A “Wait and See” Approach
Interest towards Ukraine as a potential investment target is still high. The number of business forums and venues is spilling over. And those overseas investors usually monitor the situation, follow updates of legislative progress and continue to figure out their risks.
As the M&A boom has not yet happened, despite the distressed value of Ukrainian assets, we can certainly conclude that the risks still exceed expected profitability rates and cost efficiency advantage. This “wait and see” approach is a reasonable reaction on the part of traditional investors seeking sustainable growth versus quick income.
Internal investors are less refrained by risks but certainly do not possess significant purchasing power. Anyway, all stakeholders bring hopes of changes in corporate legislation that may empower its flexibility.
We also talked to Paul Rawlinson, global chair of Baker McKenzie during his visit to Kiev for celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian office, and visited the largest international professional venue, the Annual Conference of the International Bar Association that was held in Sydney.