To register a company in Belarus or a business in Belarus, mainly strive in one of the following forms:
- Limited Liability Company, LLC.
The legislative basis is the Belarusian law “On Business Societies”.
Such a company must have at least two and no more than fifty founders. If a company has one founder in Belarus, it can create a private unitary enterprise (PUE).
For LLC there is no standard size of the authorized capital, while the term for its contribution is no more than a year.
- Limited liability company (joint or foreign).
If the authorized capital of a company in Belarus exceeds $ 20,000, then a PSI can be registered. The authorized capital of the joint venture is the share of the foreign investor and the share of legal entities/individuals of the Republic of Belarus. A commercial organization with foreign investment must have 100% funding from the investor.
The statutory fund must be formed at least half in the first year from the date of registration. So, each of the founders contributes half of their share, in full – within two years from the date of state registration.
- Joint Stock Company, OJSC, and CJSC.
The minimum authorized capital for a CJSC is approximately 870 €, for an OJSC – 3500 €. Registration of shares is required.
Representation (you can choose a commercial or non-commercial form).
The accreditation period is 5 years, it can be extended. It takes at least one month to register a representative office.
Company registration in Belarus – basic provisions
- The name of the company.
To register a company in Belarus, you must have a unique name of the legal entity. If the name is used in foreign languages, transliteration must be used. Only firms that have a share of state assets in their capital can use the words “Minsk” and “Belarus” in their names.
- Legal address.
Following Belarusian legislation, the legal address of the company is the location of the General Director, Directorate, that is, a permanent body.
Entrepreneurs use two forms of registration of a legal address:
– virtual office
– standard legal address.
- CEO.
A resident of Belarus and a foreign person can act as a general director. In this case, a foreigner must receive an official request from the company to obtain an appropriate license and attract labor from another state.
Participation of shareholders during company registration.
Founders are not required to be present in person; company registration in Belarus can be carried out by power of attorney.
Advantages of doing business in Belarus
In the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 report, Belarus ranks 49th among 190 countries.
Thanks to the measures taken to create an attractive business climate – improving the taxation system, simplifying the procedures for registering property and companies, etc. – Belarus in the world ranking “Doing Business” since 2006 has risen from the 120th line to several dozen positions, and takes leading positions in several indicators.
And today the state continues to implement plans so that by 2025 Belarus will enter the top 30 countries with the most comfortable business conditions. The improvements cover many areas: administrative procedures, taxation, pricing, licensing, preferential treatment for investors, and protection of their rights.
In 2020, foreign investors invested $ 8.7 billion in the real sector of the Belarusian economy (except for banks) (in 2019 – $ 10 billion). Among the main investment partners of Belarusian entities are companies from Russia, Cyprus, Austria, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland.
The main trading partners are:
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- China
- Poland
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Lithuania
- Kazakhstan
The increase in the number of foreign companies in Belarus is determined by:
- Geographical position
Located on the eastern border of Europe, Belarus occupies a strategic position; the main trade route between Europe and the CIS runs through it.
- Economic stability
During the global economic crisis, the Belarusian economy suffered less than other countries. Economic experts predict positive economic growth in Belarus.
- Favorable investment climate
For the development of business in Belarus, free economic zones, the Hi-Tech Park, and the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park “Great Stone” have been created, there are special tax incentives for companies operating in rural areas or small towns.
Investors’ rights guarantees and investment protection in the Republic of Belarus are also provided by several international agreements.
Since 2006 (during the country’s participation in the World Bank’s Doing Business rating), 39 reforms to improve the business environment have been recorded in Belarus.
- Highly skilled workforce
Almost 50% of employees and workers in Belarus have higher education.
- Industrialized economy
The industry of Belarus provides about a third of the country’s GDP.
