1. Business opportunities in Poland Dawid Tomaszewski Political-Economic Section Embassy of the Republic of Poland Jelgava, December 01, 2010

3. Poland - Key Facts Area:322 575 sq km – 6th in European Union Population:38,12 million – 6th in European Union Currency:Polish Zloty (1 EUR ~ 4.00 PLN) 1 LVL ~ 5.55 PLN) GDP growth:6.7% (2007), 4.8% (2008), 1.7% (2009) Membership:EU, NATO, OECD, WTO, Schengen Zone

4. Stable and fast economic growth (GDP in bn USD) Beginning of transformation Entry into the NATO OECD WTO Schengen Poland joins the EU Source: International Monetary Found, World Economic Outlook Database, Oct 2007

5. Competitive Advantages Location & economic fundamentals  strategic location in continental Europe  part of trans-european transportation corridor  the only country with the positive GDP growth in 2009 in EU (1.7%)  38 million of consumers Investment incentives  14 Special Economic Zones  over 110 bn USD from EU Labor force  young, well-educated work force  ca 11% of university students in the EU  456 universities & high education schools 1000 km radius 250 mn people 2000 km radius 550 mn people

6. GDP growth 4.8% in 2008 vs 0.8% in the EU 1.7% in 2009 vs -4.2% in the EU 2.2% forecasted in Poland vs 0.7% in the EU for 2010 (IMF) domestic demand - the main factor behind the growth Inflation (CPI) and interest rates Source: Ministry of Finance, NBP, Eurostat 2010 Poland: Encouraging Macro-economic Picture GDP growth rate Inflation 4.0% in 2009 vs 1.0% in EU direct inflation targeting since 1999 - target of 2.5% +/-1%

7. „Velvet crisis” in Poland Reasons according to Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz: 1.Stricter banks’ credit policies before crisis compared to other countries 2.No dynamic growth of foreign debt as in other countries 3.Financial instruments far less sophisticated as in the USA 4.Smaller influence of stock market on the economy than in the USA 5.Falling natural resources prices Poland is much less affected by the crisis than neighbouring countries

8. Source: GUS 2010 Over 20% 10/2010 11.5% Poland: Falling Unemployment

9. Study in Poland POZNAN WROCLAW WARSAW KRAKOW LODŹ SZCZECIN TRICITY KATOWICE BYDGOSZCZ-TORUN BIALYSTOK LUBLIN RZESZOW Main academic centers Source: Polish Statistical Office 2009

10. Knowledge of Foreign Languages 57% Poles is able to speak at least one foreign language, 32% of Poles speak two, 4% - three languages. Similar situation in EU: 56% of EU citizens speak one foreign language, 28% - two languages. Percentage of young Poles speaking foreign languages Learning of foreign languages is obligatory in the Polish education system Source: Eurostat 2006, TNS Opinion & Social (UK) December 2006, Ranstadt 2008

11. Special Economic Zones  A special economic zone (SEZ) is a designated area in which manufacturing or distribution activities can be conducted on preferential terms  The purpose of SEZs is to support regional development  Currently, there are 14 SEZs in Poland, each consisting of several subzones  Total area of all SEZ – 20 000 hectares  SEZ will operate until 2015-2017 and more  Permits to conduct activities in SEZ are issued by the authorities of each SEZ  Possibility of including the land selected by an investor into SEZ Benefits from obtaining a permit to conduct activities in SEZ : eligibility for income tax exemption – a form of regional aid plot of land prepared for an investment project, available at a competitive price free assistance in dealing with formalities relating to the investment project

12. Road network in Poland, 2006 Under construction ready

13. Gdansk Warszawa Poznan Wroclaw EURO 2012 in Poland

14. Road network, 2012. Under construction ready

15. Cooperation Polish export to Latvia in 2009 was 551,81 ml EUR Polish import from Latvia in 2009 was 125,10 ml EUR (balance 426,71 ml EUR – 4,4x) Export to Latvia in January-June 2010 was 304,26 ml EUR Import from Latvia January-June 2010 was 79,12 ml EUR ( balance 225,14 ml EUR – 3,8x ) Dynamics in January-June 2010 was 114% (import and export)

16. Polish export to Latvia (January-August 2010) Poland – 4 on the list of Latvian import partners

17. Polish import from Latvia (January-August 2010) Poland – 6 on the list of Latvian export partners

18. Investment Polish FDI stock to Latvia in the end of IIQ of 2010 was 5,83 ml EUR (3,41 ml EUR in wholesale and retail trade, 1,99 ml EUR in manufacturing and 0,43 ml EUR in real estate) Latvian FDI stock to Poland in the end of IIQ 2010 was 32,73 ml EUR (all in wholesale and retail trade) Source: Bank of Latvia

19. Who we are? How to get information?

20. Thank you for your attention Embassy of the Republic of Poland Political-Economic Section Riga, Mednieku iela 6b, 1010 LV tel. (371) 6703 15 24, fax (371) 6703 15 49 e-mail: weh@poltrade.lv www.poltrade.lv