Iran Cuts Investments In Belarus By Half
- 23.09.2024, 10:53
Israel - by nine times.
The UAE, Turkey, China and Iran were among the top 10 largest sources of direct investment in the Belarusian economy at the end of last year. But the contribution of the last one reduced more than twice. And other states, friendly in the eyes of Minsk, prefer not to risk their money in the country, increasingly tightened by the sanctions of the unfriendly bloc, writes the ‘Belarusians and the Market’ website.
Statistics of the National Bank of Belarus shows that the UAE is taking the leading position in the new configuration of foreign direct investment (FDI) sources in Belarus.
At the end of last year, the UAE took the fourth place ($863.6 million), having let only Russia ($4.5 billion), Cyprus ($3.2 billion) and Austria ($902.7 million) pass ahead. Turkey (581.1 million), China (452.2 million), Germany (472.2 million), the Netherlands (258.8 million), the UK (243.7 million) and Iran (213.6 million) were also in the top 10.
The UAE has become and is becoming a new jurisdiction for many Russian, Belarusian and Western companies trying to operate in their previous markets in Russia and Belarus. Undoubtedly, the main growth of Emirati FDI in the Belarusian economy last year was provided by them. The rest was provided by local businesses themselves. This year, the volume of Emirati investments in Belarus is expected to grow. This will be facilitated, among other things, by the recent high-profile deal, under which the Emirati fund of Soven 1 Holding purchased a controlling stake in Priorbank, the country's largest private bank.
The UAE stands out favourably against the background of other Gulf states. The subjects of the families of emirs of Qatar and kings of Bahrain, with whom Aliaksandr Lukashenka tried to establish contact personally, have invested $600 thousand and $1.7 million in Belarus, respectively. Sultanate of Oman invested another $100 thousand. According to the National Bank of Belarus, Saudi Arabia - nothing.
There have been no breakthroughs in other parts of Asia. On the contrary. The indicators of Turkey and China remained at about the level of 2022. But the volume of investment from Iran has reduced by more than half. From Israel - by more than nine times. Unnamed Syrian investors, who brought $60 million into the Belarusian economy in 2022, ‘calmed down’ to almost zero in the last year.
Belarusian investments of Japan, India and Indonesia, which are among the top 10 world economies, totalled $6.7 million. This is slightly more than three investors from Africa - Nigeria ($2.9 million), South Africa ($1.5 million) and Egypt ($300 thousand) - sent to Belarus in 2023.