BERLIN — Poland believes it can attract $79B (50B Euros) in total foreign investment over the next three-year period despite rising wages, a growing labor shortage and the global slowdown, Pawel Wojciechowski, president of the Polish investment agency PAIZ, told Reuters.

Last year, total FDI was about $24B (15B Euros).

In the first quarter of 2008, the agency signed 16 contracts worth $1.1B (700M Euros), which is nearly 40 percent of full year 2007 investment deals (PAIZ projects contribute about 10 percent of the country’s total FDI).

Over the last few years, Poland has attracted both electronics R&D operations and manufacturing. In 2007, electronics sector FDI negotiated through PAIZ was $790M (500M Euros).

Poland has been particularly successful in pulling in LCD display makers from Asia as well as major automotive manufacturers and their suppliers.

recent investment was Ford, which in April announced a $149M (94M Euro) factory to build its new Ka model. Using Poland's automotive supply base, the company will source 80 percent of all components from Polish sub-contractors, according to PAIZ.

Also in April, contract manufacturer Kimball Electronics announced it would shift a manufacturing plant from Ireland to Poland.

Wojciechowski cited Poland's qualified work force and a rise in productivity levels as reasons for FDI growth. But a worsening labor shortage, rising salaries and the appreciation of the Polish zloty currency against the euro threaten the country’s competitive advantage.