Smuda hastaken his players and their fam-ilies on an integration trip toTurkey as he prepares his squadahead of Euro 2012. “InTurkey, we will work primarilyon our physical form. We alsowant to work out how best todevelop tactics,” said MrSmuda. This vacation is aimedat reinvigorating the playersafter a long season, with a sec-ond camp in Austria later inMay set to provide a moreintensive workout. ●

MAY 14-20, 2012LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE22 www.wbj.pl

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WBJ’s restaurant review feature

Opas∏y Tom Piwul. Foksal 17Warsaw

The best thing about reviewingrestaurants is discoveringsomething a little bit out of theordinary. And that’s preciselywhat happened when WBJ’seditorial team paid a visit toOpas∏y Tom Piw for lunchrecently.

Located on ul. Foksal, rightin the heart of the city, just offthe capital’s famous ul. NowyÂwiat, Opas∏y Tom Piw certain-ly has lots of competition whenit comes to attracting diners.But judging from our experi-ence, the Kr´glicki family, whoown the restaurant, needn’tworry about attracting cus-tomers.

The restaurant itself doublesas a bookshop for the NationalInstitute of Publishing, and in itsprevious incarnation as a cafe itwas a haunt of Polish literarygreats such as Antoni S∏onimskiand Stanis∏aw Jerzy Lec.

But don’t be fooled by thebookish atmosphere – this isalso a great place to try exquis-itely tasting dishes prepared byskilled chefs. With a constantlychanging menu and chefs whosource the freshest and mostseasonal ingredients to providea new take on traditional Polishand European cooking, Opas∏yTom Piw really is a cut abovethe majority of its local com-petitors.

With cold starters such asbaked eggplant with peanutbutter served with a salad ofchickpeas, pomegranate seedsand coriander (a beautiful,unique dish) the food really

does offer a new experience forthe palates of even the mostseasoned diners.

Mains include the perfectlyprepared beef fillet in junipersauce with mashed barley, mas-carpone and nuts, as well as thesea bass with Provencal thymetarte. For desert, the halvamousse with raspberries isdivine.

All of which means that forboth business and pleasureOpas∏y Tom Piw offers a trulytop-notch dining experience.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Reservations: (0 22) 621 18 81opasly@kregliccy.pl

DDoonn’’tt jjuuddggee aarreessttaauurraanntt bbyy iittss bbooookkss

Faces and HandsUntil May 20Jewish Historical Instituteul.T∏omackie 3/5 Warsaw

A fascinating exhibition by latePolish photographer JuliaPirotte is currently on displayat Warsaw’s Jewish HistoricalInstitute and is well worth see-ing for anyone interested inrecent European history.

Ms Pirotte was a photogra-pher unafraid of capturing oncamera some of the darkest

episodes in modern Europeanhistory, including a pogromagainst Jews in Kielce in 1946as well as the transportation ofJews to Auschwitz duringWorld War II.

Many of the photos in theexhibition also cover the peri-od in the 1940s and 1950swhen the artist lived in Mar-seille, France. As well as docu-menting the lives of ordinarypeople, Ms Pirotte alsosnapped celebrities, includingfamed French singer Edith

Piaf.Teresa Âmiechowska, the

exhibition’s curator, said,“Julia Pirotte’s photography isthe fruit of dedication anddevotion, more a mission thanan extraordinary skill. …Pirotte is in the company ofheroic photographers, forwhom ‘the face of another’means a lot more than the facewe merely see.”

DDaavviidd IInngghhaammFor more information,

log on to culture.pl

Exhibition

LLiivviinngg hhiissttoorryyPink MartiniMay 23Sala Kongresowa,Plac Defilad 1Warsaw

Orchestra band Pink Martiniproduces a unique combina-tion of classical, jazz, Latinand French music-hallmelodies, sure to offer those inattendance an entertainingevening.

Formed in Portland, Ore-gon in 1994, the group, whichis led by pianist Thomas Laud-erdale and singer ChinaForbes, has released seven stu-dio albums so far, the mostsuccessful of which was 2007’s

“Hey Eugene!” which reachednumber 30 on the US Bill-board album chart.

In total the group has soldmore than 2.5 million albumsworldwide and has collabo-rated on songs with the likes

of Rufus and Martha Wain-wright, as well as filmmakerGus Van Sant. Tickets for theconcert are priced fromz∏.110. DDII

For more informationlog on to Kongresowa.pl

Concert

MMuussiiccaall mmeellttiinngg ppoott

NosferatuMay 17,18 and 19, 7 pmTeatr NarodowyPl. TeatralnyWarsaw

Inspired by Bram Stoker’s hor-ror story “Dracula,” this mod-ern interpretation of the vam-pire myth is a theatrical explo-ration of humanity’s fascinationwith fear.

Director and writer Grze-gorz Jarzyna’s multimediaextravaganza aims to highlight

how fears and obsessions mate-rialize in social life over a peri-od of time.

The leading role in thisdrama is played by Germanactor Wolfgang Michael, whotold Culture.pl that workingwith director Gzegorz Jarzynawas “like a flight to the Moon.He opens new spaces, almostnew cosmic spheres in front ofthe actors; ones they nevertouched or experienced everbefore. So when I got the

proposition to participate in“Nosferatu” I boarded thatspaceship with no doubts what-soever.”

Premiering at Warsaw’s TRWarszawa theater back in Octo-ber 2011, the play has since gar-nered rave reviews and is evenset to be performed at Lon-don’s famed Barbican Theatrelater this year.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaammFor more information,log on to narodowy.pl

Theater

MMooddeerrnn--ddaayy DDrraaccuullaa

Ailey IIMay 25Palace of Culture andSciencePl. Defilad 1Warsaw

Ailey II, one of the top mod-ern ballet dance groups in theUS, will perform in Poland forthe first time on May 25, at thePalace of Culture and Sciencein Warsaw.

The company, known forskillfully mixing classical balletwith modern music and con-temporary choreography,stops in the Polish capital onits international tour, whichwill also take it around severalGerman cities, as well as thecapitals of Estonia, Latvia andLithuania this summer.

The performance is set tobe a one-of-a-kind event and amust-see for those who lovedance, but may be tired ofclassical routines.

Ailey II is the AileySchool’s junior company inresidence, and is aimed toserve as a step towards theprofessional dance world foryoung dance talents andemerging choreographers.

Both the Ailey School andthe Ailey II company spring

from the Alvin Ailey Ameri-can Dance Theater, foundedin the 1960s by dancer andchoreographer Alvin Ailey.

The project has been guidedsince its inception by a strongcommitment to social justiceand innovation, and in 2008, aUS Congressional resolutiondesignated the company as “avital American cultural ambas-sador to the world” that cele-brates the uniqueness of theAfrican-American cultural ex-perience and the preservationand enrichment of the Ameri-can modern dance heritage.

Today the Ailey Schooltrains over 3,500 studentsannually, and the Ailey com-pany has performed for

around 23 million people in 71countries. On May 25 Poleswill for the first time have thechance to see this acclaimeddance project in action.

During their Warsaw per-formance, the group will danceto Shards, choreographed byDonald Byrd. The group willalso perform Splendid Isola-tion II, The Hunt, and Revela-tions.

The performance is spon-sored by the Allegro Group.

IIDD,, AATT

For more information logon to alvinailey.org

Tickets, priced from z∏.50 toz∏.350, are available at

pkin.ebilet.pl

Ballet

Beyond classic

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Pink Martini

singer China Forbes

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Here’s a short list of people that Tech-eye wants to lock in a room filled withlusty sea lions at the height of sea lionmating season: the local shop cashierswho moan whenever we don’t haveexact change, everyone who has everserved as a reality TV show judge,Donald Trump, and Apple’s product-naming team. That last group wouldsuffer the further ignominy of beingslathered with sea lion pheromonesand dead fish for their part in givingthe new iPad the execrably awkwardmoniker “new iPad.”

In contrast, Samsung and all of itsemployees are fully in Techeye’s goodgraces right now. No blubbery, fishytorment for those folks. Indeed, we’dlike to treat the company’s product-

naming team to the fast food dinnerof their choice.

That’s because Samsung didn’t faffabout with naming conventions for itsnew top-shelf smart phone. Ratherthan calling it “the new Galaxy” or“the Galaxy Next” or “the smartphone formerly known as Galaxy,”the Korean firm just slapped anotherroman numeral on the end.

The Galaxy S III. Doesn’t thathave a pleasant ring to it? Not aninventive name, but then the mobilephone industry is already a graveyardof perkily named but technologicallybland handsets.

The Galaxy S III is far from blandin terms of hardware, though it’s notthe leap forward that many had

hoped for, either. With its 4.8-inchdisplay, the S III has taken a notice-able step towards its girthy cousin, theSamsung Note, a 5.3-inch tablet-wannabe. The iPhone 4S still packsmore pixels per inch, but, given thisbigger-is-better trend, Apple’s iconicproduct could start to feel insubstan-tial in comparison. Indeed, rumorsindicate the iPhone 5 may have a 4-point-something-inch display.

Shape-wise, the S III harkens backto the original Galaxy S, rather thantaking the squarish frame of its imme-diate predecessor. It’s slimmer andlighter than most of its rivals, with a1.4 GHz quad-core Samsung Exynosprocessor that’s possibly faster thanthe competition.

In summary,the latest Galaxyphone boastsc o m p e t i t i v ehigh-end techni-cal specs, butnothing spectac-ular. Instead,Samsung seemsto be relying onsoftware andunder-the-hoodchanges to reallysell its newphone. There’sa Siri-clonevoice recogni-tion systemcalled “S-Voice”as well as aneye-tracking feature called “SmartStay” which employs the front camerato detect whether you’re using thephone and, if so, prevents the displayfrom shutting down. Not fancy, but anice touch.

There are also tweaks to theAndroid OS, a number of key appli-cations and some stuff we can’t bebothered to mention. But in the end,the success of the Galaxy S III willcome down to two things: user experi-ence and the iPhone 5. If the phone

builds on the already strong userexperience of its predecessors withoutcompromising on battery life, it won’tdisappoint. Also, the (expected)reveal of the iPhone 5 later this year,with (purportedly) next-gen features,will bring stiff competition.

The Galaxy S III is due on May 29,giving Samsung a few months beforethe next iPhone hits shelves. Let’s justhope it’s not called the “new iPhone,”or else certain Apple employees maydisappear in fishy circumstances. ●

MAY 14-20, 2012 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 23

A new Galaxy that’s not a “new Galaxy”Tech Eye

Ever been slathered with sea lion pheromones? Let us know: techeye.wbj@gmail.com

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

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

Galeria 022, DAP, Lufcik ul. Mazowiecka 11awww.owzpap.pl

Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65www.galeria65.com

Galeria Appendix 2ul. Bia∏ostocka 9www.appendix2.com

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu

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

Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2Awww.milano.arts.pl

Galeria Schody ul. Nowy Âwiat 39www.galeriaschody.pl

Galeria XX1 Al. Jana Paw∏a II 36www.galeriaxx1.pl

Galeria Zoya ul. Kopernika 32 m.8www.zoya.art.pl

Green Gallery ul. Krzywe Ko∏o 2/4www.greengallery.pl

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 52 (Arsena∏) www.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

Galaxy SIII iPhone 4S HTC One X Galaxy SII

Display size 4.8-in 3.5-in 4.7-in 4.5-in

Display type Super AMOLED HD Retina display hi-res Super LCD2 Super AMOLED Plus

Processor 1.4 GHz quad-core 1 GHz dual-core 1.5 GHz quad-core 1.5 GHz dual-core

Memory 1GB RAM 512 MB RAM 1 GB RAM 1GB RAM

Storage 16/32/64GB* 16/32/64GB 32 GB 16/32GB*

Front camera 1.9 MP VGA 1.3MP 2 MP

Back camera 8 MP 8 MP 8 MP 8 MP

Operating system Android 4.0 iOS 5 Android 4.0 Android 4.0

Weight 133g 140g 153g 116g

*expandable with SD card Source: manufacturers

Today’s smartest phones