Poland is regaining its reputation as the most attractive location for foreign investors in central Europe, after being trumped for several years by more aggressive rivals such as Slovakia. 
In the last month Poland beat the Czech Republic to win a €430m ($528m, £290m) flat screen factory from LG Philips LCD, the Korean-Dutch joint venture. Symbolically the factory will be located in Kobierzyce, in south-west Poland, which had been expecting a car plant from South Korea's Kia before losing out toSlovakia last year.

Last month MAN, theGerman truck manufacturer, announced a €100m investment in a truck factory near Krakow, which beat an offer from Slovakia.

To ensure victory the government changed the system of financial support for investors in just two weeks, an unusual display of flexibility.

Marcin Kaszuba, Poland's deputy economy minister, recently predicted that the government planned to announce another 10 foreign investments by September 25, bringing the total foreign investment for the year to about $10bn, which approaches the record of $10.6bn reached in 2000.

The current optimism contrasts with the gloom that prevailed in the Polish government last year after Kia opted for Slovakia, one year after carmaker PSA-Peugeot Citroën also shunned Poland for Slovakia and three years after the Czech Republic wooed a Toyota-Peugeot project.