Poland is open for business and remains committed to open trade between Poland and South Africa, Polish ambassador to South Africa Andrzej Kanthak said at the JSE’s first country investment day in Johannesburg earlier this month.

The event focused on business relations between South Africa and Poland. He characterised Poland as “a stable country which is committed to free market principles, the rule of law, international competition, democracy and free trade”.

This, he pointed out, was key when investors required confidence in the long-term stability of the economy that they were investing in.

Commenting on Poland’s current economic and business environment, World Bank senior economist Dr Marcin Piatkowski told delegates that Poland was a “vibrant and multiparty democracy”.

The country’s ultimate growth drivers include an open, broad-based inclusive society, as well as social consensus on striving for a ‘return’ to Europe.

The emergence of the middle class also counted in Poland’s favour, he added, noting that the country’s strengths lay in its high quality of education, low labour costs and a high productivity rate.

Poland’s infrastructure was improving and the country’s macroeconomic environment was stable, he noted, adding that Poland was experiencing gross domestic product growth well above the European Union average, and that Poland would continue to be the key spot in Europe for growth in retail during the next few years.

“Poland’s is a story of ‘rags to riches’, and is remarkable in the sense that the country is rejuvenated, which would not have been possible without opening up society to the rest of the world, and making sure that everyone [who operates in the country] can do so sustainably.”

Meanwhile, JSE-listed Polish property company EPP CEO Hadley Dean told Engineering News that South African companies were willing to invest in Poland.

“I think that what happens when South African investors come to Poland [is] they see that [Poland] is not an emerging market, but rather a developed market,” he said, adding that Poland was a “hidden gem”.

For South Africa to reach the same level of development and investor confidence as Poland, he said, South Africa would need to start from the basis of income equality.

“One of the challenges for South Africa is how to grow the economy to a rate that is sustainable and is not fuelled by debt. But I do think that the South African government can take some real lessons from Poland, which is focused on growing its economy.”