Developed as a state-owned company, working under the hat of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency has over 20 years of experience in the process of attracting foreign investors and supporting Polish companies in the global expansion. Krzysztof Senger, Member of the Board, discusses the high quality Brownfield and Greenfield FDI in Poland and the development of the Polish companies abroad.
European Times: What are the Agency’s main objectives?
Krzysztof Senger: The main aim of the Agency is to attract foreign investors to enter the Polish market and locate their businesses, by helping them understand the business and legal environment in Poland. Statistics show constant enlargement, noting FDI increase by 128% in 2016, with re-investments of 60%, which proves that the foreign companies are successful and profitable. The Agency plans to support 200 new projects with total investment value of €4.7 billion, in 2017.
Using the Agency’s expertise in helping international investors settled in Poland, we are entering in a new line of business, supporting the Polish companies to go overseas. We help them understand the investment climate in the region or the country of their interest, providing them with set of tools and knowledge and assisting them to organize their activities. In this context, together with the Polish Development Fund we are allocating approximately €14.7 billion to finance export.
European Times: What is the Agency doing to support and promote the FDI in Poland?
Krzysztof Senger: The Agency provides support in the whole life cycle of the investment process. We deliver the guidelines to the three most strategic investment incentives the cash grants, the CIT deductions within the special economic zones and the real-estate tax deduction. We also advise the investors about the best place to locate their businesses, showcasing Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk, as the most attractive for the business services sector and the Silesia region, developed as a hub for the automotive industry. The Agency also works on the promotion of 20 new emerging sites.
In terms of value proposition, the Agency promotes the highly educated and skilled workforce and well developed value chains of different sectors, focusing on the attraction of investments in the R&D sectors.
European Times: What is the Agency undertaking to support the Polish investments internationally?
Krzysztof Senger: The Agency is setting up branch offices in strategic countries for the Polish economy, providing a platform and a channel of communication between the Polish and foreign companies. Considering that the Polish investors are interested in the emerging markets such as Asia, Japan, China, Vietnam and the ASEAN region, the Agency set up trade offices in cities like Teheran, Nairobi and San Francisco, and is planning to expand to more than 20 new locations in 2017.
