The left bank of Kyiv’s river Dnipro has been energized this week by a major exposition focused on the entire Ukrainian energy sector, from extraction and production to distribution and supply.
It has already attracted more than 100 foreign companies, mostly from East Asia and Europe.
Dozens of foreign businesses in attendance told the Kyiv Post they are bullish about investing and doing business in Ukrainian energy and electricity. Some said they had minor reservations about the nation’s overall economic picture but remained confident.
Other firms said they were already invested in Ukraine. Some said they were planning to expand their existing operations.
Viktor Petruk, head of the Ukrainian office for Weidmüller, a German electrical engineering firm, told the Kyiv Post that his company was doing well building partnerships in Ukraine and was confident about the future. He said the firm is planning to expand operations in the country.
Electric opportunities?
The event, called the International Forum of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, is taking place at the capital’s International Exhibition Centre from Nov. 5 until Nov. 7.
Even though the venue is located some distance from the city center, on the left bank of the capital’s river, it has so far seen well over 400 Ukrainian companies set up stands to promote their wares and businesses.
Multiple Ukrainian companies said they were advertising their services and products or seeking strategic partners and investors from abroad.
The huge trade fair consists of three sections in different exhibition halls. One section is focused on electrical engineering while the others deal with power generation and oil and gas exploration.
Ukraine’s major energy companies, including DTEK Oil & Gas, state-owned Naftogaz and the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom, attended with major displays and presentations.
State-owned Energoatom was pitching multiple investment projects to foreign investors, including safety upgrades at its aging reactors and the expansion of Ukraine’s western Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant, which multiple experts have warned against, citing safety concerns.
Companies from other European companies also had a strong presence, with at least 18 firms from the Czech Republic, 13 from Germany and seven from Poland.
Multiple companies from Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, France, Romania and Lithuania also came to the exposition seeking to do more business in Ukraine.
There were no Russian companies at the exposition, but Belarus had a number of firms in attendance.
Seven U.K. companies were scouting at the event, and the British embassy mounted an impressive exhibition of its own to promote at least four companies working in energy and natural resources.
Gumyrbek Sandibekov and Paul Law, executives at the U.K. oil and gas service company ExPro, expressed confidence about investment opportunities in the Ukrainian energy sector and said they already had some dealings here. The pair pointed to Ukraine’s western Poltava region as especially attractive for oil and gas exploration.
A spokesperson for the U.K. Department for International Trade told the Kyiv Post it was their first time at the exposition and that they are working to promote British companies and explore investment opportunities in Ukraine. As Brexit still looms, Britain is negotiating trade deals and attempting to strengthen commercial ties outside of Europe, with Ukraine touted as a post-Brexit priority by U.K. diplomats and lawmakers.
Taiwanese eye Ukraine
However, it was firms from East Asia that stole the show, and The Kyiv Post counted at least 12 companies from Korea, five from China and 19 from Taiwan.
Floyd Huang, the company manager in Ukraine for Viture, a Chinese firm that produces conveyor belts for industrial clients, mainly coal mines, said Ukraine was an attractive business destination. While not a priority market for his company, Ukraine may shape up to become one, he said.
Adair Tang, commercial director for the post-Soviet region for CHINT, a Chinese electrical engineering company, said his firm was considering building a $10 million production facility in Ukraine where transformers and circuit breakers would be manufactured for the Ukrainian market. They want local partners, he said.
But there was one section of the trade fair that displayed particular positivity and optimism: a row of stands in the southeast corner consisting of electrical engineers from the Taiwanese capital Taipei.
A significant contingent of companies from Taiwan made the journey to Kyiv, many of them flying on the same Turkish Airlines flight from Taipei by way of Istanbul.
Of the 19 Taiwanese firms in attendance, the majority said they were in Ukraine for the first time.
Others said they had already enjoyed a number of years doing business here and in Russia. Most of the companies were looking for buyers for their electrical products, especially circuit boards, semiconductors and ceramic capacitors. Small parts but big business.
Savrina Tung, a sales manager from STC Component in Taipei, said she was in Ukraine for the first time, looking to sell electrical components to industrial customers. She had trays of Taiwanese tea prepared as well as info packages about her company and said Ukrainians had been welcoming and positive.
Sharlene Yeh, another sales manager, said she had also arrived in Ukraine on her first business trip and added that her electrical firm Camsco was bullish about opportunities in the country, where much industry is ready to upgrade outdated electrical outlay.
Jeff Tseng of Taiwan-based electronics producer Faithful Link Electronics told the Kyiv Post that his company had been doing good business in Ukraine for more than ten years selling resistors, capacitors and other active electrical components.
“We are ready to expand,” he said. “ We are looking for more customers and local distributors.”
