Poland in Austria | Poles in Vienna | Bilateral Relations

Austria and Poland - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism

Carl Bildt: "The cohesion of the EU is the most important objective to achieve"

How Europe should react to the surrounding areas of conflict in East and South, was debated on Sunday. More realism, less idealism for the European Union is what Ivan Krastev, Fyodor Lukyanov, Carl Bildt and Ana Palacio concluded on Sunday at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

January 12, 2015

Strabag Builds Volkswagen Factory in Wrzesnia, Poland

Strabag Sp. z o.o., the Polish subsidiary of publicly listed Strabag SE, has been awarded the contract to build a new production plant for Volkswagen commercial vehicles in Poland. The automobile manufacturer plans to manufacture the next generation of its VW Crafter delivery van in the new factory in Września. Strabag has been commissioned to build three of the five modern production and industrial buildings that form part of the overall investment by the middle of 2015.

December 3, 2014

Strabag Consortium Builds € 300 Mln Eisack River Undercrossing for Brenner Base Tunnel

The construction group Strabag, in a consortium with the Italian construction companies Salini Impregilo, Consorzio Cooperative Costruzioni CCC and Collini Lavori, signed the € 300 million contract to build the Eisack Undercrossing section of the Brenner Base Tunnel.

October 24, 2014

Lower Austria's Ecoplus International Celebrates 10 Years and 1500 Executed Projects

The EU's eastward enlargement brought Lower Austria into the center of a new, dynamic economic area. In order to make use of the chances which emerged for the lower Austrian economy, Ecoplus International GmbH in cooperation with the Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien was set up. 10 years later the subsidiary has already overseen 1500 projects.

October 16, 2014

CEE Sovereign Bond Market Among Best Investment Destinations in Europe

The CEE sovereign bonds are among the best investments in Europe this year. High returns and low volatility increase investor appeal. The CEE sovereign bond market is 5th largest in continental Europe. Romania emerges as CEE regional champion among local currency bonds.

October 2, 2014

Warsaw Stock Exchange not to Merge with Vienna Stock Exchange

For the time being plans for the merger of the Vienna and Warsaw stock exchanges have been postponed. The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) declared that it had decided to abandon plans for a merger with Vienna Stock Exchange (VSE).

September 24, 2014

Business Indicator: Growing Geopolitical Uncertainty Levels the Economic Outlook Down

Bank Austria has published its latest "Business Indicator" on the Austrian economy. The analysts of Bank Austria believe, that after a weak first six months, the economic recovery continues to find it difficult to get out of the starting blocks. The growing uncertainty fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine crisis was reflected in another decline for Bank Austria’s Business Indicator in August. The indicator has been trending downwards slightly for half a year, and now sits at its lowest point since last summer of just 0.2 points.

September 18, 2014

Strabag Builds a Section of Polish A4 Motorway for € 85 Mln

A consortium consisting of Strabag Sp. z o.o. and Budimex S.A. has signed the contract to build a 41 km section of the A4 motorway from Rzeszów to Jarosław in south-eastern Poland. The gross contract has a value of about € 170 million. Strabag holds a 50 % share in the consortium. The construction time is estimated to take 14 months.

September 18, 2014

Strabag to Build Koscierzyna Bypass in Poland for EUR 40 Mln

A consortium of Strabag Poland and its subsidiary Heilit+Woerner has been awarded the design-and-build contract for a 7.6 km bypass around the city of Kościerzyna in northern Poland. The 7.6 km carriageway includes various civil engineering structures and environmental protection measures. The contract has a value of about € 40 million (PLN 165 million).

September 11, 2014

Mid Europa Partners' New Fund to Invest EUR 800 Mln in CEE

Mid Europa Partners, the British private equity firm focused on buyouts in Central & Eastern Europe, announced the final closing of Mid Europa Fund IV at €800 million, complemented by an additional pre-allocated co-investment program of €650 million. Fund IV represents the largest dedicated fund to the CEE Region raised in the last 5 years.

September 5, 2014

Poland's Donald Tusk to Become European Council President

Current council president Herman Van Rompuy tweeted the announcement from the EU summit. Mr Tusk, Poland's centre-right prime minister since 2007, will become the European Council's president. Italy's Federica Mogherini, a centre-left politician and foreign minister will replace the UK's Catherine Ashton as EU foreign policy chief.

August 30, 2014

adQuota is Expanding in Poland

The Danish headquartered mobile SSP adQuota is expanding its Polish operation by acquiring mobile experienced entrepreneurs previously engaged in a joint venture with Adello Polska, adQuota's biggest competitor in Poland. The enterprise will continue under the brand adQuota Poland.

August 26, 2014

Russia Orders Agricultural Import Bans in Sanction Retaliation

Vladimir Putin signed a decree limiting or banning imports of agricultural products from countries which have imposed sanctions on Russia, the Kremlin's press service announced. It is estimated that following CEE/SEE countries will be hit by the retaliatory sanctions: Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Brussels, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

August 6, 2014

Analysis: Russia - Assessment of EU and Tightened US Sanctions

Special analysis covering the most recent escalation in terms of Western economic and financial sanctions against Russia: EU and US sending bold diplomatic signals without inflicting too much near-term economic and financial damage. In comparison to the US sanctions by the EU are capped in duration. Recent escalation adds to uncertainty in doing business with Russia, which is an ultimate goal of sanctions. Near-term impact of current sanctions still limited, which implies a risk that they may remain for longer.

July 31, 2014

Austrian FDI: Current Developments 1Q 2014

In the first quarter of 2014, Austrian FDI abroad reached a value of 2.8 billion euros, which is less by about 30% than in the same period of 2013. Foreign direct investments in the same period into Austria stood at 1.4 billion euros. This is about 37% less than in the same period of last year.

July 29, 2014

Immofinanz Sells Two Logistics Properties in Poland and the Czech Republic

Immofinanz Group sold two logistics properties – the Bokserska Distribution Park in Warsaw and the Westpoint Distribution Park in Prague. Both transactions took place above book value, with the combined proceeds totalling approx. EUR 33.2 million. The Westpoint Distribution Park was sold to Central Group, a Czech investor, while the Bokserska Distribution Park was sold to “UK & European Investments“, a well-known family office from Great Britain.

July 28, 2014

Cost of Living Rankings: CEE Capitals Cheaper, Vienna is 32nd Most Expensive City

The Mercer's 2014 Cost of Living Rankings have been published and cover 211 cities across five continents. While Western European cities have all risen in the rankings mainly due to the strengthening of the Euro against the US dollar, most cities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), however have fallen in the ranking as a result of local currencies depreciating against the US dollar. Bratislava (#84), Prague (#92), Kiev (#98), Ljubljana (#116), Zagreb (#120), Budapest (#135), Warsaw (#142), Belgrade (#184).

July 25, 2014

Poland: Strabag to Construct S7 Section “Trasa Nowohucka” in Kraków Worth € 130 Million

A consortium comprising Strabag Sp. z o.o. and Heilit+Woerner Sp. z o.o, two subsidiaries of Austrian listed company Strabag SE, has signed a contract for the construction of a stretch of the planned S7 expressway in the east of Kraków, called “Trasa Nowohucka”, which will run between Rybitwy and Igołomska.

July 24, 2014

Forecast for CESEE Countries (Webinar)

Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) have been strongly affected by the economic crisis. However now there are signs of an improving economic climate and growth rates will again be above the EU average. The current situation in the Ukraine and potential difficulties between the EU and Russia constitute a downside risk.

June 24, 2014

CEE-Initiative: Strengthening Investment Fund Business in Central- and Eastern Europe (CEE)

The Hungarian association BAMOSZ and the Austrian association VÖIG initiated a closer collaboration and tighter co-operation between fund associations in CEE, the so-called „CEE Initiative“. The member associations of the „CEE Initiative“ are (in alphabetical order): Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

June 16, 2014

VIG Considers to Delist from Warsaw Stock Exchange

Listed insurer VIG is considering delisting from the Warsaw Stock Exchange, should it decide to merge with the Vienna bourse, CEO Peter Hagen told news agency Reuters in an interview.

June 12, 2014

TTIP-Myths and Realities According to AmCham Austria

The American Chamber of Commerce in Austria (AmCham Austria) promotes the expansion and strengthening of trade and commerce relations between Austria and the US. Talks on a future EU-US trade deal started in July 2013 and are set to continue throughout 2014. The talks are part of a trade and investment deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.

June 3, 2014

Austria: Western Balkans Representatives are Meeting in Vienna

The Western Balkans Conference and the Central European Initiative (CEI) Ministerial Meeting are currently discussing questions regarding the EU enlargement, the role of the EU as a peace project and the economic situation in the Western Balkans.

June 3, 2014

VIG Takes Over 100% of Life Insurer Skandia Poland

The Vienna Insurance Group AG (Wiener Versicherung Gruppe) has acquired 100 percent of shares in the life insurance company Skandia Zycie TU S.A. (Skandia Poland).

May 31, 2014

BSH Vienna is Partially Taken Over by German BSH Group

With the goal of strengthening its international market presence, the TROX Group acquired parts of BSH Group.

May 31, 2014

Yakunin: Broad-Gauge System from Vladivostock to Vienna to Be Established

Vladimir Yakunin, head of the Russian Railways (RZD), wants to stick to his strategic plans and establish an uninterrupted rail link between Vienna and Vladivostock.

May 24, 2014

Boyden Partners Met in Vienna to Discuss Emerging Markets Strategies

The annual global Boyden conference took place in Vienna. Despite the current political crisis in Ukraine the headhunting company sees good prospects of Austrian enterprises and managers.

May 23, 2014

Switzerland: IMD Releases the World Competitiveness Yearbook Ranking 2014

The US leads, Europe recovers, and big emerging markets struggle.

May 22, 2014

Exporttag: Meet All Austrian Trade Delegates at the Export Day 2014

On June 24, the Export Day (Exporttag) of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) will take place in Vienna. Economic delegates from all over the world will be present.

May 20, 2014

Global Real Estate & Economy Talks (GREET) in Vienna

GREET is short for “Global Real Estate & Economy Talks“. It is the platform for commercial property and investments in CEE and SEE, including Russia, Turkey and CIS.

May 19, 2014

Journalism Prize “Writing for CEE 2014” Inviting Submissions

Journalists from all over Europe are invited to submit entries.

May 19, 2014

South Korean Bank Preparing for Business in CEE

Shinhan Bank, one of the largest banks in the South Korea, will open branches in Poland.

May 12, 2014

CEE: Surge in Sales for French Lafarge

The French building material group Lafarge saw a strong increase in sales in Romania and Eastern Europe in general.

May 9, 2014

German Retailer Metro Faces Massive Losses in CEE

Sales in CEE declined 14.8 percent last year for German retail and wholesale enterprise Metro Group.

May 9, 2014

Fiat Intensifies Investments in Poland

As reported by Polish daily Puls Biznescu, Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat plans on lauching the production of a new series, similar to the so-called Punto.

May 9, 2014

Poland: Banking Industry’s Profits Down

In the first quarter this year, the net profit of Polish banks came at PLN 3.97bn (€ 944m, down by 2.9 percent year-on-year, as reported by the Polish financial market regulator KNF.

May 9, 2014

Michelin to Downsize in Hungary

French tyre producer Michelin announced to shut down ist tyre plant in Budapest and relocate to Romania.

May 9, 2014

Calls for European Energy Union Become Louder

Polish PM Tusk called for a European energy union. His Hungarian counterpart supports the idea.

May 9, 2014

Poland: Bank BZ WBK Expects High Growth of Profit

The Polish affiliate of Spanish Banco Santander, Bank BZ WBK, expects net profits in 2014 to increase compared to last year’s volume.

April 30, 2014

EU Enlargement: A Success Story for Central Europe

Austria is one of the main beneficiaries of the EU enlargement of 2004.

April 30, 2014

Polish Banking Sector: “Too Early for Recovery”

The Polish banking sector has to be patient for economic recovery to show on their results.

April 29, 2014

Real Estate: Buwog Shares Taking Off

The highly anticipated primary listing of residential real estate affiliate of listed Immofinanz, Buwog, will be completed on Monday.

April 28, 2014

Raiffeisen Bank International AG - SWOT Analysis & Company Report May 2014

This new report contains in depth information and data about Raiffeisen Bank International AG and its operations and markets. It contains an overview, business and strategy description, financial ratios, valuation & forecast data and a SWOT analysis.

April 25, 2014

Poland Fears War in Ukraine

According to Poland´s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Poland should prepare for the worst case in Ukraine.

April 25, 2014

Poland: BNP Paribas Bank Polska Hopes for Higher Profits

Because of the merger with BGZ Bank BNP Paribas Bank Polska, the Polish branch of the French financial giant, expects a growth of return on equity (ROE) in the double-digit figures.

April 24, 2014

Poland: Costs for Banking Services Rising Dramatically

The banking fees in Poland saw a dramatic increase in the second half last year.

April 23, 2014

Poland: VAT Likely to be Reduced

As announced by Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Szczurek, the government plans on cutting the VAT rate to 22 percent in 2017.

April 22, 2014

Poland: Economic Upswing Endangered by Conflict in Ukraine

In general, Poland´s economic growth accelerates. However, the recent developments in Poland´s neighbor country are a substantial risk factor.

April 18, 2014

Polish Insurer PZU Gains More Power in Baltic States

As announced by the Polish insurance company, PZU took over three Baltic competitors.

April 17, 2014

Poland: Budget Deficit Soaring

Last year the budget deficit amounted to 4.3 percent of GDP.

April 17, 2014