Foreign investors are fewer and fewer, not only to this country but in general worldwide. The second half of the last decade witnessed a scale of internationalism with money being poured into developing schemes in other countries hitherto never seen. The drying up of these funds is therefore no doubt natural as investors wait to see the fruit of their labour.
Antoni Styrczula, head of the Polish foreign investment agency PAIZ, believes that the recent changes in the law to liberalise the labour code could encourage investors back into this country.
Of course there are also reasons why investment may seem to be drying up a little. The first is the clear effects of the murderous 11 September attacks in the United States, the Argentinian crisis and the bankruptcy of Enron. For Poland a major problem is growing unemployment in Germany which may force German investors to think twice before placing money abroad.
PAIZ is unwlling to forecast how much will be invested in Poland this year. Figures for last year have not yet been revealed although PLN52.3bn is known to have been placed in this country as of the end of last June.
In recent months Poland seems to be losing out to the Czech Republic and Hungary which have more liberal labour laws and investment environment. Clearly the quicker this is in force the better it is for Poland and indeed for the mounting army of the unemployed. Other issues such as PLN90m for government grants and projects are also likely to be resolved soon.