Dublin, 6th December 2011

Location

Podlaskie is located in north-east of Poland. It borders with three other provinces which are warminsko-mazurskie, mazowieckie and lubelskie. It also borders with Lithuania in the north-east, and Belarus in the east. Podlaskie province constitutes an inter-state border with Lithuania within the EU and an external border of EU with Belarus. There are 11 operating border checkpoints in the province. The number of inhabitants of the voivodship amounts to 1,188,329, which makes up 3.11% of the population of Poland.

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Location

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Economy of Podlaskie voivodship

It is a mainly agricultural region with dynamically developing food sector, chiefly food processing (milk, meet, poultry, cereals processing) and the following sectors: light industry, timber industry, construction and the manufacture of machinery and equipment. A huge area of grasslands creates good conditions of farming of cattle, mainly dairy cattle, an opportunity of creating local biogas facilities and production of renewable energy Dublin, Dec. 2011

Machine sector plants

Pronar Ltd - producer of tractors, face gears, cabins etc. - invests in innovativeness by employing over 200 engineers Samasz from Białystok - the largest in Poland and leading European producer of modern lawn mowers Bison-Bial S.A. - producer of tools and equipment for machine tools and many others companies Dublin, Dec. 2011

Food sector

There is a network of modern factories in food processing sector: Mlekpol with its milk brand „Laciate”, Mlekovita (20% of unprocessed milk purchased by milk processing companies comes from Podlaskie), Dojlidy (SABMiller Plc) Bial ystok Polmos with its vodka brand „Zubrowka” (CEDC) Suempol – salmon processing plant Dublin, Dec. 2011

Tourism

An investement offer RAJGROD: with Bussines Concept Dublin, Dec. 2011

:

An investement offer RAJGROD

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Advantages of the Podlaskie region

• location at the border with Lithuania and Belarus, it is location in the centre of Europe and in the European Union, • good road infrastructure, • well-developed secondary and higher education system, • relatively low labour costs approx. 85% of national average pay (in enterprises sector in September 2011: PLN 2.817,18* *1 EUR = 4,44 PLN (17.11.2011) Dublin, Dec. 2011

Tax schemes in Poland

The Polish tax system distinguishes 12 types of taxes: Nine direct taxes the basic corporate income tax (CIT- corporate income tax ), which rate is

19%

, Three indirect taxes As of 01.01.2011 the basic (VAT- value added tax) rate is

23%

, which is applied to majority of goods and services Dublin, Dec. 2011

Governmental grants (1)

Investors carrying out new investments in Poland can count on receiving support under the

“Programme of support of investments of considerable importance for Polish economy for years 2011 2020”

Support can be applied for exclusively by entrepreneurs planning investments in the following priority sectors: 1. Automotive sector, 2. Electronic sector, 3. Aviation sector, 4. Modern services sector, 5. Research and Development.

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Governmental grants (2)

The

Programme

provides support for initial investments under the two following categories: 1. Support for creation of new job places (employment grant)

Sector New jobs and Eligible costs of the new investment (m PLN) Amount of aid automotive, electronics,

250

aviation, biotechnology modern services R&D

250 35 40 2 3 PLN from 3 200 PLN to 15 600 (~ EUR 800 – EUR 3 900)

significant investment in

500

other sectors

Dublin, Dec. 2011 1 000

Governmental grants (3)

The

Programme

provides support for initial investments under the two following categories: 2. Support for new investment (investment grant)

Sector New jobs and Eligible costs of the new investment (m PLN) Amount of aid automotive, electronics,

50

aviation, biotechnology significant other sectors investment in

500 160 1 000 2 - 10,5 % of eligible costs Dublin, Dec. 2011

Governmental grants (4)

The operator of the

Programme

and the authority granting state aid is the Minister of Economy. The Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency (

Polska Agencja Informacji i Inwestycji Zagranicznych S.A.

- PAIiIZ) is responsible for preparing and providing the Interministerial Committee for Foreign Investment.

The support granting procedure can be extended in case of companies applying for two or more instruments of regional aid (government grants and CIT exemption and / or grants co-financed from EU) Dublin, Dec. 2011

Special Economic Zone (SEZ - 1)

SEZ is part of Polish territory which is administered separately, allocated for the running of businesses on preferential terms. The SEZ is a place which is subject to special treatment and tax exemptions where an entrepreneur can establish a business on a specially prepared site and run it without paying income tax.

If a company decides to invest in one of the SEZ’s, the income which it receives from business carried out on its terrain will be exempt from income tax (CIT - from legal persons or PIT – on physical persons, depending on the legal form used to run the business).

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Special Economic Zone (SEZ - 2)

In an SEZ the entrepreneur can obtain the following privileges: • tax exemption (CIT or PIT) • a site fully prepared for development by the investor at a competitive price • free assistance in dealing with formalities in connection with the investment • exemption from property tax (on the territory of certain gminas) Dublin, Dec. 2011

Suwalki Special Economic Zone

The Suwalki Special Economic Zone consists of six marked-off areas in Suwalki, Elk, Goldap, Grajewo, Malkinia Gorna and Bialystok of total area 342,76 hectares, in which businessmen conduct their activities on preferential terms. Dublin, Dec. 2011

Suwalki Special Economic Zone

The Suwalki SEZone is one of the oldest and best developed economic zones in the country. 61 companies successfuly function in the Zone. The following capital can be found, among others, in the Zone: German, French and Taiwanese. The businessmen have created about 5400 workplaces, the level of investment reaches over PLN 1,5 billion.

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Science and Technology Parks

There are 4 science and technology parks in the province. Their main goal is to increase the socio-economic cohesion and develop the province by supporting business initiatives based on knowledge, oriented towards new technologies and taking advantage of international cooperation. They offer attractive building lots for investment with full utilities. This offer is directed especially to innovative businesses within the advanced technologies sector.

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Possible investment locations

Bialystok – Capital of Podlaskie region, centre of industry, commerce, education and culture Lomza and Suwalki – largest cities in region And many more possibilities - over 100 different investment offers (mainly greenfields but also brownfields). For more details please visit our website: www.wrotapodlasia.pl/coi Dublin, Dec. 2011

Podlaskie Investor Assistance Centre

Podlaskie Investor Assistance Centre is certified partner of Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.

Podlaskie Investor Assistance Centre is a helpdesk for potential investors offers know-how and specialist consulting regarding legal aspects, industries indices, current investment offers, information on companies’ condition and products Dublin, Dec. 2011

Podlaskie Investors and Exporters’ Service Centre (1)

The Network of Investors and Exporters’ Service Centres (COIE) is a systemic project carried out by the Minister of Economy. The project aims at increasing the level of internationalization of the Polish companies by facilitating the access of entrepreneurs and their associations to free, high quality, complex information services that are essential to planning, organizing and starting exporting and/or investing abroad. Another objective is to increase the level of foreign investment in Poland by facilitating the access of potential foreign investors to information on regulations on starting a business in Poland and support instruments for the development of entrepreneurship including investment incentives. Dublin, Dec. 2011

Podlaskie Investors and Exporters’ Service Centre (2)

The substantive support for COIE will be provided by Trade and Investment Promotion Sections of Embassies and Consulates of the Republic of Poland (WPHI), which possess wide and up-to-date knowledge on entry barriers and business conditions in particular foreign markets. The systemic project “The Network of Investors and Exporters’ Service Centres (COIE)” is co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund, Innovative Economy Operational Programme, 2007-2013. Dublin, Dec. 2011

They are already in Podlaskie (1)

From Great Britain: • NSG Group – Pilkington IGP Branch ‘’METAL” Bialystok – production insulating glass, as well as a wide range of metal racks for glass, • British American Tobacco Polska S.A. – Augustow – production of high quality tobacco products, • ICL Poland Sp. z o.o Warszawa – Forte S.A. branch in Hajnowka Klejniki – manufacture of wood and wooden products, • SABMiller Plc – Kompania Piwowarska S.A. – Bialystok – beer production such as: Zubr Dublin, Dec. 2011

They are already in Podlaskie (2)

From Northern Ireland: Company Keylite RW POLAND, is part of the Keystone Group, whose main office is located in Cookstown in Northern Ireland. Keylite is a manufacturer of wooden roof windows.

Dublin, Dec. 2011

Thank You

For more details please contact Podlaskie Investor Assistance Centre or Podlaskie Investors and Exporters’ Service Centres [email protected]

[email protected]

and also please visit our website: www.wrotapodlasia.pl/coi Thank You for Your attention Dublin, Dec. 2011