This is one of the most important European investment rankings indicating cities and regions enjoying the highest levels of investor interest as well as offering the best conditions for undertaking new economic projects. Among the many categories there is also an assessment of regional strategies for attracting Foreign Direct Investment.

In the newest report Małopolska took 1st place among the regions of Eastern Europe for the strategy it has carried out. This put Małopolska for the first time in the exclusive group of 25 European regions with the best FDI strategy (17th place). Małopolska placed 10th in the TOP 10 of large European regions, and was the sole Polish region in that category. The top included the traditional English, German and Scandanavian regions. In the category of best Central European region (accounting for all assessed elements) Małopolska came in at 7th place, just ahead of Mazovia and Upper Silesia. Małopolska’s placement should be regarded as exceptional, especially when taking into account that the very top of the ranking included capital cities – Prague, Bratislava, central Russia (Moscow) and Bucharest

“The excellent position of Małopolska in the fDi Intelligence ranking "European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/13" is all the more valuable as the previous edition (for 2010/2011) made only two mentions of undertakings in Małopolska – as the no. 7 region among Eastern European regions (held its position) and as the no. 2 region from those in Eastern Europe with an FDI strategy. Joining the 25 top regions and the TOP 10 means a significant increase in appreciation for Małopolska’s economic potential, and most of all for the strategy developed and implemented for attracting new investment,” underlines Wiesław Bury, President of the Małopolska Regional Development Agency, leader of the Business in Małopolska Center – the institution responsible bringing foreign investors to the region.

The report "European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/13" compares 110 European regions and 253 cities. It is based on an analysis of several categories that characterise a given area: economic potential, human capital, cost efficiencies, quality of life, infrastructure and business-friendly orientation. In the newest report, pride of place goes to such regions as Greater Stockholm, south-west England, Copenhagen, Ile-de-France (Paris) and Scotland. The best FDI strategies belong to the Northern Rhineland - Westphalia, Catalonia, Copenhagen, Madrid and Scotland.
A presentation of the ranking results and awards ceremonies for the best European cities and regions will be held in Cannes during the largest international investment fair MIPIM 2012.

The Business in Małopolska Center, Małopolska Regional Development Agency (the project leader), the Małopolska Province, and the Kraków Technological Park will kick off the new Business in Małopolska project in the second half of 2012. Grow with us. Co-financing for the project will encompass the period from 1 June 2012 to 31 May 2014.

This is the 5th international project being realized in partnership with the Małopolska Regional Development Agency. It is worth noting that past initiatives such as the Promotion of the Małopolska Export Offer, Invest in Małopolska, Business in Małopolska and Business in Małopolska – an Investment in the Future amount to over 6.3 mln zł in investment, of which over 4 mln zł came from EU funds (Małopolski Regional Operational Programs for 2007 – 2013)

This time, Business in Małopolska Grow with us is focused on promoting particular branches of the economy. We want to show the world that Małopolska is the place where biotechnology, joint services and new technologies can grow rapidly and efficiently. World opinion makers place us 1st in the FT ranking for best strategy in the foreign direct investment sector for Central and Eastern Europe, and the capital of Małopolska, Kraków, is at the top of the list of emerging outsourcing locations in the Global Services and Tholons 2010 ranking as well as in the Top 10 Emerging Cities 2011 (UNCTAD) ranking for BPO investment.
 

The website contains the most up-to-date information concerning rankings, the economic situation in the country and Małopolska region, new investments, and much more. We have the region’s largest database of real estate and investment properties, and also a constantly updated and expanded listing of exporters. We publish original reports on real estate in Małopolska, human resources, and the BPO sector, and also on how to do business in our region. The reports, updated annually and prepared by outstanding specialists, are presented in Polish and English; recently we have also released a Chinese version of ”How to do business in Małopolska”.
 

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The commune of Zator is the beneficiary of especially good news. This area is one of the newest sub-zones in the Kraków SEZ, primarily designed for small and medium-sized enterprises. It was established in April 2009, and initially encompassed an area of 4.9 ha. A boundary change in September 2011 increased the sub-zone’s area to 28.5 ha. The land is excellently prepared for the needs of investors and also readily accessible to transport. Cooperation with local authorities is bringing further investment to this business-friendly environment.

The management of the Kraków Technological Park has just issued two more permits for commercial activity in the Zator sub-zone. They were received by Argo-Hytos Polska sp. z o.o. and Ekowafel sp.j. These are the 96th and 97th permits issued by the KTP, and the fourth and fifth for the sub-zone. Investment was previously undertaken there by ZPHiU Witold Płoszczyca, Cordia Plus A.D. Sp.j. and Lukas s.c.

Argo-Hytos combined modern filtration solutions with hydraulic and lubrication systems. The company has agreed to increase investment outlays to over PLN 4.6 mln, and also increase employment by at least 5 new workers.
Ekowafel is a producer of confectionary goods. The new investment will result in outlays of over PLN 2 mln, and increase employment by at least 5 new workers.

Source: Promotions and Marketing Department
Krakowski Park Technologiczny Sp. z o.o. ,

 

Oct 20, 2011, Illochroma Haoneng Poland, a legal entity of Illochroma Haoneng Group in Poland, signed agreement with MARR and will move into the new production house by the end of November, 2011. Except exiting production lines, Illochroma Haoneng Poland also invests new Heidelberg printing machines and Blumer automatic finishing lines to increase capacity and efficiency for the rapid growing market in Central and Eastern Europe.

Illochroma Haoneng Poland plans to hire 60 employees in 2012 and produce 60 million m2 per year with annual turnover of 8 million EUR.

Chart 1: Quality of FDI projects in the production sector - countries’ attractiveness

Chart 2: Quality and costs of FDI projects in the production sector - countries’ attractiveness

Source: Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency
 

See the report

Against this background, according to an IbnGR report published at the beginning of 2011 Małopolska province holds fourth place in the country as regards attractiveness for investment. The region is maintaining its position, making the biggest progress in the very category concerning activities aimed directly at investors: development and promotion of a regional investment offer, direct contact with the business environment, international cooperation and a regional investor service system. Such a significant change in the province’s position in this category is all the more pleasing as it comes during the operation of the Małopolska Business Centre (Małopolska Regional Development Agency SA, Małopolska Province, Kraków Technological Park) and the commencement of a range of initiatives directed at investors.

CeBiM is presently undertaking 4 projects. To date, a sum of 6.5 mln PLN has been received for all current initiatives. The Centre has already provided service to nearly 200 international investors, and at fairs and conferences in Bombay, Chicago, New York, Florida, Shanghai, Hannover and Edinburgh close to 40,000 people have become acquainted with Małopolska’s offer; over 300 individual exporters have received assistance by direct contact in finding markets for their goods.
During the operations of CeBiM, Małopolska has achieved 2nd place in the FDI Magazine rankings (Financial Times), in the category of best promotional strategy for Direct Foreign Investment, 2nd place in the ranking of the Top 5 Eastern Regions FDI Strategy, 7th place in the ranking of the best regions in Eastern Europe, and in 2010 Małopolska was near the top of the most attractive Polish regions for investment according to IBnGR 2010. Kraków, the capital of Małopolska, took 1st place in the ranking of the Top 10 Emerging Outsourcing Cities in the category of “emerging locations”, which made the city 11th in the Top 100!!!

World Investment Report

Despite the drop in investment in Poland during 2010 (from 13.7 to 9.7 bln USD) there is currently a clearly observable growth trend in international projects – the value of BIZ inflows after the first five months of 2011 amounted to 4.2 bld EUR, which is 86% of the value of BIZ from the first five months of 2010 and 62% of the total from the same year. In the European context this trend has already been noted in the Europe Investment Attractiveness study published each year by E&Y, which showed that in 2010 Poland recorded the largest growth in the number of BIZ projects in all Europe. 40% more projects were undertaken in 2010 than in 2009.

This year’s UNCTAD World Investment Report forecasts a strengthening of the dynamics of direct foreign investment flow in 2011, estimating its growth from USD 1.4 to 1.6 trillion, which would match pre-crisis levels. In 2012 and 2013, estimated BIZ inflows should reach USD 1.7 and 1.9 trillion respectively. Among the factors responsible for creating such expectations of growth in world BIZ are: growing transnational corporate financial reserves resulting largely from slowing investment during the crisis; restructuring of many companies forced by the crisis (including the moving of operations to cheaper locations and the growing role of BPO, visibly strong as in the case of Poland); rising market valuations (investors will buy before prices increase even more); selling off of shares in companies taken over by governments as part of attempts to battle with the crisis. As regards recipients of investment, ongoing corporate and industrial restructuring, privatization resulting from fiscal balance and the expansion of public assistance programs along with growth in emerging economies should create new investment possibilities. The return of world investment flows to the level forecasted may be hampered by such risk factors as unpredictability in global economic management, the possibility of a general debt crisis and fiscal and financial imbalances of the sector in some developed countries, as well as a growth in inflation and signs of overheating in the largest of the emerging economies.

In 2010 the growth of emerging economies, which are the new driving force of BIZ, became more visible. For the first time, developing countries and economies undergoing transformation absorbed over half of the world’s BIZ flows. Furthermore, this group is investing increasing amounts in the form of BIZ – in 2010 there was a 21% growth in investment in these countries, and they currently constitute 29% of global BIZ. Six developing and transforming economies found themselves among the 20 largest investors in the world.

The outstanding position of Kraków, recognized by UNCTAD as the best place for the growth of BPO projects in the category of Locations for global services outsourcing: Top 10 emerging cities, confirms the consolidation of the trend in which Polish cities are viewed as the best locations in the world for activities related to services for business.

More at www.paiz.gov.pl
 

see the report

Germany leapfrogged the United Kingdom and France to become the number one target destination for investment opportunities in Europe in 2011, continuing a trend which began in 2010 when Germany was one of the fastest growing investment markets in Europe. This reflects the influence of the strong economic performance in Germany as the driver of real estate investment opportunities. The UK led the European market recovery in both transaction volumes and property values from the low point in 2009, but the survey revealed that investor attention is starting to turn elsewhere, possibly as a result of the degree of capital value growth that has already been realised in the UK’s prime markets. France, as the fourth most attractive market in Europe for 2011, also showed a substantial fall in its relative attractiveness compared to last year, with 10% of investors naming it as their key destination. Despite the country’s economic difficulties, Spain’s investment appeal has grown slightly in the past year, with 9% of investors favouring the market in 2011, primarily underpinned by core investors seeing an opportunity to buy into this market at historically attractive yields.
Core assets remain the main focus for investors in 2011 and there are still divergent views among investors on the right time for investing in secondary property. The survey shows that investor sentiment towards secondary property is increasingly negative, with over 70% of investors expecting the historically wide gap in yields between prime and secondary property to persist or widen further in the course of 2010, while 61% of investors do not intend to invest in secondary property until 2012 or later.

Patrick O’Gorman, CEE Capital Markets Director at CBRE, commented: “Whilst the majority of demand is focusing on core assets in 2011, we expect an increasing number of investors will start turning to more secondary assets in the second half of the year and into 2012 as a result of the intense competition for core assets. However, while some investors are starting to look for opportunities higher up the risk curve, the shortage of debt finance for investment in secondary property remains a significant constraint on activity in this part of the market.  There may need to be some further re-pricing before value-add and opportunistic investors become active in a big way.”

Looking at the most attractive real estate sectors, as expected office and retail dominated. More than a third (35%) of investors identified offices as their primary target sector for 2011, as their search for prime stock in core European countries continued. However, retail took over from offices in this year’s survey as the most attractive sector overall, with 43% of investors targeting all retail categories combined, up from 34% in 2010. Shopping centres are the most preferred retail sub-sector, attracting 23% of investors. This mirrors the shift witnessed in the European direct real estate investment market, leading to a rising trend in the retail share of activity.
John Welham, Head of European Retail Investment, CBRE, commented: “Prime retail property has recovered in value in much the same way as office property, so that the more economically stable markets have seen the greatest recovery. Prime shopping centres in Germany, for example, are now trading at yields very close to the peak of the market in 2006. In less secure economies, pricing is more finely balanced with a great deal of focus, quite rightly, on the property fundamentals. Secondary retail property continues to show a significant discount to prime, driven by concerns over occupier demand and general pressure on retail sales that is tending to favour prime locations.”

source: CB Richard Ellis

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2010 revenue). The Company has approximately 31,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting.
www.cbre.com .

 

The comparative analysis of Polish Voivodeships presented by the Institute has been long-awaited by institutions responsible for economic promotion, investor services, as well as by regional authorities and observers of the Polish investment market. In 2010 Małopolska was ranked fourth in Poland in respect of investment attractiveness – after Śląskie, Dolnośląskie and Mazowieckie Voivodeships. It was one place higher than in 2009, when Wielkopolska was ahead of us. This is Małopolska’s best position since 2005 (third place) and is undoubtedly a reason for satisfaction, showing that we are maintaining a permanent position among leading Polish Voivodeships.

If we look at the individual components of the above mentioned evaluation, we can see which features create the strengths of Małopolska. In terms of “resources and work costs” Małopolska is second (after Śląsk); when it comes to “activities aimed at investors” the region is fifth – taking into account that in this category Małopolska was seventh last year and eleventh (!) in 2008, this means significant progress in the area of gaining new investors for the region. In respect of “transport accessibility” (7th place), “market capacity” (5th place), “economic infrastructure” (5th place), and “social infrastructure” (2nd place), Małopolska is permanently among the top Polish Voivodeships.  The “common security” category constitutes the only weak point, with Małopolska in 10th position (however, ahead of Dolnośląskie, Mazowieckie or Śląskie). 
In the (report) authors’ opinion, in the majority of categories, Małopolska has maintained its position, making the most significant progress in the category comprising activities aimed directly at investors: the preparation and promotion of the regional investment offer, direct contacts with the business environment, international cooperation, and investor service system in the region.  Such a significant change regarding the Voivodeship position in this category is even more satisfying, as the poor marks obtained two years ago were one of the reasons for establishing the Business in Małopolska Centre (Małopolska Regional Development Agency joint-stock company, Małopolskie Voivodeship, and Kraków Technology Park) and for commencing initiatives aimed at investors (such as the “Invest in Małopolska” project, the media campaign in CNN, the new Internet website and economic missions to Asia, USA and Western Europe).

Kraków Subregion – Good and Still Improving

The GIME report also assesses economic and social phenomena affecting the economic attractiveness of subregional structures. From the area of Małopolska, the Oświęcimski and Krakowski subregions were included in the classification. The Krakowski subregion is ranked in the top ten in respect of “technologically advanced activity” (2nd place), “service activity” (4th place). In the category of “industrial activity” the subregion is 9th (8th place – Oświęcimski subregion). The main “weak points” of the subregions are “the low crime detection level” and “the high remuneration level”. The ambiguity of the last criterion allows for positive evaluation of investment attractiveness of the Kraków agglomeration, particularly in the context of the last enthusiastic evaluation conducted by international institutions. Additionally, the specific character of the subregion compels it to promote investments based on new technologies and knowledge, with limited possibilities of creating an investment offer for large and very large industrial and production undertakings. In this (sub)contest, the areas located in the vicinity of Katowice, Rybnik or Łódź are difficult to beat.

What are the Perspectives for Investment Attractiveness of Małopolska?

Not all factors affecting the evaluation of the Małopolska investment offer may be changed within a year or two, e.g.: the condition of transport infrastructure, resources of SSE areas, local fair and exhibition areas. Furthermore, certain factors – e.g. the proximity of the eastern border of the country, can never be changed. It will be difficult to deal with factors that have both advantages and disadvantages – thus a high remuneration level leads to a high market capacity (resulting from the affluence of the local community), but also high work costs. The citizens of Małopolska would probably not mind being ranked 16th in Poland in this respect – with the highest income level.
We will definitely focus on such elements listed in the GIME report which lie within the competencies of authorities and regional institutions – the promotion and quality of investor services, creating an attractive property offer, and indirectly – the size and quality of the labour market. These are further objectives of the economic institutions of Małopolska, the Business in Małopolska Centre and regional authorities.

Prepared by: Team of the Business in Małopolska Centre, 16th December 2010, Kraków