In recent years, the dynamics of corporate investment in Poland has slowed down to approximately 9%. GDP, while the EU average is 13% and in the countries of our region it reaches even 14-16%. As the report points out, such a distance translates directly into lower productivity of companies, lower innovation and lower resistance of the economy to shocks.
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The report indicates that there are overlapping barriers such as rising energy costs, regulatory pressure, unpredictable law, congestion in courts and decreasing job availability. If we do not react, we risk a permanent slowdown in growth and a halt in convergence with Western Europe.
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Investments are born out of predictability, not enthusiasm
The report's key conclusion is very pragmatic: companies invest when they are able to calculate the return on capital. This means that they need a stable regulatory environment, predictable demand and real access to financing.
The recommendations include solutions that can be implemented in a relatively short time, including multi-year public procurement with deferred implementation, depoliticization of the method of determining the minimum wage, streamlining construction procedures, restoring the efficiency of commercial courts and limiting sudden changes in law without consulting the market. The common denominator is the elimination of uncertainty, which the report's authors describe as the “silent killer of investments”.
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The financing system is too shallow
As the report suggests, to increase business investment to 15%. GDP by 2030, a deeper source of capital for companies is also needed. Currently, the banking sector in Poland is too small relative to the economy: its assets amount to approximately 90 percent. GDP, while in the Czech Republic they reach 140 percent.
The report proposes the introduction of a pro-development bank tax, more competitive taxation of equity financing, expanding the role of public guarantees and increasing the supply of high-risk capital through venture capital, private equity and private debt funds. All these instruments are intended to increase the ability of companies to invest without additional burden on state finances.
Investments have become a strategic condition for maintaining economic growth, security and the country's ability to finance public services. The Employers of Poland report does not stop at diagnosis, but presents a set of tools that can be implemented over the next several months. The report suggests that the question is no longer “can we afford to invest?”, but “can we afford not to invest?”
