§ Mr. FraserTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice her Department currently offers to United Kingdom investors seeking to investigate commercial opportunities in(a) Russia and(b) other countries formerly part of the USSR. [44803]
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§ Mrs. RocheWe point out to UK investors seeking to investigate commercial opportunities in Russia that there are now a large number of successful UK investments. However, companies wishing to invest continue to face many obstacles, primarily resulting from the lack of transparency in the legal and fiscal framework for doing business and, therefore, good preparation is essential. As far as the remainder of the old USSR is concerned, the investment situation is very variable. As a general rule, at the present time, we would not encourage UK companies to seek out investment opportunities in Belarus, Moldova or Ukraine. The countries of Central Asia and Transcaucasia (with the exception of Tadjikistan) do present investment opportunities in a limited range of sectors but, again, the overall lack of transparency means good preparation is essential. The situation in the three Baltic States is different as the investment framework is now much more amenable to doing business.