Rebuilding Ukraine Part 4: Investment Opportunities

August 2024

Antony Smith, Nadir Hasan and Sophia Harlow

It is clear to all that a major global financial effort will be required to rebuild Ukraine. It is also now widely recognised that the investment needed to rebuild Ukraine cannot wait until the conclusion of the war. In recent times there has been a developing focus on financing and support for Ukraine’s reconstruction in the short to medium term. In this article, the fourth part of our “Rebuilding Ukraine” series, we look at the current private and public sector investment opportunities announced at the Ukrainian Recovery Conference in Berlin (“URC2024”) in June 2024.

Agrifood: From complex fertilizers to fruit, vegetable, poultry, and meat products. Ukraine’s agrifood sector, crucial to global food security, accounted for 62% of total exports in 2023 notwithstanding the impact of the war. The Ukrainian government is implementing reforms to ensure food safety, security, and improved investment facilitation including plans to construct a US$62m feed soy protein concentrate plant to produce toasted meal, soybean oil and pelletised hulls within the next 2 years.
Transportation and Logistics: Construction of new terminals, development of export logistics, restoration of roads, bridges, tunnels, and improvements in sea, river and rail transportation. Ukraine’s central location in Eastern Europe makes it important for trade and travel. Significant investment is needed to repair and modernise infrastructure.
Energy: Advancing renewable energy goals, increasing efficiency in traditional generation, investing in energy storage and transportation. Ukraine’s energy sector has substantial potential for renewable energy development.
Hydrogen: At-scale production of carbon-neutral hydrogen. Ukraine’s abundant renewable energy resources position it as a key hydrogen supplier to Central Europe, supported by competitive production and transportation costs.
Green Steel: The manufacturing of green steel and production of hot briquetted iron (HBI)/direct reduced iron (DRI) for green metallurgy. Ukraine’s ferrous metallurgy sector is significant. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe have become the new strategic partners for Ukraine’s mining and metallurgical complex during the war and have accepted the major share of Ukrainian exports investments in green steel initiatives such as Green steel products; DR-pellets; DRI; HBI; Mining and processing; Ferroalloys, Limestone; Recycling of waste ore processing is being sought to drive economic recovery and sustainability.
Critical Raw Materials: Lithium, titanium, uranium, graphite, cobalt, nickel, tantalum, and other rare-earth elements. Ukraine holds substantial potential for CRM extraction, essential for green energy transition and technological innovation.
Housing, Reconstruction, and Building Materials: Construction of building materials factories, reconstruction of damaged housing, social and affordable housing, water and sanitation facilities. Significant damage to the housing sector has necessitated investment in reconstruction, with a focus on sustainability and modernisation.
Pharmaceutical and Medical Sectors: Production of vaccines, modernisation, and construction of medical facilities. Ukraine’s pharmaceutical sector has seen growth, supported by increasing public healthcare spending and significant sectoral transformation.
Information and Communication Technology & Digital: Infrastructure projects, human capital developments, and technology investments. The ICT sector is a major contributor to Ukraine’s economy, with exponential growth in IT service exports and technological proficiency.

Please contact Beale & Co should you require assistance in considering projects, construction contracts/documentation, disputes, or associated legal issues in respect of doing business in Ukraine. Beale & Co has relationships with a number of Ukrainian law firms as well as construction industry contacts based in Ukraine who are available and ready to help.

You can find previous articles from our ‘Rebuilding Ukraine’ series here: