Who Siphons Off Money From Belarus

Foreign companies are leaving the country en masse.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of the closed representative offices of foreign companies and organizations surpassed the number of those who obtained the work permit of the Belarusian MFA by 1,7 times.

This is yet another confirmation of the level of the "business activity" in the national economy, "Your Country’s Tomorrow" writes.

In the first quarter of 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a permit to open a representative office for 27 structures. Traditionally, the majority of satisfied enquiries falls on Russia – 14 Russian companies.

Many Russian companies that want to open a representative office in Belarus, are somehow connected with the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The approval of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry was also granted to the companies from Lithuania, China, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Hungary, Singapore and Ukraine, including the Chinese Engineering International Corporation, the Swedish manufacturer of forestry equipment Vimek and others.

The number of companies which left the Belarusian market was 1,7 times more – 46. Russia leads in this respect (15 companies), followed by Lithuania (7). This list includes the representatives of 18 countries in total.

Among the most well-known companies which closed their offices this year, there are a rail carrier National Company "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" and the Italian construction company Todini Costruzioni Generali. The Italians had a contract for the reconstruction of one of the roads in Belarus.

The representative office of the Emirates company Riyada Investment is also in the list of closed companies. In 2013, Lukashenka met with the President of Riyada Group and Riyada Investment Sheikha Deya bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, during his visit to Singapore.

The head of the big investment company operating in the markets of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, and the Belarusian leader agreed to work together in this region. In 2013, a joint enterprise Riyada PAL Awali was registered in Bahrain. As reported by the group’s website, it planned to participate in the leasing program for BelAZ, MAZ and MAZ Man.

"You have ambitious ideas, if everything works, it will be a real breakthrough," - Lukashenka said after the meeting with the head of the Riyada Group.