Mayor of Kiev fights for new city investors
WITH the usual enormous Russian pavilion conspicuous by its absence at this year’s Mipim property bash, Russians have all but deserted the event this year. But their Ukrainian neighbour has arrived in force, with Kiev mayor and former world champion boxer Vitali Klitschko flying in to persuade people to invest in the country’s capital.
Klitschko – a towering 6’7” – told The Capitalist his main goals are to clamp down on corruption in Kiev, bring about investment reforms and form closer economic ties with the EU.
Given the current crisis in eastern Ukraine with Russia, coming to Mipim to win over investors might be a hard sell. But Klitschko believes it couldn’t be a better opportunity.
“Some people are of course sceptical, but many people are viewing the situation as a time of opportunity. Because the markets are down, we can invest to buy the projects under market price. That is why many business are looking at Ukraine as a time of opportunity.” Well, you know what they say – buy low, sell high.