KYIV. Aug 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers in September 2016 intends to launch the investment support office with financial backing by equity funds managed by Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF, created in 1994 with seed capital of $150 million paid by the U.S. government), Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.
“The goal is to create the entry point for attracting investment,” he said opening a government meeting in Kyiv on Monday.
Groysman said that the governmental envoy will be appointed to coordinate the operations of the office with the government, ministries and other authorities. The Cabinet approved First Deputy Finance Minister Oksana Markarova for the post. She worked for 17 years in investment business, in particular in WNISEF, before coming to the Finance Ministry early 2015.
The prime minister said that foreign investors show their interest to Ukraine, but they demand some conditions.
“We need a coordination mechanism. We should understand where the entry point is and how authorities would help,” he said.
He said that the task of the office is to bring an investor by hand to successfully implement a turnkey project if the investor shows interest.
Groysman said that the attraction of investment is crucially important to bring Ukraine from the state of the country with the raw material type of economy.
Among other tasks on this way is development of infrastructure, provision for political stability, protection of investors’ rights and conducing of judicial reform.
The prime minister said that experience of similar offices in the United States, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, the Czech Republic and Germany was taken into account when the office in Ukraine was created. He said that the office will be located in the building of the government.
Groysman said that on September 1, 2016, Markarova will present proposals on the director of the office and his or her team.
The prime minister added that if the governmental office shows success, similar regional offices in the regions or municipal offices could be created.
