European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in the development of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said at a press conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenportal.com reported.
“The development of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor is a major ongoing project. European and international financial institutions are ready to invest more than 10 billion euros in this project,” Kallas said during a press conference on the 20th European Union-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting held in Ashgabat on March 27.
Kallas emphasized the growing desire for cooperation between the EU and Central Asian countries.
The EU plans to expand cooperation in various areas, she said.
Kallas emphasized the development of youth exchanges and strengthening contacts in business and academia.
Dragon Capital, a Kyiv-based investment company that invested about $700 million in Ukraine between 2015 and 2021, excluding reinvestments of several hundred million more, plans to invest $100 million in 2025 due to improved macroeconomic predictability and economic growth, anInterfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.
“In the middle of last year, we started considering new investments. This year, we plan to make about $100 million in new investments,” owner and CEO Tomas Fiala said at a conference titled ‘Logistics as a Driver of Economic Growth’ organized by the We Build Ukraine think tank in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The businessman added that it will be mainly financed by his own money and co-investors’ equity, while a smaller part, “maybe up to a quarter,” will be borrowed.
He clarified that out of the $700 million of investments in 2015-2021, the share of debt financing was about a third, up to $250 million, of which 80% has already been repaid, but there was also a significant portion of private Western investors, either European or American.
“We really believe that 2025 is the first year during the war when we have much better macroeconomic predictability. We (Ukraine – IF-U) have fully received committees to finance our budget deficit for the whole of 2025 and almost the whole of 2026,” Fiala explained the readiness to resume investments.
He reminded that currently, taking into account the $50 billion financing of Ukraine under the ERA instrument from frozen Russian assets, the total confirmed financing of the country is $56 billion, against the need to finance the budget deficit in 2025 of $40 billion.
“That’s if there is no truce, but if it happens, we will need almost $10 billion less money,” said the owner of Dragon Capital.
He added that, given this situation, a fairly stable exchange rate and economic growth can already be predicted in 2025: by 3% if the war continues, and by 5-7% if it ends.
“We are not the only ones paying attention to the ceasefire negotiations. You can look at the following “barometer” – the prices of Ukrainian Eurobonds traded in London. These are dozens of foreign investors who are assessing Ukraine’s risks. The prices of these bonds have been rising for the last 2 years, but this growth has accelerated since October last year,” Fiala said.
According to him, new investors are assessing the Ukrainian risk through sovereign Eurobonds, focusing on yields of 13-14% per annum – this is the rate at which they are willing to buy the Ukrainian government’s debt.
Fiala added that investors are willing to buy corporate bonds of reliable Ukrainian companies such as MHP and Kernel with a yield of about 10%, and sometimes even 9%.
Dragon Capital is one of the largest investment and financial services groups in Ukraine, providing a full range of investment banking and brokerage services, private equity, and asset management to institutional, corporate, and private clients. The company was founded in 2000 in Kyiv.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, plans to invest over $21 million in 2025 to upgrade its agricultural machinery fleet, the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, 150 units of new equipment have already been contracted, including heavy tractors, sprayers, self-propelled beet harvesters, sowing complexes, precision seeders, tillage machines and other equipment. Some of the equipment has been delivered to the agro-industrial holding’s production facilities and will be actively used in the spring field work. This will help increase the efficiency of agricultural production and optimize tillage and harvesting processes, as well as preserve soil health.
“The purchase of modern machinery is one of the elements of our decarbonization strategy, which involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions through more fuel-efficient equipment and the use of precision and regenerative farming practices. In order to reduce the impact of agricultural production on climate change, Astarta continues to scale up such practices, in particular, reducing the number and depth of tillage and increasing the area under cover crops,” said Andriy Zagorulko, Director of Crop Production, Logistics and Mechanization.
According to him, in 2024, the agricultural holding increased the area under no-till tillage and green manure. It has expanded the differentiated and local application of mineral fertilizers, which provides for their optimal use. In addition, local fertilization simultaneously with main tillage significantly reduces fuel consumption due to fewer technological operations.
“The updated machinery fleet will allow us to respond more quickly to changing weather conditions, be much more cost-effective and reduce dependence on third-party services,” the agricultural holding is convinced.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $1.4 trillion in the US economy over the next 10 years, the White House said in a statement. The investment plans were announced after US President Donald Trump met with UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan this week.
“The new plan envisages a significant increase in the UAE’s current investments in the US economy, particularly in AI infrastructure, semiconductor and energy industries, as well as in the US industrial sector,” the statement said.
Norway, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has committed a total of NOK 1.1 billion ($105 million) in financial support to rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, build backup capacity and accelerate Ukraine’s transition to a more diversified and sustainable energy mix.
“This partnership will ensure the restoration of energy generating capacity in Ukraine, providing direct support to important regions of Ukraine. This contribution will significantly mitigate the impact of the ongoing shelling of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. As part of this enhanced partnership, solar panels will be installed to provide backup power to schools and hospitals, and a recent agreement will provide an additional 80 MW of power to the national grid this winter,” the UN press service reports.
It is noted that thanks to the UNDP Energy Recovery Program, the provision of heat and water will meet the needs of more than a million people and industrial consumers.
“Russia’s constant attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have led to an urgent need to increase electricity production. There is a shortage of this type of equipment on the market. Therefore, the agreement with UNDP is very important to support Ukraine this winter,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a government press release.
The production, transportation and installation of energy equipment are complex and risky processes that are carried out by reliable partners, as this is vital assistance that will enable Ukraine to survive the coming winter.
“We are committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to build a more resilient and sustainable energy system by restoring critical energy infrastructure and generation capacity, and advancing strategic initiatives to accelerate the transition to green energy. We are committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to build a more resilient and sustainable energy system. Rehabilitating critical energy infrastructure is essential as people living in multi-storey buildings in major cities have no alternative means of heating and water supply. UNDP’s Renewable Energy Program, through which we are supporting Ukraine’s energy recovery, is a testament to our commitment to promoting green recovery and energy security for all Ukrainians. We are grateful to our partners for their continued support,” said UNDP Resident Representative Jaco Silje.
“DTEK will build energy storage facilities in Ukraine with a total capacity of 200 MW, the company’s press service said on Thursday.
According to it, investments in the project will amount to EUR140 million, making the company the largest investor in this area in the country.
The batteries will be commissioned in a number of regions of the country no later than September 2025.
The press service reminded that on August 22, DTEK Group companies, together with other energy industry players, won a competitive auction held by NPC Ukrenergo for the provision of ancillary services.
“Despite the war and limited access to the external capital market, we continue to invest in Ukraine. This includes not only the restoration of the destroyed facilities but also the construction of new ones as part of our long-term development strategy. Our priority remains unchanged – it is the development of green energy in Ukraine, the accelerated integration of our energy system into Europe and the improvement of our country’s energy security,” said DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko.
As reported, DTEK is also a participant in the construction of the first large-scale electricity storage project in Poland. The goal is to create a pan-European energy system designed to unite Ukraine and the EU.
DTEK was established in 2005 to manage the energy assets of Rinat Akhmetov’s System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk). The corporation has been delegated the functions of strategic management of the group’s enterprises, which make up a vertically integrated chain of coal mining and enrichment, electricity generation and sales.
DTEK is committed to transforming into a more efficient, environmentally friendly and technologically advanced business, guided by ESG principles. The group plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
