Destination: East
Current trends and attractive foreign expansion destinations in the face of geopolitical turbulence
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Discover new business horizons
In an age of rapid market changes, foreign direct investment is becoming an engine of economic development and a key tool for building a strong, modern economy, and allows companies to unleash their potential, accelerating business growth.
Foreign investment opens up opportunities related to, among other things, access to new markets and their diversification, resulting in increased revenues and reduced risk. At the same time, each investment is also an organizational and financial challenge for entrepreneurs - especially under conditions of high economic volatility and uncertainty.
Market data shows that Polish foreign investment is steadily growing, but as a country we are still not taking full advantage of our opportunities. More than Polish companies are invested by competitors not only from Germany or France, but also from the Czech Republic or Austria.
Understanding the opportunities and challenges presented by foreign direct investment is crucial to a successful international development strategy. That is why the report "Destination: East Current trends and attractive foreign expansion destinations in the face of geopolitical turbulence” developed by us together with our partners PwC Poland and KUKE, is a look into the future.
By providing reliable, multidimensional market analysis and pointing out attractive investment directions in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia we want to inspire entrepreneurs to be able to boldly and effectively in the international arena to take advantage of those assets that constitute the strength of our economy - flexibility, innovation and the ability to develop creative solutions.
2023 marks another year when the global economy faces major challenges, and that is certainly relevant for foreign direct investment flows as well. The challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment means that the impact of key trends on global economic processes and corporate business decisions is growing. The most significant examples include nearshoring, the energy transition and digital revolution or the rise of protectionism. I am convinced that in such a dynamic economic environment we can find opportunities to develop Polish foreign direct investments. Such opportunities are opening up in the CEE and Asia. The CEE countries, which are geographically and culturally closer to us, as well as the less obvious, but rapidly growing Asian markets, are characterised by high resilience to economic and geopolitical turbulence and high business potential, which makes them attractive expansion destinations for Polish investors.
How to use the report?
The report is a comprehensive analysis of potential business opportunities which takes into account macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, as well as changes in the global economy. To cenny materiał dla dziennikarzy i ekspertów zajmujących się tematyką bezpośrednich inwestycji zagranicznych oraz firm, które już inwestują za granicą, a także tych, które dopiero planują lub rozpoczynają międzynarodową ekspansję kapitałową.
The study consists of several parts and includes:
Analysis of key market trends
The current landscape of foreign direct investment is shaped by global economic trends and phenomena. The market analysis and research conducted allow us to conclude that several trends have recently increased in importance, among which are nearshoring, the green transformation and digital revolution, and growing protectionism.
Results of research with entrepreneurs
In compiling the report, we surveyed a sample of 240 large and medium-sized enterprises from two groups: those that are investing abroad, and thoses that had not previously undertaken foreign investment. This allowed us to compare their attitudes toward foreign investment, as well as to learn about their plans in the area of foreign business.
Ranking: the most attractive expansion destinations
We selected the most promising, though not always obvious, expansion directions. In this edition, we focused on the CEE and Asian regions, which have shown particular resilience in the face of the economic impact of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. We identified both countries where Polish companies already have a strong presence and have invested more than €100 million, as well as those whose potential is yet to be fully discovered by them.
What makes our report stand out?
Distinguishing between recognised and non-recognised markets
Dividing the ranking into countries known and unknown to Polish entrepreneurs in order to provide a variety of investment arguments.
Multidimensionality of the analysis
The methodology for developing the ranking takes into account different approaches in order to provide the most relevant results.
Consideration of CEE and Asian destinations
The analysis takes into account attractive destinations not only from Central and Eastern Europe, but also those located in Asia.
Transparency of the analysis
The methodology for developing the ranking is transparent in order to make the results easy to interpret and the ranking replicable over time.
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Additional information
- The report is also available in Polish. You can download it here.
- Do you have more questions related to the report? Are you thinking about starting a foreign direct investment and looking for financing? Feel free to contact the team of Polish International Development Fund.
- If you are interested in our other studies on foreign expansion, such as "Polish foreign investments: new trends and directions" - go to the Foreign Expansion Knowledge Center website.
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