Posted: 08.11.2021 11:34:00

Five reasons for investors to focus on Belarus

Country’s investment attractiveness discussed at House of Representatives

Andrei Savinykh, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives, pointed out that Belarus had adopted a programme of its social and economic development until 2025, “It aims at improving Belarusians’ quality of life. This could hardly be achieved without creating a large number of small innovative companies that would form clusters and create added value. The programme focuses on equalising the quality of life in the capital and regions. This means that regional centres and cities with a population of about 60-80,000 people will become locomotives of economic development in the coming years. Small towns and district centres will also receive attention: two or three new innovative enterprises are planned to be established there. We need to think of how we could contribute to this process.”

It seems logical to attract deputies to implementation of these plans since members of the House of Representatives are well aware of the situation across the country. “They can see and support an interesting initiative or an investment project in time. It's no secret that these projects often arise at the junction of various departmental interests. It’s sometimes unclear who should be the first to support a project. I think we can act as mediators who will help increase efficiency and speed up this process,” Mr. Savinykh added.

In his opinion, it is also necessary to work on improving the business climate, “We undoubtedly want to create additional opportunities to attract investments – not only foreign but also domestic – into a good, high-quality enterprise, and development of the country's production potential. A law on foreign investments is now being considered with this in view. Other activities aimed at improving the business climate are also envisaged.”

The meeting participants also touched upon the topic of sanctions on the part of the European Union. Speaking of whether they would affect investors’ attraction to Belarus, Mr. Savinykh explained, “The western countries that have imposed certain sanctions on Belarus represent less than 30 percent of the world economy. At present, we see the sources of investments and the interest in Belarus among a huge number of investors around the world – including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. I am convinced that, on condition of a proper work organisation, we’ll always be able to present our projects and attract foreign investors.”

Dmitry Krasovsky, the Director of the National Agency for Investment and Privatisation, said that the spread of coronavirus infection and related restrictions had affected global investments. However, the 2021 figures are already positive. “We are convinced that the investment activity will continue expanding in the future. For example, last year, our agency managed to attract only three investors, while there were ten of them in the first nine months of 2021. It’s a serious progress,” he added.

Mr. Krasovsky said that the agency had identified five reasons why investors choose Belarus. These are a unique geographical location, personnel and a very high human potential, relatively low labour costs, membership in the EAEU and access to its market, and also advanced technologies.

At the same time, as mentioned, not foreigners but Belarusians still act as the largest investors in the country. Moreover, these are regions which offer the most favourable conditions rather than Minsk. However, investors are not hurrying there, and Mr. Krasovsky explained that these areas need engineering infrastructure, “It’s important to understand: to build an enterprise is not the same as to build a summer house. Infrastructure development – including electricity, gas, and roads – should not be fully overseen by an investor. At the same time, questions arise since this is also becoming a risk for the state. Actually, it’s a problematic issue all over the world.”