A new Internet site

All those interested in British-Polish economic issues now have a new Internet site at their disposal-the British-Polish Business Portal was launched in March (http://www.bpcc.org.pl). "Our main task is to support bilateral business relations between Poland and Great Britain," said Editor Michał Dembiński at the site's commercial launch March 13. "We offer firms of both countries detailed information on business conditions." The site's emphasis will be on matching business partners. On the day of the launch, the British-Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC) and Synovate, one of the world's leading research companies, presented the results of the first in a series of regular surveys known as the Investment Climate Barometer in Poland. The survey, tracking the mood among foreign investors in Poland, will be produced every two months. "The results should show that the Polish government has much to do if it wants to attract and retain foreign investment," said BPCC Chairman David Glasgow. The respondents have identified the following as the greatest barriers to business growth in Poland: burdensome bureaucracy (88 percent of respondents), poor infrastructure (73 percent), and corruption (60 percent). In terms of its perception as a good place to do business, Poland is in last place among the 10 European Union candidate countries. On a scale proposed by the survey's participants, if the business climate for foreign investments in Poland rates 100, then in the Czech Republic it rates 141.7, and in Hungary 137.