Bangalore, Feb 28: Mr Dariusz Bogdan, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Poland, has invited Indian business to explore the emerging business and investment opportunities in Poland, a country that has maintained sound economic policies contributing to macroeconomic and financial stability as well as a relatively high level of competitiveness.
Addressing an interactive session with CEOs of Polish and Indian companies, organised by FICCI here on February 27 , Bogdan said Poland is the 6th biggest country in the EU with working age population of 26.6 million and a strong export performance (total exports in 2011 stood at 135 billion Euros). It is well integrated with the EU in terms of trade and foreign direct investments.
As a result, Poland is an important part of the EU production chains. At the same time, sound economic policies kept the economy stable in terms of inflation, output gap and the current account which was largely covered by net FDI inflows and EU capital transfers. Thus, the Polish economy has not built up any significant imbalances (Polish public debt in 2011 was 56.4% of GDP; without pensions: 39.2% of GDP and Private debt: 79.5% of GDP.)
He said the Polish labour market was relatively flexible with well educated workers that are competitive in terms of wages. This is appreciated by investors. According to a Ernst & Young European Attractiveness Survey 2012 of 840 respondents constituting executives of large companies around the world, 10 per cent of them found Poland to be the second-most attractive investment destination in Europe in the next three years. (Germany stood at No. 1 at 35 per cent; followed by Poland, the UK (8 per cent), Russia (7 per cent), France (4 per cent).
Ms. Bożena CZAJA, Member of the Management Board, Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency, in her remarks, said that UNCTAD had placed Poland as the 6th most attractive FDI destinations. Ernst & Young ranks the country in the 2nd in a group of the most attractive countries in the next three years and the Financial Times of London gives Poland the 3rd place globally in quality of processing industry.
Within Poland, she said, Eastern Poland was one of the fastest developing regions of Poland.
The region has the lowest labour costs in the country, is one of the most eco friendly regions in the whole of Europe has a young and highly-skilled workers and there is a positive outlook for road infrastructure development
The priority sectors in Eastern Poland are: food sector, furniture production, metal and machinery sector, BPO, aviation industry, yacht industry and business tourism.
Dr. Sebastian Domzalski, Head of the Economic Section, Embassy of Poland in New Delhi, said today’s seminar was the second of the road shows by the country on ‘Doing Business in Poland’. The first road show was held in Delhi followed by the one in Bangalore today and the next one in Hyderabad on February 28. The 14-member Polish business delegation to India represents sectors such as aviation, machinery and equipment and food processing.
Mr. Sudhakar Gande, FICCI Executive Committee Member and Vice Chairman, Axis Aerospace and Technologies Ltd. said, India offers a huge business opportunity. “You have the knowledge and expertise and we have the markets, not just in India but much beyond our borders”, he declared.
