VOLUME 18, NUMBER 50 • DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127 Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Doctor’s orders

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Fiat plans to lay off 1,500 Polishworkers, prompting the governmentto promise aid for the auto industry

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Poland’s inflation rate fellsharply in November, as theeconomic slowdown takes its toll

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

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

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

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

Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . .11

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

Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this issue

• BRE Bank offices

• Warsaw Spire tenant

• Immofinanz’s Nimbus

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LLOOKKAALLEEIIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAARREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

2.8%

Big returns could be on offer in India’smedical market, but Polish firms arereluctant to make a house call 12-13

FFllyyiinngg lloowwLOT requests state aid and fires its CEO as the

losses continue to mount for the troubled

state-owned airline 5

EEuurroo pprrooggrreessssEurope moves closer to a banking union, while

Poland promises a decision on whether to

adopt the euro 3

Plus• Alior debut

• Martial law politics

• Smolensk wreckage

• Serbian ambassador

• Neste sells gas stations

• North Korea rocket launch

0

2,000

4,000

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8,000

10,000

France

**Ital

ySpa

inGerm

any

Greece

Lithuan

ia

Romani

aPol

andSlo

vakia

Estoni

a*

*Lowest in EU27**Highest in EU27

1 7 59 168 191922

2,977

7,268 7,394

9,661

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Ryanair’s new

Kraków baseIrish low-cost airline

Ryanair announced last

week that it would be

opening a new base in

Kraków, southern Poland,

in April 2013. It will be

Ryanair’s 53rd base in total

and its second in Poland,

after Wroc∏aw. The base in

Kraków will house aircraft

flying a total of 31 routes

including four new routes

to Dortmund, Gothenburg,

Kos, and Manchester. The

number of total weekly

flights is expected to

reach 224. The entire

investment at Kraków

Airport totals $140

million.

Innovation

spending

misguided:

report

If Poland ever wants to

get ahead of EU

economies instead of only

playing catch-up, it needs

to change its system of

public support for

businesses, reported

Rzeczpospolita. The

findings stem from a new

report on innovation in

Poland, in which the

World Bank points out

that the EU funds

distribution system does

not see funding going

where it is most needed.

Wizz Air

changes route

Low-cost air carrier Wizz

Air will stop flying from

Warsaw’s Modlin Airport

to Budapest starting from

December 21. All flights

on this route will be

serviced from and to

Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin

Airport. Wizz Air made the

decision because Modlin

lacks an Instrument

Landing System (ILS),

which is essential for

allowing aircraft to land in

foggy conditions. The

absence of this system

caused multiple delays

and rerouting of Wizz Air

flights, which affected

30,000 passengers.

Poland: global

spam leader

Every 40th spam e-mail

message in the world

comes from Poland,

according to a ranking by

Sophos, which places the

country in 10th place

globally, Dziennik Gazeta

Prawna reported. Even

on holidays and

weekends, thousands of

unwanted and often

dangerous messages are

sent from Poland. ●

ACE 1 ................................17

Acteeum Central Europe..17

Alior Bank ..........................5

Allstarcade........................23

B&B ..................................15

Bank Pocztowy ..................6

Biedecki ............................14

Bioton................................13

BRE Bank..........................15

BRE Leasing ....................15

CA Immo ..........................15

Caelum Development ......15

Can-Pack ..........................12

Carlo Tessara......................5

CBRE ..........................15, 16

CBRE Global Investors ....16

CEZAMAT ..........................17

Clifford Chance ................16

DTZ....................................15

Fiat ......................................9

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

Futureal Group ................15

Gant Development............15

Gazprom..............................9

Gerber ..............................23

Ghelamco Poland ............16

GM ......................................5

Immofinanz Group............15

IMS Poland........................13

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

Libra Project ....................17

Linklaters..........................16

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

Lotos ..................................6

Mazowiecka Spó∏ka

Gazownictwa ....................16

Medicalgorithmics............13

Moody’s Investors Service..7

Neinver Poland ................15

Neste Oil ............................6

Orange Polska ....................6

Orbotix ..............................23

Peakside Polonia

Management ....................16

Peter Nielsen & Partners ....14

PKN Orlen ..........................6

PKO BP ..............................6

PMR Research....................6

Polkomtel............................6

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa ..6

Porr Polska ......................15

Post Office ..........................6

PTK Centertel ....................6

PZ Cormay ........................13

RKW ..................................15

Ryanair................................2

Savills................................16

Shell ....................................6

TCI Laboratories ..............12

TZMO ................................12

Vienna Stock Exchange....15

VTS ....................................12

WSE ........................5, 13, 15

Wizz Air ..............................2

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

The Polish and Russian for-eign ministers, Rados∏awSikorski and Sergey Lavrov,are meeting in Moscow onMonday, the spokespersonfor Russia’s Ministry of For-eign Affairs, Alexander Luka-shevich, said last Friday. Thetalks will focus on “currentissues in bilateral relations aswell as international and localmatters.”

Mr Lavrov and Mr Sikors-ki will also co-chair the meet-ing of the Committee for thePolish-Russian CooperationStrategy, Mr Lukashevichsaid. The committee, madeup of the countries’ variousministers, was establishedafter Russian PresidentVladimir Putin’s official visitto Poland in January 2002 forthe purpose of determiningthe strategic aspects of bilat-

eral cooperation. The matters usually raised

at the committee’s meetingsconcern international politicssuch as the difficult relationsbetween the EU and Russiaor Polish-Russian coopera-tion in critical areas, such asenergy.

Mr Lukashevich called thecommittee “a productiveforum.” “That is why we sug-gested drafting a documentwith our Polish partnersbased on the outcomes of thecurrent meeting, which wouldoutline the future strategy forbuilding Russian-Polish medi-um-term relations,” he added.

Mr Sikorski, when asked ifhe was planning on discussingthe matter of the wreckage ofthe Polish plane that crashedin Russia in 2010, replied,“We have been consistently

raising the issue for the pasttwo and a half years at all pos-sible levels. We demand thatformer Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev’s promiseto the victims’ families be ful-filled and the wreckage, ourproperty, be brought back toPoland.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministryhas expressed surprise at MrSikorski’s persistence in dis-cussing the matter.

“Our Polish partners arefully aware of Russia’s stanceas it has been communicatedon many occasions at variouslevels,” Mr Lukashevich said,going on to explain that “thewreckage, being material evi-dence in the investigation ofthe crash, may be releasedonly after the investigationhas been completed.”

BBeeaattaa SSoocchhaa

96%is the share of Polish enterprises which provide theirstaff with portable devices that allow them to access

the internet, the second-highest in the EU.

16this Poland’s rank in terms of economic strength amongthe EU27 countries, based on a report by the European

Commission.

2ndthe Polish z∏oty is now second in a ranking of

currencies that have strengthened the most againstthe dollar this year, gaining almost 10 percent against

the US currency since the beginning of January.

z∏.1.5 billionis the bailout requested by Polish airline LOT,

according to unnamed sources quoted by TVN24.

“PO reacts with glee anytime we hear Kaczyƒskispeaking like he did yesterday.”

Grzegorz Schetyna, deputy leader of the ruling Civic Platform (PO) party, talk-ing about how radical statements made by opposition leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒskihave helped his party remain popular with Poles.

Quote of the Week

Regulating global financeLog on to WBJ.pl to read about how the IMF hasrecently embraced a new “institutional view” thatseemingly endorses re-regulating global finance. Buthas its reconsideration of financial globalization gonefar enough?

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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17 MILTON H. GREENE PHOTO AUCTIONEvent: Second and last auction of photos featuring

Marilyn Monroe and other celebrities, suchas Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn and Mar-lene Dietrich.

Location: DESA Unicum auction house, ul. Marsza-∏kowska 34-50, Warsaw

Web: desa.pl

19 YOUNG ART AUCTIONEvent: Ninety-seven works by young artists will be

up for auction. Starting prices are as alwaysz∏.500.

Location: DESA Unicum auction house, ul. Marsza-∏kowska 34-50, Warsaw

Web: desa.pl

December

Calendar

Sikorski-Lavrov talksIN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focusRivers of goldWorkers' remittances, outflows from EU27 member states, inmillions of euro, 2011

Source: Eurostat

Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski (left) and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Euro zone crisis

TTuusskk:: ddeecciissiioonn oonn eeuurroo aaddooppttiioonn ccoommiinngg ssoooonn

Prime Minister Donald Tuskhas announced that his govern-ment’s final decision onwhether to take Poland intothe euro zone will be made inthe “nearest months.” EarlierMr Tusk and his ministers hadtalked merely about Poland“fulfilling all the necessaryrequirements” needed to jointhe currency union without giv-ing a straightforward answeron when exactly Polandplanned to adopt the euro.

“Poland joining the eurozone is a matter of years butthe decision [about whether tojoin] must be made in thenearest months,” said Mr Tuskwhile in Brussels.

“We have to decidewhether we want to be part ofthe heart of Europe, which willbe the union around a finan-cial-economic axis, where thecommon currency is the foun-

dation, or whether we willrather be a peripheral countrywith its own currency,” saidthe prime minister, implyingwhat he felt to be the bestchoice.

But if Mr Tusk indeeddecides to go through with set-ting a concrete date for adopt-ing the single currency, he willhave a hard sell to make to hisfellow citizens.

A November poll showed58 percent of Poles thinkadopting the euro would bebad for Poland.

Banking union closerThe prime minister made thestatements while attending anEU summit at which a dealwas agreed to create a bank-ing supervisor that will over-see euro zone banks that haveover €30 billion in assets,operations in at least two

countries or make up morethan 20 percent of their coun-try’s GDP.

In justified circumstances,the supervisor, which willoperate under the auspices ofthe European Central Bank(ECB), will also be able tooversee smaller banks. Otherbanks, including from non-euro zone countries, canchoose to come under supervi-sion voluntarily. The process issupposed to take off fully byMarch 1, 2014.

EU leaders hope this willbe a major step towards a“banking union” and moreimportantly towards solvingthe ongoing debt crisis in theeuro zone.

Importantly for Poland, theECB will implement a processthat gives non-euro zonemembers a path to appealdecisions they don’t agreewith, even if they don’t chooseto come under supervisionthemselves.

German Chancellor AngelaMerkel voiced her satisfaction

at the deal saying “the bankingsupervisor will be able todetect and correct problems innational banking sectorsbefore they become a dangerfor the entire euro zone.”

No separate euro zone budgetAnd, importantly for Poland,Ms Merkel ruled out the possi-bility of a separate budget forthe euro zone, somethingwhich EU Council PresidentHerman Van Rompuy has beenimplicitly floating recently.

There will, however, beemergency funds for eurozone countries that find them-selves in trouble. The moneycould come from a tax onfinancial transactions or fromstructural funds. It would be“10, 15 or 20 billion euro,” saidMs Merkel, although thedetails are still being workedout.

Warsaw has been vocalagainst the idea of a separatebudget for the euro zone, sinceit fears it would lower the

funds for the general EUbudget. Poland is the biggestbeneficiary of cohesion fundsfrom that budget.

In 2013, the EuropeanCentral Bank is due to startsupervising the most impor-

tant and vulnerable banks inthe euro zone. It will have thepower to force banks to raisetheir capital buffers and evenclose down lenders it deemsunsafe.

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Smolensk tragedy

Sikorski calls for EU help over Smolensk wreckage returnThe foreign ministerwas accused of“confessing tohelplessness,” butstood his ground

Polish Foreign MinisterRados∏aw Sikorski wants EUdiplomats to help persuadeMoscow to hand over thewreckage of the Polish presi-dential plane that crashednear Smolensk, Russia in April2010.

Mr Sikorski has askedCatherine Ashton, the EU’shead of diplomacy, to formallyraise the issue of the return ofthe wreckage of the plane. Thecrash killed then-PresidentLech Kaczyƒski and 95 others.

The Polish foreign ministerwants Ms Ashton to bring upthe issue during a December21 EU-Russia summit, whichRussian President VladimirPutin is scheduled to attend.

“Since bilateral communi-cation channels with Russiaare not effective, we are forcedto move the issue to the inter-national level,” Mr Sikorskisaid last week while announc-

ing his request to CatherineAhton.

Rados∏aw Sikorski said hehad raised the question of thereturn of the plane while talk-ing to Russian Foreign Minis-ter Sergey Lavrov, but heardthat the wreckage wouldremain in Russia till the end ofthe investigation into thecrash, the deadline for whichhasn’t been set.

‘Is this a joke?’Mr Sikorski’s move received alot of criticism from Polishpoliticians.

“Is this a joke or is this seri-ous?” asked Law and Justice(PiS) parliamentary caucusleader Mariusz B∏aszczak. “Ithas been two and a half yearssince the catastrophe. It is dif-ficult to imagine that suchmoves could be effective[now],” he added.

It is important to note how-ever, that PiS has been virulentin its criticism of Mr Sikorskifor not securing the return ofthe presidential plane wreck-age. Lech Kaczyƒski was theco-founder of PiS.

But even some politicians

from Mr Sikorski’s party, CivicPlatform (PO), were critical ofhis latest idea.

“This is confessing to help-lessness. I doubt Mr Putin willchange his course of action,”said Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, mayor of Warsaw anddeputy leader of PO.

Meanwhile, Józef Oleksy, aformer prime minister andnow deputy leader of theDemocratic Left Alliance, saidMr Sikorski was “announcingthe capitulation of Polishdiplomacy, his diplomacy,”and showing that Poland was“helpless.”

Our propertyBut Mr Sikorski stood hisground and fired back at hiscritics.

“This is not understandingthe basic rules of diplomacy. Ifan issue is unresolved, youraise it at a higher level,” saidMr Sikorski on TVN24 inresponse to his critics. He saidhe wanted Ms Ashton to say atthe summit that an EU mem-ber had a “problem” with Rus-sia.

“The wreckage and the

black boxes are our propertyand we have been demandingtheir return for many monthsnow. We have the right to dothat,” said the foreign minis-ter. He added that he hadbrought up the issue with hisRussian counterpart two

weeks ago but had receivedthe “same” answer – namelythat the wreckage must remainin Russia until the end of theinvestigation.

“If there was enough good-will, pressure and a politicaldecision, the wreckage could

return to Poland,” he added.Asked if he was disappoint-

ed by Ms Ashton’s office’slaconic statement that she had“received the request” theminister said what countedwas the “final effect.”

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Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏aw Sikorski

Prime Minister Tusk seems to favor Poland adopting

the single currency

Poland’s prime minister is signaling that hisgovernment will soon decide whether to join theeuro zone, which has just moved closer towardscreating a banking union

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Tension is buildingover North Korea’sgrowing nuclearcapabilities

Poland’s Ministry of ForeignAffairs last week expressed its“strong protest” against thelaunching of a ballistic missileby the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea, an actionwhich raises the stakes in thestandoff over the North Kore-an nuclear threat.

North Korea successfullylaunched the long-range rock-et, carrying a weather satelliteinto space, leading to wide-spread condemnation fromthe international community.The US and its allies say thelaunch is a test of banned bal-listic missile technology capa-ble of carrying a nuclear-tipped warhead as far as Cali-fornia.

In a follow-up to a NorthAtlantic Council statementearlier in December, Polandagain called on North Koreato comply with Security Coun-cil resolutions as well as toreturn to the six-party talksand to resume cooperationwith the International AtomicEnergy Agency.

As a member of the Neu-

tral Nations Supervisory Com-mission, which has been oper-ating on the Korean Peninsulafor 60 years, Poland has calledupon Pyongyang to cease allactivities that jeopardize sta-bility, increase tensions in theregion and constitute a causefor concern for the interna-tional community.

The White House calledthe launch a “highly provoca-tive act that threatens regionalsecurity,” and the UN con-demned the launch saying itwould urgently consider “anappropriate response.” EvenPyongyang’s most importantally, China, expressed “deepconcern” prior to the launch.

Despite UN resolutionsbanning North Korea fromdeveloping nuclear and mis-sile-related technology, newleader Kim Jong-un, who tookpower one year ago, isbelieved to be continuing the“military first” strategy imple-mented by his father KimJong-il. The state is believed tohave stockpiled a limitedrange of nuclear weapons thatit is looking to expand.

A North Korean ForeignMinistry spokesman said thatthe rocket was a “peaceful proj-ect,” Reuters reported. GGPP

North Korea

Poland condemnsballistic missile launch

Its leader Jaros∏awKaczyƒski took theopportunity to lambastthe current government

At a march organized lastThursday to mark the 31st

anniversary of the imposition ofmartial law in Poland, Law andJustice (PiS) leader Jaros∏awKaczyƒski recalled those whohad suffered during the crack-down, and attacked the currentgovernment.

Martial law, which wasimplemented by communistleader General WojciechJaruzelski, remained in forcefrom December 13, 1981 toJuly 22, 1983. During thattime, many opposition mem-bers were arrested and around100 people were killed by themilitary.

“We must remember andthank all those who took up thefight after December 13,” MrKaczyƒski said.

At the march, which wasattended by a few thousandpeople, Mr Kaczyƒski thankedthe democratic opposition Soli-darity movement and otherorganizations, who refused to“put their hands down and said,‘We won’t allow this.’ ”

Political overturesMr Kaczyƒski gave twospeeches during the march,attacking the current govern-ment saying that the independ-ence of Poland is for sale andfreedom in the country is limit-ed.

“We [the country] will pre-vail only if our citizens can livein a free, independent andstrong country,” he said duringthe march. He added that inJanuary PiS will vote for amotion of no confidence

against the Civic Platform(PO) and Polish People’s Party(PSL) government coalition.

President Bronis∏aw Komo-rowski said last Thursday inBia∏o∏´ka Prison, where he wasincarcerated in 1981, that themartial law anniversary shouldnot be celebrated but remem-bered. It should be a subject of“profound reflection on thepast, present and, above all, onthe future of our freedom andthe freedom which existsthroughout Poland,” President

Komorowski added. Prime Minister Donald

Tusk, a member of the opposi-tion back in 1981, rememberedDecember 13 and compared itto a personal end of the world,when all hopes for freedomhad faded and many opposi-tion leaders had been incarcer-ated. In a video posted on thePM’s website, Mr Tusk saidthat he hoped December 13was a lesson for future genera-tions.

MMaarrttaa MMaarrddoosszz

Politics

PiS holds march markinganniversary of martial law

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

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Law and Justice leader Jaros∏aw Kaczyƒski

The government hasdeclared its supportfor Poland’s ailingauto industry

Fiat Auto Poland (FAP)announced earlier this monththat it plans to lay off 1,500workers at its car plant inTychy, in southern Poland. Theprocess is due to start in Jan-uary 2013 and will affect one-third of all employees, as wellas Fiat parts suppliers.

FAP’s management saidlow demand due to the eco-nomic crisis was behind thedecision, as was the earlierdecision made to cease pro-duction of the Fiat PandaClassic at Tychy.

A production forecast byFAP indicates a reduction inoutput from 300,000 cars thisyear to 250,000 in 2013. Man-agement decided that thislevel of production requiresfewer workers.

The company also plans tochange the working schedulefrom three shifts to two shifts.

A headcount reduction hadbeen expected by automotiveindustry analysts and workersunions for a few months. How-ever, the scale of the plannedlayoffs is larger than most hadpredicted.

Government to the rescueThe Polish government re-sponded to Fiat’s decision byinitiating discussions with thecompany and unveiling a pro-gram aimed at bolsteringPoland’s troubled automotiveindustry.

New Minister of EconomyJanusz Piechociƒski said thegovernment would fight tosave the jobs of employeesworking at the Tychy plant andwould propose a new flexibleemployment scheme compris-ing part-time contracts, in

place of the planned layoffs. Later in the week, Minister

of Labor W∏adys∏aw Kosiniak-Kamysz unveiled proposedchanges to the labor law,which would allow employersto hire workers on more flexi-ble conditions and not payovertime in certain cases.

The government also plansto look for production part-ners in the Czech Republic’sautomotive industry. MrPiechocinski told reportersthat the government discussedthe possible employment ofskilled workers from Fiat at aSkoda plant in the CzechRepublic.

The economy ministeradded that the governmentwould support production inthe automotive industry,rather than sales.

When it comes to invest-ments, the government saysthe automotive industry is itshighest priority. The state will

continue to support invest-ments and the expansion ofSpecial Economic Zones insouthern Poland, especiallyaround Kraków and Katowice,that host automotive produc-tion plants.

Poland’s automotive indus-try has been suffering of latefollowing plummeting demandin Western European markets.

With this in mind, MrPiechocinski also announcedthat the government wouldtransfer z∏.15 million to Gen-eral Motors, which operatesthe troubled Opel plant in Gli-wice, saying it would allow it tocontinue its investment. How-ever, TVN24 later reportedthat GM was in line to receivethe money anyway due to anearlier-agreed contract withthe state. The company doesnot plan to increase employ-ment at the plant and will notchange the shift-schedule itoperates there. MMaarrttaa MMaarrddoosszz

Automotive industry

Fiat plans to lay off 1,500 at Tychy

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 BBUUSSIINNEESSSS www.wbj.pl 5

The carrier has founditself in a deepfinancial hole, and itsCEO has been forcedto carry the can

Polish state-owned carrierLOT Polish Airlines hasrequested almost z∏.400 millionin state aid, although the trou-bled company’s demands couldrise to more than z∏.1 billion,according to local media.

The request took many bysurprise, given LOT had beenexpected to book a small profitfor 2012 after years of losses. Ithas now however been re-vealed that the carrier isexpected to end this year in the

red, too – hence the request foraid.

The situation culminated lastweek in the dismissal of MarcinPiróg, who had been LOT’sCEO since October 2010.

In September, Mr Pirógsaid the financial condition ofthe company was good in com-parison with other Europeancarriers, adding there wasabsolutely no possibility ofbankruptcy and that he expect-ed earnings to jump by tens ofmillions of z∏oty by the end of2012.

However, LOT has beenunable to turn the corner dueto strong competition fromlow-cost rivals such as Ryanairand Wizz Air, and has also had

to deal with the rising cost offuel.

“The responsibility for thesituation lies with the presidentof the company,” said TreasuryMinister Miko∏aj Budzanowskithe day before Mr Piróg’s dis-missal was announced.

State aidTreasury spokesperson Kata-rzyna Koz∏owska said that forthe last month, the Ministryhas been working on ways toassist the company, which isnow preparing a restructuringplan.

“If the state is to help, thenthat help must make sense,”Pawel Tamborski, deputy treas-ury minister, told the IAR news

agency. “The restructuring pro-gram is supposed to lead to theairline paying its own way.”

The company is expected toreceive the first installment aslong as it agrees to a sharp

reduction in costs, and to lay off600 of its 2,000-strong work-force. GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Airlines

LLOOTT aasskkss ssttaattee ffoorr aaiidd,, ffiirreess CCEEOO

BILANS Accounting and Consulting Company Ltd.,02-729 Warszawa, 195 Rolna st., tel. (+ 48) 22 212 86 27-29, mobile: (+48) 502 057 107 e-mail: Jacek@bilans.eu

www.bilans.eu www.bilans.eu

> Establishment of companies> Accounting services> Payroll and human resources> Law and notary offices> Payment recovery and debt recovery> Permits for foreigners> Seat for the company

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LOT is looking for a new pilot, after company president Marcin Piróg was sacked

last week

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New Economy Minister Janusz Piechociƒski is

seeking to soften the blow of Fiat’s layoff plans

Alior makes strong debut on WSEAlior Bank’s shares gainednearly 7 percent on their firstday of trade on the WarsawStock Exchange, in what wasPoland’s largest initial publicoffering by a privately-con-trolled company.

Each share was issued atz∏.57 and the stock value grew6.84 percent on the day lastFriday, having risen as high as

z∏.61.80.The value of the IPO was

z∏.2.1 billion, with the bankitself gaining z∏.700 million inthe offering.

Approximately 50 percentof the newly acquired capitalwill be invested in loans forindividual households in theform of consumer loans andconsumer finance, while the

rest will be spent financingPolish SMEs and new distri-bution channels.

Carlo Tessara, the invest-ment vehicle of RomainZaleski, the investor behindAlior, sold z∏.1.4 billion of itsshares and intends to sell itsremaining 34 percent stake in2013.

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DECEMBER 17-23, 2012BBUUSSIINNEESSSS6 www.wbj.pl

Telecommunications

PPoolliisshh tteelleeccoommss mmaarrkkeettsshhrriinnkkiinngg,, nneeww rreeppoorrtt ssaayyssSaturation andregulatory changeshave hurt growthprospects

The value of the Polishtelecommunications market isexpected to shrink slightly forthe second year in a row,according to a report by PMRResearch.

Telecommunications oper-ators’ revenues on mobile,landline and data-transmissionservices, which were valued atz∏.38.8-40.8 billion annuallybetween 2008 and 2012, weredown by 0.4 percent in 2011and are expected to decreaseby 0.8 percent this year toz∏.38.5 billion.

PMR predicts that in 2013the value of the market willcontinue to shrink, since satu-ration is making it difficult formarket players to generatehigher revenues.

“Given the growing satura-tion on the telecoms servicesmarket now and the regulatorychanges introduced, a marketplayer that rather than earninghigher revenues only managesto protect its revenues fromreduction and to maintain itsprofitability at a level recorded

previously should already beconsidered successful,” PMRwrote.

The research agency alsosaid that 2011 was a year inwhich key telecommunica-tions players struggled toreport revenues similar to theprevious year’s. Growth in2010 mostly resulted fromacquisitions or from compa-nies focusing their operationson data transmission and pay-TV services.

Mobile revenues are stillthe most important for thePolish telecommunicationsmarket, totaling z∏.25 billion in2011 and representing 65 per-cent of the entire market.

The Polish mobile tele-communications market stillremains one of the mostattractive segments of theoverall market, according toPMR. Although revenues forvoice and text services arefalling, driven down by,among other things, a reduc-tion of mobile terminationrates, telecommunicationscompanies are generating rev-enues by implementing pay-TV services and extendingdata services.

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Big players getting smallerPMR notes that the largestfour telecommunicationsplayers in Poland (namelyOrange Polska and the topthree mobile operators –PTK Centertel, Polkomteland Polska Telefonia Cy-frowa) are seeing theirmarket share fall, albeitgradually. The reasonsinclude growing competi-tion in the market, meas-ures taken by the regulato-

ry authority and develop-ment of own infrastructureby other market players.Although the four giantsstill control the largestshare of the market, theirslice of the action is gradu-ally falling every year. In2011 the four companiesheld 77 percent of the tele-coms market, compared to79 percent in 2010 and 85percent in 2009. ●

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Banking takeover

Post Office rejects PKO BPbid for Bank PocztowyThe firm’s board hasinstead adopted aproposal forcooperation with thebanking giant

The management board atstate-run post office Polish Post(Poczta Polska) has rejected anoffer from PKO Bank Polski forthe purchase of its subsidiarybank, Bank Pocztowy.

Polish Post spokespersonZbigniew Baranowski toldRzeczpospolita that the boardhas instead adopted a propos-al for cooperation with PKOBP, while preserving the bank’scurrent share structure. Work-ing groups between the twoentities – both of which arecontrolled by the TreasuryMinistry – are to be estab-lished, Polish Post wrote in astatement.

PKO BP currently holdssome 25 percent of Bank Pocz-towy shares and was looking tobuy roughly another 50 per-cent.

According to Mr Bara-nowski, Polish Post’s manage-ment believes keeping BankPocztowy under the existingumbrella of the Polish Post

maximizes its value financiallyand socially.

“Keeping Bank Pocztowyin the group increases thechances that Polish Post willensure the stability of thenational postal network,which is of fundamentalimportance for the provision

of a universal postal service,”said the firm’s president,Jerzy Jóêkowiak.

“This is also an opportuni-ty to simplify and expandaccess to services provided bygovernment and e-govern-ment solutions in the future,”he added. GGPP

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The Polish Post wants to establish working groups

between PKO BP and Bank Pocztowy

Gas stations

Shell to purchaseNeste Oil’s Polishretail stationsThe deal, wortharound €80 million,gives the Anglo-Dutchcompany a further 105retail facilities

Shell Polska has inked anagreement to take over Fin-nish Neste Oil’s gas stationnetwork in Poland for approx-imately €80 million, beatingout rivals PKN Orlen andLotos to make the purchase.

The deal, which covers 105locations, all of which areunmanned and located inmajor cities, is subject to theapproval of Poland’s competi-tion authorities, but is expect-ed to close during the first halfof next year.

“Our aim is always to beamong the top three in all ourretail markets, and unfortu-nately we never succeeded inreaching this nationwide inPoland,” Sakari Toivola, NesteOil’s executive vice president,oil retail, said in a statement.

“The financial performanceof Neste Polska was also belowour expectations. Together,

these factors led to our decisionto sell Neste Polska, and endour more than 20-year retailpresence in Poland,” he added.

Earlier in the year, Poland’ssecond-largest oil refiner,Lotos, launched talks concern-ing the purchase of Neste Oil’sPolish gas stations.

“The sale process haslaunched. The subject is beinganalyzed by us,” Mariusz Ma-chajewski, vice president ofthe board at Lotos, told Par-kiet at the time.

Rival Orlen, which oper-ates by far the largest chain ofgas stations in Poland, alsoannounced an interest in thoseassets.

Before Shell’s purchase ofNeste Polska’s sites, it was vir-tually neck-and-neck in thirdplace with Lotos in Poland’sgas-station market, accordingto data from the Polish Organ-isation of Oil Industry andTrade.

Neste Oil Corporation is arefining and marketing com-pany concentrating on low-emission, high-quality trafficfuels. GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Economists expect afurther slowdown inmonths to come,leaving room forfurther interest-ratecuts

In line with market expecta-tions, Poland’s rate of con-sumer price index (CPI) infla-tion fell significantly, from 3.4percent measured annually inOctober to 2.8 percent inNovember, the country’s sta-tistics office said last week.The lower figures were mainly

the result of slower growth inthe prices of fuel and food.The market had forecast CPIto come in at 2.9 percent.

Inflation in Poland is nowthe lowest it’s been in twoyears, further indicating thatthe economic slowdown con-tinues to have an effect onPoland’s economy. Indeed, thedrop of 0.6 percentage pointsindicates that the slowdown ishaving a significant impact.The drop from September toOctober was 0.4 percentagepoints.

The news means Poland’s

inflation rate remains withinthe National Bank of Poland’starget range of 1.5-3.5 percentfor the second month run-ning, after it had been higherthan the target for the firstnine months of the year. TheMonetary Policy Council, theinterest rate-setting arm ofthe NBP, has lowered thecountry’s reference interestrate by 25 basis points for twomonths in a row, to 4.25 per-cent, after raising rates in ahighly criticized move in May,on fears that inflation was ris-ing too fast.

“We expect CPI to fall to1.7-1.8 percent in Q2 2013,and thus well below the infla-tion target,” said Piotr Kalisz,head of Central and EasternEuropean economics at CitiResearch. “That prospectshould give the Monetary Pol-icy Council an excuse to fur-ther cut interest rates in thedirection of 3-3.25 percent in2013,” he added.

Poland’s historic-low refer-ence interest rate is 3.5 per-cent, which was in place foran 18-month period betweenJuly 2009 and December2010.

AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 FFIINNAANNCCEE && EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS www.wbj.pl 7

Inflation

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Poland’s lower house of parlia-ment, the Sejm, has passed thelatest draft of the budget bill for2013. The new budget assumesthat the deficit will not exceedz∏.35.57 billion, while revenueswill amount to z∏.299.38 billion.

Following the vote, Finance

Minister Jacek Rostowski wasquoted by TVN24 as saying,“Thanks to this budget, by theend of the year we will probablysee a decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio. I am convinced thatwe will see the same thing nextyear. Security during this time

of crisis will be the basis forgrowth in the second half of2013.”

The budget bill was passedlate last Wednesday with 233MPs voting for, and 221 votingagainst.

RRGG

Entrepreneurs are rather pes-simistic about 2013, accordingto a study by the InfoMonitorEconomic Information Bureau.They do not expect an increasein wages or production. Few

managers plan new invest-ments.

“The strategy is to wait itout,” said Mariusz Hilebrand,the head of Infomonitor. MrHilebrand added that that the

biggest problem for businessesis cash flow, or delays in pay-ments. A quarter of the compa-nies surveyed declared that only25 percent of payments aremade on time. RRGG

Polish Finance MinisterJacek Rostowski has statedthat the country’s weak eco-nomic growth in the thirdquarter of this year was theeffect of poor decisions madeby the National Bank ofPoland’s interest rate-settingarm, the Monetary PolicyCouncil (RPP).

In May this year, the RPPraised Poland’s benchmarkinterest rate by 0.25 percent-age points, a decision thatwas criticized by some mar-ket analysts at the time.

Not all economists, how-ever, agree with Mr Rostows-ki’s evaluation. “While Iagree with the opinion that

RPP contributed to the slow-down of the economy by rais-ing the interest rates unnec-essarily in May of this year, Idon’t think it was a decisivefactor, but merely an addi-tional one,” said Piotr Bujak,chief economist at NordeaBank.

RRGG

Poland’s Economy Ministryreduced its forecast for thecountry’s 2012 GDP growth to2.3 percent from 2.5 percent,following a series of disap-pointing economic data. Min-istry analysts dropped theirtotal forecast for domestic con-sumption growth to 0.8 percent

in 2012 from the previouslyforecast 1.6 percent. Thatincluded a cut in the forecastfor individual consumptiongrowth to 1 percent from 2 per-cent. Gross fixed capital for-mation is expected to increaseby 1 percent this year com-pared with the 2.2 percent

recorded in 2011. The ministryexpects industrial productionto increase in 2012 by 2.3 per-cent, compared to 4.6 percentin the previous forecast, whileconstruction output will rise by1 percent from the 3 percentpredicted earlier.

RRGG

Moody’s Investors Serviceaffirmed its rating of Polishbonds at A2 (the sixth high-est level) with a stable out-look, the agency said in astatement last week.

The main factor behindthe decision was “the govern-

ment’s significant progresson fiscal consolidation and itscontinued commitment toensuring the sustainability ofits public finances, despite adeteriorating macroeconom-ic environment,” the agencywrote in a press release.

In addition, the agencynoted that Poland’s “debtratios have begun trendingdown in 2012 following apeak in 2011 when the debt-to-GDP ratio reached 56.4percent.”

RRGG

Sejm passes 2013 budget bill

Wages and productionunlikely to grow next year

Finance minister criticizes

Monetary Policy Council

Poland cuts forecast foreconomic growth in 2012

Moody’s holds Poland’s credit rating stable at A2

DECEMBER 17-23, 20128 www.wbj.pl IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW

Ewa Boniecka: Serbia hascandidate status for member-ship of the European Unionand wants to set a date toopen negotiations with the EUon this matter. How do yousee the present situation inthe EU and the possible tim-ing of Serbia’s accession?Radojko Bogojevic: Being aEuropean country we want tobe a member of the EuropeanUnion and we are doing ourbest to prepare ourselves forsuch negotiations. We are ofcourse fully aware that the EUnow finds itself in a difficultsituation, not only due to thefinancial crisis, but alsobecause of feelings of fatiguein the EU. But we are deter-mined to do our homework, sowe are ready to start negotia-tions concerning our member-ship, which we hope will opensome time next year.

Coming out from the cur-rent crisis is in the interest notonly of present EU membersbut also of countries such as

Serbia which are preparing tobecome members. And judg-ing by some evaluations wemay see the end of the tunnelat the end of 2014. While bat-tling the present crisis, we allknow and value the funda-mental and lasting fact that theEuropean Union is a uniqueorganization, crucial for main-taining peace and prosperity inEurope and we see Serbia’sfuture in that community.

Serbia’s road to fulfilling thatwish has been long and difficult,being burdened by memories ofthe Balkan Wars, and now thelatest verdicts of the Interna-tional Criminal Tribunal in TheHague, which decided that twoCroatian generals and an offi-cial from the Kosovo LiberationArmy are not guilty of thecrimes they were accused ofcommitting. These rulings haveled to protests in Serbia, withsome burning EU flags in Bel-grade. What is your take on thesituation?

First of all, I want to point outthat Serbia cooperated closelywith the International Crimi-nal Tribunal in The Hague; wedid everything we were asked,the most-wanted former offi-cials from Serbia were deliv-ered to the Tribunal and sub-sequently punished. We arecontinuing our cooperationwith the Tribunal, but obvious-ly we are not happy with its[latest] verdicts.

The people in Serbia havebeen disappointed becauseeverybody feels that justicewas not done. ... All those whocommitted crimes during theBalkan wars should bedeclared guilty and the latestverdicts of the Tribunal willmake reconciliation among uswho live in the Balkans muchmore difficult. We know inSerbia that over 2,000 civilianswere killed in Croatia and over200,000 were expelled, so wewant all those who committedcrimes everywhere to be pun-ished, including those fromKosovo. We expect now toopen a debate in the UN Gen-eral Assembly about those ver-dicts, which, while being unal-terable, can be examined bythe international community.

As to the burning of EUflags in Belgrade … it was car-ried out by members of theRadical Party, which from thebeginning had a negativeapproach towards the EU.Now, being outside of parlia-ment, that party is completelymarginalized.

How would you describe thegeneral attitude of the Ser-bian people towards the Euro-pean Union?After democratic changes inSerbia starting in 2000, theexpectations from the EUand the West towards Serbiawere very high. Back then,over 80 percent of our popu-lation supported integrationwith the EU. Now, that per-centage has come down to 50-60 percent because of toughEU measures taken againstSerbia. But still the majorityof Serbs are in favor of join-ing the EU and it is our gov-ernment’s political goal toobtain a date for startingnegotiations with the EUabout our membership.

How long do you think Serbiawill take to negotiate theterms of its membership?

It is difficult to say now, sinceSerbia is dealing with reformsto its legal and judicial system,fighting corruption and deal-ing with other issues requiredof it by the EU Commission.We look at Slovakia, whichnegotiated its membership forfive years and was in a some-

what similar position to Ser-bia’s, having been in a difficultpolitical situation at the startof negotiations. We cooperateclosely with Slovakia in orderto learn from its experience innegotiations, but for how longwe negotiate depends not onlyon us, but also on others.

Serbia

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Radojko Bogojevic says joining the EU is Serbia’s priority

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Idea – business – success! Zacznij.bizZacznij.biz – idea – business – success, is a business competition organized by the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan and Lewiatan Business Angels. On December 1, 2012, the third edition of the Zacznij.biz competition was launched. The idea behind the contest is to promote entrepreneurship, assist in preparing business plans and attract investors – business angels – to work with the best ideas.The prize for those who enter the best ideas into the competition is to interest potential investors from Lewiatan Business Angels. The competitions itself is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs. A good idea is a necessary but not sufficient condition to receive funding – the ability to execute, experience, commitment (including a financial commitment), and a properly written business plan are of key impor-tance. Many entrepreneurs underestimate the importance of having the idea properly thought through and presented on paper. Contestants can take part in several free training sessions and workshops conducted by experienced experts cooperating with Lewiatan Business Angels. In addition, participants will have a chance to prepare a comprehensive business plan and acquire the knowledge and skills for effective presentation of their business ideas.

Zacznij.biz – idea – business – success, is aimed at:• micro- and small enterprises with big growth potential, operating in the hi-tech sector, seeking to raise capital for development and implementation of new technologies• academics: researchers, graduate students and students of technical universities, who want to commercialize their innovative ideas• entrepreneurs with the projects operating in the ICT sector with global growth potential

To participate in the competition, register at www.zacznij.biz.pl and fill in the proper form available on the website. Applications are being accepted from December 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013.The most promising ideas will be presented at the Final Gala in May 2013.

Last two editions saw over 300 projects submitted representing different business sectors. The finalists from previous editions are i.e. Homplex and Egzotech.

Organizers of the competition:PKPP LewiatanThe Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan (PKPP Lewiatan) was established in January 1999 as a nationwide representation of employers to the state and trade unions. Today it is an organi-zation of 62 sector and regional associations of private employers and 25 individual members. Thus, in total, about 3,750 companies employing over 700,000 workers are represented by PKPP Lewiatan. Each association is an autonomous organization that brings together individual enterprises, each possessing its own statute and management. For more information visit: www.pkpplewiatan.pl

Lewiatan Business AngelsLewiatan Business Angels (LBA) is the most active Business Angel network in Poland. It was established in 2005 with the use of EU funds under the brand of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan. LBA matches entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas and ambitious development plans with private investors (so called Business Angels). Its main goals are to promote Business Angels investing in Poland, to match private investors with companies seeking funding for growth, to exchange experience and to encourage best practices.For more information visit: www.lba.pl

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Radojko Bogojevic, the Republic of Serbia’sambassador to Poland, talks to WBJ aboutSerbia’s political and economic situation, itsdrive for membership of the EU and its tieswith Poland

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWW www.wbj.pl 9

One of the most difficult polit-ical problems linked with thenegotiations is the fact thatSerbia does not recognize theindependence of Kosovo,while the majority of EUmembers – among themPoland – recognize it. Whatsolutions do you see to thismatter?The unilateral declaration ofindependence for Kosovo is avery sensitive matter for us.Kosovo has special meaningfor Serbia’s heart and we arenot happy that many countriesrecognize the independence ofKosovo.

But we have managed tofind a formula to allow us tomove on with our cooperation.It is based on the “agree to dis-agree” formula, and it openedthe way for cooperation inother matters and is acceptedby the EU.

Do you think that diplomaticmeasures will be found tosolve the Kosovo problem?Serbia wants to be a memberof the EU and Kosovo, whichwe do not recognize as a state,can also move towards integra-tion with the EU. That’s whyour prime minister and theprime minister of Kosovo areconducting talks, with theassistance of the EuropeanUnion and also the US. Thesetalks are very important whenit comes to the issue of Serbiaand Kosovo one day becomingmembers of the EU. So wehave to cooperate and one ofthe conditions for Serbia tohave a date to start negotia-tions over our membership isto establish good relationswith our neighbors, includingKosovo.

How does Serbia’s economicsituation look currently?We have a not-deep, 1 percentGDP contraction. Before thecrisis began in 2008, our GDPgrew very rapidly – it was at 7-8 percent per year. But the EUcrisis had a big negative effecton our economy. Yet ourrecently adopted 2013 budgetpredicts that our GDP will rise1 percent and we have attract-ed some foreign investments –for instance, Fiat will start pro-ducing cars in Serbia and thereare some other big economicprojects to help boost oureconomy.

Tough negotiations over thenext EU budget are currentlyongoing, and there are deepdivisions among members.How do you see the situationfrom Serbia’s perspective?It will not be good for us if theEU develops at two speedsand I have an uneasy feelingthat the EU could split intorich and poor countries, whichwould be damaging for thecountries of our region and forthe development of the wholeEU. So the members shouldtalk about this and try to find acompromise for fixing the nextEU budget and defend theinterests of less affluent mem-

bers, and here Poland plays avery active role, which weappreciate.

Serbia does not want tobecome a member of NATO,preferring instead to stay mil-itarily neutral. What does thismean in practice, when youcooperate so closely withNATO in maintaining yoursecurity?We have our parliament’s dec-laration that Serbia should bea militarily neutral country.We never say it is forever, it isfor the time being – what thefuture will bring, nobodyknows. Now we are in the Part-nership for Peace with NATO,we are cooperating concerningKosovo’s borders and we wantto use all opportunities forcooperation within the frame-work of the Partnership forPeace.

During the Balkan Wars andthe bombing of Serbia byNATO in 1999, your economyand infrastructure were heavi-ly damaged. Are you thinkingof applying to NATO for com-pensation?We do not think at all aboutsuch claims. After the war andthe subsequent politicalchanges in our country andafter Serbia surrendered Slo-bodan Milosevic to the Tri-bunal in The Hague, Serbiabegan to be seen in a favorablelight by the West. Those mem-bers of NATO who took partin the heavy bombing of ourcountry, seeing the scale of the

destruction, began to developa guilty conscience and provid-ed us with loans for recon-struction. Many official build-ings in Belgrade were rebuiltwith financial help from theUS, Germany, and othercountries. We consider thematter of the bombing aclosed chapter.

Serbia has very good relationswith Russia, which has notrecognized the independenceof Kosovo and is developingvery close economic coopera-tion with your country. Thisincludes your participation inbringing Russian gas to Ser-bia through the South Streampipeline built by Gazprom. Inyour view, what do these polit-ical and economic ties withRussia mean?Serbia is a small country andwe have to build friendly tieswith everyone. Firstly, we arebuilding such ties with ourneighbors and our priority iscooperation with the Euro-pean Union and becoming amember of the EU. The Euro-

pean Union is developing thebest possible relations withRussia, which is in our com-mon interest. It is also impor-tant to bear in mind that theformer Yugoslavia was never apart of the Eastern Bloc, dom-inated by Moscow – it be-longed to the group of non-aligned countries. We have nohistorical complexes towardsRussia; we are both OrthodoxChristian, there are no obsta-cles to the development of ourmutual economic coopera-tion. But while developinggood relations with Russia,our own interests are para-mount. Secondly, we want tobe independent in our rela-tions with any big power in theworld.

How do you see bilateral rela-tions between Serbia andPoland?They are very good, our politi-cal relationship is very ... closeand Poland is supporting us inour efforts to join the Euro-pean Union. In the field ofeconomics our relations areprogressing, but still our mutu-al trade is at a low level. Lastyear its value was €600,000 ...and 60 percent of the tradewas in Poland’s favor. Yet ourtrade turnover was even small-er three or four years ago, so Iam satisfied that it is growingand hope that our mutualtrade will keep increasing, andthat Poland will explore thepossibilities for investing inSerbia.

How do you react to the factthat the European Union wasawarded the Nobel PeacePrize at a time when many arelamenting the EU’s failures? I have served as ambassadorto Poland for three years andI see how much Poland isdeveloping and modernizing.Poland is an example of suc-cess for us and proof of howimportant it is to be a memberof the European Union. Now,when the European Unionhas been awarded the NobelPeace Prize, I think that it willlift the spirit of the EU, itsfeeling of solidarity at thistime of crisis.

Serbia and other coun-tries in the Western Balkans,which want to become mem-bers of the EU, are doing itprimarily because it willbring peace to our territoriesand help our development.We know that each memberof the EU forfeits certain ele-ments of their sovereignty tothe common EU institutionsand the same will apply toSerbia. But the EuropeanUnion brings security andstability in Europe and howthe further integration of theEU progresses and how theEU’s mechanisms develop inthe future is now the subjectof deliberation among allmembers. We want Serbia totake part in this debate afterbecoming a member and webelieve in the enlargement ofthe European Community. ●

“Poland is an exampleof success for us and

proof of how importantit is to be a member ofthe European Union.”

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DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 OOPPIINNIIOONN && AANNAALLYYSSIISS www.wbj.pl 11

Remi Adekoya

Foreign Minister Rados∏awSikorski is one of the moreintelligent members of Po-

land’s government. He has givensome good speeches on his country’splace in the world as well as thedirection Poland and the EU need totake to make progress in the future.

But he has also made a series offaux pas such as when he likened theNord Stream pipeline project, whichcarries gas directly from Russia toGermany, to the Ribbentrop-Molo-tov pact. Or when he talked about

“finishing off the hordes” in refer-ence to his political opponents fromthe Law and Justice party.

Last week, Mr Sikorski an-nounced that he had asked Cather-ine Ashton, the EU’s High Repre-sentative, to bring up the matter ofthe unreturned plane wreckage fromthe fatal April 10, 2010 flight inwhich then President Lech Kaczyƒs-ki and 95 others perished. The planecrashed in Smolensk, on Russianterritory, and the wreckage has notbeen returned to Poland yet despitethe fact that the Russians have fin-ished their official investigation intothe crash.

A plane wreckage as a bargaining chip Politicians across the divide havevoiced opinions that the Russiansare purposely keeping the plane inorder to fuel political bickering anddivisions within Poland. That may betrue, and indeed the Russians havegiven no convincing explanation for

not returning the wreckage. Theysay they need to keep it until Russ-ian prosecutors’ investigations areover.

But early last year the Russian-controlled Interstate Aviation Com-mittee released its version of eventsthat led to the fatal crash and so thecase seems closed from the Russianpoint of view. But despite numerousappeals from Poland’s government,including from Prime Minister Don-ald Tusk himself, they have still notreturned the wreckage, which is sym-bolically very important for Poles.

But it is doubtful that Ms Ashtonwill be able to help in this matter.Rather, bringing the EU into thematter could serve to stiffen Russia’sposition and have them use theplane wreckage as a bargaining chipin negotiations with the EU.

For Russia, Mr Sikorski’s movegives them a great opening. Askingfor outside help is also an admissionof defeat by Poland’s diplomacy. It issimilar to moves made by Law and

Justice when it was in government(2005 -07) to bring in the EU tosolve the problem of a Russian banon imports of Polish meat.

Sure, German chancellor AngelaMerkel brought up the matter in ameeting with Vladimir Putin, butdid the Russian president backdown after that? No, he didn’t. Andthe meat import issue was definitelymore suited for EU interventionthan the matter of a plane wreck-age.

Also, if Russia were to suddenlyagree to return the wreckage nowthat would be tantamount to admit-ting that they had been telling fibswhen they said they could not returnit because of ongoing investigations.It is difficult to believe they wouldwant to contradict themselves in thatway.

Confessing to helplessness Even politicians from Mr Sikorski’sparty, Civic Platform (PO), are criti-cal of his latest idea.

“This is confessing to helpless-ness. I doubt Mr Putin will changehis course of action,” said HannaGronkiewicz-Waltz, Mayor of War-saw and deputy leader of PO.

Politicians from other partiesmeanwhile, have blasted the ideaalmost unanimously. Of course, ifMs Ashton is able to secure thetimely return of the wreckage MrSikorski will be able to claim victory.But the question is at what cost?

Vladimir Putin is unlikely to givePoland something he sees it wantsbadly without an expensive quid proquo. And if the Russian leader does-n’t budge but only hardens his posi-tion, then Poland’s foreign ministerwill have succeeded in making notonly his country but the whole EUlook helpless and weak in its rela-tions with Moscow. ●

Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Busi-ness Journal’s politics editor. Read

his blog, “The business of politics” onWBJ.pl

T he process of official forgive-ness of Greek debt has begun.Referred to as “official sector

involvement” (OSI), it includes sev-eral initiatives aimed at reducingGreece’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 124percent in 2020, from roughly 200percent today. Even as the deal wasannounced, however, newspaperreports suggested that officials recog-nized that the measures would beinsufficient to meet the target; fur-ther negotiations on additional stepswould be needed at a politically moreconvenient moment.

The economist Larry Summershas invoked the analogy of the Viet-nam War to describe European deci-sion-making. “At every juncture theymade the minimum commitmentsnecessary to avoid imminent disaster– offering optimistic rhetoric, butnever taking the steps that even theybelieved could offer the prospect ofdecisive victory.”

Ahead of the curveThis strategy needs to be inverted –and Greece offers a real opportunityto get ahead of the curve. Instead ofdriblets of relief, a sizable package,composed of two elements, is the wayforward. First, as Lee Buchheit, theattorney who oversaw the Greek pri-

vate restructuring, has proposed,maturities on official Greek debtcould be greatly extended. A simplestructure would be to make all debtpayable over 40 years, carrying aninterest rate of 2 percent. This wouldmove Greece and its official creditorsbeyond the continuous angst thatnow prevails.

The second element of the debt-relief package would be more innova-tive: If Greece’s economy performswell, the generous extension of matu-rities can be clawed back or the inter-est rate raised. A formula for thiscould be linked to the debt-to-GDPratio – a scheme with advantages thattranscend the Greek case. The ideaof linking debt relief to a country’sdebt-to-GDP ratio has been aroundfor a while, but has never gained sig-nificant acceptance. Applying it inGreece would be a highly visible test;if successful, it would set a valuableprecedent.

Why bother? Because the verypremise of the current deal and theexpectations it sets out are wrong.First, the notion that there is asmooth transition path for the debt-to-GDP ratio from 200 percent to124 percent is fanciful. Second, evenif, by some miracle, Greece did reachthe 124 percent mark by 2020, the

claim that its debt will then be “sus-tainable” is absurd.

Eroding credibilityThus, continuing down this path willfurther erode policymakers’ credibili-ty – not that they seem to care – whileimposing on the rest of the world apersistent sense of crisis and uncer-tainty, with real financial and eco-nomic costs.

Make no mistake: policymakers’track record on forecasting Greekeconomic performance during thecrisis has been an embarrassment. InMay 2010, the International Mone-tary Fund projected – presumably inconcurrence with its European part-ners – that Greece’s annual GDPgrowth would exceed 1 percent in2012. Instead, the Greek economywill shrink by 6 percent. The unem-ployment rate, expected to peak thisyear at 15 percent, is now above 25percent – and is still rising. The debt-to-GDP ratio was expected to top outat 150 percent; absent the substantialwrite-down of privately held debt,which was deemed unnecessary, theratio would have been close to 250percent.

In September 2010, four monthsafter the official Greek bailout wasput in place, the IMF issued a pam-

phlet asserting that “default intoday’s advanced economies isunnecessary, undesirable, and unlike-ly.” The conclusion was that officialfinancing would carry Greece past itsshort-term liquidity problems. Callsfor immediate debt restructuringwent unheeded. Six months later,after substantial official funds hadbeen used to pay private creditors,the outstanding private debt was sub-stantially restructured.

Such were the errors committedover short time horizons. Relativelyspeaking, 2020 is an eternity away.Even assuming better forecasts, theprojection of 124 percent could be agross underestimate. The precision ofthe numbers underpinning the deal isa facade, if not a reflection of analternate reality.

And, again, even if Greece some-how did achieve the 124 percent mile-stone, its debt would still not be sus-tainable. At that point, Greece wouldmerely be where it started in May2010. The most reasonable compari-son is with Latin American countriesduring their debt crises in the 1980sand 1990s. Despite significantly lowerdebt-to-GDP ratios and continuousdebt restructuring, they eventuallyneeded the large debt reduction thatcame with the issuance of Brady

bonds to achieve some breathingroom.

Getting ahead of the curve willgive Greece a realistic chance of con-trolling its own destiny. It will also bea reminder of the dangers of rushing

in with official money where privatedebts have become unsustainable.Staying the course, as Summerswarns, will lead only to “needless suf-fering” before that course inevitablycollapses, bringing Greece – andmuch else – crashing down. ●

Ashoka Mody is a visiting profes-sor of International Economic Policy

at the Woodrow Wilson School ofPublic and International Affairs,

Princeton University. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012.

project-syndicate.org

AA ffaauuxx ppaass ffrroomm SSiikkoorrsskkii??

“Policymakers’ trackrecord on forecasting

Greek economicperformance during the

crisis has been anembarrassment.”

“Some politicianssay the Russians arepurposely keepingthe plane in orderto fuel divisionswithin Poland.”

GGrreeeeccee’’ss bboogguuss ddeebbtt ddeeaall Ashoka Mody

MANAGING EDITORGARETH PRICE(GPRICE@WBJ.PL)

POLITICS EDITORREMI ADEKOYA(RADEKOYA@WBJ.PL)

REAL ESTATE EDITORADAM ZDRODOWSKI(AZDRODOWSKI@WBJ.PL)

CONTRIBUTORSE. BLAKE BERRYEWA BONIECKAROBERTO GALEADAVID INGHAMBEATA SOCHA

COLUMNISTSADAM NARCZEWSKIANDREW NAWROCKI

PRODUCTION MANAGERPIOTR WYSKOKGRAPHIC DESIGNER¸UKASZ MAZUREKINTERNMARTA MARDOSZ

MARKETING &SALES

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

MAGDALENA KARPI¡SKA(MKARPINSKA@WBJ.PL)

AGNIESZKA KUCZY¡SKA(AKUCZYNSKA@WBJ.PL)

EWA BROGOSZ-KORYCKA(EBROGOSZ-KORYCKA@WBJ.PL)

PR & MARKETING SPECIALIST KATARZYNA MAREK(KMAREK@WBJ.PL)

SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGERAGNIESZKA MICHALIK(AMICHALIK@VALKEA.COM)

PRINT & DISTRIBUTION COORDINATORKRZYSZTOF WILI¡SKI(DYSTRYBUCJA@VALKEA.COM)

BOOK OF LISTS SPECIALISTMONIKA BRYSIAK(MBRYSIAK@VALKEA.COM)

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

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

Prenumerata realizowana przez RUCH S.A: Zamówienia na prenumerat´ w wersji papierowej i na e-wydania mo˝na sk∏adaç bezpoÊrednio na stronie www.prenumerata.ruch.com.plEwentualne pytania prosimy kierowaç na adres e-mail: prenumerata@ruch.com.pl lub kontaktujàc si´ z Telefonicznym Biurem Obs∏ugi Klienta pod numerem: 801 800 803 lub 22 717 59 59 – czynne w godzinach 700 – 1800. Koszt po∏àczenia wg taryfy operatora.

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY12

Z∏oty among

strongest

currencies

The z∏oty is now second

in the ranking of

currencies that have

strengthened the most

against the dollar this

year, reports Parkiet.

Since the beginning of

January, it has gained

almost 10% against the

US currency. The first

place on this list is

occupied by the

Hungarian forint, which

has appreciated by more

than 12% so far in 2012.

The strength of the forint

and the z∏oty results from

this year’s loosening of

monetary policy in the US

and Western Europe.

z∏.18 billion

for roads

The General Directorate

for National Roads and

Motorways (GDDKiA)

announced last week that

401 km of brand new

road will be delivered in

2013, including 126 km of

motorway and 235 km of

expressway. The GDDKiA

plans to spend z∏.18

billion next year, with

z∏.15 billion earmarked

for building new roads.

Some z∏.565 million will

be spent on the

modernization of old

roads, and z∏.1.3 billion

on the maintenance of

existing roads.

Working for

an apartment

According to a report by

Open Finance and

Domy.pl, buying an

apartment is the biggest

challenge for the

residents of Kraków.

With average earnings

of z∏.2,514 (net), they

have to work for some

11.5 years to earn

enough money to

purchase a 50-sqm

three-room apartment,

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

reported. And even

though nominal prices

are higher in the

capital, with average

earnings of z∏.3,289, its

residents can afford a

similar purchase after

working for

approximately 10.8

years. ●

www.wbj.pl

Economic relations

Poland missing outon a medical boom India is luringinvestors to contributeto its growing medicalsector, but Poland isreluctant to look east

“Let them come here, we’llguide them” said Murugesh R.Nirani, the state minister forlarge and medium-sized indus-tries, sitting in his office in animposing building at the Vid-hana Soudha, the seat of thesouthern Indian state Karnata-ka’s government.

He was hosting a 10-plusstrong investment delegationfrom Taiwan but found time tocraft a message to the Polishbusiness community. “Land,water, power, manpower, spe-cial packages,” he said. “We’llhelp them with all that. I’mwilling to send my senior offi-cers to Poland. If they agree,I’ll come too.”

Karnataka has provenitself effective at attractingforeign investors from all con-tinents. Bangalore, the state’slargest city, where India’s Sili-con Valley is located, is knownfor its price-competitivepotential and has attractedthe biggest players in the ITworld. Now it’s time to givesome stimulus to other sec-tors, Karnataka’s authoritiessay. The medical sector is oneof them.

SuperhospitalSince 2000 $1.3 billion hasbeen invested in Indian hospi-tals and diagnostic centers,according to the Indian gov-ernment. FDI inflow towardsmedical and surgical appli-ances stood at $521.6 millionduring the same period, andthe drugs and pharmaceuticalssector attracted $9.2 billion ininvestment. Also, 2012 wit-nessed a record number ofmergers and acquisitions inthe Indian pharmaceutical andhealthcare sector.

How does it look close up?Narayana Hrudayalaya, aflagship private hospital inBangalore and one in a chainof several such centers across

India, conducts 50 majorheart surgeries daily andtreats patients from 73 coun-tries – even those with themost complicated heart dis-eases. With 30,000 bedsplanned in the next five yearsand one of the world’s largesttelecardiology networks, thegroup aims to become amajor health care player inthe country. “In a nation of

1.2 billion people, where upto 800 babies a day are bornwith heart problems, Indianeeds 2.5 million heart oper-ations a year,” the hospital’schairman calculates. It’sclearly a brave new world forthe Indian medical sector.

But are Polish playersinterested in joining in?

Prioritized guestsThe All India Health Expo isexpected to be one of thelargest and most comprehen-sive sector trade fairs in India,targeted at a wide spectrum ofmedical players from homeand abroad. Scheduled forJanuary 2013, it’s expected toattract 100 exhibitors, 100speakers and half a million vis-itors. The organizers are trying

to lure Polish guests as well,offering the status of priori-tized guests and free accom-modation. The response hasbeen less than overwhelming.

India’s share in Polish tradeis miniscule: 0.21 percent inexport and 0.55 percent inimport in 2011, or $1.9 billionin total – a number that does

not reflect the economicpotential of either country.The main export items fromPoland are machines, castiron, steel, copper and chemi-cals, while imports are tradi-tionally dominated by textilesand machinery. As of now,there are only two major Pol-ish investments in the subcon-tinent: Can-Pack, a maker ofmetal packaging, and TZMO,a Toruƒ-based producer ofhygienic products sold underthe Bella brand. VTS, a venti-lation systems manufacturer,has offices and logistics cen-ters in India. That’s about it.There is no Polish medical-sector related FDI in India yet.

‘Like bringing rice to China’“It’s like bringing rice toChina” said Dominik Wrób-lewski, co-founder of TCILaboratories, a small Tri-city-based biotech company thatproduces generics and doesresearch on innovative drugs.He estimates that close to 90

percent of active and inactiveingredients used in drugs soldin Poland come from Asia.India and China are floodingEurope with cheap raw mate-rials for drug production. It’salso becoming a commonpractice for Western pharma-ceutical companies to buy pillsin bulk there and pack them inEurope.

With a new medical com-pany created almost every dayin India, there is hardly any-body in Europe able to pro-duce price-competitive gener-ics. In this equation Polandcan only be the receiving endof the transaction – and per-haps a gateway to other Euro-pean markets, Mr Wróblewskiposited.

Generic maverickThere are very few areaswhere Polish healthcare-sectorcompanies can be competitive,analysts say. Many are eitherbranches of international cor-porations or daughter compa-nies whose interest is limited

Joanna IrzabekS

HU

TT

ER

ST

OC

K

Some $1.3 billion has been invested in Indian medical centers since 2000

“Land, water, power, manpower, specialpackages. ... We’ll help them with all that. I’mwilling to send my senior officers to Poland. If

they agree, I’ll come too.”

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY www.wbj.pl 13

to the Polish market. ThosePolish companies that couldthink of investing abroad aretoo small and choose familiarEuropean Union countries.“With the exception of per-haps [insulin maker] Bioton,Polish companies do not haveenough money to take overimportant players, neither inIndia nor elsewhere,” saidMonika Stefaƒczyk, head ofpharmaceutical market re-search at PMR.

Those Polish medical com-panies that are present inIndia have one thing in com-mon: they are innovative, hi-tech, globalized firms. Bioton,Poland’s first biotech companyto be listed on the WarsawStock Exchange, PZ Cormay,a manufacturer of diagnostic

reagents and laboratory equip-ment, and Medicalgorithmics,which markets its own mobilearrhythmia diagnostic technol-ogy, all sell state-of the artmedical solutions.

“If we had an innovativeand patented drug, then wecould think of going to India,”said Mr Wróblewski about thewhole Polish pharmaceuticalmarket. “But we have not reg-istered any new drugs for acouple of decades now.”

“The Polish pharmaceuti-cal sector is primarily generic”,Ms Stefaƒczyk said. “Thesame applies to India. ButIndian generics are cheaper.”

Cash-strappedHeavily indebted Polish pub-lic hospitals that are facing

commercialization in 2013(and perhaps privatizationlater if that doesn’t work) arelooking for ways to cut costs.Could India be an answer?As to that, the Association ofPolish Hospital Directors hasexpressed some interest. Butthe foreign cooperation de-partments of public hospitalssignal that the cost of makinga trip to India which may ormay not result in savingslater, is something that thecash-strapped public institu-tions have to think hardabout.

In theory, private clinicsshould have fewer inhibitions.But they also have fewerincentives. As long as Polishprivate patients do not lookfor cheaper services abroad,there is no motivation toreduce treatment costs. More-over, some fear that coopera-tion with, or outsourcing to,India could lead to Indianfirms eventually taking overthe market.

Long-distance relationshipThere are pockets of opportu-nities for producers of high-end medical precisionmachines. Much of the med-ical appliances, especially low-end, are currently imported toPoland rather than exported,but Mr Wróblewski of TCIsees a chance for a few special-ized producers of small-sizemedical appliances to export

to Asia. “We wish them luck,”he said.

Finally, there is educationand R&D. Academic and scien-tific institutions like the MedicalUniversity of Gdaƒsk (GUM),the largest medical academicinstitution in northern Poland,with 6,000 students and top-ranking scientific research, con-firm that they are actively seek-ing foreign students and scien-tific cooperation, including fromAsia. But they are also cost-con-scious. India is far away andthere are other priorities to con-sider. GUM is one of 11 suchbodies behind 43 teaching hos-pitals in Poland that may have to

transform into money-makingcommercial companies soon.

Experts say it’s not the lackof competitive edge that putsPolish companies at a disad-vantage. The problem is thatfirms can only do business ifthey locate themselves in Indiafor the long haul.

Behind Europe’s shieldWhile it’s true that the eco-nomic downturn has led somecompanies to hibernateinstead of look for new oppor-tunities in new markets, theremight be other reasons for thelackluster reaction to the eco-nomic shift from Europe toAsia in Poland. Poland’s heavyexport orientation toward theEU is one of them. “We arehiding behind the EuropeanUnion’s shield,” said TomaszRapcewicz, sales representa-tive at Queisser Pharma, aproducer of dietary supple-ments Doppelherz and Prote-fix. “By ignoring India we aremissing out not only on theIndian market but also on theattractive ASEAN countriesthat India could be a gatewayto,” he added.

Poland’s social structureand its post-communist her-itage might be other reasons.Elderly and poor, many Polishpatients would rather wait sev-eral months than pay extra,even for a simple medical serv-ice. That reality is reflected inthe public health care policythat favors cheap generics andneglects innovative drugs. The

Polish health care sector couldbe easy prey for more aggres-sive players. “Indian compa-nies are consumer-oriented,used to tough competition andoffer good quality at a goodprice,” said Mr Rapcewicz,who has spent a month inIndia observing the sector’smarket behavior. “We are notprepared for this kind of com-petition.” In this scenario, it’snot a question of if, but whenIndian medical companiesenter the Polish market.

A recent IMS Polandreport reveals that the newrefund drugs law (which takesabout 1,400 drugs off the listof drugs that are refunded bythe government) has causedhavoc in the pharmacy sector,with several hundred drug-stores forced to close and thesystem of drug distribution indire straits. Patients are pay-ing more and buying less.Experts say it will force thesector to introduce new tech-nologies and new businessmodels. Can that also meanwe are going to see more ofthe cheaper drugs made inIndia on Poland’s drugstoreshelves? ●

Polish medical companies in India:

• Bioton: A biotechnological group with a global reachthat produces a range of cephalosporin antibiotics andaminoglycoside antibiotics.

• PZ Cormay: A group of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) compa-nies from Switzerland, Poland and Ireland, developingand manufacturing diagnostic reagents and advancedlaboratory equipment.

• Medicalgorithmics: A hi-tech company in the telemed-ical sector with core competences in the development ofadvanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) algorithmsand the design of software and hardware electronics formedical applications.

Sectors with potential for cooperation:• Niche high-end medical appliances• Dressing and hygienic materials• Telemedicine• Education• Scientific cooperation

Sectors wherePoland is losing out:

• Generics• Patented drugs• High-end medical

appliances

“We are not preparedfor this kind ofcompetition.”

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012LLAAWW14 www.wbj.pl

Contact: Dorota Zab∏ocka

dz@pnplaw.pl

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

New rules on settlement of tax deductibles From January 1, 2013 provisions of theAct of November 16 on Reduction ofSome Administrative Burdens in theEconomy (Journal of Laws: Dz.U. 2012,no. 0, item 1342) will become binding.The act changes the Act on PersonalIncome Tax as well as the Act on Cor-porate Income Tax. The new provisionswill concern the rules on settlement oftax deductibles in situations where thetaxpayer fails to fulfill his/her financialobligations towards business partners.

In case the amount resulting from aninvoice (bill) or from an agreement orsome other document, if the issuanceof an invoice (bill) was not obligatory,has been recognized as a taxdeductible but has not been paid with-in 30 days from the date of expiry ofthe payment date, the taxpayer will beobliged to decrease the tax deductiblesby the amount noted in the above-men-tioned documents.

If after the decrease in the taxdeductibles, the obligation is paid, thetaxpayer increases the tax deductiblesby the amount of the earlier decreasein the month when that obligation hasbeen settled.

Minimum wageFrom January 1, 2013 the minimummonthly remuneration for work inPoland will amount to z∏.1,600. This isregulated by the ordinance of the Coun-cil of Ministers of September 14, 2012with regard to the amount of minimumremuneration for work in 2013 (Journalof Laws: Dz.U. 2012, no. 0, item 1026).

Passport – not only at theplace of domicileOn December 6, the president signedthe Act of November 16, 2012 onChanges to the Act on Passport Docu-ments, aimed at simplifying proce-dures connected with the issuance ofpassports. Pursuant to the new provi-sions, passports and temporary pass-ports in the Republic of Poland will beissued, or denied, by any voivode towhom the application for passport hasbeen submitted and not, as it has beenuntil now, the voivode charged withoverseeing the place of permanentdomicile of the person applying for thepassport. Overseas, passports shallstill be issued by consuls.

The new provisions will becomebinding 30 days upon their publicationin the Journal of Laws. ●

Pawe∏ SternaAttorney at law

PPeerrssoonnaalliittyy rriigghhttss ooff lleeggaall ppeerrssoonnssLegal Forum

Probably everyone has met withthe concept of the protection ofpersonality rights of individuals,but not everyone is aware thatidentical protection (with somemodifications) is available forlegal persons too.

Basically, Polish law providesfor the protection of personalityrights of individuals. However,legislators have now set forththe protection of personalityrights of legal persons as welland the provisions on the pro-tection of personality rights ofindividuals shall apply to legalpersons adequately.

This is of key importance,because actions affecting thegood name of a legal entity (likea company), through, for exam-ple, the publication in the pressof false or unreliable and unveri-fied information, exposes it to aloss of trust. Loss of trust can,for example, lead some partnersto resign from using services

and/or goods provided by acompany, and this results inmaterial losses.

In the age of the internet thisis becoming more and moreimportant. Often you can find anexample of a violation of one’spersonality rights on the inter-net, where everyone feelsanonymous and thereforeunpunishable. You can also findviolations of personality rightsas an act of unfair competitionmade by a business competitor.

The concept of personality rightsThere is no legal definition ofpersonality rights. However,according to the prevailing viewit is deemed that the personalityrights of legal persons are intan-gible goods thanks to which alegal person can function inaccordance with its range ofactivities. A feature of personali-ty rights is that they are absolute

rights, effective towards every-one. Although these rights areintangible, the breach of them,in many cases, can causenotable material losses.

As an example we can enu-merate the following personalityrights belonging to legal per-sons:• a good reputation;• business name;• confidentiality of

correspondence;• inviolability of premises.

Protection of infringedpersonality rightsIn case of any unlawful infringe-ment or threat of personalityrights, the particular entityshould take up specific actionsimmediately. Firstly, it shoulddemand the cessation of suchunlawful activities. In the eventof infringement the injured enti-ty may also demand that theperson who committed the vio-

lation perform all the actionsnecessary to remove its effects,such as making an appropriatedeclaration in order to removethe effects of the infringementor financially compensate anylosses which result from theactivities infringing the particularpersonality rights. It is also

worth pointing out that theinjured entity can request that aspecific amount of money ispaid to a charity.

Press publishingPopular institutions for the pro-tection of personal rights, bothindividuals and legal entities, arepress rectification and re-

sponse. This applies both to thepress, the television and as arule to the internet press servic-es. Rectification is an officialdenial and explanation of a falseand inaccurate message thatgets in to the public domain.The editor-in-chief is obliged topublish rectification free of

charge if it is factual and rele-vant to the facts. The editor-in-chief is also required to publisha response to statements threat-ening personality rights. Thetext of the rectification orresponse shall not be longerthan twice the volume of theparticular material published inthe press. ●

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

“In case of any unlawful infringement or threatof personality rights, the particular entity should

take up specific actions immediately.”

DAILY EXECUTIVE DIGEST

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

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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 DECEMBER 17-23, 2012, LI 17/50

B&B refinances

Warsaw hotelHotel chain B&B and BRE

Leasing have signed an

agreement concerning the

refinancing of the B&B

Warszawa-Ok´cie

hospitality project in

Warsaw through the sale

and lease-back of the

facility. The sale

transaction is meant to

facilitate the development

of new B&B hotels in

Poland. B&B is planning

to open hotels in Wroc∏aw

and ¸ódê in 2013 and 2014

respectively. In the next

few years, the company

also wants to open

facilities in Kraków,

Katowice, Poznaƒ,

Gdaƒsk, Lublin and

Warsaw.

New Warsaw

outlet almost

readyDeveloper Neinver Poland

is finishing construction

on its Factory Warszawa

Annopol outlet center

project in Warsaw. The

largest scheme of its kind

in the region, the center is

scheduled to open for

business in the first

quarter of next year. “All

floors and most walls in

future tenants’ premises

are complete. Final

installation work for

heating, electrical, HVAC

and fire protection

systems are underway,”

Agata Brzeziƒska, country

manager at Neinver

Poland, said in a

statement. The Factory

Warszawa Annopol

development will

comprise 19,700 sqm of

space and house 120

stores. ●

New Immofinanz scheme . . . .15

BRE Bank's plans . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Futureal-Gant team-up . . . . . . .15

Powiśle offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Warsaw warehouses sale . . . .16

Warsaw Spire tenant . . . . . . . .16

Property-related stocks . . . . . .17

Warsaw laboratory complex . . .17

Galeria Solna mall . . . . . . . . . . .17

In this issue

1716

Warsaw’s PowiÊle is increasingly becoming anattractive office location

A building permit has beengranted to a new laboratory com-plex in Warsaw

Office

IImmmmooffiinnaannzz llaauunncchheess NNiimmbbuussooffffiiccee pprroojjeecctt iinn WWaarrssaawwThe €27 millionscheme will deliver19,000 sqm of GLA inAugust 2014

Vienna Stock Exchange-listedreal estate investor Immofi-nanz Group has launched con-struction on its Nimbus officeproject in Warsaw. Thescheme, which is valued atapproximately €27 million,will deliver 19,000 sqm ofleasable space.

Nimbus will be the firstoffice investment to be devel-oped by Immofinanz Group inthe city. The investor admit-tedly already owns 18 officefacilities in the Polish capitalbut those were acquired,rather than developed by thefirm.

“Poland is still an attractivecountry in terms of developingnew real estate projects,”

Eduard Zehetner, presidentof Immofinanz Group’s man-agement board, said in a state-ment. He added that high-quality and well-locatedschemes continue to be verypopular.

“Nimbus marks our debutin the Warsaw market when itcomes to the development ofnew projects. The realizationof the investment shows howour machine is gaining speedand highlights our develop-ment in Poland, one of themost significant markets forus,” Mr Zehetner said.

The Nimbus building willbe developed on Al. Jero-zolimskie in Warsaw’s Ochotadistrict. The facility will fea-ture sustainable solutions,with the investor aiming tosecure a LEED certificate ofenergy efficiency and environ-mental performance for thestructure.

The development is sched-uled to be turned over for usein August 2014. Porr Polska isthe project’s general contrac-tor, while CBRE and DTZ areresponsible for the marketing

of the property as its co-exclu-sive brokers.

Immofinanz Group isfocused on the retail, office,logistics and residential sec-tors in eight markets in

Europe. In Poland, the com-pany is currently involved indeveloper projects includingthe Tarasy Zamkowe shop-ping center in Lublin.

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Nimbus is Immofinanz’s first office development in Warsaw

Gant and Futureal join forces in Poland

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or

BRE Bank moots new office investment in downtown WarsawBRE Bank is consider-ing demolishing a mod-ern office building itowns at the intersectionof ul. Królewska and ul.Marsza∏kowska in down-town Warsaw andreplacing it with a largerproject that would

accommodate a biggeramount of office space.

No final decision onthe matter has beenmade yet, with BREBank still needing toobtain administrativeapprovals for the poten-tial investment, said

Piotr Rutkowski fromthe press office of theBRE Bank group.

“Before any decisionis made, the bank needsto obtain a planningdecision which willdetermine the possibili-ties and restrictions

related to the develop-ment of the site,” MrRutkowski said. “BREBank is considering sit-ing its new Warsawheadquarters buildingon ul. Królewska,” headded.

If BRE Bank goes

ahead with the plan, thenew scheme would becompleted “after 2018.”Mr Rutkowski con-firmed that architectsfrom the RKW studioare currently working onthe scheme’s design.

The building that

BRE Bank could poten-tially demolish is part ofa complex developed in1999-2000. It lies adja-cent to the Saski Pointoffice building which iscurrently owned by CAImmo.

MMaarrttaa MMaarrddoosszz

Hungarian developerFutureal Group andWarsaw Stock Ex-change-listed developerGant Development havesigned an agreementconcerning their jointdevelopment in Polandof a number of residen-tial investments from thelatter company’s portfo-lio.

According to thedeal, Futureal will investup to z∏.42 million of itsown capital in Gantprojects. The companieswill jointly developschemes comprising atotal of up to 1,200apartments in threecities, whose value isestimated at a combinedz∏.360 million.

The first of thesedevelopments will be ahousing estate inKraków in southernPoland, construction onwhich is already under-way and scheduled tofinish next year. Theproject will deliveralmost 390 homes.

“The Gant Develop-ment and Futureal

groups have establisheda strong business part-nership. With our know-how in the Polish marketand valuable assets wecan profit very well inthe primary residentialmarket,” Gant Develop-ment’s vice presidentAndrzej Szornak said ina statement.

“We are convinced

that, due to our residen-tial market team’s expe-rience and our positionas a leading residentialdeveloper in Hungary,we will bring majoradded value to our jointprojects,” stated Future-al Group founder andco-owner Gábor Futó.

The Futureal-Gantagreement is part of the

former company’s plansto invest €100 million, incooperation with part-ners, banks and localauthorities, in promisingprojects in CentralEurope. The companyearlier also teamed upwith Caelum Develop-ment on a mall schemein western Poland.

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DECEMBER 17-23, 2012LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE16 www.wbj.pl

Office

Warsaw’s PowiÊleneighborhood attractingoffice tenants: report

Office supply in thelocation is set toincrease significantlyin the next few years

Warsaw’s PowiÊle neighbor-hood is increasingly becomingan attractive destination foroffice tenants who appreciateits central location, quiet natureand competitive rents, accord-ing to a recent report by CBRE.

“PowiÊle is one of those rareinstances in Warsaw where thedemand for office space seemsto significantly outstrip the sup-ply,” ¸ukasz Ka∏´dkiewicz,director in the office agency ofCBRE in Poland, said in astatement.

He added that PowiÊle’sassets primarily include theclose proximity of the neighbor-hood to Warsaw’s downtown

and its improving public trans-portation. A station of theunder-construction second lineof the capital’s subway system isscheduled to open in PowiÊle in2014.

Currently, PowiÊle housesonly 1.5 percent of the entireexisting office stock in Warsaw,which translates into 10 modernoffice buildings completedmainly between 1998 and 2001and offering a total of 60,000sqm of space.

However, the supply of newoffice space in the neighbor-hood is set to increase signifi-cantly before the end of 2015,by which time four projectscomprising a combined 52,000sqm of office areas are expectedto be delivered.

These will include the firstphase of the planned Coperni-

cus Square complex, which willbe located on the site of a for-mer power and heat plant andwill entail the construction ofseveral new buildings and reno-vation of existing ones.

Other under-constructionand planned office facilities inPowiÊle are the CarpathiaOffice House building and theheadquarters of MazowieckaSpó∏ka Gazownictwa andWarszawskie TowarzystwoWioÊlarskie.

Few investment transactionswere recorded in PowiÊle in thepast few years due to the limit-ed supply, but as the number ofnew projects in the neighbor-hood rises in the near future,investment activity is expectedto pick up too, the CBREreport said.

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Carpathia Office House is one of the new office projects in PowiÊle

CBRE Global Investorsbuys major logistics center in WarsawCommercial real estate invest-ment manager CBRE GlobalInvestors has acquired theWarszawskie Centrum Dystry-bucyjne (WCD) warehouse andoffice complex in southernWarsaw from Peakside PoloniaManagement, an investmentfunds management firm.

The transaction involved thesale of approximately 34,000sqm of space. The buyer andthe seller were respectivelyadvised by Savills and Lin-klaters, and Jones Lang LaSalleand Clifford Chance. The valueof the transaction has not beenrevealed.

“The transaction is a clearmilestone in the activities ofCBRE Global Investors in theCentral and Eastern Europeregion,” Martin Sabelko, man-aging director of CBRE GlobalInvestors CEE, said in a state-ment.

CBRE Global Investors isexpanding its investment activi-ties by entering the logistics sec-tor and the acquisition repre-sents its first investment in thissector in the Central andEastern European market, MrSabelko added.

“Warszawskie CentrumDystrybucyjne is ideally located

in the most stable logistics loca-tion in Poland,” stated RichardEverett, investment fund man-ager at CBRE Global Investors.He added that the acquiredcomplex ideally fits the invest-ment criteria of the fund.

“The sale of the WCD com-plex is in line with our invest-ment plan, allowing for the saleof property whose value hasbeen increased through effi-cient management,” Miros∏awJanuszko, vice president forinvestment at Polonia PropertyFunds, said in a statement.

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Ghelamco secures first tenant

for Warsaw Spire complexDeveloper Ghelamco Polandhas signed a lease agreementwith EU agency Frontex con-cerning approximately 14,600sqm of space in its WarsawSpire office project in the Pol-ish capital’s Wola district.

Frontex, whose full title isthe European Agency for theManagement of OperationalCooperation at the ExternalBorders of the Member Statesof the European Union, is thefirst tenant that Ghelamco hassecured for the flagship War-saw scheme.

The Warsaw Spire invest-ment, which is locatedbetween Warsaw’s ul. Grzy-bowska, ul. ¸ucka, ul.Towarowa and ul. Wronia andhas been designed in line withBREEAM certification re-quirements, will involve thedevelopment of a total ofaround 100,000 sqm of officespace.

The complex will include a220-meter tower and twosmaller 55-meter tall struc-tures (B and C). Frontex,which signed the lease transac-tion for the period of 10 years,

will occupy space in building Bwhich it is expected to startfurnishing in September 2014.

Active in the market forover two decades now, Ghe-lamco Poland has to datedelivered more than 400,000

sqm of office and warehousespace. The company is alsopresent in the residential seg-ment of the Polish real estatemarket, under its GhelamcoResidential brand.

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The complex will comprise some 100,000 sqm

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE www.wbj.pl 17

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

on Dec 13 (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX 69.70 -0.43 45.85 88.35 -1.90 25,530,098 1,779.45

CELTIC 3.99 -0.25 3.74 19.38 -77.20 34,231,466 136.58

DOMDEV 32.43 -9.92 23.51 42.80 8.10 24,715,272 801.52

ECHO 5.24 -2.96 3.05 5.48 54.12 420,000,000 2,200.80

ELBUDOWA 111.20 -0.89 87.00 120.00 18.42 4,747,608 527.93

ENERGOPLD 0.30 -3.23 0.17 2.30 -85.37 70,972,001 21.29

ERBUD 15.85 -5.43 11.33 23.20 -3.76 12,677,956 200.95

GANT 4.57 8.81 2.68 9.85 -23.83 20,120,000 91.95

GTC 9.39 3.07 5.20 11.40 -1.16 319,372,990 2,998.91

HBPOLSKA 0.02 0.00 0.01 1.43 -97.33 210,558,445 4.21

JWCONSTR 4.00 -11.11 3.26 8.40 -13.04 54,073,280 216.29

LCCORP 1.22 0.83 0.85 1.48 38.64 447,558,311 546.02

MARVIPOL 8.95 3.47 6.20 11.00 -0.44 36,923,400 330.46

MIRBUD 1.20 0.84 0.98 2.68 -47.83 75,000,000 90.00

MOSTALWAR 11.65 -5.28 11.30 22.21 -35.99 20,000,000 233.00

MOSTALZAB 1.12 4.67 0.81 1.80 -11.11 149,130,538 167.03

ORCOGROUP 10.40 -8.21 6.36 19.55 -32.47 107,840,962 1,121.55

PBG 6.42 -4.18 3.36 83.90 -91.07 14,295,000 91.77

PLAZACNTR 1.41 -0.70 1.40 2.94 -30.20 297,181,703 419.03

POLAQUA 3.55 10.94 3.20 8.18 -37.94 27,500,100 97.63

POLIMEXMS 0.60 1.69 0.48 2.04 -61.29 521,154,076 312.69

POLNORD 10.44 -2.88 10.00 19.85 -23.35 25,633,027 267.61

RANKPROGR 10.17 -6.18 7.10 16.97 14.92 37,183,550 378.16

ROBYG 1.47 2.08 1.08 1.75 31.25 257,935,500 379.17

RONSON 0.83 1.22 0.61 1.15 -13.54 272,360,000 226.06

TRAKCJA 0.65 1.56 0.64 1.44 -48.41 232,105,480 150.87

ULMA 40.51 -2.15 37.20 74.80 -34.66 5,255,632 212.91

UNIBEP 4.88 0.62 3.60 6.28 -11.27 34,021,684 166.03

WARIMPEX 3.70 -1.33 2.64 4.62 4.23 54,000,000 199.80

ZUE 6.28 9.41 5.07 8.50 -13.62 22,000,000 138.16

Property-related stocks Building permit granted forWarsaw laboratory complexA building permit has beengranted for the LaboratoriumCentralne CEZAMAT projectin Warsaw. The laboratory isexpected to become the mostmodern such scheme in Polandwhen it is completed in 2015.

The development, whoseinvestor is a consortium ofeight Warsaw-based scientificcenters, will be built on ul.Poleczki in the Polish capital’sUrsynów district. The site isover 19,500 sqm and belongsto the Warsaw University ofTechnology.

The Laboratorium Cen-tralne CEZAMAT invest-ment, whose value is estimatedat approximately z∏.385 mil-lion, will be comprised of alaboratory building, an admin-istrative building and a park-

ing lot building with spaces for180 cars.

The former structure willbe situated as far as possiblefrom the busy ul. Poleczki toavoid traffic-generated vibra-

tions. The whole complex willdeliver more than 32,500 sqmof space, with its general con-tractor expected to be selectedin the first quarter of 2013.

MMaarrttaa MMaarrddoosszz

Galeria Solna mall topped outACE 1, a joint venture formedby Acteeum Central Europeand Libra Project, which is theinvestor behind the under-con-struction Galeria Solna shop-ping center project inInowroc∏aw in northern Poland,held a topping out ceremony atthe scheme’s construction siteearlier this month.

The Galeria Solna invest-ment is being developed on 10hectares of land and will be thefirst modern shopping center inInowroc∏aw. The developmentwill feature more than 30,000sqm of leasable space and willhouse approximately 100stores.

The Galeria Solna mall is

scheduled to open for businessin the second quarter of nextyear. “As early as in spring theinhabitants of Inowroc∏aw willbenefit from the broad offer ofthe first shopping gallery in theregion,” said Grzegorz P´kals-ki, management board presi-dent at ACE 1.

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Laboratorium Centralne CEZAMAT

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 19

Financial Services

Leasing CompaniesRanked by revenue from leasing in 2010 www.bookoflists.pl

Notes: WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was conducted in July2011. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of June 2011. All infor-mation pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding toour 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 and typographicalerrors may occur. Corrections or additions to The List should be sent, on official letterhead, to Warsaw Business Journal, attn. Monika Brysiak, ul. Elblàska 15/17, 01-747 War-saw, via fax to (+48) 22 639-8569, or via e-mail to wbjbol@wbj.pl. Copyright 2012, Valkea Media SA. The List may not be reprinted or reproduced in whole or in part with-out prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Revenue fromleasing (z∏. mln)

Total revenue(z∏. mln)

Net profit (z∏. mln)

Net value ofleased assets

(z∏. mln)

Leasingcontracts

signed

Leasing:Operational/

FinancialLeased goods Currency Additional services

Total number ofemployees /

Year founded inPoland

Ownership: Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /

Title

1

Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy SAPl. Orlàt Lwowskich 1, 53-605 Wroc∏aw71 377-7777/71 377-7778info@efl.com.plwww.efl.com.pl

213.7434.1468.0532.0

260.9556.4610.0650.0

40.392.6121.0110.0

1,443.53,095.62,619.83,762.0

16,87237,19134,52149,018

✓✓

Road transport equipment;machinery and equipment;computer hardware and

software; real estate

PLN; EUR; CHF

Insurance; assistance; extendedwarranty; life insurance; assetpolicies; vehicle registration;drivers’ legal protection; fuel

cards

7711991

NoneCredit Agricole - 100%

Andrzej KrzemiƒskiPresident

2

Raiffeisen-Leasing Polska SAul. Prosta 51, 00-838 Warsaw22 326-3600/22 325-3601leasing@raiffeisen.plwww.rl.com.pl

183.6375.4408.7424.9

183.6375.4408.7424.9

29.335.737.550.8

1,270.12,377.51,528.43,096.6

9,79720,04614,18225,608

✓✓

Transport equipment;machinery and equipment;IT and office equipment;real estate; yachts and

boats

PLN; EURInsurance; assistance with

formalities3861998

Raiffeisen Bank Polska -50%

Raiffeisen LeasingInternational - 50%

Arkadiusz EtrykPresident

3

LeasePlan Fleet Management PolskaSp. z o.o.ul. Domaniewska 52, 02-672 Warsaw22 335-1666/22 335-1661info@leaseplan.plwww.leaseplan.pl

209.4363.7311.2258.9

WND373.9322.9268.4

8.414.610.63.7

159.1288.9230.4240.7

2,2894,7153,7583,870

✓✓

Vehicles up to 3.5 tonsload capacity

PLN

Car purchasing assistance;vehicle registration; insurance;damage claims management;traffic tickets management;

environmental fee; RTVsubscription payments; tire

management; vehiclesinspactions and repairs; fuel

cards

722001

NoneLeasePlan Corporation -

100%

S∏awomir WontruckiPresident, Managing Director

4

BZ WBK Finanse&Leasing SAul. Chlebowa 4/8, 61-003 Poznaƒ61 850-3500/22 488-5890leasing24@bzwbk.plwww.leasing24.pl

132.0259.0272.0255.0

178.0346.0340.0322.0

19.011.033.034.0

744.21,321.71,319.21,752.4

5,48011,19910,75113,981

✓✓

Vehicles; machinery andequipment; real estate;

wind turbinesPLN; EUR Insurance; fuel cards

3001999

WNDWojciech Nowacki

President

5

ING Lease Polska Sp. z o.o.Pl. Trzech Krzy˝y 10/14, 00-499 Warsaw22 820-5300 /22 820-5400 inglease.polska@inglease.plwww.inglease.pl

114.0195.0216.0248.0

114.0195.0216.0248.0

23.733.88.520.5

4,302.04,222.04,256.04,108.0

2,8712,4261,9561,562

✓✓

Real estate and movables PLN; EURAssistance with formalities;

legal services; insurance1201996

NoneING Lease Holding - 100%

Mariusz KurzacPresident

6

Masterlease Polska (Prime Car Management SA, FuturaLeasing SA, Masterlease Sp. z o.o.)ul. Polanki 4, 80-308 Gdaƒsk58 340-4400/58 340-4499centrala@masterlease.plwww.masterlease.pl

WND175.4151.8131.9

WND457.0431.6322.8

WND-13.2-31.1-14.8

WND425.4371.2590.5

WND6,9985,9769,495

✓✓

Vehicles up to 3.5 tonsload capacity

PLN; EUR

Vehicle servicing; tires;insurance; reports; fuel cards;replacement ehicles; damage

claims management; assistance

WND1995

NoneFleet Holdings - 100%

Jerzy KobyliƒskiPresident

7

BNP Paribas Lease Group Sp. z o.o.Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1, 00-078 Warsaw22 566-9688/22 566-9659contact.leasing.pl@bnpparibas.comwww.leasingsolutions.bnpparibas.pl

WND136.2159.8209.9

WND166.7192.5226.7

WND-65.27.428.2

WND762.4595.2

1,371.8

WND4,5783,1366,175

✓✓

Real estate; road transportequipment; industrial

machinery and equipment;computers and office

equipment; other meansof transport; other

movables

PLN; EUR; CHF;USD

Equipment registration; asset insurance

991998

WNDBNP Paribas SA

Stephane HalysGeneral Director

8

Volkswagen Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o.Al. Jana Paw∏a II 15, 00-828 Warsaw22 538-7000/22 538-7070info@vwleasing.plwww.vwleasing.pl

55.7127.8163.8140.4

82.7166.3199.8168.5

1.014.918.91.2

252.9510.7517.5858.3

3,0926,2276,85012,206

✓✓

WND WND WNDWND1997

WND

Joanna Wujcik-Lasocka; Artur

ZalewskiBoard Members

9

Deutsche Leasing Polska SAul. Wybrze˝e Gdyƒskie 6A, 01-531 Warsaw22 504-9000/22 504-9100info@dlp.plwww.dlp.pl

WND105.6127.9113.7

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

204.4509.6746.7606.2

247554708701

✓✓

Industrial machinery andequipment; road and rail

transport equipmentPLN; EUR Insurance

601997

NoneDeutsche Sparkassen

Leasing - 100%

Krzysztof Brzeziƒski;Anna Krakowska

Board Members

10

NL-Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Lubowidzka 33, 80-174 Gdaƒsk58 300-0059/58 322-1795office@nl-leasing.plwww.nl-leasing.pl

15.932.3WND29.5

20.139.7WND32.2

2.03.0

WND-2.9

22.248.9354.068.7

185431

WNDWND

✓-

Transport equipment PLN; EUR Insurance11

2004WND - 48%WND - 52%

Arkadiusz TrojakowskiPresident

11

ATHLON CAR LEASE POLSKA Sp. z o.o.Al. Jana Paw∏a II 29, 00-867 Warsaw22 653-7885/22 653-7874info@athloncarlease.plwww.athloncarlease.pl

24.624.813.03.9

24.524.513.03.9

0.5-1.9-5.2-2.9

18.238.838.622.9

WNDWNDWNDWND

✓WND

Vehicles up to 3.5 tonsload capacity

PLN

Insurance; damage claimsmanagement; technical

maintenance; tires; AthlonAssistance; replacement cars;

fuel cards; reports

222007

WNDAthlon BeheerInternational

Eric van VlietPresident

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012MMAARRKKEETTSS20 www.wbj.pl

SO

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SE

PLN-EUR

4

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2

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currency rates

Z∏oty gains

on Fed’s QE

Currency report

The main event of last weekdid not disappoint investors.The US Federal Reserveextended the quantitativeeasing program by another$45 billion monthly in addi-tion to the current $40 billionmortgage securities buybackprogram.

Markets got what theyneeded: an impulse to makethe move. As the reception ofthe Fed’s decision wasreceived positively, marketsrallied. The EUR/USD, whichhas been rebounding from$1.29, continued its upwardmove all the way to $1.31.

I believe it was emotionswhich drove the EUR/USDand the upcoming weeksshould bring a correctivemovement on the main cur-rency pair. The z∏oty marketalso experienced highervolatility. All signs pointedagainst appreciation – mem-

bers of the rate-settingMonetary Policy Council(RPP) talked about thenecessity of further interest-rate cuts while CPI inflationfell to 2.8 percent from 3.4percent in November. Infla-tion, the main factor the RPPis looking at is falling and Ido not see a need to changemy interest rate forecast of3.25 percent in 2013.

The EUR/PLN, whichhovered around the z∏.4.12area for a couple of days, tum-bled after the Fed’s decisionand is being quoted at z∏.4.08.The USD/PLN, the morevolatile of the z∏oty currencypairs, experienced an evenlarger move – after reaching aweekly high of z∏.3.20 it tum-bled all the way to z∏.3.08. Ibelieve the z∏oty cannot staystrong for long at these levelsand a reversal is therefore inthe cards. ●

Adam NarczewskiX-Trade Brokers DM SA

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BP

Major indices

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

MISPOL 1.04 48.57 3.80 0.70STALEXP 1.40 20.69 1.45 0.99SADOVAYA 2.00 19.05 10.90 1.35BNPPL 52.00 18.18 89.00 44.00NFIEMF 14.00 16.67 15.00 7.10

WIG 46,653.84 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: 1.38% 52-week high: 46,717.72

Change year to December 13: 21.75% 52-week low: 36,653.28

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

TVN 9.98 10.89 12.40 5.90KGHM 189.00 4.71 190.00 102.40PKNORLEN 48.79 4.68 49.15 31.44KERNEL 69.00 3.60 76.00 51.00GTC 9.39 3.07 11.47 5.13

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

BEST 20.00 -33.88 36.50 11.25MEXPOLSKA 2.85 -29.63 10.89 2.77ADVADIS 0.03 -25.00 0.11 0.03MEDIATEL 0.92 -20.69 2.56 0.88ZASTAL 2.00 -16.32 2.63 0.69

WIG20 2,518.80 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: 1.34% 52-week high: 2,525.40

Change year to December 13: 14.80% 52-week low: 2,035.80

mWIG40 2,582.56 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: 1.77% 52-week high: 2,582.56

Change year to December 13: 17.91% 52-week low: 2,076.52

sWIG80 10,301.10 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: 1.36% 52-week high: 10,536.29

Change year to December 13: 19.72% 52-week low: 8,218.71

NewConnect 32.93 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: -0.87% 52-week high: 43.83

Change year to December 13: -20.63% 52-week low: 32.93

WIG-Banki 6,492.59 (December 13 close)

Change for the week: 0.51% 52-week high: 6,550.37

Change year to December 13: 17.13% 52-week low: 5,163.30

DJIA13,074.04 (Dec 13 close)

0.74% (for the week)

CHANGE: 6.24%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 13,661.90

52-week low: 11,735.20

NASDAQ2,992.16 (Dec 13 close)

0.10% (for the week)

CHANGE: 12.97%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 3,196.93

52-week low: 2,518.01

S&P5001,419.45 (Dec 13 close)

0.39% (for the week)

CHANGE: 11.15%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 1,474.51

52-week low: 1,202.37

FTSE1005,929.60 (Dec 13 close)

0.48% (for the week)

CHANGE: 4.03%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 5,989.10

52-week low: 5,229.80

DAX7,581.98 (Dec 13 close)

0.63% (for the week)

CHANGE: 24.80%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 7,626.40

52-week low: 5,637.53

NIKKEI2259,742.73 (Dec 13 close)

2.07% (for the week)

CHANGE: 13.82%

(year to Dec 13)

52-week high: 10,255.20

52-week low: 8,238.96

world stock indices

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10,120

10,260

10,400

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Other indices

WIG20

powers ahead

Stocks report

Last week was another peri-od of strong gains for stockson the WIG20, with theblue-chip index showing fur-ther resilience as it broke2,500 points in mid-week.Monday started off strong,despite weak economic databeing released in both Japanand China hours beforetrading opened in Europe.

The WIG20 closed 1.05percent higher, with onlyAthens managing greatergains. The bulls gave no reston Tuesday, gaining moreconfidence after Germaninvestor sentiment improvedsharply in December. TheWIG20 managed to breakthe psychological barrier of2,500, not reached sinceAugust 2011. The WIG20closed 1.46 percent higher,with shares of TVN leadingwith a 5.5 percent gain.

Wednesday saw addition-

al gains, with the main impe-tus coming from overseas asthe Federal Reserve rampedup its monetary stimulus andsaid it would keep bench-mark interest rates nearzero. The WIG20 again ledmost of Europe, gainingover half a percent, while theDAX and FTSE saw gains ofabout a third of a percent.Once again shares of TVNpowered ahead, up nearly 6percent.

After three days of gains,shares saw some pull-backon Thursday. Of 350 listingson the Polish exchange, 170closed higher while 180closed lower. The WIG20,though, closed a quarter of apercent lower.

On Friday, the WIG20rose 0.71 percent while theoverall WIG added 0.56 per-cent, due to positive US eco-nomic data. ●

Andrew Nawrocki WBJ market analyst

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

SYNTHOS 5.55 -4.64 6.78 4.02PEKAO 161.00 -1.83 165.90 128.10BOGDANKA 133.00 -1.77 137.00 103.80PGE 18.16 -1.30 21.78 16.72TAURONPE 4.49 -1.10 5.61 4.08

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 SSPPOORRTTSS www.wbj.pl 21

Soccer

Warsaw clubs riding highin Ekstraklasa

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Polonia players and fans celebrate following their victory

Professionally honed and targeted to a defined group, whether B2B or end-customers, each message is designed for maximum effectiveness.

Custom publishing is one of the world’s fastest-growing marketing tools, because it pinpoints – and achieves – corporate goals.

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Valkea Media SA, ul. Elbląska 15/17, 01-747 Warszawa, tel. 22 639 85 69, e-mail: mlindholm@valkea.com, www.cp.valkea.com, www.facebook.com/valkeacp

Legia and Polonia gointo the winter breakin first and thirdplace, respectively

Legia Warszawa and cross-city rivals Polonia Warszawahave ended 2012 at the top ofPoland’s Ektraklasa division.Legia, which has led the tablefor much of this season, wentinto the winter break on theback of a 1-0 away defeat tolast season’s champions ÂlàskWroc∏aw.

However, despite losingthe match, the team was stillable to maintain its Ektrak-lasa dominance going into

Christmas, with 33 pointsfrom 15 matches. Along withleading the table, Legia alsohas the top scorer, with Ser-bian striker Danijel Ljubojaat the top of the pack with 10goals.

Yet while Legia wasexpected to challenge for thetitle this year, their archrivals have been much moreof a surprise package for Pol-ish soccer fans. Polonia, alsoknown as the Black Shirts, byfar the smaller of the capi-tal’s two professional clubs,has put itself in position for ashot at capturing the title,with seven wins and three

draws at the half-way point,leaving the team just fivepoints behind Legia.

In the final match beforethe break Polonia brushedaside eighth-placed PogoƒSzczecin to leap-frog ÂlàskWroc∏aw and Górnik Zabrzeand move into third, onepoint behind Lech Poznaƒ insecond. If Polonia managesto maintain its form in thesecond half of the season itcould result in its first Polishtitle since 2001, when thegoals of Polish-Nigerianstriker Emmanuel Olisadebefired the team to the title.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

The former skijumper is hoping toimprove on last year’sresult

Polish sporting icon AdamMa∏ysz is preparing for hissecond attempt at thefamous Dakar Rally, whichbegins in Lima on January 5.The former ski jumper, whocaptured four ski jumpingworld championships duringan illustrious career, finishedin 37th place in last year’sevent.

The Pole, who retired fromskiing in 2011, said he hopes tofinish in the top 20, althoughhe acknowledges, that this willbe a difficult task given howlittle experience he has in hisnew sport.

“If by the time we get to thefinish in Santiago we are in thetop 20 overall, then that will begreat. But we realize that it willbe a difficult task,” he said at apress conference last week.

“I know that I’m still anovice. I have to continue tolearn diligently, Rafa∏ is a

good guy, without whom Iwould have done very little,”he said of his co-driver Rafa∏Marton.

But prior to the start of theevent the four-time Olympicmedalist plans to spend thefirst full Christmas with hisfamily in 17 years. Last year hewas in preperation for theDakar Rally, while prior tothat he was always competingin ski jumping events.

“I’m not sure I’ll knowwhat to do,” he said.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

Rally driving

Ma∏ysz ready for secondDakar Rally

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Adam Ma∏ysz (left) and co-driver Rafa∏ Marton

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE22 www.wbj.pl

Concert

Back by popular demand

Selah Sue

Selah SueDecember 19Klub Stodo∏a, ul. Batorego 10Warsaw

Following the runaway suc-cess of her sellout Warsawconcert last March, Belgiansinger-songwriter Selah Sueis back again for more of thesame this holiday season.

Named as one of RollingStone magazine’s faces of2012, her eponymous debut

album has sold more thanhalf a million copies so far.The record presents a mix-ture of styles, with her AmyWinehouse-influenced vo-cals recorded over acousticballets, as well as more elec-tronic- and funk-infusedtracks.

Along with a new legionof fans, the singer has alsoattracted the great and thegood of the music world,

supporting legendary singer-songwriter Prince during a2010 concert in Belgium. Shealso recently appeared aspart of the entertainment ata recent royal wedding inLuxembourg.

Tickets for her latest War-saw concert are priced fromz∏.100.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaammFor more information,

log on to stodola.pl

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Concert

Classical concerto

New Year’s ConcertDecember 1, 5 pmWarsaw Philharmonic, ul. Jasna 5Warsaw

This annual event has becomea New Year’s tradition sincefirst being established by theJan Kiepura Mazovian MusicTheater in 2005. And whatbetter way than to welcome in2013 with an evening of classi-cal music in the best festive

spirit.The 2013 edition will fea-

ture soloists Victoria Yastre-bova (soprano) and SiergeySemishur (tenor) from theMariinsky Theatre of SaintPetersburg, in addition tomusicians from the Jan Kiepu-ra Mazovian Music Theatre,including soloist Ma∏gorzataKustosik and mezzosopranoJoanna Jakubas.

The renowned Mazowsze

choir will also be present,while the main artists will alsobe backed up by the theater’sorchestra, led by maestroJacek Bon. They will performwaltzes, polkas, czardases, andnumerous other musical styles.

Tickets for the event arepriced from z∏.150.

DDaavviidd IInngghhaamm

For more information,log on to mtmteatr.eu

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Last year’s concert

There’s a guy you need to get a pres-ent for. A significant other, colleague,arch-frenemy – it doesn’t matter who.What matters is that you need thatpresent and it’s almost Christmas.The clock is ticking. What are yougoing to do?

Don’t worry, Techeye is here tohelp. First ask yourself, what doesevery guy want?

The answer is simple: identicaltwins dressed as French maids, with avocabulary limited to “Yes, Master,”

“It’s peanut but-ter night,Master” and“That’s ille-gal in most

civilized nations,Master...giggle.”

But let’sassume that’s

e i t h e rout of

your price range, or perhaps out ofyour moral comfort zone. Here’s aslightly cheaper, considerably lesslicentious alternative: the Arkeg, anarcade game / kegerator from Califor-nia-based Allstarcade(Drinkngame.com).

Beer and video games. Occupyingthe same liquid/scratch-resistant blackvinyl cabinet. Genius.

Now for the details: the Arkegholds a five-gallon keg and, yes, aEuropean keg coupler is available(though it costs an extra $80). Thecabinet holds a 24-inch LCD screenand a gaming PC that comes loadedwith almost 70 games, including thefirst three Mortal Kombat titles, SpyHunter, Street Fighter II CE, Gaunt-let and Joust. Other games are just adownload away.

The bad news is that the Arkegcosts a rather stout $4,000, and theextras will drain your wallet. Adding a10-inch drip tray will run you $90, forexample, and a single bar stool costs adifficult-to-fathom $200.

If the Arkeg’s price tag puts youoff, an interesting alternative might bethe Bear Grylls Basic Survival Kitfrom Gerber (Gerbergear.com).That’s Gerber the knife maker, notthe baby-food company.

If you’re not familiar with him, BearGrylls is a survivalist bloke who eatsdead camel fat, drinks urine and fightsbees with his face, all for the amuse-ment of the home audience. He’sessentially an outdoorsy JeremyClarkson who doesn’t talk as much$%^!, but isn’t afraid to eat it (pro-vided it contains some half-digestedfruit).

So the Basic Survival Kit wouldbe a decent present for a man’sman, or a man who fancies himselfa man’s man. It comprises a basic

set of survival tools – a small Ger-ber knife; emergency whistle; firestarter; waterproof matches; snarewire; emergency cord; cottonball/fire tinder; a lightweight, nylonbag with waterproof zipper; “landto air rescue instructions”; and apocket survival guide. Cost: $21 (onAmazon).

If a survival kit doesn’t feel likethe right present, here’s a truly ball-sy gift: the Sphero robotic ball gam-ing system from Orbotix (Gos-phero.com).

The Sphero is a zoomy, color-shifting ball that you remote controlvia smartphone (iOS or Androiddevice). It’s a straightforward toy,

although apps offer some gameplayvariety, letting you simulate golf,execute complicated commands orjust scare the bejesus out of a cat.The battery lasts for about an hour,and takes 2-3 hours to charge. Parfor the course, that.

You can get a Sphero togetherwith more than 20 apps on Amazonfor $139. Cat not included.

That’s it for Techeye’s 2012Christmas gadget extravaganza. Ifyou haven’t bought presents yet,good luck finding some. And if youreally get desperate, give somethought to the French maid idea –there’s no way to go wrong withthat. ●

DECEMBER 17-23, 2012 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 23

Last minute gadgets (and other gifts) for guysTech Eye

Ever sampled a half-digested morsel of fruit? 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

Fibak Galleryul. KrakowskiePrzedmieÊcie 5www.galeriafibak.pl

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

Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65www.galeria65.com

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

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Museum ofIndependenceAleja SolidarnoÊci 62www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl

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

Polish National Operaat Teatr WielkiPl. Teatralny 1www.teatrwielki.pl

Pracownia Galeriaul. Emilii Plater 14www.pracowniagaleria.pl

Rempex Art and Auction Houseul. Karowa 31www.rempex.com.pl

Royal CastlePl. Zamkowy 4www.zamek-krolewski.com.pl

Simonis Galleryul. Burakowska 9www.simonisgallery.com

State ArchaeologicalMuseum in Warsawul. D∏uga 52www.pma.pl

State EthnographicMuseumul. Kredytowa 1www.ethnomuseum.website.pl

Historical Museum of Warsaw Old Town Square 28-42www.mhw.pl

History Meeting House of Warsaw ul. Karowa 20www.dsh.waw.pl

Warsaw Philharmonic ul. Jasna 5www.filharmonia.pl

Warsaw RisingMuseum ul. Grzybowska 79www.1944.pl

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

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

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

To advertise in WBJ’s classifieds section, contact

Agnieszka Brejwo, at(+48) 222-577-526 or abrejwo@wbj.pl

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The Arkeg

The Bear Grylls Basic

Survival Kit

Sphero