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According to Michał Stępniewski, this trend on the Polish stock exchange, which has been noticeable for at least two years, is a disturbing one. The difficult situation of the Warsaw Stock Exchange was caused by very low turnover, which has arisen from insufficient activity of investors in financial and commodity markets. Education is indispensable for boosting the Polish stock exchange, because, as experts say,Poles’ awareness of capital markets is still low.

Support offered by business angels to young companies in Poland is still much smaller than in developed Western European countries, but it is continuously increasing. Several hundred people are dealing with such investments, while in Germany or the United Kingdom, there are several thousand such individuals. They not only help to acquire capital but also support companies with knowledge of corporate governance, information policy and investor relations. Such support will also be offered to the winners of the CEE-Released competition, which will select 15 best young companies at an early stage of development in Central and Eastern Europe.

The development of private equity funds in Poland is gaining momentum. In 2017, the value of investments on our market reached nearly EUR 7 bn. But compared to developed markets we’re still going through the stage of early growth, says Michał Staszkiewicz, Vice-President of the Management Board, Private Equity Managers and MCI Capital TFI. The funds, which invest in private companies, are a good alternative to low-interest deposits and to the volatile stock market. They are more resistant to economic fluctuations, and they rely on long-term strategies and diversified portfolios. But this form of investing is not for everyone.

Green bonds, where all the money must be directly used for environmental support measures, are growing in popularity. In 2018, the value of green bonds issued might reach USD 200 bn, compared to USD 13 bn in 2013. Poland has been the first country in the world to issue government green bonds, but worldwide a great majority of such bonds are issued by the private sector. Companies should make environmental protection a permanent fixture in their business models, argues Marcin Petrykowski from S&P Global Ratings.

In March inflation was only 1.3 percent in annual terms and it was the slowest increase since December 2016 – the first month to have recorded an increase after 2.5 years of deflation. Such low figures are so surprising that they might even be incorrect, claimed Piotr Kuczyński, CAO at Xelion. But there is no risk of going back to deflation. The continuing slight increases in prices are delaying increases in interest rates.

For the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the last year was successful in terms of IPOs, index performance and financial results, WSE representatives said with emphasis. However, the Warsaw floor wants to establish itself as the first-choice source of financing for investors. To this end, it has been working with the Ministry of Finance on the Capital Market Development Strategy in alignment with the Strategy for Responsible Development.