By Svetlana Lukyaniuk: This week, the Presidium of the Council of Ministers hosted a meeting of the Government. Drafts of the main economic documents for the next year were approved. The documents were submitted by First Deputy Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoy.
According to the forecasts, the labor productivity will rise by 3%, while the exports will increase by 6%. About 1.5 billion dollars of investments are expected to be attracted to the country. The average annual inflation is expected to be below 7.5%. The refinancing rate is not expected to surpass 10%. Incomes of Belarusians will increase by more than 3%. The country’s GDP is expected to amount to nearly 3.5%.
As before, Belarus forms its budget taking into account the exchange rate for the Russian ruble. Next year, it is expected to be 60-62 rubles per dollar. The oil prices in the world are important for the estimates, too.
The Ministry of Economics assures that there are no major sectoral risks. The Ministry tried not to exaggerate its projections, yet it is cautiously optimistic. The country is not planning to borrow money, either.
According to Dmitry Krutoy, the investments programme will be given more attention. Small businesses and the liberalization of business environment are expected to yield positive results.
Also next year, at least 3.5 million square meters of housing is expected to be built. Six banks are ready to participate in special programmes of targeted subsidies.
The growth of real income is expected to reach 3.4%. However, it is closely connected with the increase in labor productivity. This is the main area of work for business leaders when approving business plans.
