Why invest in Poland?
Poland is developing dynamically; it is a stable economy, a member of the EU, which – for Polish companies – means the access to the world’s biggest free market area. At the same time, Poland is a country of much cheaper, but skilled and educated workforce. Finally, Poland is the biggest of the new EU member states, with the biggest workforce resources, the most considerable scientific and legal potential, and 38-million consumer market.
All these advantages make Poland the most attractive location for investment in Europe, both in the area of production and the services.
According to the report Boston Consulting Group, in the next several years Poland stands a chance to become the manufacturing hub of Europe. The argument for this are the following:
- Manufacturing in Poland is cheaper by about 30%
- The cost of labour is in itself 4 to 10 times cheaper, depending on the sector. Moreover, equally important is the fact that this difference will not disappear in the nearest future.
- In many sectors, Polish manufacturing is much more competitive than e.g.Chinese. This applies mainly to such sectors as: electric house appliances, metal products, automotive, furniture. The reason for competitive advantage lies i.a. in the proximity of Poland to one of the most important consumer markets – the EU, which also influences the costs of transportation.
Apart from production, another area in which Poland, as the biggest Central European country, has a great potential, is service outsourcing. The research conducted by the Ernst&Young in 2005 point to the Central and Eastern Europe as a very good alternative to China or India, especially from the point of view of Western companies. In Economist Intelligence Unit survey among 500 company managers, 1/3 of the surveyed identified this part of Europe as a region with the biggest opportunities in the next 3 years , and Poland was named the 5th most attractive location.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is part of Polish territory which is administered separately, allocated for the running of businesses on preferential terms. The SEZ is a place which is subject to special treatment and tax exemptions where an entrepreneur can establish a business on a specially prepared site and run it without paying income tax.
There are 14 Special Economic Zones in Poland:
* Kamiennogórska SSE
* Katowice Special Economic Zone
* Kostrzyńsko-Słubicka SSE
* Krakowski Park Technologiczny
* Legnicka SSE
* Łódzka SSE
* SSE EURO-PARK MIELEC
* Słupska SSE
* SSE Starachowice
* Suwalska SSE
* Pomorska SSE (Pomeranian Special Economic Zone)
* Tarnobrzeska SSE
* Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone "INVEST-PARK"
* Warmińsko-Mazurska SSE