By Ukraine Rebuild News Staff, Sept 20, 2023
The private sector involvement needed most acutely in Ukraine after the war to draw further investment will be in the areas of de-mining, IT, infrastructure and logistics, financial services, and manufacturing and construction, according to a business survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
When asked “what private company goods or services would be most helpful in attracting more investment in your industry post-war,” respondents also answered legal, insurance, audit and consultancy services as well as healthcare and upskilling.
The survey also showed that the single biggest event that would attract foreign investment to Ukraine would be a victory in its war with Russia, followed by a reconstruction campaign, accession to the European Union, private-public partnerships to attract funds, security guarantees and insurance for investments.
The top sphere for foreign investment, the respondents said, will be security and defense, agriculture, energy and renewable, infrastructure and construction, IT, and high-tech production.
The survey, which included 127 senior representatives of AmCham member companies, also showed that 84% of AmCham Ukraine members are fully operational 1.5 years after the full-scale Russian invasion, and the remainder are partly operational. And 19% of respondents are confident about Ukraine's recovery in 20204 while 59% are "somewhat" confident, and 22% were "doubtful" about a recovery.
Several business surveys taken in Ukraine in recent weeks have built a case for mild optimism over the reconstruction of the country.
Earlier this month, a 14-nation survey by the German Marshall Fund, a US think tank that seeks to cooperation between Europe and North America, showed 69% of the citizens, mostly from Western nations, say their government should back the rebuilding of Ukraine after the war, while 63% support EU membership.
And a European Business Association survey released in mid-September indicated that 26% of companies in Ukraine plan a new investment for next year, an increase from 19% in the same survey conducted a year ago even though it's down from 32% before the Russian invasion.
Yet another survey released in mid-September weighted that optimism slightly in favor of Western firms, suggesting that 28.1 percent of Ukrainians trust large Western companies and banks to “effectively and without corruption" carry out the reconstruction of Ukraine, while only 8.2% picked large Ukrainian private companies and banks.
