Reconstruction of Ukraine attracts those who promote capitalism – Finance

While Ukraine is still under fire from Russian bombs, an entirely different battle is taking place behind the scenes as the Europeans send in more military equipment. If today no one can predict when this war will end, many are already thinking about the “next” and the reconstruction of the country.
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While Ukraine is still under fire from Russian bombs, an entirely different battle is taking place behind the scenes as the Europeans send in more military equipment. If today no one can predict when this war will end, many are already thinking about the “next” and the reconstruction of the country. The reconstruction that attracts the world financial giants. Too early? This is not the case for Ukrainian officials, who are the first to invite all foreign investors who are directly or indirectly interested in investing in their country. The participation of a very large Ukrainian delegation at the World Economic Forum held in Davos last week proved this once again. “Ukraine Davos House” (Ukraine House in Davos) welcomed visitors and organized conferences consisting of various speaker panels. Several of these conferences were clear opportunities to promote Ukraine’s economic attractiveness even during the war. An example of this is the conference “Europe’s next big investment opportunity: now and in peacetime” with the participation of leaders and investors, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine Rostislav Shurma and the Chairman of the Economic Cooperation Organization. State Property Fund, Rustam Umerov. They talked about investment opportunities “for those who are brave enough to look at the headlines today”. The Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yuliya Svyridenko, who participated in Switzerland, confirmed that “it is necessary to invest in Ukraine” on the microphone of the French “Quotidien” program. even during the war.” He said that the country will have to pay a deficit of 37 billion dollars this year, and the first reconstructions will cost 17 billion dollars, and Ukraine will cost 349 billion dollars. Figures that will undoubtedly be revised upward. These astronomical sums attract investors who see the country, which is currently devastated by war, as a future economic opportunity. Larry Fink, the head of the American giant BlackRock, the world’s most powerful asset manager, did not hide his enthusiasm, which was far from it. The latter declared in Davos that “those who truly believe in the capitalist system will flood Ukraine with capital at the end of the war.” He even described the country as a “beacon that shows the power of capitalism to the rest of the world.” Larry Fink estimated that the financial needs for the reconstruction of Ukraine could rise to $750 billion, well beyond World Bank forecasts. . He even claimed to have spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to express his group’s interests, saying that the company “intends to create a new Ukraine, not new oligarchs.” In fact, BlackRock is already investing in Ukraine. Last November, the firm announced on its website that its Financial Markets Advisory division and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine had signed a memorandum of understanding under which BlackRock would advise “on the design of an investment framework to attract public and private investors to Ukraine.” But BlackRock is a somewhat controversial company. With 8,000 billion assets in its pocket, the American firm is certainly one of the world’s most influential companies, if not the most influential. The European Commission was particularly criticized for choosing the company to conduct an investigation into sustainability criteria in banking supervision. Although BlackRock is one of the largest shareholders of greenhouse gas emitters and fossil fuel-related companies, offering 7% of oil company Exxon Mobil and 8% of chemical giant BASF, Larry Fink’s company also bought it in France in 2019. accused of trying to influence the pension reform. So, is it good news to see the company in such a rush to invest in Ukraine? Do we really need a “beacon” that serves the power of capitalism on the European continent? And isn’t this a way for a firm to increase its leverage a little more at a time when cash is tight? All these questions will have to be answered in the future world related to the climate crisis, although acute given the current situation in Ukraine.