Putting open pension funds to bed

At the end of August, the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) confirmed previous estimates of Q2 economic growth of around 0.8 pct, adding to the conviction that the Polish economy had come out of a bad patch, even though poor investment and internal consumption figures are not pointing to a quick bounce. The fiscal situation seems to be getting increasingly difficult, which will probably have an impact on how companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange are perceived. The growing budget deficit, and the lowering of the Fitch rating from ‘positive’ to ‘stable’ due to the suspension of security thresholds by the government designed to protect us against an increase in debt (this amounted to PLN 844 bln after July), and the projected deficit of almost PLN 50 bln for next year, have combined to create a worrying mix for investors. Their attention was, however, focused on the issue of open pension funds, which was resolved at the beginning of September. How is