InvestUkraine surveyed investors
Only 130 out of 1,200 targeted companies agreed to tell the interviewers how they felt about the business climate in Ukraine, and a third of these were dissatisfied with their relationship with the tax administrationForeign investors that operate in Ukraine consider the relationship with the Ukrainian tax authorities the key problem issue, while seeing the nation’s highly skilled workforce as the chief advantage of doing business in Ukraine. These are the results obtained by InvestUkraine, a division of the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine (SAINPU), during the survey it conducted in October and November 2012 in collaboration with regional investment and development centers and with the support of USAID LINC project.
The survey was conducted in Ukraine for the first time, despite being standard practice for investment promotion agencies around the world. “Firstly, the survey helped to establish contact with companies and investors that operate in Ukraine, drew their attention to InvestUkraine, demonstrated the opportunities offered by the ‘one-stop investment center,’” InvestUkraine’s head Serhii Yevtushenko says. “The second useful and important point is that we received up-to-date information on investor sentiment, rated common issues that troubled foreign investors in Ukraine and prepared an action plan to respond to their concerns. Having understood key trends in the sector, we can now map out new directions for our work in the coming year.”
InvestUkraine’s press service told The Day that the survey questionnaire’s development had been influenced by the experience of the leading investment promotion agencies, particularly that of specialists from CzechInvest. Over 1,200 foreign-owned companies that operate throughout Ukraine were invited to participate in the survey. At the end, 130 companies answered the call, representing investments from a wide array of countries including Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Canada, the US, France, Turkey, and Israel. It should be noted that, going by the experience of investment promotion agencies operating outside Ukraine, such surveys usually attract about 10 percent of all targeted companies.
According to the survey, the relationship with the Ukrainian tax authorities is the most common issue for investors, having been reported by 22.8 percent of respondents, while 14.45 percent of the surveyed companies expressed their dissatisfaction regarding inspections and related procedures and noted inadequate legal framework.
On the other hand, foreign investors saw skilled and cheap workforce, massive and highly promising internal market, favorable geographical and logistical location of Ukraine, and good access to raw materials as the key advantages of the nation. “We were glad to see support given by the national and regional authorities to the implementation of investment projects listed among the positive aspects of the investment situation,” Yevtushenko notes.
The head of InvestUkraine sees the survey’s results as mostly positive, as they will become the basis for developing further measures to improve the business climate in Ukraine. He points to the roundtable to be held in March 2013 as an example, as it will give a platform to discuss the main issues troubling investors and develop solutions for them in cooperation with the leading law firms that are the SAINPU’s partners.
Interestingly, the agency plans to conduct annual surveys of foreign investors that operate in Ukraine.
