Welcome to Ukraine Business Insight
Published in London and written by International and Ukraine-based writers and market experts, UBI is the only international English language publication covering trade and investment with Ukraine.
Lead commentators and practitioners provide incisive insight into the realities of the market and its changing dynamics, alert readers to new opportunities as they arise, as well as any potential threats to business, with analytic comment on the wider implications for business in the country.
We are pro-free markets, adhering to international best practice and social responsibility, but with no party allegiance.
Euro 2012 boycotts - Tymoshenko ‘solution’ aired
In the wake of allegations of violence against imprisoned former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko on misuse of power charges, and her subsequent hunger strike, there are increasing numbers of European heads of states saying that they will not attend the Euro 2012 football tournament in Ukraine (shared with Poland) this summer...
€13.3m for wind project
The EBRD is making its first investment into wind power generation in Ukraine by organising a €13.3m financing package to Eco-Optima, a Ukrainian-Italian joint venture company, which will operate a wind farm in the Staryy Sambir area of western Ukraine. The loan will consist of two parallel tranches: a 10-year EBRD loan of €9.5m and a 15-year loan of €3.8m from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF)...
Firtash promotes Ukraine business
Hitherto primarily known for his growing dominance in the chemicals and gas distribution industries, Ukrainian industrialist, Dmytro Firtash has been increasingly active in his civic role, primarily via his Presidency of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU), with visible support from former head of the SBU and newly appointed First Vice-Prime Minister of Ukraine, Valeriy Khoroshkovsky. Firtash spoke at a meeting of the FEU to promote improvement of Ukraine’s investment climate...
Troubles double for Ukraine
Ukraine appears to have moved from seeking to placate both Russia and the European Union, to antagonising both. A month ago the Ukrainian government rejected the offer of a 10% discount on the price of Russian gas made by Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin during his visit to Kyiv. The offer is believed to have been made in return for ratification of an agreement for a free trade zone within the CIS countries, rejected by Party of Regions’ parliamentary leader Oleksandr Yefremov, a move unlikely to please Russian leader Vladimir Putin...
EBRD/UkrEximBank US$ 50m energy efficiency loan
A US$ 50m five-year loan from the EBRD to the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (UkrEximBank) will support lending to small businesses across the country with loans from UkrEximBank of up to US$ 3m to implement energy efficiency projects.
EBRD is concentrating on support to sectors of the Ukrainian economy that are particularly affected by the adverse economic situation in the region – small businesses and energy efficiency. The former have been suffering from under-investment, linked with limited liquidity of domestic banks and various credit risks in Ukraine. The latter has become an issue of national importance in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing attempts to improve its energy security...
Noble increases Ukraine presence
Global commodity trader Noble Group has acquired grain-elevator owner Belgravia, the firm’s legal representative Salans reports. No price was made public for the deal, one of several acquisitions in Ukraine by international commodities traders targeting the fast-growing agriculture and food sectors...
REPORT SUMMARY
The first dedicated report on Wealth Management in Ukraine provides fascinating observations on the development of a home-grown wealth management marketplace. Today, the richest 100 Ukrainians have an estimated combined net worth of more than US $54bn (Forbes, April 2012), while the richest 200 have US $58.2bn (Focus, March 2012). Figures based on tax data put the number of affluent individuals (those with more than US $100,000 liquid assets) in the country at below 2,000 in 2010. However, qualitative research conducted for this report suggests the figure today is probably in excess of 30,000. Official figures suggest that 30% of high net worth clients in Ukraine use private banking services. However, the leading market participants interviewed for this report believe that this number is optimistic, and that the opportunity is largely unexploited. Factors preventing even more rapid growth include severe restrictions on the legal transfer of capital offshore, a limited stock exchange and the absence of an established private banking culture - amongst both local banks and wealthy Ukrainians. Nevertheless, research for Wealth Management Ukraine 2012 suggests that most wealthy Ukrainians keep about 60% of their assets offshore. This is partly due to a lack of confidence in local banks and partly due to the superior experience offered by more established players elsewhere. Private banking in Ukraine is forecast to grow rapidly. In the first dedicated report on the sector, we provide a snapshot of the current state of play. The research was conducted in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2012 by Eurasia Insights and Ukraine Business Insight magazine, sponsored by Coutts. Download a free copy of a preview of the report here:
