A pound today costs 4.30 zlotys. In May 2004 it cost 7.15. That’s a 40% difference!
• Corporate investment in Poland is up by over 30% in Q3 2007 compared to the same period in 2006
• Consumer spending is up by 24% in Q1 2008 compared to the same period in 2007
• Poland’s burgeoning middle-class consumers are clustered in six high-growth cities, all of which have unemployment of 4% or less (national average 11.1%)
• Average wages are soaring, rising by 10.8% in the year to March 2008
• The economy is based on solid fundamentals and is set to grow at 4.5%-5.5% for the next 5 years
• Over €67 billion in EU funds has been earmarked for Poland, with another €26 billion in Polish public and private sector match- funding. The lion’s share of this €93 billion is to be spent on infrastructure projects. British firms with experience in PPP projects will have a head start in bidding for this type of work.
• Despite a strong zloty, Poland’s exports grew by 15% to €101 billion, while imports grew by 17.7% to €119 billion
• British exports to Poland are lagging behind the Polish performance. In the first two months of 2008, Polish exports to the UK soared by 12.8% compared to the same period in 2007, in the teeth of a rising zloty. British firms only managed a 1.7% increase in exports to Poland during this period, even though a weak pound would have made their products far more competitive on the Polish market.
http://www.polishmarket.com.pl/document/:16938?p=%2FEconomic+Monitor%2 F