Some state institutions, by their actions, jeopardize the investment attractiveness of Ukraine among both international and domestic investors.

This was stated by the head of the board of directors of the Asset Protection Association Alexander Situkho in his blog.

According to the expert, according to the results of two last year's studies by the European Business Association (EBA), Ukraine has demonstrated the lowest value of investment attractiveness since 2013. According to the results of the first analysis, the survey participants gave our state 2.17 points out of 5 possible. Three key factors that affected the assessments were Russia's military aggression, corruption and a weak judiciary.

According to the specialist, the second survey showed the state of the investment climate in the second half of 2022. It was recorded that the index of investment attractiveness of Ukraine increased to 2.48 points. During this period, attacks on the energy sector were added to the negative factors, and the judicial system ranked fourth. However, according to Situho, given the dynamics of increasing state pressure on business, she can lead this anti-rating as early as this summer.

100 directors of the largest international and Ukrainian companies take part in EBA surveys. But, despite the fact that 99% of them plan to work in the Ukrainian market in 2023, only 17% believe that it will be profitable for new investors to enter Ukraine. Why? Even the domestic investor is now experiencing a lot of unreasonable pressure. Over the past month alone, various public figures and experts have noted the inadmissibility of the actions of state institutions, writes Alexander Situkho.

As state pressure on business, he cites Ferrexpo, a company with assets in the Poltava region, which is a key taxpayer in our country, a major employer and one of the largest exporters. It trades on the premium listing of the London Stock Exchange, and its investors are large corporate investment and pension funds such as Schroder Investment Management and BlackRock. However, for now, in addition to blocking accounts, Ferrexpo shares are trying to sue offshore companies with Russian owners.

According to Situho, if the Supreme Court finally allows the alienation of 40% of the shares in this case, this will shake the faith of the international community in the rule of law in Ukraine. After all, this will be a big statement that our human rights system is not on the side of justice.