Political logjam and early elections last year did little to dampen foreign investor enthusiasm for Ukraine’s fast-growing economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached at least $8.3bn in 2007, a rise of more than 70% year-on-year, as gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by an impressive 7.3%. Italy’s UniCredit contributed more than $2bn of that total FDI inflow, as it continued to expand its presence in the central and eastern Europe (CEE) region by purchasing a 94.2% stake in Ukrsotsbank (USB) in July.
The deal, which was the largest to date in Ukraine’s banking sector, was completed at the start of 2008, and represented an exit for Viktor Pinchuk, the previous majority shareholder in USB and one of Ukraine’s leading oligarch businessmen.
