WBJ #10 2012

VOLUME 18, NUMBER 10 • MARCH 12-18, 2012 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

Gender benderThe EU is considering quotas for women on

company boards. Poles don’t mind the idea,

but Polish firms say “no thanks” 5

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Wrong track

Tragedy revealsPoland’s failed railway

network policy

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Visas still needed“Strong opposition” to Poland joining the

US’s Visa Waiver Program means Obama

may break an important promise 3

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Poland’s largest lender earnedrecord profits in 2011, and coulddo so again this year

Taxi firms are threatening tofire drivers who use a taxi-location smartphone app

Techeye reviewsthe iPad that hasno name

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

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

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

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

Opinion & Analysis . . . . . . . . .10-11

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

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .14-17

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

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

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

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

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

REAL ESTATELokale Immobilia• Poland at MIPIM

• New Warsaw

skyscraper

• Warsaw attracts

investment 14-17

In this issue

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Interview:Janusz LewandowskiThe Polish EU

commissioner says

slashing the bloc’s

budget would be

“destructive” 8-9

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MARCH 12-18, 2012NEWS2 www.wbj.pl

Food

inspector:

road salt safe

Industrial salt, such as

that which was sold for

years by five arrested men

to food-processing plants

in Poland, is not harmful

in human food, Polish

health authorities said last

week. The amounts of

dioxins and heavy metals

in the salt, which is

normally used to de-ice

roads, were found to be

minimal and not

dangerous to human

health. Nevertheless,

authorities in neighboring

Czech Republic announced

a temporary ban on

imports of Polish salt, and

Polish health authorities

ordered over 230,000 kilos

of food to be withdrawn

from the market last

Friday as a precaution.

Komorowski

in Afghanistan

Cooperation between

Poland and Afghanistan

will continue after Poland

withdraws its troops,

Polish President

Bronis∏aw Komorowski

said last week in Kabul.

Mr Komorowski met with

his Afghan counterpart

Hamid Karzai in

Afghanistan’s capital

during an official state

visit. Polish soldiers have

been stationed in

Afghanistan since March

2002 as part of the NATO-

ISAF force.

French

presidential

candidate in

Poland

François Hollande, leader

of France’s Socialist

Party, was in Warsaw on

Friday, where he met

Polish President

Bronis∏aw Komorowski

and the leaders of the

Democratic Left Alliance.

Mr Hollande is current

French President Nicolas

Sarkozy’s main rival in

the upcoming presidential

election, scheduled to

take place on April 22.

Explosion at

Orlen’s

Lithuania

refinery

Two workers died last

week due to an explosion

at Polish refiner PKN

Orlen’s Lietuva AB

refinery in Lithuania.

According to a statement

from PKN Orlen, the

explosion has not affected

operations. ●

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

Banco Espírito

Santo de Investimento ..................5

Banco Santander............................6

Bank Handlowy ............................20

Bank Zachodni WBK ..................5, 6

BBI Development ........................15

Biedecki ........................................13

BNP Paribas Real Estate ............15

Capital Park Group ......................17

CBRE Poland ..........................15, 17

Celtic Property Developments ....15

Colliers International ............15, 17

Deutsche Bank ..............................8

Dom Maklerski IDMSA ..................5

ECE

Projektmanagement Polska ........15

Enea ..............................................12

Gazprom ........................................2

Getin..............................................20

Ghelamco......................................15

Groupama ......................................8

Hochtief ......................................15

Icon Real Estate ..........................17

JEMS Architekci ..........................17

Jeronimo Martins ..........................5

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

KBC Securities ..............................5

Kernel ..........................................20

KGHM........................................6, 20

Kredyt Bank....................................6

Litgrid ............................................2

Pekao ............................................20

PGE ..........................................2, 20

PGNiG ....................................12, 20

PKN Orlen ....................................20

PKO BP ....................................5, 20

PKP ..........................................3, 12

Proama ..........................................8

PZU ..............................................20

Quadra ............................................6

Skanska Property Poland ............15

Sumitomo Group ............................6

TPSA ............................................13

TVN ..............................................20

UBM Polska..................................16

Warsaw Stock Exchange................6

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

It was revealed last week thatan agreement on the imple-mentation of the LitPol Link, aplanned Polish-Lithuanian ele-ctricity link estimated to beworth €371 million, was signedin December 2011.

The deal was inked by Pol-ish energy firm Polska GrupaEnergetyczna (PGE) and Lit-grid, a Lithuanian electricitytransmission system operator.

Virgilijus Poderys, CEO ofLitgrid, confirmed the news tothe Baltic News Service (BNS),but his firm hasn’t explainedwhy there was no publicannouncement immediatelyafter the deal was signed.

The agreement signals thelaunch of the project, the com-pletion of which is expected bythe end of 2015. The energy

link is expected to have acapacity of 500 megawatts by2015, before being increased to1,000 MW by 2020.

LitPol Link is one of Lithua-nia’s strategic energy projects.The connection will link theelectricity transmission infra-structure of the three Balticcountries to that of WesternEurope and create the neces-sary infrastructure for an inte-gration of the countries’ elec-tricity markets.

Poland’s PSE-Operator andLitgrid will be the operators ofthe new power link.

Poland has reportedlyreceived €213 million in EUaid for upgrading transmissionlines in the northeastern part ofthe country as part of the LitPolLink project.

Both the Polish andLithuanian governments aremaking efforts to reduce theirdependence on Russian energysupplies. The potential ex-ploitation of what are expectedto be substantial reserves ofshale gas in Poland has raisedhopes that the country mightone day be able to transformfrom an energy importer intoan energy exporter.

At a conference in Februarythis year, Lithuanian EnergyMinister Arvydas Sekmokasstated that “the Baltic Statesshould become a good marketfor the supply of Polish shalegas, which could also competewith the gas supplied by theRussian energy giant Gaz-prom.”

Remi Adekoya

16is the number of people who died in the tragic train

crash in southern Poland on March 3. Some 57 peoplewere seriously injured.

13.5%was Poland’s unemployment rate in February,

according to data from the Labor Ministry. It’s thecountry’s highest unemployment rate since April 2007.

€972.2 blnis the size of the EU budget proposed by the European

Commission (see Interview, pp. 8-9)

4.5% continues to be Poland’s headline interest rate, after

the National Bank of Poland’s Monetary Policy Councilleft rates unchanged for the ninth straight month.

“We all sympathize with the victims, and aboveall the relatives and families of those who died

in the crash.”Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in reaction to the train crash on March 3, whichclaimed 16 lives.

Quote of the Week

Polish companies and Greek restructuringPolish companies have been largely protected againsttaking a direct hit from the euro-zone crisis. But withGreece passing a debt restructuring deal that willimpose losses on holders of Greek bonds, there aresome firms in Poland that will suffer losses. Log on toWBJ to find out which ones.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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13 YOUNG ART AUCTION:Event: Nearly 100 works by young artists will be

auctioned. Prices start at z∏.500.Location: DESA Unicum, ul. Marsza∏kowska 34-50, 7 pm

15 BOOK OF LISTS GALAEvent: Warsaw Business Journal’s official launch of

the 2012 edition of the Book of Lists rankingguide. By invitation only.

Location: Muzeum Kolekcji Jana Paw∏a II – Galeria Porczyƒskich, Plac Bankowy 1, Warsaw

15 WORKS OF ART AUCTIONEvent: Nearly 100 objects created before 1945 to

be auctioned, including works by masters ofthe Munich school and the École de Paris.

Location: DESA Unicum, ul. Marsza∏kowska 34-50 at 7 pm

16-17 NORDIC CROSS POINTEvent: Poland’s leading event dedicated to the

Nordic and Scandinavian-Polish cooperation,focused on business issues, education andculture.

Location: SzczecinWeb: nordiccrosspoint.pl

28 GREAT PLACE TO WORK GALAEvent: This event honors the Polish enterprises

using unique practices and humanresource management programs that pro-mote the values of credibility, respect, fair-ness, pride and camaraderie in therelationship between management andemployees.

Location: Warsaw Stock ExchangeWeb: greatplacetowork.pl

March

DATELINE

Poland-Lithuania energy link

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focus

Gender gapEmployment rates of women and men aged 25-64 and with ahigh level of education*, selected EU countries, 2010

Source: Eurostat

*High level of education: First and second stage of tertiary education

(ISCED levels 5 and 6)

MARCH 12-18, 2012 NEWS www.wbj.pl 3

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Rail tragedy

Poland suffers deadliest raildisaster in over 20 yearsThe precise cause ofthe head-on crashremains unknown,although human errorseems to be at theheart of it

Poland spent last week tryingto come to terms with its worstrail disaster in 22 years, withthe nation observing a two-dayperiod of national mourningand some of its politicians call-ing for a thorough moderniza-tion of the country’s rail infra-structure.

At 8:57 pm on March 3,two trains collided head-onnear the town of Szczekociny,in the south of Poland, as theywere traveling on the Kraków-Warsaw line. One of the trainswas traveling on the wrongtrack, a fact which had still notbeen fully explained as WBJwent to press.

The death toll stands at 16while a further 57 wereinjured, four of whom werestill in intensive care as of lastFriday.

National mourningOn the day after the tragedyPresident Bronis∏aw Komo-rowski announced the start ofa two-day period of nationalmourning.

Flags flew at half-mastthroughout Poland following

the announcement, with manyconcerts and other publicevents canceled.

Prime Minister DonaldTusk called the disaster the“most tragic train catastrophe… in many years.”

Possible causesProsecutor Tomasz Ozimektold reporters that an initialinvestigation into the tragedysuggests a rail controller madea mistake while setting the

mechanisms for directing thetrain that ended up on thewrong track.

The controller will facecharges of unintentionallycausing the accident, althoughhe has not yet been formallyquestioned or charged, havingbeen taken to a psychiatrichospital to receive treatmentfor shock. Mr Ozimekdeclined to reveal preciselywhat the controller will becharged with.

In a further twist, Polishmedia reported that the con-troller may have falsified offi-cial documents relating to theaccident.

Infrastructural problemshave also come to light, withPolish State Railways (PKP)reportedly admitting that itwas aware before the disasterof a fault in the line where theaccident occurred.

Citing a rail logbook itobtained, TVN24 reported

that a switch that allows trainsto pass from one track toanother was faulty, meaningthe train traveling on thewrong line could not be redi-rected on to another track.

“I know this fault has beenregistered, and there is only somuch I can say,” PKP directorfor the Kielce rail line, AdamM∏odawski, told the news sta-tion. He declined to commentany further.

The logbook also reported-

ly shows that rail controllersshould have known that one ofthe switches did not work.

More investment neededThe causes of the catastropheare now being investigated bya number of bodies and areview into rail safety has beenlaunched by the SupremeChamber of Control.

However, Poland’s politi-cians have already starteddrawing their own conclusionsabout what should be donenext.

Most have said that invest-ments in rail infrastructureneed to be increased in orderto improve safety. The need totake action is especially press-ing given that Poland ispreparing to host Euro 2012this summer, when thousandsof soccer fans will descend onthe country.

Following an outcry overthe government’s plan to askthe European Commission totransfer €1.2 billion in EUfunds originally earmarked forrail investment for use in roadinvestment, Transport Minis-ter S∏awomir Nowak an-nounced that the decision hadbeen reversed.

Mr Nowak told journaliststhat the modernization of therailways was his priority astransport minister.

Gareth Price

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Sixteen people died and 57 were injured as a result of the crash

Poland-US relations

Clinton: no visa-free US travel for Poles just yetThere is “strongopposition” in the USCongress to openingup the Visa WaiverProgram to Poland

After a meeting with PolishForeign Minister Rados∏awSikorski in Washington lastweek, US Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton admitted thatthere was “strong opposition”to including Poland in Ameri-ca’s Visa Waiver Program andthat it probably wouldn’t hap-pen this year.

“President Obama hasexpressed his support for thepending legislation inCongress that would createbroader participation in the

Visa Waiver Program [includ-ing for Poland],” Ms Clintonsaid at a joint press conferencewith Mr Sikorski. “We areworking very hard withCongress to try to get that leg-islation through. I will be veryhonest with you. We havestrong support and we havestrong opposition.”

“I know the president

pledged that this would bedone before the end of hispresidency, and probably thatwill be a little longer than theend of this year. But we aregoing to continue to work veryhard to see that it is accom-plished,” she added.

Ms Clinton also said thatPoland is “a model and a men-tor for emerging democracies,”before expressing a “deepappreciation for Poland’sdiplomatic role representingthe United States in [the Syri-an capital of] Damascus.”

Ms Clinton added that sheand Mr Sikorski had“exchanged ideas on smartdefense and on what we can dotogether to maintain the secu-rity of Europe even while theUnited States cuts its defensebudget and cuts its troop com-mitment to Europe.”

“We are happy that the USremains a part of the securitysystem in Europe. We arecounting on them confirmingthat through, among otherthings, the installation of US

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Ms Clinton said the Obama administration was determined to “work very hard” to

get Poland into the Visa Waiver Program

air bases in Poland and partici-pation in NATO military exer-cises in our country,” said MrSikorski.

Regarding the proposedNATO missile shield, elementsof which are to be located inPoland, Ms Clinton said,

“NATO has made a decision.We believe that it is in all ofour interests to carry forwardand implement that decision.”Russia stands opposed to theplan, viewing it as a threat to itssecurity.

Remi Adekoya

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MARCH 12-18, 2012NEWS4 www.wbj.pl

EU climate policy

Poland single-handedly blocks EU climate plan, againThe country was theonly one to object tothe EU’s “EnergyRoad Map 2050”

Poland vetoed the EU’s“Energy Road Map 2050” at ameeting of environment min-isters in Brussels last Friday.This is the second time in eightmonths that the country hasblocked an otherwise unani-mously supported commit-ment to raise carbon emissionscuts in the EU after 2020.

“It has been a tough day,and tough negotiations. Onceagain, one delegation hasblocked the conclusions,” saidMartin Lidegaard, Danish min-ister for climate, energy andbuilding, following the meeting.

The energy road map inquestion envisions reducingtotal EU emissions by 80 to 95percent from 1990 levels by2050. That’s a minimum offour times the current 20 per-cent reduction target for 2020.The EU Council’s approval ofthe road map is needed to setlegally binding emissions tar-gets after 2020.

Since its entry in the EU in2004, Poland has frequentlyclashed with the EU on envi-

ronmental legislation. Butunder the current Danishpresidency of the EU Council,which has put environmentalissues at the center of its six-month term, Poland is espe-cially isolated.

Connie Hedegaard, ECmember in charge of ClimateAction, said she was confidenta consensus would be reachedeventually. “The EC will con-tinue to do its job. In Europe,

one country cannot blockthings when 26 say they wantto move forward,” she said.“In the next few months wewill discuss energy efficiency.With all due respect, anyonewho has visited Poland knowsthere is a lot to do when itcomes to energy efficiency. Ithink we will find a way tomove forward.”

Polish businesses are active-ly lobbying the Polish govern-

ment to oppose the road map,arguing it would cause a drasticdeterioration of the competi-tiveness of many Polish compa-nies and steep financial losses.In the run-up to Friday’s meet-ing, the Polish Chamber ofCommerce published a reportwhich found that implement-ing the EU road map wouldcost Polish industry z∏.22 bil-lion a year from 2030.

Alice Trudelle

Poland’s Supreme Court willdecide this week whether toreopen the trial of the sevenPolish soldiers who werecharged with and then acquit-ted of carrying out a massacreof six civilians in the Afghan vil-lage of Nangar Khel.

The soldiers had beencharged with war crimes forlaunching a mortar andmachine-gun attack on NangarKhel in 2007. In their defense,the soldiers said that they hadbeen targeting Taliban fightersafter being attacked, and thatthe civilians were killed by mis-take.

They were acquitted lastJune on the grounds that therewas a lack of evidence they

had intended to harm civilians,and that the law thereforerequired them to be presumedinnocent. However, theappeals prosecutor said theoriginal acquittal was madewithout a complete assess-ment of the evidence. He hastherefore requested a fullretrial.

“The court incorrectlyestablished the facts and didn’tassess all the evidence, orassessed it illogically,” prosecu-tor Jakub Mytych wrote in hisappeal to the Supreme Court,Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

The Supreme Court isexpected to rule on the prose-cutor’s motion on March 14.

Remi Adekoya

Supreme Court to

decide on re-opening

of Nangar Khel trial

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Poland’s Environment Minister Marcin Korolec defends Poland’s lonely stance

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Seven Polish soldiers may face a retrial

MARCH 12-18, 2012 BUSINESS www.wbj.pl 5

In Poland, views aremixed on the issue

The European Commission iscurrently discussing the possi-bility of introducing quotas toboost the number of womenon the boards of top Europeanfirms. Surveys indicate Polesare generally in favor of theidea, but businesses aren’t sokeen.

Both in Poland and in theEU, women are still scarcelyrepresented on the boards oflarge companies. According toEU data, as of January womenoccupied 13.7 percent of theseats on company boards inthe bloc. In Poland, that num-ber shrinks to 12 percent.Poland fares better when itcomes to the proportion ofwomen as presidents of largelisted companies, at 11 per-cent, compared to the EUaverage of just 3 percent.

Poland has also fared bet-ter than the EU in stepping upthe proportion of women aspresidents of large companies,more than doubling theirnumbers over the past year(from 5 to 11 percent), where

the EU didn’t record anychange.

Quotas?But one year after Poland andseveral other EU countriessigned a pledge to step upefforts to increase women’srepresentation on the boardsof large firms, only France,which adopted a legally bind-ing quota in January 2011, sawa notable improvement. Thecountry boosted the propor-tion of women on the boardsof companies from 12 to 22percent, approaching propor-tions seen in Nordic countries,which tend to fare better onsuch measures.

This has led EU JusticeCommissioner Viviane Redingto consider implementing EU-wide quotas. “Personally, I amnot a great fan of quotas.However, I like the resultsthey bring,” said Ms Reding ina statement.

While Poles seem to favorthe idea, businesses are morereluctant. According to arecent Eurobarometer survey,Poles are the least likely inEurope, along with Swedes, to

say that there is no need toachieve more gender balanceon company boards (3 per-cent), and the least likely inEurope to say that companiesshould not be obliged to com-ply with quota legislationregarding their board mem-bers (also 3 percent). Mean-while three-quarters of Polessurveyed said they would be infavor of legal measures toensure a more balanced repre-sentation of men and womenon company boards, puttingthem on par with the EU aver-age.

No thanksBut Polish companies still pre-fer non-binding measures. TheWarsaw Stock Exchange, whilerecognizing the need toaddress the issue, is stickingwith voluntary measures forthe time being, said BeataJarosz, member of the man-agement board.

A first step was a surveyconducted in September 2011to examine the participationand role of women in the Pol-ish capital market. The surveyfound that the largest share of

women on the boards of com-panies listed on the bourse wasin the financial and servicessectors, and the lowest in theconstruction and IT sectors. Amonth later, the bourseamended its code of best prac-tices to add the participationof women in the managementand supervisory boards to thelist of information that shouldbe published on listed firms’websites every fourth quarter.

“In our opinion, activitiesaimed at raising awareness canhave a positive impact onreducing the scale of under-representation of women onboards of companies,” said MsJarosz.

Mieczys∏aw Bàk, deputysecretary-general of the PolishChamber of Commerce(PCC), which does not have apolicy to integrate women indecision-making, also said softregulations which create posi-tive attitudes are the bestmethod for gradually increas-ing the role of women in busi-ness.

“Introducing quotas canhave the reverse effect,” hetold WBJ. “A more effective

means of increasing the num-ber of female managers is topromote their positive role onthe functioning of the govern-ing bodies of companies.Firms should also be encour-aged to actively seek womenfor membership in supervisoryboards and encourage them toapply for these positions.”

But the European Commis-sion says that voluntary meas-ures have proven inefficient,and that the lack of women in

top jobs in the business world isharming European competi-tiveness and economic growth.Public consultations with busi-ness organizations, companies,NGOs and trade unions arealready underway to discuss theproportion, scope and sanc-tions that potential quota legis-lation would cover. The EC hassaid it is planning to make adecision on further action thisyear.

Alice Trudelle

Women and business

EU to introduce gender quotas for big companies?

Poland’s largestlender could see evenhigher earnings in2012

Poland’s largest bank, PKO BP,recorded an above-forecast netprofit of z∏.3.8 billion for full-year 2011, showing an annual-ized increase of 18.4 percent.The result was the highest in thehistory of the Polish bankingsector, PKO said in a statement.

The lender also beat analysts’expectations with its fourth-quar-ter earnings, recording a netprofit of z∏.952 million for the lastthree months of 2011 – anincrease of 9.7 percent from thesame period of 2010.

According to analysts polledby WBJ, the bank’s net profitfor 2012 could be even higher,possibly reaching the z∏.4 billionmark.

“Net interest income is

expected to remain the keydriver of revenue growth atPKO BP. Although loan vol-umes are going to slow in 2012,we expect margins to pick up.Thus, despite an increase infunding costs, net interest mar-gins should stabilize,” saidMarta Czajkowska-Ba∏dyga, ananalyst at KBC Securities.

Still, PKO’s prospects forcontinued record profits will belargely dependent on the eco-

nomic slowdown and interestrates, according to Micha∏Sobolewski, an analyst at DomMaklerski IDMSA. “If theinterest rate decreases, it’s neg-ative for all banks, but particu-larly for the largest bank [PKOBP] because it has big retaildeposits,” he said.

For now it may be too earlyto tell what direction the econo-my will take. Nonetheless, ana-lysts are overwhelmingly posi-tive on PKO BP.

The Santander effectWhile PKO BP remainsPoland’s largest lender, San-tander’s recent move tomerge its Polish unit BankZachodni WBK with KredytBank has raised questionsabout the potential forincreased competition. Theproposed merger, currentlyawaiting regulatory approval,would create the third-largestfinancial institution in Poland.But according to SzymonO˝óg, head of equity researchat Banco Espírito Santo deInvestimento, “the threat willbe greater to smaller banksthan for PKO or Pekao.”

Still, it will be some timebefore the merger has time tosettle and take effect. “In theshort-term the impact will belimited. For the next twoyears the focus will be onintegration than on expand-ing market share,” he added.

Ella Pa∏ka

Banks

PKO BP reports record profits for 2011The 2011 net profit of Por-tuguese retail group JeronimoMartins (JM) was lower thanforecast, due in large part to theexpansion of its Polish discountfood chain holding, Biedronka.

Jeronimo Martins’ full-year2011 profit came in at €340 mil-lion, representing a year-on-year increase of 21 percent. Theaverage estimate of aBloomberg poll of analyststaken prior to the results’release saw the retailer earning€363.5 million. Sales increased13 percent to €9.8 billion in2011.

Jeronimo Martins, whichhas witnessed a slowdown in itshome market, re-focused itsattention on Poland, opening239 new Biedronka stores therelast year. The full impact of thisinvestment was not factored inby most analysts, hence Jeroni-mo Martins’ results coming inbelow their forecasts.

Polish investments in 2011

corresponded to 70 percent ofthe group’s total investmentprogram.

Jeronimo Martins’ earningsbefore interest, taxes, deprecia-tion, and amortization(EBITDA) rose 15.6 percenton the year. According to thecompany, EBITDA would havebeen higher but for the openingof a large number of new storesin Poland and the weakening ofthe z∏oty against the euro. Ana-lysts say this latter factor led toan increase in rent prices inPoland.

“We expect 2012 to beanother good year, driven bythe strong growth of Biedronkain Poland,” the company said ina statement.

Of the €650 million it plansto invest in 2012, 80 percentwill be pumped into Biedronka.This will include the opening ofaround 250 new stores thisyear.

Gareth Price

Biedronka expansion

hits JM’s profits

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The firm opened 239 Biedronka stores in 2011

The (few) ladies at the top Percentage of women as presidents and membersof the boards of large European companies, selected countries

2010 2011 2010 2011

EU27 3 3 12 14

Austria 0 0 9 11

Czech Republic 9 0 12 16

France 3 3 12 22

Hungary 8 0 14 5

Germany 3 3 13 15

Poland 5 11 12 12

Sweden 0 0 26 25

Norway 13 11 39 41

UK 0 0 13 16

Female presidents Female board members

Source: European Commission

PKO BP posted the highest net profit in Polish banking history

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MARCH 12-18, 2012BUSINESS6

KNF wants

Santander

on the WSE

Poland’s Financial

Supervision Authority

(KNF) wants Spanish

lender Banco Santander,

which plans to merge its

Polish unit Bank Zachodni

WBK with Kredyt Bank, to

be listed on the Warsaw

Stock Exchange. The KNF

would like the merged

entity to free float at least

at 25 percent. The tie-up

between Santander and

Kredyt Bank will create

the third-largest financial

institution in Poland, with

the total value of the

merged entity estimated

at €5 billion. The deal

requires KNF’s regulatory

approval. ●

www.wbj.pl

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

[email protected]

Legal News

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Simplification of procedurefor legalizing a foreigner’sstay in PolandOn February 21, 2012 the Polish govern-ment adopted draft legislation for chang-ing the Act on Foreigners. The new legisla-tion is aimed at making it simpler to legal-ize the stay of citizens who come fromcountries outside the EU, so they can takeup employment in professions whichrequire higher education (i.e. qualificationsacquired in the process of academic edu-cation or during at least five years of voca-tional training that is comparable to aca-demic qualifications). The draft has beenforwarded to parliament.

The changes provide that permits forresiding in Poland for a defined period oftime in order to take up employment in aprofession that requires higher educationwill be issued by a voivode (a regional gov-ernment executive) in a single administra-tive procedure. Foreigners who hold sucha permit will be able to stay in Poland incases where they are temporarily unem-ployed.

A voivode will be obliged to ascertainwhether foreigners hold the appropriatequalifications and meet the remunerationthreshold criterion.

Insolvency of dishonest travelagentsIn the case C-134/11, Jürgen Blödel-Pawlikvs. HanseMerkur Reiseversicherung AG,the Court of Justice of the European Union(CJEU) passed a judgment on February 16,2012 in which it interpreted Article 7 of theCouncil Directive 90/314/EWG. The Direc-tive deals with package travel, packageholidays and package tours.

Article 7 of the Directive stipulates that

as a safeguard against potential insolven-cy, the organizer and/or retailer party tothe contract shall provide sufficient evi-dence that it can refund and repatriatecustomers in the event a trip is canceled.

In the case in question, Mr Blödel-Paw-lik paid a German travel agent for a tripthat it had no intention of organizing. Thetravel agent then announced that it hadbecome insolvent. That being the case,the travel agent’s insurance companyrefused to refund Mr Blödel-Pawlik themoney for the canceled travel, since itdecided that Article 7 of the Directive90/314 did not apply. The CJEU did notagree with the insurer’s interpretation. Inthe opinion of the CJEU, the Article shouldbe interpreted in such a way that it appliesin cases when insolvency of a travel agenthas been caused by actions of thatagency which bear the attributes of fraud.

This was the case with HanseMerkurReiseversicherung AG.

In Poland, tourists’ rights are protectedin cases of insolvency of travel agenciesunder the Act on Tourist Services, towhich provisions of the Directive 90/314have been implemented.

Tax returns: where to putyour 1 percentAs in previous years, when submitting taxreturns for 2011, it will be possible to give1 percent of your tax to an organizationthat benefits the public. The Ministry ofLabor and Social Policy has published anew list of such organizations. The listincludes the data of more than 7,000organizations (many of them charities) andtheir bank accounts. No other entities thanthe ones included in the list are authorizedto receive 1 percent from tax returns. ●

KGHM finalizes Quadrapurchase, eyes more takeoversPolish KGHM, Europe’s sec-ond-largest copper producer,has completed its takeover ofCanadian rival Quadra FNXfor around z∏.9.5 billion, but ison the lookout for more pur-chases as a new mining tax isexpected to eat into its Polishprofits. In 2012, the companyexpects to see an operatingprofit similar to that of 2011,which climbed 20 percentyear-on-year to z∏.7.5 billion.

“Taking into account no dis-investments this year, we mayexpect operating profit to becomparable to last year’s atcurrent copper prices andcosts,” KGHM chief executiveHerbert Wirth told Reuters.

KGHM is in talks withother companies in order toreach an international outputof 700,000 metric tons by 2018.“Two companies [takeover tar-gets] are knocking on ourdoor, we are in talks withthem, but it’s not an overnightthing and we are now focusingon organic growth of the jointgroup,” Mr Wirth said.

The news of the plans put adent in KGHM’s stock on theWarsaw bourse, dropping by3.6 percent to z∏.141.3 last

Tuesday. The level was thelowest in two weeks. By theend of the week however, thestock had recovered, to reach146.20.

In separate news, KGHMtopped business daily Parkiet’sranking of the top 10 best divi-dend-paying companies inPoland. KGHM has paid outover z∏.55 per share in divi-dends over the last five years.The figure was more than halfthe value of one share at thebeginning of 2009.

Meanwhile, Sierra GordaSCM, 55 percent of which isowned by Quadra FNX, hasreceived $1 billion in bankfinancing for the constructionof an open-pit copper mine inChile. The construction of themine will cost around $3 bil-lion, with the rest of the moneyexpected to be provided bySierra Gorda SCM’s owners.

Sierra Gorda SCM is ajoint venture of Quadra FNXand Japanese SumitomoGroup. RG, GP

Taxis

Taxi firms resist new smartphone appCompanies arethreatening to firedrivers if they use thenew technology

The new iTaxi smartphoneapplication, set to enter thePolish market this week, isalready attracting resistancefrom taxi companies, which arethreatening drivers that if theyimplement the new technologythey risk losing their jobs.

“Most of the corporations’owners are against our sys-tem,” said ¸ukasz Felsztukier,one of the founders of iTaxi.One exception, he said, isMERC Taxi, which haspledged its support for theapplication.

The iTaxi app, which is freeto download, allows smart-phone users to locate andorder a taxi closest to theirlocation, without the need tocall a taxi company directly.According to iTaxi, the servicewill save drivers considerable

time. But despite the purported

benefits, the start-up has notbeen without controversy.Many market players viewiTaxi as a threat to their busi-ness.

“For us it’s another corpo-ration that wants to enter thetaxi market,” said ArkadiuszWieczorek, founder of WawaTaxi. He added that if there isinterest in such a service, hiscompany would introduce itsown application.

While some companieshave decided not to cooperatewith iTaxi, others are activelyworking against it. One driverfrom Grosik Taxi, who did notgive his name, said his compa-ny would fire anyone whoimplements the iTaxi technolo-gy in their vehicles. While hesaid he expected such technol-ogy to increase in use in thefuture, for now, he said, thereare not enough people with asmartphone to take advantage

of the service. “I have enough business

now and I don’t see the pointof paying two companies,” headded, referring to the factthat iTaxi will charge taxi driv-ers for using the technology.

Nonetheless, others have amore positive view. “This is agood technology,” said Micha∏Wićkowski, chairman ofZwiàzek Zawodowy Tak-sówkarzy, the union of profes-sional taxi drivers. “It is inter-esting and has potential … and

the system may make compa-nies wake up and create oppor-tunities for other [technolo-gies].”

However, while the systemhas appeal for consumers, itmay have limited benefits fordrivers, Mr Wićkowski said.“From what I understand iTaxiwould take z∏.3 for each order.For a [driver in a] mid-levelcompany with 200-300 routes amonth, the cost for such orderswould amount to [around]z∏.690. For some it won’t be

cost-effective, since they wouldhave similar costs with theirown companies,” he said.

But according to Mr Felsz-tukier, “many [drivers] are call-ing us each day saying theywould like to test the systembut are afraid.” And with somany companies against iTaxi,he said his company planned tobring the matter to Poland’santi-monopoly regulator. “Wesee this situation as illegal,” hesaid.

Ella Pa∏ka

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Its z∏.9.5 billion takeover of Quadra barely completed,

KGHM is already in talks over two other acquisitions

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Most taxi corporations are against the iTaxi system

MARCH 12-18, 2012 FINANCE & ECONOMICS www.wbj.pl 7

Interest rates

unchangedThe central bank’s

Monetary Policy Council

decided last week to

keep the benchmark

seven-day interest rate

at 4.5% – thereby

keeping it unchanged for

the past nine months.

Economists believe that

tweaking rates would not

help lower inflation,

which has been above

3.5%, the NBP’s upper

limit, since December

2010. The z∏oty rose 0.1%

against the euro on the

news.

February

unemployment

rate at 13.5%The unemployment rate

in Poland crept up to

13.5% in February, from

13.2% in January,

meaning 2.17 million are

registered as

unemployed, according to

data presented by the

Ministry of Labor.

February had the highest

unemployment rate since

April 2007, when the rate

stood at 13.6%. Deputy

Labor Minister Czes∏awa

Ostrowska told reporters

that she does not expect

the jobless rate to

increase in the next few

months, using the low

number of registered

group layoffs to explain

her forecast.

Fitch: Polish

banking sector

stableThe Polish banking

sector appears to be

stable and positive,

according to Piotr

Kowalski, CEO of ratings

agency Fitch Poland,

Puls Biznesu reported.

Moreover, he said he

does not think there is a

risk of capital outflow

from Polish subsidiaries

to their parent

companies. Polish banks

are in a good shape

overall with clear,

precise and strong

control policies in place,

he added. According to

Mr Kowalski, potential

problems include issues

related to long-term

liquidity and the

financing of foreign

currency loans.●

UK-Poland trade

Mind the gapUK authorities areconcerned about thetrade deficit that isopening up betweenBritain and Poland

Poland had a larger trade sur-plus with the UK than any othercountry in 2011, a fact which isgiving British officials some-thing of a headache.

“Although trade betweenour countries has grown dynam-ically over the past five years,the gap has grown in favor ofPoland, which is certainly a chal-lenge for us,” Robin Barnett,the UK’s ambassador to Poland,said at a conference last week.

British data show that at theend of 2011 the UK wasPoland’s second-largest exportmarket, up from fourth place ayear earlier. The UK, mean-while, was Poland’s eighth-largest source of imports (nochange on 2010), with the tradegap widening from £2.25 billion

to £2.77 billion y/y in 2011. Polish exports to the UK

grew 17 percent last year, whileexports going the other wayrose 14 percent.

Could be betterThat’s strong growth by mostaccounts, but a number of fac-tors mean UK-Polish trade isproving to be more of a boon toPoland than to Britain.

Clearly, the large number ofPoles who live in the UK – esti-mated at over 500,000 in 2010 –creates strong demand for theimport of familiar, Polish brands.

But some of the explanationalso lies with British companies,who prefer to export to coun-tries with whom the UK hasstronger historical trade ties, orto explore emerging marketsoutside of Europe.

“British exporters are muchmore global than Poland’s, whofocus their efforts mainly on theimmediate region,” said MrBarnett.

Poland’s 62nd position in theWorld Bank’s latest ease ofdoing business ranking also dis-courages British exporters fromdoing business with Poland, Bri-tish officials said.

High-end growthTo close the trade gap, the UKneeds to develop its under-standing of the Polish marketand people, and to foster closercultural relations, said Alan Jar-man, chairman of the BritishPolish Chamber of Commerce.

Poland is also being brandedinternally in the UK as the king-pin in the “emerging Europe”region and as a potential gate-way to other CEE markets.

With Poland just two hoursaway from the UK by plane andits economy continuing to con-verge with richer, Westerneconomies, the Polish market isseen as being ripe with opportu-nities for British exporters, par-ticularly when it comes to high-end goods and energy projects.

Strong growth areas for UKexporters last year includedwhiskey, food (particularlysalmon) and tea, with these allexpected to provide furtheravenues for growth in 2012. Bri-tish petroleum exports toPoland, meanwhile, grew 144.1percent y/y in 2011.

“Poland is the fastest-grow-ing whiskey market in theworld ... while we saw a 13,000percent growth in tea exportsto Poland last year, with a goodproportion of that including

green tea,” said Martin Oxley,director of UK Trade andInvestment at the BritishEmbassy in Warsaw.

Concerning the futuredevelopment of UK exportsand investments, ambassadorRobin Barnett said, “It’s a myththat Britain is absent in Poland,but there is tremendous oppor-tunity going forward.”

“The challenge is to exploitthe opportunities, in fieldsincluding nuclear [power] andshale [gas].” Gareth Price

Development

Innovate and cooperateIn order to develop itseconomy further,Poland will need toimprove its innovativeabilities and tackle itslow level of “socialcapital”

Despite its positive economicperformance in recent years,Poland will need to increase itscapacity for innovation as wellas improve its “social capital” ifit wants to make the next leapforward in its development, saidparticipants at last week’s PolishEconomic Congress. Socialcapital is an often-used term inPolish that generally refers tousing cooperation and trust toachieve social or economicresults.

“We are gradually exhaust-ing simple growth reserves[such as relatively low wages] inPoland and can’t bank ourfuture prosperity on them,”President Bronis∏aw Komo-rowski wrote in a letter to par-ticipants at the conference. “Itis very important that we under-stand modernization and inno-vation in the Polish economy –not just as the absorption of

technology from outside butalso as the creation of our ownsolutions.”

Ex-prime ministers speak One panel included five formerprime ministers who also spokeat length about the need todevelop innovation in order tokeep Poland on the path ofgrowth.

“One mistake all the Polishgovernments up to now havemade is that we completely neg-lected the need to create theinfrastructure for the develop-ment of innovative solutions,”said Józef Oleksy, who wasprime minister from 1995-1996.“We need to make up for thatlost ground, as long-term eco-nomic development is impossi-ble without innovation.”

Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz,PM from 2004-2005, empha-sized the need for institutions ofhigher education to cooperatewith businesses in the creationof innovative technologies. “Weneed to bring our ossified aca-demic institutions closer tobusiness,” he said.

Leszek Miller, prime minis-ter from 2001-2004, pointed outthe role of politicians in making

it easier for businesses to inno-vate. “Entrepreneurs are thegrowth engine of the economybut they operate in specificlegal realities that are createdby legislators and politicians,”he said. “One of the mostimportant challenges is [for leg-islators] to increase economicfreedom in Poland.”

Meanwhile, W∏odzimierz

Cimoszewicz, PM from 1996-1997, said Poland has come toa point in its developmentwhere cooperation and team-work are now more importantthan the individualism that hadbrought the country’s economyso far.

“Sociologists’ researchshows that Poland has one ofthe lowest levels of social capi-

tal in Europe and that it has anegative influence on politics aswell. Among Polish politicians,compromise is considered adefeat, a betrayal of the groupone represents, and thus wehave problems hashing outcommon policies that would bebeneficial to the country as awhole,” he said.

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Polish exports to the UKUK exports to Poland

20112010200920082007

Sterling growthPolish-UK trade (in GBP billions)

Source: ONS Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics

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President Komorowski emphasized the importance of Polish-produced technology

MARCH 12-18, 20128 www.wbj.pl INTERVIEW

Crisis good

to PolandThe economic crisis has

been more of an

opportunity than a threat,

said the participants of a

conference organized by

the Polish Economic

Congress in Warsaw last

week. “The crisis is an

opportunity, because the

Polish economy is in

quite a favorable

situation compared to

other European

countries. [Poland’s]

Economy is perceived as

safe,” said Ma∏gorzata

Zaleska, a board member

of the National Bank of

Poland. “We have already

benefited from the crisis.

It has sparked debate

about how to improve

public finances,” said

Krzysztof Kalicki,

president of Deutsche

Bank in Poland.

President

signs budget

billPresident Bronis∏aw

Komorowski signed the

budget bill for 2012 into

law last Thursday. The

act stipulates that the

government deficit

cannot surpass z∏.35

billion in 2012. It is

expected that

government revenues

will reach z∏.293.8 billion

this year, while spending

will amount to an

estimated z∏.328.8 billion.

GDP is forecast to grow

2.5% and inflation to rise

by 2.8%. Unemployment

is expected to be 12.3%

by the end of the year.

French insurer

to leave Poland

Hit by the euro-zone

debt crisis, and more

specifically by losses

related to the high

number of Greek bonds

it holds, French

insurance company

Groupama is selling its

assets, including its

Polish division, Proama,

to fill a €2 billion hole,

reported Puls Biznesu.

In previous

announcements, the

company had said that

Poland was one of its key

markets and that the

Polish division was not

for sale. ●

European Union

Lewandowski: don’tslash the EU budget

Ewa Boniecka: Do you thinkthe draft budget for 2014-2020that was proposed by theEuropean Commission, andon which you are currentlynegotiating, stands a chance ofbeing accepted in this presenttime of economic crisis?Janusz Lewandowski: My roleis not to speculate on the pos-sibility of the budget beingaccepted or not. I am neither apessimist nor an optimist, butan activist. This means that myrole is to defend the EU budg-et in such a way as to havemore Europe and not lessEurope, in line with what wasagreed in the Lisbon Treaty.Of course the EuropeanUnion now has more responsi-bilities at the community levelthan ever before. The dramat-ic circumstances connectedwith the financial crisis are nothelping because in the publicconsciousness, mostly of netpayer [countries], the rescuepackages for the euro zone arebeing confused with contribu-tions to the EU budget. Thiscreates a climate in which it istempting for politicians toclaim that they have to defendtheir taxpayers. And it is easierto defend them at the cost of aunited Europe than at the costof cutting different socialexpenses back home. Yet Iknow that any deep cuts in theEU budget would be destruc-tive, taking into account thatour present proposal is at anyrate lower than what we origi-nally proposed.

The European Commissionhas proposed that the newseven-year EU budget shouldamount to €972.2 billion, com-pared to €925 billion for thecurrent (2007-2013) budget.How deep could the cuts be?Right now I hear from netpayer countries that they wantto cut our proposal by some€100 billion. At the same time,

those countries acknowledgeoff the record that our initialbudget proposal was modest,responsible, in no wayprovocative, and well-adjustedto a period of budgetaryrestraint in Europe. This islogical because it is a budgetwhich will be adjusted forinflation only, for seven years.The EU budget for 27 mem-ber states cannot operatebelow a certain threshold,therefore I am ready to fight topreserve decent financing forEurope’s regions, businesses,researchers and students.

So the goal is to maintain thenext budget at a level compa-rable to the current one?The [budget for the] futurefinancing period would belower than the current one,which was born in a climate ofprosperity, trust and optimism.Europe in 2005 was differentthan it is today , in spite of thefact that the wealthier coun-tries already knew they had todeal with the cost of an historicenlargement of the EU. Thesecosts were hidden in many dif-ferent ways and are only visi-ble now. For instance, the newmember states partly subsi-dized direct payments to farm-ers from their own budgets, sothe EU did not bear the wholecost of the agricultural budget.

But the present, and muchmore difficult circumstancesconstitute a test for the EU.First of all, [it is a test of theEU] as an anti-crisis mecha-nism, a thing that we are justlearning to do right now, so weare continually talking aboutGreece, Ireland or Portugal,or the future of the euro. Butit is also a test for EU institu-tions, on whether they areable to deliver a budget await-ed by millions of beneficiariesall over the EU.

How can Poland help to ensure

that the budget is at a levelthat would be adequate to itsneeds?Poland has already helped theEuropean Union and all thosewho would like the EU to havean adequate budget in thefuture because Poland provesthat by wisely using structuralfunds it is possible to defendoneself against the crisis. Thisis a very important argumentbecause at the beginning of2012 Europe discovered that itis not enough to make savings,that one must use the funds tostimulate growth, competitionand to create jobs. Poland is amodel in this respect but

unfortunately there are also“anti-models” in Europe,which fuel euroskeptic propa-ganda.

Poland, of course, facessome challenges connectedwith absorbing huge ...amounts of euros. We are now,and should remain, the biggestbeneficiary of EU funds.Today, there are no countrieson the EU’s horizon likeTurkey or Ukraine, whichcould oust Poland from thisposition of main beneficiary.Poland’s positive role does notend here because Poland isalso a credible proponent ofthe community method and a

skillful organizer of the groupof friends of the cohesion poli-cy.

Why are those living inWestern European countriescurrently hearing so muchabout the costs of the 2004 EUenlargement, when statisticsshow that the old memberstates gained significant eco-nomic benefit from thischange?I have not heard official voicesblaming the enlargement of2004 for the current problems.Anyway, that would be totallyuntrue. The enlargement wasa win-win situation. But we are

Janusz Lewandowski, European commissionerfor financial programming and the budget,talks to WBJ about work on the EU budget for2014-2020, the impact of the financial crisis,and what Poland can count on from the nextbudget

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Commissioner Lewandowski believes cuts to the EU budget would be “destructive”

MARCH 12-18, 2012 INTERVIEW www.wbj.pl 9

witnessing many undesirablechanges in Western publicopinion. It associates Europewith problems caused by otherreasons and as a result isbecoming reluctant towards[participating in] the EU, withenlargement becoming ascapegoat.

All of the statistical data,available also in the Nether-lands or Britain, to mentionsome of the most euroskepticcountries, show that enlarge-ment was mutually beneficial.I know what I am talkingabout since I was the first – asminister of privatization inJan Krzysztof Bielecki’s gov-ernment in the years 1990-1991 – to invite Dutch andBritish investors to Poland.This was very beneficial forthose countries because com-panies such as Philips, Uni-lever and Tesco are still todayvery much present and suc-cessful in Poland.

So we have a lot of evi-dence that enlargement was

very profitable for WesternEurope. Nevertheless, stereo-types are currently fueling anincreasingly xenophobic partof Western public opinion,which is seeking shelter fromthe current troubles in nation-al states and not, unfortunate-ly, [viewing things] from aEuropean perspective.

In what ways will the estab-lishment of a fiscal pact influ-ence negotiations over the EUbudget?We live in an interconnectedworld, so Greece’s problem isalso Poland’s problem, andthere is also the problem of thefiscal pact and of the budget.Everything is linked together.That 25 countries signed thecode of good financial practicesshould calm the situation downand when properly implement-ed, it should help a little. At thesame time, it is a very strict pactof budgetary savings whichcould influence the members’positions in negotiations con-cerning the EU budget. It hasan impact on the political cli-mate, focusing on strict finan-cial responsibility. The fiscalpact imposes a quite restrictedstraitjacket on the ministries offinance of 25 countries and itmakes discussions about contri-butions to the EU budget evenmore difficult.

How will Poland’s negotiatingposition in regards to the EUbudget be affected by thehealthy economic growth it hasrecorded and by the fact thatits laws are designed to prevent

its budget deficit from becom-ing too large?I want to underline that Polandis [fighting the crisis well, part-ly] due to its excellent handlingof structural funds. The imageof Poland is that of a positiveand spirited country, which hasan enthusiastic stance towardsthe euro, which is lacking else-where in Europe. The problemis that EU members cannotbenefit as much from theEuropean project as they couldduring the decade of generosi-ty, when the Iberian countries,as well as Greece and Ireland,were in a very comfortable sit-uation due to their being ableto draw financial benefits fromthe EU.

Now the situation is verydifferent, and Poland, whiledrawing benefits from its EUmembership, must also make acontribution to the EuropeanUnion. In the coming yearscertain regions in Poland willreach the same status as richerparts of the EU. This will be a

sign of success, butthey will no longerqualify for EUfunds. It is a per-verse measure ofsuccess: As a coun-try moves up theprosperity ladder inthe EU, it graduallyreceives less andpays more to thecommon budget.

What is your attitude towardsthe idea that the EU could earnadditional income from taxingfinancial operations?The situation is so difficult thatthere is a need to talk withouttaboo, so for the first time formany years we have to thinkseriously about how to financethe EU budget from additionalsources – not just from mem-bers states. We have returnedin a way to the spirit and theletter of the Rome Treaties,which included the concept of“own resources of the Euro-pean budget.” We are propos-ing … a financial transactionstax. … The political climatehas improved, yet I know thatsome members, like Britainand Ireland, are against it –since some 10 percent of theirnational incomes comes fromfinancial operations. ForPoland, such a tax would be avery small burden and it wouldeven facilitate our lives,because it would reducePoland’s direct contribution tothe EU budget and help toconsolidate our finances.

So I understand that you sup-port the idea of introducing atax on financial operations? I must confess that I am a lib-eral in economic matters andliberals do not like taxes. Yet,as Lech Wa∏´sa’s famous say-ing goes: “I don’t want to, butI must.” So, while there ispressure for reducing nation-al contributions to the EUbudget, we have to look foradditional sources of financ-

ing which would be the leastharmful to the real economy.And in my opinion the leastharmful for industry and theservice sector would be a taxon financial operations. Allother taxes would be morerestrictive for economicgrowth.

As an economic liberal, howdo you view the fact that pub-lic money is being used to res-cue banks and someindustries in Europe and theUS? Will this see a lastingreturn to Keynesian stateintervention?Well, when there is a fear offinancial collapse, state inter-vention is often seen as beinga rescue operation. So allthose proud financial corpo-rations that thought that thestate is a marginal player inthe world economy are join-ing the queue for state help.Yet it is difficult to predictwhether that return to …state intervention will form along-lasting trend. I hope itwill not.

From a liberal point ofview, the European Union isperceived as being over-regu-lated, with some issues thatcould very well be dealt withat the national level. And forme, as a determined liberal,this is a matter of concern.

With Polish public opinionnow divided on the matter,how do you see Poland’s roadto joining the euro?Poland’s confidence towardsthe European Union is notnecessarily linked to the com-mon currency, because Polesare aware of the crisis in theeuro zone and some of themnow have negative opinionsabout the euro. However,they know that having a com-mon currency has manyadvantages, and that it wouldhelp in eliminating the haz-ards of currency exchangerates. The government’s atti-tude towards Poland’s road tothe euro seems reasonable tome. No date has been set forjoining as was done else-where. … Now Poles are eval-uating how the EuropeanUnion is dealing with thereconstruction of the eurozone and depending on theoutcome, Poland will makeits concrete decision.

Do you think the euro zonecould collapse if Greece wereforced to leave?There is a robust politicalwill to buy time for Greece,while checks are being car-ried out to ascertain whetherit is doing its homework – forexample, whether it is imple-menting structural reforms.That assessment has to bemade jointly by EU institu-tions and the IMF, yet with-out humiliating Greece. Thatis the scenario that we areworking on. Our task is to doour utmost to assist Greecein this time of crisis. ●

“My role is to defendthe EU budget in such a

way as to have moreEurope, not less”

MARCH 12-18, 201210 www.wbj.pl OPINION & ANALYSIS

The blame game in Europe hasnot yet begun. An agreementbetween Greece and its private

creditors and public lenders willenable it to meet its next debt repay-ment deadline of March 20. TheEuropeans should be commendedfor a significant step in the directionof realism. Private creditors haveaccepted a haircut of more than 50percent on their claims and a lower-ing of interest rates, bringing the totaldebt relief to more than two-thirds.

But, while a solution was found inextremis, many people believe that itwill merely postpone the day of reck-oning, as Greece will not implementthe promised austerity, and will endup either deciding to exit the eurozone or being pushed out followingan eventual default.

Even before the latest deal, politi-cal leaders in the Netherlands and

Finland, and some in Germany, werewondering aloud why Greece shouldremain in the euro. In Athens, exas-peration has reached new heights,and the bitterness of the disputes hasstarted to echo dangerously the rabiddisputes over German reparations ofthe 1920s.

“Who lost China?” Americanstrategists asked in the 1950s, follow-ing the victory of Mao Zedong’s com-munists in 1949. Europeans may wellsoon start asking themselves thesame question about Greece.

The culpritsThe main culprits, of course, are theGreeks themselves. The fecklessnessof their politicians has plumbed newdepths, patronage has poisoned theirgovernment, Transparency Interna-tional’s corruption index ranks theircountry 80th in the world, and, in

September 2011, the Greek treasuryhad carried out only 31 of the 75 taxaudits of high-income individualspromised for the year as a whole.

But it would be too easy to leave itat that and absolve the rest of Europeof responsibility. European officials’first error was to procrastinate formonths, only to produce an unrealis-tic assistance program that foresawGreece’s return to the capital mar-kets by 2013. It is now clear that it willtake years, perhaps a decade, toreform the economy and correct itsimbalances.

Europe’s second error was itsincoherent response to the solvencycrisis. Two strategies were possible:either an early reduction of Greece’ssovereign debt, thereby restoring sol-vency rapidly, or mutualization ofGreek debt in the name of preservingthe collective reputation of all euro-zone sovereigns. Either strategywould have been coherent, but Ger-many and France agreed on a cock-tail of both, which was not. The Ger-mans and French pretended thatGreece was solvent and lent to it atpunitive interest rates, which madethe situation worse. It took 18months to abandon this policy.

The third error was getting priori-ties wrong. From the outset of the cri-sis, the International Monetary Funddiagnosed a twin problem: weak pub-lic finances and a severe loss of com-petitiveness. Unfortunately, policy-makers focused on the former, and

blithely hoped that structural reformswould resolve the latter. The Greekauthorities invested most of theirmeager political capital in budgetaryadjustment rather than in building acompetitive economy.

The program now being finalizedreverses the order of priorities, put-ting competitiveness and growthahead of completion of budgetaryconsolidation. Still, the questionremains why this decision had to waitalmost two years.

Stimulate growth,share the burden Fourth, nothing substantive has beendone about growth. An adjustmentprogram is necessarily recessionary,but this need not thwart efforts tomobilize tools for economic recovery.Greece could in principle have count-ed on a large amount of regionaldevelopment aid from the EuropeanUnion budget, which was underuti-lized owing to a lack of local co-financing. It took until last summer torecognize – and even then only to amodest degree – that this aid couldbe used to support economic recov-ery.

Europe’s final error was a certainlevel of indifference to fair burden-sharing. It is understandable that theIMF, a technocratic institution, doesnot venture beyond macroeconomics.But the EU is a political entity thathas made social justice one of its fun-damental goals. It cannot call for a

cut in the minimum wage whileassigning secondary importance totax evasion among the top tenth ofincome earners, which costs one-quarter of income-tax receipts.

Contrary to much facile criticism,Europe cannot be reproached forimposing austerity on the Greeks.This is the necessary counterpart of a

major effort at financial support, anda country with such huge imbalancesmust inevitably be subject to extremerigor.

But Europe can be reproached foran initially late, badly designed,unbalanced, and inequitable pro-gram. If the question as to who lostGreece arises one day, there will beenough blame to go around. ●

Jean Pisani-Ferry is director ofBruegel, an international economics

think tank, professor of economics atUniversité Paris-Dauphine, and a

member of the French prime minister’sCouncil of Economic Analysis.

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

Who lost Greece?Jean Pisani-Ferry

This year is likely to mark a make-or-break ordeal for the euro.The euro zone’s survival

demands a credible solution to its long-running sovereign-debt crisis, which inturn requires addressing the twomacroeconomic imbalances – exter-nal and fiscal – which are at the heartof that crisis.

The crisis has exposed the deepdisparities in competitiveness thathave developed within the eurozone. From 1996 to 2010, unit laborcosts in Germany increased by just 8percent, and by 13 percent in France.Compare that to 24 percent in Portu-gal, 35 percent in Spain, 37 percentin Italy, and a whopping 59 percentin Greece. The result has been largetrade imbalances between euro zonecountries, a problem compoundedby large fiscal deficits and high levelsof public debt in southern Europe(and France) – much of it owed toforeign creditors.

Euro-zone breakup?Does addressing theseimbalances require break-ing up the euro zone? Sup-pose, for example, that Por-tugal were to leave and re-introduce the escudo. Theensuing exchange-rate de-valuation would immediate-ly lower the price of Portu-gal’s exports, raise its importprices, stimulate the econo-my, and bring about much-needed growth. But a euroexit would be a messy affair.The resulting turmoil couldvery well trump any short-term gains in competitive-ness from devaluation.

There is a remarkably simple alter-native that does not require southernEurope’s troubled economies to aban-don the euro and devalue theirexchange rates. It involves increasingthe value-added tax while cutting pay-roll taxes. Our recent research demon-strates that such a “fiscal devaluation”has very similar effects on the economyin terms of its impact on GDP, con-sumption, employment, and inflation.

A currency devaluation works bymaking imports more costly andexports cheaper. A VAT/payroll-taxswap would do exactly the same thing.An increase in VAT raises the price ofimported goods, as foreign firms face a

higher tax. To ensure that domesticfirms do not have an incentive to raiseprices, an increase in VAT needs to beaccompanied by a cut in payroll taxes.

Moreover, since exports areexempt from VAT, the price of domes-tic exports will fall. The desired com-petitiveness effects of exchange-ratedevaluation can thus be had while stay-ing in the euro.

This policy can also help on the fis-cal front. As is true of an exchange-ratedevaluation, the positive impact ongrowth of an increase in competitive-ness can strengthen the fiscal positionby raising tax revenues. Moreover, animportant advantage of fiscal devalua-tions is that they generate additional

revenues in propor-tion to the country’strade deficit. Forcountries that are suf-fering from weakcompetitiveness and,as a consequence,running trade deficits,this typically meansmore revenues, espe-cially in the short run.

Winnersand losersLike exchange-ratedevaluations, fiscaldevaluations createwinners and losers.

Both act as a wealth levy: inflationmeans that bondholders suffer a realloss in proportion to their wealth andthe size of the devaluation. If taxes oncapital are not adjusted, holders ofdomestic stocks suffer a comparableloss.

By contrast, many transfers, such asunemployment benefits, health bene-fits, and public pensions, are indexedto inflation and thus maintain theirreal value. The same is true of mini-mum wages. These distributive effectsplay an important role in the politics ofexchange-rate devaluations, and mostof these effects appear in fiscal devalu-ations as well.

Fiscal devaluations already have

some advocates. Indeed, French Presi-dent Nicolas Sarkozy’s governmentjust announced one. And concernsthat a fiscal devaluation will conflictwith euro rules can be met by simplypointing out that Germany’s govern-ment carried one out in 2007, thoughby another name, when it raised VATfrom 16 percent to 19 percent and cutemployers’ contribution to social insur-ance, from 6.5 percent to 4.2 percent.

In short, there are simple fiscalalternatives to exchange-rate devalua-tion that can address southernEurope’s short-term competitivenessproblems. To be sure, feasible fiscaldevaluations would be limited in size.But, together with debt restructuring,accommodative monetary policy, liq-uidity support from the EuropeanCentral Bank, and much-requiredstructural reforms, they can help toput these troubled economies on asound footing without a euro breakupor a major austerity-induced reces-sion. ●

Emmanuel Farhi is professor ofeconomics at Harvard University.

Gita Gopinath is professor of eco-nomics at Harvard University.Oleg Itskhoki is a professor of economics and international

affairs at Princeton University. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2012.

project-syndicate.org

A devaluation option for Southern Europe

“The solution does not requireabandoning the euro”

“There is enoughblame to go

around”

Emmanuel Farhi, Gita Gopinath, and Oleg Itskhoki

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MARCH 12-18, 2012 OPINION & ANALYSIS www.wbj.pl 11

Inresponse to Law and Jus-tice (PiS) leader Jaros∏awKaczyƒski’s recent an-

nouncement that he is not interestedin running for president, his rival onthe right, Zbigniew Ziobro, has stat-ed that he will seek to become presi-dent in three years’ time.

Mr Ziobro, a former justice minis-ter and current head of SolidarityPoland, said that since Mr Kaczyƒskihad “abdicated” his role as a presi-dential candidate, he could not imag-ine that the Polish right would bedeprived of a conservative with a“realistic” chance of winning thepresidency.

Kaczyƒski’s dilemmaSo does Mr Ziobro have a realisticchance of becoming president in2015? Today, it seems highly unlikelyindeed. Current President Bronis∏awKomorowski regularly garnersapproval ratings in the high-sixties,and barring any political earthquakesor monumental gaffes, looks like ashoo-in for reelection.

Meanwhile, Mr Ziobro is theleader of a group of politicians that

decided to quit PiS andform their own partylast year. He was oncedeputy leader of PiSand many expected himto be Mr Kaczyƒski’ssuccessor.

But Solidarity Po-land is not even official-ly a party yet. Its inau-gural congress is sched-uled to take place thismonth, but so far theyhave zero party struc-tures and hardly anymoney.

Nevertheless, threeyears is an eternity inpolitics and besides, MrZiobro is not playing towin the presidency butrather to win the battleagainst Mr Kaczyƒski for supremacyon Poland’s right.

With Mr Kaczyƒski having statedpublicly that he is not interested in thepresidency, he now has a problem.

He can retreat from his words andrun anyway, in which case he’d haveto go toe-to-toe with his former

deputy for the conservative vote. If heends up getting fewer votes than MrZiobro in the first round of voting, hisstatus as the leader of the right couldbe irreparably damaged.

If, however, he keeps to his wordand doesn’t run, then he will have tolook for another candidate from

within PiS whocould take on MrZiobro in theelection. But PiSdoesn’t have anyother politicianswho appear evenremotely presi-dential. Such per-sonalities haveeither all beenkicked out of theparty by MrKaczyƒski or died

in the 2010 Smolensk plane catastro-phe which also claimed then-Presi-dent Lech Kaczyƒski, Jaros∏aw’s twinbrother.

A weak PiS presidential candidatewould give Mr Ziobro the opportuni-ty to shine in the campaign and boosthis leadership credentials among

conservatives. Whichever way youlook at it, come 2015 Mr Kaczyƒskiwill have a bit of a dilemma.

Long-term battleMr Ziobro also knows that in thelong-term battle for supremacy ofPoland’s right, age is on his side. He is42. Mr Kaczyƒski is 20 years his sen-ior.

If Zbigniew Ziobro is able toshine in the forthcoming presiden-tial campaign, then it will be mucheasier for him to convince Polishconservative voters that he is thefuture of the right – and that MrKaczyƒski’s time is up. ●

Remi Adekoya is Warsaw Business Journal’s

politics editor. Read his blog, “The business of politics” on WBJ.pl

With the final votes counted,Russian Prime MinisterVladimir Putin’s presidential

victory was confirmed last Monday. Itwas not much of a surprise that Putinwon a third presidential term. Still, thereaction in Russia – and in the world –has been important to watch becauseit is directly related to how strong of aleader Putin is expected to be.

Coming out of the December par-liamentary elections and leading up tothe presidential elections, the moodin Russia seemed split, with the coun-try experiencing its first mass politicalprotests in decades. Hundreds ofthousands protested Putin’s run forpresident as well as what theybelieved were unfair parliamentaryelections, though the anti-Kremlinprotest groups never coalesced intoan actual movement that couldthreaten the current Kremlin regimeor Putin’s chances for reelection.After the elections there were plans toprotest Putin’s victory, but thedemonstrations seemed to fizzle out,with only a fraction of those previous-ly seen coming out onto the streets.

It seemed that Putin also wantedto start to move beyond the story of

mass dissent in Russia, meeting Mon-day with opposition groups and hisformer presidential rivals. Eventhough the protest groups were nevera legitimate threat to Putin’s power,the persistent demonstrations led theworld to question whether Putin wasstill the unshakable, strong leader ofan increasingly powerful country. Hismeetings will not allay the anti-Krem-lin protest movement entirely, butthey reveal that Putin is trying tosmooth over the political disruptionsfrom the protests and show the worldthat he still has control of Russia. Inturn, Putin wants this to translate intothe perception that Russia is still aninfluential force in the world.

This message is one that will bewelcomed by some, accepted by manyand dreaded by others.

As expected, the majority of theformer Soviet states were quick toconvey their congratulations to Putinon his election victory, reassertingthat they are strategic partners withRussia. Russia’s resurgence into manyof its former Soviet states has beensteadily moving forward, and the for-mer Soviet states see Putin’s return asa sign that the strategy will continue, if

not intensify. Putin confirmed lastMonday that in his next term as presi-dent, Russia’s primary foreign policyfocus would be on the former Sovietstates.

Global reactionThe first country to offer its supportto the re-elected president was Rus-sia’s large eastern neighbor, China.For Beijing, the extension of supportwas not so much about Putin. Ratherit was intended to legitimize the cur-rent Russian regime and reinforce astrong Russia. This is part of China’sbelief in encouraging alternative greatpowers in the world besides the Unit-ed States. Since it is undergoing aleadership transition of its own, Bei-jing hopes that Moscow will extendthe same sort of support to the Chi-nese regime.

The majority of the Europeanheavyweights have been notably silentabout or aloof from the Russian elec-tions. The European Council and theEuropean Commission were bothquiet. Neither the European Unionnor France offered any congratula-tions to Putin but instead focused onthe election irregularities.

Poland and Germany – two keyEuropean states – were vocal aboutthe Russian elections. These coun-tries’ relations with Russia havesharply contrasted each other, withPoland doing whatever it can to resistthe return of Russian influencethroughout Eurasia, and Germanyopting to work with Russia in trying tomanage the region. With that in mind,their reactions came as no surprise.Polish Foreign Minister Rados∏awSikorski mocked the Russian elec-tions, calling them undemocratic.Alternatively, German ChancellorAngela Merkel personally phonedPutin to wish him success and offeredGermany’s “strategic partnership” toRussia.

The last important reaction camefrom the United States. Washingtonand Moscow have been in a tensestandoff over a string of issues. Russiahas been pushing for a change in theUnited States’ plans to deploy missiledefense systems in Central Europeand has called for an end to US sup-port for some key former Soviet statessuch as Georgia. In turn, the UnitedStates wants Russia to cease its sup-port for the anti-US regimes in Iran

and Syria, both of which were quick tooffer their compliments to Putin onhis victory. The United States hasbeen publicly supportive of the anti-Putin protest movements in Russia,hoping they would keep the assertiveRussian leader’s focus inward and noton foreign issues.

Washington’s reaction to the elec-tions was tepid, congratulating theRussian people on their electionswithout commenting on Putin. Wash-ington sees Putin’s return to the pres-idency as a sign that the countries’many disagreements could intensify inthe future. The United States knowsthat Putin has been heavily focusedon these elections over the past fewmonths. Now that they are wrappedup, Putin will be able to shift some ofhis attention to trying to create theperception that he is returning to hisformer position just as strong as hewas the last time. ●

This edited version of “With elections over,

Putin focuses on perceptions” is reprinted with permission of

STRATFOR.stratfor.com

Poland’s battle on the right“Mr Ziobro is not playing to winthe presidency, but rather to winthe battle against Mr Kaczyƒski”

With elections over, Putin focuses on perceptions STRATFOR

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

GARETH PRICE([email protected])

CO-MANAGING EDITOR

ALICE TRUDELLE([email protected])

POLITICS EDITOR

REMI ADEKOYA([email protected])

REAL ESTATE EDITORADAM ZDRODOWSKI([email protected])

COPY EDITORSDAVID INGHAMELLA PA¸KA

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PRODUCTION MANAGERPIOTR WYSKOK

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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 [email protected]. Please include a name and contact information and clearly indicate if they are to be considered for publication.

Remi Adekoya

MARCH 12-18, 2012COVER STORY12

Enea and

PGNiG to

team up

Polish utility Enea is

considering pairing up

with gas monopoly

PGNiG to build a series

of gas-fueled power

plants, according to

Maciej Owczarek,

chairman of the board at

Enea. “We are

considering jointly

building not one, but

several gas-fired power

plants,” Mr Owczarek

told Rzeczpospolita.

Previous plans between

Enea and PGNiG to build

a gas power plant at the

Kozienice power station,

Poland’s second largest,

didn’t materialize, but

Mr Owczarek says talks

never ceased.

Polish eggs

for Bulgaria?

Polish Agriculture

Minister Marek Sawicki

is considering asking

Polish producers to

export their eggs to

Bulgaria. This came

after a phone

conversation last

Thursday with his

Bulgarian counterpart,

Miroslav Naydenov, who

“presented the plight of

the Bulgarian

consumers,” plagued

with high egg prices,

according to a statement

on the Polish ministry’s

website. According to Mr

Najdenov, egg prices in

Bulgaria have soared by

as much as 40% in the

last few weeks.

Regulator set

to approve new

gas tariffsPoland’s Energy

Regulatory Office (URE)

will approve a set of new

gas tariffs this week,

URE head Marek

Woszczyk said in an

interview with TVN

CNBC. Polish gas

monopoly PGNiG has

been arguing for a hike

in consumer gas prices

for several months.

PGNiG says it is paying

more for the gas it

imports from Russia

than the amount it is

authorized to charge

domestic customers. ●

www.wbj.pl

Rail tragedy

Disaster responseWill the governmentfinally start to giverail safety theattention it requires?

A head-on collision betweentwo passenger trains in south-ern Poland on March 3 result-ed in the country’s deadliestrail disaster in over 20 years,setting in motion a debateabout the state of the country’srailways and the working con-ditions of its operators.

At 8:57 PM on SaturdayMarch 3, a Tanie Linie Kole-jowe (TLK)-operated traintravelling from PrzemyÊl toWarsaw, collided head-on withan InterRegio Warsaw-Kraków service that was trav-elling on the wrong track. Theincident took place close tothe town of Szczekociny, in theSilesia voivodship.

The accident was the worston Poland’s railways for 22years, killing 16 people andinjuring 57 others. On the dayfollowing the disaster, Presi-dent Bronis∏aw Komorowskiannounced two days of nation-al mourning.

Speculation aboundsFeverish speculation has fol-lowed the accident, with mostof it centered on the actionsand psychological condition ofthe rail controller who operat-ed the signals at Starzyny, nearwhere the incident occurred.The controller is due to becharged with unintentionallycausing the accident by divert-ing the Warsaw-Kraków trainonto the wrong track.

Nevertheless, the individ-ual concerned has not yet beenformally charged, having beentaken to a psychiatric ward at anearby hospital to receivetreatment for shock. Reportsconcerning attempts by the railoperator to falsify officialrecords of the events of thatnight have added a fresh layerof intrigue to the unfoldingstory.

However, just as it wasstarting to seem as if humanerror was the main cause ofthe catastrophe, more recentreports have suggested it mayhave been the infrastructureitself which was to blame.According to rail documents

received by news channelTVN24, faults were detectedat signal boxes at Starzyny, andat nearby Sprowa, several min-utes before the catastrophe.One of the points at Starzynyis reported to have brokendown, which made it impossi-ble for the Warsaw-Krakówtrain to get back on to its prop-er track. At Sprowa, mean-while, the exit signal is report-

ed to have failed, a fact whichprompted the use of a backupsignal. All this on a section oftrack that had undergonemajor modernization just lastyear.

Political falloutWhatever the truth behind thecause of the catastrophe – andthis is now being investigatedby a number of agencies – ithas become a focus of intensepolitical debate, with the par-lous state of Polish railwaysonce again the center of atten-tion.

Main opposition party Lawand Justice (PiS) has said thatthe lower house of parlia-ment’s infrastructure commit-tee should convene to discussrailway safety. The ruling CivicPlatform (PO) party’s juniorcoalition partner, the PolishPeople’s Party (PSL), hasreportedly supported this sug-gestion.

The catastrophe also put

into sharp relief the govern-ment’s request that €1.2 bil-lion in EU funds for railinvestments be transferred foruse in road investments. Thegovernment has now back-tracked and said the moneywill be invested in rail infra-structure.

In the aftermath of thecatastrophe and having facedthe ire of railway workers whopointed to underinvestmentin the rail network, TransportMinister S∏awomir Nowaktold a press conference thatraising safety standards for

rail transport was a priority,stating that the accident mustbe a catalyst for the process offinding new and better solu-tions to improve rail transportsafety.

Safety firstRail safety is therefore certainto occupy more attention inthe coming weeks and months,and the management – or mis-management – of the processof liberalizing Poland’s railmarket has been cited by someas a factor behind the deterio-ration of safety on the rails.

Leszek Mi´tek, the presi-dent of the Union of PolishTrain Drivers, was quoted bydaily Rzeczpospolita as sayingthat “there is no organizationwhich really takes care of theco-ordination of safety on therailways.”

Transport expert Stanis∏awBiega was quoted by railindustry news website Rynek-Kolejowy.pl as saying thatthere are increasing numbersof accidents involving freighttrains – these, thankfully, arewithout victims – as well as anincreasing number involvingpassenger trains. This pattern,he said, culminated in the

Szczekociny disaster. MrBiega blames an overall lackof coordination and structurein the rail system, which ismanifested in frequent lineclosures, repeated timetablechanges and ineffective man-agement of infrastructure ten-ders.

The editor of rail transportportal Inforail.pl, Karol Wach,shares these concerns.

“Poland’s Railway Trans-port Authority [UTK] is sup-posed to be responsible forsafety on the rails,” Mr Wachtold WBJ. “But at present, theposition of director of theUTK’s safety department isvacant – which doesn’t help.On top of this, the recent sack-ing of the head of the UTK,Krzysztof Jaroszyƒski, showsthat even an organization suchas this is not above politiciza-tion.”

There is also considerableconcern about the increasingwork pressures that railwayworkers find themselvesunder, and about the age ofrailway staff, with train drivers’average age above 50. It isclear that Polish State Rail-ways (PKP) is not employingsufficient numbers of young

Brendan Melck

“It is indefensible that now, only after thecatastrophe, the process of looking for new

solutions and answers is starting”

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The worst rail tragedy in Poland in decades killed 16 people and left over 50 injured

MARCH 12-18, 2012 COVER STORY www.wbj.pl 13

Ludomir Biedecki Partner

Prohibition of chaining of limited liabilitycompanies – be cautious

Legal Forum

So you decided to start your busi-ness in Central and EasternEurope and, thanks to discussionswith friends who are alreadybased in the region, you have cho-sen to establish a limited liabilitycompany (in Poland: sp. z o.o., inthe Czech Republic and Slovakia:s.r.o., in Romania: SRL, in Hun-gary: Kft). You have been told thatsuch a company will protect youagainst possible claims to yourpersonal assets if anything goeswrong. True, the Polish Code ofCommercial Companies (andequivalent provisions of law inother CEE countries) explicitlystates that shareholders of a limit-ed liability company are not liablefor its obligations. But since youare already a shareholder of a lim-ited liability company in yourhome country, it seems reason-able to “chain” those companiestogether. That seems great: Youwill become the sole owner ofyour own corporation!

Now, let’s take a short pausehere. Although it sounds fantas-tic, you will have to consider onesmall detail regarding the chain-ing of limited liability companiesin Poland (but also in the CzechRepublic, Slovakia and Romania).It’s a provision of the Polish Codeof Commercial Companies (andsimilar regulations in the othercountries mentioned above) thatcauses a bit of a problem. It saysthat a Polish (Czech, Slovak orRomanian) limited liability com-pany cannot be incorporated (orowned) by another limited liabili-ty company (whether French,English, German, American orother) that has just one share-holder. The stipulation stemsfrom European regulations,according to which EU countriesmay adopt special provisions oreven sanctions for cases inwhich a company owned by oneperson is the sole shareholder ofanother company.

What does that actually mean?Well, the view shared by many ofthe new EU members of the 2004and 2007 accession waves is thatit allows them to prohibit thechaining of companies.

In effect, it means that you willhave to co-opt, at least at thebeginning, with another share-holder, whether you want to ornot.

Polish solutionPolish practice has solved thisproblem in a very simple way.Since Polish legal provisions statethat a limited liability companymust have more than one share-holder only at the moment ofincorporation, immediately afterincorporation the shares can beunified (e.g. by way of transfer orredemption), thus reaching thedesired – and economically mostreasonable – structure.

This is good news, since Polishacademics have confirmed this

pattern and have distinguishedbetween limited liability compa-nies held by one shareholder at aninitial (i.e. from incorporation)stage and limited liability compa-nies at a secondary (i.e. followingunification of shares) stage.

This means that at the second-ary stage in Poland, subject tolocal regulations, one can be theowner of two single-shareholdercompanies.

How does it look in othercounties in the CEE region? In theCzech Republic and Slovakia thesolution is slightly different – 1percent of shares is given to thegrandparent company. In Roma-nia on the other hand, a smallshareholding stake is in thehands of the limited liability com-pany itself in order to circumventa similar prohibition in its corpo-rate law.

Hungary adopted the most lib-eral approach. Their lawmakerssimply deleted the former prohi-

bition on chaining. The CzechRepublic is reforming its corpo-rate law and their measures pro-hibiting the chaining of compa-nies will no longer be effective asof 2014.

These are interesting examplesof positive changes in law in theCEE region aimed at facilitatingbusiness growth. It is good tonote that reasonable people areslowly beginning to realize thatthe basic capital (initial share capi-tal) is, in any case, not the mostefficient measure for protecting acompany’s creditors (let’s befrank: you can incorporate a Polishlimited liability company with ashare capital of z∏.5,000 – thisdoes not represent real protectionfor your creditors).

Let’s hope that Polish legisla-tors will soon come to the sameconclusions. Until then, ask yourlawyer whether the corporatestructure you have in mind willwork. ●

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.

people to fill gaps when keyworkers retire. The main prob-lem, experts say, is that PKPdoesn’t do enough to attractnew staff, because pay andconditions are not competi-tive.

Moreover, a situation inwhich commitments by thegovernment to improve Pol-and’s railways are made onlyin the days immediately after amajor disaster cannot beallowed to continue, said MrWach.

“Above all, it is not accept-able that the transport minis-ter comes out with these com-mitments only after such acatastrophe,” he emphasized.

“It is indefensible that now,only after the catastrophe, theprocess of looking for newsolutions and answers is start-ing. It should be an ongoing,continuous process – and itrequires increasing the fund-ing for railways and changingthe system of training railwayworkers.”

In these circumstances, thenotion of shifting EU fundsearmarked for railway invest-ments to roads should havebeen out of the question, MrWach said.

“In my view, this idea is

wholly unacceptable. Po-land’s railway system isunderfunded, and the moneyconcerned is badly needed –for rolling stock, infrastruc-ture upgrades and safetyimprovements. The Euro-pean Rail Transport Manage-ment System (ERTMS) –which is a European standard– should be implemented assoon as possible. However, itis difficult to say whether thepolitical will is there from thegovernment to do this.”

From an outside perspec-tive, Poland’s failure to takethe bull by the horns andinvest in its railways is baffling.David Briginshaw, editor-in-chief of International RailwayJournal, sees Poland in an iso-lated position.

“In terms of its stance onrail investment, Poland is outof step with much of the rest ofthe world,” he told WBJ.“Most other countries arereducing the amount that theyinvest in roads and increasingthe amount they invest in rail.”

No Euro woe?Concern has been expressed inthe Polish and internationalmedia about the potentialeffect of the disaster on sup-

porters arriving in Poland forthis summer’s Euro 2012 soc-cer championship.

“While many foreign soc-cer fans may be unaware of theaccident, it does depend onhow long the accident remainsin the news,” Mr Briginshawsaid.

“It is up to the Polish gov-ernment and the railways todiscover the root cause of theaccident as quickly as possible,and then to take steps toensure such an accident cannever happen again and there-

by reassure people that Polandtakes railway safety seriously.Poland cannot continue tohave an on-off railway policy,”he added.

Inforail.pl’s Karol Wach,however, noted that rail travelhas a favorable safety recordwhen compared to road travel.

“Rail remains a safer formof transport than roads. Acci-dents on railways happen con-siderably less often than onroads. For this reason – as wellas the competitive journeytimes – I don’t think it will

make any difference [for Euro2012],” he said.

It remains to be seenwhether the Polish govern-ment’s commitment to makingthe necessary changes to therailway network will be fol-lowed through. If it is not, itcan only be hoped that it doesnot take an even more deadlyaccident before the govern-ment finally takes the matterof upgrading the country’s rail-ways – and improving the con-ditions of its railway operators– seriously. ●

“In terms of its stance on rail investment,Poland is out of step with much

of the rest of the world”

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Poland must revise its current railway policy, experts say

PO and PiS

strugglingA survey by pollster TNS

OBOP indicated support

for the ruling Civic

Platform (PO) party at

29% , not far ahead of

main rival Law and

Justice (PiS), which

received 22% support. In

January, PO polled at

37% – far higher than

currently, but below the

39% support the party

received in the October

parliamentary election.

PGNiG

appoints

new CEOPolish gas monopoly

PGNiG appointed

Gra˝yna Piotrowska-

Oliwa as its new CEO

last week. Ms

Piotrowska-Oliwa’s

term will start on

March 19 and is set to

expire two years later.

PGNiG’s new CEO has in

the past headed

Orange, the cellphone

unit of former Polish

telecom monopoly

TPSA. She currently sits

on the management

board of refiner PKN

Orlen, where she has

tendered her

resignation, effective

March 18. ●

LOKALE IMMOBILIAW 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 • MARCH 12-18, 2012, LI 17/10

New Wroc∏aw

Airport

terminal opens

A new passenger

terminal was opened at

the international airport

in Wroc∏aw, Lower Silesia

voivodship, on February

28. The facility has a

usable area of 38,670

sqm and is expected to

increase the airport’s

capacity to over 3.5

million passengers a

year. The contract for the

expansion of the existing

Wroc∏aw Airport was

carried out by a

consortium of Hochtief

Polska and Hochtief

Solutions. Work on the

project started in

September 2009, with the

investment’s value

estimated at more than

z∏.300 million.

Celtic builds

Iris project in

WarsawDeveloper Celtic Property

Developments is building

the third phase of its

Cybernetyki Office Park

project in Warsaw. Called

Iris and scheduled to be

completed in December

this year, the five-floor

facility will deliver

approximately 14,300

sqm of space. The

Cybernetyki Office Park

development is located

on ul. Cybernetyki in the

capital’s Mokotów

district. Currently, the

investment comprises

two completed office

buildings: Helion and

Luminar. ●

Skyscrapers

New skyscraperplanned fordowntown WarsawBBI Development’slatest tower willprovide approximately55,000 sqm of usablespace

Developer BBI DevelopmentNFI revealed a preliminaryarchitectural design of a newoffice high-rise building that itwill build in central Warsaw atthe MIPIM 2012 internationalproperty fair in Cannes,France, last week.

The scheme, which thecompany will develop in part-nership with the RomanCatholic Archdiocese of War-saw and St. Barbara’s Parish,will be located at the intersec-tion of the capital’s ul. EmiliiPlater and ul. Nowogrodzka.

The investment, which has

been designed by Juvenes –Projekt, is expected to riseapproximately 180 meters talland comprise some 55,000

sqm of usable space. WarsawCity Hall has already grantedits approval for a high-risestructure at the site.

“Our goal is to create abuilding of premium architec-tural quality, distinguished byits elegant form, moderation

and functionality,” Micha∏Skotnicki, president of BBIDevelopment’s managementboard, said in a statement.

A preliminary investmentagreement between BBI andthe Warsaw Archdiocese wassigned in August last year. Aspecial-purpose vehicle set upby the entities will be responsi-ble for the development, leas-ing and sale of the property.

Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed BBI Development NFIis currently also involved,together with Liebrecht &Wood, in the construction ofthe Plac Unii mixed-use high-rise building in the Polish capi-tal. Planned projects of thedeveloper include the NowySezam scheme in central War-saw.

Adam Zdrodowski

Retail

ECE to open new mall in Bydgoszcz in 2014The shopping centerwill be the developer’slargest in Poland so far

Developer ECE Projektman-agement Polska will build anew shopping center calledGaleria Kujawska in Byd-goszcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskievoivodship, by the end of2014. The company is nowcarrying out design work andplans to start construction inspring next year.

Galeria Kujawska willcomprise approximately48,000 sqm of leasable spaceand house some 180 stores.The mall will be the largestshopping and entertainmentcenter in Bydgoszcz and willalso be the largest retailscheme that ECE has built in

Poland so far.The investment, whose

value is estimated at €170 mil-lion, will be developed onBydgoszcz’s ul. Wojska Pol-skiego, at the site of the for-mer ORTIS printing house.Demolition of the ORTISfacility was completed at thebeginning of this year.

“The environmental im-pact decision is being pre-pared, we expect to obtain itin a few months. We are plan-ning to apply for a buildingpermit in autumn this year,”Leszek Sikora, developmentdepartment director at ECEProjektmanagement Polska,said in a statement.

ECE has been developingand designing shopping centerprojects since 1965. Currently,

the firm manages 180 malls in16 countries. In Poland, the

firm’s Galeria Kaskada shop-ping center in Szczecin is

among its most well-knownprojects. Adam Zdrodowski

New Warsaw skyscraper . . . . .14

ECE’s latest mall . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

MIPIM 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

UBM interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Warsaw’s investment appeal .17

Royal Wilanów project . . . . . . .17

Piano House permit . . . . . . . . . .17

Property-related stocks . . . . . .17

In this issue

1615

Poland received lots of attention at this year’s MIPIMproperty fair in Cannes, France

UBM’s Peter Obernhubertalks about the company’splans for the Polish market

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The skyscraper is expected to stand at around 180

meters tall

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PR

OJE

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NA

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The shopping center will offer 48,000 sqm of leasable space

“Our goal is tocreate a building

of premiumarchitectural

quality”

To subscribe: e-mail [email protected] or call +48 22 639 85 68, ext. 201 and sign up for free two-week no-obligation trial subscription

Warsaw Business Journal presents Real Estate weekly newsletter

• Know about the newest projects before they’re on the market• Keep up to date on the latest tenders and auctions• Learn the latest trends in Poland’s dynamic office, residential and retail sectors • Find out who’s who in Polish real estate

or

MARCH 12-18, 2012 LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE www.wbj.pl 15

MIPIM 2012

Poland a safe bet in troubled timesDespite expectationsof economicdifficulties this year,participants atMIPIM 2012 seemedconvinced that Polandwould remain the CEEmarket’s top dog

Investors, developers and fin-anciers from across the globedescended once again onCannes last week for thisyear’s MIPIM, a real estateexhibition that takes place atthe same location everyMarch.

As always, the event set itssights firmly on Europe,although Middle Easterncountries including Qatar andBahrain, with its $2.5 billionBahrain Bay mixed-use devel-opment, were also in the spot-light.

New projects and potentialinvestments on show were var-ied, but for both Poland andthe City of London there was ashared sense of expectationabout opportunities created bytwo very different sportingevents – the Euro 2012 soccerchampionship and the Sum-mer Olympic Games.

Euro 2012 boostRepresentatives of the fourPolish Euro 2012 host cities –Gdaƒsk, Poznaƒ, Warsaw andWroc∏aw – were keen toemphasize what they see asbeing the tournament’s posi-tive influence, both in theshort and long term.

In Gdaƒsk, major improve-ments to infrastructure such asa new direct train line from theairport to the downtown area,as well as hotel developmentsin the city’s metropolitan areaover the last 3-4 years, havemade the city more attractiveto both investors and tourists,Deputy Mayor of GdaƒskAndrzej Bojanowski toldLokale Immobilia.

These positive sentimentswere echoed by MarcinPrzy∏´bski, head of Poznaƒ’sinvestor relations department,who said “infrastructure invest-ments in Poznaƒ will help ourcity become more attractive foroffice and retail space and wehave recently seen several newdevelopments so far which webelieve are a direct result ofEuro 2012.”

However, real estate indus-try experts are more cautious,suggesting that the tourna-ment will not have a majorimpact on the real estate mar-ket in the short term. Whatmany said, though, is thatpreparations for Euro 2012have moved the country’sdevelopment forward at amuch faster pace than wouldhave been otherwise possible,and in so doing, have prepared

the ground for future invest-ment.

“It’s the same as with theLondon Olympics: a sportingevent is not going to transformthe market. But what it doesdo is speed up the process withregards to investment in areassuch as infrastructure, whichwill inevitably help investors inthe future,” said Sean Doyle, asenior consultant at CBREPoland.

Room for optimismPolish market players and ana-lysts were more or less unani-mous in their opinion thatPoland will be the main realestate investment location inthe CEE region during 2012.As a result of the way thecountry has weathered theeconomic crisis, the percep-tion of Poland as a relativesafe haven is still shared byboth investors and financiersalike. This, experts say, bodeswell for the future.

“Investors definitely seethis as an active market. Thereare currently low vacancy rateson all buildings and in thissense there is a massive differ-ence between Poland andother countries in the CEEregion,” said Philippe Mer,head of territories for the CEEregion and CEO of Poland forBNP Paribas Real Estate.

“And as a conservativebank interested in saferoptions, if we are acceleratinginvestments in Poland thenthis clearly shows that theopportunities here are verygood,” he added.

However, despite the rela-tively optimistic outlook, theinvestment growth dynamicsseen in 2010 and 2011 areunlikely to be maintained thisyear, as purchasers continue topick their real estate invest-ments selectively, experts say.

Business capitalNevertheless, Warsaw is cur-rently second only to Paris interms of the amount of newoffice buildings currentlyunder construction, with some700,000 sqm of office space setto be delivered in the 2012-2013 period, according to arecent report from CBRE.

Demand for class-A officebuildings in Warsaw is expect-ed to be maintained throughmost of 2012, according toMonika Rajska-Woliƒska,managing partner at Colliers

International.“The upcoming year will

bring a significant increase intotal modern office stock withnew supply at double the levelrecorded in 2011,” Ms Rajska-Woliƒska said.

“In the first half of 2012tenant activity should remainstable, however weakerdemand for office space in thesecond half could be seen, dueto the uncertain economic cli-mate,” she added.

Ghelamco’s highly antici-pated Warsaw Spire sky-scraper development is onenew office project that is set todramatically transform thecapital’s skyline when com-pleted in 2014. The 220-metertower, along with two accom-panying 55-meter buildings,will provide some 100,000 sqmof space when finished.According to Ghelamco’smanaging director for CEE,Joroen van der Toolen, thefirm is currently in negotia-tions with three potential ten-ants over the pre-lease ofspace in the development.

This year’s MIPIM eventalso witnessed an announce-ment by BBI Development ofthe details of another plannedskyscraper, which would joinWarsaw Spire in changing thecapital’s rapidly evolving sky-line.

If all goes to plan, the pro-posed 180-meter developmentwill be built at the junction oful. Emilii Plater and ul. Nowo-grodzka.

Regional developmentAlthough Warsaw is still thecenter of Poland’s office sec-tor, increased interest in newretail developments in smallercities, as well as in built-to-suitoffice space from the BusinessProcess Outsourcing (BPO)market is ensuring that

Poland’s smaller cities are alsobenefiting from new realestate developments.

At an event to promote thecity of ¸ódê, WaldemarOlbryk, the president of Skan-ska Property Poland, said thelocal region is a perfect loca-tion for companies from the

BPO sector. As evidence ofthis, he pointed to his owncompany’s under-constructionGreen Horizon office build-ing. Built with the specificneeds of BPO companies inmind, the office scheme isalready 97 percent pre-leased.

“The BPO sector [compa-

nies] are happy to install them-selves in ¸ódê and we arehappy to satisfy their needs byproviding them [with] offices,”Mr Olbryk said.

The view that the BPO sec-tor will continue to grow inimportance for Poland in com-ing years was supported bynumerous experts in Cannes.

“BPO companies are moreand more interested in thePolish market due to the lowlevel of rent as well as thecountry’s well educated per-sonnel,” said Colliers’ Rajska-Woliƒska.

So it seems that regardlessof the realization that 2012may be a more difficult periodfor Poland, in terms of its realestate market, the country stillremains a safe bet in the CEEregion.

“In the mind of investors,Poland is a Western country,”said Mr Mer of BNP Paribas.

“This is because of theroom for growth, it’s safe,there are low levels of cor-ruption … and the right pop-ulation in terms of number,education and spendingpower – all of which are fun-damentals of a good econo-my,” he said.

David Ingham

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Optimism abounded for Poland’s real estate market at MIPIM 2012

“In the mind ofinvestors, Poland

is a Westerncountry”

MARCH 12-18, 2012LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE16 www.wbj.pl

Developers

UBM going for retail in the regions

Adam Zdrodowski: You recent-ly opened your first shoppingcenter in Poland, and anothermall is in the works. What wasthe rationale behind enteringthe sector?Peter Obernhuber: We haveanalyzed the shopping centermarket for a long time now.The reason for our interest inthe sector is the strategy ofdiversifying the company’sactivities, as well as its sourcesof revenue. This is a market inPoland that is still not saturat-ed, even though it is seeingvery dynamic growth.

Where will future UBM mallsbe built?Since the very beginning, wehave been focusing on citieswith populations of more than200,000 and we will continueto analyze the market with thiscriterion in mind. The nextretail project, which we willlaunch at the beginning of2013, will be developed in Sos-nowiec. For the time being,Warsaw is outside the scope of

our investment interests.

In which sector of the retailmarket do you see room fornew schemes?The concept of the new proj-ects that we already have inmind will not be much differ-ent from that of the centerswhich we have in our portfolio.We plan to build shoppingcenters with some 20,000 sqmof space that will compriseindependent elements such asa supermarket and a shoppinggallery. In our opinion, thisconcept works best in regionalcities.

The Warsaw office market sawa record lease level last year.How was this reflected in thecommercialization of yourPoleczki Business Park officeproject in Warsaw?Last year, a total of more than14,000 sqm of office and serv-ice space was leased in bothphases of Poleczki BusinessPark. In May, two buildingswith a total floor area of

21,000 sqm, 40 percent ofwhich has already been leasedout, will be delivered. For itspart, the first phase has been95 percent commercialized.

When will the next phase of thepark be launched and is UBMalso planning some otheroffice projects in the Polishmarket?The development of the thirdphase of the project is obvi-ously contingent on theprogress in leasing, whichmeans we are prepared tolaunch construction on a spec-ulative basis as soon as a leaselevel of 75 percent is secured.We are currently also analyz-ing two projects in Kraków,one of which is being final-ized, but I cannot reveal anydetails yet.

What is the company planningin the residential market?In the residential market weare mostly focusing on theongoing projects – OazaKampinos near Warsaw, VillaGalicja in Kraków and OgrodyBielaƒskie in Bielany Wro-c∏awskie. We are consideringlaunching two new develop-ments in Kraków, each ofwhich would offer up to 300housing units.

How much, approximately, willyou invest in the Polish marketthis year?We are watching the marketvery carefully and at this stageI can just say that our priorityis to finish the projects thathave already commenced andto start those which areplanned. We plan to invest

approximately €50 million in2012 in finishing the ongoingprojects and launching theoffice scheme in Kraków.

How are you financing yourprojects and what is your viewof the current situation con-cerning bank financing?We develop all of our projects

with the support of bankfinancing. We use the servicesof both Polish and WesternEuropean banks. Thanks tothe diversification of our activ-ities and our presence acrossEurope, we are not expectingany major difficulties when itcomes to financing new invest-ments. ●

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Mr Obernhuber said UBM is concentrating its retail activities in regional cities

Lokale Immobilia talks to Peter Obernhuber,member of the management board ofdeveloper UBM Polska, about the company’sdevelopment plans in the Polish retail, officeand residential markets

“We are not expecting anymajor difficulties when it

comes to financing newinvestments”

MARCH 12-18, 2012 LOKALE IMMOBILIA – REAL ESTATE www.wbj.pl 17

Investment

Warsaw second in Europe in terms ofproperty investment attractivenessWarsaw was toppedonly by London

Warsaw is the second-mostattractive city in Europe in theeyes of international real estateinvestors, according to the“Real Estate Investor Inten-tions” survey that CBREannounced at the MIPIM 2012property fair in Cannes,France, last week.

The Polish capital (chosen

by 12 percent of the investorspolled) ranked only lower thanLondon (37 percent) and high-er than cities including Paris (9percent), Munich (8 percent)and Berlin (7 percent).

According to Colin Wad-dell, managing director ofCBRE in Poland, Warsaw hasbenefited from the resilienceof the Polish economy.

“The position of Warsawamong the most desired prop-

erty investment destinationsin Europe reflects Poland’swell-deserved perception of amarket with strong underlyingfundamentals, able to weath-er global and European eco-nomic volatility,” Mr Waddellsaid in a statement.

“The number-two score ofthe Polish capital, right afterLondon and before Paris,Munich and Berlin, presentsan optimistic outlook fordevelopers and investorsengaged in the Polish market,as well as for those intendingto make an entry,” he added.

In terms of countries andentire regions, the UK is themost attractive real estatemarket for investment inEurope (31 percent ofrespondents), followed byGermany (27 percent) andCentral and Eastern Europe(19 percent), the CBRE studysaid.

Adam Zdrodowski

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The perception of Warsaw has improved due to the performance of the Polish economy

%

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Frankf

urtMadr

id

Stockh

olm

Hambur

gDubl

inBer

linMuni

chParis

Warsaw

London

37.2

12.18.6 8.3 6.9

3.4 3.1 2.4 2.4 2.4

Leading LondonWhich city in Europe do you believe to be the most attractiveinvestment destination? (% of respondents)

So

urc

e:

CB

RE

Developer Capital Park Groupis going ahead with the com-mercialization of its RoyalWilanów office project in War-saw. The company has justselected Colliers Internationalas the exclusive leasing agentfor office space in the scheme.

Located at the intersectionof ul. Klimczaka and ul. Przy-czó∏kowa in Warsaw’s Wilanówdistrict, in the vicinity of theMiasteczko Wilanów housingestate, the Royal Wilanówdevelopment will feature five

floors with a total of 28,000 sqmof office and 7,000 sqm ofretail-service space.

“Royal Wilanów is an excel-lent alternative to the increas-ingly congested Mokotówwhere more and more officesare being built every year. Thebusiness part of southern War-saw is moving towardsWilanów,” Dorota Ejsmont,leasing director at Capital ParkGroup, said in a statement.

The Royal Wilanów invest-ment, which was designed by

the Warsaw-based JEMS Ar-chitekci studio, has alreadysecured a building permit. Con-struction on the facility isexpected to last 24 months.

Capital Park Group hasbeen active in the Polish prop-erty market since 2003, invest-ing jointly with the Patron Cap-ital Partners international pri-vate equity fund. Planned proj-ects of the company in Warsawinclude Eurocentrum OfficeComplex in the capital’s Ocho-ta district. Adam Zdrodowski

Royal Wilanów office project

commercialization gets underway

Developer Icon Real Estate hasobtained a building permit forits Piano House multifamilyhousing project in Warsaw. Thescheme will be located at theintersection of ul. Topiel and ul.Zajćza in the city’s PowiÊleneighborhood and will deliverapproximately 60 upmarketapartments.

Construction on the project,designed by the Grupa 5Architekci studio, is scheduledto launch next month. Thedeveloper is now in the processof selecting a general contractorfor the investment.

Icon Real Estate touts theconvenient location of PianoHouse, which will be built closeto two planned subway stationsand stresses that buyer interestin the project is large despitethe early stage of the invest-

ment process.“We have just received a

building permit and plan to offi-cially launch apartment sales inApril but we already have aconsiderable level of reserva-tions, especially for the largestapartments,” Beata Staniak,head of sales of Piano House,said in a statement.

Icon Real Estate is currentlyalso building the Na Sow-iƒskiego residential project inWarsaw’s Wola district, and isrevitalizing two tenement hous-es on the capital’s ul. Ordynac-ka and ul. Poznaƒska. Planneddevelopments include VillaIcon in Warsaw’s Mokotów dis-trict. AZ

Icon Real Estate gets go-ahead

for Piano House apartments in Warsaw

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Security Closing % change 52-week 52-week % change Total Market

price (week) low high (year) shares value

on Mar 8 (z∏. mln)

BUDIMEX 85.80 -0.23 64.00 109.20 94.60 25,530,098 2,190.48

CELTIC 17.02 0.12 15.55 22.70 21.00 34,068,252 579.84

DOMDEV 39.00 -4.20 23.50 50.80 45.90 24,560,222 957.85

ECHO 4.10 0.74 3.05 5.55 4.63 420,000,000 1,722.00

ELBUDOWA 117.00 -2.01 87.00 168.00 158.00 4,747,608 555.47

ENERGOPLD 2.02 -3.81 1.81 4.10 3.79 70,972,001 143.36

ERBUD 20.60 -3.74 14.65 41.45 48.00 12,644,169 260.47

GANT 9.08 -0.87 5.85 14.20 15.99 20,499,953 186.14

GTC 7.47 -10.97 6.90 21.79 21.08 219,372,990 1,638.72

HBPOLSKA 1.20 -3.23 0.70 2.68 2.61 210,558,445 252.67

JWCONSTR 7.05 -8.68 4.36 15.50 14.44 54,073,280 381.22

LCCORP 1.28 2.40 0.85 1.62 1.69 447,558,311 572.87

MARVIPOL 9.60 0.00 7.22 9.95 9.24 36,923,400 354.46

MIRBUD 2.20 -1.79 1.94 4.67 4.40 75,000,000 165.00

MOSTALWAR 18.97 -2.72 15.40 46.78 47.01 20,000,000 379.40

MOSTALZAB 1.60 -1.23 1.07 2.95 2.87 149,130,538 238.61

ORCOGROUP 16.17 -4.88 14.00 40.00 32.55 17,053,866 275.76

PBG 54.00 -13.94 54.00 204.00 195.50 14,295,000 771.93

PLAZACNTR 2.60 -4.76 1.80 5.15 4.00 297,174,515 772.65

POLAQUA 7.12 -7.29 4.53 18.99 19.49 27,500,100 195.80

POLIMEXMS 1.58 -8.14 1.23 3.69 3.45 521,154,076 823.42

POLNORD 17.19 -5.03 11.03 33.55 30.98 23,798,439 409.10

RANKPROGR 15.97 7.18 8.60 16.02 10.18 37,145,050 593.21

ROBYG 1.38 -3.50 1.04 2.13 1.86 257,390,000 355.20

RONSON 1.15 13.86 0.77 1.58 1.41 272,360,000 313.21

TRAKCJA 1.35 1.50 0.65 3.72 3.61 232,105,480 313.34

ULMA 63.95 1.75 57.00 88.00 83.30 5,255,632 336.10

UNIBEP 5.74 -2.71 4.47 8.07 8.93 33,927,184 194.74

WARIMPEX 4.26 1.91 2.95 10.89 10.75 54,000,000 230.04

ZUE 8.00 5.96 5.07 14.00 14.00 22,000,000 176.00

Property-related stocks

ORGANIZER:

MARCH 12-18, 2012 THE LIST www.wbj.pl 19

Construction & Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate AgentsRanked by total commercial property leased in 2010 www.bookoflists.pl

Notes: NA = Not Aplicable, NR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for TheList was conducted in September 2011. Number of employees and ownership structure are as ofAugust 2011. All information pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies notresponding to our survey are not listed.

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

Rank

Company nameAddressTel./FaxE-mailWeb page

Property leasedcommercial

(sqm)

Property leasedoffice (sqm)

Property leasedretail (sqm)

Property leasedwarehouse

(sqm)

Examples of propertyleased in 2010-2011

Services Selected clients

Number ofcontractedemployees /Number of

agents /Year founded

Number ofoffices inPoland /

Locations

Ownership:Polish /Foreign

Top local executive /

Title

1

Cushman & Wakefield Polska Sp. z o.o.Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1, 00-078 Warsaw22 820-2020/22 [email protected]

122,494278,000245,800194,585

67,000106,500110,00084,585

55,494171,500135,800110,000

53,414145,000140,000283,602

Green Horizon; PlatiniumBusiness Park; Port ¸ódê;Panattoni Park Âwićice

Property management; financialand investment advice; valuation;market research; network client

services

Atrium European RealEstate; Neinver; Inter IKEACentre Polska; Tesco; PKP

13033

1991

1Warsaw

WNDRichard Petersen

Managing Partner

2

Polski Holding NieruchomoÊci SAul. Âwi´tokrzyska 36, 00-116 Warsaw22 526-3107/22 [email protected]

WND129,470

WNDWND

WND120,000

WNDWND

WND9,470WNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

WND WND WND

250WND1962

1Warsaw

State Treasury - 100%None

Rafa∏ KrzemieƒPresident

3

Colliers International Poland Sp. z o.o.Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 3, 00-078 Warsaw22 331-7800/22 [email protected]

63,500107,30055,50073,000

41,80085,00043,00061,000

21,70022,30012,50012,000

400,000350,000260,503250,000

Mokotów Nova; EuropaCentralna; Panattoni ParkÂwićice; ProLogis Park

Wroc∏aw III; Brama Zachodnia

Investment advisory; real estatevaluation and management;

construction projectmanagement; asset

management; market research

ProLogis; Panattoni;Skanska Property Poland;Helical Poland; TK Maxx

15336

1997

3Warsaw; Kraków;

Wroc∏aw

WND - 35%CMN - 65%

Monika Rajska-Woliƒska

Managing Partner

4

CB Richard Ellis Polska Sp. z o.o.Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw22 544-8000/22 [email protected]

95,00070,000187,000140,000

50,00045,000137,000111,000

45,00025,00050,00029,000

21,00053,00035,00034,000

WND

Market research; strategicadvice; investment advice;

property portfolio management;project management; valuations;

customer real estate financialservice; real estate management

ING; Skanska PropertyPoland; Keen Property

Partners; Echo Investment;Shell

22040

2000

3Warsaw; Gdaƒsk

NoneWND

Colin WaddellManaging Director

5

DTZ Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Z∏ota 59, 00-120 Warsaw22 222-3000/22 [email protected]/pl

47,63161,29568,942183,271

29,33424,18727,83778,271

18,29737,10841,105105,000

31,6088,5166,40028,736

Crown Square; Trinity Park III;Mokotowska Square; Galeria

LesznoWND

Goldman Sachs; PKPIntercity; Ghelamco; Yareal;

Microstrategy; AgromexDevelopment 1;

Bainbridge; Reinhold; PPHUWILK

27923

1994

1Warsaw

WNDPatrick Delcol

Country Head of DTZ in Poland

6

Knight Frank Sp. z o.o.ul. Mokotowska 49, 00-542 Warsaw22 596-5050/22 [email protected]

44,37261,28020,37630,373

43,61260,87419,14529,118

760406

1,2321,056

900-

3,124-

University Business Centre I, II;Riverside Park; Centrum

Biurowe Lubicz I, II; Altus;Skalar Office Center

Financial, development andinvestment advice; market

research; valuation; commercialreal estate management

WND

9811

1991

7Katowice; Kraków;Poznaƒ; Warsaw;Wroc∏aw; ¸ódê;

Gdaƒsk

WND

Monika A. D´bska;Joseph Borowski;

Katarzyna BàczyƒskaPresident; Vice-President;

Managing Director

7

Kancelaria Brochocki Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 14, 00-325 Warsaw22 826-1414/22 [email protected]

22,70049,30057,90047,580

22,00046,80051,40045,000

7002,5006,5002,580

----

Poleczki Business Park;Skylight; Jerozolimskie

Business Park; Zebra Tower;Millennium Park

Re-negotiations of leasecontracts; real estate

management; preparing tenders;market analysis; real estate

promotion and PR

TUW TUZ; Ministry ofForeign Affairs; Kapsch

Telematic Services; VOSLogistics; Solid Security

1914

1993

2Warsaw; Wroc∏aw

Andrzej Brochocki -70%; Maciej Pe∏da -

30%None

Andrzej BrochockiManaging Partner

8

Ober-Haus NieruchomoÊci Sp. z o.o.ul. Marsza∏kowska 111, 00-102 Warsaw22 528-5454/22 [email protected]

14,01038,00042,65085,070

10,80030,00031,10061,870

3,2108,00011,55023,200

10,0006,0004,1004,900

Gdaƒsk Megaron; GdaƒskGarnizon; Nowogrodzka 21;

Trinity Park IIIWND Eagis Media

WNDWND2000

WNDWarsaw; Kraków;Poznaƒ; Gdaƒsk;

¸ódê

WNDRealia Group Oy

Jolanta LorantyPresident

9

MAXON NieruchomoÊci Sp. z o.o.ul. Okopowa 58/72, 01-042 Warsaw22 530-6000/22 [email protected]

WND32,40034,90037,100

WND31,00032,00036,000

WND1,4002,9001,100

WND9,4004,40017,200

WND Real estate market agency WND

958

1989

1Warsaw

Janusz IrackiNone

Janusz Iracki; AnnaDanielewicz

President; Vice-President

10

A&A Marketing Sp. z o.o.ul. Piotrkowska 146, 90-063 ¸ódê42 632-0000/42 [email protected]

28,55028,560WNDWND

18,40018,560WNDWND

10,15010,000WNDWND

110,000108,000

WNDWND

Grota Roweckiego 8 Pabianice;Piotrkowska 60 ¸ódê;

Wersalska 47/75 ¸ódê;Biurowe Centrum Biznesu ¸ódê

Own commercial real estateleasing; facility management;comprehensive lease service;

events organization for tenants;GSM antenna space leasing

Asseco; Lorenz Bahlsen;Bank Millennium; Aunde

Poland; Polkomtel

WNDWND2004

WND WNDSylwia Borusowska

President

NR

Jones Lang LaSalle Sp. z o.o.ul. Królewska 16, 00-103 Warsaw22 318-0000/22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDWNDWNDWND

Equator II; Bonarka 4 Business;Libra Business Centre; Galeria

Wilanów; Inter IKEA Lublin

Investment advice; real estatemanagement; valuations;

commercial real estate leaseagency; project management

GTC; Heitman; Rockspring;Aberdeen; BBIDevelopment

34052

1994

4Warsaw; Gdaƒsk;Kraków; Katowice

NoneWND

John DuckworthManaging Director CEE

1st half of 2011 / 2010 / 2009 / 2008

MARCH 12-18, 2012MARKETS20 www.wbj.pl

SO

UR

CE

: W

SE

PLN-EUR

4.11

25

4.13

45

4.15

70

4.15

78

4.12

55

4.11

43

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2

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5 PLN-USD

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3

3.10

23

3.13

55

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3.5 PLN-GBP

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4.94

23

4.95

59

4.97

87

4.97

88

4.93

95

4.90

53

4.8

5.2 PLN-CHF

3.41

19

3.42

90

3.44

72

3.44

92

3.42

24

3.41

25

24.0

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4 PLN-RUB

24.0

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58

0.10

68

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0.12 PLN-100JPY

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3.

8595

3.89

60

3

.916

4

3.83

46

3.80

83

3.5

4.0

currency rates

High

volatility

Currency report

The z∏oty market experi-enced big swings this pastweek. Uncertainty surround-ing Greece caused a largercorrective movement and adepreciation of the local cur-rency to z∏.4.17 against theeuro and z∏.3.18 against thedollar during the first part ofthe week.

The increased risk aver-sion was also seen on theEUR/USD, which declinedto test the $1.31 level. Mar-kets got some relief in thesecond part of the week,when European CentralBank president MarioDraghi said he was positiveabout the two rounds ofECB LTRO financing car-ried out so far, adding thathe had not ruled out anotherround if necessary. At thesame time the ECB leftinterest rates unchanged.

The important news from

Thursday, although overratedby investors in my opinion,was an exchange that saw areduction of privately heldGreek debt. The Greektragedy is not over yet due tonext month’s parliamentaryelections, and political risk istherefore now once again inthe spotlight. The US provedthat its labor market itsbouncing back, with 227,000new jobs added in the non-farm sector, but high oilprices might slow that growth.

On the local market,Poland’s rate-setters kept themain interest rate unchangedat 4.5 percent but mentionedthat there is a higher chanceof a hike than a cut in thefuture. The z∏oty appreciatedin the second half of the weekand on Friday reached z∏.4.09against the euro, z∏.3.12against the dollar and z∏.3.40against the Swiss franc.●

Adam Narczewski X-Trade Brokers DM SA

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Major indices

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

RESBUD 10.65 52.14 10.94 2.88DREWEX 0.34 41.67 1.65 0.16KREZUS 9.76 21.24 9.76 2.07CASHFLOW 3.48 20.00 4.79 1.99HAWE 5.75 18.07 5.75 1.98

WIG 41,533.87 (March 8 close)

Change for the week: 0.67% 52-week high: 50,371.74

Change year to March 8: 8.39% 52-week low: 36,549.47

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

PGNIG 3.85 3.22 4.65 3.25CEZ 137.00 3.09 155.00 116.10PKNORLEN 36.25 2.60 58.85 30.33GETIN 2.38 1.71 15.29 2.01PZU 333.00 0.60 398.60 283.10

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

IMPEL 24.00 -24.76 38.15 21.26NTTSYSTEM 0.85 -20.56 1.11 0.41YAWAL 6.19 -17.47 12.40 2.91LSISOFT 3.07 -14.25 5.84 2.85PBG 54.00 -13.94 205.00 52.50

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

PBG 54.00 -13.94 205.00 52.50GTC 7.47 -10.97 21.79 6.83LOTOS 24.98 -10.47 49.50 21.30POLIMEXMS 1.58 -8.14 3.77 1.19ASSECOPOL 51.30 -3.02 55.45 34.50

WIG20 2,320.89 (March 8 close)



mWIG40 2,477.88 (March 8 close)



sWIG80 10,335.11 (March 8 close)



NewConnect 42.79 (March 8 close)

Change for the week: 0.16% 52-week high: 59.16

Change year to March 8: 3.13% 52-week low: 40.23

WIG-Banki 5,954.18 (March 8 close)

Change for the week: -0.18% 52-week high: 7,387.49


DJIA12,907.94 (Mar 8 close)

-0.56% (for the week)

CHANGE: 4.12%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 13,055.75

52-week low: 10,404.49

NASDAQ2,970.42 (Mar 8 close)


CHANGE: 12.15%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 3,000.11

52-week low: 2,298.89

S&P5001,365.91 (Mar 8 close)


CHANGE: 6.96%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 1,378.04

52-week low: 1,074.77

FTSE1005,859.73 (Mar 8 close)


CHANGE: 2.80%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 6,103.73

52-week low: 4,791.01

DAX6,834.54 (Mar 8 close)


CHANGE: 12.49%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 7,600.41

52-week low: 4,965.80

NIKKEI2259,768.96 (Mar 8 close)

0.63% (for the week)

CHANGE: 14.12%

(year to Mar 8)

52-week high: 10,549.17

52-week low: 8,135.79

world stock indices

10.0

2

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2

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41,200

41,800

42,400

43,000

2,200

2,250

2,300

2,350

2,400

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2,400

2,420

2,440

2,460

2,480

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3

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3

9,000

9,360

9,720

10,080

10,440

10,800

10.0

2

13.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

20.0

2

21.0

2

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2

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2

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2

28.0

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29.0

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01.0

3

02.0

3

05.0

3

06.0

3

07.0

3

08.0

3

40

41

42

43

44

45

10.0

2

13.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

20.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

27.0

2

28.0

2

29.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

05.0

3

06.0

3

07.0

3

08.0

3 5,600

5,720

5,840

5,960

6,080

6,200

10.0

2

13.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

20.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

27.0

2

28.0

2

29.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

05.0

3

06.0

3

07.0

3

08.0

3

Other indices

Eyes on China

Stocks report

Pessimism marked the start oflast week on the Warsaw StockExchange with investors wor-ried by forecasts of 7.5 percenteconomic growth in China in2012 (which would be theworst result since 2004), and aworse-than-expected readingof service-sector activity in theeuro zone. On Monday, themain WIG index and the blue-chip WIG20 index lost 1.33and 1.76 percent respectively.

The downward trend con-tinued on Tuesday. TheWIG20 saw further losses withonly the stocks of PKO BP,PZU and PGE finshing theday in the black. On the wholemarket, only 75 companiessaw gains, while 291 firms fin-ished the day in the red.

The negative sentimentwas overcome on Wednesdaywhen the Warsaw bourse notonly saw gains, but also anincrease in turnover to morethan z∏.937 million. Of theWIG20 companies, the per-formance of developer GlobeTrade Centre was particularlystrong – the company’s stock

price grew by 7.25 percent.KGHM, Pekao, Kernel andTVN all helped push theindex into the black.

Positive sentiment onother European bourses, aswell as good news fromAthens, led to the continua-tion of this trend on Thursday.The WSE saw a turnover ofslighly above z∏.1 billion with253 companies finishing theday with gains and 97 withlosses. The WIG20, bolsteredby the performance of PKOBP, KGHM, Pekao, PKNOrlen and PGNiG, grew by1.37 percent.

Friday started with indicesrising, again on news ofimproving sentiment on themain European stockexchanges. However, in thecase of the WIG20 the bullsdid not manage to maintainthe gains and the index fin-ished the day with a 0.06 per-cent loss. The stocks of Getin,Bank Handlowy, JSW andTVN were some of thestronger performers.

Adam Zdrodowski

MARCH 12-18, 2012 SPORTS www.wbj.pl 21

Tennis

Radwaƒska third inWTA earnings this yearHer sister also madeit into the ranking ofthe top 100 highest-paid women’s tennisplayers

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwaƒskais the third-highest-paid amongwomen’s tennis players thisyear. The 23-year-old fromKraków has earned $832,084since January. Belarusian Vic-

toria Azarenka leads the field,having earned $2,921,950,ahead of Russia’s Maria Shara-pova, who has earned$1,231,350 since January, thePolish Press Agency reported.

Last year Ms Radwaƒska,who turned 23 last Tuesday,entered the WTA’s BMWMalaysian Open in KualaLumpur, as the highest seed inlate February. After winningtwo rounds, she forfeited in the

quarterfinals, due to a rightelbow injury.

The only other Pole in thetop 100 was Ms Radwaƒska’syounger sister, Urszula, whocame in 78th place, earning$57,976.

The next two highest rank-ing Poles were Alicja Rosolska,who came in 127th place, andKlaudia Jans-Ignacik, in 178th

place AK

Advantage Azarenka Top earners on the WTA tour this season

Rank Player Country Earnings

1. Victoria Azarenka Belarus $2,921,950 2. Maria Sharapova Russia $1,231,3503. Agnieszka Radwaƒska Poland $832,084

4. Kim Clijsters Belgium $492,6915. Petra Kvitová Czech Republic $492,2016. Sara Errani Italy $417,8107. Julia Görges Germany $414,9208. Caroline Wozniacki Denmark $388,6689. Svetlana Kuznetsova Russia $348,83110. Vera Zvonareva Russia $321,976...78. Urszula Radwaƒska Poland $57,967

127. Alicja Rosolska Poland $32,149

147. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik Poland $24,970

Source: PAP

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Euro 2012

Abramovich pays €1.2 mln forPoland-Russia skybox: reportThe Russian tycoonis worth an estimated$13.4 billion

Russian billionaire RomanAbramovich paid €1.2 millionto secure the presidential boxfor the Poland-Russia matchat the upcoming Euro 2012soccer championships, dailyPuls Biznesu reported lastweek, citing unnamed sources.

If accurate, this wouldmean that neither PresidentBronis∏aw Komorowski norPrime Minister Donald Tuskwill occupy the box during thegame, which takes place at

Warsaw’s National Stadium onJune 12.

Mr Abramovich, who hasan estimated fortune of $13.4billion, was ranked 53rd inForbes’ 2011 list of the richestpeople in the world. He is theowner of the Chelsea soccerclub in London.

Robert Korzeniowski, mar-keting advisor to UEFA andformer race-walk champion,told the newspaper that VIPpackages for Euro 2012 gamesare proving popular.

“In Poland, over 400 cus-tomers have purchased ticketpackages so far and that num-

ber is growing fast,” he said.Mr Korzeniowski added

that VIP packages are stillavailable for each match.

The price reportedly paidby Mr Abramovich, however,is in no way indicative of theprices of most match-day VIPpackages. The average pricefor one package is €1,700, withthose for the final costing anaverage of around €6,900, thenewspaper wrote. The Nation-al Stadium says on its websitethat prices for VIP boxes areagreed to on an individualbasis.

GP, EP

Polish World Cup legend

Smolarek dies, aged 54Legendary Polish soccer playerW∏odzimierz Smolarek died athis home in Aleksandrów ̧ ódz-ki at the age of 54, the PolishFootball Association reportedlast Wednesday. The organiza-tion’s communique did notindicate the cause of death.

Mr Smolarek, who played asa striker, is among Poland’sgreatest-ever soccer players. Herepresented his country in over

60 matches, including at the1982 World Cup in Spain wherePoland finished in third place.

He played professionally atWidzew ̧ ódê, Legia Warszawa,Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger-many), as well as at Feyenoordand FC Utrecht in the Nether-lands, where he lived for manyyears.

Polish Football Associa-tion president and former

national team player Grze-gorz Lato said on the federa-tion’s official website, “I findit hard to believe. W∏odek wasmy friend and an on-field col-league. He always had a goodspirit within the team.”

Mr Smolarek was thefather of former Poland inter-national player, Ebi Smo-larek.

Gareth PriceAgnieszka Radwaƒska

MARCH 12-18, 2012LIFESTYLE22 www.wbj.pl

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Paco Peña in 1984

Centre for ContemporaryArt at Ujazdowski Castle ul. Jazdów 2www.csw.art.pl

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

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

Galeria 65 ul. Bema 65www.galeria65.com

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

Galeria Asymetria ul. Nowogrodzka 18awww.asymetria.eu

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

Galeria Milano Rondo Waszyngtona 2A (Praga)www.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

Katarzyna Napiórkowska Art Galleryul. Âwi´tokrzyska 32, ul.Krakowskie PrzedmieÊcie 42/44and Old Town Square 19/21www.napiorkowska.pl

Królikarnia National Galleryul. Pu∏awska 113awww.krolikarnia.mnw.art.pl

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

Museum of IndependenceAleja SolidarnoÊci 62www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl

National Museum in Warsaw Al. Jerozolimskie 3www.mnw.art.pl

Polish National Opera atTeatr WielkiPl. Teatralny 1www.teatrwielki.pl

Pracownia Galeriaul. Emilii Plater 14www.pracowniagaleria.pl

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

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

Simonis Galleryul. Burakowska 9www.simonisgallery.com

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

State Ethnographic Museumul. 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 Rising Museum ul. Grzybowska 79www.1944.pl

Wilanów Palace Museumand Wilanów PosterMuseumul. St Kostki Potockiego 10/16www.milanow-palac.plwww.postermuseum.pl

Zachęta National Art GalleryPl. Ma∏achowskiego 3www.zacheta.art.pl

Museums, galleries and venues in Warsaw

Angry BirdsMarch 15-May 6Museum of Modern Artin Warsawul. Paƒska 3

According to curators at theMuseum of Modern Art inWarsaw, the mass protests inthe streets of Moscow have

been accompanied by a revivalof the art world there. Theexhibition “Angry Birds” willpresent works from youngartists making a name forthemselves in this new artscene in the Russian capital.

The exhibition takes itsname from the 2009 mobile

phone-based video game, inwhich the curators see paral-lels with protest movementsagainst authoritarian regimesaround the world. (Thediverse array of angry birdsrepresents the protesters,their enemies, the pigs, repre-sent the authorities and thebirds’ stolen eggs representthe young protesters’ future.)The title was proposed by theartists themselves and alsoreflects the mood of today’sMoscow, the museum’s cura-tors say.

“Viewers of the exhibitionwill be surprised by unfamil-iar references, fantasies andfears. This strangeness showshow little experience over thelast 20 years has connectedPoland and Russia,” theyadd.

Andrew Kureth

For more information, logon to artmuseum.pl

Exhibition

Moscow’s angry avians

The Flying DutchmanMarch 16, 7 pmTeatr Wielki /Polish National Opera Plac Teatralny 1Warsaw

Following on from his bril-liant interpretation of Ma-dame Butterfly and KingRoger, director Mariusz Tre-liƒski returns to the stage

with his take on Wagner’sThe Flying Dutchman – thestory of a cursed sailorsearching for love.

“Wagner had been absentfrom the stage for years, sowe decided to initiate areturn to this composer withhis first mature work. I hopethe result will be an intrigu-ing, modern show as I returnto my first musical fascina-tions,” Mr Treliƒski said inan interview for the Rzecz-pospolita daily.

The Flying Dutchman isone of Richard Wagner’smost often staged operas.The composer based hislibretto on Heinrich Heine’sstory of a sailor condemnedto an endless voyage until hefinds a woman who will befaithful to him until death.

The story made a hugeimpression on Wagner.Then, during a voyage toLondon in 1839, he surviveda powerful storm on theNorth Sea. He wrote laterthat this was when he cameup with the opera, which pre-miered four years later.

Andrew Kureth

For more information, logon to teatrwielki.pl

Opera

Voyage for love

Paco Peña Flamenco DanceCompanyMarch 20, 7 pmSala KongresowaPalace of Culture andSciencePl. Defilad 1Warsaw

Perhaps the greatest flamen-co guitarist in the world,Paco Peña has been wooingpacked theaters for decades,supported by a powerful,passionate cast of dancers.

Mr Peña founded thePaco Peña Flamenco DanceCompany in 1970, and iscredited with helping fla-menco gain internationalpopularity. He has beenplaying guitar since the ageof six, and has been perform-ing professionally since age12. Although he is most well-known for his flamenco play-ing, he also delves into othergenres, such as jazz, bluesand classical music.

In a February 2011review, The New York Timessaid that there was “no weaklink” in the performance puton by Mr Peña, the dancersand other musicians. Hisconcert in Warsaw promisesto be one to remember.

Tickets cost between z∏.85and z∏.255.

AK

For more information, logon to kongresowa.pl

Concert

Strumming flamenco

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MARCH 12-18, 2012 LAST WORD www.wbj.pl 23

Apple unveils the iPad 3 new iPad

Tech Eye

Rumors flew fast and furious in thelead-up to Apple’s coquettishlyteased press event last week. Main-taining its typical “Talk to the hand,Geeklings” attitude, the Cupertino,California-based firm neither con-firmed nor denied the gossip.

“Apple will unveil the iPad 3, withnew scratch ‘n’ sniff technology,”one site claimed. Another allegedthat the House that Jobs Built wouldforgo an iPad upgrade in favor of thebrand new iSuperfluous-Third-Nip-ple, a wearable computer so namedbecause it attaches in the chestregion and employs nipples one andtwo as bio-antennas.

Then the day of the great unveil-ing arrived, and we learned thatApple had nothing quite so futuristicup its, er, blouse. What it did havewas a new iPad model, which it ratherannoyingly refuses to call the iPad 3.

The “new iPad,” as it’s beingreferred to, marks a significantadvance on the iPad 2. The display isstill 9.7 inches across – still shy of the10.1 inches many competing prod-ucts boast, in other words – but theresolution has been bumped from1024 x 768 up to 2048 x 1536. Thenumber of pixels, meanwhile, has

been roughly quadrupled to 3.1 mil-lion (about a third higher than anHD TV, by Apple’s count) and colorsaturation is now 44 percent greater.

If you’ve ever had a hankering towatch full 1080p, HD-resolutionfilms on a tablet, here’s your chance.You’ll be able to count your favoriteactor’s nose hairs.

Other improvements include aquad-core graphics chip (up fromdual-core) and a five-megapixeliSight camera in the back (up from0.7 megapixels). Apple’s latest is also4G LTE-capable, which is great pro-

vided your local telecom is up to it. On the other hand, the device is

slightly thicker and heavier than itspredecessor. Battery life is aboutthe same, unless you’ve got 4Gswitched on.

The new iPad hits shelves thisFriday in select markets (sorryPoland). The top end (wi-fi + 4G,64GB) model costs $829, while theentry-level version (wi-fi only,16GB) runs $499. Colors available:white and black.

Alongside its third-generationiPad, Apple also unveiled an update

to Apple TV, a product which hasbeen politely ignored by most con-sumers since its 2007 debut. Despitethe name, Apple TV isn’t actually atelevision – it’s a digital media receiv-er (the little box in the foreground ofthe photo above) that beams Apple-approved media (chiefly iTunes, butalso Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo andothers) straight to your TV set.

The latest incarnation of AppleTV increases output resolution to1080p and upgrades the CPU to asingle-core A5. There’s more to it,but little that’s exciting. The device

only costs $99, so if you’re a diehardMactard or have been gagging tohave iTunes on your TV, it might beworth it.

That was pretty much it fromApple last week. OK, yes, there weresome moderately interesting soft-ware updates, but it’s the gadgetsthat really matter.

And, frankly, the lack of iSuper-fluous-Third-Nipple was disappoint-ing, particularly for us menfolk,whose nipples could really use somekind of raison d’être. Maybe nextyear. ●

Ever yearned for a scratch ‘n’ sniff tablet? Let us know: [email protected]

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The new iPad Apple TV

To advertise in WBJ’s classifieds section, contactMs Agnieszka Brejwo, at

(+48) 222-577-526 or [email protected]

WBJ #10 2012

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