P R I V A T I Z A T I O N

The Investment Code reads that foreign investors are entitled to establish, in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, any legal entities with any amount of foreign investments in any organizational and legal forms, as well as their branches and representative offices, in compliance with the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus, foreign treaties of the Republic of Belarus including.

At the same time, legal regime for foreign investments in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, conditions for activities of foreign investors and legal entities established with participation thereof, may not be less favourable than the respective regime for property and proprietary rights as well as conditions for investment activities of any legal entities and natural persons of the Republic of Belarus, save the cases otherwise stipulated for in the Investment Code.

According to the legislation, national regime shall be provided for any foreign investors. Additional guarantees shall be granted to any foreign investors within bilateral agreements signed by and between the Republic of Belarus and other countries. Such agreements set forth key principles, standards and norms of investment cooperation which ensure liberal investment regime. They also serve as an efficient mechanism for protection of small and medium-size business not covered with any additional guarantees and benefits granted by the states to large-scale business.

An investment agreement may be signed in the Republic with any investor, which will grant to such investor additional guarantees related to economic or any other conditions of project implementation in the Belarusian market.

At present, this country is a party to approximately 50 bilateral agreements which contribute to making investment and ensure protection thereof. Within such agreements, foreign investors may reckon on fair and equitable regime of investment activities in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, which is not less favourable than that granted to any national investors or investors from any third states; they also may count for full and unconditional protection of their respective investments and investors’ income.

Laws on Privatization in the Republic of Belarus provide for an opportunity of each investor, foreign one including, to participate both directly in the procedure of transformation of a state-owned unitary enterprise into the open joint-stock company, and in subsequent purchase, by such investor, of shares of the open joint-stock company so established. We are open for negotiations with the investors who/which mean business within the long-term cooperation with our enterprises, joint-stock companies, and we are ready to consider any appropriate proposals in this respect.

The Government of the Republic of Belarus has passed its regulation according to which sale of shares of 147 open joint-stock companies created in the course of the state property privatization is scheduled for 2008 – 2010. The list of projects (519 in number), which are the Republican property and are meant for reorganization into business units within this period, has been formed.