UnitedSky w tygodniku Poland Weekly - 19.05.2022 - 01.06.2022

19.05.2022 - 01.06.2022 business • people • culture polandweekly
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In 2021 Polish Fdi grew faster than before
the pandemic
The scale of investments of Polish enterprises
abroad has exceeded PLN 105 billion and 60% of
them said they plan further foreign expansion.
84% of Polish direct investments
abroad are located in
Europe, and among the strongest
directions of foreign investments
are India, Finland, Estonia,
Israel and Chile, according
to a report by the Polish Foreign
Investments prepared by PFR
TFI and PwC Polska. KUKE is
the partner of this year's edition.
This, the third edition of the report,
takes into account the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic
on the attractiveness of individual
countries. The report also makes
corrections related to Russia's aggression
towards Ukraine.
As many as 47% of the surveyed
entrepreneurs indicate geographic
diversification and risk
reduction as the main benefit of
direct investments abroad.
The economic consequences of
the pandemic and Russia's aggression
against Ukraine force
entrepreneurs not only to skillfully
manage risk, but also to
take strategic decisions. As
shown by the data from the report,
it turns out that after an
initial decline, foreign investment
rebounded faster than
after the 2008 crisis. This may
be due to the fact that projects
that were planned for the initial
months of the pandemic are being
implemented. Investors held
off on decisions because the onset
of the pandemic was marked
by high uncertainty, which decreased
as they learned more
about the virus and its impact
on the economy.
“Our research shows that the
more experience on foreign
markets, the greater the business's
openness to the benefits
of internationalization - diversification
and risk reduction,
securing supply chains or reducing
operating costs. I am very
pleased that the rebound in
foreign investments after COV-
ID-19 took place faster than
after the 2008 crisis. This trend
should be strengthened by supporting
current and potential
investors with financial instruments,
knowledge and digital
tools, which increasingly determine
the competitive advantage
in international markets,”
says Agnieszka Gajewska,
partner of PwC Polska
and global leader of
Government & Public
Services PwC.
In 2021, Polish FDI grew
faster than before the pandemic.
Poland attracted large-scale
foreign investment, but was also
a source of increasing outward
investment. Balance of payments
data show that in the first three
quarters of 2021, outward from
Poland was over 90% higher than
the average for the corresponding
periods from 2015-2019. The
largest increase in absolute terms
was recorded by foreign investment
in the UK.
Poland was over
90% higher than
the average for the
corresponding periods
from 2015-2019.
When asked about their plans
for further expansion, most enterprises
do not plan any further
foreign expansion in the
next three years. On the other
hand, it is worth noting that
responses differ between groups
- among enterprises already
present abroad, almost 60% expressed
plans for further expansion
- 45.5% in the form of new
investments and 13.8% in the
form of a merger or acquisition.
The situation is different in the
group of enterprises that do not
invest abroad - the vast majority
(80.3%) do not have specific
plans in this regard. This shows
that companies that have already
learned about the specifics
of operating abroad can see
the benefits it brings. The plans
for foreign expansion of Polish
enterprises concern mainly Europe.
However, there is a difference
in the responses depending
on the size of the enterprise - in
medium-sized enterprises, Central
and Eastern Europe is definitely
the dominant direction
for foreign investments, while
among large enterprises it is
much more evenly distributed
between Europe, Central Asia
and North America.
Disruptions in supply
chains and the COV-
ID-19 pandemic are the
greatest threats that may
change the expansion strategy
of Polish companies. The rising
costs of energy and fuels are
• the scale of investments of Polish enterprises abroad
exceeded PLN 105 billion.
• 84% of Polish direct investments abroad are located in
Europe
• mentions India, Finland, Estonia, Israel and Chile
among the best destinations for foreign investments
Find us on the EU airports
in third place, which shows that
enterprises are also concerned
about an increase in the costs of
raw materials necessary for operation.
Among enterprises investing
abroad, the most frequently
indicated threats by respondents
that contributed or would contribute
to a change of strategy
include supply chain disruptions,
the COVID-19 pandemic, rising
energy and fuel costs and high
inflation, indicated by 81.7%,
72.5% and 65.8% of the respondents,
respectively. Interestingly,
the above-mentioned threats are
of relatively little importance for
enterprises not investing abroad
- not more than 15% of respondents
from this group indicated
them as important.
“A new landscape of foreign direct
investment is being created
before our eyes. The
pandemic has given new
momentum to trends related
to digitization and
automation, the use of new
technologies, e-commerce, supply
chain diversification and sustainable
investment. The effects
of this acceleration are also visible
in the new approach to foreign
investments, as they affect, inter
alia, the choice of location, the
nature of investments and their
scale. The pandemic, however,
certainly did not diminish investors'
appetite for international
projects in the long term. On the
contrary - the interest of Polish
enterprises in capital expansion
on foreign markets is high and
exceeds the levels recorded before
2020. This is a sign that in global
changes we are able to see and -
most importantly - effectively use
new opportunities and opportunities
for business development.
And although today we all operate
in a very dynamic environment
- both economic and geopolitical
- I am convinced that we
will find space to develop
foreign investments," says
Ewa Małyszko, president
of the management
board of PFR TFI.
Polish enterprises, when
asked about the main trends
that may affect their business in
the future, firstly mentioned the
diversification of suppliers and
securing supply chains - 78.8%,
business sustainability - 66.7%
and FDI screening procedures
- 65.8%. The digital and energy
transformation were also mentioned
as an important trend.