The investment potential of the Vitebsk region will be presented at the forum. How can our region attract investors? What areas can be of interest and bring mutual benefit? First of all, the task is to draw the attention of potential partners to the innovative component of projects, is convinced by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Economy of the Regional Executive Committee, Konstantin Cherny, with whom we spoke on the eve of the forum.
– Currently, investors are ready to invest in innovations, while indicators such as revenue and added value at the level of European standards, and the export component of the project are particularly important. Undoubtedly, this requires a more qualified approach to the project from both applicants (city and district executive committees and enterprises of the region) and investors, as it is necessary to study existing and proposed technologies and equipment in the world, compare them with analogues in Asian countries, and consider issues of subsequent certification of production and products for compliance with international standards. Therefore, the bar for investment proposals for forum participants is quite high.
The experience of the last five years shows that competition will only intensify; a strategy of action is needed for each enterprise and region to produce and promote goods to the market. As always, great attention is paid to the quality of the investment proposal, its presentation, and the availability of information.
– Konstantin Eduardovich, are our regions ready to engage in such a dialogue? What projects and in which areas do we propose?
– There are regions that are ready to negotiate specific areas of cooperation at a fairly high level. For example, Verkhnedvinsk district – on projects in the fields of dairy cattle breeding, pig production, involving buildings and structures in economic circulation for the production of sewing products, footwear, packaging, detergents, and the development of woodworking. Vitebsk district is most effectively promoting topics on the organization of drinking water production and tourism development. Tolochin district – on the production of instant food products. Liozno district – on the processing of agricultural products, including soybeans and rapeseed. Rossony district – on woodworking. In addition to Verkhnedvinsk, proposals for the use of agricultural land and vacant livestock complexes in Vitebsk, Gorodok, Dokshitsy, Liozno, Orsha, Senno, Tolochin, and Ushachi districts have been worked out at a high level.
It should be noted that a number of companies from Russia have already shown interest in this area,
Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, who will attend the forum. In Vitebsk and Novopolotsk, the issue of effective use of vacant buildings has been thoroughly worked out, taking into account engineering communications, access roads, options for alienating facilities to investors, and proposals for auctions.
– Provide examples of projects with foreign capital participation that are currently being implemented in the Vitebsk region.
– Last year, large-scale projects such as the production of high-pressure hoses, polymer food packaging, and plumbing fixtures in the Orsha district were launched and are currently being implemented. The construction of livestock complexes in the Gorodok (Russian capital) and Tolochin (Danish investments) districts continues. Wood processing industries are developing in the Rossony (with the participation of Latvia) and Sennno (Slovenia) districts, and a number of other projects are being implemented. At the same time, domestic companies are also active in attracting investments. The source of capital is less important than the innovative focus of the projects and the ability to work with financial resources. Unfortunately, we have examples where foreign partners have not fulfilled their obligations. On the other hand, domestic investors are successfully implementing projects in the field of water treatment (enterprises "Polimerkonstruktsiya" and "FORTEX – water technologies") and in the production of veterinary drugs ("Rubikon" and "Vik-zdorovye").animals"), cable ("Energokomplekt"), as well as footwear, packaging, and feed.
–
Investment activity is a significant contribution to the socio-economic development
of the region. What does it look like in financial terms? How much investment has
been attracted to the region in the first quarter of 2016?
–
For January-March, 3017.3 billion rubles of investment in fixed assets were
attracted, and foreign partners invested 12 million dollars of their own funds
in production development in the first quarter. Of course, in the context of
shrinking domestic sources of financing due to the tightening of monetary
policy and the reduction of state program lending, we pay more attention to
external sources of financing. Their share in investments has increased 3
times.
Foreign
sources are attracted for the implementation of projects for the construction
of Vitebsk and Polotsk HPPs, modernization of OJSC "Naftan" and "Orsha Linen
Mill", construction of roadside service facilities, industrial and
agricultural facilities in Gorodok, Miory, and Tolochin districts. However,
today it is important that foreign investors have an interest not
only to provide credits to the Belarusian side, but also to create modern
production facilities on our territory, taking into account European requirements and standards, with
training of domestic specialists, and entry into foreign trade networks.
This is the number one task, and much of the success here depends on our work.
Olga
Maslovskaya. Photo by Dmitry Osipov. "Vitebskiye vesti".