Entities of the National Economy in the Wielkopolska Region
The close of 2007 saw 352, 236 economic entities were listed in the REGON register as operating in the Wielkopolska Region (excluding persons running individual farms), out of which 77, 019 were legal persons and units without legal personality, and 275, 217 were natural persons conducting business activity. 342, 074 companies were operating in the private sector and 10, 162 economic entities were active in the public sector. Within one year, the number of registered entities of the national economy in Wielkopolska had risen by 1.9%. In the case of legal persons and units without legal personality, the increment amounted to 3.5%, whereas the number of natural persons conducting business activity increased by 1.5% in one year.
Safe Investments
The Wielkopolska Region counts among the three most attractive Polish regions in terms of investment prospects. Its status is a result of such factors as transport accessibility, business support organisations, market absorptiveness, industry development level and transformation dynamics. In 2007, Fitch Ratings, an international rating agency, kept the domestic long-term rating in 2011 for Wielkopolska on the level AA+, which makes its long-haul rating outlook stable. Poland’s accession to the European Union increased the region’s financial and investment reliability and is not without significance. Wielkopolska is characterised by large shares of foreign capital in the region’s investment projects – over 80% of entities with foreign capital are located in Poznan and in the Poznan sub-region.
The potential found in Wielkopolska has already been widely appreciated by global concerns. The trust placed in the Region began to bear fruit just in the first six years of its social and economic transition, by which time foreign companies had already invested over USD 8 billion in Wielkopolska. The industry sectors most appealing to investors are food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as transportation, machines and appliances. The share of the financial sector is significant, as is the growing share of trade. Among the foreign investments, German capital dominates, but the share of British, American, Dutch, Irish and Swedish participation is also sizeable. Among the major foreign investors are Beiersdorf, Volkswagen, MAN – from Germany, Glaxo Smith Kline from Great Britain, Wrigley Company, Exide from the USA, Bridgestone, Matsushita from Japan, Samsung from Korea, Nestle from Switzerland and Philips from the Netherlands.
However, new investors and entrepreneurs still come knocking on Wielkopolska’s door, as the region offers attractive plots of land of different surface areas, located in its various regions. in particular, the communal self-government authorities are interested in acquiring new investors, attracting them by means of favourable real estate purchase conditions, tax breaks and local fee cuts, as well as by offering assistance in clearing the necessary formalities related to starting business activity, and support in disseminating and implementing new technologies and innovations. Wielkopolska offers an exceptionally favourable climate and conditions for safe investment.
Import and Export
The core of Wielkopolska’s sales structure (according to OECD’s classification) is made up of mid-tech products. According to the WIFO 1 classification, the share of high-tech goods, including automobile industry products which constitute the basis of exports, is very high. Whether the modern sectors of the economy will be fully able to capitalise on their advantages or not, hinges on whether the export companies choose to compete through low cost or innovation. In the case of many products, acquiring customers only by driving costs down is doomed to failure in the light of exceptionally tough competition, often involving dumping, of Chinese and Far Eastern products.
In the exports structure broken down by geographical area, EU countries dominate. In 2007, the share of European (“old” and “new”) member states in the region’s exports amounted to 83.2%.
From the point of view of geographical concentration, Wielkopolska counts among regions with a relatively dispersed export structure, with 57.2% of its exports directed to the 5 most important trade partners. It needs to be noted that the concentration dropped from 73% in 2000 to 57% in 2007.
As regards trade balance by product, the greatest surplus can be seen in the case of motor vehicles, sitting furniture, lighting equipment and electric lamps, mattresses, other furniture, poultry and rabbit meat, food products and domestic appliances. The following products have the greatest negative balance: base form plastics, cast iron, steel and steel alloys, medications and pharmaceuticals, as well as automobile and engine parts and accessories. Germany is the pivotal outlet market, receiving 32.9% of the Wielkopolska Region’s exports in 2007. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the Netherlands, which ranks as second, receives 7.4% of the region’s foreign sales (France, the third country gets 6.4%). Germany’s prevalence is quite significant and the value of exports to Germany doubled between 2000 and 2007.
An analysis of the trade balance by country groups indicates a persistent trend of increasing negative exchange balance primarily as regards Far Eastern countries, and, since 2006, also the “old” EU member states. In 2007, a positive trade balance with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as with the so-called “other countries” was recorded.
Wielkopolska is also a major importer (3rd in Poland). The region’s imports per capita in 2007 amounted to over EUR 3,600. Germany holds the largest share of Wielkopolska’s imports (38.8% of the Region’s overall imports), while other important partners include the Czech Republic, Italy, China, France, Belgium, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. The most significant imported goods are cars, including parts and accessories for both cars and engines, pharmaceuticals and medicaments, base form plastics, boards, sheets, pipes and sections made of plastics, cast iron, steel and steel alloys, lighting equipment and electric lamps, other ready-made metal products, paper and cardboard, as well as aluminium and aluminium products.
Economic Zones and Investment Parks
Each year, most investment funds are directed to the industry, but car, machine, electronic equipment and furniture manufacturing also occupy a prominent spot. In order to make the most of the Region’s potential, its local government authorities have set up economic zones and investment parks, which provide investors with optimum logistic and technical facilities for their activity, along with offering important tax breaks. One of the establishments of particular importance to the region’s development is the Wielkopolska Logistic Centre (WLC, Wielkopolskie Centrum Logistyczne), situated near Konin and the A-2 motorway. Investors have a special area adjacent to a motorway interchange at their disposal, complete with appropriate infrastructure (telecommunications, power grid, water, sewerage and gas mains) and ample human resources. The overriding objectives of the WLC include: providing transport and shipping services together with supplementary services such as warehousing and reloading, as well as value added services. All of the Wielkopolska towns and cities create perfect conditions for investment. At the Śrem Investment Park, besides well-developed infrastructure, companies are offered favourable fiscal solutions. The municipal government has lowered local fees and introduced 5-year property tax exemptions. Śrem also has attractive land available for investors interested in residential development. Trust, which is of paramount importance in business, can also be derived from Śrem’s long-established and stable municipal services pricing policy.
The Grodzisk Industrial Zone is, first and foremost, a perfect location for food processing investments. The area is situated near the Poznan-Zielona Góra state road and in the immediate vicinity of the town of Grodzisk itself, whose extensive infrastructure makes the area even more attractive. A palpable result of the establishment of the Industrial Zone and its fast-paced development is the creation of a new town district of an industrial, warehousing, commercial and promotional nature.
Although no Special Economic Zones have been established in the Region, Wielkopolska offers the sub-zones of the Kamienna Góra (Ostrów Wielkopolski), Kostrzyń-Słubice (Chodzież, Swarzędz, Poznan), Łódź (Nowe Skalmierzyce, Koło, Turek and Ostrzeszów) and Wałbrzych “Invest Park” (Śrem, Leszno and Września) Special Economic Zones.