“Pavlo Sheremeta on Kovalska’s lawsuit with the AMCU: investors may see Ukraine as a “wild country” if such cases are repeatedThe Court of Appeal will consider the case on the claim of “Kovalska” to cancel the AMCU’s permission for CRH to purchase two
cement plants in Ukraine on May 22. Experts consider this a threat to investment.”, — write: unn.ua
Former Minister of Economic Development and Professor of the Kyiv School of Economics Pavlo Sheremeta believes that such lawsuits pose a serious threat to Ukraine’s investment image. In a comment to The Page, he warned that foreign companies considering Ukraine as a potential market may receive a dangerous signal: “They will see that Ukraine is some kind of wild country. There are 200 more in the world, we have where to invest, and you are a country at war, and you treat foreign investments like that.”
Financier, investment banker Serhiy Fursa shares a similar opinion. In an interview with The Page, he noted that courts as a tool for fighting between businesses are a common practice. But if there is no trust in the decisions of the judicial system in the country, there will be no trust from investors.
According to The Page, CRH, a multinational company from the Fortune Global 500 list, agreed with the Italian Buzzi in 2023 to purchase the Pivden-Cement and Volyn-Cement cement plants. The deal worth EUR 100 million was closed in October 2024, after a year of review by the AMCU. The regulator allowed it only on condition that the company fulfill strict obligations to protect competition. In addition, CRH invested an additional EUR 80 million in the development of assets in the context of the war. Despite this, the company “Kovalska”, which, according to Forbes Ukraine, was interested in these assets, filed a lawsuit to cancel the AMCU’s permission.