04:11, 11 October 2018
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04:11, 11 October 2018
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On September 24th, 2018 the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" attended the Belarus-India Business Forum which took place in Minsk.
Among other attendants of the event were Pavel Utyupin, the Minister of Industry of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Ulakhovich, the Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sangheeta Bahadur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India in the Republic of Belarus, as well as more than 50 Belarusian enterprises and 18 member-companies of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Priyanshu Jha, the official representative of FEZ "Vitebsk" in India and Middle-Eastern countries, the Administration held a number of meetings with the foreign guests, who were informed about the investment opportunities of the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk". Some members of the Indian business circle also agreed to visit the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk".
During the Belarus-India Business Forum the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" and the Indian company "INDIA ADVISORY" signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will boost further fruitful cooperation and attracting Indian investments to the Vitebsk Region.
On September 17th, 2018 "Polotsk-Steklovolokno" JSC was registered as a FEZ "Vitebsk" resident.
"Polotsk-Steklovolokno" JSC is the largest manufacturer of glass fibre and fibreglass products. Currently the company produces about 900 varieties of products which is being exported to more than 40 countries all over the world.
Implementing the investment project as a FEZ "Vitebsk" resident to modernize the current production system will allow "Polotsk-Steklovolokno" JSC to expand its production capacity, create new jobs as well as reach a 100% level of exports to the markets of non-CIS countries.
On September 3rd, 2018 a new economic entity registered as a FEZ "Vitebsk" resident - "Vitebskdrev" OJSC, one of the largest wood processing enterprises in the Republic of Belarus.
"Vitebskdrev" OJSC is capable of processing up to 1 000 cubic meters of wood per day. The zero-waste technology implemented in production provides for complex and extensive processing of wood, starting from logging over to the finished product: windows, doors, windowsill boards, baseboards, architraves, floor boards, world-pallets, lumber as well as fibreboard and splint-slab plates.
The investment project as a FEZ "Vitesk" resident will allow "Vitebskdrev" OJSC to increase their export volume to new markets.
With the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 346 which was signed on the 22nd of August 2018 the territory of the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk" was expanded. From now on it includes territories in the Polotsk region and Novopolotsk as well as a sector in the center of Orsha. As a result of this border expansion the territory of FEZ "Vitebsk" increased by 346.9132 hectares and now equals 2764.0522 hectares.
Moreover, this new document expands the possibilities to attract additional sources of finance to build and develop infrastructure. There are now more opportunities to find contractors to design and construct new facilities in the Free Economic Zone.
On July the 6th Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" and the Chinese company "Blue Lotus" signed a letter of intent to establish the manufacture of furniture and wood processing within the borders of the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk".
The Chinese investor plans to open up to ten wood production companies - ranging from biofuel to furniture.
The estimated investment volume is no less than $300mln USD. The project is set to begin implementation in 2019. Until then the investor must address organisational matters concerning the company registration as a FEZ "Vitebsk" resident as well as resolve the matter of importing wood from Russia.
In the context of the letter of cooperation with the Union of Trade and Industry Promotion Organisations (Republic of India) on July the 5th the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" was visited by Prince of Quatar Sheikh Hamad Ali J.M.Al-Thani.
In the course of the meeting the Administration presented him the opportunities to establish a business within FEZ "Vitebsk", the logistic advantages of establishing production, the conditions and preferences for the FEZ residents. The matters of cooperation in informing the business circles of the State of Quatar about the investment opportunities in the Republic of Belarus, in promoting the information about FEZ residents and their produce to consider the possibility of its promotion in the Middle East markets and financing the Belarusian and joint projects planned to be implemented within the FEZ "Vitebsk".
One of His Excellency's interests was implementing projects to grow crops (barley, wheat etc.) in the Vitebsk region.
On June 27, 2018 a delegation from the Union of Trade and Industry Promotion Organisations (Republic of India) visited the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk".
During their visit the delegation familiarized themselves with the FEZ "Vitebsk" industrial potential, visited the investment areas for establishing a business using the FEZ preferential treatment.
In the course of the negotiations in the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" both sides discussed in details the prospects of further cooperation, the opportunities, the terms and conditions of implementing investment projects using the indian funding in the field of pharmacy.
The guests from India highly praised the investment potential of the Vitebsk region.
The agreements between the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" and the Indian delegation were further solidified in a letter of cooperation with its basis in the promotion of the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk" among the business community of India.
The Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" gave Mr. Priyanshu Jha, with his consent, the power of attorney the represent the interests of the Free Economic Zone "Vitebsk" on an international scale.
On June 21, 2018 at the initiative of the Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" a constituent assembly took place regarding the establishment of a Council of the Heads of Administrations of the Free Economic Zones, which will become an effective platform for comprehensive solution of the matters of improving the investment legislation of Belarus.
As noted by Mikhail Skurat, the Head of Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk", such form of interaction will allow to take a consolidated position on various matters of the functioning of zones subject to special legislation, submit proposals to enhance legislation and to collaboratively solve problems on a national and local scale.
'This will allow to solve more effectively the strategic goal of the FEZ - attracting investments to the country', - Mikhail Skurat stressed.
The plan is to include as members of the council, besides the heads of administrations of the FEZs, representatives of the Great Stone Industrial Park and the National Investment and Privatiяation Agency. By the end of summer a Provision of the Council and other documents regulating the work of the council are to be drafted. The meetings of this advisory body will be held no less than once a year within the free economic zones of Belarus.
This initiative was supported by the Ministry of Economics with its Deputy Head, Pavel Utyupin, personally taking part in the Council. He noted that the Council of the Heads of Administrations of the FEZs would become an additional platform for the opinion exchange and the development of courses to enhance the business environment.
The 4th Belarusian and Lithuanian Economic Forum, attended by more than 100 Lithuanian businessmen and around 20 representatives of the local self-governance of Lithuania, took place in Vitebsk on the 7th-8th of June.
The Forum is organized once a year in Belarus or Lithuania. This year it was Vitebsk that became the platform of cooperation.
Them main goal of the Forum is to further enhance and to improve the efficiency of the mutual cooperation between Belarus and Lithuania in different spheres, to strengthen and discover new business contacts, to expand the cooperation between the regions as well as in the spheres of textile, transport and logistics.
The Forum opened with a plenary meeting, where Mikail Skurat, the Head of Administration of FEZ "Vitebsk", familiarized the Forum attendants with the terms and conditions of conducting business within the free economic zone "Vitebsk" and its development prospects. After that the Forum program was organized by sections. Several FEZ "Vitebsk" residents presented their potential during the expo: "PA Energokomplekt" LLC, "Pozhtekhnika" JSC, "Bell Bimbo Plus" LLC, 'Plant Legmash" OJSC.
The Lithuanian side expressed their interest in cooperation in wood processing. As proof of their interest an agreement was signed during the Forum to implement an investment project to establish a large wood processing complex in the Vitebsk region.
