WBJ #9 2011

VOLUME 17, NUMBER 9 • MARCH 7-13, 2011 . z∏.12.50 (VAT 8% included) . ISSN 1233 7889 INDEX-RUCH-332-127

OOppeenn FFiinnaannccee ttoo jjooiinntthhee WWaarrssaaww bboouurrsseeGetin's financial advisory, Open

Finance, is preparing for an IPO.

It could be worth €200 million 28

Since 1994 . Poland’s only business weekly in English

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Poland’s balancing actThe government must

walk the straight and

narrow if it wants to

avoid a deficit

debacle

12-13

MMrr SSiikkoorrsskkii ggooeessttoo WWaasshhiinnggttoonnThe foreign minister made the

rounds in the US last week, talking

defense and energy 3

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• Regional market analyses

• Intraco sale scuppered

• Green Corner permit

15-25

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

Industry News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7

Book of Lists Gala . . . . . . . . . . . .8-9

Business Environment . . . . . . . . .10

Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

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

Lokale Immobilia . . . . . . . . . . .15-25

The List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26-27

Listed Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Arts & Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

In this issue

A guide to Polish business and industry Przewodnik po polskim biznesie i gospodarce

Commercial real estate

developers – office

26-27

Techeye takes a bite

out of Apple 31

SSPPEECCIIAALLEEDDIITTIIOONN

WBJ launched the latest

edition of its Book of Lists

with a grand Gala 8-9

%

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RomaniaBulgariaHungaryPolandSlovakiaEU27Czech Republic

1.9

2.7*3.2 3.5

4.0 4.3*

7.0

* provisional

MARCH 7-13, 2011NNEEWWSS2 www.wbj.pl

Polish

economy leads

The EC has revised its

forecast for Poland’s 2011

economic growth to 4.1%,

with 1.6% forecast for the

EU27. Its previous figure

for Poland was 3.9%.

However, the EC warns

against rising inflation,

which is expected to hit

3.3% this year.

Euro 2012

tickets on sale

Tickets for the Euro 2012

soccer championship,

which Poland is co-

hosting with Ukraine,

went on sale last week.

Ticket prices range from

€30-600, depending on

the match and seating

location.

Foreign M&A

ambition

Around 59% of medium-

sized and large

companies in Poland

have plans to acquire

foreign companies, daily

Puls Biznesu reported,

citing research by Grant

Thornton. Of the 39

nations studied, only

Georgia (69%) had a

higher proportion. The

average in the study was

34%.

Firms avoid

permanent

hiresThe number of permanent

employment contracts is

falling, Puls Biznesu

wrote. At first glance, the

situation on the labor

market is improving

rapidly. However, this

growth is mainly

associated with jobs

created for specific

periods of time. The

number of workers with

fixed-term employment

contracts has reached

3.45 million, the highest

figure seen since the

beginning of Poland’s

economic transformation.

French subs

made in

PolandThe Naval Shipyard

Gdynia (SMW) will build

French submarines for

the Polish navy,

Wyborcza.pl reported.

SMW has signed an

agreement with French

defense company DCNS,

which will allow the

Gdynia Shipyard, owned

by the Industrial

Development Agency, to

produce weapons under

license from the French

firm. ●

ABM Solid ........................................19

Apple ................................................31

Areva ................................................11

Autorska Pracownia Architektoniczna

Hanny i Marka Bieƒkowskich ..........25

B’ART Pracownia Architektury,

Urbanistyki i Wn´trz

Bart∏omiej Bie∏yszew ......................25

Bank Zachodni WBK ........................29

Bergold Holding ..............................17

Biedecki, Biedecki, Olejnik ..............16

bmp AG ............................................29

Bogdanka ........................................28

Bose International

Planning and Architecture ..............17

Bouygues Immobilier Polska ..........15

Brandscope ........................................9

C&A ..................................................17

Camaieu ..........................................20

Carpisa ............................................20

CB Richard Ellis ........................15, 16

CEDC ................................................29

CEE Property Group ........................21

CEZ ..................................................29

Claire ................................................20

CMP Group ......................................17

Cognor ..............................................29

Colliers International Poland ..........21

Colliers International Slovakia ........23

Criterion............................................30

Cushman & Wakefield ....................20

Cyfrowy Polsat..................................29

DCNS ..................................................2

Debenhams ......................................20

Decathlon ........................................18

Deichmann ......................................25

Dekra

Construction Management..............17

Deloitte Central Europe ..................19

Develop Investment..........................17

Diesel................................................20

Dipservice ........................................17

DM BZ WBK......................................28

DolnoÊlàskie Surowce Skalne ........28

Dom Development......................21, 25

Dongseo Display ..............................21

E.ON....................................................8

Echo Investment ........................17, 21

EDF ..................................................11

Emporio Armani ..............................18

Erbud ................................................25

Fajans Âcis∏o & Partnerzy “Arcus”..25

Fasing ..............................................29

Gant Development............................21

Gaudí ................................................20

Gazprom Neft ..................................28

GE Hitachi ........................................11

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy................6

Getin Bank..........................................8

Getin Holding................................8, 28

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

Globe Trade Centre ....................21, 29

Grant Thornton ..................................2

Griffin Topco ....................................17

Gucci ................................................18

H&M..................................................18

Heinz ................................................31

Heitman International......................21

Helios..........................................17, 29

Hines ................................................19

Home Broker....................................28

HSBC ................................................10

IK Development................................21

IKEA ................................................8, 9

Inditex ..............................................18

Intraco ..............................................17

Irena..................................................29

Jones Lang LaSalle ........................18

JW Construction Holding ..........17, 21

Keen Property Partners Retail ........25

KGHM......................................7, 28, 29

King Sturge ................................21, 22

Kruk ..................................................21

KWW ................................................17

LIST ..................................................20

Lotos ................................................28

Markit ..............................................10

Marma ..............................................17

Marvipol ............................................21

Miastoprojekt....................................21

MW Projekt Biuro Projektowe ........15

MW Trade....................................28, 29

New World Resources ....................28

New Yorker ......................................17

Noble Bank ........................................8

Nordea Bank ....................................10

Norton Rose ....................................19

Nurol Holding ..................................28

OAO AB KubanBank ........................28

Open Finance ..................................28

Panattoni

Development Company....................21

PGE ....................................................6

PKN Orlen ........................................29

PKO BP ........................................3, 29

Polimex-Mostostal ..........................29

Polnord ............................................21

PZU ..................................................29

Radius Projekt..................................17

Reserved ..........................................25

Retail Concept..................................25

Rodamco Europe Sp. z o.o., ..............9

Rosneft ............................................28

Rossmann ........................................17

Ryanair ..............................................7

Sadovaya ..........................................28

Salans ..............................................21

SGI Baltis..........................................25

Skanska ......................................15, 19

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

Skotan ..............................................29

Starbucks ........................................20

Stefanel ............................................20

Takko ................................................25

Techmex............................................29

Tesco ................................................23

TNK BP ............................................28

Ton-Agro ..........................................17

Toshiba..............................................11

TP......................................................15

TPSA ................................................29

Unibail-Rodamco ..............................8

UniCredit ..........................................21

VGP ............................................21, 22

Wasko ..............................................29

Westinghouse ..................................11

Wogorbi Finance Limited ................17

WSE ....................................................8

X-Trade Brokers ..............................12

Zak∏ady Azotowe Pu∏awy ................28

Zak∏ady Chemiczne Police ..............28

Adam Ma∏ysz, one of Poland’sbest-recognized and most suc-cessful athletes, has announcedhis imminent retirement. Con-sidered one of the best skijumpers of all time, Mr Ma∏yszwill make the last jump of hisprofessional career on March26 at a competition in thesouthern Polish town ofZakopane.

Mr Ma∏ysz announced hisdecision during an event inOslo last week. “This is mylast season. I thank all myfans for their support. It wasthem who carried me for-ward,” Mr Ma∏ysz said. The33-year old added that hewould make a decision later

this spring on his next careermove.

Meanwhile, Puls Biznesureported last week that MrMa∏ysz might not be partingways with the world of sport.According the paper’s sources,Mr Ma∏ysz, long known for hispassion for cars, could take partin the Dakar Rally next year asa member of the RMF Caro-line Team.

Mr Ma∏ysz began hiscareer in 1995. Since then hehas earned a total of fourOlympic medals (three silverand one bronze) and won atotal of 39 World Cup events,ultimately taking home fourWorld Cup championships

(three consecutively, a uniquefeat in the sport).

Adam Ma∏ysz has consis-tently been one of the most pop-ular athletes in Poland, and wasvoted the Polish Sports Person-ality of the Year in 2001, 2002and 2003. His success in the2000-2001 season contributed toan unprecedented increase inthe popularity of ski jumping inPoland and gave rise to a socialphenomenon dubbed by someas “Ma∏yszomania.”

Mr Ma∏ysz was born in 1977in Wis∏a, Silesia voivodship. Hemarried Izabela Ma∏ysz, néePolok, in 1997. They have onedaughter.

AAddaamm ZZddrrooddoowwsskkii

402,000new companies were registered in 2010

237,700companies were removed from the national registry

last year

3,000 schools have closed over the last five years in Poland

665,000is the approximate number of teachers, up 13,000 over

the last five years

4.13 million tourists visited in 2010, up from 3.86 million in 2009

“Strong vigilance is warranted with a view tocontaining upside risks to price stability. An increase of interest rates at the next

meeting is possible”European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet hints at an upcoming rate

hike, setting the markets a-flutter

Quote of the Week

The Book of Lists Gala, up close

Log on to WBJ.pl for an inside view of last week's Bookof Lists Gala. See pictures of the crowd that gathered tocelebrate the launch of the latest edition of Book ofLists, a key source of business intelligence. Also have alook at the winners of the Warsaw Business JournalAwards – these are some of the brightest stars ofPoland's business firmament.

On WBJ.pl

Numbers in the News

Company index

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8-11 MIPIM & MIPIM HORIZONSEvent: Real Estate Event for Professionals.

Location: Cannes, France www.mipim.com/en/homepage

9-13 ITB BERLINEvent: The world’s leading Travel Trade Show, with

10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries andover 180,000 visitors. Poland is the OfficialPartner Country.Location: Messe Berlin, Germany www.itb-berlin.de

14 CENTRAL BANK FIGURESEvent: Poland’s central bank releases current

account data for February

18- 21 COSMOPROFEvent: The world’s most important international

event in the beauty and cosmetics sector.Location: Bologna, Italywww.cosmoprof.com/en

22 CENTRAL BANK FIGURESEvent: Poland’s central bank releases January and

February inflation data

March

DATELINE

Adam Ma∏yszIN THE SPOTLIGHT

Figures in focus

A growing issue?

Annual inflation rate (%) in selected EU countries, January 2011

Source: Eurostat

MARCH 7-13, 2011 NNEEWWSS www.wbj.pl 3

Investing in Poland 2011 is available now!

To order a print copy or CD-ROM version of the publication, e-mail [email protected] or call +48 (22) 639 85 67 ext. 208

We have also launched a new website for investors!For investment news and analysis, visit: www.investinginpoland.wbj.plpresents

Belarus and Libya

Gaddafi getting guns from Lukashenko?Keen-eyed observersseem to think so

A Swedish think-tank renow-ned for its work on the armstrade has established a con-nection between Belarus,often dubbed Europe’s lastdictatorship, and Libya.

On February 15, a flightfrom Belarus’ Baranovichimilitary airbase – which holdsa major cache of arms andlight weapons left over fromthe Cold War – landed insouthern Libya, Hugh Grif-fiths, from the StockholmInternational Peace ResearchInstitute (SPIRI) think-tank,told Radio Sweden last week.

Mr Griffiths also said thatlinks between Libya andBelarus could be helpful forGaddafi and his family if theyhave to flee the country.

“[Belarusian PresidentAlexander Lukashenko] hasn’tdistanced himself from Gaddafiand he would certainly wel-come members of hisentourage,” Radio Swedenquoted him as saying. He added

that Belarusian authoritiescould also manage to convertlarge quantities of Gaddafi’sgold and diamonds into cash.

Options are indeed dwin-dling for the Libyan dictator,who is refusing to evenacknowledge that Libyans areprotesting against his regime.He even claimed that theLibyan people “love him,” in a

recent BBC interview.The UN and the EU have

imposed arms embargoes onLibya, as well as travel bansand asset freezes on Gaddafi’sfamily and certain governmentofficials.

US, EU, French and UKdiplomats have said that theywould not rule out militaryaction against Libya, possibly

through NATO. “Nothing is offthe table,” as long as civilianscontinue to be killed by thegovernment was the consensus,reported the EU Observer.

As of last Thursday, the UNestimated that the number ofdead and wounded in Libya wasin the thousands, with the num-ber of refugees reaching about180,000. AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

Polish-US relations

SSiikkoorrsskkii oonn wwhhiirrllwwiinndd UUSS ttoouurrThe foreign ministertalked energy, securityduring his visit to theUnited States

During his six-day visit to theUnited States, Polish ForeignMinister Rados∏aw Sikorskimet with American officials todiscuss strategic defense andenergy goals, among othertopics.

Secretary of State HillaryClinton, during a meeting withMr Sikorski, confirmed theUS’s plan to establish a perma-nent air division and deploymissile defenses in Poland.Other talking points includedthe war in Afghanistan,NATO’s plans regarding thecurrent unrest in North Africaand Poland’s relations with itskey European partners.

Recognizing Poland’s gro-wing international stature andclose relationship with the US,Ms Clinton stated that she“appreciate[s] Poland’s opin-ion not only on matters con-cerning Poland and Europe,but also those relating to glob-

al issues.”Poland’s foreign minster,

for his part, pledged supportfor the US’s efforts on globalsecurity issues, saying thatAmerica could rely on Polandto help achieve security goals.

A green agreementMr Sikorski also held talkswith Deputy Secretary ofEnergy Daniel B. Poneman onmutual cooperation in green

and sustainable energy proj-ects. Representatives of bothcountries signed a memoran-dum designed to facilitate Pol-ish-American cooperation ontechnologies related to nu-clear energy and the searchfor shale gas.

According to Poland’snuclear energy plan, the coun-try’s first reactor will come

online in 2020. Poland there-fore needs to decide on a tech-nology for the power plant inthe near future, and the US isone of several nations interest-ed in supplying it.

The foreign ministeradmitted that the newly inkedagreement is simply a state-ment of intent, but noted thatit could bring benefits.

“We hope that [green ener-gy] is a field in which we cantighten cooperation,” heexplained.

Also on the agendaMr Sikorski also delivered twolectures during his visit to theUS. The first, given at HarvardUniversity, concerned the sig-nificance of European securityto Poland and the rest of theworld. Mr Sikorski emphasizedthat security and democracy aredesired by troubled countriessuch as Egypt, Libya andBelarus.

Later, at the Center forAmerican Progress in Wash-ington, he gave a speech onPolish security and the coun-

try’s relationship with Russia.He highlighted the fact thatRussia is working as a strongpartner with Europe and theUS to stabilize Afghanistanand North Africa and stressed

that maintaining good rela-tions with Russia also lies inPoland’s interest.

During his visit, ForeignMinister Sikorski also reaf-firmed President Komorows-

ki’s invitation for PresidentObama to attend a summit ofCentral and Eastern Europeanheads of state, scheduled to beheld in Warsaw in May.

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Rados∏aw Sikorski and Hillary Clinton discussed some weighty security issues in

Washington DC

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Mr Gaddafi is a man under pressure

Rostowski: Budget

deficit won’t exceed

EU limits in 2012Poland will meet the goal ofcutting the budget deficit tothree percent of GDP by2012, Polish Finance Minis-ter Jacek Rostowski wrote ina letter to European Com-missioner for Economic andFinancial Affairs Olli Rehn.

In his outline, MinisterRostowski explained that sig-nificant cuts in public spend-ing and economic growth willdecrease the deficit.

Specifically, the reductionof funeral payments, a decreasein spending on counteractingunemployment and cuts intransfers to Open PensionFunds (OFE) are among themethods listed by the Minister.

According to Mr Rostowski,over the next two yearsPoland’s public spending willplummet by 4.7 percent ofGDP, which will limit the budg-et deficit to 3.2 percent of GDP.The remaining 0.2 percentagepoints over the EU’s three-per-cent limit should be slashed off

through increased cash inflowfrom taxes, generated throughquicker economic growth.

Yet Ryszard Petru, headof bank PKO BP’s analysis,investor relations and strate-gy department, expressedcaution in evaluating MrRostowski’s plan. “Althoughthe general direction of cut-ting spending is good, theresult yielded by the planedges the three percent limit,giving no reserve.” Mr Petruexplained that the plan isbased on restricting deficitgrowth and said that,“although it is not a bad solu-tion, it would be better tolimit unnecessary spending.”

The Polish Finance Min-istry’s plan is now awaitingfeedback from Commission-er Rehn. If he deems thereform plan as unlikely torein in the budget deficit,Poland will face sanctions forexceeding the limit.


“[The US] appreciatesPoland’s opinion not only

on matters concerningPoland and Europe”

MARCH 7-13, 2011NNEEWWSS4 www.wbj.pl

Warsaw is the bestplace to discuss therestitution of Jewishproperty, apparently

The head of the Prime Minis-ter’s Chancellery, TomaszArabski, prevented an “incon-venient” question being askedby a Polish Press Agency(PAP) journalist during PrimeMinister Donald Tusk’s recenttrip to Israel.

The situation unfoldedprior to a press conference inJerusalem in which Polish PM

Donald Tusk and his Israelicounterpart, BenjaminNetanyahu, took part.

The name of the PAP jour-nalist has not been revealed,but the question concernedthe issue of the restitution ofJewish property confiscatedduring and after WWII.

Polsat journalist TomaszMacha∏a first wrote about thesituation on his blog. Accord-ing to him, Mr Arabski knewthe question beforehand andtried to convince the journalistto change it.

Unable to persuade thejournalist, Mr Arabski thencontacted the president ofPAP, Jerzy Paciorkowski, andasked him to prevent the ques-tion from being asked.

Mr Arabski has deniedcontacting the PAP journalist,but he admitted calling MrPaciorkowski. He claimed toRzeczpospolita, however, thatno pressure was exerted uponPAP’s president.

As for Mr Paciorkowski, hestated that after Arabski’s call,he asked the journalist not toask the question on thegrounds that the best place todiscuss such issues was in War-saw.

Prime Minister Tusk latercommented on the issue onTVP, admitting that the situa-tion might have been a littlebit awkward. Nevertheless, hedeclared that journalists couldfeel safe around him and couldask him about anything.

Mr Macha∏a also revealedon his blog that El˝bieta Jaku-biak and Marek Migalski ofthe political party PolandComes First (PJN) haddemanded that Mr Arabskiand Mr Paciorkowski resignfollowing the affair.

KKaattaarrzzyynnaa PPiiaasseecckkaa

Freedom of the press

Polish journalist silenced before

Tusk-Netanyahu press conference Voters will probablyhead to the polls oneither October 16 or 23

Law and Justice (PiS) will lodgea complaint with Poland’s Con-stitutional Tribunal concerningthe possibility of two-day parlia-mentary elections this autumn,Mariusz B∏aszczak, head of theparty’s parliamentary club, saidlast week.

In February, President Bro-nis∏aw Komorowski had pub-licly discussed the possibility ofspreading the election over twodays. However, this would costz∏.50 million more than one-dayelections, Mr B∏aszczak said,emphasizing the “dramatic situ-ation” of Poland’s publicfinances.

Another of PiS’s argumentsagainst a two-day election wasthat the constitution refers toelections being held on a “dayfree from work.” This forms thebasis of its complaint to the Tri-bunal, as the party is seeking aliteral interpretation of the con-stitution.

Due to scheduling con-straints and the fact that elec-tions are traditionally held onSundays, the only availabledates are October 9, 16, 23 and30.

PiS has decided that holdingelections on October 30, as it

had previously suggested, mightpose certain difficulties. Thatdate falls shortly before AllSaint’s Day, an important holi-day in Poland.

Members of the EasternPartnership initiative, whichPoland is spearheading, are dueto meet during the first week ofOctober. The added difficultyof organizing elections at thesame time makes a October 9date unlikely.

Early elections would ren-der the debate moot, but there’slittle chance of them beingcalled. Thus, many in the Polish

media have posited that theonly real choice for elections isbetween the October 16 and 23dates.

Breakaway political partyPoland Comes First, mean-while, has suggested holding areferendum at the same time asthe elections. The subject?Whether or not the govern-ment’s plan to change the pen-sion system, shuttling paycheckcontributions away from openpension funds, should beallowed.

GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee,, KKaattaarrzzyynnaa PPiiaasseecckkaa

Parliamentary elections

PiS opposes two-day elections

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Mr Tusk and Mr Netanyahu met in Israel in February

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MARCH 7-13, 2011IINNDDUUSSTTRRYY NNEEWWSS6 www.wbj.pl

Contact: Miros∏aw Stefanik

[email protected]

Legal News

Changes to the tax on savingsfrom bank deposits The Finance Ministry has proposedchanges to rules for rounding the basis fortaxation and the tax on income from bankinterest (informally known as “Belka’stax”). These changes will make it impossi-ble to avoid taxation on savings from bankdeposits, which will eliminate the current-ly popular overnight deposits. The tax willbe payable irrespective of the type ofdeposit and the amount of resourcesgathered on this deposit.

Another change will see the basis fortaxation and tax being rounded up. Theamounts will be rounded in such a waythat figures lower than 50 grosz are omit-ted and figures equal or exceeding 50grosz are rounded up to the nearest z∏oty.This will also affect interest and discountson securities.

New process for issuing visasOn April 5, 2011, amendments to the Acton Foreigners will come into force. Thesechanges are another step towards theadjustment of Polish regulations to theVisa Code binding within the EuropeanCommunity.

One of the things changing on April 5will be the process of issuing decisionsregarding a national or Schengen visa.From then on, the decision to reject orgrant a visa will be issued on an officialform. Parties objecting to decisions maysubmit a motion for the Consul to re-analyze the case.

Act limiting barriers forentrepreneurshipOn February 25, 2011, the Sejm accept-ed legislation aimed at limiting adminis-

trative barriers for citizens and entrepre-neurs. The scope of the legislation isvery broad – it would amend more than90 acts.

Owing to the amendments, it will bepossible, among other things, to submitstatements instead of presenting certifi-cates during the establishment and con-duct of business activity.

At the moment, these certificatesserve as publicly issued confirmations ofthe state of affairs at the business. Theyare issued by public officials at therequest of an interested party. Parties sub-mitting the new statements, meanwhile,will be subject to criminal liability if theygive false evidence.

The draft legislation will also limit theobligation to present excerpts and copiesof documentation (e.g. documents con-cerning the representation in companies).

Draft legislation regardingnuclear energyOn February 22, 2011, the Council of Min-isters accepted draft amendments to theNuclear Act and the so-called “investmentact” which introduce provisions making itpossible to build nuclear power plants inPoland.

According to the government, the leg-islation defines the rules for dividing uporders associated with the constructionnecessary for the realization of the nuclearproject. What is more, the new provisionsensure that society should be informed ofall decisions made by the nuclear supervi-sion authorities regarding the state ofnuclear power facilities and their use,including all factors and events which mayinfluence nuclear safety and protectionagainst radiation. ●

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PETER NIELSEN & PARTNERS LAW OFFICE

Health care

Cosmetic cost concernsSome in the plasticsurgery business fearthat high VAT couldleave a scar

Poland has earned a reputa-tion as one of the most popu-lar medical tourism destina-tions in Europe. Each yearsince 2004, when the countryjoined the European Union, ithas welcomed hundreds ofthousands of tourists seekingtreatment.

According to the PolishAssociation of MedicalTourism, around 250,000 for-eigners underwent cosmeticsurgery in Poland in 2010alone. These patients are luredby high-quality service at com-petitive prices.

The industry is worried,however, as it looks like itcould take a hit from unfavor-able changes to tax law.

As of January 1, a 23 per-cent VAT rate was imposed oncosmetic surgery in Poland, amove that has caused the cost

of services to rise by about thesame percentage. Representa-tives of some clinics whichoffer cosmetic surgery servicescomplain that they can nolonger compete with otherCEE and Eastern Europeancountries.

Larger firms haven’t beenhit quite as hard. WojciechMizerka, financial director atCentrum Medyczne Enel-Med, told WBJ that his firmhad absorbed part of the bur-den itself, increasing its pricesonly slightly.

“Due to this, as well as thefact that aesthetic medicalservices are targeted at peoplewho are able to bear certainexpenses, we haven’t seen anydecline in the popularity ofour services in this area,” MrMizerka said.

Less well-positioned firmsaren’t expecting to fare quiteas well and some complainthat the new regulations areunclear and confusing.


Tourism

Poland launches charm offensive

The country debuts anexpensive newpromotional campaignthis weekPoland is the official partnercountry of this week’s Interna-tional Tourism Fair in Berlin(ITB), where it will launch anew promotional campaigntitled “Move your imagina-tion.”

The country’s presence atthe trade show is budgeted atz∏.12 million, and is part of awider z∏.30 million campaignwhich debuted last year. Theproject will wrap up with the

Euro 2012 soccer champi-onship.

A large chunk of the bill inBerlin is devoted to the openingceremony on March 8, wherePoland will put on a 3D multi-media show “telling the story ofPoland.” The event combines3D animation, interactive ele-ments and a live dance show.

Warsaw-based animationcompany Platige Imagedesigned the campaign andmultimedia show. AgnieszkaPiechnik, a representative ofthe firm, declined to commenton the value of her firm’s con-tract, but admitted that it was

indeed an expensive affair. “Without giving numbers, I

can say that a campaign likethe one we have designed iscostly, especially the openingceremony, which is a hugeevent with a lot of equipment,high technology specialists,not to mention the artists andthe crew that made the films,”she commented.

However, touring Ger-many, France and the UK withthe new campaign, which willstart after ITB, will probablyaccount for the biggest chunkin the total z∏.30 million budg-et, said Katarzyna Draba,

spokesperson at the PolishTourist Organization.

The organization expectsPoland’s presence in Berlin toplay a key role in the domestictourism industry’s recoveryfrom the crisis. This year thePolish tourism industry mightalso benefit from the fact thatEuropeans, and in particularGermans – the biggest touristgroup for Poland – mightdecide to travel in Europerather than to Egypt or Tunisia,for example, said Karol Lipski,the spokesperson for the Pol-ish presence at ITB.

AAlliiccee TTrruuddeellllee

Energy

IEA calls for more competition

The IEA has imploredPoland to cut its CO2emissions

The International EnergyAgency (IEA) urged Polandlast week to reduce its CO2emissions and liberalize itsenergy market.

IEA executive directorNobuo Tanaka, however,applauded Poland’s plans tosell z∏.15 billion worth ofassets this year. He believesthat this will increase compe-tition in an energy market heconsiders to be dominated bystate-owned monopolies.

Mr Tanaka told journaliststhat Poland was far fromachieving full liberalization ofits electricity and gas mar-kets. But the country is mak-ing progress in other areas,he said. It is, for example,increasing the capacity of its

gas links to Germany andbuilding a new pipeline to theCzech Republic.

At the same time, henoted that complex planningprocedures often hinder newinvestments and identifiedthose same procedures as anobstacle to investment inclean-energy technologies.

Poland currently relies onhighly polluting coal for 90percent of its energy needs.

“Investment decisionsmade in the energy sectorover the coming decade willset Poland’s long-term emis-sions trajectory,” Mr Tanakasaid. “That’s why energy andclimate strategies need to beintegrated now to meet thedual goals of energy securityand environmental sustain-ability.”

Part of Poland’s currentplan to lower emissions

involves diversifying intonuclear power.

Its first nuclear plant isscheduled to come online byaround 2020. However, GEHitachi has warned thatPoland must start construc-tion by 2014 at the latest tomeet the deadline.

The company is a poten-tial nuclear technology sup-plier to state-owned Polishutility PGE, which has beencharged by the governmentwith overseeing Poland’snuclear plans.

“We do need to have a sitein late 2013 or early 2014 todig the first shovel, and thatwould mean the 2020 date ispossible with some margin,”Reuters reported DannyRoderick, a senior vice presi-dent at GE Hitachi NuclearEnergy, as saying.

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Airlines

Ryanair and Podkarpackie sign advertising agreement

One of the low-costcarrier’s planes willget a Podkarpackie-themed makeover

Podkarpackie, Poland’s south-eastern-most voivodship, hasinked a deal with Irish budgetair carrier Ryanair to advertisethe region. The contract isworth nearly z∏.24 million,according to the Polish PressAgency.

“We will pay Ryanair aroundz∏.6 million per year. In return,the carrier is obliged to affixPodkarpackie’s logo to the noseof one of its aircraft,” Wies∏awBek, the spokesperson of themarshal of Podkarpackievoivodship told The Polish PressAgency (PAP). “Our logo will

also be affixed on luggage lock-ers and there will be brochuresadvertising our region on board[Ryanair] planes,” he added.

The three-year agreementcame into effect on March 1.

The local authoritieslaunched the advertising tenderlast year and Ryanair was theonly party to submit a bid.

The Irish airline has alreadybeen promoting the Pod-karpackie voivodship for a fewyears, Mr Bek emphasized. Butthe agreement between the par-ties was limited to advertisingthe Podkarpackie region onRyanair’s website. The voivod-ship’s spending on this advertis-ing totaled slightly more thanz∏.1 million per year.

According to unnamed

sources cited by PAP, byexpanding its advertising withRyanair, the voivodship is alsogiving the low-cost carrier anexcuse to continue flying to thePodkarpackie region and toexpand its list of flight connec-tions to Jasionka Airport, nearRzeszów.

At present, Ryanair offersflights from Podkarpackie toBirmingham, London and a fewother cities. Starting on March27, Ryanair will launch connec-tions from Jasionka to GironaAirport, near Barcelona.

Ryanair is the largest air car-rier servicing the airport inRzeszów, the capital of the Pod-karpackie region.

NNaattaalliiaa KKaazziikk,, AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

Mining

KGHM’s Q4 earnings shineon sky-high copper pricesThe miner now plansto spend z∏.7.5 billionon copper assets inthe Americas

On the back of soaring metalprices, Polish copper and silverminer KGHM turned in anunconsolidated net profit ofz∏.1.324 billion for the fourthquarter of last year. The firmearned z∏.685.4 million in thesame quarter a year earlier.

The result bettered thez∏.1.22 billion expected by aReuters poll of analysts.

The average price of cop-per rose by 29.9 percent y/y inthe fourth quarter, from $6,643to $8,634 per metric ton. Theminer itself predicts an averageannual copper price of $8,200per metric ton this year, whichappears to be conservative.Last week the price of copper

stood at around $9,800 per ton.Earlier this year KGHM

said it wanted to spend aroundz∏.9.05 billion on equity invest-ments in 2011, with most ofthis going to copper assets.

The company was moreexplicit about its designs lastweek, with chief executiveHerbert Wirth telling theFinancial Times that his com-pany plans to acquire threecopper producers this year –two in Canada and one inSouth America.

He said KGHM wouldspend about z∏.7.5 billion oncopper producers as part of aplan to achieve annual mineproduction of 700,000 metrictons.

At the same time, KGHMhas been forced to dig deeperin its Polish mines in search ofcopper, pushing up the cost of

production. “For a miningcompany, the only way to addvalue is to buy new assets,” MrWirth said.

Mr Wirth also confirmedthat KGHM would continueto invest in the energy sector.The hope, he said, is that ener-gy would account for 30 per-cent of revenues by 2018, help-ing KGHM to reduce itsreliance on copper. As manyanalysts had predicted,KGHM plans to invest inPoland’s second-largest utility,state-owned Tauron.

“We have to diversify, andthat diversification is energy.In today’s Poland it is a goodidea,” Mr Wirth said.

KGHM hopes to be thelargest silver producer in theworld by 2018. It currentlyholds the number-two spot.

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MARCH 7-13, 2011BBOOOOKK OOFF LLIISSTTSS GGAALLAA8 www.wbj.pl

Book of Lists Gala 2011

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg kknnoowwlleeddggee aanndd ssuucccceessssWBJ celebrated thelaunch of its 16th

edition of Book ofLists with its annualGala Over 600 guests, includingmany of the country’s topmanagers and businesspeople,gathered last week for anevening of networking overgreat food and drink duringWarsaw Business Journal’sannual Book of Lists Gala.

Most importantly, they gottheir hands on the 2011 edi-tion of Book of Lists, a keysource of intelligence on thecountry’s most important busi-ness sectors.

Book of Lists 2011 marksthe 16th edition of the publica-tion, and the resource hasbeen expanded to includemore companies than ever. Itis accompanied by a brandnew companion website,Bookoflists.pl, which business-

people can navigate easily tofind the information theyneed.

“It is our best edition yet,”said Andrew Kureth, editor-in-chief of Warsaw BusinessJournal. “As always, it’s a greatresource and indicator of whatis shaping the Polish market,”he added.

The efforts of Book of List2011 project coordinatorJoanna Raszka and her teamwere praised, as well as the

dynamism of researchers,journalists, editors, productionstaff and sales executives thatmake up the Warsaw BusinessJournal Group.

“They put blood, sweat andtears into bringing you top-quality English-language busi-ness-information publica-tions,” said Mr Kureth.

In 2011 the Warsaw Busi-ness Journal Group adds to itslist of publications a new annu-al guide to investors interested

in Polish exports, Made inPoland, as well as FinancialMinute, a weekly executiveupdate on finance and eco-nomics affecting the Polishand global markets andoffered as a supplement todaily news digest Poland AM.

A second edition of Trend-book Poland, an annual analy-sis of the most importanttrends affecting Poland’s busi-ness environment, and a thirdedition of Investing in Poland,

Legal Forum

On February 20, 2011, the act of June 26,

2009, amending the Land and Mortgage

Register Act and certain other acts (Amend-

ment) came into force. The amendment to

the 1982 Land and Mortgage Register Act

(LMRA) will be the largest and the most far-

reaching amendment in the period of nearly

thirty years of the LMRA being in force. The

aim of the Amendment is to adjust the mort-

gage system to the realities of the market

and to create a mortgage law that to a

greater extent meets the requirements of

contemporary economic relations.

The Amendment in question not only

changes the previous regulation and intro-

duces new legal institutions but, in fact,

redefines the nature of a mortgage, straying

away from the previous, basic constructional

ideas. The legislator negated the previous

construction of mortgage as an accessorial

right, strictly linked to a specific, secured

claim. As a consequence, one of the basic

ideas of the mortgage system, i.e. the princi-

ple “one claim – one mortgage” loses its rel-

evance. Moreover, abandoning the principle

of “shifting mortgages”, a new property right

– the right of priority of the real property col-

lateral – has been created.

Previous regulationsAccording to the previous regulation, only a

certain claim, of a certain legal and factual

basis (legal relationship), of a defined

amount of money, could be subject to a

mortgage. As a result, one mortgage could

secure only one pecuniary claim.

Two principles resulted from the previous

assumption of a supplementary character of

a mortgage: expiration of the mortgage fol-

lowing the expiration of the claim secured by

it and an absolute lock-up of the secured

claim without the mortgage.

The priority of satisfaction of the mort-

gage claims used to be established base on

the date of the entry into the land and mort-

gage registry for certain real property, and

this principle was absolute. In the case of the

expiry of one of the mortgages on a certain

real property, a so-called “shifting of mort-

gages” took place, and as a result mortgages

of a later priority of satisfaction were “pro-

moted” in the order of satisfaction, taking

over the vacated place after the expired

mortgage.

Multiplicity of claimsThe Amendment of the LMRA provides the

possibility – through a single mortgage – to

secure multiple claims resulting from differ-

ent legal relationships to which the same

creditor is entitled in relation to the same

debtor. Thus, a mortgage is no longer a right

related to one particular claim of a certain

entity resulting from a certain legal relation-

ship, but it may constitute a security of differ-

ent claims arisen, for example, in relation to

the cooperation of the two entities.

In order to establish a mortgage that

secures multiple claims in relation to the same

creditor, legal relationships from which these

claims result should be specified in the mort-

gage agreement. At the same time, the mort-

gage creditor keeps the right to divide such a

mortgage, which takes place through a unilat-

eral declaration of will made to the owner of

the mortgaged real property, the effectiveness

of which is conditioned by an adequate entry

in the land and mortgage register.

Extending the boundaries of the freedom

of contracting, and allowing the transferabili-

ty of one of the multiple properties secured

by one mortgage without a simultaneous

transfer of the mortgage, is also an important

new development that constitutes a depar-

ture from the previous basic principles.

Multiplicity of creditors Meeting the need reported by the banking

industry, among others, the Legislator decided

to allow the establishment of one mortgage

that secures a number of different creditors’

claims. Although the phrasing of the article 682 of the Amendment leaves much to be

desired, it is clear that the Legislator’s aim

was to allow the possibility of establishing one

mortgage to secure a number of claims of dif-

ferent entities, if these claims arose in relation

to financing of a certain undertaking. This

mortgage should, as a principle, serve to

secure the so-called “syndicated loans” grant-

ed by several entities (banking institutions) to

a certain company – the debtor – in order to

carry out a certain investment.

In order to establish the mortgage in

question, a prior agreement (in writing) of

the creditors, for which a so-called “mort-

gage administrator” is appointed, is neces-

sary. The mortgage administrator can be one

of the creditors or an outside person. The role

of a mortgage administrator is to conclude a

mortgage agreement with the debtor and,

subsequently, to perform the rights and obli-

gations of a mortgage creditor. What is

important is that the mortgage administrator

is an indirect representative that performs

the rights and obligations of a mortgage

creditor in his own name, but on the behalf of

all of the creditors. He or she is also subject

to disclosure in the land and mortgage reg-

istry as mortgage creditor.

Transferability of the priority of satisfactionAnother change of fundamental importance

to the system of mortgage security is intro-

ducing, by the Amendment in question, the

possibility for the owner of a real property to

dispose of a “vacated mortgage place”.

According to the construction introduced,

after one mortgage on a real property has

expired, there will be (as there previously

was) no automatic “shifting” of the mort-

gages in the order of priority of satisfaction,

but the owner will have a right to transfer the

“vacated” place in the “order”. In such a

case of performing the disposal in question

of a vacated mortgage place, the mortgage

creditor whose mortgage expired in the

order of satisfaction of the claim from the

mortgaged real property will be replaced.

Replacing the previous mortgage creditor in

the order of satisfaction is possible only with-

in the boundaries of the expired claim, thus,

also only in a limited amount. The buyer can-

not, however, worsen the legal situation of

the mortgage creditors with a later priority of

satisfaction.

It is worth noting that the introduced

construction indirectly creates a specific

property right of a transferable character that

can be described as a right of priority of sat-

isfaction. This right arises together with the

expiration of one of the mortgages, it is vest-

ed to the owner of the real property and may

be transferred to another mortgage creditor.

Other changesFrom the other changes in the LMRA intro-

duced by the Amendment in question, it is

worth indicating the following:

(i) There will be no automatic expiration of

the mortgage together with the expiration of

the secured claim. The mortgage will remain

in force as a security of other claims subject

to security that may result in the future from a

certain legal relationship. At the same time,

the mortgage may secure a future and condi-

tional claim; (ii) The Amendment subjects

specifying the currency of the mortgage

amount that by now had to be identical with

the currency of the secured claim to freedom

of contracting; (iii) The Amendment gives the

owner of the real property a right to claim a

reduction of the mortgage amount if the

mortgage security is excessive. The owner of

the mortgaged real property will then be able

to claim a limitation of the mortgage also

after a partial extinguishment (satisfaction) of

the secured claim.

Intertemporal mattersImportantly, for regular mortgages which

arose before the entry into force of the

Amendment, the current regulations will

apply.

Thus, abandoning the principle of the

accessory character of mortgage and

enabling disposing the “right of priority of sat-

isfaction” will relate only to the mortgages

established after the entry of the Amend-

ment into force.●

BEITEN BURKHARDT P. Daszkowski Sp.k.ul. ks. I. Skorupki 500-546 WarsawTel: 0048 22 58 37 100Fax: 0048 22 58 37 [email protected]

BROUGHT TO YOU BY BEITEN BURKHARDT

Land and Mortgage

Register Act Amended

Pawe∏ KuglarzAttorney at [email protected]

investment guide to Poland’sregions, are also in the works.

The WBJ AwardsSeveral great prizes werehanded out during a businesscard lottery, and guestsenjoyed a performance bysinger Rafa∏ Brzozowski.

But the Gala was also anoccasion to celebrate compa-nies and businesspeople which,while others watched and wait-ed to see how the recoverywould pan out, pushed forwardand demonstrated the spirit ofcapitalism. This year, five WBJAwards were handed out.

International manufacturerand retailer IKEA won the“Investor of the Year” award,for two investments totalingz∏.865 million. The group’s fac-tory project in the city of Orlawas also recognized by the Pol-ish Information and ForeignInvestment Agency as thelargest foreign direct invest-ment of the year in Poland.Ultimately the investment isexpected to result in the cre-ation of 2,000 jobs.

Poland’s “InternationalSuccess Story” award went tothe Warsaw Stock Exchange.In 2010, the WSE fortified itsreputation as the region’sleading bourse. Its own stockdebut, which earned world-wide attention, was one of themost successful IPOs of lastyear. The award was receivedby the bourse’s CEO, LudwikSobolewski.

German utility E.ON wascrowned “Green Investor ofthe Year” for a new wind-power farm near Poznaƒ,which placed the companyamong the top five wind-power-generating firms inPoland.

The Nekla wind park, a €100million investment, has a capac-ity of 52.5 MW and will deliverclean energy to up to 45,000households in the region.

The “Business Leader ofthe Year” award was given toLeszek Czarnecki, majorityowner of Getin Holding. Withthe merger of Getin Bank andNoble Bank, the launch ofmicro firm-focused Idea Bankand several takeovers last year,most notably that of AllianzBank Polska, Mr Czarneckiaggressively moved his busi-ness forward.

Finally, Unibail-Rodamco,Europe’s largest commercialreal estate company, tookhome the “Real Estate Investorof the Year” award for its pur-chase of Warsaw’s Arkadiashopping center. The €400 mil-lion transaction was the biggestreal estate deal in 2010, and putin the spotlight Polish con-sumers, the driving forcebehind Poland’s economicgrowth.


MARCH 7-13, 2011 BBOOOOKK OOFF LLIISSTTSS GGAALLAA www.wbj.pl 9

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All companies that ranked at the top of their respectivelists received a first-place certificate

WBJ Editor-in-Chief Andrew Kurethcongratulates Iwona Szcz´ka, a member of theboard at IKEA, on her firm’s Investor of the Yearaward

Nowa La Boheme provided a sumptuous spread

Piotr Paw∏owski, head of development at RodamcoEurope Sp. z o.o., poses with Andrew Kureth after Unibail-Rodamco won the Real Estate Investor of the Year award

Rafa∏ Brzozowski wowed the audience

The guests enjoyed Enoteka’s selection of wines

The party was packed

Warsaw Stock Exchange president Ludwik Sobolewski

comments on his firm winning the International

Success Story award

Wojciech Makaç and Wojciech W´˝yk of Brandscope

Launch Event Partners: Lottery Sponsors: Media Partners:


MARCH 7-13, 201110 www.wbj.pl BBUUSSIINNEESSSS EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT

Macroeconomics

Interest rates left unchangedThe decision was madedespite strong GDPnumbers for Q4 2010

The central bank’s rate-settingMonetary Policy Council(RPP) left Poland’s main inter-est rate unmoved at 3.75 per-cent last week. It consideredrecent fears of rising inflation tohave been offset slightly by slug-gish investment and risingunemployment.

The decision had been fore-cast by a narrow majority ofanalysts polled by Reuters.

The minority cited Poland’srising inflation rate and indica-tions that GDP growth is accel-erating as the basis for theirrate-hike expectations. Basingits decision on similar factors,the RPP hiked the main inter-est rate in January for the firsttime since the start of the eco-nomic crisis.

But although the Polisheconomy continued to growstrongly in Q4 2010 – at 4.4 per-cent y/y – this wasn’t enough topersuade the RPP to raise rates.

The economy’s year-end

growth, fueled by domesticdemand, rose by 0.2 percentagepoints compared to the previ-ous quarter. Individual con-sumption expenditure grew by2.2 percent y/y, its fastestincrease since Q4 2008, whilegross capital formation grew by2.4 percent.

Explaining its rate decision,the RPP wrote that data accom-panying the GDP reading hadshowed investment growth tobe on the low side. Other fac-tors impacting its decisionincluded the January rate hike,

lack of evidence for the “sus-tainability of acceleration inconsumer demand,” sustainedmoderate wage pressure in thecorporate sector and a continu-ing rise in unemployment.

“Therefore, the Councildecided to keep the NBP inter-est rates unchanged,” it wrote.

However, inflation fearsremain. In January, CPI infla-tion rose to 3.8 percent, consid-erably above the NBP’s infla-tion target of 2.5 percent.

“There is a 50-percent prob-ability of inflation running in

the range of 2.8-3.7 percent in2011,” the RPP wrote.

The central bank’s gover-nor, Marek Belka, also saidthat January’s rate hike shouldnot be seen as a one-off.

“Some members of the

Monetary Policy Council sawthe January hike as the start of acycle and I am one of them,”Mr Belka told a news confer-ence, adding that consumerprice inflation should cooldown in H2. GGaarreetthh PPrriiccee

Economists blamedthe drop on sluggishnew orders

Poland’s manufacturing Pur-chasing Managers Index fellin February for the secondconsecutive month as neworders rose sluggishly.

PMI came in at a worse-than-expected 53.8 points inFebruary, down from 55.6points a month earlier.

The PMI report – pro-duced by HSBC and Markit –reflects the percentage of

purchasing managers whoreport an improvement inoperating conditions on theprevious month. A scoreabove 50 suggests growingconfidence in the businessclimate, while a figure below50 suggests growing pes-simism.

Poland’s PMI hasremained above the 50-point-mark for 16 consecu-tive months.

A slower rise in incomingnew orders was the main fac-tor behind the month-on-

month drop observed inFebruary, the authors of themonthly PMI report wrote,adding that the data markedthe steepest slowdown in newbusiness growth sinceNovember 2008.

The data also suggest thatexport business grew at afaster pace than new domes-tic business.

Output price inflation,meanwhile, was at its highestlevel since May 2004 as Jan-uary’s VAT rise and soaringcommodities prices began to

hit consumers’ wallets.“In January, firms had

reported that the impact ofthe 1ppt VAT hike and rising

raw materials prices werepushing up their input prices:the jump in February’s out-put price index points to a

relatively quick transmissionmechanism from input, tooutput, and eventually, toconsumer prices,” MuretUlgen, chief economist atHSBC, said in the report.

Other economists seeFebruary’s PMI figure as yetanother indicator that eco-nomic growth will slow.

“Going forward, we see anoverall loss of momentum forthe economy. Despite stronggrowth in consumer spendingin Q4, we see a slowdown inthe first half of 2011, due tothe VAT hike as of January 1,2011 and other fiscal meas-ures,” Nordea Bank analystswrote.

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MARCH 7-13, 2011 OOPPIINNIIOONN www.wbj.pl 11

Polish Foreign MinisterRadoslaw Sikorski ar-rived in the United

States last week for a six-dayvisit which included meetingswith US Secretary of State Hil-lary Clinton, Deputy Secretaryof Energy Daniel B. Ponemanand other officials.

The visit was meant to pro-mote the US-Polish allianceand reaffirm Warsaw’s com-mitment to a close relation-ship with Washington afterlukewarm visits from PolishPresident Bronis∏aw Komo-rowski in December 2010 andDefense Minister BogdanKlich in October 2010, duringwhich Washington refused togive concrete military commit-ments to Poland.

Aside from clearing anynegative air left by theKomorowski and Klich visits,Sikorski’s stay in the US hadpractical economic purposes.Poland is seeking investmentsand technical expertise in theenergy field, specifically innuclear power and shale gasextraction. US investment ineither sector would signal along-term, concrete commit-ment to Warsaw from Wash-ington. The sheer size of theinvestment needed – the esti-mated construction cost forthe two power plants Polandwants to build is €18-21 billion– would be a significant boon toPoland’s economy and stability.

New nuclearDuring the Cold War, Poland’splentiful coal deposits – whichcurrently provide 94 percent ofPoland’s electricity – meant ithad no dire need for nucleartechnology.

The Soviet-planned ˚arno-wiec nuclear power plant proj-ect, 50 km northwest ofGdaƒsk, was ultimately aban-doned in 1990 due to a combi-nation of lack of necessity, lin-gering fears about the Cher-nobyl disaster and generalanti-Soviet sentiment pairedwith the early environmental-ist movements in Poland. Withthe Polish public convincedthat nuclear power plants werelandmarks of Soviet powerover Iron Curtain satellites,the half-completed ˚arnowiecplant was scrapped after half abillion dollars had been spenton its construction. The plant’sabandoned, incomplete build-ings still stand.

The Polish governmentamended laws in February thatwould allow nuclear powerplants to be constructed inPoland. The change will take

effect July 1. Although opposi-tion to nuclear power in Polandwas heavily influenced byopposition to Soviet domi-nance rather than environmen-tal concerns, public oppositionto the idea is not expected to bea problem now. In fact, nuclearpower is seen as a tool to main-tain freedom from the newRussian yoke of energy sup-plies, specifically natural gas.

Finding a partnerPoland hopes to find a foreignpartner by 2013 to help build a3,000 MW nuclear powerplant, probably near the old˚arnowiec facility. This wouldbe operational in 2020 and asecond 3,000 MW plant wouldbe built by 2030.

Poland does not have thetechnology to do this on itsown; few countries in theworld do. Polska Grupa Ener-getyczna (PGE) is the maindomestic investor and hasopened up public contract

awards for the two projects.Polish media have reportedthat the company selected willtake a 49 percent stake inPGE’s nuclear power plantconstruction consortium.

The contractors under con-sideration hail from the UnitedStates, France, South Koreaand Japan. The largest andbest-known firms are Frenchfirms Areva and EDF, GEHitachi (a joint venture of Gen-eral Electric and Hitachi), andToshiba’s US-based unit West-inghouse. By developing itsnuclear industry, Poland wouldachieve its geopolitical goal ofbecoming more energy-inde-pendent from Russia; but thechoice of who helps Poland inits nuclear power plant devel-opment depends on more thanwho makes the best offer.

Choosing Areva wouldmean close collaboration witha European power, whichwould be in line with Warsaw’sgoal of becoming part of theEuropean elite. France is alsoknown to lobby for its compa-nies vociferously at the gov-ernment level – lobbying thatUS firms and government offi-cials might not be willing to do.Paris could offer additional

political and economic incen-tives to win the contract forAreva, which suffered a majorsetback recently when it lost acontract in the United ArabEmirates to a South Koreanfirm.

The US angleThe choice of a US contractor,meanwhile, would reinforcePolish-American ties in thenon-military realm, where ithas particularly lagged inrecent years. In 2009, accord-ing to official investment sta-tistics, US foreign directinvestment in Poland was lessthan that of tiny – and bank-rupt – Iceland.

While Polish and US mili-tary and political cooperationhas been sustained, though notto a level of Poland’s liking,private sector links have beencompletely superseded byinvestments from widerEurope, especially Germany.A major push by the US’snuclear energy sector intoPoland would revitalize theprivate sector links betweenthe two countries and there-fore help reinforce theirstrategic relationship. Thiswould go a long way in reas-suring Warsaw that US inter-ests in Poland are long-termand diverse, and that the Unit-ed States does not just seePoland as a chess board piecein a wider geopolitical gameagainst Moscow.

Poland also has domesticissues to consider, namely, theOctober parliamentary elec-tions. The ruling Civic Plat-form party and the oppositionboth value a strong relation-ship with Washington.

The Civic Platform govern-mentis looking to score pointsand reverse the disappoint-ments of 2010, including thehorse-trading between the USand Russia over Poland’s secu-rity, and get the US recommit-ted to Poland ahead of theparliamentary elections. Theopposition has latched on tothe sense that Warsaw andWashington are drifting apartand has criticized the govern-ment for this.

Sikorski’s visit and appealfor energy investments cantherefore also be seen as anattempt to deflect criticismthat Warsaw is not activelypursuing an alliance withWashington in both strategicand economic terms. ●

This edited version of“Poland’s nuclear ambitions”is reprinted with permission ofSTRATFOR.

Poland’s current struggleto maintain fiscal disci-pline is well document-

ed. Public debt currentlystands at over 50 percent ofGDP, which amounts toaround z∏.775 billion. Creditrating agency Fitch and theEuropean Commission havewarned that Poland needs tostart reducing its debt fast orrisk losing credibility on finan-cial markets. Some economistseven envisage the possibility ofa Greek-type scenario occur-ring in Poland, howeverimprobable that might seemtoday. The situation is serious,but not dire.

Prime Minister DonaldTusk is well aware of this. Andhe is equally aware of the vari-ous proposals floated by lead-ing economists on how to cutthe deficit. Many have calledfor a reform of KRUS, the sep-arate social security system forfarmers which drains aroundz∏.17 billion from the budgeteach year. Economists also sayPoland could significantly cutpublic spending, downsize itsbureaucracy and reform itspension system. The latterwould necessarily involveincreasing the retirement age.

Yet apart from a few cos-metic cutbacks in expenditure,Mr Tusk has largely ignoredthese calls – much to the cha-grin of the liberal economicestablishment, which stronglybacked his party in the 2007

parliamentary elections. It’shard to imagine that the PM isagainst the idea of improvingPoland’s public finances, sowhat’s the problem?

Some will point to whatappears at first glance to bethe obvious reason – that thisis an election year, meaning

Mr Tusk will not embark onany reforms that might alien-ate significant swaths of theelectorate before the autumnparliamentary vote. Thatwould be regrettable, butunderstandable nonetheless.

Is Mr Tusk really justifiedin believing that Poles wouldturn their backs on his party,en masse, if he were to enactreforms? There is nothing inmodern Polish political historyto suggest that this would bethe case. No PM since 1989has lost an election due to eco-nomic policy. The voters havealways had other reasons forturfing out a government.

Former PM Leszek Millerand his leftist government lostpower in 2005 because ofnumerous corruption scandalsinvolving the party’s politi-cians. Mr Miller’s predecessor,

current European ParliamentPresident Jerzy Buzek, lost the2001 parliamentary electionspartly because of corruptionand infighting. The govern-ments of the turbulent 1990ssuffered from a myriad ofweaknesses.

It’s possible that Mr Tusk issimply playing it safe, unwill-ing to be the first modern PMto be ejected because of econ-omy policy. Another possible –albeit far-fetched – explana-tion for his aversion to seriousreform is that he’s taken a stepto the left in his economic phi-losophy.

When he describes thosewho call for spending cuts “ide-ologues,” maybe he reallybelieves it. When he says hisgovernment isn’t willing toenact reforms that will “hurtpeople,” maybe he really feelsthat way. Maybe – but not like-ly.

Regardless of his motiva-tions, Mr Tusk has chosen towalk a risky path, one whichinvolves crossing fingers andhoping for the best. It maywork – the strategy has cer-tainly paid off for him before –but it amounts to gamblingwith the country’s future.

Every politician’s luck runsout sooner or later. Should aninternational financial shockput a quick end to Mr Tusk’swinning streak, Poland will beheld accountable for the (pub-lic) debt. ●

Poland’snuclear ambitions

“No PM since1989 has lost anelection due to

economic policy”

“The choice of whohelps Poland in its

nuclear developmentdepends on more than

who makes the best offer”

Tusk’s dangerousgamble

Unless otherwise noted, the opinions here are those of Warsaw Business Journal.Readers’ comments, opinions and letters should be sent to [email protected]. Please include a nameand contact information and clearly indicate if they are to be considered for publication.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANDREW KURETH ([email protected])

DEPUTY EDITORE. BLAKE BERRY([email protected])

ONLINE & NEWS EDITORGARETH PRICE([email protected])

REAL ESTATE EDITOR

ADAM ZDRODOWSKI([email protected])

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REMI ADEKOYA([email protected])

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ALICE TRUDELLE([email protected])

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RICHARD WERNICKJOANNA WÓYCICKA

INTERNS

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COLUMNISTSPAUL FOGOJUDITH GLINIECKITOMASZ JERZYKKAMIL CISOWSKI

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WBJ SALES & ADVERTISING

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MARCH 7-13, 2011CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY12 www.wbj.pl

Judith Gliniecki is a Partner with [email protected]

Early-warning

system

Legal Eye

I recently bought an amuletfor good profits at a templein Japan. While no replace-ment for a financial plan, itmakes me feel better just tolook at it.

It seems to me that themarket’s assessment of acompany’s or a country’sability to repay its debts issometimes based on a simi-lar reaction. Do you feelcomfortable when looking atthat country or company?For Greece and Ireland, theanswer to that question isdefinitely negative thesedays. For Poland, well, I’ll letthe economists speculate.

What Poland does have isan early warning system in itslegislation to prevent againstexcessive public debt.

The constitutionStarting right at the top, thePolish constitution containsa prohibition on excessivenational public debt. Thegovernment may not takeout loans or grant guaranteesin excess of three-fifths ofPoland’s gross domesticproduct. This ratio is thesame as the EU limit on pub-lic debt.

The Polish constitutiondefines a general principle. Itdoes not, however, specifythe consequences of exces-sive public debt.

The Public Finances ActThese consequences are list-ed in the Act on PublicFinances. By May 31 of eachyear, the government mustpublish statistics for the prioryear on the amount and ratioto the gross domestic prod-uct of, among other things,public debt. The governmentmust take action when cer-tain thresholds are crossed.

If the public debt exceeds50 percent of gross domesticproduct, the required actionis relatively gentle. In thiscase, the Council of Minis-ters may not adopt a newannual budget that has alarger budgetary deficit than

that of the previous year’sbudget.

When the public debtexceeds 55 percent, real cutsmust be considered. TheAct lists a full page of prohi-bitions, items to review andother fiscal disciplinaryrequirements. Among otherthings, the Council of Minis-ters must consider taxincreases.

Some prohibitions relateto the budget, including arequirement to balance thebudget or reduce the publicdebt ratio and an impositionof salary freezes for publicemployees.

Despite the level of debt,the government may contin-ue investment projects, butwith some limitations. Spe-cifically exempted fromthese limitations, however,are road projects and floodrelief. Even with a growingbudget deficit, roadwork willcontinue, hopefully in timefor the 2012 European soc-cer championship.

At 60 percent (whichwould exceed the constitu-tional limit), the Act requirescrisis action. Among otherthings, the Council of Minis-ters must present an austeri-ty program within a month,and local authorities will facebudgetary freezes.

Investment projects, how-ever, may continue, as per-mitted for the 55 percentthreshold.

EU requirementsIn addition to the limitationon the ratio of public debt togross domestic product, theTreaty on the Functioning ofthe European Union requiresthat a country’s overall budgetdeficit not exceed three per-cent of its gross domesticproduct. Poland will be sub-ject to this limitation from2012. The recent VAT in-crease and the planned reduc-tion in the amount of pensioncontributions sent to openpension funds are supposedto help thwart the threat ofexceeding this number. ●

The economy in 2011

A situation farfrom perfect

Poland is supposed to cut itsbudget deficit to three percentby the end of 2012, accordingto the European Commission.Meanwhile, the latest esti-mates put it at 6.5 percent ofGDP this year and 4.5 percentin 2012.

The EC has expressed con-cern about the state of Poland’spublic finances, and it’s notalone. At the start of 2010, thepicture was rosier. Much ofEurope still languished in thedepths of recession, whilePoland was seen as a “greenisland” of growth.

As 2010 progressed, how-ever, some of the jubilanceover the economy’s good for-tunes cooled. By mid-summerProfessor Krzysztof Rybiƒskiof the Warsaw School of Eco-nomics was warning that pub-lic spending had to be reinedin if Poland was to avoid thesame financial straits asGreece. The time for austerity,he told Polish Radio in July,had arrived.

In the same month, PrimeMinister Donald Tusk’s chiefadvisor, Micha∏ Boni, publiclydiscussed the need for disci-plined public spending.National Bank of Poland gov-ernor Marek Belka made sim-ilar comments a month later.Neither man mentionedGreece directly, but their com-ments seemed to allude totrouble in the south.

By November, the ratingagency Fitch was warning thatthe Polish government neededto think carefully about its pol-icy of betting on economicgrowth rather than instigatingausterity measures if it were tokeep its “A” rating.

Fast-forward to the open-ing months of 2011, whenFinance Minister Jan Vincent-Rostowski told TOK FM radio

that Poland’s medium andlong-term public finances werethe “most balanced” in theEuropean Union. In the samemonth, European Commis-sioner for Economic andMonetary Affairs Olli Rehnwas in Poland to chastise thecountry for its lack of fiscalprudence.

The government alreadyhas some measures in place tocurb public spending. Theseinclude changes to the pensionsystem, VAT hikes and a limiton discretionary expendituregrowth of no more than onepercent above inflation.

But economists say thesemeasures won’t go very fartowards reducing the actualdeficit. So where will the rest ofthe money come from? And, ifPoland can’t scrounge up therest of the funds, what then?Could the country followGreece and Ireland into theabyss of public finance profliga-cy?

No meltdown expectedPrzemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ, chiefeconomist with X-Trade Bro-kers, thinks not.

“In Poland it’s not as bad asit was in Greece, and Irelandwas a special case,” he said,citing the huge impact of the

private sector on the collapseof the Irish system.

“The situation in Poland isfar from perfect,” added MrKwiecieƒ, “But there are twobig factors in Poland’s favor.First, the debt-to-GDP ratio ismanageable. Second, there isstill plenty of opportunity forgrowth, both in exports and inthe domestic market.”

Given these opportunitiesfor growth in Poland, the coun-try’s current fiscal policy is notas dangerous as it would be inother situations, he posited.

Janusz Grobicki of theAdam Smith Center, a thinktank, is also unconvinced thatPoland faces any crisis ofGreek proportions. “All coun-tries have got problems withpublic finances, so I think theEU expects cuts from Poland,the same as everywhere else.”

Mr Grobicki’s view onPoland following Greece intocrisis was unequivocal.“Poland is not going to be inthis kind of trouble,” he said.

Outside, looking inBut from outside Poland, thewarnings keep coming. MatteoNapolitano, senior economistand editor for Central andEastern Europe with TheEconomist’s Intelligence Unitexplained that the opacity ofPoland’s public finances madeit difficult to assess the issue.

Nevertheless, he described

the country’s situation as“poor,” particularly as othercountries which have faredmuch worse than Poland since2009 have not seen deficit dete-riorations on a similar scale.

“Public finances are worseoff than a year ago, simplyjudging by the fact that thedeficit and debt-to-GDP ratiosgrew in 2010 despite robustGDP growth. By the end ofthis year, assuming no furtherinternational economic orfinancial catastrophes takeplace, the deficit-to-GDP ratiowill look somewhat better, asthe government has taken suf-ficient measures, Mr Napoli-tano said.

“However, we forecast thatit’ll be a while longer beforethe debt ratio peaks and startsto fall,” he added

Mr Napolitano said therewas a “very remote possibility”of Poland going the same wayas Greece or Ireland. Howev-er, he pointed out that Polandsuffered none of the huge pub-lic/private debt left over fromthe borrowing binges that hadcaused such damage else-where.

“Only an internationalfinancial shock of significantproportions could alter thisview,” he concluded.

The burden of governmentOther than continuing with its

Anthony Casey

Will the economy avoid a Greek tragedy? Experts say yes, but they’re not crazy about the government’s strategy either

Poland vs PIIGS

Ease of paying taxes, selected EU countries

Rank Tax payments Time to comply Total tax rate(number/year) (hours/year) (% commercial profit)

Ireland 7 9 76 26.5%

Spain 71 8 197 56.5%

Portugal 73 8 298 43.3%

Greece 74 10 224 47.2%

Poland 121 29 325 42.3%

Italy 128 15 285 68.6%x

Source: “Paying Taxes 2011” (PricewaterhouseCoopers, World Bank, IFC)

MARCH 7-13, 2011 CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY www.wbj.pl 13

Warsaw’s

greener

energy plans

Warsaw Mayor Hanna

Gronkiewicz-Waltz has

announced that street

lighting costs will fall

next year from z∏.35

million to z∏.27 million

thanks to the use of

energy-saving lighting.

The city also plans to

reduce CO2 emissions by

at least 20,000 metric

tons with the help of

hybrid buses and

ecological fuels.

Air freight

traffic increasesAccording to an analysis

by the Office of Civil

Aviation, non-passenger

traffic handled by Polish

airports increased

significantly in 2010.

Polish airports expe-

rienced a turnaround of

over 80,000 metric tons

of goods, up from 71,000

metric tons the year

before. That represents

14% growth y/y. The jump

can mainly be attributed

to cargo shipments

(26.5% growth), Puls

Biznesu reported.

Katowice Airport saw the

most significant growth

(50.8% y/y). ●

current savings measures (andpraying that no internationalfinancial shocks occur), howcan Poland better its situation?A shake-up in the governmentmight be a good start.

Przemys∏aw Kwiecieƒ of X-Trade Brokers said he wouldlike to see the governmentmake deeper inroads into pub-lic spending. But, he said,political factors complicate thematter.

“Personally, yes, I’d love tosee more done. But, even if wehave a new government at theend of the year – and the mostfavorable, but unlikely, out-come is that we have a partythat can govern alone – theywill not really rush to makecuts,” he said.

The Adam Smith Center’sJanusz Grobicki agreed thatpublic spending is governed atpresent by political motiva-tions. He suggested that thecountry needs a sea change,with a new political class capa-ble of looking at the biggerpicture, restructuring regula-tions and pushing the Polisheconomy into the 21st century.

However, regardless ofwhich party is in power, MrGrobicki said reform wasunavoidable if the economy isto remain healthy.

“It’s not a question ofwhether the government wantsto or not. Poland has to dothis, because without reform-ing public expenditure it’simpossible for GDP to

improve at an optimal rate,”he stated.

And he was quite clear onwhere this reform needs tohappen, for example, in poli-cies such as “baby bonuses”and subsidized funeral expens-es, where costs are more oftenthan not out of the govern-ment’s control.

“The government needs tocut unnecessary expenses, andmake spending much morerational than it is now. Thereneeds to be more control overwhere the money goes,” MrGrobicki said.

“When the governmentdoes have control over exactlyhow the money is spent and

where, it will be able to stimu-late GDP much morequickly,” he added.

Reflecting on the pace ofchange, Mr Grobicki returnedto the realm of politics, statingthat until there was “newblood” in the political system,the focus of reform in Polandwould remain too narrow.

“It won’t be possible tomake serious reforms unlesswe have a new political class.The current political class isincapable of reform because itis unwilling to change the reg-ulatory system,” he said.

If that’s the case, maybe thebusiness community shouldstart praying. ●

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Commissioner Rehn (left) told Finance Minister Rostowski (right) to curb the budget deficit

For advertising and promotion opportunities contact:Agnieszka Brejwo: [email protected]; (+48) 639-85-68, ext. 226

Warsaw Business Journal Group, in cooperation with KPMG and the Polish Chamber of Com-merce, presents Made in Poland – a guide for importers of Polish products.

Sectors analyzed:• Automotive products• Clothes• Cosmetics• Defense• Food & Agriculture• Furniture• Pharmaceutical market• Yachts

will hit shelves in April 2011!A GUIDE TO POLISH EXPORTwill hit shelves in April 2011!


To order:Please contact us at +48 22 639 85 68 or [email protected]

• Find key information about the dominant players in the market • Expand your portfolio of contacts• See who’s on top of your sector

The 2011 edition of bookof lists is now available!

Woronicza

Qbik next year

Construction is

proceeding apace on

Ghelamco’s Woronicza

Qbik soft loft residential

project in Warsaw. All

floors in the four-building

complex have already

been finished and work

on the facades is

expected to start this

month. Buyers will be

able to move into their

units next year.

Construction on

Woronicza Qbik started in

January 2010. Buildings

in the complex, located

on ul. Woronicza in the

Mokotów district, range

from six to 11 storeys in

height. A total of almost

350 units, including 163

two-floor apartments,

will be delivered to the

market. Prices start at

z∏.8,500 per sqm. ●

Office

Green Corner gets its building permitSkanska’s latestWarsaw officeinvestment should beready at the end of2012

Developer Skanska PropertyPoland has obtained a buildingpermit for its Green Corneroffice project in Warsaw. Con-struction on the scheme, whichwill be located at the intersec-tion of ul. Ch∏odna and ul. Wro-nia in the capital’s Wola district,has just been launched and isexpected to finish in Q4 2012.

Green Corner will ulti-mately comprise two adjacentbuildings with a total of 27,500sqm of class-A office and retailspace. Whether both struc-tures are completed at thesame time will depend on howthe commercialization processprogresses.

As its name suggests,Green Corner has beendesigned with energy efficien-

cy and environmental respon-sibility in mind, and the projectis already LEED pre-certified.The scheme’s green creden-

tials include location (allowingeasy access to public trans-portation), energy and waterefficiency as well as the pres-

ence of green areas and park-ing spaces for bicycles.

“Green Corner will be thefirst in Warsaw to receive the

US Green Building Council’sPlatinum rating for Leader-ship in Energy and Environ-mental Design, the highestlevel of certification,” Grze-gorz Strutyƒski, regional direc-tor at Skanska PropertyPoland, said in a statement.

“Energy efficiency andenvironmental responsibility –that is what it is all about. Wewanted to show we could bringit up to the ‘greenest’ of 2011standards. Occupying a greenbuilding is simply a smart busi-ness decision as it creates abetter, friendlier working envi-ronment for employees,” MrStrutyƒski added.

Green Corner wasdesigned by Micha∏ Nocuƒand a team from the MW Pro-jekt Biuro Projektowe studio;Skanska is serving as generalcontractor on the scheme. CBRichard Ellis is the exclusiveleasing and marketing agent ofthe project.


Office construction

Bouygues gets to work on TP’s new HQThe developer haslaunched constructionon the telecomsgiant’s new premises

Developer Bouygues Immo-bilier Polska has launchedconstruction on an officecomplex in Warsaw whosesole tenant will be telecom-munications company TP.Located on Al. Jerozolimskiein the capital’s Ochota dis-trict, the project will provide

43,700 sqm of usable space. Completion is scheduled

for H1 2013.“The new headquarters of

TP Group is a key element ofour strategy. It will allow us toput under one roof all the orga-nizational entities which closelycooperate with other, but haveto date been accommodated inmany different locations,”Maciej Witucki, president ofTP Group’s managementboard, said in a statement.

He added, “This will alsomean significantly lower oper-ational costs for us.”

The company’s new head-quarters was designed by Pol-ish architect Stanis∏aw Fiszer.It will be a complex of fiveconnected buildings, eachstanding six storeys tall.

“This office complex forOrange-TP Group will beone of the most modernoffice complexes in the capi-tal. Realization of such a

high-tech investment allowsus to fully benefit from therich experience of BouyguesImmobilier in Europe and tointroduce solutions success-fully used in other big officeprojects,” Laurent Tirot,general manager ofBouygues Immobilier Polska,stated.

The class-A office complexhas been designed to qualify fora BREEAM certification, oneof the most popular ecological

certificates in Europe. Factorssuch as improved roofing, alimited number of floors andhigh efficiency of heating andheat-recovery systems meanthe development will consumeapproximately 30 percent lessenergy than a standard class-Abuilding in Warsaw.

The value of BouyguesImmobilier Polska’s contractwith TP has not been dis-closed.


Skanska turns a Corner . . . . . .15

Work on TP headquarters . . . .15

Polish market analysis . . . . . . .16

Intraco sale called off . . . . . . . .17

Galeria Amber decision . . . . . .17

Romanian market analysis . . .18

Green Debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Hungarian market analysis . . .20

Finance through bonds . . . . . .21

CEEQA award winners . . . . . . .21

Czech market analysis . . . . . . .22

Property-related stocks . . . . . .22

Slovakian market analysis . . . .23

Dom Dev’s Adria . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

SGI Baltis’ new projects . . . . . .25

In this issue

16, 18, 20, 22, 23

In conjunction with WBJ’s “Central Europe: Not too Hot,

Not too Cold – Advantage or Handicap?” panel at MIPIM,

Lokale Immobilia looks at the key markets in the region

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Green Corner is LEED pre-certified

LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAAW a r s a w B u s i n e s s J o u r n a l ’s w e e k l y s u p p l e m e n t o n r e a l e s t a t e , c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t • MARCH 7-13, 2011, LI 16/09

SSPPEECCIIAALL MMIIPPIIMM EEDDIITTIIOONN

MARCH 7-13, 2011LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– SSPPEECCIIAALL MMIIPPIIMM EEDDIITTIIOONN16 www.wbj.pl

Rados∏aw BiedeckiPartner

How to avoid non-compete double trouble

Legal Forum

Retaining highly qualified, key staffmembers is of vital importance toevery business. Ethical rules and thegeneral provisions of law (such asthe prohibition of competitive activi-ty among management board mem-bers) are generally insufficient,which is why various contractualmechanisms are often introduced.These mechanisms can be qualifiedas incentive (management by objec-tives, stock options, premiums andbonuses, etc) or restrictive.

Non-competition agreementsand/or clauses belong to the latterclass. In the Polish environment, thisobligation may be included in sever-al non-compete agreements, eachone slightly different even if they areapplicable to the same party.

So what happens when a num-ber of such provisions pile up andwhat if they conflict with each other?

Which one should apply? Is it possi-ble to “escape” a non-compete com-mitment and/or obligation by payingcompensation?

The basic rulesIn the case of an employment situa-tion, the rule is quite simple andclearly regulated: to be bound, bothemployer and employee have toenter into a separate and writtennon-competition agreement for theperiod of employment and/or for anagreed post-employment period.The party bound by the non-com-pete obligation is due remuneration(worth at least 25 percent of theirlast monthly wage).

Should a breach of the non-compete obligation occur, theemployer may file a claim forindemnification. This sounds sim-ple, but in practice a direct breach

by the employee or formeremployee has to be proven infront of a court. And this isn’t aneasy task.

More questions ariseThe more important the employee’srole in the company, the more ques-tions arise:

What if the breaching employeeis also a member of the manage-ment board? What if, in addition, theemployee is a shareholder of thecompany and there is a non-com-pete clause in the shareholders’agreement? If in violation of a non-compete clause, upon which legalbasis should the employee be liable?If bound by several different agree-ments and/or clauses, is the employ-ee liable several times?

Well, the employer could claimdamages either upon the mandatory

regulation or seek liability arisingfrom the breach of the non-competeagreement and/or the shareholders’agreement. However, this doesn’tmean that the claims accumulate –there is just one indemnity. So theemployer has to carefully decideupon which basis to raise the claim.

Keeping in mind that the limita-tion of the employee’s liability maybe three months’ salary (if it can’t beproven that the breach was inten-tional), it might be wise to look aftera contractual liability which is notsubject to such a limitation. In clearwords: seek full indemnity.

In addition, a non-competitionagreement or any other non-com-pete obligation may contain contrac-tual penalties and even collateralthereof (this works in both direc-tions). This definitely gives the par-ties a higher level of security.

Terminating agreementsNor can the employer save moneyby simply releasing a former employ-ee from a non-compete obligation:the employer will still have to paycompensation. Therefore, it is highlyrecommended that you either jointlyterminate the non-compete agree-ment or at least provide preciselydefined reasons for the termination.

In the latter case, there is still a riskthat the justification for the termina-tion could be subject to interpretation.This may lead the former employeeto consider the termination “just” arelease and claim compensation.

Depending on your professionalposition, you should not necessarilyfeel comfortable or uncomfortablebecause you are bound by non-com-petition commitments. However, youshould be extremely careful in struc-turing and/or terminating them. ●

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 consultationwith Warsaw Business Journal's editorial staff.

Poland in the real estate Champion’s League

Analysis: Poland

Business conditions in Polandremain very attractive in com-parison to other Europeancountries. The relativelystrong financial situation ofcompanies and banks, com-bined with only moderateinterest rates and consumerprice growth, tempered theimpact of the financial crisison the Polish economy.

Massive infrastructure in-vestments, supported by largeamounts of EU funds, lessenedthe consequences of the globaleconomic slowdown to a largeextent. Despite the still uncer-tain economic situation on theglobal markets, Poland is con-sidered to be one of the toppotential destinations for newinvestment or expansion proj-ects in Europe.

Investment marketProperty investment turnoverin Central and EasternEurope (CEE) reached €5billion in 2010. This is almostdouble the level reached in2009. Poland has remainedthe market leader with thehighest cross-border purchaseactivity in CEE.

Real estate investment ininstitutional quality assets in2010 in Poland reached €1.8

million, recording a 200 per-cent activity increase in com-parison to 2009, when themarket reached its trough. Ofthe 2010 volume, some 51percent was designated forretail, 35 percent for officeand the balance was used tofinance logistics transactions.

Large cross-border prop-erty investment funds wereagain the most active players.Increased investment turn-over was backed by strongeroccupational fundamentalsacross all sectors and in anumber of markets, with theoffice sector in the lead.Higher demand for officespace led to annual take-up inWarsaw nearly doubling, toreach 550,000 sqm.

On the supply side, officestock growth in Poland slowedsignificantly. Last year sawnew supply fall 25-30 percentcompared to 2008 and 2009.This slowing trend is likely toresult in declining vacancylevels, helping market funda-mentals to rebalance. Howev-er this is not expected to hap-pen earlier than in 2012.

Retail marketThe Polish retail market hasonce again seen a resurgence

in demand after an extremelyweak 2009, as evidenced by the€926 million total recordedinvestment volume in 2010.Modern shopping center stockin Poland amounted to 8.3 mil-lion sqm at the end of last year.

With little over 210 sqm ofGLA per 1,000 residents andpersistently weak high streets,the modern retail network inPoland remains underdevel-oped. After a considerable

slowdown in the first monthsof 2010, development activityis gradually reviving and thereis currently about 1.27 millionsqm of shopping center spaceunder construction, withnearly 800,000 sqm of GLAscheduled for 2011 alone.

The Polish retail market isone of the most attractive sec-tors for European investors intoday’s market. It offers theopportunity to benefit fromPoland’s strong economicgrowth, which is being drivenby consumer spending and

translating into increasingrents. Given the market’s con-tinuously increasing retailstandards, it also enablesinvestors to maximize thevalue of their investmentsthrough active shopping cen-ter management and assetimprovements.

Logistics marketPoland’s logistics market sawa significant improvement in

sentiment in 2010. Industrialinvestment activity increased,but more importantly, occu-pational markets startedrecovering from high vacan-cies. In the latter half of 2010,development activity regis-tered a revival in line withregional economic improve-ments, following an almostnon-existent pipeline in early2010.

Developers have remainedcautious and a significantamount of space now underconstruction across more

mature CEE logistics marketsis built-to-suit or considerablypre-leased. However, positiveeconomic results have trans-lated into growing leasingactivity in the industrial sec-tor. As logistics demand andindustrial output are closelylinked to the economicgrowth that is returning to theregion, logistics markets areexpected to take off again.Growth is most likely toremain at more limited, butalso at more sustainable, lev-els than have been observedsince 2005.

Total take-up in Polandlast year increased by over 50percent year on year, toalmost 1.5 million sqm, withrenegotiations accounting for36 percent. Logistics opera-tors and manufacturersremain the main tenants.

RecoveryLast year laid the foundationfor a significant recovery inPoland’s real estate market.Poland is the only marketwithin CEE which is currentlyreally standing out. Both eco-nomic and real estate marketperformance are not onlyabove the country’s CEEpeers, but as well above most

EU15 counterparts. In terms of rental growth,

Warsaw is leading the pack inthe office market. Rentalgrowth in the retail sector hasremained low in general so farin the region, but is expectedto pick up in Poland as well onthe back of strong retail sales.The industrial market hasrecently seen an improvementin effective rents.

These positive trends are,however, in many casesrestricted to the prime end ofthe market and the secondarysegment remains struggling.A substantial compression inyields in 2010 indicatesimproved sentiment in theproperty markets, but again,the trend is restricted to theprime end of the market fornow.

The property market inPoland offers a depth anddiversity that no other CEEmarket can offer: this includesa depth of investors, proper-ties (there are physically moreassets) and property types(varied sectors, differentlysized markets). All of thismeans that the needs of dif-ferent types of investors (core,core plus, opportunistic) canbe accommodated. ●

Patrick O’Gorman is director of CEE capital markets, head ofcapital markets Poland at CB Richard Ellis

“The property market in Poland offers adepth and diversity that no other CEE

market can offer”

MARCH 7-13, 2011 www.wbj.pl 17

Construction

law amend-

ments

Amendments to Poland’s

construction law, signed

on December 10, 2010,

came into force at the

beginning of March. The

amendments redefine the

technical standards

which new buildings have

to meet and govern

building locations and the

safety equipment which

new structures should

have. In practice, these

changes describe the

appropriate placement of

lightning rods and other

electrical safety

equipment, according to

experts from law firm

KWW. The new

regulations only apply to

building construction

which commenced after

March 1, 2011.

Millenium’s

shell and coreCMP Group and Dekra

Construction

Management have

completed the shell and

core of retail, service and

recreation center

Millenium Hall. Only

interior work remains to

be finished before the

center’s opening, which is

scheduled for October

2011. Marma, a

Rzeszów-based producer

of industrial and

construction films, is the

investor behind the z∏.450

million project. Millenium

Hall’s gross leasable area

amounts to 56,612 sqm

and, according to the

investor’s plans, the first

tenants will move in in

April. Marma is a

subsidiary of Develop

Investment. ●

LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– SSPPEECCIIAALL MMIIPPIIMM EEDDIITTIIOONN

Echo Investment’s GaleriaAmber shopping and enter-tainment center, located inKalisz, Wielkopolskie voivod-ship, is one step closer to real-ization. Kalisz City Hall hasissued an environmentalimpact decision for the project,allowing the developer to applyfor a building permit.

“We are planning to applyin March and we will launchconstruction on the facilityright after the permit has beenissued,” Marcin Materny,

director of the shopping centerdepartment at Echo Invest-ment, said in a statement.

Echo Investment owns a 3.5ha plot at the intersection of ul.GórnoÊlàska and the AmberRoute (Trasa Bursztynowa) inKalisz, where it intends tobuild a four-storey mall com-prising 33,000 sqm of GLA.The center will house approxi-mately 140 stores and points ofservice, as well as a Helios-operated multi-screen cinema,restaurants and cafes.

“We are very happy withthe leasing process. We havealready signed agreementswith key tenants, includingC&A, New Yorker and Ross-mann. We are also finalizingdeals with KappAhl, an elec-tronic goods retailer and ahypermarket,” Mr Maternysaid.

The design of GaleriaAmber was furnished by BoseInternational Planning andArchitecture.


Galeria Amber go-ahead

Sources suggest it andother state-ownedfirms could now belisted on the stockexchangeThe Treasury Ministry haswithdrawn from negotiationsconcerning the privatization ofreal estate company Intraco.

“The treasury ministerdecided to end the process ofprivatization of Warsaw-basedcompany Intraco through thewithdrawal from negotiationswithout quoting reasons,”reads an official communiquéon the ministry’s website.

Maciej Wewiór, the min-istry’s spokesperson, confirmedthe information but down-played the decision to endnegotiations. The Treasury sim-ply exercised its right as ownerof the firm, he said, declining toelaborate further.

Intraco’s privatization wasannounced by the ministry onDecember 3, 2009, with thepublic tender officially openedlast August. The Treasury Min-istry wanted to sell an 85 per-

cent stake in the firm, with theremaining 15 percent intendedfor Intraco employees.

Poland’s Bergold Holding

and JW Construction Holdingas well as Luxembourg-basedGriffin Topco were among thefirms to submit initial bids for

Intraco. In January, exclusivenegotiations were granted toa consortium comprisingCyprus-based real estate

investor Wogorbi FinanceLimited and Warsaw’s RadiusProjekt.

With the collapse of its firstprivatization effort, it is possi-ble that Intraco could enter theWarsaw Stock Exchange aspart of a larger holding, whichwould be put together by theTreasury, according to dailyRzeczpospolita’s sources. Thiscould possibly take place thisyear and the holding wouldalso comprise state-ownedfirms such as leasing firmDipservice and agriculturalland owner Ton-Agro.

For now, however, theTreasury is unwilling to com-ment on future efforts to priva-tize Intraco.

Intraco is an office-spaceleasing company which hasoperated in Warsaw for morethan 35 years. Its assets includea 107-meter, 39-storey officebuilding in the capital’s centraldistrict and a business center inthe Bielany district. It is alsoplanning new office and resi-dential investments.


State-owned real estate firms

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One of Intraco’s assets is a 39-storey office building in downtown Warsaw

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Galeria Amber will boast 33,000 sqm of GLA


To subscribe: visit www.wbj.pl/ren, 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

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Romania: the right moment to move forward

Analysis: Romania

As macroeconomic indica-tors started to ease in Roma-nia, we noted an improve-ment in investor sentimenttowards the end of 2010.

The total investment vol-ume recorded in 2010 was€293 million (excluding for-ward funding and forwardacquisitions), more than dou-ble the total volume in 2009.In addition, 2010 witnessedthe first major real estatetransaction resulting from abank foreclosure.

Office marketDespite the tepid economicrecovery, 2010’s office leasingactivity and office take-upregistered a 65 percent y/yincrease over that of the pre-vious year. New take-up wasestimated at 203,000 sqm, towhich we add lease re-newals/renegotiations to theamount of at least 57,000sqm. This activity contributedover 30-40 percent of totaloccupational market activity.

The overall vacancy rate isclose to 17.5 percent,

although it is particularlyimportant to separate thesub-markets and recognizethat the vacancy rate forprime, centrally locatedoffices approaches 10 per-cent – a respectable level.Moreover, the more compet-itive, downtown schemes stillsee solid demand fromprospective tenants, whiledecentralized projects arestruggling.

Current prime rental lev-els – €19/sqm/month – areconsidered to be near or attheir low. In 2010, primerents decreased by an aver-age of 10.5 percent overthose of 2009.

A total of 20 new build-ings were completed in 2010,delivering over 280,000 sqm.Of this, about 85,000 sqmwas in non-speculative devel-opments/owner-occupied.The 2011 pipeline is estimat-ed at 120,000-150,000 sqmand consists primarily ofprojects which were delayedor otherwise not delivered in2010.

Retail marketThere are increasing signs ofconservative optimism in theretail market. Key interna-tional retailers have signifi-cant expansion plans andwork has restarted on someof formerly frozen projects.With only five projects total-ing 150,000 sqm completed

in 2010, the pipeline for 2011consists of eight schemeswith a total GLA of 250,000sqm.

Retailer expansion isfocused on the best perform-ing shopping centers in Bu-charest and proven schemesin the larger secondarycities. This trend is likely tocontinue until promisingpipeline projects are restart-ed.

It is worth mentioning thatQ4 2010 brought a fewnotable high street openingsin Bucharest, such as Empo-rio Armani and Gucci, bothlocated along Calea Victoriei.

Retail demand, fueledmainly by international enti-ties, should increase anddiversify in 2011. The main

focus of expanding retailers –such as H&M, Inditex orDecathlon – will be on exist-ing schemes, where they willreplace well-located but non-performing retailers.

Prime shopping centerrents now range between€65-80/sqm/month, whileprime high street units areseeing similar rents to thoseof the previous quarter,between €60-70/sqm/month.

Industrial marketWith limited speculativemodern industrial supply anda lack of proper transportinfrastructure, the marketstill outperformed expecta-tions last year. Around100,000 sqm was leased in2010, with an additional40,000 sqm was leased inmajor secondary cities acrossthe country. In addition,important land transactionsinvolving end users wererecorded, a trend which willcontinue to characterize theindustrial market for thenear term.

The logistics’ pipeline forRomania this year is estimat-ed at 100,000-150,000 sqm.Take-up is estimated to sur-pass 2010’s activity.

OutlookLooking ahead, we see amuch-constrained supplypipeline, particularly in theoffice segment. The leadinginstitutional developers havespotted this as the rightmoment to move forward

with new projects, and thesedevelopments should fur-ther support renewed inter-est among institutionalinvestors.

With regards to the retailsector, we expect that the gapbetween truly prime projectsand less-well performingand/or first generation shop-ping centers will continue towiden. Proper asset andproperty management willbecome increasingly para-mount for retaining and, insome cases, increasing value.

In the industrial market,we expect continued grow-ing demand for quality logis-tics units as well as landtransactions to end users.Though green building fea-tures are not yet determin-ing the selection process ofindustrial accommodation,the trend of sustainabledevelopment will becomeincreasingly important asdevelopers realize that thiswill directly impact investorinterest and therefore thepricing at exit. ●

John Duckworth is managing director CEE at Jones Lang LaSalle

“Looking ahead, we see a muchconstrained supply pipeline,

particularly in the office segment”

MARCH 7-13, 2011 www.wbj.pl 19LLOOKKAALLEE IIMMMMOOBBIILLIIAA –– SSPPEECCIIAALL MMIIPPIIMM EEDDIITTIIOONN

Królewskie

plots on saleKrólewskie Golf & Country

Club, a residential and

recreation complex

located 30 km from

Warsaw, has added new

space to its offer. In

addition to single-family

houses and apartments, it

now also includes land

designated for

development. The

expanded offer includes

nine plots sized from 776

sqm to 990 sqm. Prices

start at z∏.250,000 and

z∏.189,000, respectively.

Waste disposal

plant in

KatowiceConstruction and

engineering firm ABM

Solid has signed an

agreement to design and

build a waste disposal

plant in Katowice. The

value of the investment is

estimated at more than

z∏.18.6 million net. The

project has been

commissioned by the

Municipal Industry

Bureau in Katowice. ABM

Solid will build three

areas in which waste will

be sorted and converted

into ecological fuel. The

firm has 10 months to

build the plant. ●

Is there a businesscase forenvironmentallyfriendly building inthe region?As concern about climatechange grows, so doesmomentum for sustainablebuilding. The trend began inthe West, and is still nascent inCentral and Eastern Europe.

The business case for suchprojects, it has been argued,just doesn’t add up. Withlower incomes and smallerbusinesses – as well as a lowerawareness and concern aboutenvironmental issues – thecost, many say, just doesn’t jus-tify the benefits.

However, panelists at theGreen Debate event held inWarsaw last week were con-vinced that the movementtoward such projects wasunstoppable. Due to severalfactors – such as a push from“Generation Y,” companies’own corporate social responsi-bility policies and tenantdemand – environmentallyfriendly building will have tobecome the norm, arguedMike Barrington, CEO ofDeloitte Central Europe.

“CSR is a core element ofwhat we do,” he said, explain-

ing that occupying environ-mentally friendly buildings waspart of that strategy. His firmcurrently occupies theDeloitte House building indowntown Warsaw, thefirst building in Poland toreceive GreenBuilding certifi-cation. “It’s expected of us byboth our clients and staff, espe-cially Generation Y [employ-ees],” he said.

Mr Barrington added thatit is nothing new for prospec-tive tenants to consider abuilding’s energy efficiencyand environmental friendli-ness, but it is neverthelessbecoming a more central partof the decision-making process.

CEE as a showcaseMr Barrington also voiced hisbelief that, despite its slow startin green building, the CEEregion could become a show-case for such projects, with itseconomic growth and capacityfor urban regeneration.

Noel Morrin, Skanska’s sen-ior VP for sustainability, echoedthat sentiment, saying that hisfirm sees Central Europe as akey region when it comes to theissue. Skanska has come up witha strategy it calls “The Journeyto Deep Green” – it has gone sofar as to trademark the phrase –

aftersurveying itscustomers and findingthat energy efficiency was theirbiggest concern.

The company’s ambitionsgo beyond BREEAM orLEED certifications – it has seta goal to consistently achievefar-better-than regulation stan-dards of efficiency in its build-ings. Ultimately, the companywants to make its buildings“future proof,” making surethat they will be up to futureenvironmental standards, andtherefore ensuring that theyretain value over time.

Caution, caution, cautionClayton Ulrich, senior

VP for engineeringservices at Hines,agreed that thetrend towardsgreen buildingwas a powerfulone, but warnedagainst the

“greenwash” that was occur-ring, especially with purveyors

of new technologies. “Caution,caution,

cau-

t i o n , ”he urged.“The tech-nology is movingat a faster pace than everbefore, and most of it isunproven. It involves a highamount of risk, and that riskwill become yours,” he said.

New technologies must betested and evaluated thorough-ly before incorporating theminto a new development,because often they don’t deliv-er the high rates of energy effi-ciency they advertise, he added.

Mr Ulrich also lamentedthe number of different typesof “green” certification sys-tems – over 100. However, theadvantage that a certificationbrings is that it can be lever-aged to improve the product,he said. As companies strive tomeet the requirements, theyfocus more on quality and effi-ciency in general.

The little thingsIn the end, the participantsagreed that “small thingsmatter,” as David Dixon, thehead of the real estate divi-sion at law firm NortonRose’s Polish branch, put it.Companies can spend a lot ofmoney on green technologiesand meeting certificationrequirements, but innovativedesign and proper buildingmanagement can go a longway in making the differencebetween whether a building isor isn’t environmentallyfriendly.

And those are things thatany Central European firmcan take into account.

AAnnddrreeww KKuurreetthh

WBJ was a media patron ofthe CEE Insight ForumGREEN DEBATE: But whatare the funds thinking?

Green building

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Hungary: improving sentiment

Analysis: Hungary

Market sentiment in Hun-gary has recently improved toa more cautiously optimisticstandpoint, as each of thecommercial sectors emergesfrom the worst of the reces-sion. The halting of newdevelopment has constrainednew supply and continuednet absorption is expected todecrease vacancy rates andstabilize rental levels.

Generally speaking, theHungarian real estate marketbottomed out in 2010 and willrecover during 2011, in linewith the improving economicsituation.

The following is a briefoverview of the Hungariancommercial real estate mar-

kets, broken into office, retailand industrial sectors, interms of how each marketperformed over 2010 andC&W’s forecasts as we con-tinue into 2011.

Office marketThe Hungarian office marketpreformed strongly in 2010,with 314,700 sqm transacted.This was only five percent lessthan the record year of take-up in 2008, demonstrating theresilience of the local officemarket and its lack of relianceon the local economy.

Vacancy rates increasedmainly due to the fact thatmany of the transactionsinvolved renegotiations instead

of new leases. Due to limiteddevelopment activity in thecity, international companiesare again consideringBudapest as an ideal locationto expand and/or set up newregional shared service centers.

We anticipate vacancyrates will decrease as 2011progresses, which we believewill lead to a slow but steadyrecovery of the office market.The Budapest office markethas now bottomed out and weexpect it to stabilize in 2011.

Retail marketAfter a rather difficult periodduring the last two years, theretail market in Hungary hasbegun to experience signs of

improvement in the last sixmonths.

International retailers arebecoming far more active inidentifying attractive tradingopportunities, mostly locatedin Budapest, which shows apositive movement on the sup-ply side of the market. A num-ber of international retailershave already secured premises,including: Camaieu, Claire’s,Debenhams, Starbucks, Gaudí,etc. Others – such as – Ste-fanel, Carpisa, LIST, Diesel arestill investigating, and planningopenings in the near future.

As a result, a number ofnew developments areplanned both in the capital, aswell as in the countryside,which is further improving thequality of the retail market,delivering first-class retailopportunities to expandingretailers. There is approxi-mately 200,000 sqm of shop-ping center space in thepipeline in Budapest, includ-ing a number of major proj-ects (see table). Timing formany projects remains uncer-

tain and is dependent on bankfinancing and pre-lettings.

Industrial marketThe Hungarian industrialmarket was affected by therecession and rationalizationin 2009. Occupiers were fight-ing for better conditions andmost take-up was leaserenewals. Due to the econom-ic crisis, everybody becamevery cautious, putting newleases and relocations on hold.

Last year was mainly char-acterized by stabilization, with210,000 sqm total take-up bythe end of the year. The ratioof new leases also increasedcompared to the previousyear.

The past few months havewitnessed a significantupswing, registering newenquiries both from compa-nies already present in the

Hungarian market and fromnew market entrants as well.We are expecting a modestmarket comeback in 2011.

We are not forecastingremarkable speculative indus-trial developments in Hun-gary for 2011, mainly due tothe amount of vacant spaceand difficulties in financing.The vacancy rate is currentlyaround 19 percent, which isstill quite high, but with nospeculative developments inthe pipeline this rate shoulddecrease to a more healthylevel throughout the year.

There is still a downwardpressure on industrial rents,tenants can currently leaseareas with very favorableconditions, but with theabsorption of vacant space,we can also expect anincrease in rents, at the endof 2011 at the earliest.●

Charles Taylor is managing director of Cushman & Wakefield Budapest

Major pipeline retail projects in Budapest

Project Developer Location Size (GLA) Planned opening

KÖKI Local Pest, XIX D. 55,000 Q3 2011

Mundo Echo Investment Pest, XIV D. 40,000 Unknown

Etele City Centre Futureal Buda, XI D. 40,000 Unknown

Árkád extension ECE Pest, X D. 20,000 Unknown

WestEnd extension TriGranit Pest, VI D. 50,000 UnknownSource: Cushman & Wakefield

sqm

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2010200920082007200620052004200320022001

Total industrial stock in Hungary, 2001-2010* (sqm)

* Total stock revised Q2 2010

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King Sturge

lease activity

International property

consultancy King Sturge

has enlarged its Warsaw

leasing portfolio, adding

two office buildings:

Uniqa Forum and Prima

Court. Uniqa Forum is a

six-storey retail-office

building offering a total of

6,245 sqm of leasable

office space, while Prima

Court comprises 4,200

sqm of leasable office

space on eight storeys.

Since the beginning of the

year, King Sturge has

leased a total of over

16,000 sqm.

IK

Development’s

dealsReal estate advisory IK

Development has

brokered a number of

deals in the Polish

commercial property

market recently. It

facilitated Kruk’s lease of

more than 1,600 sqm of

office space in Wroc∏aw

Business Park 2 and

Miastoprojekt’s take up of

420 sqm on the city’s ul.

Âw. Miko∏aja. It also

brokered Dongseo

Display’s lease of more

than 2,700 sqm at

ProLogis Park Wroc∏aw. ●

Project financing

Building without banksNew research suggestscorporate bonds areincreasingly attractiveto credit-starveddevelopers

Banks in Poland are still play-ing it safe when it comes tocommercial loans, yet devel-opers are increasingly in needof capital for new investments.So how are they coping withthe problem?

According to new researchfrom CEE Property Group,developers are simply learningto rely on themselves. The realestate consultancy notes thatinterest in corporate bonds hasbeen growing for months.

Bonds remain more expen-sive for companies than otherforms of debt, at least for now.CEE Property Group statesthat the rate of return onbonds currently amounts tobetween nine and 13 percent,compared to around eight to8.5 percent for a bank loan – ifthe bank says yes, that is.

However, bonds could be-come more cost effective ifmore people took to them.

“A lot depends on whetherindividual investors [learn to]trust in this instrument,” stat-ed Pawe∏ Grzàbka, the head of

CEE Property Group. “If theytrust and buy it without misgiv-ings then the interest on thebonds might fall.”

The benefits of bonds fordevelopers, according to theresearch, include the fact thatthe issuer need not specify theexact use of the funds, maychoose the length of the repay-ment period and has theoption of selling bonds whichare not secured with stock.

Of course, corporate bondsare not new to the market.

They currently constitutearound a quarter of all non-Treasury bonds available onthe Warsaw Stock Exchangeand a number of developershave issued bonds in the past,including Echo Investment,Dom Development, Polnord,JW Construction Holding,Gant Development andMarvipol. The latter firm, forexample, issued bonds wortharound z∏.39.4 million lastyear.


Short-dated securities*

Local government

Corporate

Bank

*less than one year

Structure of the WSE's non-Treasury debt market, as of

September 30, 2010

Source: Fitch Ratings Polska via CEE Property Group

Real estate awards

Ballymore, Skanska

and Heitman double upThe latest CEEQAGala feted real estatefirms, honoredprofessionals

The eighth edition of the Cen-tral & Eastern Europe QualityAwards (CEEQA) saw Bally-more Group, Skanska andHeitman International all walkaway with double honors.

Ballymore took home the“Building of the Year” and“Retail Development of theYear” awards for its Euroveashopping and recreation centerin Bratislava. Skanska, mean-while, picked up the “GreenInitiative Award” for its “over-all engagement and commit-ment to sustainable develop-ment,” and was also named the“Construction Company of theYear” for 2010.

For its part, Heitman Inter-national was given the“Investor of the Year” acco-lade. Otis Spencer, co-head forEurope at Heitman, wasnamed “Industry Professionalof the Year.”

The chairman and founderof Panattoni DevelopmentCompany, Carl Panattoni, washonored during the eveningand took home the “CEEQA

Lifetime Achievement Award.” Others lauded during the

CEEQA Gala included GlobeTrade Centre (“Developer ofthe Year”), VGP (“IndustrialDeveloper of the Year”),UniCredit (“Banking &Financial Services Companyof the Year”) and Salans(“Legal & Consulting Firm ofthe Year”).

While the atmosphere wasfestive for most of the evening,a poignant moment arrivedwhen the 530-strong crowdpaid tribute to Marcin Kania,a partner at Colliers Interna-tional Poland. Mr Kania’s lifeand career were cut tragicallyshort in a recent accident, andthose assembled honored hislife with a minute-long stand-ing ovation.

The Marriott Hotel in War-saw played host to the event,which drew a crowd of CEEreal estate luminaries. WarsawBusiness Journal was a mediapatron. A charity raffle andXbox competition raised morethan €9,000 for CEEQA’s cho-sen charity, the Bator TaborFoundation, which providescamps for chronically ill chil-dren in Central Europe.



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

on March 03 (z∏.mln)

BUDIMEX 97.50 3.72 80.45 106.10 22.64 25,530,098 2,489.18

CELTIC 22.00 5.77 17.43 60.55 N/A 34,068,252 749.50

DOMDEV 45.50 -1.30 38.52 61.00 -4.21 24,560,222 1,117.49

ECHO 4.97 6.88 3.95 5.40 27.11 420,000,000 2,087.40

ELBUDOWA 158.00 0.00 155.00 188.40 -5.95 4,747,608 750.12

ENERGOPLD 3.77 -0.79 3.57 4.50 -14.12 70,972,001 267.56

ERBUD 46.06 -4.04 46.06 61.00 -9.86 12,602,711 580.48

GANT 16.37 2.38 15.69 26.00 -20.53 20,499,953 335.58

GTC 21.04 -0.52 20.63 25.00 -9.70 219,372,990 4,615.61

HBPOLSKA 2.78 4.91 2.54 3.90 -20.57 210,558,445 585.35

JWCONSTR 14.25 0.35 12.60 18.69 25.00 54,073,280 770.54

LCCORP 1.68 -0.59 1.41 1.73 5.00 447,558,311 751.90

MARVIPOL 9.51 0.85 8.83 22.31 -41.30 36,923,400 351.14

MIRBUD 4.70 6.33 2.71 4.75 62.63 75,000,000 352.50

MOSTALWAR 48.57 2.47 46.91 77.00 -28.99 20,000,000 971.40

MOSTALZAB 2.83 0.00 2.63 4.84 -32.46 149,130,538 422.04

ORCOGROUP 32.01 -1.36 19.00 34.20 7.52 14,053,866 449.86

PBG 197.90 2.97 190.40 252.00 -4.76 14,295,000 2,828.98

PLAZACNTR 3.87 -1.02 3.87 6.39 -34.30 292,647,720 1,132.55

POLAQUA 17.82 -9.91 16.00 22.50 8.92 27,500,100 490.05

POLIMEXMS 3.75 9.33 3.33 5.29 -15.92 521,035,327 1,953.88

POLNORD 32.50 3.67 30.50 44.00 -8.71 22,242,031 722.87

RANKPROGR 10.20 0.00 9.59 10.96 N/A 37,145,050 378.88

ROBYG 1.82 -0.55 1.70 1.94 N/A 257,390,000 468.45

RONSON 1.41 0.71 1.36 2.10 -9.62 272,360,000 384.03

TRAKCJA 3.55 1.72 3.49 4.97 -13.41 160,105,480 568.37

ULMA 83.00 -0.24 70.00 86.20 5.06 5,255,632 436.22

UNIBEP 8.71 -3.22 7.13 10.30 25.14 33,927,184 295.51

WARIMPEX 10.60 2.42 7.64 10.85 31.84 54,000,000 572.40

ZUE 13.50 -3.57 13.50 15.14 N/A 22,000,000 297.00

Property-related stocks

The Czech market: local investors dominate

Analysis: Czech Republic

In 2010, the total propertyinvestment volume in theCzech Republic reached €676million, 20 percent more thanin 2009 when transactionsworth €556 million wereclosed. For the second con-secutive year local investorsfrom the Czech and SlovakRepublics dominated theCzech commercial propertymarket and even increasedtheir market share from 50percent (in 2009) to 72 per-cent (in 2010). We anticipatethat the local and foreigninvestors’ market shares willflatten again in 2011.

Last year office buildingsin Prague were the mostsought-after products on theCzech property investmentmarket, as they attracted €328million and gained a 48 per-cent share of total investment

volume. A quarter ofthe total transactionvolume (€166 million)was invested into Czechretail properties.

There were hardlyany transactions with logisticsand industrial parks (€39 mil-lion, representing a six per-cent market share) and com-mercial residential housing(€33 million, meaning fivepercent of total transactionvolume). On the contrary thisyear, we expect a considerableincrease in both the numberand volume of industrialtransactions in the CzechRepublic.

Conservative estimates saythat €600-700 million is likelyto be invested in the Czechproperty market in total, butwe anticipate this even reach-ing €1 billion.

Industrial marketThe Czech logistics andindustrial property marketreached nearly 3.5 millionsqm of class-A premises last

year. Compared to 2009,when 442,000 sqm of newindustrial and logistics prop-erties were delivered to themarket, new supply in 2010decreased by 66 percent toonly 150,000 sqm. Construc-tion of new warehousesreached a five-year low, therewas almost no speculativedevelopment and all the con-struction was build-to-suitand on the basis of pre-leases.

On the other hand, a dra-matic recovery of demand forthis type of commercial prop-erty contributed to a steepdecrease in vacancy ratesthroughout the year of 2010.Whereas Czech logistics andindustrial parks struggled withvacancy rates at 17.6 percentin December 2009, 12 monthslater only 10.4 percent ofclass-A warehouse space wasvacant across the Czech Re-public.

Brighter days are aheadin the investment market aswell. After three years of lit-erally no transactions in the

Czech industrial market, afirst small deal was closed bythe end of 2010 and a biggerone announced (the sale ofpart of VGP’s portfolio,totalling about €300 mil-lion). A few more invest-ment transactions are gener-ally expected to follow inthis segment.

Office marketThe Prague office marketformed 2.7 million sqm ofclass-A and class-B adminis-trative space by the end of2010. Only 41,800 sqm of newoffice space was added to totalstock in Prague in 2010, 75percent less than in 2009.

At the same time, 100,000sqm of new office develop-ment was started in Praguelast year and, on top of that,nine schemes out of 10 on aspeculative basis. Most ofthese should be completed bythe end of 2011 or in the firsthalf of 2012.

In 2010, total take-up inthe Prague office market

achieved 214,700 sqm, whichwas 12 percent less than in2009. We estimate that therewill be a slight increase in leas-ing transaction volume, rang-ing from 220,000 to 240,000sqm signed deals in 2011. Lastyear we also witnessed an in-crease in renegotiations to 44percent; in 2011 its shareshould be at 30-40 percent.

The vacancy rate inPrague’s office sector in-creased by 1.35 percentagepoints last year, from 11.8 per-cent in December 2009 to13.15 percent a year later. Weassume that vacancy ratesshould decline to 12-12.5 per-

cent during 2011. Prime headline office

rents in Prague remained un-changed in 2010. In the citycenter these were €20-21/sqm/month, in the innercity €15-17.5/sqm/month andin outer city locations theywere at €13-14.5/sqm/month.For 2011 we are not expect-ing any major fluctuations inprime headline rents.

In 2010, investment inoffice properties accountedfor a 48 percent marketshare of total investment vol-ume. This year we expect thisto decline to about 30 per-cent. ●

Angus Wade is managing directorof King Sturge Prague

Markéta Miková iscommunications manager at King Sturge Prague

Prime yields and change rates in Prague, Q4 2010

City Sector Prime yield Quarterly Annual

(Q4 2010) change change

Prague Office 6.75% 0.00% -0.25%

Prague Logistics 8.25% -0.25% -0.50%

Prague High street retail 6.00% -0.25% -0.75%

Source: King Sturge research, February 2011


Slovakia sees a quick rebound

Analysis: Slovakia

The modest growth of theSlovak economy in 2010 wasreflected in development inthe real estate market. Officespace leasing came alive dueto tenants moving from oldercenters to A-class premises.

Slovakia rebounded rela-tively quickly from the globaleconomic slowdown. A pru-dent regulatory frameworkfor the financial sector, com-bined with competitive taxrates, has ensured its transi-tion to a flexible and vibranteconomy with a considerabledegree of resilience. Accord-ing to FocusEconomics’analysis, a consensus forecastof banks is that GDP growthin 2011 will reach 3.1 percent.

Investment market During 2010, the CEE invest-ment market continued towitness a recovery in transac-tion volumes and market sen-timent, more than doublingthe activity seen in 2009. Mostinstitutional investors focusedtheir investment in Poland

and the Czech Republic. Asexamples of typical invest-ment transactions, in Slovakiawe recorded one hotel deal inBratislava and three Tescostores (representing twotransactions).

For 2011 we expect therealization of transactionsthat were postponed during2010, as well as moreinvestors re-entering the Slo-vak market because of theeconomy’s solid macroeco-nomic fundamentals. This willbe supported by a more stableoffice occupier market, forgood quality product at least.

Industrial production isreporting steady growth, witha number of companies con-sidering expansions. Thelogistics market is alreadyreceiving the attention ofdevelopers seeking land pur-chase opportunities.

Inflation may become animportant issue during 2011,and many investors may findthat investment in income-producing properties which

offer indexed rents is a goodprotection against potentialinflation risks. From a region-al perspective, the pressureon returns in the Polish mar-ket is reflected in low yields,which currently makes Slovakyields look more attractive forthose investors less concernedwith local market liquidity.

Office market The situation in the marketis starting to be more opti-mistic due to a higher num-ber of transactions. Severalprojects are no longer onhold, but the pipeline stilldoes not reach even half of2008’s delivery.

We expect the overallvacancy rate to decrease dur-ing the next six to 12 monthsand, in the best case scenario,it could decrease by up toseven to eight percentagepoints by the end of 2011.Prime rents, as well as effec-tive rents, are expected toincrease slightly during thenext six to 12 months.

Industrial market Due to a low vacancy rate, weexpect developers in theSenec area to launch newdevelopments. We predictstrong pre-lease campaignsfor the Žilina, Prešov andKošice areas, with rents high-er than current levels.

Developers are focused on“permit-ready” locations withthe possibility to launch pre-lease developments. Recentlythey have secured land plotsthrough options-to-buy.

Retail market The retail market in Slovakiarevived in 2010, althoughretailers remain very cautious.Declines in retail sales, fallingdisposable income and pur-chasing power of inhabitants,rising unemployment and jobinsecurity caused some retail-ers to close unprofitablestores.

At the same time, theboom in shopping center con-struction continued unabateddespite the crisis. Over the

course of last year, approxi-mately 190,000 sqm of newshopping center space wasdelivered in Slovakia, thelargest increase in the last 20years. The biggest increasewas in the Bratislava region,representing 44 percent of allcompletions in Slovakia. Thesecond-most popular destina-tion was the Žilina region,with 36 percent. Deliveries inthat area included the Aupark(25,700 sqm) and Mirage(20,900 sqm) schemes.

The gap between success-ful and unsuccessful centerswill deepen in the future.Location and accessibilityremain the most crucial crite-ria for the success, but theimportance of marketing isincreasing as well. Retailerswill also remain cautious interms of expanding in 2011.Meanwhile, the expiration oflease agreements is creating arelatively new re-letting mar-ket.

Rents will remain stableand the market will remain

tenant driven. Strong andpopular tenants are stilldemanding concessions suchas fit-out contributions, rent-free periods, turnover or step-up leases. Landlords and ten-ants need to be creative andproactive to communicatetheir message as the competi-tion has increased.

Forecast 2011In general, forecasts indicatethat 2011 will be challengingfor the real estate market inSlovakia. The balancebetween supply of anddemand for new office prem-ises, developers’ continuingproblems with access tofinancing, changes in thefuture use of projects, fallingyields and barriers to the refi-nancing of existing propertieswill characterize the marketthis year.

Despite these expecta-tions, we anticipate positivesignals from the industrialmarket, which will movemainly in the regions. ●

Ermanno Boeris is managing director of ColliersInternational Slovakia


Galeria Venus

agent

Retail Concept has

become an exclusive

leasing agent for new

space in Galeria Venus,

the largest shopping

and service facility in

Âwidnik, Lubelskie

voivodship. The

company will also be

responsible for the

recommercialization of

the existing part of the

project. Galeria Venus

currently offers 6,500

sqm of space, which

hosts approximately 40

retail and service units.

In Q2 2012, the project’s

area will be expanded to

11,000 sqm.

New Galeria

Sieradzka

tenantsDeveloper Keen

Property Partners Retail

has recently secured a

number of new tenants,

including Takko,

Reserved and

Deichmann for the

Galeria Sieradzka

shopping and

entertainment center in

Sieradz, ¸ódzkie

voivodship. Following

the deals, the facility is

now almost fully leased

out. ●

SGI Baltis launches new projects in Warsaw, PoznaƒSzczecin-based developer SGIBaltis has launched construc-tion on its Tarasy Bartycka res-idential scheme in Warsaw.Located on ul. Bartycka in thecapital’s Mokotów district, thedevelopment comprises twofour-storey buildings with atotal of 134 apartments and200 parking spaces.

Completion is scheduledfor Q3 2012.

“More and more familiesnowadays have more than onecar; this is why, in an attemptto meet our clients’ needs, wehave put particular emphasison ensuring a sufficient num-ber of parking spaces for allinhabitants,” Grzegorz Ka-wecki, vice-president of SGIBaltis’ management board,said in a statement.

Tarasy Bartycka has beendesigned by the Warsaw-basedB’ART Pracownia Architektu-ry, Urbanistyki i Wn´trzBart∏omiej Bie∏yszew studio,while SGI Baltis itself is actingas general contractor. Units inTarasy Bartycka are sized from27-107 sqm and prices start atz∏.7,400 per sqm.

In related news, SGIBaltis has announced thelaunch of its first investmentin Poznaƒ. The developer willbuild two five-storey struc-tures on the city’s ul. Zawady,with a total of 216 apartmentssized from 45-90 sqm. Theproject was designed by thePoznaƒ-based Autorska Pra-cownia ArchitektonicznaHanny i Marka Bieƒkowskichstudio and is scheduled for

completion in late 2012.SGI Baltis is currently

involved in a total of 11 proj-

ects in Poland. Apart fromWarsaw and Poznaƒ, the com-pany is present in cities such as

Szczecin, ¸ódê, S∏upsk andGorzów Wielkopolski.


Sales begin for Adria phase 2Dom Development, one ofPoland’s largest residentialdevelopers, has begun sales onthe second phase of its Adriaproject in east-bank Warsaw.

This stage of the develop-ment will comprise twoseven-storey buildings host-ing a total of 230 apartments.Units will range in size from33.6 to 114.2 sqm, with pricesfrom z∏.7,000 to z∏.8,640 persqm, which means most will

qualify for the state’s “Familyon its Own” subsidized-mort-gage program.

Phase two of Adria isscheduled for completion inthe fourth quarter of 2012.

The residential estate willultimately comprise five build-ings with a total of around 656apartments. Work on the firststage – involving 256 units – isalready underway. Delivery isexpected in Q4 of 2011.

Located on ul. Jugos∏o-wiaƒska in Goc∏aw, a neigh-borhood in Warsaw’s PragaPo∏udnie district, Adria wasdesigned by the Fajans Âcis∏o& Partnerzy “Arcus” architec-ture studio. Its design ismeant to reflect modern sen-sibilities.

Erbud is serving as generalcontractor on the first and sec-ond stages of Adria.


CO

UR

TE

SY O

F O

N B

OA

RD

PU

BL

IC R

EL

AT

ION

S

The Tarasy Bartycka project should be completed in Q3 2012

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F M

+G

The Adria scheme will comprise 656 apartments

MARCH 7-13, 2011TTHHEE LLIISSTT26 www.wbj.pl

Construction & Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate Developers - OfficeRanked by office investments completed in 2009 www.bookoflists.pl

Rank

ed

Company nameAddressTel./FaxEmailwww

Officeinvestments

completed: Totalarea sqm:

1st half of 2010 /2009 / 2008 /

2007

Officeinvestments

completed overall(sqm)

SpecializationKey current investments

(location; size; class; completion year)

Largest investments completed in 2009-2010


Major investments completedbefore 2009

(location; size; class;completion year)

Totalemployees /Year founded

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top localexecutive /

Title

1

Ghelamco Poland Sp. z o.o.ul. Domaniewska 52,02-672 Warsaw22 455-1600 / 22 [email protected]

51,00060,000143,00047,000

350,000 Office, warehouse andresidential buildings

Senator (ul. Bielaƒska, Warsaw; 45,000; A;2012); Mokotów Nova (ul. Wo∏oska, Warsaw;

79,000; A; 2011); Warsaw Spire (ul.Towarowa, Warsaw; 279,000; A; 2014)

Trinity Park III (ul. Domaniewska 49, Warsaw;60,000; A); Katowice Business Point (ul.

Chorzowska, Katowice; 27,000; A); CrownSquare (ul. Przyokopowa 31, Warsaw;

24,000; A)

Marynarska Business Park (ul. TaÊmowa7, Warsaw; 58,000; A; 2008); Bema

Plaza (Pl. Gen. Bema 2, Wroc∏aw;40,000; A; 2008); Trinity Park II (ul.

Suwak 3, Warsaw; 47,000; A; 2007);Prosta Office Center (ul. Prosta 51,

Warsaw; 32,000; A; 2006)

WND1991

NoneGhelamco Group - 100%

Jeroen van derToolen

Managing Director

2

Adgar Post´pu Sp. z o.o.ul. Post´pu 17A,02-676 Warsaw22 323-8100 / 22 [email protected]

WND55,000WNDWND

WND Developer WNDAdgar Plaza A (ul. Post´pu 17 A, Warsaw;

32,000; 15,000; A); Adgar Plaza B (ul.Post´pu 17 B, Warsaw; 23,000; A)

WNDWND1999

NoneAdgar Investment and

Development Poland - 100%

Michael MevorachDirector

3

Globe Trade Centre SAul. Wo∏oska 5,02-675 Warsaw22 606-0700 / 22 [email protected]

WND54,300108,80034,900

Over 400,000

Office parks; office;retail; residential

buildings; houses andsuites

Platinium Business Park IV (ul. Wo∏oska 9,Warsaw; 13,000; A; 2011); University

Business Park (2nd phase) (ul. Wólczaƒska178, ¸ódê; 18,500; A; 2010-2011); Centrum

Biurowe Francuska (2nd phase) (ul. Francuska34, Katowice; 10,700; A; 2010-2011)

Platinium Business Park (3rd phase) (ul.Wo∏oska 9, Warsaw; 11,400; A); UniversityBusiness Park (1st phase) (ul. Wólczaƒska178, ¸ódê; 18,500; A); Centrum BiuroweFrancuska (1st phase) (ul. Francuska 34,

Katowice; 11,000; A)

Platinium Business Park (1st and 2ndphase) (ul. Wo∏oska 9, Warsaw; WND;

19,800; A; 2007-2008); CentrumBiurowe GTC (Galileo; Newton; Edison)(Al. Armii Krajowej, Kraków; 31,000; A;2005-2007); Ok´cie Business Park (1st

and 2nd phase) (ul. 17 Stycznia, Warsaw;18,000; A; 2008); Globis Wroc∏aw (ul.Powstaƒców Âlàskich 7A, Wroc∏aw;

14,650; A; 2008)

581994

NoneGTC Real Estate Holding -

43.1%; ING OFE - 8.1%; AvivaCommercial Union OFE BZ

WBK - 7.2%; othershareholders - 41.5%

Piotr KroenkeGeneral Director

4

Echo Investment SAAl. SolidarnoÊci 36,25-323 Kielce41 333-3333 / 41 [email protected]

12,20053,20015,70018,100

185,000 WND

Malta Office Park (3rd phase) (ul. Baraniaka88, Poznaƒ; 7,400; A; 2012); AURUS (1st

phase) (Al. Pi∏sudskiego 86, ¸ódê; 12,500; A;2012)

Malta Office Park (2nd phase) (ul. Baraniaka88, Poznaƒ; 17,400; A); Oxygen

(ul. Malczewskiego 22; Szczecin; 19,300;A); Park Post´pu (ul. Post´pu 21, Warsaw;

58,200; A)

Malta Office Park (1st phase) (ul.Baraniaka 88, Poznaƒ; 8,500; A; 2008);Office Park Kielce (Al. SolidarnoÊci 36,Kielce; 18,100; A; 2007); Athina (ul.

Wybrze˝e Gdyƒskie, Warsaw; 22,200; A;2005); Post´pu 3 (ul. Post´pu, Warsaw;

30,500; A; 2005)

3001994

Micha∏ So∏owow - 40.5%None

Piotr GromniakPresident

5

Skanska Property Poland Sp. z o.o.Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19,00-854 Warsaw22 653-8400 / 22 [email protected]

WND36,10037,800

-

WND Office buildingsGreen Towers (ul. Strzegomska 36, Wroc∏aw;

23,000; A; 2012)

Grunwaldzki Center (Pl. Grunwaldzki 23,Wroc∏aw; 27,000; A); Deloitte House

(Al. Jana Paw∏a II 19, Warsaw; 19,800; A)

Marynarska Point (ul. Post´pu 15 B andC, Warsaw; 26,600; A; 2008); AtriumCentrum (Al. Jana Paw∏a II, Warsaw;

17,000; A; 2001); Atrium Plaza (Al. JanaPaw∏a II, Warsaw; 15,000; A; 1998);

Atrium Tower (Al. Jana Paw∏a II,Warsaw; 11,000; A; 1996)

WND1997

NoneSkanska Project Development

Europe - 100%

Nicklas LindbergPresident

6

Aldesa Polska Diamente Plaza Sp. z o.o.ul. Wielopole 18B31-072, Kraków12 421-0953 / 12 [email protected]

WND17,962WNDWND

WND Developer WNDDiamante Plaza (ul. Dekerta 24, Kraków;

17,962; A)WND

22006

NoneAldesa Construcciones - 100%

Jose CordobaGeneral Director

7

S+B Plan und Bau Warschau Sp. z o.o.ul. Mokotowska 1,00-640 Warsaw609-307-099 [email protected]

WND17,800WNDWND

WND Office and retailbuildings

WNDZebra Tower (ul. Mokotowska 1, Warsaw;

17,800; A)WND

WND2007

WNDEdmund Voelker

WND

8

Allcon Investment Sp. z o.o., S.k.-a.ul. ¸u˝ycka 6,81-537 Gdynia58 660-1990 / 58 [email protected]

9,50016,80016,800

-

55,000 Commercial buildingsAllcon@park 3 (ul. S∏owackiego 173, Gdaƒsk;

12,400; A; 2011)¸u˝ycka Office Park - buildings C, D, E (ul.

¸u˝ycka 6, Gdynia; 26,300; A)

¸u˝ycka Office Park - buildings A, B (ul.¸u˝ycka 6, Gdynia; 16,800; A; 2008);

Allcon@park 1 and 2 (ul. S∏owackiego171, 173, Gdaƒsk; 10,700; B+; 1998,2005); Centrum Rodzinne WITAWA (ul.Wielkokacka 2, Gdynia; 12,058; WND;

2003); Allcon Dmowskiego Centrum (ul.Dmowskiego 12, Gdaƒsk; 4,360; B+;

1999)

71994

WND - 100%None

Sergiusz GniadeckiPresident

9

Liebrecht & wooD Polska Sp. z o.o.Al. Jerozolimskie 212A,02-486 Warsaw22 571-4444 / 22 [email protected]

-16,7956,171WND

WND Office buildings; outletcentres

Plac Unii (ul. Pu∏awska 2, Warsaw; 41,000;A+; Q2 2013); Plac Unii (ul. Pu∏awska 2,

Warsaw; 15,500; shopping mall; Q2 2013);Morski Park Handlowy (ul. Przywidzka 8,Gdaƒsk; 50,320; shopping mall; QI 2011)

Flanders Business Park A (ul. Flisa 2,Warsaw; 8,942; A); Batory Office Buildings II(Al. Jerozolimskie 212A, Warsaw; 7,808; A)

Kopernik Office Buildings (I-V) (Al.Jerozolimskie 180, Warsaw; 18,690; A;

2008); Batory Office Buildings I (Al.Jerozolimskie 212A, Warsaw; 6,394; A;2000); Flanders Business Park B (ul. Flisa

4, Warsaw; 5,515; A; 2000); FashionHouse Warsaw (ul. Pu∏awska 42E,

Piaseczno; 24,000; outlet center; 2008)

301994

NonePatrick Van Den Bossche -50%; Marc Lebbe - 50%

Marc Lebbe; PatrickVan Den Bossche

Managing Directors

10

NDI SAul. Powstaƒców Warszawy 1981-718, Sopot58 771-7700 / 58 [email protected]

WND13,10725,342

-

WNDOffice, hotel, retail,

residential andinfrastructure sector

CORT (ul. Jelitkowska 23, Gdaƒsk; 10,544;B+; 2010); Apartamenty Przy Pla˝y (ul.

Jelitkowska 23, Gdaƒsk; 5,974; suites; I stage2010); Highway A1 (Nowe Marzy - Toruƒ; 62

kilometers; 62 kilometers; WND; 2011)

Shopping mall (ul. Boh. Monte Cassino 63,Sopot; 12,273; WND); spa house (ul. Boh.Monte Cassino 6, Sopot; 26,946); officebuilding (ul. Powstaƒców Warszawy 19,

Sopot; 12,939; A)

ING Bank Âlàski (ul. Sokolska 34,Katowice; 27,900; A; 2001); Chorzowska

50 (ul. Chorzowska 50, Katowice;44,500; 19,500; B+; 2001); Ergo Hestia

(Hestia 1, Sopot; 18,770; A; 2001);Centrum Finansowe Pu∏awska (ul.

Pu∏awska 15, Warsaw; 83,135; 50,300;A; 1998)

1341991

WNDJerzy Gajewski

President

NR

Torus Sp. z o.o., Sp.k.Al. Grunwaldzka 413,80-309 Gdaƒsk58 764-6376 / 58 [email protected]

7,45011,19812,725

-

WND

Class A office buildings;multifamily residential

buildings; hotels;warehouses

WNDArkoƒska Business Park (2nd phase) (ul.

Arkoƒska 6, Gdaƒsk; 18,679; A)

Arkoƒska Business Park (1st phase) (ul.Arkoƒska 6, Gdaƒsk; 12,725; A; 2008);G413 (Al. Grunwaldzka 413, Gdaƒsk;

7,148; A; 2005); G417 (Al. Grunwaldzka417, Gdaƒsk; 1,233; ; B+; 2003)

352002

Ma∏gorzata Dobrowolska -88%; Dawid Mysior - 12%

None

S∏awomir GajewskiPresident

MARCH 7-13, 2011 TTHHEE LLIISSTT www.wbj.pl 27

Notes: NNR = Not Ranked, WND = Would Not Disclose. Research for The List was done inSeptember 2010. Number of employees and ownership structure are as of August 2010. Allinformation pertains to the companies’ activities in Poland. Companies not responding to our sur-vey 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 reprintedor reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher. Reprints are available.

Rank

ed

Company nameAddressTel./FaxEmailwww

Officeinvestments

completed: Totalarea sqm:

1st half of 2010 /2009 / 2008 /

2007

Officeinvestments

completed overall(sqm)

SpecializationKey current investments


Largest investments completed in 2009-2010


Major investments completedbefore 2009

(location; size; class;completion year)

Totalemployees /Year founded

Ownership: Polish / Foreign

Top localexecutive /

Title

NR

AIG/Lincoln Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Grzybowska 5A,00-132 Warsaw22 564-5000 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWND11,571

-

65,071Office buildings;

warehouses; shoppingmalls

WND WND WNDWND1997

WND

Brian Patterson;Miros∏aw Szydelski

Managing Director; Investment Director

NR

Avestus Real Estate Sp. z o.o.ul. Nowogrodzka 47A,00-695 Warsaw22 520-6000 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

35,500

149,109 Office, retail andresidential buildings

Enterprise Park (ul. Kie∏kowskiego, Kraków;29,239; A; 2012)

WND

Warsaw Corporate Center (ul. EmiliiPlater, Warsaw; 9,290; A; 1993);

Warsaw Financial Center (ul. Emilii Plater,Warsaw; 69,677; A; 1998); InternationalBusiness Center (Al. Armii Ludowej/ul.

Polna, Warsaw; 53,977; A; 2003/2007);WiÊniowy Business Park - building F

(ul. I∏˝ecka, Warsaw; 16,165; A; 2007)

401990

WNDAvestus Real Estate - WND%

Bartosz PuzdrowskiManaging Director

NR

ECC Real Estate Sp. z o.o.ul. Ostrobramska 75C,04-175 Warsaw22 611-3700 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

22,500 Office, residential, retailbuildings

Milano office building (ul. 17 Stycznia,Warsaw; 2,100; B; 2012); “Podkowa”

presidential area (Poznaƒ; 33,000; 2012);apartment building (ul. Pu∏awska III, Warsaw;

19,700; 2011)

WND

CBH Promenada (ul. Ostrobramska,Warsaw; 120,000; WND; B; 1996);

Green House (ul. Hankiewicza, Warsaw;4,000; WND; WND; 1994); office

building (ul. Bitwy Warszawskiej 1920 r.,Warsaw; 4,000; 1994)

WND1989

ECC Holdings Poland - WND%WND

Adrian HeymansPresident

NR

Europolis Real Estate Asset Management Sp. z o.o. ul. Sienna 39, 00-121 Warsaw22 850-3320 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWND

122,054WND

147,542 Office buildings;warehouses

WND WNDLipowy Office Park (ul. ˚wirki i Wigury,

Warsaw; 64,000; 2008)21

2002WND

Bart∏omiej HofmanManaging Director

NR

Hines Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Bonifraterska 1700-203, Warsaw22 351-2400 / 22 [email protected]; www.hines.com

WNDWNDWNDWND

38,040 Developer; investor

Sterlinga Business Center (ul. Sterlinga 8A,¸ódê; 13,400; A; 2010); Quattro Towers (ul.Partyzantów 6/12, Gdaƒsk; WND; 24,900;

residential buildings; Q3 2011); Arboretum (ul.¸ukasiƒskiego 4, ¸ódê; 22,000; residential

building; Q2 2012)

WND

Apartamenty Impresja (ul. Sarmacka 10,Warsaw; 27,200; residential buildings;

2008); Metropolitan (Pl. Pi∏sudskiego 1-2-3, Warsaw; 38,040;

A; 2003)

301997

NoneHines International Real Estate

Holding - WND%

Mieczys∏aw GodziszPresident

NR

Mayfield Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. S∏omiƒskiego 19/508,00-195 Warsaw22 637-5508 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WND WND WND WND WND3

2006None

Mayfield East Estate B - 100%Jerzy Haƒczewski

President

NR

Polnord Warsaw-Wilanów III Sp. z o.o.Al. Rzeczypospolitej 3,02-972 Warsaw22 403-9084 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WND Office buildingsAl. Rzeczypospolitej/ul. Branickiego; Warsaw;

300,000; A/B+; Q4 2010 WND WND

72007

Polnord - 100%None

Jerzy LangnerPresident

NR

Real Management SAul. Marynarska 11,02-674 Warsaw22 444-0044 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDOffice, residential and

retail buildings;warehouses

¸opuszaƒska Office Park (ul. Równoleg∏a 4;Warsaw; 51,022; 29,331; B+; 2013);

Pu∏awska Office (ul. Pu∏awska 111; Warsaw;WND; 3850; A; 2012

WND WND23

2002WND

Jerzy MotzPresident

NR

Sjaelso Poland Sp. z o.o.Al. Rzeczypospolitej 18/70, 02-972 Warsaw22 419-2000 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

WNDResidential and officebuildings; shopping

malls

Tower Terraces (ul. Domaniewska 46;Warsaw; 28,000; A; 2012); Post´pu 22 (ul.

Post´pu 22; Warsaw; 17,000; A; 2012)WND WND

142007

NoneWND - 100%

John KristensenPresident

NR

UBM Polska Sp. z o.o.Pl. Trzech Krzy˝y 18,00-499 Warsaw22 356-8000 / 22 [email protected]

Around 70,000---

WND Office buildings; hotels;shopping malls

Poleczki Business Park (ul. Poleczki, Warsaw;210,000; A; 2017)

Poleczki Business Park (1st phase, buildingsA1 and A2) (ul. Poleczki 33 and 35, Warsaw;

70,000; 45,000; A)

Griffin House (Pl. Trzech Krzy˝y 18,Warsaw; A; 2005); Parkur Tower (ul.

K∏obucka 25, Warsaw; WND; A; 2006);Warsaw Towers (ul. Sienna 39, Warsaw;

A; 1998)

WND1993

NoneUBM Realitatenentwicklung -

100%

Peter Obernhuber;Sebastian Vetter

Board Members

NR

Von der Heyden Groupul. Mysia 5,00-496 Warsaw22 596-5000 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWND

44,668

104,268

High class customizedoffice buildings; hotels;

historical buildingrenovation

Andersia Business Centre (ul. KrólowejJadwigi, Poznaƒ; 23,000; A+; 2012); NowyÂwiat Atrium (ul. Nowy Âwiat 5, Warsaw;

6,500; A+; 2012)

WND

Andersia Tower (Pl. Andersa 3, Poznaƒ;44,668; A+; 2007); Liberty Corner (ul.Mysia 5, Warsaw; 12,400; 8,575; A+;2003); Poznaƒskie Centrum Finansowe

(Pl. Andersa 5, Poznaƒ; 32,500; A; 2001);Skorupki 4 (ul. Ks. Skorupki 4, Warsaw;

7,200; A; 2000)

1401991

WND%Von der Heyden Group -

WND%

Javier Errejón Sainzde la Maza

Managing Director

NR

Yareal Polska Sp. z o.o.ul. Krucza 16/2200-526, Warsaw22 331-3000 / 22 [email protected]

WNDWNDWNDWND

15,497 High class officesMokotowska Square (ul. Mokotowska 49,

Warsaw; 9,600; A; 2011)

Cristal Park (Al. Jerozolimskie/ul.Mszczonowska 4, Warsaw; WND;

10,300; A)

Renaissance (ul. Mokotowska 19,Warsaw; 5,197; A; 2005)

212005

NoneWND - 100%

Eric DapoignyPresident;

Managing Director

MARCH 7-13, 2011LLIISSTTEEDD FFIIRRMMSS28 www.wbj.pl

New WSE

index

The Warsaw Stock

Exchange has unveiled a

new index called the

WIG-surowce, which

groups together

companies extracting and

working with raw

materials. The new sub-

index is composed of five

companies: metals miner

KGHM and coal producers

Bogdanka, New World

Resources, Ukrainian

Sadovaya and

DolnoÊlàskie Surowce

Skalne.

Lotos buyers

line up

Many of Russia’s larger

oil firms, including

Rosneft, TNK BP and

Gazprom Neft have

expressed interest in

buying a stake in Poland’s

second-largest refiner,

Lotos, reports Parkiet.

One unnamed Chinese

firm is also interested.

The Treasury owns 53

percent of the company,

which is worth around

z∏.2.8 billion based on

Lotos’ stock price.

However, analysts expect

the Treasury to demand a

control premium for its

stake, which could value

it at up to z∏.3.5 billion. ●

Chemicals

Turkish investor eyeing Police

Nurol “not the first,nor the last” toexpress interest

Turkey’s Nurol Holding hasofficially informed the TreasuryMinistry of its interest in pur-chasing the state’s majoritystake in fertilizer maker Za-k∏ady Chemiczne Police.

According to reports in themedia, a number of otherpotential buyers, based inEurope and elsewhere, havealso expressed interest.

Nurol Holding sent a delega-tion to assess Police’s chemicalplant in February during a visitorganized by the Polish-TurkishChamber of Commerce.

They were accompanied bya senior manager from Azo-mures, which is one of thelargest chemical producers inRomania and a unit of Turkishfirm Transworld FertilizersHolding. Daily Parkiet has spec-ulated that Azomures is actingas an advisor for Nurol Hold-ing.

“The guests were very inter-ested in our firm and asked verydetailed questions as to how it isset up and how it functions,” anunnamed employee at Policetold Parkiet. “However, theyweren’t allowed into the plant.They are, after all, our competi-tors.”

Treasury spokesperson

Maciej Wewiór told WBJ thatthe potential Turkish investors“were not the first ones andthey will not be the last ones” toexpress interest in Police.

He said that the Treasuryhad not yet decided what itwould do with the chemicalfirm, but that “more details willbe clear after the publication ofour strategy.” This, he said, willhappen some time around theend of March and the begin-ning of April.

The government canceledthe sales of Police and largersector rival Zak∏ady AzotowePu∏awy in January due to a lackof satisfactory offers.

AAlleexxaannddeerr HHaayyeess

CO

UR

TE

SY O

F Z

C P

OL

ICE

The Treasury has not made a decision on fertilizer maker ZC Police’s future

Banking

Open Finance readying IPO

Getin’s financialadvisory could beworth up to z∏.1.5billion

Financial advisory OpenFinance, a wholly owned unit ofPolish banking group GetinHolding, is expected to debuton the WSE in Q2.

Artur Wiza, a member ofGetin Holding’s managementboard, declined to comment onany specifics. “The prospectusis now being revised by the Pol-ish Financial Authority and weare waiting for its approval,” hesaid.

Citing unnamed sources,Dow Jones Newswires reportedlast week that Getin Holdingcould float a 50 percent stake inOpen Finance, which could beworth up to €200 million andwould value Open Finance atabout z∏.1.5 billion.

This suggests a price/earn-ings ratio of around 21, basedon the company’s historic profitof z∏.72 million for 2010, com-mented Maciej Baraƒski, ananalyst at brokerage DM BZWBK.

“On the one hand it is quitea lot, but on the other hand it islower than for Getin Holding,the parent company, whichachieved a price/earnings ratioof around 26,” he added.

Getin Holding’s 2010 netprofit reached z∏.421.1 million,which topped 2009 results byover 50 percent and was signifi-cantly higher than analysts’expectations.

According to Mr Baraƒski,Open Finance’s IPO is poisedto be yet another successful stepin Getin Holding’s strategy ofactively identifying and expand-ing specific market niches with-in the banking sector.

“Open Finance came fromnowhere when it was set up in2004, overtook all its competi-tors and now dominates thismarket niche, in which I believethere is still room for growth,”he said.

Getin Holding is one of thefew independent, Polish-ownedbanks and it has kept itself busywith M&A activity of late. It hasbeen involved in the real estateadvisory sector, with the acqui-sition of Home Broker, as wellas in the health-care fundingmarket with the acquisition ofWSE-listed MW Trade.

Getin Holding subsidiaryOOO Carcade also recentlyobtained permission from Rus-sia’s central bank to purchasebank OAO AB KubanBank,allowing it to expand its pres-ence in the Russian automotivecredit market.


MARCH 7-13, 2011 MMAARRKKEETTSS www.wbj.pl 29

SO

UR

CE

: W

SE

PLN-EUR

3.9

757

3.9

763

3.96

12

3.9

776

3.9

773

3

.998

8

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

33.8

4.1 PLN-USD

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

3

2.8

770

2.8

765

2.8

643

2.8

843

2.8

704

2.86

46

2.5

3.0 PLN-GBP

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

3

4.63

37

4.6

583

4.6

676

4.

6953

4.6

701

4.6

519

4

5 PLN-CHF

3.1

007

3.1

043

3.07

39

3.

1130

3.0

993

3.07

94

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

33.0

3.5 PLN-RUB

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

3

0.09

95

0.09

95

0.09

97

0.1

010

0.1

015

0.1

016

0.08

0.10

0.12 PLN-100JPY

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

3

04.0

3

3.5

088

3.5

178

3.4

880

3.5

198

3.5

067

3.47

10

3.0

3.5

4.0

currency rates

Hitting a

high note

Stocks report

Polish stocks rose significant-ly last week, with the blue-chip WIG20 index soaring by4.1 percent and the mainWIG gaining three percent.The overall WIG, meanwhile,set a new multi-year high.

The beginning of theweek was quite volatile, butthen better-than-expectedearnings from KHGM andsharp advances on commodi-ties markets pushed investorsto buy stock. Additionally,the rate-setting MonetaryPolicy Council left interestrates unchanged, whichhelped to lift financials.

The best performing sec-tors were chemicals and oil.Police and Synthos were thetop picks among chemicalstocks, and they rose by 13and 11 percent, respectively.Orlen was the best perform-ing stock from both the oilsector and among WIG20

shares. Its stock jumped 11percent after being upgradedby a respected analyst. Therefiner set a multi-monthhigh on Friday, reachingz∏.49.63, while its 12-monthprice target was calculated atz∏.65. Strong gains in crude oilfutures also helped the firm.

KGHM delivered solidfinancial results, and itannounced that a dividendpayout of 30-50 percent of its2010 profit.

CEDC was the biggestdisappointment last week,losing more than 43 percentas it surprised on the down-side with its financial results.Additionally, ratings agencyMoody’s placed the compa-ny on its observation list witha possible downgrade in thefuture.

It was very good week forinvestors, and I hope to seemore coming. ●

Interest rates

dominate

Currency report

After a week rich in macropublications, the situation oncurrency markets is far fromclear. The European CentralBank kept interest ratesunchanged, but Jean-ClaudeTrichet, the ECB’s president,said that the bank might con-sider an interest rate hike inApril due to increasing infla-tionary pressures. This hawk-ish statement caused theeuro to gain in value and theEUR/USD broke the $1.39level, from $1.38 at the begin-ning of the week.

After Friday’s publicationof the US labor marketreport (the unemploymentrate dropped to 8.9 percent,while nonfarm payrollemployment increased by190,000) the main currencypair reached $1.40, its highestlevel since November of2010, but was unable to breakthat level.

Local news guided thez∏oty. The Polish rate-set-ting body (RPP) kept theheadline interest rate un-changed at 3.75 percent andmade relatively dovish state-ments concerning its futurepolicy. Inflation seems to beunder control, with the RPPstating that January’s inter-est rate hike had solved theproblem. Of course, theRPP is closely observingglobal events and will act ifnecessary.

The z∏oty depreciatedagainst the euro after theannouncement, but theEUR/PLN was unable tobreak the z∏.4.00 resistancelevel. Instead, it finished theweek at z∏.3.98. On the otherhand, the z∏oty gainedagainst the depreciating dol-lar. The USD/PLN declinedfrom z∏.2.89 all the way toz∏.2.85. ●

Tomasz Jerzyk, technical analyst DM BZ WBK SA

Adam Narczewski, X-TradeBrokers Dom Maklerski SA

SO

UR

CE

: N

BP

Major indices

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowIRENA 1.40 37.25 5.00 0.65BMPAG 4.30 30.30 4.30 2.98COGNOR 4.16 28.00 4.32 2.40SKOTAN 2.54 13.90 3.21 1.69MWTRADE 18.98 13.65 19.90 4.40

WIG 48,036.91 (March 4 closure)

Change for the week: 3.20% 52-week high: 48,371.02

Change year to March 4: 0.81% 52-week low: 39,109.37

Top 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowKGHM 183.90 12.48 188.90 88.20POLIMEXMS 3.75 9.33 5.29 3.33CYFRPOLSAT 15.80 6.25 17.30 13.36PKOBP 43.35 5.96 46.81 36.15PKNORLEN 47.70 5.76 49.00 35.41

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowCEDC 39.80 -38.53 112.80 39.80TECHMEX 0.09 -25.00 2.30 0.08WASKO 3.36 -14.94 4.40 1.37FASING 16.81 -14.89 30.85 15.00HELIO 16.68 -13.98 26.60 14.70

Bottom 5 Closing % change (week) 52-week high 52-week lowTPSA 16.35 -1.68 18.65 14.10GTC 21.04 -0.52 25.00 20.63PZU 347.80 -0.34 417.50 326.00CEZ 134.50 0.00 148.80 118.70BZWBK 225.50 0.18 225.50 179.00

WIG20 2,762.89 (March 4 closure)



mWIG40 2,885.02 (March 4 closure)



sWIG80 12,755.68 (March 4 closure)



NewConnect 58.58 (March 4 closure)

Change for the week: 1.67% 52-week high: 64.39

Change year to March 4: -7.62% 52-week low: 54.52

WIG-Banki 6,916.28 (March 4 closure)


Change year to March 4: -0.66% 52-week low: 5,751.39

DJIA12,266.21 (March 04 close)

1.67% (for the week)

CHANGE: 5.95%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 12,418.00

52-week low: 9,596.04

NASDAQ2,797.37 (March 4 close)


CHANGE: 4.51%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 2,840.51

52-week low: 2,061.51

S&P5001,330.97 (March 4 close)


CHANGE: 5.83%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 1,344.07

52-week low: 1,010.91

FTSE1006,005.09 (March 4 close)


CHANGE: 1.78%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 6,105.77

52-week low: 4,790.04

DAX7,219.98 (March 4 close)


CHANGE: 3.54%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 7,441.82

52-week low: 5,607.68

NIKKEI22510,584.71 (March 4 close)


CHANGE: 2.25%

(year to March 4)

52-week high: 11,408.17

52-week low: 8,796.45

world stock indices

04.0

2

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

346,000

46,600

47,200

47,800

48,400

49,00004

.02

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

32,600

2,640

2,680

2,720

2,760

2,800

04.0

2

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

32,800

2,840

2,880

2,920

2,960

3,000

0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0

04.0

2

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

312,500

12,580

12,660

12,740

12,820

12,900

04.0

2

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

357.0

57.8

58.6

59.4

60.2

61.0

04.0

2

07.0

2

08.0

2

09.0

2

10.0

2

11.0

2

14.0

2

15.0

2

16.0

2

17.0

2

18.0

2

21.0

2

22.0

2

23.0

2

24.0

2

25.0

2

28.0

2

01.0

3

02.0

3

03.0

36,600

6,680

6,760

6,840

6,920

7,000

Other indices

MARCH 7-13, 2011AARRTTSS && CCUULLTTUURREE30 www.wbj.pl

Antique showMarch 7, 10 am to 6 pmCriterion Retail Salon & Auc-tion Houseul. Bokserska 64

Criterion, a UK-based an-tiques and fine-art auctionhouse, is holding its first sale inWarsaw. The auction compris-es 250 lots from England, withprices starting from z∏.100 andreaching up to aroundz∏.10,000. Criterion will donatefive percent of the sales pro-ceeds to charity. ●

“Visualise – The Beauty of Science” Science Made SimpleKamienica TheaterMarch 7, 6 pmMarch 8, 11 & 1:30 pm

This Cardiff-based physical the-ater group, which brings togeth-er projections and inventionswith science demonstrations,offers entertainment for thewhole family. The productioncreates a language all its own,one comprising sound, imagesand music rather than words,and it encourages audience

members to make their owndiscoveries through a “hands-on” conceptual approach.

Science Made Simple haswon recognition at the Edin-burgh Fringe Festival and hasbeen lauded from other quar-ters as well. Inspiring the nextgeneration of science prodigies– as well as those who want to

have a little fun and learnsomething in the process – thegroup promises to take you ona journey of discovery thatincludes the inner-workings oftornadoes, rainbows andsmoke rings. A perfect oppor-tunity to ponder “how, whyand what does it mean?” Host-ed by the British Council. ●

Antiques on offer

Mysterious science theater

Ania DàbrowskaKlub Stodo∏aMarch 8, 7 pm

Vocalist, composer and pro-ducer Ania Dàbrowska isone of Poland’s mostaccomplished young artists,with four hit albums to hername. Her latest, “AniaMovie,” is a compilation ofmovie soundtrack coversauthored by the likes ofSimon & Garfunkel, theBeatles and Cher. ●

Dàbrowskain concert“Carmen”

The Polish National Balletand Opera at Teatr WielkiMarch 10, 7 pm

Andalusia is the setting for anexotic love story imbued withgypsy passion. At the heart ofthis opéra comique are femmefatale Carmen and Don José,the soldier who falls in lovewith her. ●

Tragic love

A chanting eveningGregorianMarch 16, 8 pmPalace of Culture, Congress Hall

Headed by Frank Peterson, themulti-national “pop-meets-monk” group Gregorian hasenjoyed international success.They’re best-known for theirseven “Masters of Chant”albums, which marry the aes-thetics of Gregorian chant withcontemporary songs such asMetallica’s “Nothing ElseMatters” or Pink Floyd’s

“Comfortably Numb.”This time Gregorian is

bringing its modern-gothic

sensibilities to Warsaw for anevening of somber yet joyfulmusic. ●

“Bach Dances”The Polish National Balletand Opera at Teatr WielkiMarch 9, 7 pm

Comprising four differentmovements (“The Kisses,”“Concerto Barocco,” “TheGreen” and “In the Light and

Shadow”) these balletic per-formances take their cuefrom the music of Bach. ●

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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

Some content providedby the Warsaw Insider.For more information onculture and enter-tainment in Warsaw this month, pick up the March issue.

Bach to basics

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MARCH 7-13, 2011 LLAASSTT WWOORRDD www.wbj.pl 31

Condiments, iPads and the apocalypse

Tech Eye

In Techeye’s opinion, it’s important to beprepared for anything.

Mutant chipmunk zombie apoca-lypse? Sushi chefextinction?Dogs andcamels liv-ing togetherin civilunions? MassMormon-to-Rastafarian con-versions? Elvis-Margaret Thatcherlove child revelation?We’re prepared for any ofthat.

Finding a genie in a bottle? Highlyunlikely, we know, but it wouldn’t takeus by surprise. We’ve had our three wish-es at the ready for years: the ability toexude cupcake-scented pheromones, amobile phone/boomerang and mind-boggling new condiment technologies.

You name it, and we’ve probablythought up a plan of action. Even thefar-fetched scenario of some idiot toss-ing a ham sandwich off a skyscraper, andthe sandwich then striking a cop on thehead, and the cop’s gun falling to theground and accidentally discharging, andthe bullet ricocheting off a dog collar –yep, Techeye is ready for that too. We’reprepared at all times to use the mostannoying person within reach as a shield.

The iPad we expectedIn comparison, Apple’s iPad 2 confer-ence last week required no plan of actionwhatsoever. No research, no fore-thought. Noth-ing. In fact, webarely evenpaid attentionto it, sincemost of theinformationwas expected.

It was agiven thatApple, famedfor competi-tiveness andr e l e n t l e s srefinement ofits products,would squidgeout a new iPadwithin 14 months of debuting the origi-nal. The tablet market has exploded overthe last year and the firm can’t afford towaste time.

Many of its competitors already boastfront-and-back cameras, something

which the original iPad conspicuouslylacks, and Apple is making up for thatwith its second-gen device. Otherimprovements include a respectablereduction of weight and thickness, the

addition of a gyroscope and a faster,dual-core CPU.

Apple’s not muckingabout with this either.

The iPad 2 hits theUS market thisFriday at a $499price point (the

original iPad drops to$399); international sales

start March 25.

A toy for the apocalypseThe iPad 2 might have been thebiggest news of last week, but itwas far from the most interestingin Techeye’s view. Far cooler –particularly given our semperparatus attitude – was infoabout the Mega Hurtz.

What is this dangerouslooking contraption? It’s aremote-controlled, “veryrugged, tactical robotic plat-form” which is designed toclimb stairs. It comesequipped with a modified,100-round paintball gun anda camera. A night-visioncamera.

This is where female read-ers will ask themselves “what’sthe point?” and male readers will weepwith joy. (If you’re a man and you’re notweeping at this very second, there’s

s o m e t h i n gwrong withyou. Seekhelp.)

Now, ifthe MegaHurtz seemstoo good tobe true, that’sbecause it is.The problemis that itdoesn’t existyet. Its de-signer, oneChris Roger,has regis-tered his

project on crowdfunding site Kick-starter and is seeking $15,000 to build aprototype. As of last Thursday, he had$1,212 in pledges, but hopefully somewealthy man-child out there will dry hiseyes long enough to commit to funding

the bulk of the project. After all, it’s a paintball tank

designed to climb stairs. It would comein very handy in the event of a mutantchipmunk zombie apocalypse.

Time to playTwo other bits of tech caught our eyelast week. The first of these, the ObakuV140, is being touted as the world’sthinnest sports watch.

We like it for a couple of reasons.It’s practical, for one, and the darkausterity of the design is a nice changefrom certain flashy, overpriced watchmakers who shall remain unnamed.

Also, we kind of enjoy the word“Obaku.” It makes us want

to invent an arenasport in which com-

petitors launchwine-filled bal-

loons at rodeoclowns and

g a z e l l e s .Hitting aclown would

constitute asingle Obaku;

pasting a gazellewould be a dou-

ble.But we digress.

Pricing and avail-ability of the V140

aren’t known yet –expect to hear more from

the BaselWorld 2011 watch show laterthis month.

Ketching up to modernityAnd finally, something so momentousthat it has literally altered Techeye’slifestyle: new condiment technologyfrom Heinz. That’s right, one of ourwishes actually came true, and we didn’teven find a genie.

We’ll admit, Heinz’s “Dip &Squeeze” ketchup is technically apackaging innovation rather than astep forward for condiments them-selves, but it’s epic.

How does it work? Well, the “Dip &Squeeze” container boldly challengesthe would-be ketchup eater. “Dip? Orsqueeze?”, it demands roguishly. Andthere’s no acceptable middle ground –you must dip or squeeze.

The “Dip & Squeeze” has foreverchanged the way we look at frenchfries. And that, despite our best effortsto be ready for anything, caught Tech-eye off guard.Go figure. ●

Ever witnessed a Mormon-to-Rastafarian conversion? Let us know: [email protected]

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

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

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WBJ #9 2011

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