Service exports of Belarus High-Tech Park may approach USD 1 billion in 2016, director of the HTP administration Valery Tsepkalo told reporters during a roundtable.
At the end of 2015 the volume of exports of HTP residents amounted to 705.6 million dollars and increased by 21% as compared to 2014. The increase came against the background of a record fall of the global IT industry. “In the past we traditionally grew by about 30% a year,” Tsepkalo said. “This apparent slowdown in growth rates is due to the general decline in the market and the weakening of the Russian ruble and the euro.”
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The share of exports in the total production of the park amounted to 91.5% last year (in 2006, it was 46%). The three largest exporters for the previous year are EPAM Systems FLLC, JV Game Stream and foreign enterprise IBA IT Park. At the same time the residents of HTP offset losses from slumping sales in Russia by the markets of the following countries: the USA, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, and Switzerland
Director of the HTP Administration reported that exports of computer services per capita amounted to $ 74 in Belarus in 2015, which was a very good indicator. “In addition, four of our resident companies are included in the list of the top-100 world's largest outsourcing companies, and about 1 billion people in 150 countries use Belarusian mobile applications”, he said.
Among the countries of the Customs Union only Belarus has a surplus of computer services, and for the past 10 years the country has been steadily increasing this indicator. Thus, if in 2006 the balance was equal to 30 million dollars, in 2015 it amounted to 730 million dollars, while in Russia it was minus 265 million, according to preliminary estimates, and in Kazakhstan the balance was minus 120 million dollars.
Decree No. 12 on Belarus High Technology Park as of September 22, 2005 released HTP residents from taxes, duties and other compulsory payments to the national budget, the state budget and extra-budgetary funds, which are paid from sales proceeds, income tax and VAT on the turnover from the sale of such products. The Decree provides for certain preferences in terms of income tax (with the rate of 9% when the standard rate is 13%). In addition, the Park residents have the right to make the payment of compulsory insurance contributions at a reduced size.
According to Valerij Tsepkalo, a little bit more than 24 thousand people work in HTP now. Three thousand new jobs were created in 2015.
Belarus High-Tech Park has 152 residents: 62 companies founded by Belarusian investors, 54 companies founded by foreign investors and 36 are joint commercial organizations.
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