OREANDA-NEWS. October 08, 2010. The investment portfolio of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Belarus' economy exceeds USD 250 million, IFC expert on legal issues Valery Fadeyev said at the Fifth International Investment Forum “Mogilev Oblast - New Horizons of Investing” in Mogilev.

Until recently the IFC provided only consultative assistance to Belarus. Today it implements serious projects in the economy, Valery Fadeyev said. That alone speaks volumes about the investment attractiveness of Belarus, and Mogilev Oblast in particular, which has already implemented five projects and reached an agreement on another major project - the construction of a wind farm in Gorki District,” he added.

According to the expert, the IFC has been working jointly with the government of the country for six years already to improve the business climate. A lot has been done to improve the legal framework. In 2007-2010 alone, the IFC provided expertise to Belarus in developing 50 enactments. “Today we can say with confidence that the country has a well-developed legislative basis in the area of economic relations. The changes in the legislation are integrated and consistent,” he said.

The Belarusian legislation provides a wide range of preferences to foreign investors, and that shows that the investment climate in the country has improved, he stressed. At the same time there are enough problems that still restrain investors from working in the country. Among them is unstable legislation, interference of the state with the economic relations, weak guarantees of the proprietary rights, a complex taxation system, etc. “The state has been trying hard to remove all these barriers, and the statements of the country’s top officials give solid grounds to believe that in the near future Belarus will be able to create an investment climate attractive to any investor,” Valery Fadeyev said.