Central European Business Forum at the AIB-CEE Chapter Conference in Warsaw

The objective of the Central European Business Forum (CEBF) is to provide a forum for international business engagement activities, to increase global visibility and connectedness for businesses, governments and academia with Central and Eastern Europe. The event hosts conversations at the levels of governments, business and the broad public/stakeholders. The CEBF in Warsaw was hosted at the 2nd Conference of the Academy of International Business - Central and Eastern Europe Chapter. The forum consisted of two panel sessions: 1) A Policy Panel including officials representing several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Poland and Hungary) and other economies from the EU (Malta), Asia (Republic of Korea) and the Pacific (Australia) concentrated on the question of practices, feasibility and value of business cooperation opportunities with CEE countries. 2) A Business Panel including representatives of multinational companies in the financial (Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale) and human resources (SpenglerFox, Boyden) sectors addressed the question whether and why it is worth doing business in CEE. The speakers identified a variety of aspects and dimensions in which CEE countries are similar to each other, and also others in which they differ. Similarities include perceptions of the successful (political, economic and institutional) transformation, addictiveness, high levels of human capital, attractive cost level, an emerging consumer market, strategic location and high quality infrastructure. Differences between CEE countries were mostly perceived in terms of factors relating to varying degrees of economic development, standards and regulations (and particularly local implementation of otherwise harmonised regulations), levels of infrastructure, diversity of languages and cultural characteristics. Panellists identified business opportunities in relation to an anticipation of steady and long term growth, expanding consumer markets and high levels of increase in personal wealth, infrastructure development, IT and other research and development intensive sectors, industries in which human resources and strategic location can be utilised. Government cooperation in relation to shared interests was also considered desirable.