Foreign Investments
Foreign Investment Projects
The Śląskie Voivodeship is a region of high investment attractiveness, which predominantly results from the following: location in the centre of Europe, well-developed transport and telecommunication infrastructure network, high concentration of academic centres, high supply of qualified workforce, sales market of almost 5 million inhabitants, huge opportunities for co-operative and commercial collaboration.
This is confirmed by the data from the Polish Agency for Information and Foreign Investment ( PAIZ) and Urzad Marszalkowski (Marshal's Office) in Silesia, which state that Silesia is one of the most interesting places for an investment.
Foreign investors and companies with foreign capital in Śląskie Voivodship come from various countries. The most widely-represented group comprise the companies with German capital. Subsequent positions are taken by the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and France.
Among the investors, a great number of automotive companies is remarkable, with GM OPEL as the leader as well as FIAT AUTO POLAND that attracted plenty of sub-suppliers manufacturing for the automotive branch, e.g. plastic or electronic parts.
The significant investment projects are also carried out in the machine and device production sector. This branch is represented among others by Alstom, AEG Aktiengesellschaft, Heraeus Electro-Nite International N.V., Lucent Technologies Network Systems Netherlands B.V., NKT Cables A/S, Philips, Sylea Italia Srl., ICL, Siemens, SGL Carbon AG as well as such companies as: GE Power Controls Belgium BVBA, Caterpillar Inc., Sest SpA, Sutco Maschinenbau GmbH & Co KG., Timken Company.
Another branch that is developing relatively fast is the glass and ceramics production as well as building engineering products. Such an activity is executed among others by Ekocem, Guardian Industries Corporation, ROCA Radiadores, Saint Gobain, Uralita or Vitrum.
The investment projects in the region are predominantly located within the Upper-Silesian Agglomeration as well as in the former voivodeship cities, i.e. Bielsko-Biała and Częstochowa. The selection of the investment areas is among others associated with the operation of the Katowice Special Economic Zone within these areas
Special Economic Zone in Katowice
The Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSSE) was established by the Cabinet's Act of 18 June 1996 (The Journal of Laws No 88 item 397, later modifications included). It was created to support and speed up the restructuring processes and create new work places in the region.
It was founded for the period of twenty years (by 8 August 2016). It is the "Katowicka Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna S.A.", with main office in Katowice.
The Katowice Special Economic Zone is a dispersed zone, comprising four sub-zones:
Gliwice
Sosnowiec and Dąbrowa
Tychy
Jastrzębie-Żory
On the whole, the Katowice Special Economic Zone covers the area of 1,118 ha (plenty of separate areas). The zone makes it possible for the potential investors to obtain the most convenient location in the terrain chosen, provided that the investment project is estimated for the amount of over 40 mln EUR or that it results in the creation of 500 new workplaces (the so-called large projects).
So far, KSSE has gained about 200 business entities, already operating, in development or in project.
Below you find a list of some of the British and American investors that have decided to settle in the Śląsk Voivodship region (especially in KSSE):
Significant British investments in Katowice Special Economic Zone:
Foseco Polska
Hilton Foods
Libet 2000 Sp. z o.o.
Welding Alloys Polska
Biggest American investments:
Ballyvesey Holdings Polska Sp. z o.o.
Delphi Polska Automotive Systems
Eaton Automotive Systems sp. z o.o.
General Motors Manufacturing Poland
Guardian Industries Poland
Joy Maszyny Górnicze
Poland Business Park IV
Rockwell Automation
Investment in the KSSE region is highly profitable. The companies investing in the terrains covered by the Katowice Special Economic Zone may obtain compensation for their investment expenditure up to 50% and additional 15% in case of small- and medium-sized companies. The Katowice Special Economic Zone is an institution relevant for those companies that wish to make use of the public aid in the form of tax exemptions, by increasing investment expenditure or creating new workplaces.
In connection with Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004, the conditions binding in the special economic zones in Poland have been adjusted to the principles in force in similar institutions in the European Union countries (inscribed in the Accession Treaty).
The advantages arising from investing in the zone are:
• exemption for the PIT or CIT income tax
• obtaining the investment land plot for a competitive price
• free aid in settling of the formalities associated with the investment project
• exemption from the real-estate tax (dependent on the Resolution of the Borough where the zone is located)
The respective boroughs aim at creating the best climate possible for creating new investment enterprises. “The Top-Class Land”, a competition organised in 2005, was prepared by the Polish Agency for Information and Foreign Investment and Marshals of the Voivodeships. The idea behind the competition was to select in each voivodeship the most attractive investment area entered into the competition by a borough, but not situated in the zone.
In the Śląskie Voivodeship, 13 boroughs entered 19 investment areas into the competitions. 6 areas from 5 boroughs (Będzin, Lubliniec – 2 areas, Radziechowy – Wieprz, Ruda Śląska and Tworóg). The competition winner was the Ruda Śląska area, covering 13.4 ha, located directly at the exit from the A-4 motorway.
In addition to these high profile investments there are hundreds of smaller investments, joint ventures or partnerships in which, mainly European SMEs participate. These investments are a significant part of the economical growth in the region.
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