If you’re looking for some light at the end of the eurozone tunnel, look to Poland and its exchange traded fund (ETF). Despite the tragic death of their president this month, Poland has some strong momentum behind its nascent economic growth and investors would do well to pay attention.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski is rumored to be preparing a run to replace his twin brother, Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash earlier this month. No announcement will be made until Monday, though. Jaroslaw, however, is not predicted to win and he’s seen as a combative political figure.
While Poland’s government is in transition and it’s unclear who will be the country’s next leader, the economy still has plenty worth watching.
Alexandra Zendrian of Intelligent Investing reports that the Market Vectors Poland ETF (NYSEArca: PLND) is up 6% year-to-date. Compare that to a 2% loss on the Dow Jones Germany Index and you can see Poland’s relative strength.
- Despite the plane crash, Poles are ultimately pretty happy with their economy and they’ve been impressed with how their country has coped in the wake of the deaths of their president and senior political figures.
- Behind this year’s run is a forecast of 3% GDP growth for 2010, which comes on the back of 1.7% growth in 2009. In contrast, Germany’s GDP shrunk 5% last year.
- Bolstering the forecast is the fact that half of Poland’s population is under the age of 35, which bodes well for productivity.
- In Q4 of 2009, Poland also saw its fair share of initial public offerings, reflecting strong investor demand. The Warsaw Stock Exchange had 16 IPOs, surpassing London’s 14 and Euronext’s 13, according to PWC.
- On top of that, Poland’s construction industry is booming and they expect to have their first nuclear power plant by 2020.
- Finally, many multinational companies such as Boeing (NYSE: BA), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) are looking for ways to build a presence in Poland.
All in all, Poland seems to have a lot of momentum behind its economic growth.
For more stories on Poland, visit our Poland category.
Sumin Kim contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.