The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) considers the development of Ukraine's capital market essential for the country's future reconstruction, as it will help attract private investment to supplement the limited financing available through the banking sector, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Bangkok.
"Despite all the short-term challenges, we have really managed to move this process forward, and I hope it will soon come into focus," she said, referring to the capital market development project launched jointly with Ukraine.
The EBRD president recalled that the bank, together with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the Ukrainian government, had developed a project to reorganise and establish a vertically integrated capital market infrastructure, including a central counterparty (CCP) and a central securities depository (CSD).
She described the initiative as a long-term reform designed to support Ukraine's future development.
Discussing the EBRD's current operations in Ukraine, Renaud-Basso pointed to the serious deterioration of the security situation due to intensified Russian attacks and their negative impact on businesses.
"One important point worth highlighting is the level of defaults in the private sector. We have many clients, and this figure is extremely low. Clients continue to make payments, service their debts and so on," said the EBRD president, who visited Ukraine again in late September.
According to Renaud-Basso, the determination of businesses to continue operating is remarkable, both among Ukrainian companies and foreign investors.
"All the foreign investors who were actively operating in Ukraine before the war have stayed. They continue to invest, hire employees, preserve jobs and so on. This level of commitment is truly remarkable," she emphasised.
She added that even during the war, foreign direct investors continue to invest in Ukraine, establishing new production facilities, including in the renewable energy sector.
The EBRD president also highlighted the development of innovation in Ukraine, particularly in the military sector and the drone industry. According to her, this has already become a powerful sector with an impact extending far beyond its own industry.
"Support for Ukraine should not be viewed as an expense. In my view, donors and supporting countries should not see it as a cost — it is an investment. An investment in this country, an investment in European stability, an investment in the future of the region," Renaud-Basso concluded.
