ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN A PANDEMIC

To improve investment activity in the context of pandemic, it is necessary to intensify the attraction of foreign investment to the country's economy on mutually beneficial terms. This implies the implementation of joint investment projects aimed at solving the problems of structural transformation of the economy, the introduction of new technologies and increasing the competitiveness of products. The purpose of the article is to summarize theoretical provisions, analyze the state and dynamics of foreign investment in the Ukrainian economy and determine the conditions for attracting them in a pandemic. Foreign investments are values that are invested by foreign investors in objects of investment activity in order to obtain profit or achieve a social effect. Depending on the degree of control over the objects of investment activity, foreign investments are divided into: direct and portfolio. Foreign direct investments provide long-term investments of material resources by non-resident companies in the country's economy for the purpose of organizing and building enterprises, acquiring authorized and share capital. Portfolio investments are capital investments that restrict the investor's rights to receive profits (dividends) and do not provide control over the activities of foreign companies. Foreign investments can be carried out in the following forms: «green field investment» — investments in the creation of new assets; Brown field investment is an acquisition of existing assets. Both forms of foreign investment have a significant positive impact on the economic growth of the Ukrainian economy and are beneficial for its regions. Analysis of trends in the development of the Ukrainian economy demonstrates a stable rate of decline in Ukraine's positions in the investment environment. As a result, the existing imbalances are aggravated, the decline in the gross domestic product is accelerating, the volume of industrial production, construction work, and foreign trade is decreasing, the volume of foreign investment is decreasing. In Ukraine, the main investing countries are Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany and Austria. Most of the investments from Ukraine went to Cyprus, which is an offshore zone where rates for key taxes are very low. Ukrainian companies use their equity capital in Cyprus to obtain a special legal status and to optimize taxation. In the process of analyzing foreign investments by types of economic activity in Ukraine, it was determined that the greatest interest among foreign investors is caused by professional, scientific and technical activities. The system of training and advanced training of specialists involved in the investment process is an important element necessary for successful and effective actions in attracting investments in a pandemic. It must necessarily include educational and training activities for employees of government bodies at all levels — from village and settlement councils to structural divisions of regional government bodies. For the development of systematic work in this direction, it is important to have a specially developed course in the regional centers for advanced training, which would be provided on a regular basis to specialists of local and regional authorities who are related to the investment process. It is also important to involve experts in teaching who have relevant experience and knowledge.