BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
01/03/2011
Belarus - Banque Havilland, BPS-Bank to set up FDI Fund in Belarus
Banque Havilland (Luxemburg) and BPS-Bank are expected to set up a foreign direct investment fund in Belarus. The issue was considered in a meeting between Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich and representatives of Banque Havilland and BPS-Bank on 16 February.
“We are planning to cooperate with BPS-Bank in creating an FDI Fund in the country,” Banque Havilland Director Executive Jonathan David Rowland. He also noted that the Belarusian market offers great investment opportunities for the Luxemburg bank.
Jonathan David Rowland stressed that the bank considers cooperation with Belarus as promising. In his words, the bank gives no particular preferences regarding investing in this or that economic sector. Banque Havilland will take into account the BPS-Bank opinion on the projects it find profitable, he added.
According to him, Havilland and BPS-Bank have established good relations. The Luxemburg bank has already taken stock of the situation on the Belarusian market and its potential.
On his part, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich said that Belarus welcomes the arrival of foreign investors. The country has been working on the necessary conditions for that. However, he stressed that Belarus cannot yet boast of large volumes of attracted investments. Yet, the country welcomes more and more foreign investors. In 2010, foreign investment in Belarus amounted to USD 9 billion, USD 6 billion of them was foreign direct investment, Mikhail Myasnikovich expressed hope that with the arrival of Banque Havilland on the Belarusian market, this process will pick up even further.
He also reminded the investors that Belarus protects and safeguards the rights of investors at the legislative level. The Prime Minister added: “We can address the issues of investment activity both at the state level, at the level of banks and also in the interests of the corporate sector, as the economy of Belarus is mixed, open, and that says it all.”
It is assumed that the fund of foreign direct investment will be created using the funds from investors who have shown willingness to invest in the Belarusian economy through a listing on one of the platforms of London Stock Exchange (thus ensuring improved liquidity of investments - investors will be able to sell or buy shares from time to time).
The fund will support promising companies operating in various sectors of the country’s economy. These are private industrial companies, hi-tech and innovative companies, service industries, financial companies and retail networks.
The main goal of the fund is to increase companies’ value through effective business development, expansion into local and world markets, sale of its share in the business in four or five years or through IPOs.
The fund will help improve the investment environment of the country, raise its export capacity, attract foreign specialists in management, and increase tax revenues to the budget.
Banque Havilland is owned by the Rowland family, a family with a wealth of experience in international investment spanning 45 years. The investment activities of the family include the Blackfish Group Investment, which offers investment management and advisory services, and also owns a portfolio of investment funds.
Source:
http://www.isria.com/pages/1_March_2011_53.php
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