More on FDI in Poland

From the BBJ this morning:

Poland attracts $746 million in FDI in H1 of 2007


18 Jul 2007
bbj.hu

Poland attracted 31 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the H1 of 2007, primarily in the electronics sector, the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) announced Wednesday.

The value of the projects totaled $746 million (€541 million) and will create up to 10,500 jobs, according to the PAIiIZ which also notes this year's half-year FDI total is a 319% increase over 2006. “The increased influx of investment in the first half of 2007 is a snowball effect of other (foreign) investment in Poland,” PAIiIZ official Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik said. She notes recent major investments by LG and Sharp in flat-screen TV and monitor factories in Poland have attracted other smaller companies specializing in related production. The list of investors includes six companies from the United States, five from Japan, three from China and three from Germany, predominantly in the electronics and research and development sectors.

PAIiIZ President Pawel Wojciechowski says attracting high tech FDI has become a top priority for Poland. The largest Central European country which joined the European Union in 2004, has attracted a total of near $90 billion (€65 billion) in FDI since shedding communism in 1989. Poland also recorded robust 7.4% growth in GDP in the Q1 of this year.