The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone signed a memorandum of understanding on 15 November, the industrial park’s Press Secretary Olga Rudaya told BelTA.
The document is designed to develop innovative technologies and bring considerable international investments into the Belarusian economy. It will facilitate long-term economic growth and the creation of new jobs.
The International Finance Corporation and the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone intend to work together to bring strategic resident companies into the park, arrange R&D training programs, and help startups find finance. They will also recommend residents of the park to potential investors. An investment consulting group of the International Finance Corporation will host consultations on improving the entrepreneurship environment and the investment policy for the sake of developing the park and establishing it as an attractive investment object.
Jason Pellmar, the IFC’s regional manager for Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, said: “This partnership is part of the IFC’s strategy for Belarus aimed at developing a more diversified and stable private sector. The strategy also provides for continued work with the government to increase investments in the private sector.”
The China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone is a territorial unit as large as 112.5km2. It is a special economic zone set up by the Belarusian and Chinese governments to stimulate investments, scientific research and development in mechanical engineering, biotechnology, telecommunications, fine chemistry, and logistics. The park is located 25km away from Minsk in the immediate proximity to an international airport, the railway network, and the transnational motorway Berlin-Moscow. The park is now home to 39 companies from China, Belarus, Russia, USA, Germany, Austria, Lithuania, and Israel.
The International Finance Corporation is a daughter institution of the World Bank and a member of the World Bank Group – a major global development institution focusing on supporting the private sector in countries with a developing market. The IFC is one of the top investors investing in the development of the private sector in Belarus. So far the IFC has invested over $270 million in long-term funding for projects in many industries. The IFC has also provided over $470 million to Belarusian banks via the Global Trade Finance Program.
