On 27 September an international conference “PPP in Germany and Belarus: comparative analysis and recommendations” was held at the President Hotel in Minsk.

The conference was co-organised by the German-Belarusian Economic Club, the law firm Arzinger & Partners and the National Agency for Investment and Privatisation (NAIP). The German Embassy in Minsk took over the patronage of the event. The conference was supported by many renowned partners, including: Delegation of the European Union in Belarus, as the General Partner of the conference – Representative Office of German Economy in Belarus, as the information partner – publishing house OWC-Verlag, as the partner – SCHNEIDER GROUP.

The conference had several objectives. Above all, it was to once again draw the attention of a wide interested public to the topic of PPP, which is important for the development of the Belarusian economy in general and for the intensification of German-Belarusian relations. The conference was supposed to be another opportunity to exchange experiences and views – both with German experts for the analysis of German PPP best practice models, and between representatives of government agencies and private businesses, i.e. potential investors in Belarus. This analysis and exchange should have promoted the development of synergy effects, the emergence of interest in the topic and the finding of new points of application for economic cooperation. Last but not least, the conference was to produce a newsletter with proposals for optimising the framework conditions for the development of PPPs in Belarus.

For this purpose, well-known German and Belarusian experts, who have extensive experience in researching the topic and developing the legal foundations as well as in developing and implementing concrete PPP projects, were invited. A detailed discussion of the specific aspects of PPP took place in three podium discussions. The conference programme is available here.

In accordance with its task, the conference was intended for experts from politics and economy of both countries – representatives of Belarusian and German administrations, ministries and authorities, German and Belarusian companies, analytical centres and scientists from both countries who work in the field of research and, of course, members of the public in Belarus.

More than 150 participants testify to the good attendance of the conference, which earned positive feedback from speakers and visitors alike. The success of this event supports us as DBWC in our ambition to further intensify cooperation between our countries by developing and initiating contacts.

The weather was not very nice this summer, but the Club still managed to take advantage of one of the last warm and dry days in September to organise an excursion to a horse farm in Butsevichi. More than 20 people, members of the Club, with their relatives and friends gathered for the trip, and on Saturday, 16 September, we all travelled together to Butsevichi.

The horse farm, which has various accompanying attractions in addition to the stables, is located about 30 km to the north of Minsk, so the whole trip there takes less than an hour. Immediately upon arrival, we were met by a cowboy on horseback and taken to the open riding arena, where all participants – under the guidance of trainers, of course – were able to try themselves as riders. The farm staff took professional care of the little and big riders, so that everyone could enjoy the basic elements of horseback riding: boarding, riding at a walking pace and even a light trot. Their own exercises on the horse were definitely the highlight of the day, but not the only reason for their high spirits. The approximately four-hour programme of our stay at the stud farm also included air rifle and archery, horseshoe throwing, musical and dance performances, and of course a visit to the stables. While we were getting acquainted with the four-legged inhabitants of the stables up close, the owner and trainer Alexander shared with us various informative and entertaining facts about the life of horses and the lives of his pets. At the end of the informative and emotional tour visitors had the opportunity to feed the animals with brought carrots and crumbs, which contributed to a positive mood not only among our young visitors. The hosts also took care about daily bread: we were offered a grill and homemade herbal tea, so we were able to go home after being refreshed.

The trip to the countryside was very enjoyable and brought a lot of good impressions and emotional relaxation. As it was a great pleasure for everyone, the Club will continue to offer such excursions in the future, as we have the opportunity to do so.

The German economy in Belarus is picking up speed – and this time also in the literal sense. On 6 August 2017, the club organized a karting race for its members.

The event took place at the Kartland karting track and lasted a little longer than an hour. A total of six brave drivers, supported by friends and family engaged in three hot races on a two-storey track. Healthy ambition and friendly togetherness created an always cheerful atmosphere.

Mr. Korzovnik from our club member BonHotel set best marks in two of the three heats and thus secured the first, unofficial karting title of the DBWC. But the challengers are out for revenge in further races.

Since 2010, the German Economic Team in Belarus (GET Belarus), together with Belarusian and foreign experts, has published an annual analytical study, “Belarus: Macroeconomic Outlook”, which provides an analysis of the current state of the Belarusian economy and its development forecast for the next 12 months. Over the past few years GET Belarus has proved to be the most objective and reliable source of information.

Thanks to the Club’s close cooperation with GET Belarus, of which we can be rightfully proud, since 2014 the Club members have been among the first to receive exclusive information from the new Forecast, the results of which GET Belarus experts present every year at one of the Club evenings. Also this year Alexander Knuth, GET Belarus expert, continued this great tradition with his speech.

Mr. Knut started his report with macroeconomic analysis. Mr. Knut mentioned positive signals of economic growth, especially in some sectors, such as industrial production, but said that the trend so far cannot be regarded as absolutely stable. Despite GDP growth in the first half of the year, a fall in GDP should generally be expected in 2017.

Inflation is slowing down and is within the forecast parameters, which is why the work done by the National Bank was noted positively. Mr Knuth mentioned the decline in real incomes and the associated spiral effects on the economy, but noted that this development was in line with the overall difficult economic situation in the country. The report concluded with a very optimistic forecast for 2018, according to which GET Belarus, as well as other experts, expect positive economic growth in Belarus – primarily due to a recovering domestic economy, increasing demand from major importing countries, and rising prices in the commodities sector.

The evening traditionally ended with relaxed networking and an exchange of views as part of a festive buffet.

We were delighted to welcome two experts in the Belarusian real estate market to our Club Evening in June. The evening opened with a presentation by Andrei Pavlyshko, Partner and Managing Director of Colliers International, one of the first international companies in the commercial real estate segment in the country. Mr. Pavlyshko introduced us to the history of the development of the commercial real estate market in Belarus for the last 10 years and Colliers International’s successes and achievements during that period and presented the current situation of the real estate market in Belarus. Then Mr Artem Zhdankov, Project Manager of Your Capital Company, the largest real estate agency in Minsk region, shared the information about the current situation, price policy, demand structure and vacancy level of the commercial and residential real estate market.

Both reports, perfectly complementing each other, gave a complete picture of the current situation in the real estate segment in Belarus. The reporters informed about prices, tendencies and forecasts of development of the real estate market in Belarus, pointed out difficulties and opportunities in various segments of the market. In a relaxed dialogue all the participants were able to discuss specific requests and ideas with our referents and thanks to this during the evening we have already reached agreements on possible future cooperation.

We were also delighted to welcome numerous guests to our Club Evening: Lars Schmidt, Lecturer of the German Academic Exchange Service, BSEU, Vladimir Turavinov, Chairman, Director of the Executive Board of the Vitebsk Regional Union of Employers, Alexander Bunis, Managing Director of the company “OPK”, Semen Antipov, Financial Director of “OPK”, Alexander Trukhanenko, Director of the travel and consultancy company “Kobzar”, Inna Strelnikova, image-maker.

“It is noteworthy that German companies, which have identified the overall economic situation in the country as tense and very difficult, are very positive about the prospects of their enterprises in Belarus.” This unexpected result was revealed in the survey of the business climate in the Republic of Belarus, which is conducted annually by our member and partner German Economic Representation Office among German companies. The annual survey “Business climate in Belarus” contains a number of questions from micro- and macroeconomics and is a timely source of information on the current economic situation and its likely development in relation to German companies in Belarus.

Meanwhile, presentations of the results of the survey made by Vladimir Augustinsky, the Head of the German economic representative office, during the Club’s soiree have become a good tradition which continued this year to the delight of all the Club members. The resonance among the Club members was high as usual, which was proved by a lively discussion between the speaker and the Club members, many of whom, being heads of German companies in Belarus, took part in the survey themselves. At the same time, the discussion covered certain aspects in more detail, such as the assessment of employee qualifications, as well as the assessment of labor law.

Vladimir Lvovich finished his speech with the presentation of current and planned events of the German Economic Mission this year.

Then the presentation of the range of marketing services of the German Economic Information Center was made by Julia Buraeva, its director. The service subsidiary of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce offers services for both existing and those planning to enter the German market, ranging from information gathering to project support – which will definitely help the Club’s individual members to cooperate with each other. The full versions of the presentations by both speakers are available to Club members here.

The evening traditionally ended with an interesting and open discussion between Club members and our guests of honor, the subject matter of which included both topics raised by the speakers and current issues from economics, politics and public life.

We would like to highlight another significant moment of the Club Evening. In connection with the increasingly close cooperation with our partner Free Economic Zone “Minsk” (FEZ “Minsk”), we also had the opportunity to welcome to our evening the Head of Administration of FEZ “Minsk”, Alexander Akhremchik. He warmly thanked the Club for its cooperation, as well as for the support provided, and presented the Head of the Club’s Representative Office, Evgeny Gudi, with a letter of thanks, which in a way shows recognition of our work and that we are on the right track, and we will certainly give him a place of honor.

 

According to a survey conducted earlier this year, excursions to industrial enterprises are among the most popular activities for our members. Responding to these wishes, the Club decided to put more focus on industrial excursions this year and arrange for members to visit famous Belarusian companies, as well as our members’ production sites.

The season of industrial excursions in our Club has been opened by visiting the Belarusian Automobile Plant in Zhodino on April, 29. During this excursion every member could have a look at the heavy machinery production with his/her own eyes, and see the pride of Belarusian auto-industry – Guinness Book of Records the biggest dump truck in the world BelAZ – 75710 with nominal capacity of 450 tons.

In order to keep within 1,5 hours of sightseeing, it is necessary to move around the territory of the plant, where more than 9000 people work, by transport, in our case – by bus. This allows you to get an idea of the scale of the plant-city in a short period of time, as well as get acquainted with current and historical achievements of BelAZ.

The strongest impression, of course, leaves the exhibition area of the plant, which presents samples of vehicles produced by the plant with the lifting capacity from 30 to 450 tons. The stand provides an excellent background for impressive photos, both next to the giant machines, and on the machines themselves, which our participants could not resist taking advantage of. You can also have a look at the experimenting workshop for assembling extra-heavy dump trucks, and see one more example of BelAZ-75710, but in an unfinished state.

Besides the main attraction of the plant – the giant machines themselves – the excursion plan included a tea party with special local biscuits in the shape of a BelAZ dump truck, and also a visit to the plant’s history museum, where we could learn the plant’s history, watch a video about BelAZ trucks working in quarries, and appreciate the plant’s equipment and gifts from all over the world. At the end of the excursion the participants could make a wish, holding a key of a huge BelAZ dump truck in their hands – according to the factory legend, the wishes made “on the key” will come true for sure. And a souvenir mini-BelAZ presented to everyone will be a visible reminder of this excursion.

We hope that our trip to the BelAZ plant pleased both small and large participants and set everyone up for the next events, as another visit to the industrial plant is already planned!

“There are more registered small entrepreneurs per 1,000 people in Belarus than in the EU”. And “The emergence of ‘hidden champions’ was only possible because we did not have privatisation”. Those two statements by our referent and guest of honor Pavel Vladimirovich Daneiko are very peculiar and seemingly contradict everything we, as it seems, know about the Belarusian economy.

Why these statements surprisingly accurately reflect the state of things in Belarus and how they give the opportunity to look at the events in the country and its current status quo from a completely different angle – this and many other things the Club members could learn thanks to the report of our expert, filled with unambiguous and non-standard statements. Pavel Vladimirovich told not only about macroeconomic processes, but also about the history of formation, strengths and weaknesses, strategies and emerging problems of the private sector, especially small and medium enterprises in Belarus. In doing so, he presented a sometimes unexpected but interrelated picture of the situation in the country. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion, during which the topic of the report was explored in more detail, so that Mr Daneiko’s presentation became a kind of master class for all present. Our guest presentation is available to Club members in the “For Members” section.

Also during the evening the Club expressed special thanks to Office Solutions company and its General Manager Alexander Shalaiko for the gift of 2 modern, ergonomic office chairs to the Representative Office of the Club. This gesture was a kind of praise and acknowledgment of the work done, and also a stimulus for further active work.

The Club will be repaying the trust placed in it with an unusually large number of events this month. Thus in April our members can choose between five events.

The evening traditionally ended with relaxed networking and exchanges as part of a festive buffet.