About Belarus

Belarus is the Best Place for Your Investment

Foreign companies can derive additional profit by the maximum decrease of investment expenses and taxation burden while placing their businesses on the territory of small and medium towns of Belarus. Any firm operating in a town of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants is exempt from paying taxes on its profits for 7 years and  VAT for 5 years. 

Belarus strives to create open and favorable conditions for business in its territory. Today the country is the leader in legislation improvement which is confirmed by the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 research. Belarus occupies 44th place out of 189 countries, leaving Russia and Ukraine far behind.  Concerning such indices as “property registration” (7th place) and “starting a business” (12th place), Belarus is one the most attractive countries not only of the region but also of the world in general. In the Doing Business Rating Belarus took the leading among the EAEU countries 25th position in trading across borders index, rose by 120 points, leaving far behind Russia (170th position), Kazakhstan (122), Kyrgyzstan (83) and Armenia (29).

1. Srategically advantageous location

Placing a business in the territory of Belarus enables companies to efficiently serve the most high-capacity and quick-growing target markets: EU countries (508.2 million consumers), Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries (282 million consumers).

2. Direct access to the market of EEU countries (Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) 

Today companies investing in Belarus automatically enter the market of  EEU countries. 

3. Competitive investment and taxation conditions 

In Belarus there are a number of preferential regimes which could be of use for foreign companies, including from the point of view of their taxation planning and optimisation.

They include special beneficial business conditions in the case of organising business within six free economic areas (0% profit tax for 5 years; 10% VAT), High-Tech Park (0% profit tax for 15 years; 0% VAT), and the Industrial Park “Great Stone” (0% profit tax for 10 years).

4. Developed transportation and logistics infrastructure 

Due to its geo-economic location, Belarus is a transportation and logistics hub of Eurasia.  

Annually over 100 million tonnes of European cargo cross Belarus's territory, 90% of which cargo is between Russia and the EU. Thus, Belarus is the optimal link between the CIS countries (Russia in the first place) and the EU countries, which could be advantageously used by foreign countries by locating their manufacturing, logistics, and sale units in the country's territory. 

5. Unique privatization opportunities 

Belarus provides foreign companies with unique opportunities of speedy development of their business related to stepping up the privatization process in the country. Today around 70% of industrial production falls within the governmental sector in the country and may be sold. Belarus has a substantial and relatively well-developed industrial base due to its history as an “assembly plant” of the former Soviet Union. 

6. Highly qualified workforce 

Belarus is the country of one of the most educated, highly qualified, and industrious peoples. Economically active population 4,5 million people. Over 90% of the population have higher, secondary or basic education. A well-developed system of professional training as well as a high level of the industry and services development enable the Belarusian workforce work successfully in companies of any industries, be it sewing, agriculture, biotechnologies or software development. 

7. Decent living standards 

In 2016, Belarus ranks 35th on the effectiveness of the measures aimed at protection and conservation of natural ecosystems and human health among 180 countries in Environmental Performance Index Ranking, which is annually published by Yale and Columbia Universities (USA) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The living, dwelling costs, the costs of education and various cultural events are lower than in the majority of Western and Eastern European countries. Besides a well-developed social infrastructure, Belarus has preserved a unique eco-environment suitable for full and diverse life of people.

8. High scientific potential 

• Achievements of Belarusian Science:
• Energetics;
• Chemical synthesis and products;
• Biological systems and technologies;
• Informatics and Space research;
• Multifunctional materials and technologies;
• Electronics and photonics;
• Machine systems and complexes;
• Agro-industrial complex;
• Ecology

9. Communication technologies

In accordance with the information and communication technologies development index, Belarus occupies the 36th position. Belarus has been noted as one of the world’s economies with the largest changes in ICT access, which reflects the technical level of development of the modern infrastructure in the country. Belarus is the only country in the region within the highest quartile of global rankings. 

10. Renewable energy

Potential effectiveness of the use of solar panels on the territory of Belarus due to the favorable conditions of insolation is more than 10% higher than in Poland and the Netherlands and more than 17% higher than in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom.