Business news

MINSK, 7 April (BelTA) – A Belarusian-Russian venture fund may be established by September 2016, BelTA learned from Chairman of the State Science and Technologies Committee of Belarus Alexander Shumilin.

The official said: “We have prepared a draft legal act on the Belarusian-Russian venture fund. It has been approved by all the interested parties and is being reviewed by the head of state. Once the document is signed, we will have the legislative base to start a venture industry. I hope that we will set up the fund by September.”

Alexander Shumilin specified that an agreement in principle has been reached with Russian Venture Company to set up a Belarusian-Russian venture investment fund in the form of an investment partnership. Financial contributions of each side to the fund will be at least $10 million.

The Chairman of the State Science and Technologies Committee of Belarus pointed out that in the initial phase of the fund’s operation they intend to implement ten significant investment projects aimed at creating highly remunerative export-oriented manufacturing enterprises, which overall output is supposed to exceed $150 million by 2020. “At the same time we are working on pilot projects because there is no interest in setting up the fund first and looking for projects later,” stated Alexander Shumilin.

According to the State Science and Technologies Committee, the work to create a new market-based mechanism to form the venture industry in Belarus is supposed to increase the share of non-budgetary funds and enable public private partnership in the area of innovative activities. The venture fund will allow stimulating private domestic and foreign investments for the sake of implementing innovative projects based on Belarusian R&D. According to preliminary estimates, it will help raise about $50 million for the national economy.