Switzerland among top 5 investors of Ukraine – ambassador

Switzerland is one of the main foreign investors of Ukraine, having invested more than USD 1.7 billion in the country’s economy, Ukrainian Ambassador to Switzerland Artem Rybchenko has said.

“As of January 1, 2020, the Swiss Confederation was one of the five leading investing countries in the Ukrainian economy. Swiss investments amounted to USD 1.715 billion, which was 4.8% of the total amount of invested foreign capital,” Rybchenko said in an interview with Ukrinform.

In particular, in 2019, Swiss investments grew by USD 163 million, or 10.5%.

The largest volume of Swiss investment went into industry (60%). Several world-famous Swiss enterprises operate in Ukraine, including Nestle SA, Sandoz AG, Philip Morris International, F. Hoffman la Roche, Geberit International AG, Sika AG, Novartis Pharma AG, Syngenta AG, Hilti (Schweiz) AG, Ferrexpo AG, Glas Trösch AG, Acino AG, Calyx Capital Advisers.

Among the success stories, the ambassador named the investment of the Swiss company Geberit International AG in its own production in Ukraine in the amount of USD 50 million.

In general, after the crisis of 2014-2015, there has been an improvement in the business and investment climate in Ukrainian-Swiss relations, the diplomat said.

In 2019, the total volume of bilateral trade reached a record level of USD 3 billion. Exports from Ukraine for the first time exceeded USD 1 billion, while imports amounted to USD 1.8 billion.

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