Investment projects
Lawyers working on “Investment projects” advise companies on all aspects of investing in real economy entities and infrastructure projects. The overall volume of investments in projects implemented by us during the last 3 years exceeds 2,000,000,000 euros.
We advise on choosing an optimal project site, an optimal corporate structure, labour issues, migration issues, fund-raising, construction and specific real estate issues.
REVERA’s portfolio includes projects with various legal regimes: free economic zones, activities in rural areas. Our lawyers have monitored projects implemented on the basis of 1st and 2nd level investment agreements with the government.
Lawyers involved in “Investment projects” work closely with specialists from our Corporate Law, Banking & Finance, Taxation and Dispute Settlements sectors. This allows forming a team of lawyers from several practices to solve clients’ challenging tasks.
REVERA’s unique market experience in supporting investment projects in Belarus is confirmed annually by international ratings: Legal500, IFLR1000, Chambers.
1. Supporting new investment projects (Green field investments)
Belarus offers several special-purpose legal regimes for businesses: 6 free economic zones, Great Stone industrial park, Bremino-Orsha zone, doing business using an investment agreement with the Republic of Belarus, doing business in a rural area, and others. Each has a suite of remissions and preferences for various project stages (construction stage or production stage). In this regard, it is important to make the right choice from the start.
REVERA’s lawyers, due to their many years’ work experience, are able to define basic risks and advantages, to help you choose an optimal project site and to monitor the entire process of project execution.
We assist in:
- developing authorisation documents for investment projects;
- choosing an optimal project site: economic value analysis, tax planning;
- developing investment project structures, implementation roadmap;
- monitoring the conclusion of an investment agreement with the Republic of Belarus;
- settlement of related corporate issues (creation of a legal entity, preparing corporate documents, personnel recruitment issues, and others);
- monitoring raising of funds;
- legal formalisation of documents required to implement an investment project;
- protecting investor’s rights extrajudicially, as well as by way of arbitration or judicial proceeding.
2. Entry into Great Stone industrial park
The ‘Great Stone’ project is open for foreign and many Belarusian companies. An inter-governmental agreement guarantees an unprecedented suite of preferences till 2062 to its residents. REVERA’s lawyers are ready to assist Belarusian businesses with regard to the benefits offered and the practicality of expanding or creating a new enterprise in Great Stone industrial park.
We assist both prospective and operative Great Stone’s residents during all project stages: from project conception to ongoing commercial issues in the production stage.
We assist in:
- diagnostics stage: elaborating a project concept and presenting it to Great Stone’s administration;
- preparatory stage: elaborating a business plan and preparing a corporate business structure in the Park;
- registration stage: assisting in preparing documents and monitoring resident status obtainment;
- construction and production setup stage: advising on permits/authorisations, relations with contractors, fund raising;
- production stage: taxation and customs issues, labour law issues, disputes with counterparties.
3. Legal support for projects involving brown field investments
Acquiring an existing asset always bears history risks: hidden flaws, accounting errors, etc. Often the same asset may be acquired in different ways, with different financial consequences and risks. In each case, REVERA’s lawyers will carry out a comprehensive legal due diligence to detect investment risks and will structure each acquisition transaction to the benefit of the prospective investor.
We assist in:
- legal due diligence of the legal status of assets to be acquired in order to detect acquisition-related risks;
- legal support for asset acquisition, including drafting contracts, participation in negotiations, representation of client in state authorities;
- forecasting and analysis of commercial post-acquisition risks, elaborating measures to minimise risks;
- obtainment of required permits and authorisations;
- protecting investor’s rights extrajudicially, as well as by way of arbitration or judicial proceeding.
4. Implementation of infrastructure projects and PPP projects
In the past, infrastructure projects in Belarus were implemented by state authorities via state-run companies and were funded from the state budget only. However, during the last few years, the practice has seen drastic changes. Supported by international financial institutions, private companies now participate actively in infrastructure projects. Their activity is boosted by the public-private partnership (PPP) model legislated in 2016.
We assist in:
- monitoring client’s participation in PPP tenders, in particular preparation of required documents and communication with state authorities;
- structuring and formalisation of business ideas to be presented to state authorities;
- monitoring the execution of projects in all respects (labour, migration, taxation, construction issues, etc.).
5. GR (government relations)
In practice, an obsolete rule or an incorrect law enforcement practice would impede investors to do their business and/or impede the state to receive budget funds. That is why we accumulate our legal experience with GR strategies, to help our clients establish effective cooperation with state authorities.
We assist in:
- analysing legislative restraints on our clients’ initiatives;
- elaborating and implementing strategies to accomplish our clients’ initiatives, in particular researching foreign best practices and scientific methods to settle problematic issues, organising meetings with involved state authorities.
6. Supporting localisation of Belarusian companies’ producing units abroad
Due to trade barriers between countries, many companies locate their producing units in third countries in order to diversify risks. Establishing a production unit in a foreign jurisdiction always bears risks and requires compliance with both local laws and laws of the ultimate beneficiary’s country.
Our team is knowledgeable in principal issues topical for investors entering foreign markets to locate their producing units. REVERA’s cooperation with foreign legal firms and membership in Nextlaw, a leading network of legal firms, enables us to offer top-quality services for originators of international projects.
We assist in:
- choosing an optimal site to locate a producing unit abroad (taxation, customs, migration issues);
- choosing foreign legal firms and coordination of legal cooperation;
- corporate structuring of groups of companies;
- reviewing documents from foreign jurisdictions for compliance with Belarusian law.
7. Preparing presentations and legislative reviews
REVERA has vast experience in preparing reviews on doing business in Belarus and EUEA, both on a general scale and with respect to particular economic sectors. REVERA’s lawyers participate annually in the ‘Doing Business’ research carried out by the World Bank.An extensive network of partners allows us to prepare reviews and take part in presentations on juridical, economic and cultural issues. Our portfolio of clients comprises foreign embassies and institutions, business associations and private companies.
We assist in:
- preparing materials on doing business in Belarus and EAEU;
- holding presentations on doing business in Belarus and EAEU;
- preparing materials on doing business between Belarus and a foreign state;
- preparing and presentation of reviews on legislative changes.
