American Companies in Poland Capital for Development and Security

The Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) together with the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland (AmCham) have prepared a report summarizing the activities of American companies on the Polish market in 2018-2021.

The report “American Companies in Poland – Capital for Development and Security” presented on June 28 during a conference at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) is an important summary of the commercial activities of American companies in Poland. The document contains not only a number of valuable observations on the activities of companies, but also constitutes a kind of record of the most important transatlantic players on the Polish market.  Experts from SGH and AmCham took into account, among other things, the value of assets, operating income, investment value and number of employees. 

At the end of 2021, 1576 businesses with American capital were registered in Poland. Compared to the  number in 2018 , this is an increase of 2%. It is worth noting that in 2019-2020 the number of businesses with American capital decreased. In 2020, there were 1462 companies operating in Poland.

According to experts, American companies present on the Polish market are distinguished from others by the number of medium and large enterprises. Referring to the data of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), experts point to the presence of numerous re-investment projects. They are mainly in industries such as: energy, business services, IT, medical devices and logistics.

At the same time, the authors pointed out that despite the dominant role of investments related to the services sector, almost half, i.e. 48%, concerned industry. In terms of employment, the most jobs are generated by the service sectors, including trade. According to analysts, in the group of people working for American companies, 57% are representatives of these sectors.

Assets

The value of assets of enterprises with the participation of American capital in 2021 amounted to approx. USD 60 million. In the case of locating the value of assets of enterprises with American capital – the most, as much as 50%, are located in  the Mazovia area (50%) – the least in  the Podlasie  area(0.01%).

Operating income

The value of operating income in enterprises with US capital in Poland amounted to USD 69 billion in 2021, an increase of 14% compared to 2018. Enterprises with American capital achieved the highest revenues in Mazovia – 46%, and the lowest in Podlasie – 0.01%. In terms of structure, the largest revenues were achieved by head offices (9%). In Poland, this group is represented by 14 companies.

Investments

In 2021, the value of investments of enterprises with the participation of American capital amounted to over USD 160 million. For comparison, in 2018 it was over USD 24 million. According to experts, almost 80% of American companies in Poland are located in four Voivodships: Mazowieckie, Małopolskie, Podkarpackie and Wielkopolskie. The highest concentration of capital occurs in companies operating head offices (10%), and the smallest in the meat processing and preserving sector, excluding poultry.

Employment

At the end of 2021, 327,250 people were employed in companies with American capital. In terms of location, the largest number of employees was in the Mazowieckie Voivodship. In the case of division into sectors – the largest group are representatives of the segment specializing in warehousing and storage.

Experts from SGH and AmCham point to the possibility of worsening of results in 2022, due to investor uncertainty. However, the current energy transformation is expected to affect the demand for  implementing investments. The planned projects are primarily to be related to the energy sector. In terms of the location of the investment,  the Polish market was assessed positively.