Economic growth in Poland and Hungary will pick up in the second half and the Czech economy will expand at almost four times the pace of the euro region as consumers and companies spend more, surveys of economists showed.
Poland's economy will grow 3.8 percent in 2005, accelerating from an annual 2.1 percent in the first quarter, according to the median estimate of six economists in a June 29-30 Bloomberg survey. Hungary's gross domestic product will rise 3.5 percent this year from 2.9 percent in the first three months and Czech annual growth will be 4.3 percent, little changed from 4.4 percent in the first quarter, according to separate surveys.
The combined $470 billion economy of the three eastern European nations, making up 80 percent of the total GDP of the 10 states that joined the European Union last year, is underpinned by investments from companies including carmakers Toyota Motor Corp. and PSA Peugeot Citroen and builder Skanska AB. Consumer spending has been bolstered by soaring wages following EU entry.
"Fast growth is proof that EU enlargement is a success story,'' said Lars Christensen, chief economist at Danske Bank in Copenhagen and an emerging-market specialist. ``Western Europe tends to look at new member countries as poor cousins, but the growth rate proves they really are European tigers.''
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on June 24 said the 12-nation euro economy will expand 1.2 percent this year, slowing from 1.9 percent last year.
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