Key Facts About Belarus Official Name: Republic of Belarus Total land area of Belarus: 207,600 km² Nationality of Belarus: population - 9.465,2 mln the Capital is Minsk - 1.885,1 mln Languages: Belarusian, Russian Regional centers of Belarus: Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Brest Currency: Belarusian Rouble (Br)

Main Business Partners the Netherlands Russia Ukraine Germany China Poland Venezuela Brazil Italy Latvia

Main Branches of Belarusian Industry:

Number of people in employment: 4.6 million (2011) Distribution of employed population across economic sectors (2011):

Why to Locate Your Business in Belarus? Foreign investment in Belarus has risen 13 times and trade with Belarus  - 4 times since 2002 Belarus’ unique business opportunities and favorable conditions have attracted more than 5,000 foreign investors from 77 countries. The leading investors are from Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the UK. These include global giants such as Hewlett Packard, Bosch, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Austria Telecom, Raffeisen Zentralbank and Crowne Plaza. “The investment climate in [Belarus] is a bit surprising, in a positive way.” December 2011/ January 2012

Geographical location Economic stability Favorable investment climate Highly skilled workforce Industrially developed economy Geographical location Belarus, on the eastern border of Europe, is strategically well positioned as a major trading route between Europe and the CIS. Economic stability In turbulent economic times, the Belarus economy has been less affected than those which rely on global markets. Market analysts predict a robust growth for the economy of Belarus. Favorable investment climate Measures to encourage business include Free Economic Zones, a High Technology Centre and special tax incentives for businesses operating in rural areas or small towns. Highly skilled workforce Almost 50% of workers in Belarus have a higher education Industrially developed economy Currently around a third of the Belarus GDP comes from the industrial sector.

The Business Environment In Belarus there are now: more than 2300 joint venture companies in Belarus almost 2000 foreign enterprises registered in Belarus

Around 60% of the goods made in Belarus are for export. The Republic of Belarus trades with over 180 countries. (Data for 2011)

Major Export Goods Trucks, road-building and construction equipment Tractors and agricultural machinery Fertilizers Petroleum products Chemical fibers and threads Refrigerators and household appliances Tires Timber and timber products Meat and dairy products Sugar

Free Economic Zones in Belarus Each region of Belarus has a free economic zone. Businesses operating in these zones enjoy a range of benefits including: zero-rate tax on exports for the first 5 years exemptions on turnover tax, road tax and property tax entitlement to open foreign and Belarusian currency bank accounts priority at border crossings full exemption from import duty on raw materials

The Importance of Science and Technology With high levels of education in Belarus the Government is active in promoting the development of science and technology in Belarus. In 2005 the President of Belarus opened the High Technology Park in Minsk. 

High Tech Park There are currently 106 companies operating in the park 20% – joint ventures 27% – enterprises with 100% foreign investments Peugeot, Mitsubishi, British Petroleum, Gazprom, Reuters, British Telecom, London Stock Exchange, World Bank, Coca-Cola, etc. are among major consumers of Belarusian software developed in Belarus Hi-Tech Park. Thanks to rapidly developing infrastructure and talent capacity we have manage to build a strong IT sector by now. And we have some world experts acknowledging our success. Thus FORBES Magazine says that per capita income from IT services export of Belarus equals that of India. ”Per Capita Income from IT-Services Export in Belarus Equals that of India.“ The volume of offshore programming services in Belarus in per-capita equivalent exceeds twofold that of Russia and threefold that of Ukraine.

Why HTP? Due to the legislative initiative of the Belarus government, IT companies are exempt from all corporate taxes, including VAT, profit, real estate and land taxes. Individual income tax has a fixed rate of 9% for the employees of HTP companies. HTP attractiveness is based not on tax benefits and costs alone, but on knowledge, innovation and highly qualified human resources.

“Hi-Tech Park in Belarus is a growing hub for both regional and international software and IT firms that offers its registered businesses economic incentives. This is one example of how the eastern European country is capitalising on its highly skilled workforce of engineers, which has also attracted the attention of the likes of Microsoft and NEC.” Michal Kaczmarski fDi Intelligence

Investment Opportunities The government of Belrus created a strategy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) designed to run until 2015. According to Nikolai Snopkov, Minister of Economy, implementation of the activities envisaged in the strategy will allow Belarus to go up to the 36th position on the World Bank doing business rankings in 2014. Annual FDI growth by 2015 is expected at $7-7.5 bln.

Decree №6 "On stimulation of entrepreneurial activities in the medium and small towns and rural areas" exempt from income tax exempt from property tax exempt from registration fee for the issuance of special permit or licenses for certain activities within seven calendar years exempt from buying raw materials, components and materials for their own production on the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange Exempt from import duties and VAT for goods imported to Belarus as a contribution to the authorized capital of the company that is registered in rural areas (for 3-5 years depending on the type of goods) To enhance the investment attractiveness of Belarus, the President signed the Decree No 6. The new decree is designed to create more favorable conditions for private business development in the regions, to stimulate economic activity of citizens, which ultimately will increase the export potential of the country. Since the Decree was signed on 7 May 2012, there are no evidance to check how it works in reality.

10 Reasons to Invest! LOCATION - Belarus is in the heart of Europe INCENTIVES - Generous tax breaks and other incentives for investors POTENTIAL - Low competition across all sectors and plenty of room for growth OPPORTUNITIES - Large-scale privatization program is underway WORKFORCE - Highly skilled, hard-working and low cost workforce MARKETS - Direct access to the 275 million strong CIS market REFORMS - Fourth best business reformer in the Doing Business Report (2009 and 2010) GOVERNANCE - Established legislative, judicial and executive system of government PROTECTION - Investment code and international treaties to protect investments ENVIRONMENT - A safe, clean, friendly place to live and work, with high educational standards

Key Sectors of Investment (according to the government strategy to attract FDI Food industry Construction Manufacturing Plastics

SWOT STRENGTHS Strategic location, highly educated workforce, infrastructure WEAKNESSES Political environment, perceptions of risk, lack of information, and over-priced communications OPPORTUNITIES Investors re-evaluating emerging market risks, eurasian common economic space THREATS Competition for FDI

Who are we?

We promote trade and investment between the EU and Belarus We promote trade and investment between the EU and Belarus. We assist companies to develop business opportunities as well as evidence-based dialogue between governments and companies. Our mission is to help solve market access difficulties and overcome regulatory obstacles that hinder EU-Belarus trade.

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One Day in the Life of Belarus The video was created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkUzeYWa7-8