Editor’s Note: We asked participants of the Economic Forum Austria-Ukraine in Kyiv on March 14 what they are at the conference and how they Ukraine’s investment climate.
Andreas Beil
Managing director at D2 Consult International GmbH
Andreas Beil (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“We are a consulting company in the infrastructure sector. It means working for the railways, road sector, metros, water supply. We launched in Ukraine in December 2007. Now we have a team of five engineers working on a project in the Carpathian region. It is almost done, the operation will start at the end of May. So we are looking now for new opportunities in Ukraine and even have already identified several. We are working mostly on large infrastructure projects. This particular one is an investment of 100 million euros and of course, we want to be convinced that it is totally financed.
Taking into account the experience from the last 10 years, we see improvement in the execution by Ukrainian government and enterprises. When we started in 2007, there was limited knowledge about the execution of international projects in Ukraine. Ten years later, there is an improvement in the education of Ukrainian engineers as well.”
Inna Podolian
Head of the audit department at IB Interbilanz Consulting
Inna Podolian (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“We provide mostly Austrian and German companies with audit services in different spheres. Of course, we want to know everything that is going on in Austrian-Ukrainian relations so that we are able to react and help our clients in time. In spite of the difficulties during 2014-2017, none of our clients left Kyiv. They continue working here, investing in Ukraine and its employment. During the last two years, we managed to get several orders from big manufacturing companies. These are mostly from western Ukraine and they offer nearly 600 job opportunities. That is very attractive for investments.”
Michael Angerer
Regional Manager at Eastern Europe/Central Asia
Michael Angerer (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“We organized a big trade mission with 31 companies that attended the conference. Many high-ranking government officials of Ukraine spoke about opportunities for Austrian business. The situation with Ukraine’s investment climate was very difficult 3-4 years ago. Now it seems to have been stabilized. Ukraine is becoming more attractive and more Austrian companies are looking for Ukraine.
Some changes concerning legal environment and transparency in business are taking place in the business environment. Among the participants of this event, there were some companies just investigating whether they should go ahead with some investments not only in real estate but in production as well.”
Ganna Kuchma
Country manager at ISG Personalmanagement GmbH Ukraine
Ganna Kuchma (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“In Ukraine, we support Austrian companies a lot because they somehow do not trust local ones. We often communicate with Austrian companies that think of Ukrainian market entry. When we started working four years ago, there was silence. Now many companies apply for (our services). The interest is increasing but it is still considered rather risky to open and run a business in Ukraine, so they are thinking over and trying to define when to enter our market.
What I can say for sure, is that companies that work here are expanding, new factories appear, investments are rising. This conference is an impetus to Austrian companies that are considering whether to enter a Ukrainian market. It attracts by location, amount and level of development… But what is needed is good legal protection, so that Austrian companies could clearly understand the rules of running a business in Ukraine. This way it would be quicker with investments.”
Dmytro Vlasov
Vice President of TASK Investment Group
Dmytro Vlasov (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“I am here to make contacts with Austrian partners. We have interest in investments in the energy sector. I do not consider Ukraine’s investment climate to be changing fundamentally. The fear of entering Ukrainian market remains. Foreign businesses think that their property is not protected here. They are afraid of building a factory in Ukraine, as it could be withdrawn by raiders. Our judicial system is still weak.
The first that is wanted is a judicial reform; overcoming corruption is one more step. Foreign investors are not frightened of the war in the east. Instead, they are frightened to lose the property they could get in Ukraine. Although, little by little they come to Ukraine and are interested in it. Currency liberalization also has to be conducted, and Poroshenko has already promised to sign a new law on currency, that is a much more liberal one than that decree of the 1993 year.”
Hermann Ortner
Commercial Counsellor at Advantage Austria
Hermann Ortner (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“Our office is here for more than 25 years. Exports, imports were developing well and we are also proud that we are one of the biggest investors in Ukraine… we also see big new opportunities… in the fields of energy efficiency and environment, the modernization of infrastructure, so I am pretty sure that there will be new fields identified where cooperation is possible… (New business deals in the near future?) I hope so and I am pretty sure.
Peter Groder
Vice President of Shipping & Insurance Department at VA Intertrading
Peter Groder (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
“We are trading with steel and grains but also pharmaceutical products, chemical products, (agricultural) machinery. What I am expecting is that we are ready to invest in Ukraine but we need some legal background, and that’s why we are here to see what is going on and what the developments are… We also have an export terminal in Odesa… and in that respect we want to hear what is going on, what is the strategy in the ports in general. Is it going to concession, is it going to privatization, is it going to rental contract?”
