Pres Yuschenko Talking About Investments In Ukraine

From Interfax Ukraine

President Viktor Yuschenko has outlined the key trends in attracting national and foreign investors to Ukraine's economy.

"In my opinion, we are building a new and successful dialogue with investors," he said at an investment forum of Kiev region, the presidential press service has reported.

Yuschenko said privatization, agriculture and infrastructure development projects were particularly attractive to foreign investment.

Most of Ukraine's regions have unique business opportunities, he said, but "these capabilities are used inefficiently because of the lack of dialogue among business partners."

"We do not know much about one another. We need [to give] additional information about Ukraine's potential capabilities," he said.

The president said his government was going to stage legal and transparent privatization of the country's most attractive companies, among them Ukrtelecom, the Odesa Portside Plant as well as a few engineering plants and energy companies.

Speaking about infrastructure development, Yuschenko said he would discuss ways to implement a number of large-scale transportation projects, such as building railroad and ferry routes, during a GUAM summit in Baku next month.

"The state must give businesspeople all of the administrative and legal tools to help them feel atop the organization of market relations," he said, promising that Ukraine's new parliament would adopt anti-corruption and tax bills.

Yuschenko also spoke about the country's economic achievements, stressing the need to build closer ties with its neighbors, particularly the European Union.

As the State Statistics Committee reported on May 17, the growth in direct foreign investment in Ukraine in the January-March period amounted to $847.1 million, which is 8.2% less than in the same period of 2006.

Direct foreign investment in the first quarter amounted to $1.33 billion, whereas $535.7 million were withdrawn from Ukraine.

As of April 1, 2007, direct foreign investment grew to $22.434 billion or $481.3 per capita. Direct foreign investment grew by 3.9% in the first quarter.

The capital of non-residents from the Netherlands in the first three months grew most - by $159.6 million. Capital invested by Austria grew by $148.9 million, by the United Kingdom by $127.1 million, Cyprus by $99.4 million, the British Virgin Islands by $80.9 million, Russia by $78.6 million, Germany by $56.1 million, Sweden by $52.2 million, and France by $42.4
million.

The largest growth of foreign investment was registered in the financial sector - by $286.2 million. Direct foreign investment in construction grew by $131.3 million, real estate, leasing and engineering - by $109.2 million, industry - by $370 million, including a rise of $129.8 million in the mining industry and $239.9 million in the processing industry.