OREANDA-NEWS. August 9, 2010. Foreign investors are most interested in Belarusian agribusiness, the director of the National Investment and Privatization Agency (NIPA), Viktor Kovalenko, told a news conference.

“Investors are interested in all sectors, but agribusiness comes first. Russians, Lithuanians, Belgians and Poles are all ready to invest – we have to decide whom we prefer. I cannot mention sectors that investors are not interested in,” Kovalenko said.

He said since presidential decree #10 came into effect in November 2009, over 160 investment agreements at various levels have been signed.

Asked to comment on their efficiency, Kovalenko said it was hard to say, as investment cycles took years. “The business plans are reviewed, though, and I can say that western business is traditionally interested in return rates of 10%-12%, although we have projects with a 100% return rate,” he said.