Poland Property Investment News

3M plans multi-million dollar investment in Poland

Poland is to receive $200 million in investment from technology company 3M over the next two years, $50 million of which the country will receive in 2008, according to the company’s latest plans. This is in addition to the recent completion of a 3M plant in Wroclaw, and a further plant which is currently under construction, which together represent an investment of around $70 million.

The announcement was made by the president of 3M’s Polish unit, Jose del Slar, and reported in the Rzeczpospolita newspaper. Poland has so far received over $100 million from 3M alone, and the firm now joins such companies as Glaxo Smith Kline, IBM, Motorola, Intel and Samsung, which all have a presence in Poland.

According to the accountancy and professional services firm Ernst and Young, Poland is the fifth most attractive country for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world. This is thanks to a government that actively seeks FDI, offering companies incentives for their investment. In return Poland benefits from not only the capital, but also the jobs and technology that these companies bring to the country, and the property market directly benefits from the increased demand for accommodation from the growing and better paid population.

Potential investors will be interested to hear that Poland’s Finance Minister has announced the country had a PLN 275 million (approximately $101 million) budget surplus in August this month, a result of revenues exceeding expectations and a reduction in spending levels. August also saw a sharp drop in the rate of inflation in the country. Consumer prices increased by 1.5% year-on-year (economists’ predictions were for a 1.9% increase), and dropped 0.4% month-on-month (predictions were for a drop of 0.1%).