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EBRD: Belarus has many opportunities to develop private sector
MINSK, 14 May (BelTA) – The private sector in Belarus has demonstrated a significant growth over the past 10-15 years. Many new companies have emerged which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to cooperate with, head of the EBRD representative office in Belarus Alexander Pivovarsky told the media at the Day of Financial Institutions on 15 May, BelTA has learned.
“We believe that Belarus has many opportunities, and we would like to develop them together. The private sector in the country has gained a strong foothold. Our major goal, despite the fact that we work with the public sector a lot, is to support the development of the private sector. Over the past 10-15 years a lot of interesting companies have been set up in the country and we would like to support them and work with them,” he said.
According to Alexander Pivovarsky, foreign investors know little about the attractiveness of the Belarusian market. He mentioned well-developed infrastructure as one of its advantages. “This is very important for many investors. It is possible to build something, launch business in any of the country’s regions. The transport infrastructure is well-developed too,” Alexander Pivovarsky added.
“Belarus also has a very good institutional environment, a low corruption rate and it is relatively easy to do business here,” the head of the EBRD representative office in Belarus said. He also took note of a high professional level of specialists. Belarus has a good system of vocational education and it is easy for investors to find well-qualified specialists.
Alexander Pivovarsky shared his vision on the sectors where Belarusian banks should work more actively. He emphasized the positive trend in commercial development with the work of state-run banks with the private sector, small and medium-sized business.
World Bank Country Manager for Belarus Alex Kremer stated that the World Bank has established a good dialogue with the Belarusian government. “We have a large-scale program which has expanded over the past five years, together with lending volumes. We mainly focus on renewing the roadmap of structural reforms, social matters and other issues related to cooperation. Over the last 18 months I have spent here I have seen a bigger understanding of the need to invest in the private sector,” he said.
Alex Kremer outlined a number of projects on which the parties would cooperate in the near future: gas supplies, house energy efficiency and the construction of deferrization plants. In his words, a school financing project is very interesting.
The Day of Belarusbank Financial Institutions was held for the second time. The major goal of the event is to provide foreign partners and clients with information on the bank’s activity last year, provide an opportunity to discuss the most important issues in a free format. According to the participants, this is a new platform for establishing business ties and strengthening contacts with business partners.
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