Press Release

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DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE

On Measures to Improve the Investment Climate in Ukraine

Kyiv July 12, 2001     

In order to ensure a complex approach to creation of friendly investment environment in Ukraine and livening up investment activity, taking into account the results of the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Advisory Council on Foreign Investment in Ukraine, I decree:

1. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is to ratify until October 1, 2001 a Program on Development of Investment Activity in Ukraine in 2002-2010 (hereinafter referred to as "the Program").

The draft of the Program should contain complex measures aimed at further improvement of the investment climate in Ukraine, namely:

1) further deregulate and liberalize business activities in this sphere by ensuring minimal interference of executive authorities in business activities of entrepreneurs, increasing personal responsibility of the heads of executive bodies for issuing normative and legal acts, which negatively influence the market conditions and investment climate in Ukraine;

2) complete the creation of a stable and predictable legal environment, which is to be based on the principle of equality for all investors and to provide comprehensive regulation of all issues of investment activity;

3) ensure transparency of the procedure of the decision-making process of central and local executive bodies, extend the practice of public discussions of drafts of normative and legal acts on issues of carrying out investment activity;

4) improve the mechanisms of corporate rights management, including those enjoyed by the state, ensure the increase in dividends (revenues), accumulated to the stock (equities, shares), owned by the state in the property of economic associations, improve the protection of rights of minority shareholders;

5) eliminate structural deformations in the economy of Ukraine by increasing growth rates in consumer sectors and in services; attract long-term investors to priority industries, strengthen control over fulfillment their of investment obligations;

6) improve effectiveness of bankruptcy procedures;

7) ensure further reform of the tax system, particularly by means of lowering the tax burden, rationalizing and increasing transparency of tax administration procedures, and unconditional observance of the taxpayers' rights;

8) increase investment attractiveness of privatization objects by their restructuring, ensure complete separation of social infrastructure objects, create equal conditions for privatization participants, increase transparency of the privatization process, and carry out legislative regulation, taking into account international standards and experience concerning issues of responsibility for ecological damaged caused by the companies in the past;

9) carry out further administrative reform, aiming at improving and increasing effectiveness of public governance, eliminate bureaucracy and corruption, and improve partnership between entrepreneurs and executive authorities;

10) expand and modernize the transport infrastructure of Ukraine, in particular the gas transportation system, increase transit volumes, create a national network of transport corridors based on active attraction of investment to the road and transport infrastructure market, renew the rolling stock of transport companies, particularly by resorting to concession and leasing;

11) develop competitive environment and increase investment in the communications sector, improve tariff regulation, certification, and standardization in the telecommunication services sector;

12) further strengthen the banking system of Ukraine, increase the level of concentration of banking capital, increase long-term crediting of the real sector of economy, implement mortgage lending, stimulate attracting citizens' money deposits, create non-banking financial institutions, stimulate the inflow of foreign capital to the banking sector;

13) revive investment activity in special economic zones and territories of priority development with special investment regime, primarily in depressed territories;

14) stimulate investment attraction to the scientific, technical, and innovation activity, create new and develop the existing techno-parks, techno-polices, and innovation business-incubators;

15) encourage implementation of the judicial reform and ensure unconditional execution of court decisions.

When developing the draft of the Program, take into account the results of International Forum On The Ways of Accelerating Investments in Ukraine that took place on July 18, 2001 under the aegis of the Advisory Council on Foreign Investment in Ukraine.

2. The Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine shall;

stipulate for the necessary funds required for the implementation of the Program, when developing the draft Law On The State Budget of Ukraine 2002;

make propositions on initiating investment projects in certain priority branches of the Ukrainian economy under the aegis of the Advisory Council on Foreign Investment in Ukraine;

announce the approval of the Program and report on its implementation every six moths.

3. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the State Committee of Information Policy, Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, with participation of the foreign members of the Advisory Council on Foreign Investment in Ukraine and a Coordinator of relations with the foreign members of the Council, key foreign and domestic investors (at their consent) are to develop the draft of the Program On the Investment Image of Ukraine. It shall envisage measures on wide coverage of investment policy and achievements of Ukraine in creating attractive investment climate, aiming at creating a positive investment image of Ukraine abroad.

4. The Council of the Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, regional authorities, and Kyiv and Sevastopol municipal administrations, when developing corresponding budgets, are to provide funds required to implement the Programs on accelerating the inflows of investment for economic development of the corresponding administrative territorial units.

President of Ukraine
Leonid Kuchma

For additional information, please contact:
Taras Malyshevskyi, Press Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine
310 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, ON K2P 0J9
Tel. (613) 230-2961, fax (613) 230-2400
E-mail: ukrembassy@on.aibn.com