OREANDA-NEWS. October 17, 2011. Minsk currently sees 268 investment projects being implemented, with funds originating from over 20 states of the world, Minsk City Mayor Nikolai Ladutko said Sep 29 at a special conference that tabled investment issues.

The bulk of foreign capital coming to Belarus originates from Iran, Cyprus, Russia, China, Austria. Other investors come from the United States, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Qatar and other states. Of 268 investment contacts signed, 261 are already in progress, the mayor informed.

A lion’s share of foreign investment projects Belarus has embraced pursue housing construction as a source of quick incomes. Apart from housing, investors opt for office buildings, hotels and entertainment facilities, while Belarus faces a shortage of production installations and sports facilities, Ladutko said.

By the year 2014 when Minsk is scheduled to host the Ice Hockey World Championship, more new hotels will be launched in the Belarusian capital, the mayor said. “We have signed 33 investment agreements to have hotels built in Minsk. Some of them do not look promising, but even if we get 14 new hotels, it will be enough to accommodate visitors during the world championship,” Ladutko said.

State Control Committee (SCC) chief Alexander Yakobson believes the municipal authorities have made a few strategic mistakes in dealing with investors. “Some investors are interested in scooping quick profits from housing projects, including high-rise panel constructions. Instead of pursuing a well-balanced systemic approach, they give first priority to housing projects. Case in point: Minsk City Business Centre”, Yakobson said.

Investment agreements often come along with a bunch of preferences for investors, including zero-rate land tax, the SCC chief said. To simplify things, the official suggests tax preferences should take effect immediately upon signing an investment agreement. Besides, the SCC chief reckons the president should delegate decision-making on a few matters to the municipal authorities.

“We need to stop dispersing all types of preferences, starting January 1, 2012. Pay, if you are supposed to pay. If you don’t pay, you should leave, and let serious people with capital step in and pay those pennies,” Lukashenko said.