MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) – Belarus has created all the necessary legal conditions for raising investments, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters on 30 October, BelTA has learnt. The journalists asked the head of state whether Belarus plans to undertake new steps to improve the investment climate and whether Belarus can expect new investment flows next year besides the Chinese funds. “China is the biggest investor, but it is not the only one. The head of state emphasized that “investments differ; they depend upon what investors want”. “Yes, tomorrow we may get some five or seven billions of investments for the privatization of the potash company, another five-seven billions for the privatization of the oil refining industry. However, do we need such investments? We need to get accustomed to the fact that if someone provides us with a loan, this money should be given back. Therefore, we need profitable projects,” the Belarusian President said. Talking about the return on investments, the President said that he was surprised to learn that the construction of the bypass highway around the National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha will pay back within roughly six and a half years. “It is great that this project will pay off. I thought this would be a social, rather than money-making project,” the head of state said. The President said he does not see big issues with the attraction of investments in Belarus. The head of state believes that the country needs direct investments, first of all, like Belovezhtur Farm that Alexander Lukashenko visited on 30 October. The company was set up using the own funds of Russian entrepreneur Nikolai Burnos (born in the village of Kletnoye where his enterprise is now located). “Creating these conditions, we are expecting new investments to come and they will come,” the President is convinced. He added that the country will not just sit and wait until someone will bring investments here, “we will set up such infrastructure facilities on our own, we will invest our own funds to get a payback.” “This is why we are not demonizing this process (raising investments – BelTA’s note). As for the conditions, I just cannot think of anything else. We have created the best legal framework in the region (Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine). We offer very good terms plus absolute stability, predictability, peace and quiet. Money likes quiet. This is why businessmen come to Belarus, of cause, not in crowds, but we do not need them to come in crowds,” the head of state said. “Investments will come, they are coming. I hope we will have good profitable projects,” Alexander Lukashenko said. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
