Archives: Aktualności członków

As in previous years, in December 2019, the Wacław Felczak Polish-Hungarian Cooperation Institute requested an interview with Timea Balajcza, Managing Director of BALAJCZA Linguistic Services. This time the topic of the article was – “Tradition that unites.”

“From the moment when the Advent wreath is hidden, with the last of the four candles having died out, and when the house will resonate with the merry voices of children unwrapping their gifts, the Hungarians and the Poles will sit down to a very special meal – the Christmas Eve dinner, with which they will begin their celebration of Christmas on the 24^th of December. When it comes to Christmas festivities, there is a lot that we have in common, mostly the gratitude and joy, at the coming of the Christ. But also the focus on building ties and relations with our loved ones, which is especially strong during this time. There are also differences due to the varying traditions present in our countries, further reinforced by customs developed in individual homes.

The Christmas tree tradition, originating in 16^th century Alsace, made its way into Polish homes between the end of the 18^th and the beginning of the 19th century, and to Hungary, in the middle of the 19^th century. Once, only reserved for the wealthy ­– today, large or small, it stands in almost every home. Earlier, in accordance with both Polish and Hungarian tradition, the tree was decorated on Christmas Eve, but in Poland this tradition has largely disappeared over recent decades. Today, Christmas trees are bought and decorated at least a few days before Christmas Eve. The Hungarians have stayed true to the old custom.

Timea Balajcza, director of a linguistic firm and resident of Warsaw for the last twenty years, says that on December 24^th, on the streets of her home town – Budapest, you can see many elderly people walking with their grandchildren. They often take them to church to see a nativity play known as Betlehem. During that time, their parents and other adults who have stayed at home, bring in the Christmas tree and decorate it. When the children return, they are greeted by the tinkling of a bell which is the sign that the house had just been visited by Baby Jesus, who brought gifts, and the sight of the decorated Christmas tree, with presents underneath. Timea emphasises that it is an exceptionally beautiful tradition, cherished by both children and adults alike. After moving to Poland and the birth of her two daughters, she cultivated if for a few years, but finally the impossibility of buying a nice and fresh Christmas tree on December 24th, has forced her to abandon this custom”.

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Wacław Felczak Polish-Hungarian Cooperation Institute is an organization whose aims and tasks include in particular:

• cultivation of Polish-Hungarian traditions and heritage as well as their advancement in public and international life;
• promoting language acquisition, culture and Polish-Hungarian youth cooperation;
• development of scientific, educational, cultural, economic and sports cooperation;
• initiation and support of initiatives and projects aimed at increasing the familiarity between the two nations;
• support of activities to improve the innovativeness and competitiveness of Poland and Hungary.

 

At the beginning of the New Year, Hotel Metropol invites you to discover the culinary flavours of our eastern neighbors.

The menu is available at the metro jazz bar & bistro restaurant until the end of February. Attached you will find a menu.

In 2019, we at GESSEL put a lot of effort in further developing our expertise at the nexus of transactional services – a traditional forte of our firm – and the new technologies sector. Our efforts have clearly been noted by our Clients, who afforded us the opportunity to advise on 10 key m&a | private equity | venture capital deals in the sector. We are very grateful to our Clients, and very proud of each one of our tech deals.

The highlights:

• We advised shareholders of Przelewy24 (a well-known payment services provider) in connection with establishment of the strategic alliance with Nets Denmark a/s (a portfolio company of Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and Advent International) and its Polish subsidiaries Dotpay and eCard under the new brand P24 DotCard Group. This was our biggest fintech deal in Poland to date. 
• We advised Enterprise Investors on their successful exit from 3S S.A. (fibre optics and data centre services provider), which was sold to P4 Sp. z o.o. (a subsidiary of Play Communications S.A.). 
• We advised mLeasing from mBank Group , on the acquisition of LeaseLink (offering leasing as a payment method) from its founders and shareholders.  
• We advised Wirtualna Polska Media, a company from the Wirtualna Polska Holding group, in connection with the acquisition of AutoCentrum.pl S.A. (a new media company providing content relating to vehicles and motoring) from OPONEO S.A.
• We advised Inovo Venture Partners (a leading CEE venture capital fund located in Poland) on the investment in Tidio Poland Sp. z o.o. (a global chat-bot services provider).
• We advised Sunfish Partners (a German-Polish venture capital fund powered by PFR Ventures) on its investments in Perfops (a provider of load balancer and data analytics platforms) and Molecule one (developer of AI-powered chemical synthesis design software). 
• We advised to DialCom24 (a Polish new technology companies holding) on its acquisition of Infinite Sp. o.o. (EDI software provider) from Emperia Holding S.A.

We expect 2020 to be no less challenging! 

https://gessel.pl/en/news/in-2019-we-advised-on-10-key-ma-pe-vc-deals-in-new-technologies-sector-in-poland/

Transdisciplinary studies on Switzerland – Helvetology (second level degree studies) – combine language skills with soft skills such as the art of presentation, teamwork and project work.

According to the information received from the University, the studies will focus on an interdisciplinary approach to both research and practical areas, developing foreign language skills – at C1 level (French, German, Italian), learning a second foreign language (French, German, Italian) and cooperation with the socio-economic environment. 38 candidates enrolled in the program, including 23 with German at C1 level and 14 with French at C1 level. More information can be found in the attachments below.

There will be many cooperation opportunities for interested companies, e.g.:

– master’s theses carried out in a project mode focused on a topic proposed by the companies,

– part-time employment of students,

– supplementing studies with selected competences, e.g. project management.

Interested persons are invited to contact Mr. Rafał Kijonka, who on behalf of the Chamber coordinates cooperation with the University:

rafal.kijonka@swisslinx.com

Simultaneously to the didactic activity, the Swiss Studies Centre is being established at the University in cooperation with the University of Zurich and Lausanne, and with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Swiss Embassy in Poland and the Polish Embassy in Switzerland.

The Centre aims to centralize research on Switzerland at the University, strengthen Polish-Swiss academic cooperation, but also strenghten cooperation between countries on a cultural and socio-economic level. More information can be found in the attachments below.

Migrating to Office 365 allows your organization to move to a modern workplace with a focus on communication and collaboration, but this is just the first step of your journey towards the cloud. 

One of the biggest challenges that has to be faced to make the most out of your new IT investment is a seamless Office 365 adoption. Switching to Office 365 brings many benefits, but when end-users are not aware of how it can help them to reach their goals, they stick to the services they already know. Developing a solid plan to implement the new solution is critical to project success. 

However, the question is how to achieve your business goals when your team’s schedules are busy and you are not sure how to start.

Join our upcoming Office 365 Adoption webinar on January 23, 3 p.m. and learn:

• why you need the Adoption process,
• which Adoption activities you can plan,
• how to nominate and engage business champions,
• how to make the Adoption process successful.

Click here to register: https://siipolska.clickmeeting.pl/office-365-adoption/register 

A Q&A session with participants will be held during the webinar.

THE SPEAKER

Szymon Bochniak

• Service Delivery Manager at Sii Poland
• 12 years of experience in working with SharePoint & Office 365
• Managing a team of 60+ Office 365 consultants
• Delivered migrations to Office 365 in a total of 60 TB of data and counting
• Blogger on Office365atWork.com

Our partner: Microsoft

Application of Hilti devices in technical rescue

Warsaw, December 2019 – They enable rescuers to quickly reach casualties in situations when every second is crucial. Hilti devices help firefighters save precious time during rescue operations.

Hilti devices, extremely effective on the construction site, are used also in the event of natural disasters and during rescue and firefighting operations. They are reliable even in such difficult working conditions as those that firefighters have to cope with, supported by Hilti Polska, e.g. as part of #HiltiRatuje campaign. “Fire can spread very rapidly and intensively, which is why it is so important to get to its source quickly. Unfortunately, reality does not make it easy for us”, says Łukasz Wagner, FSC Business Development Manager at Hilti and a firefighter in the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service.

Time is crucial

“Our basic task is technical rescue, that is enabling access to the injured” – says Łukasz Wagner. “To this end, firefighters must overcome a number of obstacles, often working in dangerous and rapidly changing conditions. During a fire, high temperature and smoke are as dangerous to human life and health as flames. Every second matters.”

Light and reliable

Hilti devices facilitate and accelerate the daily work of the Volunteer Fire Service team from Chotomów. The light and durable SR 6-A22 reciprocating saw used with special heavy duty Fire&Rescue saw blades enables cutting very thick metal, e.g. when pulling casualties out of crashed vehicles. The powerful and versatile AG 125-A22 angle grinder with a brushless motor enables quick cutting of padlocks and bolts. When it comes to removing life-threatening steel elements, it is recommended to use the SCM 22 circular saw that enables sparkless and – most importantly – cold cutting. For the toughest tasks, such as cutting window grates or hard concrete materials, firefighters use the compact and light DSH 600-X petrol saw. Firefighters often work in conditions that require additional lighting of the area. The SL 6-A22 jobsite lamp with a rotating head is a perfect solution in such situations.

All these devices are compatible with the same battery, which ensures convenient work. “We don’t even have to take the power generator out. Everything we need is in one tool case, so we save a lot of time” – emphasizes Łukasz Prusinowski, a firefighter from the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service.

The Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service has a long tradition, dating back to 1918. Besides firefighting, for many years the Volunteer Fire Service actively participated in the life of the local community and was engaged in the national liberation movement. Currently, the Chotomów Volunteer Fire Service can boast of highly qualified staff and state-of-the art equipment. Hilti Polska is pleased to support such a rapidly growing organization.

https://www.hilti.pl/content/hilti/E3/PL/pl/o_nas/media-relations/media-releases/informacja-prasowa-2019—hilti-ratuje.html

The end of the year and the start of a new one is a time when not only the employers but also the employees begin to think about their tax reporting obligations. The tax obligations of some of the taxpayers, in particular those of the foreign nationals, are often less clearly understood than those of the Polish citizens. Non-Polish taxpayers run up against a number of barriers, including language skills and the difficulty getting through the relevant tax rules. Neither bodes well for successful compliance with their tax reporting requirements.

The questions often asked include:

• which part of their income should be reported in which country?
• when to file their tax returns in Poland and when in their home country?
• what must a correctly completed tax return of a tax resident include?
• how to account for income earned under different agreements?

Uncertainty may arise especially with regard to the position of those foreign nationals who are employed in Poland or who carry on business activity here. To help clear up some of the doubts you may have, we have prepared answers to frequently asked questions. These are based on common scenarios and should go some way, we hope, towards finding the right solutions and clearing up confusion surrounding your tax obligations.

It is good to ask for help.

Marek Gadacz
Partner at Crido

+48 22 324 56 22
marek.gadacz@crido.pl

https://crido.pl/en/hottopic/personal-income-tax-pit-for-foreign-nationals-q-and-a/

GESSEL is proud to have supported BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. in yet another investment – a new round of financing for Dafo Plastics S.A.

GESSEL already worked with BNP Paribas on its original investment in Dafo Plastics in 2018. The funds accrued from this round will be applied by Dafo towards boosting its production capacity.

GESSEL advised on preparation of the transaction documentation and on the closing. Our team was led by Krzysztof Jasiński, senior associate, with input from Paulina Maciąg, trainee attorney and overall supervision by Małgorzata Badowska, partner.

BNP Paribas is a leading European bank with a large international footprint, pursuing – through its various affiliates – operations in 74 countries, relying on a workforce of over 190,000 employees (including over 146,000 in Europe). It prides itself on being a strong local bank with global outreach; in 2017, it ranked seventh in Poland in terms of assets. For five years, its Polish branch has been operating an equity investments office – in effect a small fund through which the Bank invests in small and medium-sized Polish companies.

Dafo Plastics, founded 27 years ago, manufactures plastic bottles, jars, tubes and a variety of caps, lids etc. for customers in, among other sectors, the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

https://gessel.pl/de/news/gessel-advises-bnp-paribas-bank-polska-s-a-on-a-new-round-of-financing-for-dafo-plastics-s-a/

The Responsible Business Forum has opened the submission of corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices to be included in the latest 18th edition of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices.” Both the submission and the publication are free for the reporting companies. Good practices can be registered until 10 January 2020 using an online form available at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019. The reported good practices need to be related to initiatives implemented in the territory of Poland, and should be described and submitted in Polish.

The report “Responsible business in Poland. Good Practices” is Poland’s largest overview of responsible business efforts within a year. Its most extensive part is devoted to CSR activities implemented by companies. Good practices can be reported until 10 January 2020 by completing an online form available at http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019. The good practices which qualify to be included in the report (more than 1500 in the previous edition) combine into a positive business impact map. They offer an extensive range of inspirations for other organizations looking to implement CSR solutions. The list of reporting entities provides an overview of different types of businesses which use the report as an opportunity to disseminate information about their initiatives on a wider scale.

The publication will have its debut on 16 April 2020 during the 8th edition of the CSR Marketplace which is the largest CSR and sustainable development event in Poland (http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/targicsr/, FREE ADMISSION).

“The report brings together a unique group of businesses which show us how to put CSR into practice, so we are all the more happy to see that their number is increasing year by year. More than 200 companies from all over Poland submitted their CSR activities for the latest edition, and more than 1500 good practices have been described in our report.  Drawing up such an overview takes a lot of effort from our organization, but it is still the only initiative of its kind in Poland. It is a much-needed source of inspiration not only for business, but also for other sectors looking for opportunities to enter into cooperation that would contribute to the sustainable development of our country. We encourage all organizations to join in and submit their CSR and sustainability initiatives implemented in 2019” says Marzena Strzelczak, Director General of Responsible Business Forum.

Submission and new regulations

Both new and long-established practices can be submitted for the report. New practices include examples of CSR initiatives which have not yet been described in any of the reports published by the Responsible Business Forum, and were implemented by companies in 2019. Long-established practices are the ones which have been described in at least one of the reports published to date, and were continued in 2019.

This year a limit has been imposed on the number of new practices. Each company may submit up to 10 new initiatives for the report. There is no limit on the long-established practices. To qualify for the report, such a practice needs to have been described in one of the previous editions of the report “Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices” (the practices submitted to date are listed online at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/dobre-praktyki/).

The CSR initiatives and projects showcased in the Report are divided into 7 areas identified in the ISO 26000 standard:

• corporate governance,
• labour practices,
• human rights,
• environment,
• fair operating practices,
• consumer issues,
• community involvement and development.

The submission and publication of good practices is free. Good practices can be registered by completing an online form available at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/raport2019/ until and including 10 January 2020.

In order to qualify for the report, a good practice needs to conform to the concept / fundamental premises of corporate social responsibility. The submissions undergo final verification by the Review Committee composed of Responsible Business Forum representatives and chaired by Marzena Strzelczak, Director General.

To learn more about the submission and edition of good practices, online form completion and report publication, contact Marta Borowska, Project Manager, Responsible Business Forum (phone: 22 627 18 71, email: marta.borowska@fob.org.pl).

The report “Responsible business in Poland. Good Practices” is the most important cyclical publication of the Responsible Business Forum, published since 2002. The report presents an overview of activities carried out by companies which reported on their CSR practices and a summary of key issues of responsible business in Poland for the year under review. The introductory section features expert articles and commentaries. Moreover, each publication contains an overview of selected press articles and a calendar of CSR events. The previous editions are available online at: http://odpowiedzialnybiznes.pl/publikacje/?type=114.

This time, GESSEL advised BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. on its investment in Asprod sp. z o.o. (a bakery and baked goods retail chain in Western Pomerania). Of the 15 deals closed by the Bank in Poland to date (7 of which involved GESSEL as counsel), this has been the largest. Asprod plans to apply the funds accrued from this transaction towards construction of a new bakery, doubling its output.

As always, GESSEL assisted its Client on many fronts, performing due diligence, drafting the requisite documentation and providing support at closing. Krzysztof Jasiński, senior associate and Mateusz Bąk, associate worked on the deal proper, and Michał Boryczka, managing associate attended to the due diligence. Overall supervision on GESSEL’s part was by Małgorzata Badowska, partner.

BNP Paribas is a leading European bank with a large international footprint, pursuing – through its various affiliates – operations in 74 countries, relying on a workforce of over 190,000 employees (including over 146,000 in Europe). It prides itself on being a strong local bank with global outreach; in 2017, it ranked seventh in Poland in terms of assets. For five years, its Polish branch has been operating an equity investments office – in effect a small fund through which the Bank invests in small and medium-sized Polish companies (12 to date, in some cases with more than one financing rounds).

Asprod has been in operation since 1991, producing bread and pastries and distributing them across the Western Pomeranian, Lubuskie and Wielkopolskie regions. In 2018, Asprod achieved a PLN 6.3 million net profit from revenue of PLN 104 million. Almost two-thirds of its sales are channelled through Asprod’s network of over 60 own retail points.

https://gessel.pl/en/news/gessel-as-counsel-to-bank-bnp-paribas/