During a reception in Kyiv to mark the 80th anniversary of Vietnam National Day, Pham Hai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Ukraine, emphasized that cooperation with Ukraine has significant potential in the areas of economy, technology, and culture.
“Over the past decades, Vietnam has achieved significant success in political, economic, and social development. In 2025, our GDP is projected to reach approximately $510 billion, and foreign trade turnover in 2024 exceeded $800 billion. Vietnam is among the 35 largest economies in the world and among the top 20 leading exporters,” the diplomat noted.
The ambassador said that despite difficult conditions, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Ukraine is showing positive dynamics: in the first half of 2025, its volume increased by 30% to $560 million.
He separately emphasized the role of the Vietnamese community in Ukraine, which numbers more than 800 people and acts as an “important bridge of friendship between the peoples.”
“We highly appreciate the contribution of Ukrainian specialists to the development of Vietnam after the war, as well as the support of our diaspora in Ukraine, which is actively integrated into local society while preserving its cultural identity,” the ambassador said.
Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Vietnam were established on January 23, 1992. The Vietnamese Embassy in Kyiv opened in 1993, and the Ukrainian Embassy in Hanoi opened in 1997.
Vietnam’s economy (as of 2025)
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has granted permission to Vitaly Antonov’s Vi.An Holding Limited (Limassol, Cyprus) to acquire control over Kairos Holding LLC, the AMCU press service reported on Facebook.
“The decision to acquire is a logical continuation of our development strategy in the agricultural sector and expansion of the land bank. The interest in Ternopil and Rivne regions, where the land bank of the above-mentioned company is concentrated, is due to both favorable natural and climatic conditions and better yields compared to other regions of Ukraine,” the corporate communications department of OKKO Group commented on the AMCU’s decision.
The company also reminded that it is completing the construction of an elevator with a storage capacity of 60 thousand tons, and a bioethanol plant is under construction, which is expected to start production in the second half of 2026. The facilities are designed to produce 85 thousand tons of bioethanol per year, both for domestic needs and for sale to foreign markets.
In addition, OKKO called the partnership with Gadz-Agro (Ternopil region) an important component of its agricultural portfolio, with which the company is developing agricultural production.
Kairos Holding LLC was founded in 2024 in Lviv. The company specializes in growing cereals, legumes and oilseeds, organizing the construction of buildings, intermediary in the trade of a wide range of goods, wholesale of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels, etc.
According to the Opendatabot service, in 2024, the company received revenue of UAH 1.543 million, a net loss of UAH 1.136 million, has debt obligations of UAH 857.395 million, and assets are estimated at UAH 856.31 million. The authorized capital is UAH 50 thousand. The company employs 1 employee. The beneficiaries are businessmen Bohdan Kuspis and Ivan Kotsyo, who own a number of bakery plants in Lviv and Vinnytsia, restaurants, construction companies, etc.
OKKO Group unites more than 10 diversified businesses in manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, maintenance and other services. The flagship company of the group is Galnaftogaz, which operates one of the largest filling stations in Ukraine under the OKKO brand, with about 400 filling stations.
The group’s founder and ultimate beneficiary is Vitaliy Antonov.
Ukraine has significant reserves of titanium, graphite, manganese, lithium, uranium, and other critical materials and will work to establish production of components for batteries, solar panels, and defense technologies, This vision for the development of critical materials (CRM) was presented by Deputy Minister of Economy Andriy Telyupa at the URC2025 Recovery Conference in Rome.
“The goal is to attract more than $2 billion in investments and launch more than 20 projects in five years. In the future, Ukraine should become not only an exporter of raw materials, but also a production base for green and defense tech within the EU,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, unlike previous programs, URC2025 included two separate events dedicated to CRM: a session and a workshop. Among the participants, in addition to representatives of the Ukrainian government, were representatives of the DFC, EBRD, DECOMAR, DG GROW, Chemours, Horizon Capital, TechMet, and BGV Group Management.
In addition, Telyupa presented Ukraine’s industrial strategy concept at the conference, which aims to create a modern economy with high added value to strengthen the country’s security and integrate it into EU production chains.
“The focus is on sectors where we have competitive advantages: machine building, steel, titanium, lithium, graphite, as well as the IT sector and renewable energy. By the end of 2025, we will finalize the strategy, with implementation planned for 2026-2030.
We are developing it jointly with the World Bank, the OECD, UNIDO, and the Kyiv School of Economics,“ the deputy minister said.
He also presented the ”Industrial Ramstein” initiative, created by analogy with the Defense Rammstein format, to mobilize international assistance for the restoration and modernization of industry.
“The initiative provides for the transfer of equipment as humanitarian aid through G2G mechanisms, partial procurement financing programs, the involvement of export credit agencies to cover risks and reduce the cost of loans, B2B missions, staff training, and certification of production facilities in accordance with international standards,” Telyupa explained.
According to him, in addition, the URC2025 presented the “Green Platform,” a digital catalog of over 60 green financing programs for businesses, communities, and enterprises, created in collaboration with the Green Transition Office and integrated into the Made in Ukraine portal.
“(The catalog) will become a single point of entry for anyone looking for funding for energy-efficient, resource-saving, and low-carbon solutions,” said the deputy minister.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko also signed a new project with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) worth $188 million from the Japanese government for green industrial reconstruction.
Telyupa emphasized that this project involves technology transfer and the creation of joint ventures with Japanese companies. Within its framework, more than 30,000 Ukrainians will acquire new skills, and Ukrainian manufacturers will test and implement more than 40 advanced technologies in agro-processing, circular economy, IT, renewable energy, water, energy efficiency, and telemedicine.
Italy is interested in investing in Ukraine and is ready to invest resources without delay, sign agreements, and provide financial guarantee instruments for companies that plan to invest in Ukraine’s reconstruction measures, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says.
“Italy, as a country, is also ready to contribute and start now and rebuild what was destroyed – roads, bridges, hospitals, all these buildings,” Meloni said at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) during a joint statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reporters in Rome on Thursday.
She noted that Italy has already taken Odessa under its patronage to restore cultural and heritage objects. “And we want to even go further, we want to expand our contribution: this is energy, critical infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, also health care. Of course, I won’t list all the initiatives now, but I want to remind you that we are doing a lot of things that are symbolic in terms of humanitarian aid,” the head of the Italian government said.
Meloni also noted that Italy will help in the heroic resistance to Ukraine. “We have done it in different senses and we will also do it on industry and also defense sector and cooperation. We have also talked about this, and this is evidenced by a number of agreements signed today, this is a central theme. And, of course, we will continue our investments, because we understand how important it is to do everything possible so that Ukraine can fight, fight back, defend itself,” she said.
According to the Italian Prime Minister, peace in Ukraine should be “long, lasting, just”, in particular through deterrence.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to provide a loan of up to EUR 50 million to Nova Poshta LLC of the Nova Group of Companies (GC) to finance part of its capital investment program for 2025-2026, with a focus on improving operational efficiency and supporting the company’s development strategy in Ukraine during the war.
“… includes improving physical infrastructure, optimizing and expanding the network, modernizing IT systems, improving energy management, and restoring human capital,” the bank lists the elements of Nova Poshta’s development strategy on its website.
It is noted that the loan will be multi-currency with the possibility of selecting funds in hryvnia and euros and will consist of two tranches: tranche 1 in the amount of EUR 35 million will be reserved from the moment of signing, tranche 2 in the amount of EUR 15 million will be reserved by the bank solely at its discretion.
The total cost of the project, according to the report, is EUR 69.1 million.
The EBRD reminds that Nova Poshta is the leading private postal and courier operator in Ukraine, with a network of more than 12,000 branches and 27,000 post offices and about 34,000 employees. Every month, the company provides services to more than 11 million customers in Ukraine.
This project, which has passed the final review stage and is awaiting approval, possibly in June, is the fifth in the history of relations between Nova Group and the EBRD.
It is noted that under the existing loan, in May 2025, the company informed the bank of a planned reduction of about 2,900 employees, which is less than 10% of the total number. The EBRD emphasizes that the analysis of this reduction process confirmed that the client complies with the terms of such collective dismissals stipulated in the loan agreement, provided a detailed description of the reduction process, has an effective grievance system and responds appropriately to them without any litigation, and has an effective process of interaction with the trade union, which is informed about the large-scale restructuring plan that will affect employees throughout 2025.
As reported, last August, the EBRD provided a EUR 70 million loan to Nova Group to finance its investment program for 2024.
According to Nova Poshta’s financial report for the first quarter of 2025, its net consolidated revenue increased by 20.7% compared to the first quarter of last year to UAH 14 billion 333.2 million, while net profit decreased by 21.4% to UAH 567.7 million. The ultimate beneficial owners of the company are Volodymyr Popereshnyuk and Viacheslav Klymov.
As noted by the Standard Rating agency, as of the beginning of April this year, with total accounts payable of UAH 13.51 billion, Nova Poshta used, in addition to long-term bank loans, resources raised from the issue of two series of bonds – E and F series of UAH 1 billion each.
The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) plans to invest $10 million in the internal renovation of the Golf Club in Obolon, Kyiv, which it recently acquired for $18 million, so that the campus created on its premises meets the requirements of leading world universities, KSE President Timofey Milovanov said.
“About $10 million will go toward internal renovation, not external. Everything there needs to be demolished, and laboratories, amphitheaters, and makerspaces need to be built. … Filling the campus itself with high-quality, modern educational facilities, such as those found in top universities, will cost $10 million,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Milovanov, KSE sent a team to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to see what a makerspace is.
“This is where students have access to all modern robots, lasers, machine tools with software control — everything they need to make a prototype if they have an idea. All the equipment must be there, from projectors to lecture halls, and there must be access to software that costs money even for universities,” explained the KSE president.
He added that there are plans to open these makerspaces for students from other universities as well.
Milovanov recalled that the first KSE building in Kyiv, located at 3 Shpaka Street, cost $2.5 million, with another $2.5 million spent on renovations: shelter, sleeping capsules, library shelves, AI cameras that allow hybrid lectures, a security system, fire safety, modern ventilation, batteries, and generators in case of blackouts.
Some of this is already in place at the Golf Club, but it was designed for a small number of people, not the several thousand students who will be working here, added the KSE president. Among other things, he pointed to the building’s well-insulated basements, which can be used as shelters for all students and teachers.
He emphasized that he was very pleased with the purchase because the Golf Club was built to a very high standard, so the price of the deal was very attractive considering the location—$18 million for 14,500 square meters of space plus 5 hectares of land on lease.
“Even if you don’t count the land and the location near the Dnieper, that’s $1,200 per square meter! (…) But now there are no buyers. If people have $20 million, they will buy a hotel in Indonesia, not invest in Ukraine. I think this is simply a factor of the war, and we are very lucky—without the war, it would have been many times more expensive,” Milovanov believes.
According to him, in theory, the first students could use the renovated building as early as January next year, although in practice it may take longer, partly because of the existing tenants, with whom KSE would like to resolve the issue without any disputes.
“But there are two buildings at the Golf Club. One of them is empty—there are no tenants. So we are already starting demolition this week, and it may be ready sooner. That is where we will build makerspaces, amphitheaters, and other significant renovations,” said the KSE president.
He emphasized that the university will maintain the land’s sporting purpose, as stipulated in the lease agreement.
“We will do everything completely according to the law, so we will leave the golf course. Some good businessmen are already writing to us about how this can be improved. So maybe there is something in this direction,” Milovanov said.
At the same time, he said that in the future, KSE would like to expand the purpose of the land plot so that it fully corresponds to the university, so it will submit all the documents to the Kyiv City Council.
“I think it will take 5-7 years. But we have no other way, because we are an American company. Although local developers tell me: Timofey, why are you doing this? Do what you have to do, and you’ll figure it out later. But we don’t do that, we are an American company. We don’t know how to decide things like that,” he emphasized.
KSE is a private university and research center founded in 1996. It operates as a non-profit organization registered in the United States. Since 2022, KSE donors have contributed more than $150 million to humanitarian, defense, and educational projects, including the development of university infrastructure.
GOLF CLUB, INVESTMENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, RECONSTRUCTION
