The Donbass Attracts 1.2 Billion Dollars in Investments: Who is Investing in the Region's Economy.

According to the results of 2018, the economic growth in the region was only 0.9%. Nevertheless, serious investments are coming to the region through the efforts of the Donetsk regional military and civil administration. As of April 1, 2019, the total investment volume in the region reached 1.2 billion dollars. About 58% of the investments are concentrated in the industry. In addition, there are over 350 deposits of mineral resources in the region. There is a port in Mariupol that is among the four largest ports in Ukraine. The main export potential of the region consists of two steel mills in Mariupol and the agricultural sector.

Among the largest companies in the region with foreign investments is 'KNAUF Gipps Donbass', a manufacturer of plasterboard and drywall mixtures belonging to the German company Knauf.

Companies that have emerged in the region in recent years include the seed factory HarvEst and the biogas facility in Volnovakha. Moreover, companies in the region are investing significant funds in their modernization. For instance, the state-owned company 'Artemsil' invested a total of 51 million Hryvnias from 2016 to 2018 in commissioning new production capacities, while the steel mill 'Azovstal' will complete the reconstruction of the dust extraction system in 2020, which costs 119 million Hryvnias.

The export volume per capita in the region is 4% above the Ukrainian average. The gross domestic product per capita is 45% below the national average, while the wage level in the region is 3% above the average Ukrainian wage level.

The regional authorities are weakly using the development budget to stimulate investments in the region - for 2019 it is 0.05 Hryvnias per capita.

Support from International Donors

It is important for the region's economy to receive support from various international donors. As Oleg Swinarenko, head of the Donetsk ODA administration, informed the correspondent, the administration developed a map of the socioeconomic development of the region in cooperation with UNDP back in 2017, which includes 7,800 projects with a total volume of 10 million dollars. In 2019, USAID began granting small and medium-sized enterprises grants for business development.

The most attractive sectors for investment in the Donetsk region are mining, metallurgy, coke production and refining, energy generation, and food production.

In summary, the economy of the Donetsk region showed slight growth in 2018, but thanks to investments and support from international donors, it is further developing, particularly in mining, metallurgy, and other priority sectors. Unfortunately, the regional authorities are currently underutilizing the budget to stimulate investments, but the support and accompanying initiatives from international partners show progress in the local economy.