Eyeing up Poland for investment
Updated: 2011-11-14 09:02
By Wang Xiaotian (China Daily)
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But not all the Chinese enterprises are finding conditions sweet in Poland. Setbacks encountered by a Chinese State-owned construction contractor aroused worries among investors that the local environment may be much more complicated than they thought.
China Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC), a Beijing-based subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corp, a major construction and engineering company in Asia, withdrew from a $447 million highway construction project in Poland in the first half of the year after incurring potential losses of $394 million.
The cancellation came just two years after the company became the first Chinese enterprise to win a large European highway contract - to build two sections of Poland's A2 highway, which will stretch 49 kilometers and run from Warsaw to the German border.
COVEC said the total cost of the construction will be 76 percent higher than the original estimate, as its Polish partner imposed a higher construction standard and the price of building materials soared strongly.
Following COVEC's cancellation, Guangxi-based Liugong Machinery Co.,Ltd halted its purchase of Huta Stalowa Wola S.A (HSW), a Polish construction equipment manufacture in June.
"The COVEC incident reminded us of something that we haven't taken into full consideration previously," Hou Yubo, project manager in charge of the deal at Liugong Machinery told China Daily.
He declined to elaborate due to company policies.
Rumors arose that Liugong Machinery could not reach consensus with HSW's trade union on issues such as tenure of employment contracts and wage increases.
Pawel Tynel from Ernst & Young also warned that a labor cost rebound after 2009 may be a major risk for those thinking of investing in Poland.
In response to reported disagreements between Chinese enterprises and Polish institutions, Hong Lei, a spokesman at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in June that China expects some friendly countries in Europe would continue to grant Chinese enterprises more support and understanding.
Waldemar Pawlak, deputy prime minister and minister of the economy, said the Polish president's visit to Beijing will release a strong signal to enterprises from both sides that the current investment environment could be very favorable.
"Chinese enterprises should learn a lesson from the COVEC incident that they need to get familiar with local laws, partners, cultural differences and fiscal conditions when they invest in Poland," said Pawlak.
Chinese enterprises should proceed with care when they are considering direct investment in Poland and other European countries, Mei Xinyu, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, told China Daily."The legal system, especially that of labor statutes in Europe, is too complicated. The best path is to start with sales and some contracted projects to get familiar with local circumstances before increasing investment in the region directly."
He said the biggest obstacle for Chinese enterprises is the fact that hidden costs will be huge because the highly efficient approach that they are accustomed to in other regions doesn't work in Europe.
To Mei, the advantages of Poland such as its rapid economic growth and comparatively low labor costs are far less attractive than in some countries in East Asia, even disregarding labor productivity. "One should invest directly into the targeted market instead of using Poland as a springboard for other European markets," he added.
Some argue that the blurred economic prospects for Europe would make investors from China more cautious when they are planning to explore the market.
"We noticed that businessmen now hold very undecided views about investment in Poland and other European countries, mainly because of the increasing uncertainties of the European economy. They have become more prudent and hesitant," said Chen Yuehua, director of the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Department of Guangdong.
Dong Xian'an, chief economist at Peking First Advisory, said recent indexes continued to indicate the downward risks of the European economy, and that in the fourth quarter Europe would formally enter a recession.