Business news

MINSK, 15 June (BelTA) – Two large Austrian companies have plans to invest not less than $500 million in the Belarusian economy, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Vladimir Ulakhovich told reporters at the Belarusian-Austrian business forum in Minsk on 15 June, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Ulakhovich recalled that Vienna hosted a Belarusian-EU investment forum on 24 May. The forum resulted in a number of agreements on joint projects. “Two large companies showed readiness to make considerable investments. Not less than $500 million will be invested in Belarus in the near future,” the BCCI Deputy Chairman pointed out.

He added that Austria is a key partner of Belarus in the European Union. “The Austrian companies Velcom, Raiffeisen Bank, Kronospan and others successfully operate in Belarus. This sends a signal to other Austrian businesses that Belarus is a stable country that offers access to its own market and the market of the whole Eurasian Economic Union,” Vladimir Ulakhovich stressed.

He added that Austrian trading companies sell dozens of times more Belarusian products to third countries than on their domestic market. For instance, Austria-registered businesses sold over $400 million worth of Belarus-made goods in 2015. Those were mainly timber products, metal products, oil products, potash fertilizers and furniture. The Belarusian goods were exported to Germany, Italy, France, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, and the United States. “Austria is of interest to us as an exporter of innovative technologies, an investor and a country providing access to the large EU market,” Vladimir Ulakhovich explained.

An Austrian business delegation led by the Vienna Vice Mayor is visiting Belarus from 14 to 16 June. The Minsk office of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a forum and a business matchmaking session on 15 June.

The economic cooperation between Belarus and Austria received a considerable boost in 2014. The intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation resumed its work. The first Austrian-Belarusian-Russian economic forum took place in November 2014. Its participants signed an agreement to set up Belarusian-Austrian business council.

In recent years, Austria has been among five major investors in the Belarusian economy. This country makes a considerable contribution to the modernization of Belarusian enterprises. Austrian companies have been investing in Belarus from $500 million to $1 billion annually over the past ten years. In 2015, Belarus received $353.4 million in Austrian investments. A number of large-scale woodworking, chemical, transport and construction projects to the tune of $400 million are nearing completion thanks to the help from the Austrian companies Kronospan, Kapsch and VST.

There are as many as 128 companies with Austrian capital registered in Belarus, including 41 foreign enterprises, 72 joint ventures, and 17 representative offices.