EBRD Backs Ukraine Privatization Push, Considers Funding State Asset Sales
EBRD Support and Ukraine's Privatization Efforts
Privatization Goals and Financial Needs
KYIV, May 15 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development supports efforts to privatise stakes in Ukraine's banks and other nationalised industries and could be willing to provide financing for those efforts, its president said.
Ukraine aims to raise around 13 billion hryvnia ($295 million) from privatisations this year, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said this month, to bolster a budget strained by more than four years of war with Russia and help fund reconstruction.
Key Assets and Banking Sector Reforms
Major State-Owned Banks on Offer
Kyiv is seeking buyers for some key assets, including two large profitable banks, Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank, as it looks to reduce state dominance of the sector and attract foreign capital. The state controls more than 50% of the banking sector.
"Depending on who the buyers are, we could provide some financing for future privatisations," EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said, without referring specifically to the banks.
Infrastructure and Port Concessions
Chornomorsk Port Tender
Renaud-Basso said there was "quite a lot of interest" from investors in a tender to operate two terminals at Chornomorsk port in the Odesa region, launched in December.
Concession Details and Security Concerns
Under the 40-year concession, a private investor would operate and modernise the port's facilities. Chornomorsk has been hit occasionally by airstrikes in recent months as Russia targets Black Sea port infrastructure.
The EBRD and the IFC - the World Bank's private-sector lending arm - are supporting the government in structuring the concession and overseeing the tender process.
Capital Market Reforms and Strategic Investment
Securities Market Reform
In another effort to foster private investment, the EBRD is working with the National Bank of Ukraine, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission and the Ministry of Finance on securities market reform, with the aim of creating a vertically integrated stock exchange that handles clearing and depository activities.
Legislative Progress and Investor Attraction
Legislation is being drafted, and the goal is to bring in a strategic investor to operate the platform, bank officials said.
Energy Infrastructure and Security
Renewable Energy Funding
The EBRD is also funding power projects following Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure. Renaud-Basso said it had a pipeline of funding for about 700 megawatts of renewable energy.
Protective Measures for Power Assets
It is also financing protective shelters for electricity transformers. Of around 135 key installations nationwide, about 118 are expected to be protected by the end of the year, she said.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn. Editing by Mark Potter)
