The Financial Times released its ranking of the world's 500 largest companies known as FT500 in mid July. Belarus is not represented in Eastern Europe's Top 100 table. It is not that Belarus has not a single company larger than Pfleiderer Grajewo, which is at the bottom of the list with a capital of $558 million. The ranking means that Belarus is not part of the civilized world market based on fair and open competition.
The country is still dominated by Soviet-style enterprises, not modern corporations. There is a wide gap between the former and the latter. The former operate as monopolies, rely on government's support and bribes, keep two or three sets of books and avoid publicity and transparency.
A corporation is an open book for stockholders and investors, and a reliable partner for consumers and suppliers. It operates according to market rules - it gains if succeeds and suffers losses and risks bankruptcy if fails. Belarus has three to five companies that could be in the Financial Times ranking. Two or three companies could be in the Global 500 table if the government liberalized the economy and built capitalism. As long as the country refuses to accept international financial market standards, its companies will be viewed as post-Soviet enterprises vulnerable to corruption.
The companies are also affected by the government's archaic corporate policies. They have no access to cheap credits and are unable to establish personal connections crucial for success. The Belarusians have nobody to accuse of financial conspiracy against their country. Protectionism and the oligopolization of market segments is a result of shortsighted policies of the chief executives of large enterprises, regulatory authorities, the government and the Presidential Administration.
No doubt, an economy can be viable even without large companies represented in the FT500 ranking. It is possible to build a strong and flexible economy based on small and medium-sized businesses. But it is impossible to be competitive staying away from the modern business and financial processes, ignoring property rights and allowing bureaucrats and politicians to interfere in the economy.
The lack of Belarusian companies is indicative of repressed business environment, in which ordinary Belarusians have no access to the world's stock markets. They cannot effectively use billions of dollars in savings because of the lack of a domestic stock market and have no option but to increase consumption or keep their savings on bank deposits. One cannot earn a lot by placing money on deposits. If the country had established an effective security market, stockbrokers could help households increase their savings.
The Americans, Italians, Japanese, nationals of new EU member states in Central Europe have vast opportunities for investing their savings. Even if stock prices are not rising, many leading corporations pay their investors generous dividends. This would be a good source of income in addition to wages and pensions. By isolating the Belarusians from international financial markets authorities deprive them of good prospects and prosperity.

Table 1Eastern Europe's Top 20 Companies

Source: newspaper Vedomosti June 2006