More Loans
In 2005, banks lent a total of zl.24 billion, including zl.22.4 billion to finance the purchase of housing by individuals. This was 59 percent more than in 2004. Households' debt to banks due to housing loans reached zl.45.8 billion.


Outlet Invests
The Fashion Outlet Center in Sosnowiec, which offers goods by well-known producers at substantially reduced prices, is beginning a second phase of investment expected to cost around 10 million euros. The center will be expanded to include a further 7,500 sq m.


Higher Bank Profits
Banks earned more than zl.9.2 billion last year, almost a third more than in 2004, according to preliminary data by banking supervision authorities. The gross profit of the entire sector for 2005 exceeded zl.11 billion. Cooperative banks earned more than zl.500 million net last year, with a gross profit of around zl.620 million.


Germans in Szczecin
German ship operator Phoenix Reederei, which has opened a subsidiary in Szczecin, wants to hire 500 Polish workers by the end of next year. In the fourth quarter, a zl.800,000 ship repair shop will be launched in Szczecin, chiefly for engines and ship equipment. Up to 50 people will find work in it. Phoenix, which has 18 small and medium-sized container carriers, also wants to hire around 500 Polish sailors and begin cooperation with Polish repair yards.


Lotos-BP Agreement
The Lotos group, Poland's second largest fuel corporation, and its subsidiary Lotos Partner signed an agreement with BP Polska for the sale of liquid fuels in 2006. The estimated value of the contract is zl.1.03 billion.


MAN Expands
MAN plans further investment with a value of at least zl.20 million in its Starachowice plant. The paint shop and the bus assembly department in the factory will be expanded this year. As a result of these changes, finished vehicles will independently roll off the Starachowice assembly lines, while the Poznań subsidiary of MAN will solely handle assembly of extras.


Nifco to Open in Poland
Japan's Nifco plans to open a factory for automotive plastic parts in Poland. The capital of the new company will be zl.8 million, and it will initially employ 65 people, with sales of around zl.10 million. Ultimately, by 2012, employment will increase to 120 and revenue is expected to exceed zl.50 million. By moving part of production from Great Britain and Spain, Nifco wants to reduce costs and adapt to the expectations of buyers of its products such as Toyota and Suzuki.


Copper Profits
The 2005 net profit of KGHM Polska Miedź copper conglomerate at close to zl.2.37 billion was almost zl.1 billion higher than in 2004, said the deputy president of Polska Miedź, Andrzej Szczepek. KGHM's sales revenue exceeded zl.8 billion.


Funds for SMEs
The Polish Agency for enterprise Development (ARP) distributed a total of zl.630 million among small and medium-sized enterprises in 2005. The money went to finance projects designed to support small business. Seventy percent of the funds are from the European Union, and the remainder is from domestic sources. In 2006, there is more than zl.378 million in the national budget to co-finance EU programs intended to support this sector.


Duda in Ukraine
Polski Koncern Mięsny Duda has acquired a 95-percent stake in the Borys company based in Novovolynsk, Ukraine, that deals with the slaughter of livestock and the cutting of meat. The value of the transaction exceeded 200,000 euros. "The acquisition of the Ukrainian company marks the start of our expansion in Eastern markets," said Maciej Duda, president of the company.


More Work in Silesia
The Hilton Foods Group, which deals with the packing and supplying of meat to supermarkets, plans to hire 350 workers for its new plant to open in Tychy. Recruitment began at the start of February. The plant is being built within the Katowice Special Economic Zone. The investment project by the European group will cost around 22 million euros. The Tychy plant will come on-line in September.