Investment risks in the information technology industry

Abstract

Introduction. The development of Ukraine's economy in the context of global crisis foresees the activation of investment activity. One of the areas, where even in a crisis situation investment attractiveness remains, is the IT technology field. This leads to increased attention to investment development in this area. The purpose of the paper is to study the nature of investment risks for IT companies, deepening the classification varieties of investment risks, emphasizing the risk factors due to risk actions and ranking investment risks depending on their specific weight. The study will provide information for business management and plan the effective investment policy. Results. The essence of risks and investments is investigated, the dynamics of IT services development is characterized. It is established that favorable conditions for the IT industry development are factors in the development of the country's economy. The trends of investing in the IT industry in Ukraine and the volumes of IT services exports outside the country are revealed by the analysis methods, and this allowed to confirm the conclusion about their competitiveness at international investment markets. It is established that the favorable conditions, which are created for the functioning of relevant field of activity, justify the positive dynamics of investment in the future, which is confirmed by the financial indicators of the industry. The author singled out ten main types of investment risks: personnel risk, migration risk, investment loss risk, legislative changes risk, tax burden risk, legal arbitrariness risk, interest rate risk, currency risk, unpredictable inflation risk, credit risk. A brief description of the effects of risky events on the investment process with taking into account the industry specifics is given. The investment risks are ranked depending on their specific weight and the impact of each on the IT company's overall investment strategy, that with the help of graphic image provides the clear description of the investment risks structure. The conclusion about investment activity processes development with taking into account risky events of the IT enterprises is made.