Poland's budget draft to be ready by end of week

Poland's 2008 draft budget is to be ready by the end of this week for government review next week, a spokesman for the Poland's Finance Ministry told PAP news agency on Monday.

Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska said that after last Wednesday's interest-rate hike the government will have to revise its macroeconomic predictions to the budget for the coming budget year to the end of next September.

According to budget forecasts passed by the government last June, 2008 budget revenues will be 241.6 billion zlotys (86.6 billion US dollars), with expenditure at 271.6 billion zlotys (97.3 billion dollars), with a deficit of 30 billion zlotys (10.7 billion dollars).
Source:english.people.com.cn

Energy, investments, banking top issues at economic forum in Poland

Energy security in Central-Eastern Europe, investments and European financial integration will be the leading issues discussed at the 17th Economic Forum in Krynica, southern Poland, starting on September 5, PAP reported on Monday.

The forum, to last until Sept. 8, is to be attended by EU commissioners, European ministers and government and parliamentary delegations from Central and Eastern Europe.

Poland's former Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz is to attend a discussion on the future of foreign investments in the region while Poland's former President Aleksander Kwasniewski is to lead a panel "Europe-crisis, changes, chances."

Planned are debates on "Russian economy today" and "EU-Russia -- prospects for a new agreement," "Banking and economic growth in Central and Eastern countries."
Source: english.people.com.cn

3M to invest at least 200 million dollars in Poland

US manufactuer 3M plans to invest at least 200 million dollars (270 million euros) in Poland over the next two years, tripling the current level, its local boss said Saturday.

Jose del Solar said in an interview with the daily Rzeczpospolita that 40 to 50 million dollars would be invested in 2008. Most of the extra cash would be in the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.

3M has just completed a plant for producing optical film for LCD screens at Wroclaw, in southwest Poland, and is constructing another to make adhesive materials. The combined projects are valued at 70 million dollars.

Del Solar said 3M's total investments in Poland already exceeded 100 million dollars. Turnover last year came to 131.6 million, he said, predicting it would rise by 20 percent this year and 30 percent in 2008.

Source: wbj.pl

SUEK in Poland

SUEK, the largest coal company in Russia, is preparing to open an office in Poland.

"In August we established the company SUEK Polska," said the president of the new entity, Piotr Matuszak. The firm was registered in Gdańsk and will import Russian coal. Sector analysts estimate that import of coal from eastern markets has doubled over the past two years.

Source: www.wbj.pl