Business news

GRODNO, 12 August (BelTA) – Belarus is a very appealing and promising investment region, BelTA learned from Selcuk Erdogan, manager of the Turkish law firm Ketenci and authorized representative of the Istanbul Stock Exchange in Belarus, Russia, and Azerbaijan, on 12 August.

The law firm Ketenci has recently opened an office in Minsk after its offices in Moscow and Baku. “We believe that Belarus has a very favorable investment climate as well as favorable legislation for doing business. Apart from that, high education standards in Belarus are another important reason for our company’s presence in Belarus. We believe that Belarus has a great future with regard to economic development. It is another reason why we have decided to enter the Belarusian market,” said Selcuk Erdogan.

Ketenci Company has been offering international legal consulting services since 1989. In Belarus it will help Turkish companies operating in the country and will offer its services to the Belarusian companies that intend to penetrate the Turkish market.

Sergei Tkachenko, head of the free economic zone Grodnoinvest administration, told media that the first few resident companies of the free economic zone had entered the Turkish market already. “The first few steps have been made already. The residents are reaching the Turkish market. Those are ZAO Bigan and OOO Biocom and some other ones. They have started learning Turkish rules of doing business. The efforts have already produced good results. The capacity of the market in Turkey and adjacent areas is very large. Opportunities offered by the effective intergovernmental agreements and the visa-free travels between our countries encourage the development of Belarus-Turkey trade and economic cooperation,” he said.

According to Sergei Tkachenko, investment capabilities of the Turkish private sector are very high as well. “Turkey has managed to create a powerful economy within a short period of time. The world’s top manufacturers — from automobiles to household appliances — are now present in Turkey. Several free economic zones have been created where world brands operate and make large volumes of products,” said the official. At present Turkish companies are interested in the establishment of joint ventures, self-dependent businesses in Belarus, and prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation. In particular, there are plans to set up a Turkish industrial zone in the free economic zone Grodnoinvest. The project has been greenlighted by the Belarusian and Turkish economy ministries. For the project's implementation plans have been made to allocate land plots with well-developed infrastructure in Grodno, Smorgon, and Lida. Specialists say that automobile manufacturing is a particularly promising avenue of cooperation between Grodno Oblast and Turkey.

A delegation of Turkish experts visited Grodno on 12 August. The delegation included representatives of the Turkey-Eurasian Business Councils in the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) under the aegis of the Turkish Economy Ministry, representatives of the Turkish private sector, diplomats, and reporters of Turkish economic news media. Negotiations were held with representatives of the administration of the free economic zone Grodnoinvest. A tour of a number of industrial enterprises and tourism facilities in Grodno was part of the itinerary.