PL

Worrying levels of optimism?

Editorial
As I write these words, Warsaw lies under a blanket of snow. Running tracks have disappeared under this white cloak; pavements are slushy and sprinkled with salt (something I particularly hate), while every morning drivers have to scrape their windscreens, blue-faced from the cold.

You could, instead of dwelling on all this, look forward to the winter holidays and skiing in the mountains, where the fluffy white stuff and sub-zero temperatures somehow don’t seem to get you down so much. Or you could think about escaping to some Asian resort – as is the current vogue – to enjoy the exotic cuisine and golden beaches. So we are boarding planes to the East with wallets stuffed with currency, while at the same time a stream of Asian capital is flooding into Poland. What percentage of the capital invested in commercial real estate in 2018 came from this part of the world? Was it a record year in terms of investment turnover? Which products sell like hot cakes when such investors go shopping? The answers to these and many other questions are provided by an iconic figure on the Central European market, Paweł Dębowski, a partner at Dentons (‘Happy days are still here... for now’), who ended the year in an optimistic mood, which – as he admits himself – is uncharacteristic for him. So should we be worried? The winners of the Eurobuild Awards certainly appeared to be looking into the future with some confidence. As they received their prizes in December, it seemed as though they were already rolling up their sleeves and planning what to do next. All of this is reported in our comprehensive coverage of the ninth Eurobuild Awards Gala, complete with descriptions of the winners and their reactions. But perhaps we should not spend too long celebrating, since it’s not clear how long the rosy economic climate will last. I wonder what you think might lie around the corner?

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