Page 438 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

408 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

financing) signed contracts to the tune of 25 billion EUR over a year period,
whereas KUKE, only to the amount of several hundred million PLN. 91

Factors Determining the Expansion of Polish Enterprises in the
UAE

The most important factors contributing to the cooperation and expansion of
Polish enterprises in the territory of the UAE include:

1. political stability of the UAEdlack of significant influence of funda-
mentalist movements on the internal policy (a consistently implemented
vision of a modern state, in which old Arab traditions and the fundamental
principles of Islam combine with modernity and the progress of
civilization),
2. good economic situation (high GDP growth, significant budget surpluses,
surpluses in foreign trade balance),
3. no restrictions on profit transfer or capital repatriation,
4. low import duties (less than 5% for virtually all goods), nonexistent in the
case of items imported for use in the free zones,
5. competitive labor costs; corporate and personal taxes are nil, numerous
double taxation agreements and bilateral investment treaties are in place,
6. excellent infrastructure as well as a stable and safe working environment,
7. development of new branches of industry in the UAE (chemical, metal-
lurgical, machine industries, trade, and construction),
8. rich deposits of natural resources (approximately 10% of global oil
deposits and the fifth largest gas deposits),
9. growth recorded in certain areas outside of the oil sector (apart from
industry, in construction, trade, services, and banking),
10. substantial financial reserves (estimated at over 250 billion USD),
invested in foreign markets (Western Europe, the United States, the Near
East),
11. dynamic development of financial services sector (e.g., the establishment
of DFIC), constituting a bridge that links the financial markets of the East
and the West),
12. increase in trade between Poland and the UAE,
13. most advanced telecommunication technologies,
14. access to numerous trade fairs and international conferences,
15. high-quality office and residential space,
16. security of energy supplies,

91. http://www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/2012/02/20/przedsiebiorco-z-polski-marza-sie-kontrakty-
z-1001-nocy-jest-potencjal.