In 2016, potential investors’ interest in Belarus continued to decline. The problem of access to financing in the form of loans was growing, affecting the possibility of floating sovereign Eurobonds internationally. There were signs that the government finally realized that the country needed a better image to foster investment and issued a number of bills to facilitate raising funds.

Foreign Investment: Measures to Improve the Investment Climate

Tendencies of 2015 have nothing different from previous years. Low demand for state assets and the lack of flexibility and interest in speeding up of privatization continue to be the major factors of zero dynamics in the realization of state assets. External borrowing remains the major source of investment inflow which is used for refinancing of current debts and, as a result, only increases total debt and does not lead to reforming and the growth of efficiency in the economy.

The uncontrolled inflow of foreign investment in the country can have both positive and negative effects. In this regard, national governments develop and implement measures to attract foreign capital, taking into account the characteristics and interests of a particular state. With a view to better understanding the logic of the FDIs movement, the paper gives a brief description of the FDIs dynamics in the Republic of Belarus, as well as the study of the international experience based on the analysis of the FDIs attraction policies of the Visegrad Group countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland) and Georgia.

In 2013 inflows of foreign investments in Belarus remained almost negligible. The official attitude to privatization remained unchanged, which is why there were almost no privatization deals in Belarus in 2013. This makes foreign loans the main source of inflow of foreign capital to the country.

This policy paper contains the analysis of the steps taken to attract foreign investments in Belarus in 2010.