Message from Ambassadors

Poland – the best place to invest

Pawel MILEWSKI
Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Japan
Pawel MILEWSKI was appointed to the Ambassador of Poland to Japan in December 2019.
He previously served as Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the People’s
Republic of China, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Australia and Papua New Guinea
and Director of the Asia-Pacific Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Poland has for years been viewed as an extremely
attractive place to invest. Despite global
difficulties, investors’ interest in our country has
been growing year by year. Last year set anotherrecord for Poland in terms of the number andvalue of FDI. With the support of the Polish
Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), in 2022,
foreign companies invested over EUR 3.7 billion
in our country. This is EUR 200 million more than in
the previous year and as much as one billion morethan in 2020. Therefore, we can clearly see thatinvestors’ interest is certainly not decreasing. Thisis also confirmed by our country’s leading positionin the rankings of investment attractiveness inEurope and worldwide.

Source: PAIH (https://www.paih.gov.pl/20230117/another_record_breaking_year_for_paih)

There is a number of arguments in favor of choosing
Poland as a place to invest. Firstly, we are the largest
country in Central and Eastern Europe and the sixth
largest country in Europe. Secondly, we have a large
internal market of around 38 million people and easy
access to the European Union market of more than 500
million consumers. Thirdly, we have a stable economy
with an established macroeconomic position. Fourthly,

we are invariably considered one of the safest countries
in the world in the OECD ranking, not even the war in
Ukraine has changed this. Despite turbulent times,
market turmoil caused by the Coronavirus pandemic,
and behind our eastern border, Poland is passing the testof resilience to economic crises. Our economy issuccessfully defending itself against a significant
slowdown despite further difficulties. This situation isdue to the dynamic activity of Polish companies,
employee involvement, and good political decisions. It
also matches the long-term trend of growth of the Polisheconomy.
Poland’s major advantage is its location in the center ofEurope. This central location makes us a strategic
gateway between East and West, North and South.
Thanks to our location at the intersection of the maintransport routes on the North-South and East-Westlines, we have a strong position on the logistics map ofEurope. Investors also appreciate the advantages oflocating their investments in the Polish Investment
Zone, which is made of Special Economic Zones (SEZ).
To mention but a few incentives, they offer exemption
from real estate tax and CIT. That is why SEZs havebecome a real magnet for investors. However, the zones
are not only about capital investments and new jobs –they are also about increasing the competitiveness of theentire Polish economy, the transfer of technology andknow-how, as well as developing cooperation throughout
the country. Investors supported by PAIH are alsointerested in Government Grants awarded on the basisof the “Program for supporting investments of significant
importance for the Polish economy for the years 20112030”, which additionally emphasizes regional
2023.735

Amount of tax exemption: Regional state aid map 2022-2027

Source: PAIH (https://www.paih.gov.pl/why_poland/Polish_Investment_Zone)

development. Projects that are in less developed areas
can count on preferential conditions of support – thisapplies to both reduced requirements to be able toreceive support and the possibility of receiving a higher
amount of aid.
Poland is also a country of high technologies, which not
only accepts know-how from companies established on
the market but can also be a source of innovative ideas
and support the development of global giants. In recentyears, investors have appreciated that we focus onqualified staff, primarily among engineers and the R&D
sector, while maintaining relatively low labor costs. It is
the Poles themselves that are Poland’s greatest capital.
Their ambition, willingness to learn, strong work ethic
and entrepreneurial spirit are globally recognized. Yearafter year, Poland’s students occupy high positions in
the prestigious ranking of the International Student
Assessment (PISA). Over 90% of Poles aged 25-64 also
have completed at least secondary education. Companies
starting their business in Poland can also count on
consumers open to modern solutions - 63% of thepopulation is less than 50 years old, and as much as
25% is under 25 years of age. With nearly 500,000 IT
specialists on the market, Poland has the largest pool ofIT experts in Central and Eastern Europe.

The maximum amount of state aid in the formof CIT or PIT tax exemption is determined on
the basis of the regional aid map for 20222027 (representing the percentage of costs
eligible for regional aid).

Towards a Strategic Partnership. It was only in 2019that the Economic Partnership Agreement between theEuropean Union and Japan entered into force. The goodrelations between our countries are evident by the longterm presence of the largest Japanese Capital Groups
such as Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Toyota, NSK,Bridgestone, Itochu, AGC Glass, and Pilkington (NSGGroup). Our country is no longer only an attractive
production base for Japanese companies, we see more
and more opportunities for cooperation on many otherlevels. Industries such as mining, food, chemicals,
healthcare, and financial services have particularly goodpotential as areas of cooperation between our countries.
Japan is a particularly important partner for Poland dueto the fact that Japanese companies were among the firstforeign investors in our country after our economictransformation. Investments from Japan have always
been, still are, and will certainly be an essential elementof the process of constant development andmodernization of the Polish economy.

お問い合わせJOI 事業企画部
E-mail: bd@joi.or.jp

駐日ポーランド共和国大使館

Julia Cichy,Third Secretary,Political and Economic Section

For Japan, Poland is a natural bridge to the European
Union. As early as 2003, we signed the Declaration
362023.7

E-mail: julia.cichy@msz.gov.pl
https://www.gov.pl/web/nippon