LUCAS STROJNY
MULTI-ASSET PORTFOLIO MANAGER
AMILTON AM
Score prediction: POLAND 2 – SLOVAKIA 0
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
At the time of reopening, the current European Football Championship hosted in 11 European cities highlights the importance of mobility for economic growth and the need of the transportation sector.
Poland is a huge country, the largest in Central Europe and one of the biggest in the EU. Transport infrastructure is therefore key, a necessity that prompted massive investment over the past decades and the creation of top-notch companies operating in the transport sector, like Solaris Bus & Coach, a Poznan-based firm specialising in the production of buses and other public transport vehicles.
Today, moreover, Solaris became the Polish leader, and one of the big names in Europe, in the production of hybrid, electric and zero to low-emission buses.
In the rolling-stock industry, PESA, a company with a 160-year history in rail transport, is a clear success story. The company transformed itself in recent decades from a state-owned business to a modern, innovative company supplying diesel and electric units of all kinds, including locomotives and trams. It has built up impressive technical expertise, kept fresh with a steady supply of new graduates with engineering backgrounds, ensured through close collaboration with universities.
Moreover, Poland’s advanced manufacturers are successful and internationally recognised producers of specific low-volume and highly customised machinery for transportation.
PETER LENART
HEAD OF INVESTMENT RESEARCH
A&J WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Score prediction: POLAND 1 – SLOVAKIA 2
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
Why invest in Slovakia?
Slovakia is situated in the heart of Europe and is a European Union and Eurozone member. An exporter will find 600 million potential customers within a 2,000 kilometre radius.
Slovakia is a Central and Eastern European leader in labour productivity according to OECD. An investor will find cost-effective, skilled and hard-working labour with excellent multilingual skills.
Corporate income tax is levied at a rate of 21%.
In 2018, the Slovakian government adopted a new investment incentive scheme, whereby the Slovakian government will refund up to 35% of investment project costs. While investment projects created by a small-medium sized enterprise, the total percentage of the refund can reach up to 55%.
In 2019, the Slovakian government put in place a new R&D strategy, which allows a company to deduct 200% of its R&D expenses in its corporate tax return.
