Region’s storm proofing much improved

Article forms the lead and overview article in a FT: Special Report: Investing in Central and Eastern Europe 2011. The fiscal and trade imbalances that were a weakness in 2008 have been largely repaired by 2011.

Other features in the Special Report include:

+ Innovation: Skills attract attention of big IT businesses
Low research and development spending has held back development, says Jan Cienski

+ Polish shipyards: Gdansk workforce takes a tilt at windmills. New owners are diversifying the business, says Jan Cienski

+ Power: Local utilities will do the lion’s share. Foreign groups are beating a retreat, writes Jan Cienski

+ Manufacturing: Hungary’s auto sector quietly goes on growing. Carmaking accounts for 10% of GDP. Kester Eddy considers three big investments

+ Banks: Neither a forex borrower nor a lender be. Once-popular foreign currency mortgages are causing headaches for some banks and their customers, note Jan Cienski and Neil Buckley

+ Profile: State imposes hard times on Egis. Kester Eddy on how a Hungarian generic drugs company deals with tough rules

+ Czech viticulture: Palava creates a stir in winemaking circles. But local demand means that there is little left to export, says Kester Eddy

+ Profile: Malgorzata Chechlinska’s unconventional take on tourism. Jan Cienski meets a Polish hotelier