Poland expects 5.5% GDP growth in 2008

WARSAW, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Poland's GDP growth is still expected to hit 5.5 percent in 2008 in spite of worse prognoses for the global economy, Polish Deputy Finance Minister Katarzyna Zajdel-Kurowska told Polish news agency PAP on Monday.

"We stand by our scenario for the next year," she said. "Even though both IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the European Commission cut their prognoses for the global economy, the Polish economy is not as open as those of other countries."

"A possible slowdown in the European and global economy will not carry the same consequences for Poland's economy as for the economies with much higher share of exports in GDP," she said.

"Home demand will be the main driving force in the Polish economy in 2008," the minister noted.

"We bet on domestic investments. Even if aversion of foreign investors to invest in Poland increases and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) stream slows down next year, there is reason to expect that the Polish economy will grow at 5.5 percent in 2008," Zajdel-Kurowska predicted.

She confirmed earlier predictions that the GDP of Poland will grow by 6.5 percent this year.

Source: By Gao Ying, news.xinhuanet.com