Oleg Bakhmatyuk: Ukraine can do without the IMF. We can raise 150b in investment

The businessman discusses this in an interview to Dmitriy Gordon. UNIAN reports. 

"Global markets are favourable to Ukraine. The monetary policy of the past two years has led to the world economy being pumped up with money spurring up inflationary processes, in particular in commodity space. We are in luck for the first time. Ukraine could close the year for the first time with a trade surplus. In fact, Ukraine does not need the IMF in the next 3 years. It's not going to have a trade surplus as large as China's of course, but it's going to have an extra 10-15 billion dollars anyway", the businessman said. 

"In principle, life if not going to get worse. It's pretty good already, isn't it? The question is is life going to get better? There's RCEP, there's the 5 countries of ASEAN – Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and China. There are 15 countries. I didn't name them all. Their population is 2.2 billion people. This is the largest economic space in the world. Its share is 32% currently. Those countries are buying ores from Ukraine, grains, vegetable oils for 15-20 billion dollars per year. Those are vitally important products for them".

According to the businessman, commodity prices are rising. "They are going to grow 10-15% per year. Can you imagine now the kind of numbers we can be talking about? We build a strategy and then go out and tell people: here's supply commitments for 10 years in exchange for 150-200 billion in investment. Interested? Yes. I'm sure 110% they will say yes. They say: we want to improve the infrastructure, we want to upgrade the rules of the game in this country, legislatively, legally. And we need 150 billion dollars for that. Out of that, 50b dollars would come as investment in Ukrainian debt at a yield of 2%, 25 – to settle with everyone, 5 – to invest in infrastructure, roads to move your grain, ores, etc. And another 100 to be invested in ports, development, value added products. Please buy our poultry though, instead of our grain. Or beef. You invest 30% and you become co-owners. This is real. I'm sure of that because I've done it".

"Ukrlandfarming" is one of Ukraine's largest agricultural holding companies, specialising in growing oilseeds, cereals and seeds, cattle farming, egg farming and processing. The company is owned by the Ukrainian businessman Oleg Bakhmatyuk.