Vasil Kisil & Partners Acts as General Legal Partner of the IV Investment Agribusiness Forum
On April 16, 2013, Kyiv hosted the IV Investment Agribusiness Forum "Agriculture Investment Strategies for Foreign Investors in Ukraine: Expectations and Realities", organized by the Association "Ukrainian Agribusiness Club" (UCAB) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. The event brought together more than 200 representatives of foreign investment funds and banks, leading agricultural companies, government agencies, auditing and law firms with Vasil Kisil & Partners acting as a General Legal Partner.
The participants discussed the benefits of investing in agriculture of Ukraine, opportunities for Ukrainian agribusiness in terms of access to European private capital markets, the conditions of effective interaction of agricultural and investment companies, the key requirements of foreign investors and the necessary conditions for getting an investment, as well as communication with investors. The forum also broached the subject of Asian investors' expectations vs. real life situation since their interest in the agricultural business has increased significantly in recent years. The legal aspects of investment in agriculture in Ukraine have traditionally sparked a lot of interest from the audience.
According to UCAB's Dr. Alex Lissitsa in 2012, despite predictions, agricultural companies have not carried out any listings on any Ukrainian or foreign stock exchanges. Changes in taxation of the agricultural sector and the unstable state regulation, including incomplete land reform do not help to raise investment attractiveness of the industry. However, investors recognize that this is the most predictable and stable economic sphere as compared to other types of businesses in Ukraine. The IPO market in Europe will be more active in 2013 according to representatives of financial institutions and analysts.
In discussing the most appropriate ways generating investments into the agrarian sector, participants identified private placements, Eurobonds, financing guaranteed by export credit agencies (ECA financing) and direct lending by commercial banks, both in Ukraine and in offshore areas.
The participant of the panel discussion, a partner with Vasil Kisil & Partners law firm Denis Lysenko said that agricultural companies interacting with the regulatory and control authorities were faced with the need to defend their interests in court. "A strong legal position, publicity and communicating to the relevant stakeholders, including public authorities, that it is not an isolated problem but rather an endemic one for the whole industry, this is what allows companies to successfully complete such trials," - commented Mr Lysenko.
