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Economy

Economy

Main statistics

• Area: 15 190 km2; 4.9% of the state’s territory
• Population: 3 277.7 thousand
• GDP: 7.4 % of Poland’s GDP
• Number of registered business operators: 300 000
• Average monthly salary in the sector of enterprises: Gross PLN 2 731.05
• Number of unemployed persons: 91 thousand, unemployment rate for Małopolska: 7% of the economically active population
• Average employment in the sector of enterprises: 389.2 thousand.
• International Kraków - Balice Airport: 3 million passengers annually, cargo capacity 13 thousand tonnes
• Foreign Direct Investments: in 1989-2007 their value amounted to USD 10,044 million, in 2007 to USD 1,315 million, the average share of Małopolska in nationwide FDI is approx. 7.5 %

Foreign investments in Małopolska

1. Influx of investments in 1989-2007

The cumulative value of foreign direct investments (FDI) delivered in the Małopolska Region by the end of 2007 was USD 10 billion. In per capita terms, this translates into USD 3 063. Małopolska’s share in the total foreign capital investments in Poland in the last decade has remained very stable, ranging from 7.4% to 7.7%, except for the end of 1998, when it was slightly lower (6.9%). The share corresponds to Małopolska’s contribution to the national economy as measured by the GDP.

Value of foreign investments in Małopolska by the end of 2007
Source: Report ‘Foreign investments in Małopolska 2007’

(USD million), investments annually, cumulative value of investments,

There are 3240 foreign capital companies registered in the region, with 93.1 thousand jobs.
The highest amount of capital invested in Małopolska originates from Germany and the United States. These countries jointly account for half of incoming investments. British companies ranked third in the structure of investments, representing 12% of the overall outlays. French investors ranked fourth. The other countries which invested more than USD 200 million include Israel, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Holland and Croatia. The influx of investments from Russia and other Central and East-European countries was negligible (except for the Czech Republic and Croatia). The outlays of Asian companies reached 5.7 % of the total amount of foreign investments in Małopolska.


2.  Foreign investments in 2007

In 2007 investments in Małopolska reached USD 1 315 million.
The high amount of investments in 2007 resulted both from the considerable involvement of foreign investors in acquisitions of companies located in Małopolska (41% of investments in 2007), extension and modernisation of existing plants (32%), and establishment of new companies, i.e. greenfield investments (22%). A large portion of privatisation proceeds was obtained from the sale by the State Treasury of minority shares in companies acquired by investors beforehand. In 2007 the proceeds totalled USD 75 million, i.e. 6% of the total investment outlays.
As at the end of 2007, there were 3 244 foreign capital companies registered in the Małopolska Region.
 

Main investors in Małopolska Region (1999-2007)

3. Major foreign investors in Małopolska in 2007

4. What distinguishes Małopolska among other regions
When comparing the structure of foreign investors’ activity in Małopolska to Poland as a whole, one should notice the following facts determining the region’s specificity:

• Diversification of investments in terms of type, industry and the country from which the capital originates.
• Małopolska has higher than average share of investments from Germany, USA and Great Britain, and lower share from France, the Netherlands and Italy. The region benefits from a large share of Czech and Croatian capital, which is generated, however, by the operations of a single major investor from each of the countries
• The share of investments in industrial operations is higher in Małopolska than in Poland. Moreover Małopolska has relatively more investments in real property management operations and in support services for companies as well as investments in hotels and restaurants. The same can be said of trading operations. On the other hand, in Małopolska there is less investment in financial intermediation, transport, communications and construction.
• A vast majority of investments in industrial processing (over 93%) were made outside the special economic zones (SEZs) – unlike the Upper Silesia, the Lower Silesia and Podkarpacie regions, where the importance of SEZs is much higher.
• Since 2004 Małopolska has been the leader in the annual growth dynamics of the number of foreign capital companies, which can be attributed to the good international accessibility of the region (Balice Airport, A4 motorway), high quality of the human capital and the generally attractive image of the region.
• High importance of investments in research & development and in the sector of advanced services. Like Warsaw, Kraków is a major location for foreign research and development centres and BPO centres.