Introduction

Contemporary developments in global economy have opened up unprecedented opportunities for investors to explore new markets and venture into new business projects. The key to success in new international markets is strategy and innovation.

Entering new markets and launching new projects present challenges, particularly in relation to information. Any new ventures need to be based on adequate market research so that informed decisions may be made on the basis of a comprehensive study of contextual issues such as on taxation, laws and their implementation, restrictions, especially those inherent in the host nation's social and political context, labour relations, licensing, and investment conditions.

The Republic of Belarus is definitely one of the rising markets providing new prospects for the trading of the goods, manufacture and industries. In this chapter we will focus on the basic issues of interest to investors and policymakers alike.

Basic information about the Republic of Belarus

The Republic of Belarus is situated right in the heart of Europe and borders with Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and the Russian Federation.

The total area of the country is 207,600 km2. The Republic of Belarus stretches 560 km from north to south and 650 km from west to east. The capital of the Republic of Belarus is Minsk. Administratively the country is divided into six administrative regions（oblasts）:Brest Oblast, Vitebsk Oblast, Gomel Oblast, Grodno Oblast, Mogilev Oblast and Minsk Oblast. They are further divided into 118 districts.

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus recognises two official or state languages:Belorussian and Russian.

In informal speech, Belarus is referred to as the“Blue Eyed Country”. This lyrical name for the country owes its origin to its numerous lakes and rivers. There are more than 20,000 rivers and rivulets in Belarus. The biggest rivers are the Dnieper, Western Dvina and Neman. There are more than 10,000 lakes in the country. The biggest lake is Lake Naroch with a total area of 79.6 km2; the deepest lake is Lake Dolgoye with a depth of 53.7 m.

The Republic of Belarus has the following natural resources:wood, granite, potassium salt, peat, dolomite, limestone, clay, sand, small deposits of oil and natural gas.

The climate is moderately continental, decided by the location of the country in mid-latitudes, the absence of mountains and the relative vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean. Generally July is the hottest month of the year and January the coldest. However, the temperature hardly ever falls below -20 degrees Celcius or rises above+35 degrees Celcius.

In the country there are two large potash salt deposits:Starobin and Petrikovit. The reserves of raw materials are in the amounts of several billion tons of rock salt deposits. In the Gomel region, there are quite a large number of small oil fields, which annually produce just over 1.5 million tons of oil and a small amount of natural gas. In the valley of Pripyat there are known deposits of brown coal and oil shale. Prospects for shale gas production are still unclear. Across the region the Republic of Belatus has rich deposits of peat with about 7,000 peatlands. There are two large, but deep, iron ore deposits and several small deposits（occurrences）of native copper, chalcopyrite, rare earth metals, beryllium and uranium ores. Many other raw material deposits which are used in the production of building materials and sources of fresh water and mineral water are under exploration now.

At the start of 2015, the population of the Republic of Belarus was 9,480,900, with 77.3 percent of the Belarusians living in urban areas. One-fifth of the population, or 1,938,200, live in the capital city of Belarus, Minsk. Ethnic Belarusians make up more than 80 percent of the population. Belarus is home to many other nationalities such as Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, Lithuanians and others.

The Republic of Belarus is a unitary, democratic, and welfare state based on the rule of law. The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted in 1994 and amended at the national referenda on 24 November 1996 and 17 October 2004.

The Republic of Belarus adheres to the socially oriented model of the market economy which has proven to be consistent and efficient. It is an export-oriented country. However, it also has a well-developed production sector, a services sector and an agricultural sector. Belarus is globally one of the leading exporters of freight vehicles, tractors, road construction and municipal equipment. One in ten wheeled tractors in the world is produced in Belarus. According to the“Doing Business Reports”, in 2016 the Republic of Belarus was ranked as 43rd from a possible 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier.

Belarus accounts for 17 percent of the world's output of harvesters,8 percent of wheeled tractors, about 5 percent of flax fibres and 1.6 percent of potatoes. The share of BelAZ rock haulers on the global market is a healthy 30 percent. Belarusian dairy companies account for 0.9 percent of global milk production and the country accounts for about 5 percent of the global export of dairy products and almost 11 percent of butter export.

Belarus is a leader in the region in chemistry and petrochemistry, agricultural machinery, automobile industry, agriculture, light industry and information and communication technology industry. Belarus exports more IT services per capita than any other member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Belarus has good prospects in the high-tech sector, namely in the production of optical and laser devices and in automated management systems. Belarus is not only famous for its natural scenery and resources, but also for its brands. Among the famous brand name holders in the Republic of Belarus are a wide range of companies in the different fields of industry: From engineering giants and major manufacturers of machinery, advanced chemical enterprises and innovative IT companies of global reputation to popular brands of clothing, footwear and food.

One field that is making Belarus famous all over the globe is vehicle manufacture, and among the industry leaders are Belarusian Automobile Factory（BelAZ）, Minsk Automobile Factory（MAZ）, Minsk Tractor Factory（MTZ）.

Over the years the Belarusian Automobile Factory has developed more than 500 models and has produced more than 135,000 large machines. Its production copes perfectly with the demands in construction in various parts of the world. It is worth noting that one in three mining trucks in the world was released by BelAZ, which is at the top of the leading manufacturers of machinery for open mining and construction. In 2013 the company produced a truck with a world record capacity of more than 503 tons.

Belarusian MAZ brand attracts the attention of countries that are in need of high-performance trucks, chassis and tractors. The Hardy machines marked with MAZ can be seen in prestigious car races, including the“Dakar Rally”. Among other things, the Minsk automobile factory manufactures passenger transport vehicles and equipment for them. MAZ buses, in use as city, intercity and tourist transport vehicles are present on both national and foreign roads.

Minsk Tractor Factory produces approximately 8-10 percent wheeled tractors in the world market. The company is part of the eight most famous factories for the production of agricultural machinery. Currently MTZ supplies more than 60 models of tractors in hundreds of designs suitable for different climatic conditions. “Belarus”tractors are manufactured for more than 60 countries.

Belarusian Steel Works（BMZ）is one of the major exporters of the country. The company provides all the technological stages, from the production of high-strength steel to finished products:metal pipes, wire, steel fibre and others. Steel cord produced in Zhlobin, is used by world-renowned manufacturers such as Michelin, Pirelli, Continental, Goodyear and Bridgestone. A BMZ fitting assembly line was used in the construction of facilities at London Olympics in 2012 and Sochi Olympics in 2014.

The year 1963 saw the setting up of the first Belarusian petrochemical industry with the first production of gasoline in the Novopolotsk factory at“Naftan”. The company is a leader of the Belarusian petrochemical industry. Today it produces more than 80 types of refined petroleum products:diesel fuel, gasoline, oil, jet fuel, bitumen, aromatic hydrocarbons. About 60 percent of the products are exported abroad, namely to the Baltic countries, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, the UK, Norway, and the Netherlands.

The company is one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of potash, with the first production factory founded in 1958, when the exploration of Starobin deposits began in Polesie. Not far from it the city of miners, Soligorsk, was built, which houses the only spelyary CIS（special hospital based on the salt mine）. According to data from the International Fertilizer Association, the company Belaruskali produces one-seventh of the world's supply of potash fertilizers, which are exported to more than 70 countries.

Transit-transport potential of the Republic of Belarus, which has a very good road and rail network, is determined by its geographic conditions. Some scholars say that benefits of the transit potential, in fact, is a two-tier system:the lower level consists of natural advantages（especially geographical location）, and the top level（management level）consists of manpower and intellectual property. The country has a geographically strategic position in the centre of Europe, sandwiched between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.

In territory of the Republic of Belarus lie the 2nd and the 9th international transport corridors:the Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk, Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod route; and the Finland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece route. Most of the transit is carried out in the following directions:Germany-Russia-Germany and Poland-Russia-Poland. Around 170 million tons of goods in transit move through Belarus annually. Situated at the crossroads of highways, Belarus is a major centre in the international movement of goods.