Hesburger, the largest fast food chain in Finland, plans to invest more than EUR12 million in at least 10 new restaurants in the western regions of Ukraine over the next 5 years, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has announced.
According to the report, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Oksana Osmachko discussed further ways of developing cooperation between Ukraine and Finland with Janne Harjunpaa, CEO of the Eastoffice of Finnish Industries, and Wanda Zamitska-Bergendale, CEO of Hesburger Ukraine.
“In March 2025, Hesburger made an investment of EUR 7.3 million, opening a production and warehouse complex for the production of cutlets and storage of products near Kyiv. The facility’s capacity is up to 6 tons of meat per day, and the expected volume is to serve up to 50 restaurants. Ten new jobs have been created,” the ministry said, adding that this initiative was the first Finnish industrial investment in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war.
The East Office of Finnish Industries is the official representative office of Finnish business, which serves as a coordination platform for leading Finnish companies to promote their interests, develop business ties and create a favorable environment for investment and commercial activities.
Among the main members of East Office are Kone, Wärtsilä, Fortum, Neste, Outokumpu, Valmet, Orion, Tikkurila, Metso and other key players in the Finnish economy. The total annual turnover of all participating companies is about EUR 50 billion.
The Finnish company Hesburger was founded by Heikki Salmela and his wife Kirsti Salmela and started its fast food business in 1966 in the town of Naantali.
Hesburger currently operates in nine countries and has more than 480 restaurants, including 269 in Finland, 64 in Lithuania, 53 in Estonia, 53 in Latvia, 32 in Bulgaria, two in Germany and one in Poland. In Ukraine, Hesburger currently has seven locations in Kyiv and Kyiv region.
In Finland, Hesburger employs more than 6 thousand people, while the total number of employees in the chain exceeds 9.1 thousand.
Prices for apartments in Odesa showed the largest growth in the primary housing market of Ukraine in the first half of 2025 – up to $1130 per square meter, which is 19% more than in the same period last year, according to the real estate portal LUN.
According to LUN’s analytical data, the top five cities where prices for new buildings rose the most in January-March 2025 also included Mykolaiv (+8%, to $700/sq m), Ternopil (+7%, to $740/sq m), Chernihiv (+7%, to $750/sq m) and Lutsk (+7%, to $930/sq m).
At the beginning of July, Lviv remained the most expensive city in terms of price per square meter ($1370 per square meter), where the price in June 2025 increased by an average of 2% compared to June 2024 and by 5% since the beginning of the year. In the Lviv region, prices increased by 10% and 6%, respectively, to $890 per square meter.
Apartments in new buildings in Kyiv increased in price by 3% compared to June 2024 and 2% since the beginning of the year and reached $1290 per square meter. In the Kyiv region, prices have increased by 8% since the beginning of the year, to $820 per square meter.
Ivano-Frankivsk showed an increase of 10% in June-2025 to June-2024 and 3% for six months, reaching $850/sq. m. At the same time, in Ivano-Frankivsk region, apartments in new buildings went up by 19%, and by 9% in six months, to $880 per square meter.
“LUN notes that in Dnipro, prices for new buildings remained almost unchanged year-on-year: “plus” 1% in June 2025 to June 2024, but “minus” 1% by January 2025 – to $1070/sq. m. The situation in Kharkiv is similar: “minus” 5% by June-2024 and “plus” 5% by January-2025 – $660/sq. m.
Research on the construction industry in Eastern and Southeastern Europe – countries of growth and decline
According to the results of the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association (EECFA) 2025 summer report, there is a significant stratification of construction dynamics across regions.
Here is an updated overview by country:
• Turkey: significant growth of ~19% is forecast, driven by large infrastructure and state-subsidized construction projects.
• Romania: the industry is expected to grow by ~15%, thanks to housing forecasts and support from the EU.
• Bulgaria: steady growth of ~8.5%, based on infrastructure and civil construction projects.
• Slovenia: moderate but stable growth of ~7%, despite a preliminary decline.
• Serbia: will continue its steady rise — ~5%, thanks to major projects, including EXPO 2027, as well as transport and housing initiatives.
• Ukraine: despite the war, the outlook is positive, thanks to large-scale reconstruction and infrastructure programs.
• Croatia: expected moderate growth of ~2.3%.
Countries with decline or stagnation
• North Macedonia: forecasts a decline of ~3.4% due to a slowdown in investment.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: a decline of up to ~–6.2%, reflecting economic difficulties.
• Albania: expected sharp decline to ~–7.9% due to weak investment potential and economic uncertainty.
EECFA (Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association) is an association that publishes semi-annual reviews and forecasts for the region’s construction markets.
The review covers countries in Southeast Europe, the EU, and countries with economies in transition. The forecast covers both residential and infrastructure construction, as well as projects in the healthcare, education, and industrial sectors.
PJSC “Ukrnafta” has announced tenders for international insurance “Green Card”
As reported in the system of electronic public procurement “Prozorro”, the expected cost of the purchase of services is 38.663 thousand UAH.
The security of the tender offer is not required.
The deadline for submission is July 14.
Almost 5,000 vessels have handled over 130 million tons of cargo, including 80 million tons of grain, since the launch of the Ukrainian corridor in the Black Sea, said Oleksandr Semyryga, head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), during a visit to Odesa seaport by German Federal Foreign Minister Johannes Wadefuhl and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.
“Since the launch of the Ukrainian Corridor, almost 5 thousand vessels have been handled and over 130 million tons of cargo have been transshipped. Of these, more than 80 million tons are grain. The port infrastructure is constantly under enemy attack, with shelling taking place every week. But every employee in the industry understands the importance of their work and the role that Ukrainian ports play in maintaining global food and logistics security,” Semyryga was quoted as saying by the USPA press service.
The ministers also inspected the building of the Odesa Sea Port, which was damaged by a Russian missile strike in September 2023. Semyryga clarified that the attacks are systemic – since July 2023 alone, more than 80 attacks on port infrastructure facilities in Odesa region have been recorded.
The volume of remittances to Ukraine for January-May 2025 decreased by 15.4% to – $3.5 billion, in particular net remuneration of labor decreased by 18.7%, and the volume of private transfers – by 11.2%, according to the data of the balance of payments of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). As noted in the statistics, in May, the volume of private money transfers decreased by 13.2%, to $0.7 billion.
“Wages that Ukrainians receive from abroad decreased by 9.5%, and other private transfers received through official channels decreased by 9.7%,” – commented the National Bank.
Overall, the volume of transfers through official channels in May 2025 was 9.6% lower than in May 2024, while receipts through informal channels decreased by 18% year-on-year.
In May 2025, the primary revenue balance turned negative to $45 million against a surplus of $20 million in May 2024.
“The decline in labor compensation receipts (down 16.9%) was more rapid than the decline in investment income payments6 (down 2.7%).” The secondary income balance surplus shrank,” the regulator explains.
At the same time, the secondary income balance surplus decreased to $0.7bn from $1.0bn in May last year due to a reduction in technical and humanitarian aid.
