Nikolai Snopkov, minister of economy, Belarus

Q: Is the increasing openness of Belarus to foreign investors a matter of economic necessity given the country's current financial situation?

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A: No, it is a question of harmonious integration into the global economy. Belarus has always been open to foreign investors. By improving the investment climate for foreign investors, Belarus does not open locked doors but only opens them wider.

In Belarus, a significant number of foreign companies that are leaders in the CIS and Europe have already been operating successfully for a long time. As of December 1, 2011, the number of companies with foreign investments registered in Belarus more than doubled compared with December 1, 2004, to total 6430. According to UN Conference on Trade and Development statistics, in 2010 the inflow of FDI in Belarus was 4.5 times greater than in 2005.

Among the international companies that are listed in Forbes 2000 and present on the Belarusian market are Gazprom, Lukoil, Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding, Sberbank, McDonald’s, Henkel, Heineken, Telekom Austria Group and Turkcell. Recently IKEA and Lithuania’s Vakaru Medienos Group invested in the construction of a wood-processing complex, and international market leader in wood-processing Kronospan is building a plant in Belarus. There are also representative offices of companies such as ZTE, United Parcel Service, ABB, Wartsila and SAP.

Q: Although Belarus survived the global recession in good condition in 2009, the financial crisis hit in 2010 and 2011. What is the government`s strategy to get out of the crisis?

A: The year 2010 can be described as a period of growing unbalances that had been accumulating in the Belarusian economy, which in fact caused the financial crisis in 2011. In order to find the way out from this situation the government adopted measures aimed at limiting overall domestic consumption, and above all the intermediate imports, and bringing it in balance with production capabilities.

The measures taken by the government in 2011 along with the national currency devaluation have already resulted in a positive balance of foreign trade. This suggests that the economy has now been refocused on external demand and we will need to secure and strengthen this trend in 2012.

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Dr Dmitry Klevzhits, director of Belarus's National Agency of Investment and Privatization

Q: When looking for investment opportunities, which sectors could be especially attractive for foreign investors?

A: Good opportunities can be found across all sectors. But we especially welcome inward FDI into the pharma industry and biotech, information and communications technology and R&D, especially in projects connected with nanotechnology. We would like to see these fields become Belarusian staples and the main source of exports. This choice of sectors is not a matter of wishful thinking, but it is supported by the supply of necessary human resources and years of expertise. That is especially crucial, because we see inward FDI not only as cash flowing into our country, but [more importantly bringing in] know-how, good management practices and connections with foreign markets.

Q: Most of Belarus's neighbours are finishing their privatisation processes at the moment. Why is Belarus's privatisation is being conducted so late?

It could be done earlier, but [by doing it so late], at least we could see how the process was carried out in other countries and what practices we should follow or problems we could encounter. We have made some mistakes in the past, but we are learning. One of the outcomes of such a learning process is to look at privatisation as obtaining funds by selling assets in our companies. What matters to us now is the sustainability of investments, as prosperous companies mean larger gains for the local economy than [it would get through a] one-off investment. For that reason, it is not always the highest bidder who wins the tender, but the one that is able to present a convincing plan of running the company that was formerly state owned.

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