POLAND Increasing FDI with a little help from their friends
ALTHOUGH POLITICAL RELATIONS ARE EXCEPTIONAL BETWEEN POLAND AND THE U.S., THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE AMERICAN INVESTMENT. POLAND HOPES TO REMEDY THIS BY ASSISTING IN A NUMBER OF WAYS

THE MODERN WORLD Financial services and high-tech industries are two areas where U.S. investment could make a difference.

There is a long tradition of warm relations between the United States and Poland. Millions of Americans of Polish descent have contributed greatly to U.S. culture, and on the political scene, Washington maintained close ties to the powerful Eastern European nation during the tense years of the Cold War. But as far as the development of trade and investment are concerned, most economists feel that the United States has overlooked too many golden opportunities in Poland.
"We very much see possibilities of further developing cooperation with America. There is a very positive attitude towards Americans, American investors and American capital here in Poland," says Polish Economy Minister Jacek Piechota.

"We are aware of the fact that there are still many barriers to be eliminated from our side. The current government’s economic plan strives for stability, transparency and clarity of all the legal rules and procedures," Mr. Piechota notes. "We also strive to provide good service to foreign investors. We want to build a strong government agency that can help the foreign investor navigate in a sometimes very complex reality of local governments and other institutions. We also want to promote Poland as a good place for profitable foreign investment."

U.S. investment in Poland covers a wide range of sectors, from industry (General Motors) to high tech (Motorola). But according to Peter Driscoll, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland and Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Poland, some very important sectors have gone unnoticed.
"Financial services, for example, is an activity that has been a little bit overlooked despite the fact that it is becoming increasingly important in Poland, and what’s good for Polish business is good for American business," Mr. Driscoll explains.

The Polish Agency for Foreign Investment (PAIZ) is the agency that implements the government’s policy on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to specific sectors of economic activity. PAIZ was voted the European Investment Promotion Agency of the Year in 1997, and is the only Polish government agency to have earned ISO 9001 certification. It is currently in a transition phase as it is merging with the Government Information Agency. The new body will be up and running by January 2003.
One of PAIZ’s major achievements, considering its budget restrictions, was the organization of a promotional business trip to Silicon Valley. "This year we have planned three more business trips to the United States to attract high-tech, biotech and defense industries to Poland. These are the priorities of the Polish government for the time being," says PAIZ President Antoni Styrczula. "We have to make sure that investors have free access to information about how to set up a business in Poland. We also offer a basic consultancy service for the first stage of the investment procedure," he adds.

As sometimes happens, cooperation between strategic political partners does not always manifest itself when it comes to dollars and cents. By the end of June 2001, U.S. companies had invested $7.5 billion in the country as a whole, which represents only 15% of the total foreign investment in Poland. "There is a need to increase U.S. FDI in Poland," Mr. Styrczula points out.

"Political contacts are exceptionally good between the United States and Poland, but taking into consideration the potential of America, investment is not high enough. Out of the 881 companies established in Poland with foreign capital, just 123 have U.S. capital, so there could be much more, especially in the area of high technology."
Also important is the building of highways, an absolute necessity for the development of the country. The lack of highways in Poland is one of the most serious barriers to foreign investors, Mr. Styrczula notes. "The Polish government is currently trying to attract some FDI in the field of highway construction in order to accelerate the whole growth process and quickly be able to comply to the EU requirements in terms of road networks."