Yevhen Chervonenko Delivers Keynote Address at Euro 2012 Conference in New York
April 08, 2008 :: a report by Adrianna Melnyk
On Monday, March 17, over 50 Ukrainian and US government officials and private investors gathered at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York to discuss potential investment opportunities and infrastructure needs for Ukraine as the country begins preparations for hosting the Euro 2012 football championships.
The morning session began with a welcome from the conference organizers (the New York-based Orange Circle and the Center for US-Ukrainian Relations) and a word from Oleh Shamshur, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States.
The conference opened with a keynote address by Yevhen Chervonenko, head of the Ukrainian National Agency for Euro 2012, who assured the audience that “political infighting is not impacting economics and business development [in Ukraine]” and cited as evidence the fact that over the past year, in the midst of elections and continued political instability, Ukraine has seen investment inflows of about $8billion, more than in the previous ten years combined. He also quelled rumors circulating of a possible cancellation of Ukraine and Poland as host countries, and affirmed that the event “will take place in Ukraine” as planned.
According to Mr. Chervonenko, a former Minister of Transport of Ukraine, the Euro 2012 competition “is not about football, but rather about infrastructure development” and that there is “no precedent in Ukraine for a project of this magnitude”. The team responsible for leading the charge is comprised of young people, under the age of 35, armed with MBAs obtained from universities in Germany, the UK, and the US. Currently, the projected investment opportunity for US investors, Mr. Chervonenko said, is about $20 billion. The state budget will account for 20% of investment, while the remaining 80% will originate with the private sector, which would fund the building and repair of roads, bridges, airports, hotels, and other key components of infrastructure.
During his presentation, Mr. Chervonenko presented Ukraine’s “Masterplan” for the event, which included an overview of the main components of Euro 2012, including a description of host cities and transit regions; an overview of central and local authorities responsible for projects; a synopsis of key projects and infrastructure elements split by regions and sectors; a set of goals for sources of financing; and a timeline for the overall project.
Throughout the course of the day, participants also heard from senior representatives of major US legal, financial, infrastructure development, and consulting firms, as well as from the US financial and economic policymaking establishments.
On the legal side, Kenneth Hansen, a partner at New York City law firm Chadbourne and Parke, which has a strong presence in Ukraine, spoke about the importance of guarantees for foreign investors. He underscored the importance of trust, based on a good track record; legal recourse and enforcement mechanisms; and development of guarantees, including insurance from multilateral investment and export credit agencies, including the US Eximbank, MIGA (the World Bank’s political risk insurance division), and OPIC, an agency that has closed its programs in Ukraine because of a relatively small ($17 million) dispute with the Ukrainian government. Mr. Hansen recommended that Ukraine resolve this issue immediately, an action that will go a long way toward restoring investors’ faith in the country’s willingness to take their rights seriously.
The keynote speaker during the conference lunch was John McAdams, the Chief Operating Office of the United States Export-Import Bank. Mr. McAdams spoke about various recent infrastructure projects of the bank, including an upgrade of Albania’s air traffic control system, and modernization of Ecuador’s Quito airport. According to Mr. McAdams, if Ukraine prepares properly for the Euro 2012 championships, it would be eligible to receive up to $2 billion in financing from the bank.
Other companies who participated in or sponsored the event were: Mitsubishi Corporation, Marriott Hotels, Ernst and Young, JP Morgan, Broad Street Capital, MS Global Finance, SHI Capital, AALC, United States Department of Commerce – Foreign Commercial Service, Michael Hope Architects, CT Engineering, Beiten Burkhardt, and representatives of Ukraine’s municipal government.